yes, I'm celebrating

Today most desserts are much smaller,

But my entry needs to be baller,

I know what I'll bake!

A big Malt Ball Cake!

And I'll win because mine is much taller.

Yes, what you see there is my rather sorry attempt at a competitive limerick.  What's a competitive limerick you might ask?  Well, long story short, it's what you write when you've challenged a room full of friends to a cooking/limerick writing competition.  The rules are simple:  submit any dish you please for judgment alongside a limerick which includes the name of the dish.  All limerick-less entries will be disqualified.  Er, would you be surprised if I told you I won a poetry contest when I was in 2nd grade?

If you've never hosted a Competitive-Cooking-and-Limerick-Writing-themed holiday party, I suggest that you consider it.  This past Sunday, my buddy Hillary and I threw a soiree in my rather small Wicker Park apartment, and holy heck did we have a good time.  There were people from all over our chaotic lives: culinary students, medical students, boyfriends, wives, toddlers, former roommates, and friends of friends of friends.  And each brought a dish/limerick to share with all (and to compete for the super secret prize that was awarded at the end of the night). 

The competition was as stiff as well-beaten egg whites.  Gustavo brought chewy Brazilian birthday confections, while Tony assembled bite-sized Thai chicken curry cups.  Will unwrapped an entire smoked leg of lamb, and David baked off a swiss cheese, caramelized onion and fig pizza.  But I thought I would share the two winning entries with you since they were just so gosh darned tasty.  In first place came Hillary herself, with a Sweet Corn Spoonbread Topped with Spicy Carne Asada, and in second place came my darling man-slice with Chocolate Peanut Butter Malt Shooters.  I'd say at least 95% of us finished the evening with quite a belly ache.

And then there was my entry.  I chose to make a three layered Malt Ball Cake because I was celebrating.  Yes, celebrating.  Celebrating the fact that my dear friend Kylie is engaged to the love of her life.  Celebrating the fact that I only have 10 days left of work at my old job before starting off on my next professional adventure.  Celebrating the fact that I got a stage at my all-time favorite bakery.  Celebrating the fact that I finally finished a draft of that manuscript for the cookbook I'm ghost-writing (did I tell you I was hired to ghost write a cook book?).  Celebrating the fact that I was surrounded by a group of fascinating, wonderful people, eating delicious food, and brimming with excitement about the upcoming changes in my life.

Sorry to get all gushy on you.  I just feel like there's so much to celebrate.  Won't you have a slice and celebrate with me?

Malt Ball Cake

Recipe adapted from the cookbook Baked

Cake

2.25 cups cake flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1T baking powder

1t baking soda

3/4t salt

1/4t fresh nutmeg

1 cup malted milk powder

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable shortening at room tempurature

2 cups sugar

1 T vanilla

2 cups ice cold water

4 large egg whites at room tempurature

frosting

8oz bittersweet chocolate

8 oz milk

1.5 cups heavy cream

2T light corn syrup

3 sticks butter, soft but cool cut into 1 in pieces

malt balls for decorating

Cake

1.       Preheat oven to 325F.  Butter three 8 in round cake pans.  Line each with parchment paper circle and butter the parchment.  Dust everything with flour and knock out excess

2.       Sift flours and other dry ingredients.  Whisk in malt powder.

3.       In mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat butter and shortening on medium until creamy, 3-4 min.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat on medium until fluffy, about 3 min.

4.       Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture alternating with the ice water in three additions beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Scrape down the bowl and mix on low speed for a few more seconds.

5.       In medium bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gently fold into the batter.  Divide batter among the prepared pans and smooth tops.  Bake for 40-50 min. until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Transfer cakes to wire rank and let cool for 20 min.  Invert cakes onto rack, remove pans and let cool completely.  Remove parchment.  If you want to make your cakes ahead of time, this is when you would wrap each cake well in plastic and freeze.

Frosting

1.       Chop both chocolates finely, put in mixer bowl.

2.       Bring cream and corn syrup to a boil, then pour directly over chocolate.  Let stand for 3 min, and whisk cream in.  Let mixture rest until it returns to room temperature

3.       In mixer bowl with whisk on medium speed, gradually add butter pieces and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Frosting should be completely smooth and silky.

4.       Refrigerate frosting until it is thick enough not to be drippy.

Assembly

1.       Layer each cake on top of one another with just under 1 cup of frosting spread between each layer.

2.       Coat outside of cake in a thin layer of frosting.  Chill cake until frosting is slightly set, and frost again with remaining frosting.  Garnish with malt balls.

-Adriana

tastes of the season

You already know that I made it past Halloween without my double-stuffed, neon orange Oreos. I'm now here to report that I bypassed Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or even those little Italian cookies (a Brooklyn favorite) that decorate the after-dinner table each year. I survived Thanksgiving, sugar-free. (Well, almost. I found out later that the mashed turnips had a bit of sugar in them. Live and learn.)

My Thanksgiving this year consisted of apple cider, kissed with the tartness of pomegranate juice and a splash of fizzy water. A two-year old's sniffles when she couldn't find her Christmas tree figurine ("Where my Christmas tree?"). A surprisingly moist and flavorful slice of turkey breast, accompanied by a silken puree of mashed potato. Trying to stay out of the way as eleven other people maneuvered their way into seats around the expanded dining room table. Falling to sleep in a quiet home tucked within New York City, totally content.

I need to tell you that Thanksgiving without sugar blew other Thanksgivings out of the water. This year, instead of anticipating the cloying rush of sweetness at the end of the meal, I savored each bite, noticed the sideways glances around the table as the grandmothers squabbled and the couples squeezed hands. I woke up this morning with more energy than I can usually muster on Post-Turkey Friday, and I gazed out the window at barren branches swaying in the wind. I was happy.

While Thanksgiving was great and all, for me, it's simply the Christmas season's gatekeeper. I'm sure my contentment this morning is due in no small part to the fact that I can now admit that I'm listening to Christmas carols without shame, don some red sweaters, dash to the nearest holiday office party, and start consuming things that contain peppermint.

While I'm perfectly content with passing up Halloween candy and pumpkin pie, I will not be deterred from the familiar tastes of the holiday season. Thus my proudest achievement of the year so far, my refined sugar-free peppermint hot chocolate. Tasting this for the first time a few nights ago, I sighed in contentment. This is everything I always loved about the holiday drinks at Starbucks, and I don't even have to waste a paper cup to get it. Even better, I can drink it in the evening without experiencing what I now call a "sugar hangover" the next morning. Sipping my proud creation as I write, I'm convinced there is no more perfect way to spend a morning and kick off a season.

-Kylie

P.S. Big news! Remember how we were giving away a book way back when it was Thin Crust Deep Dish's birthday? Well, our very lucky winner (selected scientifically from a baking dish of names) was Caitlin of Roost. Congratulations to you! We can't wait to find out which book you'll chose. And thanks to all who participated and showed your love here. It was a blast to hear from you, and we appreciate your kind words of encouragement more than you know.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Serves 2

2 cups whole milk

4 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Ghirardelli)
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 Tbs. raw honey
6 drops liquid Stevia (or less, depending on your taste)

Warm milk over low heat in a small pan. In a mug, combine cocoa powder, peppermint extract and honey. Once the milk has warmed, pour about two tablespoons of it into the cocoa mix. Stir briskly with a fork until the mixture becomes a smooth paste. Pour mixture into pan of milk and whisk until it incorporates fully. Taste the hot chocolate with a small spoon. If it isn't sweet enough for your taste, add Stevia one drop at a time, whisking and tasting as you go. Once the sweetness is to your liking, continue to heat hot chocolate until it is hot but not boiling. Pour into mugs to serve.

To make a peppermint mocha, simply pull a shot of espresso into the bottom of the mugs before serving. To make an alcoholic hot chocolate, replace the peppermint extract with a shot of peppermint schnapps.

The Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment

Something is happening with food these days. Half of my coworkers tell me that cooking is one of their favorite hobbies. Food blogs are proliferating at a rate of thousands each day. More people than ever before are visiting farmers' markets. People are becoming interested and invested in food. And not just in food for sustenance. Food for fun.



Last weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in a revelatory yet revolutionary food event: The Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment. This was the most recent of the Food Experiments, presented by culinary duo Nick Suarez and Theo Peck, which have included the Brooklyn Beer Experiment and the Brooklyn Cheese Experiment. Together, Suarez and Peck have racked up their own impressive collection of cook-off accolades, though the Food Experiments are parties that they host for other worthy culinary competitors. Each event features one ingredient, and competitors create a sweet or savory dish to showcase that prize ingredient.



Last Sunday, thirty or so competitors created 300 bite-sized samples of their dish, and 300 hungry New Yorkers then filed excitedly into the Bell House, a concert venue in Brooklyn. Tickets were sold out online before the doors even opened, and the lucky ticket holders were hungrily idling down the block in anticipation of the competition. We filed inside to load our plates with culinary delights including a succulently tender lamb slider with harissa chocolate sauce, a dense and creamy chocolate cheesecake made with stilton, and even the "After-School Special", consisting of a mini chocolate chip cookie served alongside warm vanilla-infused milk.



We enjoyed the many competing dishes thoroughly, but our favorite by far was Roopa Marcello's perfectly balanced Thai Chocolate Ice Cream. She used a melon baller to scoop the rich, slightly spicy custard into a delicate chocolate ginger cone. She then topped the creation with crushed peanuts. I was truly impressed with the balance of flavors and textures in the dessert.



Tickets to the event included a glass of Brooklyn Brewery's famous Chocolate Stout, which everyone is telling me is even better this year than last. And while I had to leave the event early, the after-party included additional chocolate samples for those who weren't already chocolated out. The day was memorable, fun and whimsical, and I can't wait to buy my tickets for the next one. Events like the Brooklyn Chocolate Experiment handily remind me that people do care about food and that it can make us happier, one cook-off at a time.

-Kylie

Ooey Gooey

I wish you could smell it in here right now. It's kind of like when you're walking around an indoor shopping mall, trying to figure out how quickly you can do what you need to do and get the heck out of there, and then you suddenly smell the Mrs. Fields cookie shop, and you realize you need to go home right away despite the fact that you still haven't found what you came for and bake chocolate chip cookies. Yeah; it's kind of like that. But better. Because, thankfully, this is my apartment, and not a shopping mall. It's breezy in here, and warm, and having the oven on has made me a little sweaty, in a good way. It's the middle of summer in Brooklyn, and I'm baking David Leite's chocolate chip cookies as if it's winter and our breath is freezing outside.

After making this recipe several times (they're that good), I have a few tips for you: Use good-quality chocolate chips for this recipe, if possible. I've used both Callebut 60% and Ghiradelli Bittersweet, and I slightly preferred the Callebut. Do include the salt on top; that's one of my favorite things about these cookies. Also, these really do taste best after at least 24 hours in the fridge. A final rule: Make these cookies only for people you really like.

David Leite's Famous NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from NY Times

3 2/3 cups minus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or feves, at least 60 percent cacao content

Sea salt

First sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes (really). Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping the sides after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and stir them in without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough can be used in batches and refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 mounds of dough the size of golf balls onto baking sheet using an ice cream scoop, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Definitely eat these warm.

Yields 18 5-inch cookies, or a whole bunch of smaller cookies.

-Kylie

She tries too hard

I discovered makeup in November of 8th grade. With my newfound teenage rebellion (and elementary knowledge of cosmetics) I proceeded to spend 20 minutes each morning before school going nuts with concealer, foundation, powder, blush, eye liner, eye shadow, mascara, lip liner, and lipstick until I resembled ...well...a 5 year old who just raided her mother's stash of makeup...or maybe a washed up B-list celebrity in a 13 year old's pudgy and fashion-less physique. By December of 8th grade I had come to my senses, and scaled it back to a cranberry flavored lip gloss. But goodness, 8th grade is quite full of lessons, isn't it? I for one learned that even the best of us is sometimes guilty of trying to hard.

But that is neither here nor there.

In other unrelated news, I baked you a dark chocolate souffle.

I know, a little over the top. I just really wanted to impress you. It's true, I really did. Hopefully, you'll see past my pitiful attempt to prove that I am, in fact, one of the popular girls, and take a big bite of this souffle. If you've never had a chocolate souffle before (and I hadn't before the one you see in these pictures), you should know two very important things. One: It's not nearly as hard to make as it might seem. Just follow the tricks below and you'll be sinking a spoon into your own souffle within the hour. Two: It's so worth it.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe I followed. The cool thing about souffles is that they have to be eaten the moment they come out of the oven. Ideally, you'll have your guests seated at the table, spoons in hand, eagerly anticipating the arrival of their souffle when the timer dings. This is because souffles deflate pretty quickly after they're removed from the oven and you want to be able to duly appreciate it's height and form before destroying the puff with your spoon. For this reason, I also like to serve souffles in individual-sized ramekins. Since they start to look pretty awful the moment they're poked, it's better to let each person destroy their own. Enjoy!

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Souffle
adapted from Mark Bittman's famous fool proof souffle recipe
makes two individual sized souffles

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for the dish
2 ounces Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate, gently melted
3 eggs, carefully separated
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Step one: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep the ramekins. Generously coat the sides of the two ramekins with butter. Sprinkle sugar over the butter, invert the ramekins, and gently tap the extra sugar out. Carefully separate the eggs, being absolutely sure that no yoke gets into the egg whites.

Step two: Beat the egg yokes and all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar with a whisk until very light and very thick. You'll know it's done when the mixtures falls from the ends of the whisk to form a ribbon. Mix in the melted chocolate until well combined.

Step three: Beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until they hold soft peaks. Gradually add the last tablespoon of sugar while continuing to beat until the mixture is stiff and very glossy. Stir a hefty spoonful of the whites thoroughly into the egg yolk mixture (a very important step) and then fold in the remaining whites very gently using a rubber spatula.

Step four: Pour/scoop the mixture into the prepared souffle dishes. Bake until the center is nearly set, about 20 minutes for the two individual ramekins. Serve immediately.

-Adriana

If love had a flavor...

If love had a flavor, it would, without a doubt, be some combination of raspberries, pancakes, and bittersweet chocolate. At least, that's what I decided Saturday morning when I set out to make a dessert for Valentine's Day dinner with my beau. The goal was simply to make a confection just for him. Nothing experimental, nothing exotic, nothing that screams "I've just been reading my Gourmet magazine and I'm not afraid to prove it!" No, it was Valentine's Day, and a perfect time to thank him with a dessert tailored just to his particular taste buds. After all, the man had been ever patient with my burned brownies, deflated meringues, and over-spiced biscotti and truly deserved a culinary break.

So, with eyelashes batting and heart aflutter, I set out to bake a cake that proclaimed "I understand you, and I love you" (and preferably not by spelling out the message on top with chocolate chips, though this had, indeed, been reserved as a back up plan.) I had three clues about my sweetheart to help me on my way: 1) nothing makes the boy happier than if you bring him a pint of raspberries, 2) he consumes an average of 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk a week, and has done so since he was five years old, and 3) on the nights we don't have dinner together, there's a 50% chance he's making himself pancakes for the evening meal.

Pancakes...Raspberries...Chocolate...Pancakes...Raspberries...Chocolate....I puzzled and puzzled.

And then I remembered an exquisite-looking recipe on one of my favorite sites, Smitten Kitchen, for a Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake made with browned butter, in other words, a perfect jumping off point for my own enamored attempt at baking love into a 9-inch cake pan. If I simply substituted raspberries for the pears and upped the brown butter quotient (a flavor which always does remind me of the crispy edges of a perfectly grilled pancake) I would have the ultimate, boyfriend-centric cake!

When I unveiled my creation to him that evening, his eyes grew wide. "Are those...raspberries...?"

Mission accomplished.


Bittersweet Chocolate Raspberry (Pan) Cake

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room-temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1-2 pints fresh raspberries (depending on your preferences)
10 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate bar, chopped into chunks

Step one: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and dust with flour until evenly coated.

Step two: Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside.

Step three: Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed for about 5-9 minutes (depending on the strength of your machine), or until they become very thick and pale colored.

Step four: While the eggs are in the mixer, brown the butter. Heat the butter in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium head, stirring frequently. Cook it for about 6 - 8 minutes until it begins to turn brown and smell nutty. Be careful not to overcook it (as I did the first time) so that you get black specks in the bottom of your pan. When butter is browned, remove from the heat.

Step five: Add the sugar to the whipped eggs and keep mixing for a few minutes more. Turn the mixer down to stir and alternate adding the flour mixture and the browned butter until it's barely combined (you don't want to over-mix).

Step six: Pour the mixture into your prepared pan, and then sprinkle the raspberries and chocolate chunks on top. During the cooking process, these pieces will be enfolded by the rising cake, so don't let this alarm you. Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch (about 40 to 50 minutes). A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out relatively clean. Sprinkle the finished cake with powdered sugar if you like, and serve it with ice-cream, whipped cream, or anything else in the cream-department.