Tag Archives: vanilla

Crème Brûlée {Being French}

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I had to google “creme brulee” to get all of the fancy characters right in the title.

So I’m kind of obsessed with Saveur.com and their recipes that are absolutely brilliant.  When I invested in a fire hazard blow torch for these chocolate pots de creme, it was only a matter of time before I made a classic crème brûlée. After this, I’ll need to come up with more creative outlets for my inner pyro. (Relatively) safe suggestions welcome.

This particular recipe is ridiculously easy but produces a spectacular result: dense, smooth, creamy, vanilla-y creme brulee perfection.

{crème brûlée}

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SERVES 4

2 cups heavy cream
5 tbsp. sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split
Small pinch salt
4 egg yolks

1. Preheat oven to 275°. In a small pan, bring cream, 2 tbsp. sugar, vanilla bean, and salt just to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Remove and discard vanilla bean.

2. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks with 1 tbsp. sugar until sugar dissolves. Slowly whisk in cooled cream (if it is not cool, yolks will scramble). Strain through a fine sieve.

3. Divide custard between 4 shallow gratin dishes (each about 1/2 cup in capacity). Place dishes in a baking pan, then place pan in oven. Pour enough cold water into pan to come about halfway up sides of dishes. Bake until custards set, 30-35 minutes.

4. Cover cooled custards with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. Before serving, sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp. sugar on each custard and use a blowtorch to caramelize tops, holding torch at an angle (flame should barely touch surface) to brown sugar.

(Not) Tahitian Vanilla Cupcakes

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What was supposed to be a simple day of making cupcakes turned out to be an adventure driving all over the valley trying to find Tahitian vanilla extract and beans.

Cher came across a recipe for Tahitian vanilla cupcakes.  Just reading the recipe had my mouth watering.  She graciously offered up her kitchen (and KitchenAid stand mixer:)) this weekend so I could make a mess these cupcakes.  We had regular vanilla extract and Madagascar vanilla beans, but no Tahitian-specific vanilla ingredients.  After trekking to Fresh & Easy, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Ralphs, Gelson’s and World Market, we still came up Tahitian vanilla-less.  World Market had Madagascar vanilla extract and beans, so we ended up using those instead…4 or 5 hours of shopping later!  I have absolutely no idea what the difference is, but since Madagascar was another faraway exotic locale, I figured it would suffice.

The ingredients and the beautiful appliance:)  Also subbed in regular granulated sugar over superfine sugar and 24% cacao white chocolate chunks as opposed to something over 30%…yet another impossible to find ingredient!

This was my first time using vanilla beans, and I was fascinated.  They smell ah-mazing and the beans are stuffed full of tiny little specs of vanilla:

The recipe calls for just a bit of lemon zest to intensify the vanilla flavors.  I was ecstatic when I saw “lemon zest” because that meant I got to de-virginize my new Microplane zester!

This is where I wish I could send you readers smells through your computer screen.  Here, I have all of the cake ingredients mixing together.  It was like smelling the most phenomenal pure vanilla bean ice cream, but even better.  I’m not a cake batter bowl-licker, but I caved for this batter.  Incredible.

While the mini cupcakes were baking, I started on the frosting.  Here I am melting the white chocolate in Cher’s amazing kitchen (and in my favorite apron, no less.  You unfortunately can’t see the lovely little ruffles on the bottom hem:))

After letting the frosting sit in the fridge for 20ish minutes, it was still way too gooey to properly spread over cupcakes.  15 more minutes in the freezer, and we were set.

Like my carrot cake cupcakes, these guys have perishable ingredients in their frosting (cream cheese and sour cream), so they are currently being stored in my fridge.

The cake is super moist with a lovely happy medium between too fluffy and to dense.  You can really taste the loads of vanilla in these…and it’s mind-blowing.  The frosting.  Oh, the frosting.  The only sugar comes from the white chocolate, so you can pile it onto the cupcakes and it’s not overwhelmingly sweet.  I’m not much of a fan of white chocolate, but seriously, I could eat a whole bowl of this stuff.  I’m really at a loss for words how to describe these little cupcakes.  And I can’t talk right now anyway, since my mouth is full of vanilla cupcake:)

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The recipe, as posted on “The Spiced Life” blog.

The Cupcakes

2 large eggs, room temp
2/3 cup (160 g) full fat sour cream
seeds from 3 Tahitian vanilla beans
1 T Tahitian vanilla extract
1 t lemon zest (to amp the vanilla–I was not going for a lemon flavor here)
2 cups (200 g) cake flour
1 cup (200 g) superfine sugar
1/2 t baking powder’1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t fine salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 T, 170 g) unsalted butter, between 65-75 F (Beranbaum says this part is important, because my house was 68 F and because I left the butter out overnight I did not bother verifying)

Line 16 cupcake cups; lightly spray the pan/s with oil. This will ensure no sticking of the liners (this is my trick–maybe this cake wouldn’t stick, who knows? but I have been burned often enough that I am now cautious). Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, the vanilla seeds and extract, the lemon zest, and 3 tablespoons of the sour cream. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with hand mixer), mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt with the flat beater for 30 seconds on low. Add the butter and remaining sour cream to the dry ingredients; mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened and a higher speed will not cause the flour to fly out of the bowl. Then mix on medium speed (high for hand mixer, 4 for Kitchen Aid) for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Then add the egg mixture in 2 additions, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition and scraping down the bowl in between. Finish by hand if any parts have not incorporated so as to not overbeat.

Fill each cupcake 3/4 full (or use a #30 disher–which I did not have). Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to cool completely before frosting.

The “Dreamy Creamy” Frosting

9 oz/255 g of good quality white chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled (I used Valrhona; I suggest at least 30% cacao)
12 oz cream cheese, cool room temp
6 T unsalted butter, cool room temp
1 1/2 T sour cream
1/2 T Tahitian vanilla extract
1/2 T lemon zest

Process everything but the melted white chocolate in a food processor until smooth. Add the melted white chocolate and pulse until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and place in the fridge to chill 15-30 minutes, until firm enough to spread.

“Look to the Cookie, Elaine. Look to the Cookie.”

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“The thing about eating the Black and White cookie, Elaine, is you want to get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate And yet somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie all our problems would be solved.” – Seinfeld, episode 77 “The Dinner Party.”  One of my favorite cookies referenced in one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes (also featuring chocolate babka, which is equally a favorite of mine).

A quintessential New York staple, the black and white cookie is simple in theory but undoubtedly delicious.  Chocolate and vanilla icing atop a perfectly spongey and cake-like cookie.  Like the venerable Oreo, methods of eating vary from person to person.  I’m partial to the vanilla icing, but much like Jerry, I try to get a little bit of both in each bite.

During a recent trip to New York, I indulged in this city staple at the Frank Gehry-designed Conde Nast cafeteria.  Here’s a picture of the famous cookie (already half-eaten) atop an equally famous landmark:

The recipe I came across is from (the unfortunately shuttered) Gourmet magazine.  The finished product is almost identical to the cookie I snagged from the Conde cafeteria, which leads me to believe that they themselves use this recipe.  I am so jealous of the ever changing Gourmet/Bon Appétit-inspired dishes these folks get to eat everyday.

Quite a long intro for one cookie.  But seriously, it deserves it.  The actual recipe (my variations in the tips below):

Mini Black-and-White Cookies

For cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

For icings
2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 to 6 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Special equipment: a small offset spatula

Make cookies:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Make icings while cookies cool:

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth. If icing is not easily spreadable, add more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as vanilla icing. Cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.

Ice cookies:

With offset spatula, spread white icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.

Cooks’ note:
Once icing is dry, cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days.

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This recipe is one of those that make me realize I want need a KitchenAid stand mixer, preferably one in Empire Red:)  The whipped fluffy peaks of the cookie ingredients, but not before my hand mixer/I made a mess all over my kitchen, spattering flour e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e:

Ready to be baked:

The black:

and the white (the lemon juice is so slight but SO yummy):

Halfway done:

Finished!  Take a look at these beauties:

The dishfulthinker’s tips:

  • Although the recipe is for “mini” black and white cookies, I decided to go with tablespoon-sized balls of batter for two reasons.  The first being obvious–who wants a tiny cookie?  Second, trying to ice 40+ mini cookies is painstakingly time consuming.  Tablespoon sized batter yielded approximately 24 2-inch cookies.
  • Unless you already have an offset spatula, there really isn’t an absolute need to go run out and buy one.  A standard butter knife worked just fine.
  • I can’t say it enough.  A KitchenAid mixer would be a serious time and mess saver.  And who doesn’t want a beautiful kitchen appliance like this sitting on their countertop?
  • I used parchment paper instead of buttering the baking sheets (easier clean up too).
  • Keep a close eye on the cookies in the oven.  They puff up very quickly, and you don’t want to over bake these!
  • The best tip I can give you for these cookies is to simply enjoy them:)

Make Your Own Starbucks Banana Walnut Bread at Home

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When Starbucks started changing their pastry recipes and removing artificial ingredients, they had this recipe card at the counter for their banana walnut bread:

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 1/8 c sugar

1/2 c vegetable oil

2 Tbsp buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 ripe medium-large bananas (mashed)

1/2 c + 1/3 c chopped walnuts

Pre-heat the oven to 325°.  Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and dust with flour.  Blend together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.  Mix together the egg, sugar and vegetable oil until combined.  Add the flour mixture and when blended add the buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas and mix until combined.  Fold in 1/2 c chopped walnuts and pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Top batter with remaining 1/3 c chopped walnuts.  Bake for 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing from pan.

This recipe is fairly straightforward, but I made a few slight modifications (see my notes below!)

The finished product: delicious and moist banana walnut muffins:

The dishful thinker’s tips:

  • I went with muffins instead of a loaf (which yielded 17 cupcake-sized muffins).  This brings the baking time down about 10-15 minutes (this batch was done in roughly 35-40 minutes).
  • Don’t have any buttermilk on hand?  After a quick Google search, I found that I could add vinegar to milk and create a sufficient substitute.  I added about 1/8 tsp of white vinegar to 2 tbsp of milk and was ready to go.
  • I’ve had the in-store version of this bread and I actually prefer the homemade version better. Shouldn’t it taste the same?  This is Starbucks’ recipe, after all!
  • This is my favorite recipe to make when I realize I have overripe bananas on my kitchen counter.  A much better (and delicious) alternative to tossing perfectly good food:)