I find it incredibly strange
to sit down and write once more.
There is a certain heady; slightly euphoric/post drugged feeling hanging
in the air, the feeling of returning from a vacation. Our kitchen was left alone for the past two weeks to sit and
think about things it wanted to be cooking while the cats aimlessly walked
about the countertops un-“shooed” from places they shouldn’t be. I guess the kitchen needed the break as
much as I did, a time to recuperate and daydream about baking possibilities,
not just for fall, but for the future as well.
Fabulous Pastries turned two
years old this week. I’ve been
thinking about the many things I became interested in creating over the past
twenty-four months of baking. Through the process of making different desserts,
learning new techniques and comparing and contrasting flavor profiles, I feel
like I’ve come to a different place in my baking. Once only interested in capturing memories and smells of the
past, passing on remembered tastes to people in the now, I have discovered
invention, inspiration and imagination all over again.
I come back to the 1950’s
over and over again, showcasing a potentially idealized America, one worth
honoring above all others. In
focusing on this fantasy time in Americana it’s worth asking if the times were
really so great, or are great from a beautifully painted distance? I can’t answer that question, nor do I
intend to, but understanding that looking at imagery of the period, or any illustrations
Norman Rockwell ever painted brings a certain warmth and happiness to me. For me, it’s a touchstone, but for
others their touchstone is altogether something different. Finding these points of entry into a
fond memory or feeling is exciting.
Depending on the dessert, I’ve had people tell me what it makes them
think of, this commentary ranging from Grandma’s kitchen to a cafĂ© in Paris
they ate in as a child. The point
here, dear reader, is that something powerful happens with food and the mind,
particularly when it comes to desserts.
In reading a good portion of
Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck Cookbook, he covers some of those first memories that turned
him into a foodie and later master chef creating taste experiences for his
diners. Heston is above all else
someone who understands food memory.
Whether playing with liquid nitrogen or other more modern techniques of
food preparation, he spends a lot of time seeking out flavors from childhood,
be that cereal, bubble gum or peanut butter and jelly, and turning them on
their ear, changing the way the components of a dish come together resulting in
a refined impression of a recognizable dish. Experimentation is the key, playing with the recipe over and
over again until he gets the desired result, Heston is a master of evoking the
sense of something larger than the dish at hand, but a sense of place and time,
having an ability to transport the diner to a happy place from his or her
past. Dining at the Fat Duck
several years ago is still one of the top 3 food memories of my life
I am in no way comparing
myself to Heston Blumenthal, but his philosophy about food certainly speaks to
me and makes me want to produce something larger than its parts…. in my case
making the butter, sugar and eggs into an edible experience both tasty and fun. It is with all this in mind I began to
tinker and invent in my own pre-vacation kitchen some new edible bites. I think the catalyst for all of this
was the Banana Bread Truffles that were made for the Labor Day Party last
month. I had received more
comments from people about these chocolate banana bites than I can remember
hearing in quite awhile. The
flavor was good, but the commentary was more about concept than anything else.
What was it about these
sugary nuggets that made them so special?
Basically, it was taking something known and presenting it in a new
way. Sure, everyone knows what
banana bread tastes like and they also know what it’s like to eat chocolate
truffles, but it’s rare to eat them together. The playfulness of these two things put into one rich bite
was an exciting and yummy thing to consume. It is in this mindset I began to approach a couple other
desserts in a similar way, and made me think there could be a lot of desserts
out in the world that need to be reimagined. The first thing I came up with was a beautiful lemon, thyme
and cardamom cookie with a filling of brown butter pears. The recipe is as follows:
Spiced Lemon Pear Sandwich
Cookies
Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs pears, peeled,
cored, and diced
1/2-cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2-teaspoon cinnamon
1-tablespoon vanilla bean
paste (or extract)
In a medium saucepan over
medium heat, brown the butter for a few moments until it turns a light amber
color. Add the pears and brown
sugar, cook for ten minutes. Add
the cinnamon and vanilla, continue cooking over medium-low heat for another
twenty minutes stirring frequently to keep from burning as the pears release
their liquid and reduce. Set the
filling/compote aside to cool completely.
Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted
butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated
lemon zest (from two large lemons)
1-teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2-teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
(spooned and leveled), plus more for working
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat oven to 375
degrees. In a large bowl, using an
electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy, 3
minutes. Add lemon zest, cardamom,
thyme and salt; beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour and mix
until combined.
Form dough into 24 1
1/2-inch balls (this is easily
done with a small ice cream scoop) and place 2 inches apart, on a parchment
lined baking sheet. Use the bottom
of a glass dipped in flour to gently flatten each ball of dough. Bake until cookies are golden around
the edge, 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let
them cool completely before topping with filling.
Turn half the cookies upside
down and add one heaping tablespoon of the pear filling. Place the remaining cookies on top,
gently pressing down to distribute the filling, forming the sandwich. Enjoy!
This recipe doesn’t exactly
fit with the idea of the reinvented bit, but does fall under the umbrella of
interesting, unexpected combinations.
It has the addition of herbs to a cookie, something I am becoming more
and more interested in, and also the pairing of a very light, citrus cookie
with an earthy, rich pear compote in lieu of some sort of buttercream or
frosted filling. The end result is
completely flavorful, fattening, lovely and one I am convinced could become
very popular. I enjoyed
trying to come up with an unexpected cooking and filling, two things you
wouldn’t necessarily think might go together, but in fact produced something
more astounding and interesting than either would on their own. Pears and thyme are beautiful together
along with brown sugar and butter…. everything is better with brown sugar and
butter I’m convinced. Cardamom is
underused in my opinion and in this cookie gives an added bit of mystery flavor
and spice.
Staying in this mindset of
inventiveness and reinvented nostalgia we made a trip to Playland in Rye (which
is in Westchester not too far from our home). Our friends Maria, Noah and Rosie came to visit us from
Tulsa, Oklahoma a few weeks back and we thought it might be a fun Saturday
activity to do with our kids. Noah
is one year old and Siena is working her way toward nine months, so there
wasn’t really a lot for them to do, but there was a special area in the park
for younger children such as Noah where he could ride tame rides with parental
accompaniment and still have some fun.
Siena was happy just to be out and about looking at all the people and
the fabulous colors of the park.
Playland has been around for
many years, and it happened to be the closing weekend of the season during our
visit. The park has been well
preserved and looks like it stepped out of the 1960’s – 70’s. All the colors have an aged look about
them and the design is certainly of an earlier time, a time when amusement
parks were all the rage and finding fun was as simple as hopping on a ride for
a few moments. The place was full
of kids and adults alike, still a mainstay of Rye after all these years and
seemingly a place you get a season pass to and bring your kids every year until
they are too embarrassed to be seen in public with you. After that, I supposed they go on their
own.
Walking through the midway
made me think of the fair coming to town every year when I was a boy, riding
the Ferris wheel or any of the faster rides that went upside down and made me
want to throw up all the contents of my stomach. I used to go with my dad to the Ozark Empire Fair and we
would down jugs of root beer and mustard covered corndogs in record time while
walking around trying to figure out which rides to wait in line for and how
much money we could lose at the duck pond before getting a special prize. The fairgrounds are a great place for a
kid and incredibly imaginative.
The signage is bold and bright, the creatures on the fun house are scary
and morose, and there was always the hope that “this year” would be the year I
was tall enough to get on that special ride.
At Playland, the sense of
all these hopeful things was present.
Cotton candy was being made on every corner and workers beckoned you to
step right up and win a prize. The
carousel was full of nervous and excited kids, waiting for the horses to move
while the bumper car children seemingly had no fear at all. In essence, this park could have
stepped out of any time and any childhood, never missing a beat. I was of course busy photographing,
trying to put my special stamp on the place and see as much as I could before
our kids were tired and we had to leave.
There were two things that brought me particular fascination. One: the boardwalk, and Two: caramel apples.
The boardwalk is from the
movie Big with Tom Hanks. I can remember watching this film over
and over as a kid along with a host of other classics such as Poltergeist and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Big fascinated me because it features a kid in an
adult’s body living out the fantasy of working in New York and helping create
and play with toys all day long.
What youngster doesn’t have that as a fantasy I ask? My friend Dana and I used to sit around
the table in the playroom of the babysitter’s house we went to, imagining how
one day we would both grow up and have lunch together in the big city, I of
course was going to be Tom Hanks working for the toy company and designing fun
playthings for a living. I can’t
say I missed the mark too much when it comes to my job, though the characters I
sometimes develop for commercials don’t get fabricated into reality I still
have that sense of getting to play everyday. It’s a lucky thing.
The boardwalk at Playland
was sunny and bright on that late summer day. Ice cream carts were out in full force, the water was
lapping up on the sandy beach and the light had a melancholy quality found only
at the end of summer. The air
smelling of salt water and early fall, combined with the last weekend Playland
was open, brought the finality of summer fun ominously into the present. I’m not so devastated by the season
change, though, because fall has to be my favorite time of year hands
down.
Walking through the park
with Big in mind, strolling and
clicking away on my camera, I came across not a fortune telling gypsy, but a
candy stand. There was a large
glass case featuring colorful treats to catch the eyes of any age. Nestled among the bright lollipops was
a tray of candy coated apples. I
must admit that I’ve never been such a huge fan of these apples solely because
of their messiness factor. Whether
glossy and red in their candy coat, or a burnished caramel outfit, the apples
are always delicious and endlessly difficult to keep from getting all over your
face. They looked like jewels
sitting in the case so I took their photograph, but when I was home later going
through the film the idea of reinventing these apples struck…what if they
weren’t such a pain in the butt to eat?
On this summer/fall
threshold with apples coming into season (right now is the height) I thought it
might be a nice experiment and gateway treat to lead us into harvest time. Pulling from the concept of the banana
bread dipped in chocolate I thought it could be interesting to “fake” a caramel
dipped apple by baking a simple apple cake, playing with its flavor profile a
bit by adding in some sage (a nod to Thanksgiving) and then cutting it into
bite sized pieces and dipping them into a creamy, caramel sauce.
Though this all sounded like
a great and yummy idea, there were two problems remaining to be solved. The first was the sticky caramel
adhering to fingertips when picking up the bite. Thinking more on this, the idea about lollipop sticks glared
into view and I ran to Sur le Table to find the smallest ones they had. Perfect! The second issue to solve was the play on the crispness of
an apple. The apple used in the
cake is grated and made into an apple butter/sauce of sorts before going into
the batter. There are no crisp
apples to bite into in this dessert.
What would be a crunch addition?
Salt! The old standby of
sweet/salty pairing made perfect sense and was the exact finishing touch this
dessert needed. Not wanting to
make the Apple Caramel Minis too salty I combined Fleur de Sel with some clear
sanding sugar to keep the “crunch” idea going without encasing the caramel in a
suit of salt. The recipe is as
follows:
Caramel Apple Minis
Applesauce Ingredients: (makes 2 cups)
3 tablespoons unsalted
butter,
1/4 cup light brown sugar,
1 tablespoon fresh sage,
chopped (about 6 large leaves)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon,
1/4 cup sparkling apple
cider
6 apples (I used Empire)
peeled, cored and diced. (about
5-6 cups of diced apple)
Begin by making the
applesauce. In a medium saucepan
over medium heat, brown butter for a few moments until it becomes a nice amber
color. Add the brown sugar and sage,
stirring for one minute to dissolve sugar. Add cinnamon, cider and apples. Cook covered over medium low for 30 minutes. Remove cover and puree in the blender.
Cake Ingredients: (Makes one
8-inch and one 6-inch cake)
Adapted from the Caramel Apple Cake in Baked Explorations
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
1 1/2 sticks unsalted
butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 cups homemade applesauce
Preheat oven to 325
degrees. Butter your 8-inch and
6-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the
parchment. Dust the parchment with
flour and knock out the excess flour.
Sift the flour, baking soda,
baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, sage and cloves together into a large
bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing
mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, about 4
minutes. Add the sugar and beat
until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg and beat until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the
mixer bowl in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and
ending with the flour mixture.
Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
Divide the batter among the
prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking
time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out
clean. I found the 6-inch cake
baked for about 35 minutes and the 8-inch cake for 45 minutes in my oven. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool
for 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out
onto the rack, remove the parchment, and let cool completely. Cut into 1-inch cubes and insert
lollipop sticks.
Caramel Sauce
Ingredients: (recipe from the Baked
Explorations cookbook)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter,
softened, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
In a medium saucepan with
high sides, combine the sugar and corn syrup with 1/2 cup water. Stir the mixture gently so you don’t
slosh any of it up the sides of the pan.
Turn the heat to medium-high and continue stirring until the sugar
dissolves. Increase heat to high,
stop stirring, and allow the mixture to boil. Once it begins to turn a rich caramel color (if you don’t
want to eye-ball it, take the caramel to 300 degrees on a candy thermometer),
remove it from the heat, add the butter and cream, and stir until combined.
You can save the caramel
sauce, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Let it come to room temperature before
using it.
Once the caramel has cooled
to room temperature, dip the cake bites into the sauce, covering
completely. Allow to dry and drain
on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet.
Top with fleur de sel and sanding sugar.
I think it quite possible
that these bites were my homerun, baked good of 2011…so far at least. More people commented on this dessert
than I can remember to date. The
cake is easy to make, the caramel is easy to make, the only patience comes in
letting the caramel cool off enough so that you can pour/dip the apple cake
into it, otherwise it will break down the cake into mush if its too hot. For those who like cake this dessert is
a winner, for those that like fruit this dessert is a winner, for those that
like candy this dessert is a winner and you won’t have to worry that its laced
with razor blades because the bites are too small to conceal any weapons. Halloween treats anyone?
Did I just write
Halloween? Eek, I think I
did. I’m as shocked as anyone that
it’s October again. We went on
vacation to Tuscany where it was still unseasonably warm and lovely, still
allowing me a few last days of laying out in the sunshine. I returned to a much cooler New York,
an impending fall New York and I know for certain it’s time to get out my
jacket. Leaves are doing their
perennial change, mums are starting to show up at every garden nursery and
grocery store, the pumpkins and gourds are filling up the bins at the farmer’s
market and we have a costume to plan for little Miss Siena.
It was important to have
some time away and get a little life perspective. Brian and I hadn’t taken a proper vacation in a long, long
time and had certainly never vacationed with a baby…a whole new
experience. Siena was the best
traveler of the bunch with more energy than most of us. Vacation doesn’t necessarily mean
relaxation in the way it used to, but something more along the lines of a break
from the grind of life, a reminder to stop and smell the roses (or olive trees
and rosemary) in this case. While
away I really started to think about new directions and avenues of interest,
what I want to be doing now, what I want to reimagine and reinvent for
myself. It struck me that it was
time to work on an upgrade.
The upgrade I’m speaking of
has to do with my website. I have
owned the domain name fabulouspastries.com for years…since 2004 in fact. This blog has been a great catalyst and
training ground with which to test my pastry skills and see how interested I am
in baking. I learned I am still
very interested, even after two years have come and gone. As I stated earlier, for me the baking
is about sharing, making tasty food for friends and loved ones and having an
anchor to some really unforgettable experiences. My vacation decision has been to start work on my website
after all these years, using it for now as an archive of photos and recipes as
well as eventually a new home for the blog and other pastry related things I
happen to be thinking about. It’s
a process that will take some time, but I’m up for the challenge. There are certainly a large number of
desserts and recipes to cull through and photos to reexamine. This upgrade process gives me time to
pause and think about new directions and concepts for my baking. I think I’ve covered the past for long
enough and am interested to see what sort of baking ideas I can reimagine for
the future.