Goose Feet Cookies

 

Baking has always been a place of solace and comfort for me. I often joke that it's cheaper than seeing a therapist, but it's really true!  During those times where I need to find a sense of calm and peace baking is what I inevitably end up doing.  Dorie Greenspan recently posted a recipe for Goose Feet Cookies, a cookie with Russian-Ukranian origins.  Given the tragedy that's currently unfolding in Eastern Europe right now I felt especially compelled to make these.    

 

 

I'd never heard of goose feet cookies before but I'm so glad I know of them now because they are incredibly delicious.  Even better, they are the simplest cookies to make by hand.   The one ingredient that you may have to do some searching for is farmer's cheese, a fresh curd cheese.  Luckily I live close to a Russian market and had no trouble procuring some, but if it's not so easy for you try using drained cottage cheese.

The dough reminded me of pie crust and was very easy to work with.  To get the super flaky, buttery and crispy layers I highly recommend rolling out the dough as thinly as possible, and I mean VERY thin!  The only sugar in the cookie is what is used to coat the dough rounds.  

I'm not joking when I say I easily polished off a dozen of the cookies in one sitting.   They are so moreish that you can't stop yourself from eating just one or two.  

Cupcake Bouquet

Just in time for Valentine's Day, something sweet and unpredictable.  Why not forgo the usual gift of flowers and make your Valentine a bouquet made of beautiful cupcakes instead?   Seriously, these tasty treats may look complicated but they couldn't be easier to make.  All you need are Russian decorating tips and you'll be turning out professional looking decorated cupcakes in no time. 

For these cupcakes I used my new favorite cake and buttercream recipe from Bravetart's latest cookbook.  The white cake is so moist and velvety with a melt-in-your-mouth crumb and her marshmallow buttercream is a game changer.  Even better, the buttercream pipes like a dream with these decorating tips. 

Russian Honey Cake

 

When you mention 20th Century Cafe here in San Francisco the first thing that comes to mind is Russian Honey Cake.  It's one of their signature desserts and is so visually stunning and amazingly delicious.  Layer upon layer of cake (they taste like speculoos cookies) filled with a burnt honey and caramel whipped cream.   Absolute heaven I tell you.  I had my first taste in 2016 and was always curious about how it was made.  

Alas, I was never able to find a good recipe to replicate at home so I never attempted to make one, until now!  Recently the cafe's owner, Michelle Polzine, was kind enough to finally reveal her masterpiece.   And to the New York Times no less!

Granted, the instructions to make the cake are very LONG, but don't be deterred.  Admittedly the process is time consuming but all that effort will be worth it, I promise.   I was crazy enough to make my cake in one evening after coming home from work.  Not something I would recommend for the novice baker.  Start to finish I estimate it took me about 4 hours, with a little down time in between.  Next time I'll make this on the weekend to give myself a cushion.

One bite of the cake and I was immediately taken back to 20th Century Cafe.  It seriously is an amazing copycat that you should try for yourself. 

Russian Decorating Tips

Calling all bakers who are intimidated by cake decorating:  this ones for you!

I only recently heard about Russian decorating tips and I have to say I'm a complete convert.   You can easily get professional looking results with very little effort.  Sign me up!  Many, many years ago I took a cake decorating class at my local baking supply store.  While the class was great and I learned a lot about making buttercream flowers, I have to say these Russian decorating tips are a total game changer.   

Instead of making individual petals to form the flowers, these decorating tips make the entire flower in one go.  Genius!  Based on a recommendation, I bought this set from Amazon and they are fantastic.  Admittedly I had to practice quite a bit to get satisfactory results (granted I am a perfectionist), but they really are easy to use. 

   

Take your cakes to the next level and invest in these Russian decorating tips.  For a nominal price the ROI is phenomenal (that's my Finance background talking!).