German Crescent Cookies

I discovered these wonderful cookies when a friend baked me a batch a few years ago after my daughter was born, and I've been hooked ever since. They're tender, flakey and nutty but not overly sweet, the perfect snacking treat around the holidays, and frankly any time of the year. Excellent companions to hot tea or coffee as well, and incredibly easy to make. 

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The dough starts out almost like a pie crust, except it involves equal parts butter and cream cheese - the cream cheese makes the dough more tender and gives it a lovely tart and creamy note. It comes together in no time and all and you can use a food processor to make this part of the process even quicker. Chilling it after mixing is important, to give the flour a chance to properly hydrate and the fat to solidify so it maintains its structure through rolling and baking.

   

After the dough is chilled for 2 hours or overnight, cut it in quarters and shape it into discs. Ideally, you'd rolls this out into an even circle, but honestly perfection is not needed here, the cutting and rolling process is quite forgiving and the cookies will look wonderful even if they're not perfectly even in size. 

Here's where the magic comes in though - the dough doesn't get rolled out on a floured surface like any old cookie, but rather on a mix of nuts and sugar (cinnamon and lemon zest optional). This gets embedded into one side of the dough as it rolls out and coats it in flavor and texture. Don't worry too much if the mixture ends up on the top as well as you move the dough around and the rolling pin picks up some of the sugar-nut mix, but keep it on the same side as you roll it all the way out to a ~10" circle. The dough will be quite thin, but keep it as even in thickness as you can.

Cut the circle of dough into 16 triangles, like you'd cut a pizza (in half, then quarters etc to ensure roughly even slices) - you can see in the picture above an example. Then, take each triangle and roll it from the short edge towards the opposite tip as you would a regular crescent roll, with the nut encrusted side on the outside and the (nearly) plain side on the inside. Repeat with the remaining 3 discs, you should end up with 64 little cookies ready to bake.

Place these close together in a pan, I like to use parchment or a silicone mat to ensure easy cleanup. They don't grow a lot in the oven, so in a standard cookie sheet pan I usually fit 32 of them, two rounds in the oven total. 

Bake in preheated 350F oven for 12-14 minutes until baked through and slightly golden on the bottom. They won't take on a lot of color when baking, so keep that in mind as you judge when they're done. Enjoy warm or cooled.

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German Crescent Cookies

Ingredients

• 300g flour
• 200g butter
• 200g cream cheese
• 60g sugar
• 60g brown sugar
• 60g ground hazelnuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• lemon zest (to taste, optional)

Method

1. Knead a smooth dough from the flour, butter and cream cheese. 
2. Wrap in cling film and put in the refrigerator for at least two hours or better overnight.
3. Mix both sugars, ground hazelnuts, cinnamon and lemon zest in a bowl.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two cookie sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats.
5. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, quarter it and shape it into balls.
6. Sprinkle a little hazelnut-sugar mixture on your work surface and start rolling out one of the dough portions on top. Move around as needed to ensure it doesn't stick/the coating is everywhere under your dough. Keep rolling into an even thickness until you get a 10" disc.
7. Cut into 16 parts (like a pizza) and roll up into crescents.
8. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes.

Notes

• I often skip the cinnamon and lemon zest, especially when I want the flavor of the nuts to really shine through. You can also use other spices and adapt the recipe to your taste.
• You can use any nut flour/ground nuts you prefer. Almonds and pecans work really well.
• The recipe is easy to scale up and down as needed, just make sure the amount of dough you roll out into a 10" disc is roughly the same as the original recipe.
• These cookies freeze really well, and they keep in a covered container at room temperature for several days.

Jaffa Cake Roll

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Chocolate and orange have long been one of my favorite combinations. So are raspberry and (dark) chocolate and more recently passion fruit and ruby chocolate, but I digress. Naturally, I was drawn to the Pim's cookies during my study abroad time in France and I loved the Jaffa cakes during my visit to Dublin a while back. There's even a debate on which one is best, but I'll stay out of that one. :)

Inspired by this combination, I started playing around with ideas on how to bring it together in a home made dessert. I made some muffin sized sponge cakelets topped with orange jelly and chocolate, but though they were tasty the ratios were off and the sponge texture wasn't quite what I envisioned.

Later on, I decided to steer away from the individual dessert format and into something that could work well as a centerpiece dessert, where I could focus on the flavor and texture components without the tedious piecewise assembly. Thus, I settled on the swiss roll. 

I made a pretty simple angel food cake style sponge, which is light, moist and flexible so it holds up to rolling and works as a great flavor canvas. For the rendition pictured here, I actually gave the whole thing a fall flavor twist, I'll include the variation details in the recipe notes - the sponge got a good dose of pumpkin spice mix to set the tone.

While the sponge cooled, I worked on the next essential layer - the orange jelly. For jelly made from scratch, the ratio I used is 1 tsp of gelatin powder to 1 cup of liquid - in this case, orange juice, orange zest and rooibos tea combined for the base, in which I dissolved bloomed and melted gelatin powder. For my fall inspired version, I used a pumpkin spice rooibos packet. I lined a pan the same size as the sponge with plastic wrap and poured the jelly mix inside, then set in the fridge to set. 

Finally, it was time for the chocolate - I of course planned to melt and temper some chocolate for the signature shell on top, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to include it inside the roll as well, after all what's a swiss roll without a creamy filling? I made a simple chocolate mousse using chocolate and cream - melted the chocolate using part of the cream (I also melted a bit of gelatin to help stabilize the mousse), then let it cool to almost room temperature. Then, I whipped the remaining heavy cream and folded the ganache gently and gradually. I let it chill in the fridge before spreading it on the sponge and jelly for final assembly.

Last but not least, a Jaffa cake is not complete with the snap of a layer of chocolate - I tempered some dark chocolate and drizzled it over the roll to create a hay effect for the fall theme. you could also just pour a thin layer all over for a shell on top. This is a pretty well explained step by step to temper chocolate, I'm still working to hone my own skills so I claim no expertise in this area.

I wish I had more progress shots to illustrate these steps, but I was a bit too eager to get to the decorating part for the fall inspired jaffa roll so I put it together quickly while running ideas through my head of how I would decorate it. I made a batch of these fantastic pumpkin spiced marshmallows, which I topped with orange and white sprinkles and cut in the shape of pumpkins and leaves.

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Jaffa Cake Roll

Sponge Ingredients

• 2 eggs, separated
• 30g sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 35g milk
• 23g oil
• 7g cornstarch
• 30g flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325F, line a quarter sheet pan with parchment.
2. Separate eggs into two medium bowls, set whites aside for the moment.
3. Whisk oil and milk into egg yolks until smooth.
4. Sift flour and cornstarch into yolk mixture, whisk until well combined.
5. With clean whisk or hand mixer attachments, whisk egg whites until foamy.
6. Gradually add sugar while continuing to whisk, until soft peaks are achieved.
7. Add lemon juice and keep whisking to stiff peaks.
8. Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture in 2-3 additions, careful not to deflate the whites too much.
9. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes until set and lightly golden.
10. Transfer sponge to a cooling rack with the parchment lining and lay another sheet of parchment on top to prevent drying out. Let cool completely.

Jelly Ingredients

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp orange zest
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup water (or an herbal tea, if you's like some floral notes)
• 1 tbsp powdered gelatin

Method

1. Mix gelatin and water/tea in a small bowl and let sit for the gelatin to bloom.
2. Gently warm up to melt gelatin - this can be done in the microwave in short 20s intervals or over a bowl of hot water.
3. Pour melted gelatin in a medium bowl along with all the remaining ingredients (orange juice, zest, honey).
4. Line a pan the same size as the sponge (quarter sheet pan for this recipe) with plastic wrap and pour enough of the jelly mixture to achieve 1/4" thick layer. Let this chill in the fridge until set.
5. When ready, use plastic sheet to transfer jelly to the top of the sponge layer.

Chocolate Mousse

I used this recipe, except I mixed in darker chocolate with the semisweet for more depth of flavor.

Assembly

- lay out cooled sponge on work surface on a piece of parchment

- place jelly sheet on top, leaving 1/2" from one short edge and trimming the other end to make it just a bit smaller than the surface of the sponge

- spread chilled mousse on top with an offset spatula to a uniform thickness of about 3/4"

- using the parchment, roll the sponge tightly starting with the edge where the jelly left 1/2" space, careful not to let the jelly slip out as you do this

- twist the ends of the parchment sheet to secure the roll seam side down, and place in the fridge to set

- before serving, drizzle or spread tempered chocolate on top and decorate as desired

- slice with a clean knife to serve (dipping in warm water and wiping off with a kitchen towel before cutting ensures a clean line)

Notes

- for a fall themed variation, I made the following changes to the recipe: added 2 tsp of pumpkin spice seasoning to the sponge  at the same time as the dry ingredients; I used pumpkin spiced rooibos tea instead of water in the jelly mix; I added a pinch of nutmeg to the chocolate mousse

- I like desserts that are more subtly sweet, so I didn't add a lot of sweetness to the orange jelly. Consider including up to 1/4cup of sugar to the jelly to taste if you prefer.

Grandma's Apple Pie

 Sometimes nostalgia strikes - it's fun to be transported back to the time and land of my childhood through food. Based on a recipe for Hungarian apple pie and adding a bit of my own spin on it, I tried to recreate the apple pie bar my grandma would make in Romania. 

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Hosting guests was always a big event at my grandma's house, she would always go all out to impress - from a generous array of appetizers, soup, hearty main course and sides, and home made dessert, as well as ensuring appropriate drink pairings. Did you know the best way to start a meal in Romania is with smoked pork belly, red onion and a shot of plum brandy (palinca)? Now you do :)

Her desserts weren't particularly elaborate, but they had that homey goodness of a tried and true treat, passed down from one home cook to another. The additional perk of that is that the ingredient list is usually very accessible, mostly with everyday items that I can have on hand at any time at home. This apple pie is one of those recipes. This is not your classic American pie, not even close. It's somewhere between an apple bar and breakfast pastry, with a flaky yeast leavened dough (though I've heard of it made with baking soda as well) and a pre-cooked apple filling thickened with semolina, a staple in Romanian cooking. 

The dough starts similarly to classic short crust of American pies - cut fat into flour, add flavor and wet ingredients, knead briefly. I used cream cheese for half the fat component for a creamier, more tender crumb, but also added lemon zest for flavor and the wet ingredients include egg and a mix of yeast, warm milk and sugar. The egg adds richness, and the yeast provides the signature fluffiness of this pie bar. Mix the egg and yeast into the flour mix first with a spatula/fork to incorporate without fully melting the butter, then knead briefly to bring together without overworking it. Bring into a rough ball, cover and rest at room temperature for 30-45 minutes to get the yeast a chance to work its magic. 

While the dough rests, it's time to work on the filling. My grandma used to grate her apples, and recipes I've found recommended slicing them, I split the difference and cubed mine, I love the uniformity of a smaller cut in any apple bake I make. I also included a pear because I love the flavor and texture, and cut it the same size as the apples. Sautee the apples (and optional pear, or just use another apple) with sweetener of choice and flavorings until softened and the juices start to thicken, around 5-10 minutes on medium-low heat. I used maple syrup for that cozy fall vibe, and added vanilla paste, cinnamon and nutmeg. I don't think I ever encountered maple syrup before moving to the US, so my grandma definitely just used regular sugar, but I couldn't resist the toasty caramel flavor to pair up with the warm spices. Remove from heat, stir in semolina to thicken the filling and set aside to cool.

Roll out half the dough to the shape of your pan in a thin, uniform sheet - you're aiming for something large enough to cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides about an inch, just like any other pie. Spread filling in to reach every corner of the pan and press gently to fill in all the gaps. Since this is a closed top crust pie, things won't move around and shouldn't sink as you cook, so what you arrange now is what you'll get when it's done. This is the step where you can also add marzipan if using, or you can choose to sprinkle some chopped lightly toasted nuts - almonds or pecans would work great. Roll out the remaining dough to the size of the pan, then pinch the edges to seal. 

For color and shine but also flavor, finish the crust with an egg wash - a whole egg or just a yolk works great. A tip I found is to brush the egg wash, let it sit for 5-10 min to slightly dry, then brush on an additional layer of egg wash - it will be smooth and uniform but richer than just one pass. Lightly poke the crust in a few places for steam to escape. I also make squiggly lines with the back of the fork across the crust for a fun design effect. Certainly not necessary but fun nonetheless.

Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 35-40 minutes, until gloden brown on top and baked through. For best structure/clean cuts, cool completely before serving. However, this is so good still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, so pick your favorite option and dig in!

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Grandma's Apple Pie

Makes a 10"x10" pie

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 4 tbsp butter, chilled
• 4 tbsp cream cheese
• 65g powdered sugar, divided
• zest of one lemon, divided
• 1.5 tbsp warm milk
• 3.5g instant yeast (half a packet or 1 tsp)
• 1 egg
• 3 medium apples
• 1 medium pear
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 30g maple syrup
• vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp semolina
• 1 egg/yolk for brushing on top
• 2-3 tbsp marzipan (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven at 325F.
2. In a small bowl, mix 5g powdered sugar, the warmed milk and the yeast and set aside for 5-10 min to activate.
3. Cube butter and cream cheese and add into flour. Cut them in using a pastry cutter or butter knife until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
4. Mix in 60g of powdered sugar, half the lemon zest and a pinch of salt, combine lightly.
5. Add yeast mixture and one egg, then knead lightly until it comes together.
6. Cover bowl and let this rest for 30 minutes.
7. Chop up apples and pear in small cubes, then mix in medium pot with the maple syrup, remaining lemon zest and a splash of vanilla extract.
8. Bring apple mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then cook a few minutes until the fruit is softened and the liquid thickened.
9. Remove from heat, add semolina and set aside to cool.
10. Roll out half the dough in a thin sheet, then lay in the greased pan to cover the bottom and 1" up the sides.
11. Gently press in cooled filling, and top within thin slices of the marzipan, if using.
12. Roll out the second half of the dough and lay on top of the filling, press together around the edges to seal.
13. Brush on top with egg or just egg yolk, then create a pattern on top using a fork.
14. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the bar is cooked through and the top is golden brown.
15. Let it cool for a bit before cutting in squares to server.

Notes:

• I added cream cheese in the crust for a lighter, most tender crumb. however, if you prefer a more crisp crust you can use all butter.
• If you don't have/want the pear, you can always just use 4 apples. Play around with the varietals to get some variety of texture. I used two Gala and one Granny Smith. 
• I couldn't resist and added some nutmeg to the fruit as well. Any combination of warm spices you enjoy would work well.
• I used an adjustable square form with parchment to get the 10"x10" size, but this would turn out quite well in a 9"x9". A rectangular 9"x13" would be ok too but the dough may be so thin that it wouldn't hold up.

Chestnut donuts

Some kids like pancakes, but mine seem to prefer more structured treats - waffles, (baked) donuts and (preferably dinosaur shaped) muffins are breakfast staples. This week started out strong with a delightful batch of chestnut donuts which the kids promptly devoured, with sprinkles of course.

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One of my earliest childhood memories is climbing on my grandparents' garage roof and picking fresh chestnuts off the tree. I wasn't in the loop on how they were cooked, but I vividly remember the beautiful shine of the fresh picked fruit and the toasty creamy experience of eating its contents. This weekend I got to relive part of that by purchasing fresh chestnuts at the farmer's market and turning them into delicious donuts.

I took the sage advice of the farm stand attendant and cooked the chestnuts the way she told me - 20 minutes in boiling water, then I slit each one and baked them at 500F for another 10 minutes. Most of the chestnuts cracked open and were easy to break up with bare hands, and others remained a bit more stubborn, but the insides were nutty and soft in all of them. I used a strawberry corer to remove all the contents into a clean bowl then measured out what I needed for this recipe.

I chose a light but flavorful milk option - unsweetened vanilla almond milk - to make the chestnut puree. You might have to use a bit more to get a smooth consistency, an immersion blender worked really well to get this task done with minimal cleanup. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, oil and sugar together with the flavor extracts (vanilla with rum optional) to create a light and creamy base for the batter - you're looking for a paler color than you started out with and a lightened up texture. Mix in chestnut puree, yogurt and applesauce - I added these to fill in for leaving out some of the oil and sugar from the original recipe to lighten it up.

Mixing the dry ingredients in a separate bowl is optional but a good idea to get them mixed together uniformly and break up any clumps - that way you can minimize the amount of mixing for the final batter and get a lighter, more tender crumb. I used cake flour, though AP flour would probably work just fine. See notes for cake flour substitution using all purpose flour and corn starch. Pipe or spoon in the lightly oiled donut pan, then bake at 355F for 14-16 minutes, until cooked through. You can test by poking a toothpick through the thickest part of the donut, if it comes out clean then it's ready to come out. Turn out on a cooling rack and let the donuts come to room temperature (if you have that sort of patience :) ).

Dip in the glaze and sprinkle with preferred toppings right before serving, or save in an airtight container if you have any donuts left over. I made two options, both were delicious in their own right - a white glaze made simply from greek yogurt and maple syrup, perfect canvas for chocolate or rainbow sprinkles and a chocolate glaze made with black sesame paste, maple syrup and cocoa powder. We couldn't wait so we served them with fruit as dessert, only a pair made it to breakfast the next day. They were still fluffy and tender the next day, the kids loved them just as much!

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Chestnut donuts

Makes 6 thick donuts

Ingredients

• 110 g cooked chestnuts, shelled (see notes)
• 50 ml almond milk 
• 1 egg
• 1 oz vegetable oil
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 oz greek yogurt
• 1 oz applesauce
• rum extract
• 110g cake flour (one scant cup)
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• Glaze and toppings of your choosing (see notes)

Method

1. Preheat oven at 355F.
2. Blend chestnuts and milk into a smooth paste - I used an immersion blender, which make cleanup a bit easier, but a blender or food processor would work too. Add a bit more milk as needed, you're aiming for peanut butter consistency.
3. In a bowl, whisk eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and airy. 
4. Add yogurt, applesauce and chestnut puree and mix until well incorporated.
5. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Add dry ingredient to wet mixture and fold gently, careful not to overmix.
7. Spoon into lightly oiled donut pan.
8. Bake 14-18 minutes, or until donuts are cooked through (passing toothpick test).
9. Remove from oven, turn over onto cooling rack and let come to room temperature.
10. Dip in glaze as desired and decorate with sprinkles or fresh fall fruit.
11. Enjoy!

Notes:

• I boiled the chestnuts for 20 minutes, then cut a slit at the bottom of each one and roasted in a 500F oven for 8 minutes. At that point most of them had cracked more, had a lovely aroma and were easy to split open by hand (they're HOT so let them cool first). I used a strawberry corer to get them out of the peel when they were more stubborn, though many came loose of their shell on their own.
• Vanilla almond milk lends a beautiful flavor to the chestnut puree. You can use any plant or dairy milk you prefer, but add a dash more vanilla extract if you use plain flavor.
• Original recipe calls for 50ml oil and 90g sugar and no yogurt/applesauce, but I wanted to lighten up the batter a bit and I loved the light moist crumb I got. 
• If you don't have cake flour, all purpose would work pretty well too, consider substituting 1tsp of the AP flour with corn starch as a good cake flour substitute for a softer crumb.
• I dipped my donuts in one of two easy glaze options: maple yogurt (greek yogurt, a dash of maple syrup) and black sesame chocolate (black sesame paste, maple syrup, brut cocoa, milk as needed to get a silky consistency), and topped with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles to the kids' preferences.
• These donuts are so moist they would be delicious plain, dipped in a simple ganache or simply drizzled with a dark and flavorful maple syrup.

Cheesecake Brownie Bars

 This little creation is a collaboration with my son, and it's hardly a recipe but I documented what we used for our own future reference and to share a starting point to what is a very flexible and adaptable treat - no bake brownie cheesecake bars.

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Last week my son learned that it was National Children Take Over the Kitchen Day and he enthusiastically embraced it and came up with dishes he could cook almost completely on his own and fed us all day. He's not even 7 yet so I was very impressed with both his determination and level of skill. He made soft boiled egg with toast and butter for breakfast, ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and spaghetti bolognese for dinner. Pretty well rounded day!

For dessert we collaborated in coming up with a no bake, recipe free treat we could all enjoy, and it started with his idea to crush up some madeleine cookies that went uneaten because we've been so busy baking in our kitchen over the past few months. We mixed them with some cocoa, some coconut flakes and added almond butter and coconut oil for binding, then pressed them in the bottom of a parchment lined loaf pan and let it set in the fridge while we worked on the next layer.

I was sort of thinking cheesecake as a starting point, and as it happened I had instant pudding with a cheesecake flavor, but I figured it wouldn't set firmly enough to cut as bars on its own, so we started with room temperature cream cheese, we thinned it out with almond milk then whipped it up with the pudding mix. The resulting cream was smooth but thick and rich, and we spread it over the brownie base then put it in the freezer to set more firmly and more quickly. 

Finally, the fruit topping - we cleaned out the fridge for this one and used strawberries, blueberries and peaches cut up to be about evenly sized with the smallest of them (the blueberries). A splash of cranberry juice (water would be ok too) and a bit of cornstarch were all they needed to soften and thicken on the stove for a quick and delicious final layer. Sweeten to taste if needed, our fruit was sweet enough that we didn't add anything else, but a bit of sugar or honey would work here to balance out the flavors. After spreading the fruit we returned the pan for a final hour in the freezer to set together, then sliced while still cold and let it warm up a bit before enjoying. 

These bars work well straight out of the freezer almost like ice cream sandwiches, or warmed to fridge/room temperature as indulgent cheesecake bars. All of us were big fans of the final result and my son was incredibly proud of the fruits of his labor - all day, not just dessert. I love seeing him embrace a love of cooking.

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Cheesecake Brownie Bars

Ingredients

• 4-5 crushed madeleine cookies
• 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 tbsp toasted coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil

• 3 oz cream cheese or Neufchatel
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 packet cheesecake flavored instant pudding 

• 1 lb mixed fruit, chopped
• 1/4 cup cranberry juice
• 2-3 tbsp cornstarch

Method

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal
2. Crush up cookies - for the individually packaged madeleines, pressing them in the packet works well, then open each bag and pour into medium mixing bowl.
3. Add all the other crust ingredients - cocoa powder, coconut flakes, almond butter and coconut oil and mix well. Only add as much coconut oil as you need to bind all the crumbs together in a smooth dough.
4. Press mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan and chill to set.
5. Whisk cream cheese with hand mixer to soften and smooth out before adding milk to get a thinner creamy consistency. 
6. Add pudding mix and whisk until well incorporated and it starts to set. 
7. Spread over brownie base, then return to fridge or place in freezer to set.
8. Mix all three fruit layer ingredients together and cook on medium heat to a simmer, stirring frequently. 
9. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until thickened and the fruit is softened, stirring constantly to prevent burning or clumping.
10. Let cool to room temperature, then spread over set cheesecake layer.
11. Return to freezer until firm, then pull out of pan using parchment and cut up in serving portions.
12. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes

• If you don't happen to have a lot of forgotten madeleine cookies in your pantry, crushed graham crackers or other stale treats could work as well, just tweak the amount of wet ingredients accordingly to get a thick paste consistency
• Coconut flakes are optional, you can also include chocolate chips, dry fruit or nuts for extra flavor and texture.
• Any nut butter works well, as well as melted butter instead of coconut oil if you prefer.
• White chocolate instant pudding or even vanilla would work well here, it just helps set the cream cheese mixture without egg or baking.
• We used strawberries, blueberries and peaches for the fruit layer, but almost any combination would work here - depending on the amount of pectin in the fruit, you may have to adjust the amount of cornstarch needed to thicken the mixture appropriately. If the bars are served frozen there's a lot of room for error in this part :)

Fruity Upside Down Magic Cake

Recently I've been playing around with making renditions of a childhood favorite dessert that my mom used to make and I always enjoyed. She simply called it ✨ Magic Cake✨. 

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This started with me thinking up ways to use seasonal fruit in new ways after a few trips to you-pick farms ended up with way more fresh fruit than we could consume in a few days. First fruit rendition involved peaches, but it came out overall too wet, I had messed with the recipe a bit too much and including applesauce was not a good idea. An important lesson learned, I find that yogurt is a better way to lighten up the butter in the recipe.

Inspired by the classic strawberry rhubarb flavor combination, I made this recipe by laying strips of rhubarb at the bottom of a large loaf pan lined with parchment (4" x 9") and I baked it briefly to soften just slightly as I couldn't get them to lay flat otherwise. I then layered thinly sliced strawberries on top and moved on to the actual magic cake. 

I can't help but feel the recipe originally came about by accident, but what a happy accident it is. Essentially, it's your classic pound cake technique of whipping butter+sugar, adding the yolks, flour, and milk then folding in the egg whites whipped separately for a light, springy texture. But someone somewhere may have gone heavy handed with their milk measurement and this was born. As the base of the batter is quite liquid before the egg whites go it, it separates beautifully in the oven and creates these layers of separation with distinct textures - a denser, rich custard on the bottom, a light, milky custard in the middle, and a fluffy springy cake layer on top. It's magic because it's a one bowl batter that bakes into a 3 layer cake. The strawberry rhubarb cake would present these layers in reverse as I planned it to be an upside down cake of sorts.

I adapted the recipe from the magic cake write-up on the Jo Cooks blog to remind me of the proportions my mom used. My mom's key to getting the light springy cake on top (on the bottom if you do an upside down version like this) is to start the cake in a hotter oven and finish cooking in softer heat - her old recipe helpfully said "somewhat hot, then moderate heat. It turns out with the right steady heat that's not really necessary, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore - preheat the oven to 325F to get it ready.  I tried for an ombre look but as it was on the bottom the colors blended a bit more than I'd like. Also a bit unexpected (but really cool), the layer of strawberries floated up as they baked and settled right in the middle layer, so it's beautifully layered top to bottom rhubarb-custard-strawberry custard-cake. 

Start out by separating the eggs - set aside the whites for the moment and whisk up the yolks with the sugar until fluffy and lightened up in color. Add in melted (and cooled) butter and vanilla and whisk some more, then mix in all the flour until well incorporated. Finally, gradually add warm milk until well combined - the warmth of the milk helps maintain a smooth texture at this stage. With a clean whisk (or mixer beaters), whip up egg whites and cream of tartar until lightened up, then continue whisking at high speed until you get stiff peaks. Don't overwhip or it will separate and not hold its volume. Fold the meringue in the batter in stages until no lumps of egg whites remain, it's ok if it's not completely incorporated or if there seems to be batter at the bottom of the bowl, it's meant to separate a bit as it bakes anyway. Pour into lightly greased or parchment lined pan and bake for 40-60 minutes - times vary based on the material of your baking dish, oven temperature stability and overall thickness, but you're looking for a lightly golden color on top and set on the edges, but still wobbly in the middle. It will set perfectly as it chills in the fridge.

A further variation that I love is the chocolate take on it - simply sub out half the flour for cocoa powder, the richer the cocoa the more chocolatey the final result you'll have. I made the chocolate version you see here with peach and pineapple for a golden-dark striped look to honor World Honey Bee Day, it was also sweetened with honey alone, so yummy! Since I used the cake ring and parchment, I didn't invert it either so it's a reversed upside down cake aka regular cake with fruit on the bottom and middle :)

Garnished for serving with white chocolate honeycomb and a honey dark chocolate patty, you can never have too much chocolate!

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Fruity Upside Down Magic Cake

Makes a 6" square or large loaf (4"x9")

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp greek yogurt
• 6 tbsp flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• (Optional) fruit of choice - peach, strawberries etc

Method

1. Preheat oven at 325F and line you baking pan with parchment paper (or oil lightly, pieces won't come out quite as cleanly though).
2. Melt butter in the microwave and set it aside to cool slightly. Measure out yogurt to come to room temperature. Warm up milk 40 seconds in the microwave as well to prepare for use.
3. (Optional) Thinly slice any fruit you want to use and line the bottom of the baking dish with it in a thin and even layer.
4. Separate eggs into two bowls, yolks in the larger one. 
5. Whisk yolks with sugar until fluffy and paler in color.
6. Add butter and vanilla, whisk well.
7. Incorporate flour, then gradually whisk in milk until smooth.
8. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.
9. Gradually fold into the batter until most of the meringue is incorporated, don't overmix.
10. Pour into prepared pan and bake until edges are set and top is lightly golden. It should still be wobbly in the middle when it comes out of the oven.
11. Let it come to room temperature before setting in the fridge several hours or overnight. Serve chilled or take out a few minutes early to warm up slightly.

Notes

• I have tried this recipe with several fruit already - if it's baking friendly (i.e. you can include it in a cake/pie), then it will probably work ok for this as well, your limit is your imagination!
• You can go full butter and just use 4tbsp of butter in the recipe. Any milk is ok, I love using a nut milk but full fat dairy will yield a richer result.
• For the chocolate variation, I used 3 tbsp of flour and 3.5 tbsp of cocoa for a rich color and flavor.
• I wrote up the recipe for the basic sugar version, I've used maple syrup and honey as 1:1 substitute before and it turned out great. Note that the yolks won't really whisk up in volume or turn pale with a liquid sweetener, and the cake will be a little more custardy and have a thinner cakey layer as a result, but equally delicious.

Birthday Cake Project

When I started the new chapter of this blog, I envisioned it as a mix of project chronicles and recipes. These past two weeks I've undertaken one of my more ambitious projects to date, simply because I've been dying to stretch myself a little and practice some old favorites while trying my hand at new skills. Perfect opportunity - my own birthday cake. Using inspiration and feedback from a friend, I set out with some general goals in mind: strawberry cake, naked cake aesthetic with the cake tiers cut out in number shapes, try as many techniques as feasible in one dessert. 

As I thought about it more and various things piqued my interest, I settled on the final flavor profile: strawberry, dragon fruit and black sesame. I want to document all the different components that went into this dessert here not only for having a place with richer context for the final result, but as a reference to myself to find some of what worked best for later reference. A birthday diary, if you will. 

First, the cake - I wanted to make a strawberry cake since the fruit is in season and wonderfully flavorful, and my favorite recipe is, unsurprisingly, from Sally's Baking Addition (link). I wanted an ombre look (are we doing technique bingo? we should haha) so I replaced a quarter of the strawberry puree with thawed pitaya puree (pink dragonfruit) for a brighter pink in one of the batches, followed the recipe exactly in another, and substituted 1tbsp of liquid in the third with white coloring for a lighter pink. I baked each in a half sheet pan, then cooled thoroughly before cutting out the numbers using a template. 

I knew from the start that the buttercream would have to be Swiss Meringue Buttercream - it's my favorite, it's light and silky and would be the perfect texture to showcase in a naked cake design. My dear husband volunteered to make the buttercream for me as his contribution to my birthday dessert and I happily presented him with my all time go to recipe, the one from Liv (link). Perfect execution, made me proud :) For the black sesame flavor, he added 1/4 cup of black sesame powder after it was perfectly fluffy and velvety, whisked it in and it was a beautiful thing. 

I noticed a related link for German Buttercream and I was intrigued, so I went down that rabbithole as well. I first made the creme patissiere, then incorporated it in fluffed up butter and whisked in reduced strawberry puree for a mildly sweet, incredibly creamy buttercream. 

Toppings

The toppings are where I got to flex my technique muscles/try new things. I wasn't good about taking progress shots of each one as many of these happened late at night with Netflix playing in the background, but see if you can spy them on the finished cake :)

- chocolate cookie chips: I adapted this recipe for the cookie topping for melon buns to incorporate cocoa powder, and cut them in thin circles that I baked until lightly crisp and trimmed to a neat circle when still hot.

- cream puffs: I made regular cream puffs (1/4 recipe) but piped them really small and baked half of them with a thin wafer of the above mentioned cookie dough on top, it worked as a chocolate craquelin in a pinch. The second half of the cream puffs got dipped in a simple dragon fruit sugar glaze (powder sugar,  a few drops of pitaya puree). I filled all of them with chocolate buttercream.

- white chocolate mousse spheres: I melted white chocolate with a simmer mixture of coconut cream, vanilla bean and glucose, then mixed in a bit more cream and chilled until set in the fridge. Later, I whisked it until fluffy and piped into spherical molds that went into the freezer until ready to use. Lesson learned - coconut cream does not like heat, it held up nicely in the fridge after assembly though.

- air sprayed macarons with dragon fruit jelly filling: the one and only Not so humble pie recipe finally broke my bad streak of sad macarons in the new oven. I got smooth and perfectly risen cookies with consistent texture, and I piped some with spiky edges and basil seeds on top to look like slices of dragon fruit. I then air sprayed them hot pink to look like the pink skin of the fruit and filled them with black sesame buttercream sandwiched with pitaya jelly.

- strawberry macarons with white chocolate coconut mousse filling: I followed the same recipe from above, but added pulverized freeze dried strawberries (to replace some of the powder sugar), probably a bit too much as I struggled to get the consistency quite right, but overall happy with the results. I painted on "seeds" with edible marker and filled with white chocolate coconut mousse left over from spheres.

- meringue cookies with strawberry/black sesame: I piped meringue cookies (recipe) in different shapes to play around with what would hold up the best, and sprinkled pulverized freeze dries strawberries on some and powdered black sesame on others.

- dragon fruit jujubes: I pureed fresh golden dragon fruit and mixed it with simmered agar agar syrup then let it set in a thin layer in the fridge, cubed it up and it was ready to go (recipe).

- dragon fruit jellies: I used frozen dragon fruit puree (pitaya) that comes in a hot pink color with intense pigmentation, and used this recipe to make soft set jellies for accents.

- strawberry + dragon fruit mousse spheres: I followed my own fruit mousse recipe from the entremet project, replacing mango with reduced strawberry puree and a dash of the thawed pitaya puree. I piped the mousse in the same kind of spherical moulds as the white chocolate mousse and let them set in the freezer. The kids loved the leftovers from the mousse on their waffles for breakfast. 

- strawberry jelly pearls: what's a crazy project without a dose of molecular gastronomy? I used fresh strawberries and agar agar to make fruit caviar. Easy to do, magical to witness, the kids really loved this one.

- candy melt curls:  this is very straightforward, no recipe required, only a little bit of patience. I gently melted hot pink candy melts in the microwave, then dropped them in dollops on a strip of acetate and spread it with the back of the spoon to get a petal effect. I used tape to curl them slightly and let them set in a champagne flute in the fridge (glass just happened to be about the right width).

- black sesame lace cookies: I didn't want the black sesame to be the only flavor that didn't show up in more than one form, so I added these to the lineup last minute. I love lace cookies but I don't get to make them very often, so this sounded fun and I love the visual effect of the black sesame seeds floating in an airy wafer of sugary delight. I used this recipe to make a small batch and left some larger for shards while I cut others to small circle size while still hot from the oven so they cooled to a crisp in perfect little coins.

- fresh strawberries: just wanted to highlight these as well, the only secret here is the non-melting sugar. It's a nifty dessert pantry ingredient, essentially just powdered sugar with a bit of incorporated fat that prevents it from readily melting in surface moisture from desserts. I dipped the edges of a couple of halves strawberries in it to give them a bit of a highlight and put them directly on the cake.

Assembly

This is where my passion for mise-en-place really paid off. There were really two stages to assembling this cake - carving the layers and stacking them with buttercream, and decorating. 

I did the first part the night before, letting each layer firm up. a bit in the fridge before placing the next to be more forgiving to uneven pressure when transferring the laters on top of each other. After the last layer firmed up, I wrapped everything in plastic to prevent the exposed edges of the cake from drying out. The strawberry cake is so deliciously moist that it kept really well, no syrup needed.

Then, after finishing dinner prep and with the casserole already in the oven, I set up my decorating station - all the toppings, all the tools I needed and of course, the cake. This was the easy and most satisfying part of the process, seeing it come together. Apart from eating it, of course, it was both delicious and well enjoyed by everyone in the family which always makes my heart sing. A wonderful birthday indeed!

We had a delightful family dinner to celebrate the day, and finished on a sweet note with slices of this cake. Obligatory crumb shot to show the nice and even layers, but also it how moist the layers of cake are throughout. Onto another exciting trip around the sun and many exciting projects to come!

Banana oatmeal blueberry muffins

Jump to recipe

One predictable things about kids is that they're unpredictable. Sounds cliche but many cliches exist for good reason. Case in point, bananas! On weeks when I don't have or buy any, oh boy they'd really love a banana for snack. Sometimes I just grab a couple and they devour them immediately. So naturally, when I buy a whole bundle of bananas, they hardly get touched and actively rejected. 

In the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, I made a whole bunch of things from browning bananas. A recent favorite combination has been bananas and quick oats in baked goods. I paired it down to this one bowl, easy to throw together and delicious recipe that is suitable for many form factors - muffins, donuts, bars. I will walk you through the basic recipe, what mix ins I've tried (and lessons learned, heh) and variations that can elevate this to the next level. 

First step is to mash the bananas - if you can patiently enough for them to be over-ripe (decent amount of brown on the skin, flesh very soft and starting to get mushy at the ends) then that's really the ideal point. They're extra sweet, creamy and very easy to mash down for the recipe. If you prefer less ripe, then any ripeness level where you no longer see green on the outside is ok. Start out with all the bananas in a large bowl - this will be your working bowl and everything will come together right in here. With a firm whisk or fork, mash the bananas until mostly smooth (small chunks ok), then whisk in sugar, egg and vanilla extract until uniform. Add melted butter and stir well. 

Now you can measure all your dry ingredients on top. Remember you want to avoid overmixing so you don't get gummy muffins, so after measuring the flour scatter the leaveners, spices, salt and oats on top so they more readily mix uniformly. It's pretty forgiving, no worries. Mix just until everything is incorporated.

It's time to incorporate the add-ins. For my first go-around I used blueberries, they were beautifully ripe and starting to soften so I didn't want them to go to waste. Simply fold them quickly into the batter until they're distributed pretty well throughout. You can also use frozen blueberries, mix them in frozen so they don't get the mixture overly wet when getting incorporated. They'll bake just as well as fresh.

The texture comes out fluffy but moist, with a bit of chew from the oats and creaminess from the bananas, truly delightful. The kids are eager to eat these by the handful. 

Now let's talk form factor - no treat is complete around here until it becomes a donut. For whatever reason, donuts and waffles are far more exciting to my kids than muffins and pancakes, and first impressions matter. Something I found with donuts is that fruit mixed inside can get stuck in the pan and affects the structural integrity of the baked good enough that it may fall apart when taken out. That happened with my apple cake donuts (especially when I tried using peaches inside) and it happened with these (see blueberry one below). As a result, I recommend sticking with the add ins on top for donuts, they look prettier too and make the treat easier to manage. Side note: rhubarb needs some sweetness, if you pick it as a topping as I did, make sure to sprinkle some sugar/drizzle some honey on top or else it dries out and it crisps up more than ideal. 

To serve, enjoy as is with or without a hot cup of coffee. Or embrace the donut form factor (no worries, works with muffins too) and jazz it up a bit with vanilla yogurt and a drizzle of nut butter on top. To demonstrate the versatility of it, yesterday was National Ice Cream Sandwich day, so I took a muffin from my latest batch with peaches inside, sliced it in half and enjoyed it with a scoop of chunky monkey ice cream, delightful indeed! The possibilities are endless.

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Banana oatmeal blueberry muffins

Makes 10 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 2/3-1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Method:

1. Mash bananas in a bowl with a firm whisk or fork.
2. Add sugar, egg and vanilla and mix well until fairly smooth (a few small lumps of banana are ok). 
3. Stir in melted butter, mix well. 
4. Add dry ingredients, fold until incorporated, don't overmix! Add blueberries, if using frozen don't thaw first so they keep their structure a bit. Scoop in paper lined muffin pan, bake at 375F for 20-22 min until golden on top.

Notes:

• For added flavor, brown the butter when melting it. On medium heat, keeping a watchful eye, leave it on the heat for a bit longer once it's done melting. You're looking for the separated milk solids to turn a golden amber color. As soon as that happens, remove from heat. Let cool slightly before adding to the batter so you don't scramble the eggs.
• You can get creative with your spices! I like to add a pinch of cardamom or alspice to complement the cinnamon. Or leave warm spices out altogether and use a bit of extra vanilla or a splash of rum extract.