Here Today: Creme Brûlée
Like any happy culinary human, I have that cuisine bucket-list. Especially as a New Yorker who likes to cook, in her tiny kitchen space, but doesn't have all the fun cooking toys. Alas, this is the heartbreak for many curious about confections. So, housesitting, last month, I came face-to-face with my dream ramekins and a beautiful, fiery blowtorch. My heart said creme brûlée before my head could tell me otherwise and, thus, we execute the dream.
Ingredients:
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
4 egg yolks from large eggs (keep the egg whites for early morning omelets!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract OR half of a vanilla bean!!
pinch salt, optional and to taste
water (to go beneath the ramekins)
1 to 2 teaspoons superfine sugar per each ramekin, for caramelizing
A little bit of cinnamon
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
2. Fill pan with hot water, enough to cover most of the ramekin.
3. Heat heavy cream on the stove top (be sure to keep stirring- you don't want clotted dairy!)
4. Whisk in sugar and optional pinch of salt
5. When it's warm, add egg whites, carefully. (You don't want scrambled eggs in your creme brûlée!)
6. Put in your vanilla (bean) ---and your optional cinnamon!
7. Strain, if eggier than you'd hoped.
8. Put into ramekins.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes (they should not be browned…do not be alarmed!)
10. Take them out of the oven and the water-bath, cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge to cool (3 hours plus).
11. When ready to enjoy, pour the sugar on top. Ready. Aim. Fire!
And enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
4 egg yolks from large eggs (keep the egg whites for early morning omelets!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract OR half of a vanilla bean!!
pinch salt, optional and to taste
water (to go beneath the ramekins)
1 to 2 teaspoons superfine sugar per each ramekin, for caramelizing
A little bit of cinnamon
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
2. Fill pan with hot water, enough to cover most of the ramekin.
3. Heat heavy cream on the stove top (be sure to keep stirring- you don't want clotted dairy!)
4. Whisk in sugar and optional pinch of salt
5. When it's warm, add egg whites, carefully. (You don't want scrambled eggs in your creme brûlée!)
6. Put in your vanilla (bean) ---and your optional cinnamon!
7. Strain, if eggier than you'd hoped.
8. Put into ramekins.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes (they should not be browned…do not be alarmed!)
10. Take them out of the oven and the water-bath, cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge to cool (3 hours plus).
11. When ready to enjoy, pour the sugar on top. Ready. Aim. Fire!
And enjoy!
Best Bread Pudding, Ever.
I don't really believe food should be modest. Based on the fact that food is nourishment and nourishment is necessary.
This bread pudding, specifically.
Yesterday, this was all I ate. And I don't think I could have been happier.
Ingredients:
1 loaf of a bread you believe in (I suggest the Cinnamon Roll bread from Trader Joe's...because it's perfect)
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 c. butter
3 c. milk (I use 1 1/2 c. buttermilk and 1 1/2 c. skim milk but it's bread pudding. It works with any/all milks of your choosing)
A little bit of cinnamon
This bread pudding, specifically.
Yesterday, this was all I ate. And I don't think I could have been happier.
Ingredients:
1 loaf of a bread you believe in (I suggest the Cinnamon Roll bread from Trader Joe's...because it's perfect)
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 c. butter
3 c. milk (I use 1 1/2 c. buttermilk and 1 1/2 c. skim milk but it's bread pudding. It works with any/all milks of your choosing)
A little bit of cinnamon
German Chocolate Cookies
When I first wanted to do German Chocolate, I thought cake. The Boy hates coconut but doesn't hate German Chocolate Cake (go figure!) so I was excited about making something crazy-nutty (that's what coconut means, right?) for us both to enjoy. But when I asked my sister what she thought about German Chocolate Cake, she told me it was overdone and left it at that. She may have been right but I was more or less determined to make that same sort of creamy-coconutty frosting. With chocolate. It's always all about chocolate.
So I made German Chocolate Cookies, instead (right??!! Baking loopholes)!
Ingredients:
COOKIE: 2 sticks of butter, softened (or the equivalent in apple sauce)
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Vanilla
A Little Bit of Cinnamon
STEPS: 1. Mix together wet ingredients
2. Add sugar and other dry ingredients, until mixed and kinda syrupy.
3. Take bread (best if frozen) and cut it into chunks.
4. Combine bread and mixture, until the bread is saturated.
5. Cover and let sit overnight.
6. Bake at 350 degrees, for 15 minutes, or so, until the bread begins to brown. Cover with aluminum foil. Let cook 10 minutes longer. Let it sit.
7. Enjoy!
FROSTING: 1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut (or more, depending on your choice of consistency)
1 cup chopped pecans
Vanilla
Little bit of cinnamon (optional)
Sausage & Kale Lasagna
We had Italian night! The Boy made Chicken Parm (while serenading both me-and his sauce- with "That's Amore!"). I made an unreal Reeses Peanut Butter Cheesecake (with an Oreo crust) that will be on the blog soon! But this lasagna was probably the greatest pasta-creation I've ever made. No cinnamon---but it was certainly filled with the spice of life!
Ingredients:
1 red onion
Unlimited garlic cloves (or, you know, like three?)
2 TBSP olive oil
A package of jalapeno chicken sausage (I used Trader Joe's...but there are other options)
A healthy amount of kale (add more, if you plan on nibbling. As you should)
1/2 cup red wine
3 sprigs thyme leaves
12 oz jar pasta sauce (or Trader Joe's Bruschetta sauce, if you don't like tomatoes that run)
1 box Lasagna Noodles
1 cup fresh ricotta
2 oz parmesan
Ingredients:
1 red onion
Unlimited garlic cloves (or, you know, like three?)
2 TBSP olive oil
A package of jalapeno chicken sausage (I used Trader Joe's...but there are other options)
A healthy amount of kale (add more, if you plan on nibbling. As you should)
1/2 cup red wine
3 sprigs thyme leaves
12 oz jar pasta sauce (or Trader Joe's Bruschetta sauce, if you don't like tomatoes that run)
1 box Lasagna Noodles
1 cup fresh ricotta
2 oz parmesan
Now, I love NYC but nothing compares to this Florida kitchen. My impromptu summer visit home is chock full of doctor's visits (which means many scales) but in an effort to balance the shots with the sweet, I'm throwing caution the the Weight-Watchers-Wind and baking everything I can get away with!
The way I see it, I'm spending the majority of my summer RAing in a dorm that won't be so cooking friendly: This is my chance!! To be fair though, the boyfriend and his roommate put up with my baking frenzies, too. They're my kitchen angels, though- especially when they cook with me!
But- where to begin?
I decided to keep it simple for my first blog-post and took inventory of what was hiding in the pantry. All the essentials! Just the thing for:
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES!
The way I see it, I'm spending the majority of my summer RAing in a dorm that won't be so cooking friendly: This is my chance!! To be fair though, the boyfriend and his roommate put up with my baking frenzies, too. They're my kitchen angels, though- especially when they cook with me!
But- where to begin?
I decided to keep it simple for my first blog-post and took inventory of what was hiding in the pantry. All the essentials! Just the thing for:
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES!
This three-step cupcake/cookie combo creation is delightful and a perfect lesson in patience (a virtue that is often times ignored)!
The Cupcake: Simple. Chocolate. Perfection.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup apple sauce (or, I mean, you could use canola oil. Or a stick of butter. You know, your life-your arteries)
1 egg
Vanilla Extract 'til your heart's content!
3/4 cup hot water
Little bit of cinnamon (optional)
The Cupcake: Simple. Chocolate. Perfection.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup apple sauce (or, I mean, you could use canola oil. Or a stick of butter. You know, your life-your arteries)
1 egg
Vanilla Extract 'til your heart's content!
3/4 cup hot water
Little bit of cinnamon (optional)
The Cookie Dough: This is an amended recipe for the cupcake recipe. It is also the trickiest part for the kind of girl who just-so-happens to frost cakes before they're cooled on a regular basis (which, you know, you shouldn't do for obvious reasons). The longer the cookie dough freezes for, the more it remains dough-like, after it has been baked. If you're overzealous, your cookie dough cupcakes will quickly morph into chocolate chip cookie cupcakes. These, too, are delicious.
No harm no foul.
But, yes, the recipe:
3/4 cup flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs milk
1/2 cup mini-jumbo chocolate chips. The ratio is your call. No judgement, in the baking world.
1/2 stick(cup) butter
Little bit of cinnamon (optional)
No harm no foul.
But, yes, the recipe:
3/4 cup flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs milk
1/2 cup mini-jumbo chocolate chips. The ratio is your call. No judgement, in the baking world.
1/2 stick(cup) butter
Little bit of cinnamon (optional)
LET'S TALK TEXTURE: This is important! To the health-conscious baker, the difference between apple sauce, canola oil, butter (and avocado) is- simply- texture. If you replace the butter with apple sauce (or avocado) the texture will be spongier. Kinda like chocolate chip pancakes. That's a fun garnish but it goes unnoticed in the center of a chocolate cupcake. You want that textural difference. You need butter. Unsalted. Doughy.
I repeat: Be patient with your freezer.
Then the cupcakes will bake. Depending on your batter-to-mouth ratio, this should make approximately twelve perfect cupcakes.
Once they've cooled, make the frosting.
I find this to be the best solution to the melted-frosting-predicament.
The frosting is easy. For these cupcakes, I used a simple vanilla buttercream.
The Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup butter
3 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tsp milk (for consistency. Add more as you see fit)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp (or liberal showering) or vanilla
I repeat: Be patient with your freezer.
Then the cupcakes will bake. Depending on your batter-to-mouth ratio, this should make approximately twelve perfect cupcakes.
Once they've cooled, make the frosting.
I find this to be the best solution to the melted-frosting-predicament.
The frosting is easy. For these cupcakes, I used a simple vanilla buttercream.
The Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup butter
3 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tsp milk (for consistency. Add more as you see fit)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp (or liberal showering) or vanilla
If you're like me, the DIY tickles your fancy. And you may not own fancy piping equipment.
I call this the Ziplock Baggie Approach: (1 part 'fance' 2 parts convenience)
Step One: Grab a spatula and fill your bag with frosting.
Step Two: Zip the bag and situate all the frosting in one of the bottom corners of the bag.
Step Three: Snip the corner (thickness dependent on drastic snipping)
Step Four: Squeeze liberally in a circular motion, like they do on Cupcake Wars
I call this the Ziplock Baggie Approach: (1 part 'fance' 2 parts convenience)
Step One: Grab a spatula and fill your bag with frosting.
Step Two: Zip the bag and situate all the frosting in one of the bottom corners of the bag.
Step Three: Snip the corner (thickness dependent on drastic snipping)
Step Four: Squeeze liberally in a circular motion, like they do on Cupcake Wars
Ta-da!
Enjoy your cupcakes! Make them for your friends!
Don't forget to add a little bit of cinnamon
xo
