Heart Linzer Cookies

In honor of Valentine's Day I made some Heart Linzer Cookies.  Crisp shortbread sandwiched with tart raspberry jam and showered in powdered sugar is never a bad thing in my opinion.  I used this recipe from Preppy Kitchen which includes almond flour in the dough.  These beauties will be included in a Valentine's Day cookie box that I'm planning to assemble.  Stay tuned!

 

Raspberry-Filled Viennois

 

Here's another recipe to add to your holiday cookie arsenal, Raspberry Filled Viennois.  The cookie recipe comes from pastry chef extraordinaire Pierre Hermé so you know it's absolutely fantastic.  Last year he published the recipe on his Instagram account and I saved it straight away.  I shaped my cookies into stars and embellished them further by adding a dollop of raspberry jam in the center. 

The main tip I would offer when making these cookies is to ensure the dough is really soft.  You'll pipe the dough by hand using a decorating bag and tip so you want it to be as pliable as possible.  Otherwise your hand will be aching, trust me on that!

These viennois are utterly delicious - so buttery, with a tender crumb and a burst of fruit in the center.   Everyone I know loves them.  Make them as a gift and your recipient will be forever thankful.

Choux au Craquelin with Pistachio Crème Mousseline and Raspberry Jam

 

Towards the end of last year I decided to make homemade pistachio paste using this recipe from Stella Parks.  Being ambitious I thought it was a good idea to double the recipe so that I would have plenty of paste to last me for a while.  Little did I know that doing this would test the limits of my poor food processor.  It definitely wasn't a good sign when the motor started smoking...ha!  Fortunately, after a long rest the food processor recovered and I didn't have to replace it. Phew!  Perhaps it was that trauma that made me procrastinate in using the pistachio paste.  Several months passed and I finally found a use for it.

Pistachio is one of my favorite nut flavors and I thought it would be delicious in a pastry cream.  I found a recipe for Choux au Craquelin with Pistachio Crème Mousseline and Raspberry Jam from the blog Ana's Baking Chronicles.  Her pictures of the pastries were so stunning that I was immediately enticed to make them myself.  

You'll notice the crackly crust on top of the cream puffs.  This is called craquelin which is a dough made of butter, sugar, flour and salt (and a little food coloring, if you want).  It's rolled out thin, then frozen and cut into discs using a small round cutter.  The craquelin is placed on top of the pâte à choux just before baking.  When baked it turns into a crackly shell on top of the baked puff.

 

One of the issues I've found with cream puffs is the pastry cream filling tends to run and not hold it's shape, especially when you try to cut into it.  What I especially liked about Ana's recipe is that she fills her choux with pastry cream whipped with butter, also known as crème mousseline or German buttercream.  The result was a filling bursting with pistachio flavor that also held up to piping and cutting.  A layer of homemade raspberry jam at the bottom of the choux serves as a nice contrast to the nutty filling.  One bite of this decadent pastry and you'll be transported back to France!

Valentine's Day Yeasted Doughnuts

   

Last month's baking hiatus motivated me to get back into the kitchen even more than before.  Here's another Valentine's Day themed treat for you that will surely win the hearts and stomachs of your loved ones.  These Yeasted Doughnuts from Cook's Illustrated are hands down the BEST ever.   

When I first saw the recipe published in the May/June 2020 issue of their magazine I ordered a deep fat fryer straight away specifically to make the doughnuts.  Chalk it up to the corona crazies because I normally tend to avoid frying at home at all costs, but let me tell you, these doughnuts are more than worth it.

 

 

How cute are the heart shapes for Valentine's Day?  I rolled some of the doughnuts in a raspberry sugar (sugar + crushed, freeze dried raspberries) and filled them with my homemade raspberry jam. Others I dipped in a chocolate glaze and decorated with sprinkles.   I recommend trying to cut out as many doughnuts as you can from the first roll of the dough.  I've found that re-kneading the remaining scraps and re-cutting yields tougher doughnuts.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yeasted Doughnuts

Doughnuts

4 1/2 cups (22 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying

Chocolate Frosting

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup water

2 cups (8 oz) powdered sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of table salt 

For Jam-Filled Doughnuts

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup freeze dried raspberries, crushed

1 1/2 cup raspberry jam

FOR THE DOUGHNUTS: Stir flour, sugar, and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Add milk and egg and mix with rubber spatula until all ingredients are moistened. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and mix on medium-low speed until cohesive mass forms, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl if necessary. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.

Add salt and mix on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 5 to 7 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to mix until butter is fully incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, 7 to 13 minutes longer, scraping down bowl halfway through mixing. Transfer dough to lightly greased large bowl, flip dough, and form into ball. Cover bowl with plastic. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer to refrigerator and chill overnight (or up to 48 hours).

 

Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions. Place loaf pan on lower rack. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease parchment. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Press into 8-inch square of even thickness, expelling as much air as possible. Roll dough into 10 by 13-inch rectangle, about ½ inch thick. Using 3-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut 12 rounds. Using 1-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut hole out of center of each round. Transfer doughnuts and holes to prepared sheet. (If desired, use 1-inch cutter to cut small rounds from remaining dough. Transfer to sheet with doughnuts.) Bring kettle or small saucepan of water to boil.

 

Pour 1 cup boiling water into loaf pan. Place sheet on upper rack, uncovered. Close oven and allow doughnuts to rise until dough increases in height by 50 percent and springs back very slowly when pressed with your knuckle, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

 

About 20 minutes before end of rising time, add oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about 1½ inches deep and heat over medium-low heat to 360 degrees. Set wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet and line with triple layer of paper towels. Using both your hands, gently place 4 risen doughnuts in oil. Cook until golden brown on undersides, 1 to 1½ minutes, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 350 and 365 degrees. Using spider skimmer, flip doughnuts and cook until second sides are browned, 1 to 1½ minutes. Transfer doughnuts to prepared rack. Return oil to 360 degrees and repeat with remaining doughnuts. For doughnut holes, transfer all to oil and stir gently and constantly until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to prepared rack to cool. Let doughnuts cool completely, about 20 minutes.

 

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FROSTING: While doughnuts cool, microwave chocolate and water in medium bowl at 50 percent power until chocolate is melted, about 30 seconds. Whisk in sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth and fluid. Let cool slightly.

 

Set clean wire rack in now-empty sheet. Dip top half of 1 cooled doughnut into frosting until evenly coated, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Invert doughnut and place on wire rack. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. Let doughnuts stand until frosting is dry to touch, 15 to 30 minutes, before serving.

 

FOR THE RASPBERRY JAM FILLED: Mix sugar and freeze dried raspberries in small bowl. Spoon jam into pastry bag or zipper-lock bag fitted with ¼-inch round pastry tip.

 

Working with 1 doughnut at a time, coat all sides of doughnut in sugar and return to rack. Insert paring knife through side of 1 doughnut until tip almost reaches opposite edge. Swing knife through doughnut, creating large pocket. Repeat with remaining doughnuts. Stand doughnuts slit side up in 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

 

To fill doughnuts, insert pastry tip ¾ inch into opening and squeeze gently until jam just starts to appear around opening, about 2 tablespoons jam per doughnut. Let doughnuts stand in pan for 10 minutes to allow jam to settle. Serve.

 

Raspberry Jam Shortbread Hearts

 

January came and went in a flash without much baking on my part.  To be honest I was a bit burnt out from all the holiday baking I'd done and on top of that work was keeping me busy, but now I'm back and raring to go.   First up are these super tasty and cute Raspberry Jam Shortbread Hearts which are perfect for Valentine's Day.  The crispy, buttery shortbreads are filled with my homemade, tart raspberry jam and are utterly delicious.  They actually remind me of the British "Jammie Dodgers" biscuit.  

I used a heart shaped thumbprint cookie stamp I bought from Williams-Sonoma a few years ago.  The set also comes with a rectangle and circle shape and cuts and shapes the cookie dough perfectly.  You get professional looking results with little to no effort!

For the shortbread dough I tweaked my favorite clotted cream shortbread recipe.  Since I didn't have any fresh clotted cream I just replaced that amount in the recipe with the same amount of butter.  The dough is super forgiving and you can't really mess it up.  My main tip is to roll the dough to at least 1/4-inch thickness; any thinner and it will be harder to get the nice embossed design on the cookie. 

Gift these cookies to your loved ones for the tastiest Valentine. 

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Freeze-Dried Berry No-Bake Cheesecake

 

I love the idea of no-bake desserts especially when it's hot outside because the last thing I want to do is turn on an oven.  When I saw this post on Serious Eats for a no-bake cheesecake that used freeze-dried fruit I was definitely intrigued.  I've made an icebox cheesecake before but I liked this recipe from Stella Parks because it used the freeze-dried fruits to infuse a fruity flavor, but sans the additional moisture that fresh fruit would bring. 

 

 

Luckily I had a bag of freeze-dried raspberries from Trader Joe's sitting in my pantry along with the other cheesecake ingredients to make half the recipe.  The recipe scaled down easily to fit a 9x5" loaf pan.  Since I'm trying to limit the number of trips I make to the grocery store it's always a plus when I have everything on hand.   

 

 

I had a taste of the filling as I was making the cheesecake and the intense raspberry flavor from the freeze-dried fruit was incredible.  It was literally a berry explosion.  Is it strange that it reminded me of fruit-flavored Starburst candies?  As a self-professed lover of the color pink this cheesecake also appealed to me aesthetically.  I could easily picture this dessert gracing the table at a baby shower or birthday party.  

Triple Berry Brita Cake

Rarely does a dessert exceed my expectations but I have to admit that this Triple Berry Brita Cake had me smitten at first bite.  I initially spotted this cake on Jenn Yee's Instagram and was immediately obsessed with the combination of cake and pavlova.   The recipe for this beauty comes from Susan Spungen's Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings and can be found online here.

Apparently brita cake has Nordic origins but in all the years I've visited Norway I don't think I've ever tasted it.  I can't believe what I was missing!  Pavlovas are one of my favorite summertime desserts so how excited was I find discover a dessert that added cake to the mix?  

This cake is so good that I actually made it twice in two days.  The first cake I brought along to a 4th of July BBQ and the second cake was to photograph for the blog, but I only made half the recipe which fit a loaf pan perfectly.  

I strayed slightly from the original recipe when it came to the cream toppings  I didn't have any creme fraiche so I increased the amount of heavy cream to a total of 2 cups and added some vanilje-sukker (vanilla sugar) that I picked up on previous trips to Norway.

 

The combination of moist, yellow cake and crispy meringue topped with fresh vanilla whipped cream and strawberries, blueberries and raspberries is absolutely amazing.  It's pure symphony I tell you!  It couldn't be easier to make so I highly encourage you to make this fruity dessert to really showcase summer's best berries.

Raspberry Meringue

If you've ever been to Yotam Ottolenghi's eponymous restaurants in London then these Raspberry  Meringues will be no stranger to you.  You can't help but notice how the pink, billowy clouds of goodness stand out among all the other baked goods on display.  I distinctly remember being mesmerized by them the first time I visited the Westbourne Grove location many years ago.  Back then I never even bothered trying the meringues; call it a temporary lapse in judgement.  Now, years later, I'd finally gotten around to making a copycat version for myself and I was so pleased with the results.    

It all came about because I was in search of a dessert that was elegant, light and refreshing for a dinner I recently hosted. I had a ton of egg whites sitting in my fridge just waiting to be used and pavlovas immediately popped in to my head.  The meringue dessert topped with fresh whipped cream and berries sounded like just the ticket.

I turned to my friends at Cook's Illustrated and found their recipe for pavlovas.  As I was whipping up the Swiss meringue an image of Ottolenghi's fruity meringues popped in to my head.  Fortuitously I also had a bag of Trader Joe's freeze dried raspberries in my cupboard.   Bingo!  Combine the two and you get a very legitimate replica to the original.

Triple Berry Cake

Full disclosure: I totally and completely copied the idea for this Triple Berry Cake from Sweet Lady Jane Bakery in Southern California.  I'd seen this particular  layer cake countless times in magazines and the internet because it seemed to be the birthday cake of choice by the likes of Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid.  Celebrities aside, I was mainly drawn to the cake for its aesthetics.  I just love the beautiful fruit flowers and leaves set against the whipped cream background.  Absolutely gorgeous!

I did a google search and found a few YouTube videos that showed how the cake is made. What I especially loved was that it wasn't too sweet since the frosting was whipped cream.  Unfortunately Sweet Lady Jane's hasn't disclosed the cake recipe but if you break it down to its components it didn't seem that difficult: yellow cake, whipped cream and lots of fresh berries (strawberries, blackberries and raspberries).

Here's what I made my cake with:

Classic Yellow Cake from Stella Parks

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream from Cook's Illustrated  

Tips for next time: 

1. Make at least 6 cups of sweetened whipped cream (using about 3 cups heavy cream) because I ran out at the end, thus the "naked" look on the sides of my cake.
2. When applying the fresh berries between each cake layer fill the entire surface with tightly packed fruit!  I left gaps and when you cut in to the cake you have gaps...not pretty.

Raspberry Hamantaschen

Purim is coming soon so it was the perfect excuse to make Raspberry Hamantaschen, one of my favorite cookies.  I love this shortbread cookie filled with the sweet and tart jam.  I used Sarabeth Levine's recipe for mandelbrot for the cookie and homemade raspberry jam for the filling but you can use store bought. 

Shaping the cookies in to the traditional triangles couldn't be simpler.  I cut circles out of the dough using a 3-inch cutter and filled each with one teaspoon of the jam.  Then just pinched three sides together to form the triangle shape.  Happy Purim!

Danish Pastries

My friend Julia and I attended a class recently at Baking Arts in San Mateo to learn how to make Danish Pastries.  I'm no stranger to laminated dough, having made croissants, puff pastry and kouign amman before, but never have I made Danish which is made from an enriched dough with eggs.   I was happy to learn something new!

Prior to class the instructor had pre-made and shaped a batch of the dough so that we could see what it would look like before going in to the oven.  Then he showed us how to finish off the baked pastries by brushing on sugar syrup and then piping a flourish of icing.  During the class we students made the dough from scratch and laminated it with a block of cold butter.  We then took the thrice-turned dough home to finish off later.

Because I was anxious to see how my Danish would turn out I woke up really early this morning to finish the recipe.  This dough is super easy to roll out which makes it nice to handle when it's time to cut your shapes.  I made a few pinwheels and with the rest of the dough turned them in to snails.

The key with Danish is that the finished pastry is brushed with a sugar syrup that gives them that beautiful shine and gloss.  Now I was definitely skeptical when the instructor repeatedly told us to be really generous when brushing on the syrup.  I assumed it would make the finished pastry too sweet, but I was wrong.  Even with a double coating of the syrup the Danish was just right.  I'll undoubtedly be making this recipe again...next time I think I'll try a savory version. 

Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake

You know those pound cake slices they sell at Starbucks?  You've seen them, right along side the croissants and scones?  Well, this is my attempt at replicating one of them.  Specifically the raspberry swirl pound cake with cream cheese icing.

I love any kind of marbled cake so when I initially saw a pound cake recipe posted on Gretchen's Bakery I knew I had to make it.  But in homage to Starbucks I swapped out the chocolate for raspberry.  To do this was super simple; just mix in raspberry jam to half of the cake batter.   To gild the lily even further I frosted the baked and cooled pound cake with cream cheese icing.  

While the cake is tender and moist, I found the raspberry flavor was a bit too subtle.  Next time I'm going to ribbon some raspberry jam in the cake batter so you get a burst of fruity flavor.  A slice (or two) of this cake with some coffee or tea and you're all set!

Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake (adapted from Gretchen's Bakery)

10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup (170 grams) cake flour

5 teaspoons (20 grams) cornstarch

1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) salt

1/4 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a standard loaf pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy approximately 5 minutes. 

Combine the eggs and vanilla extract together and sift together the flour, salt, baking powder & cornstarch~ reserve.

Add ⅓ of the egg mixture to the creaming mixture and blend well.

Add ⅓ of the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and blend well.

Repeat this process with the remaining egg and flour in 3 total additions until all is blended in well.

Scoop about half of the cake batter in a separate bowl.  Add in raspberry jam and whisk to combine thoroughly.

Spoon the cake batter in to the pan, alternating the vanilla batter and raspberry batter.  Use a wooden skewer or butter knife to swirl the batter.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.   Turn cake out of pan and let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Icing (from Giada de Laurentiis)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3 tablespoons water, plus extra as needed 

In a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, cream cheese, 3 tablespoons water, and vanilla. Process until smooth, adding more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing is pourable.

Spoon the icing over the cake and allow to set for 20 minutes before slicing.

 

Mandelbrot

I'm a fan of anything that isn't too sweet and these yummy Mandelbrot fit the bill.  These Jewish cookies are the perfect snack and a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea.  If you haven't heard of mandelbrot before they are very similar to Italian biscotti, except they're less likely to break your teeth!  

I found the recipe for these cookies on the blog, Goddess of Bakedom, from Sarabeth Levine.  She of her namesake jams, preserves and East Coast restaurants.   The literal translation of mandelbrot is "almond bread", but Sarabeth's version doesn't contain any nuts at all.   Rather, she fills her cookies with jam, which I think is a fantastic interpretation.  The dough can also be used to make another favorite Jewish cookie of mine, hamantaschen.  

I think my sugar-fearing relatives will definitely like these cookies.  They're going to be added to the list of holiday cookies I'm making this year.

Raspberry Charlotte

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, hesitate to make this Raspberry Charlotte for your loved ones this Valentine's Day.  I cannot begin to tell you how absolutely amazing it tastes and how straight forward the recipe is.  Can you tell how I'm excited I am about it???  It literally took me less than three hours to make, yet the finished cake looks like it came from a posh European tea salon.  Everyone will be impressed! 

Whenever the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine is published online I immediately look to see if there's a dessert or baked good.   Ecstatic doesn't even begin to describe my reaction when I saw the recipe for this raspberry charlotte.  I've made charlottes before, but the kind using store bought lady fingers and some type of mousse.  This recipe blows all of those out of the water!  

Even for a novice the instructions are very easy to follow.  My advice for the best success is to read the recipe several times beforehand and have your equipment and mise en place ready to go.   After that it's smooth sailing.

The only diversion I made from the original recipe was in decorating the finished cake.  Instead of swirling the raspberry jam in a marble pattern on top, in honor of Valentine's Day I made little hearts.  Give this recipe a try...you won't regret it one bit.

Cream Cheese Butter Cake with Raspberry Buttercream

Recently I received "The Baking Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum as a birthday gift from my sister and I tell you I couldn't wait to dig in.  I already own one of her other famous tomes, "The Cake Bible" and I knew her latest publication would be equally fantastic.  

The first recipe that caught my attention was for Cream Cheese Butter Cake.  The accompanying photo in the book looked so simple and inviting - a small square piece of white cake frosted with lemon curd buttercream.   No one does a white cake better than Rose.  She uses a reverse creaming method which produces a fine, moist and tender crumb that tastes surprisingly light. 

Unfortunately I didn't have much success with the lemon curd buttercream included in the recipe.  It didn't quite set up to the firm texture that I was hoping for.  Probably because I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have when I was making the recipe.  Oh well, I'll definitely need to revisit it another time.  But luckily I had some leftover vanilla buttercream that I embellished with fresh raspberry puree to frost the cake with.    All it needed was a fresh raspberry on top and I had the perfect snack cake.

Summer Berry Chiffon Cake

This Summer Berry Chiffon Cake instantly called out to me when I saw it in the June/July 2014 issue of Cook's Country, almost as if I was being taunted to make it.  Hahaha...obviously it worked.  Now that we're at the tail end of spring and on the cusp of summer this cake is perfectly apropos to make, especially with all the bountiful berries at the farmer's market.  

What sets this apart from other cakes is the easy to make, homemade jam filling that is spread between the layers of chiffon cake and cream.    The jam gives you an intensive burst of berry goodness which perfectly complements the refreshing whipped cream.   Delicious!  

I dedicate this cake to all the moms in my life - Happy Mother's Day!!!

Split-Second Cookies

You've probably seen these treats before on a Christmas cookie platter.  I never knew what they were called until recently when I found a recipe online.  Good thing too because they've become a new favorite!

If you're a fan of jam thumbprints then you'll definitely love split-seconds.  In fact, you may even like them better because they are so simple to make.  

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

If you're not familiar with them, pavlovas are a renowned dessert from New Zealand and Australia named in honor of a celebrated Russian ballerina.  Amongst all of the numerous cakes and treats  served at PG's 70th birthday bash this summer it was the Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova that was devoured first.   The combination of crispy, crunchy chocolate meringue topped with billowy whipped cream and fresh raspberries proved irresistible for the guests.   Ironically enough, the maker of said dessert (otherwise known as me) didn't have a chance to taste it for herself. 

Can you guess what I wanted to make as soon as I got home?  Yep, you got it!  With my first bite of its lusciousness I was in heaven.   Now I see what all the fuss was about.  I'll definitely be making it again!

Special tusen takk to Anne Marie for introducing me to this recipe.

Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake

I've made cheesecake before but felt compelled to make this particular one for purely superficial reasons.  I just loved how it looked in the picture.  The recipe comes from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook.  The red raspberries were such a beautiful complement to the verdantly green pistachios.  Plus, pistachios are one of favorite nuts so that pretty much sealed the deal. 

Most cheesecakes are baked in a removable bottom pan - not this one.  Instead you use a regular cake pan so no need for aluminum foil and possibly leakage.  I admit I was a bit skeptical about how "easy" the baked cake would release from the pan but I followed the instructions and didn't have any issues.  Thank goodness!  

I want to wish one of my dearest friends (and mother to my goddaughter) a very Happy Birthday!  Gratulerer med dagen Gullet!!!