Pumpkin Pie Cocktail

Frosty Pumpkin Pie!

Forgive me, fair reader, for I have not been keeping up to speed with all of the sweets and baking in my life.

However, Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and you’ll be granted a whole plethora of sexy pictures to look at.

But first, the Pumpkin Pie Cocktail – I figured it was close enough to the real thing. It’s from Gallery Bar on Orchard Street between Delancey and Rivington in New York City.

Here’s the recipe:

1/2 oz. Kahlua
1/2 oz. spiced pumpkin pie filling
1 oz. coconut rum
1 oz. milk or cream

Shake together and serve over ice. Garnish with cinnamon.

There you have it. One two three and you’re done. The coconut rum and Kahlua add enough of that somewhat dessert-like flavor to make this really taste like a boozy pumpkin pie, sans crust.

A few tips to make it as easy and stress-free as possible for you.

1) If you, like me, don’t have a cocktail shaker, use a bottle used to shake homemade salad dressing. It works just as well, and if you need to, you can add tiny bits of ice to chill it in the process. Really, any small metal, plastic, or glass canister will work, so long as it can be shaken. If you need to strain, simply pour through a tea strainer.

2) I always use plain canned pumpkin when I want to make a pumpkin dessert. I would buy the filling, but unless you plan on making fifty of these drinks, the cans it’s sold in are way too large for one small use. Just remember the golden rule of pumpkin spice: cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Through in a touch of brown or white sugar, and it tastes exactly the same.

Enjoy!!

Best Desserts Abroad in Europe

When I was a freshman in college I studied abroad, MY FIRST SEMESTER, in London. It was the single most influential experience of my life so far. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a pastry chef, instead of an actress.

If any of you are planning to go to London, I figured I’d compile some special desserts you can try and have while there. I also went to Scotland and Belgium, so there will be a few treats listed from those lovely cities as well.

If you don’t plan on going, hopefully this list will inspire you to do so. I can’t be sure of the exact addresses of these bakeries/etc., but a quick search on google should do the trick. Honestly I found some of the best stuff simply walking around.

So here it goes…London = Sweets.

Though there is a long history of British puddings dating back to the beginning of time, London contains virtually every kind of dessert one can imagine. France definitely has an influence…

A French crepe in a London cafe!

As does Belgium…

Brown bananas and orange pith! Horrible!

And Italy via gelato. This is the Banana Royale sundae from Morelli’s Gelato on the ground floor of Harrod’s department store. It is absolutely essential that you visit this place. The clothes are not really geared towards young women, but the food halls sure are. Room upon room of different foods, from chocolates to baked goods to coffee to cheese…god I miss it so much. Anyway, just go for the sundaes, if anything. The Banana Royale is made with vanilla ice cream, sliced bananas, various sauces, and a chocolate cup filled with caramel to drench your sundae in even more saccharine bliss. Be advised that the average price for one is between 11 and 13 pounds; they’re so large, however, that they can be split easily. Naturally I didn’t go down that path.

Just try to absorb this for a second.

Speaking of ice cream, I demand that you visit Garlic and Shots. Everything about is garlic, from the coffee to the vodka to the garlic ice cream drenched in honey. I dragged my two friends to go there in the freezing cold just to have some, and my friends, it was worth it. It has all of the pleasant mellowness of a garlic clove roasted in the oven, and the honey only helps to increase the lovely taste. The staff is a bit rough around the edges, but ignore them while you follow up your ice cream with a garlic vodka shot .

I swear it's good!

The next two pictures are of more traditional British sweets: Shortbread and a citrus cake for high tea at the fabulous Kensington Palace. It’s not that much money to have well-dressed waiters treat you like a queen and kiss your ass

Chocolate Chips - a somewhat American embellishment but addictive all the same!

Miranda, dahling! Isn't the ball splendid? (a la Elaine)

Now on to Scotland! I stayed in Edinburgh for the weekend, and the desserts were certainly more traditional than what London had to offer. I don’t have a picture, but visit Chocolate Soup! It’s essentially a hot chocolate shop, but the “soups” are very rich, thick, and have a number of flavors to choose from.

Here’s a picture of sticky toffee pudding I had at a pub. It’s probably the most unsightly thing you’ll ever encounter, but it’s delectably sweet and provokes all who eat it to resort to licking the plate clean of the lava-like sauce that encompasses it.

And here we have flourless chocolate cake. Standard by anyone’s definition, I wanted to add it to the post to assure everyone that accessible American-style desserts are to be found in the Scottish highlands. And no doubt, this was a delicious piece of cake.

And a final word on the desserts of Belgium.  Chocolate. Really, there’s little else. In the small city of Brussels, every other store is a chocolate shop, almost all of which feature sweet and creamy handheld replicas of Manneken Pis – that little rascal.

Here’s an example of the numerous piles of chocolat found throughout Brussels.

Ah-rhum truffle, please!

The coupe is another thing found on nearly every Brussels menu (that I could somewhat read, anyway.) Head over to the restaurant Drug Opera and you’ll be happy to read the long list of coupes – essentially ice cream sundaes – on the menu. I was able to ascertain that the coupe I ordered contained mango and vanilla. Other than that, I simply regarded it as a delight to the senses. If any of you go to Brussels, let me know if this wacky place is still there

It looks tremendous, and it was!

That’s it for now on European desserts. I hope this provided a helpful, if not extremely brief, guideline to what you can expect while out there.

And remember, a biscuit is a cookie!

101 MORE Things to do with a Cake Mix

Remember when I said I didn’t like cake mix? There was something about this kooky book that instantly attracted me to it. It’s by Stephanie Ashcraft and, hint hint, you can buy it at the Kollege Kitchen Amazon Webstore!  Isn’t self-promotion awesome?!

In all seriousness however, I really like the recipe I made. It’s from the “Cookies and Bars” category, proving that one can indeed do a hell of a lot with just a box of cake mix.

They’re called Chewy Strawberry Cookies, and here’s the recipe:

1 strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
2 cups whipped topping
powdered sugar

With a spoon, mix cake mix, eggs, and whipped topping together in large bowl. Refrigerate dough 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll 1-inch dough balls in powdered sugar, then drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 6-9 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Remove cookies and place on a nonstick rack to cool. Store in the refrigerator.

So, first off – 4 ingredients. Not only that, how in holy hell can eggs, Cool Whip, and a box of cake mix make a cookie? The insanity was too great NOT to try the cookies. Here’s how it went down…

I started out with Duncan Hines’ Moist Deluxe Strawberry Cake Mix.

All pink.

Here are the eggs..and the whipped topping. Why go for cool whip when I can  get the same for cheaper?

The tub is SO light even though there are eight ounces in there.

Use large eggs.

Here’s what the batter looks like all mixed together

More pink.

And here’s the finished result. A cross-section for your eating pleasure.

Om.

So again, by 101 MORE Things to do with a Cake Mix! The possibilities are, admittedly, endless (up to 101.)

Thanksgiving 101′s Buttermilk Biscuits!

Thanksgiving is only two weeks and a day away, and already I’m itching to bake some pecan pie and…stuff (more on that when I post all of my desserts for the day.)

But I’d like to bring your attention to a very special, a very informative book. It’s called Thanksgiving 101, and it’s by Rick Rodgers, the supposed Thanksgiving “expert.” I don’t think that’s far from the truth. His recipes are insightful, are preceded by amusing back stories, and get down deep into why things work and don’t. A whole chapter is dedicated to the turkey, and another to sides, soups and salads, appetizers, desserts, and of course: rolls and biscuits. A Thanksgiving table in America is incomplete without a basket of biscuits fresh outta the Pillsbury can…or in your case, from scratch.  Even if you’re a college student.

His recipe for buttermilk biscuits is simple, fast, and requires mostly cheap ingredients (save for the buttermilk, but  you can make that yourself.)  Here’s the recipe, and buy the book! You’ll be glad you did. 

1.5 c. cake flour (not self-rising)
1.5 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. cream of tartar
1.5 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
12 tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk

Procedure: 

1) Position rack in top 1/3 of oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2) In large bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse meal.  Gradually add the buttermilk a little at a time, until it all comes together but isn’t too wet.  Knead lightly in the bowl to make a soft dough.  Do not overwork the dough.
3) One a lightly floured surface, pat out the dough with floured hands to a 3/4 in. thickness (or lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and roll it out.)  Using a 2.5 -inch round cookie cutter, cut out biscuits and place on ungreased baking sheet.  Gather up the scraps, knead gently to combine.  Pat out again, and repeat process to get a total of 12 biscuits.
4) Bake until biscuits are risen and golden brown, about 15 minutes.  (The biscuits can be baked up to 8 hours ahead, cooled, and stored at room temperate.  To reheat, wrap the biscuits, 6 to a pack, in aluminum foil.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Serve hot or warm.Here’s how I went about it. I’ll give you some tips along the way…

I didn’t have cake flour, so I used whole grain pastry flour from Whole Foods with great results. The key is to have a flour that has a lower gluten content than regular flour. That way, you’ll get a biscuit that is more tender in the end. Being whole grain helps too – it actually cuts the gluten and lessens the chance of the biscuit being tough.

A mound of complex carbohydrates.

2) When cutting in the butter, it should be cold but not so hard that it’s impossible to work with.  Furthermore, if you don’t have a pastry cutter, just use a fork. It’s essentially the same thing, except a pastry cutter has a handle. I’ve even worked butter into flour using my fingers.  See? Biscuits are possible with even the most basic of tools - the human body.

Currently in the "coarse meal" stage.

3) Be absolutely sure to add the buttermilk a little at a time and to work it in before continuing. The recipe might say a cup and two tablespoons, but it just might not work for you. Only use enough so that the dough can come together in one piece. The same is true for ice water in a pie crust.

Don't have buttermilk? Add a tbsp. of vinegar or lemon juice to every cup of regular milk, and let it stand for a few minutes before using.

4) The recipe could make 12 biscuits, but from what I saw it could make a lot more. Perhaps I spread it too thin, or my cookie cutter was two small, but I definitely cut out at least double that amount. In the end, what size cookie cutter you use doesn’t matter. Just make sure to keep an eye on them, as the biscuits could bake slower or faster than the original recipe states.  Also, a tip from the author: If you want fluffy biscuits, place them on the baking sheet with no spaces in between. If you’re looking for a crisper exterior, space an inch or so apart. I like fluffy.

Ready to be baked.

5) When golden and risen, remove from the oven. I suggest eating almost immediately with plenty of butter and wild huckleberry jam! For Thanksgiving, try whipping some softened butter with maple syrup for a death-worthy maple butter. Buy Thanksgiving 101 at Kollege Kitchen, and you shall be happy, I promise.

The biscuit of wonder beckons you.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Teens Cook Dessert Poppy seed Torte

Have you ever eaten something that you thought tasted and felt really weird, but you couldn’t stop eating it because of how indescribably good it was?

That’s the case with this Poppyseed Torte from the rather high-class-college-student-niche Teens Cook Dessert. The book is definitely meant for students who have more ingredients and space at their disposal, however all of the recipes are quite fast and easy to follow. Furthermore, it’s written by two teenage girls, so one can be pretty certain it’s accessible.

I made some changes to the recipe, and I have a few suggestions for those wishing to save some money for this worthwhile dessert.
1) I added a splash of vodka to the whipped cream topping.  It goes great with poppyseeds!
2) I cut the recipe in half and baked it in an 8×8-inch square pan. Instead of using expensive walnuts, I just made the whole crust out of graham crackers.
3) It took me about double the amount of time to cook the custard, so factor that in just incase.
4) I whipped the cream by hand to avoid unecessary clean up (I needed the stand mixer for the egg whites.) To make it easier on yourself, chill a stainless steel bowl and a whisk in the freezer for about 10 minutes prior to whipping the CHILLED heavy cream. Then, whip your heart out – your triceps will thank you.

Buy the book at the kollegekitchen webstore!

Here’s the recipe:

Crust
1 c graham cracker crumbs
1 c flour
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c ground walnuts

Filling
5 eggs
2 c milk
1 1.2 c sugar
1/4 c poppy seeds
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tbsp (2 packets) powdered gelatin
1/2 c water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Topping
1 c heavy cream
1/4 c confectioner’s sugar

To prepare the crust
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Stir together the crust ingredients in an ungreased 9×19-in. pan and pat firmly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.

To prepare the filling
Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a large saucepan and the whites in a large bowl.  Add the milk and 1 cup of the sugar to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the poppy seeds, salt, and cornstarch and cook, stirring constantly, for 7 to 8 minutes, or until it just begins to bubble and is thick.  (Do not allow the mixture to boil or the eggs will curdle.) Remove the pan from the heat.

Combine the gelatin and water and let stand for 5 minutes, or until the gelatin is dissolved.  Stir the gelatin into the warm egg yolk mixture.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat for 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. (When the beaters are lifted out of the egg whites, they form peaks that remain upright.) Gently fold the egg whites into the custard. Carefully pour the filling over the crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To prepare the topping
Place the cream in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form. (When the beaters are lifted out of the cream, they form peaks that fold over when the beaters pull away.) Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined. Spread the whipped cream over the filling and refrigerate the torte until ready to serve.

Top 10 Sweet Spots in NYC (In No Particular Order)

Notice the endless layers. I count 7 plus frosting.

I should stress that it was a tough decision and that I really love much more!

1) Momofuku Milk Bar – Number 1 of all time? Maybe!
What I love about this place is how strange everything is, and yet how it all tastes so good. I’ve been making it a point to try as much as possible here. So far, I’ve conquered most of the cakes, the most famous cookies, most of the pies (though not the crack pie as I fear that would kill me) and the softserve (stuffing, anyone?). At the right is a picture of the first cake I ever had there: the chocolate chip cake with a a tangy passion fruit curd that helped cut the intensely sweet taste. A real winner, and you never know what this bakery will come up with next.

Gahh!

2) Liddabit Sweets – Best Candy
Oh, how I wish they had a real shop. Luckily they can be found at the Brooklyn Flea on weekends, online, and at every imaginable food market you can think of (except, sadly, the greenmarkets.) I’m in love with their candy bars and caramels. Back over the summer I had the “Gay Bar,” which was essentially a Mounds bar with some lime and graham cracker for good measure. Most recently, at the Amsterdam Market, I tried their pumpkin pie bar (pictured right.) Just take a look at it for a minute. Absorb. It’s a pie crust topped with pumpkin dulce de leche, marshmallow, and covered in chocolate! C’mon! Their caramels are great too-currently indulging in Chocolate Black Truffle (umami in a chewy, saccharine capsule.)

What a lovely piece of somethin' else.

3) Payard – Best Fancy French Patisserie
I died when I found out that Payard would be closing. I’m somewhat comforted by the chocolate shop on Madison, but it just won’t be the same. Every time I walked into the bakery on Lexington and 74th I would feel like some Russian princess on holiday in France a la the 1920s. (I’m living vicariously through Anastasia.) But seriously – top notch cookies, tarts and mini desserts. It’s hard to choose one picture to feature, so I’ll go with the first dessert I ever had (on a date with my sig. other). It’s a “Sicilian” and features untold goodies I can’t remember! Payard, you’ll be missed.

Oink

4) Sugar Sweet Sunshine – Best Like-Mom-Used-to-Make-Bakery
I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve schlepped to the LES just to get a taste of SSS’s many puddings and cakes. If I had a bakery, I’d want it to have this relaxed, fun feel to it, with a bunch of mismatched furniture and stuff that doesn’t have to look precise in order to be delicious. Their pistachio bundt cake gets kudos for not tasting like almond extract, and their peanut butter icebox cake is overwhelmingly sinful. For me, the puddings are the best. Their banana and chocolate puddings are great, but I love their seasonal specials. In the Fall it’s Pumpkin cake layered with eggnog custard and whipped cream, while in the Spring it’s lemon strawberry.  Just recently they came out with butterscotch chocolate chip cookie, which really just blew everything out of the water. The only good picture I have, however, is of their Piggy Pudding, made with walnuts, chocolate, and plenty of whipped cream.

Anyone allergic should back away.

5) Bouchon- Best Chic Bakery
I usually use the Time Warner Center for its bathrooms, but in the end it’s all strategic. If I use their bathrooms on the third floor, I inevitably have to walk past Bouchon Bakery. I don’ t need another dessert, but there’s nothing wrong with looking, right? Naturally something captures my attention and I spend untold amounts on it, but in the end it’s just so delicious. I love their holiday stuff – most recently the TKO cookie was in a bat shape with orange cream, and they had pumpkin macarons. What I like most about this place, however, is the peanut butter sandwich cookie. It’s bigger than my face and simply oozes with peanut butter filling. Wear old clothes as this will definitely get messy.

Behold, the holy cookie of fortune.

6) Birdbath/Build a Green/City Bakery- Best eco-minded bakery triad.
Even though I’m not vegan, the vegan chocolate chip cookie here is delightfully crispy and somehow manages to, at the very least, produce a buttery mouthfeel (known as kokumi for you food science geeks.) Try the regular chocolate chip cookie, and you’re transported – I’ve never felt so simultaneously guilty and joyous in my life than when I ate this cookie. Same goes for their Baker’s Muffin – a giant, bread pudding-esque rock filled with apple, raisins, walnuts, and plenty of cinnamon. The outside is crispy with a soft, squishy interior. Finally, there’s the hot chocolate – the only thing I look forward to in February is this – a selection of unusually flavored, incomprehensibly thick steaming chocolate. A shot is more than enough.

S'mores, how I'll miss you!

7) Gotham Bar and Grill – Best desserts at a restaurant
I’ll be honest – I used to intern at Gotham in the pastry department. But I was so in love with all of Deborah Racicot’s desserts that I am certain I gained a considerable amount of weight in the kitchen (and with those checkered chef’s pants, who’s to know?). I’ve dined there twice as a regular customer, and was enchanted by the s’mores composed dessert (no longer on the menu) and even by the one given at restaurant week (huckleberry, corn, lime, and basil were the main flavors.) Down to the petit fours, the desserts are all based off of classics, yet possess a distinction that makes eating them a whole other kind of wow. At right is the “S’more” – a chocolate graham cracker tart with a marshmallow chibouste, chocolate sauce, homemade marshmallows, and a candied hickory nut ice cream *dies*.

I could eat the whole cake.

8) Grandaisy Bakery-Best desserts than can be considered breakfast
When I don’t bring my lunch from home, I like to go to Grandaisy between classes. I always get a slice of their pizza (favorite is the fennel and cauliflower), a sandwich, and, of course, a dessert. Their desserts certainly have a bit of America in them, but they’re very Italian in their lack of excessive sweetness. The bread pudding, the loaves, and many others are very light on the palate, including the ricotta cheesecake.  It’s easily the best thing I’ve ever eaten there. It’s the complete opposite of a New York cheesecake, and even tastes a bit like a Japanese one. It’s light, airy, evaporates in the mouth, and has a delicate flavor. Dry enough to be eaten by hand!

I know it looks like a turd but I assure you it's ace!

9) Levain Bakery-Best balance of outrageous cookies and humble breakfast treats
There is no other cookie like a Levain bakery one. There is no other cookie, to my recollection, that weighs six ounces, looks like a scone, and has an interior like barely baked cookie dough. There are only four flavors, and they’re all outstanding. My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter chip – when I ate it I felt sick afterwards but it was worth it. Other websites recommend sharing but I say keep it all for yourself! The chocolate chip walnut and the double chocolate chip are great, and the oatmeal raisin, which I just recently tried, has this butteriness to it that completely overrides the dull oat taste – it’s also as dense as a California girl (kidding.)
Their chocolate-filled sourdough is never talked about, but try it warm. The inside melts down to a kind of chocolatey magma, and oozes out of the crusty sourdough…volcano.

Just let that sink in for a minute or two.

10) Max & Mina’s -Best Wacky Ice Cream EVER
Max & Mina’s is one of those places that you hear about, but dismiss because you don’t think it’s possible. Lox and cream cheese ice cream? Pizza? KETCHUP?! But then you go there. And you realize that there are flavors aplenty – nearly none of them are normal, but most are delicious. I’ve gone from the more typical (Chocolate oreo) to the unusual (Halvah, corn, and beer) and have always been delighted. The portions are huge and the ice cream tastes exactly like the flavor it says it is, so it’s worth the price tag. Last time I went, I had a taste of the ketchup flavor.  It was disgusting – mostly because it tasted exactly like it should! It should be mentioned, however, that people have indeed ordered a whole cup of this stuff and downed it like it was milk and honey from the gods. Just remember not to schlep out to Queens between Friday and Saturday after sundown – they close for the Sabbath.

The Elusive Macaron

I’m an easily bored baker. I could easily make something delicious, but not be interested in making it ever again simply because there’s too much in this world to try and eat!

However, the one thing I make again and again is the French macaron. This infamously famous cookie is made with a mixture of almond meal, confectioner’s sugar, and beaten egg whites, and often has either a buttercream or ganache filling.

A mocha macaron I made.

Naturally, people are getting a lot more creative these days. I decided to be as well, and made a macaron cookie laced with peanut butter, and two different fillings: strawberry cream cheese and banana curd, courtesy of James DiStefano of Rouge Tomate.

The recipe can be found here.  The site is called Passionate About Baking, and it’s clear that yes, she is!

Here’s how I went about it. I’d say that by far this has been the best macaron recipe I have followed, which gave the most consistent results.

1) I ground up slivered almonds in my tiny little food processor. You can also buy almond meal at somewhere like Kalustyan’s on Lex.

The finer the meal, the better your macaron will look.

2) I then mixed it together with the powdered sugar and two tbsp. of peanut powder and a pinch of curry powder.  Recipes recommend doing this in a food processor, but if, like me, your food processor is annoyingly small, just thoroughly mix it in a bowl by hand.

Try sifting the confectioner's sugar beforehand to avoid lumps.

3) While all of this was going on I was beating my egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar. Any time I make macarons I make sure that my egg whites are at least a few days old, and at room temperature. This seems to make getting macaron feet even easier. After adding some granulated sugar, here’s what they will look like, stiff peaks and all…

Mmmmm glossy!

4) Here comes the trickiest part – mixing the egg whites and dry ingredients together. You don’t want to be too easy on them so as to produce a stiff batter, but not so vigorous that you’ll end up with macarons spreading out and touching each other. It’s recommended to add the dry ingredients to the whites in two batches, and to take it slow.

Test the batter by flicking some of it onto a piece of parchment. If it "flows like magma" and spreads out, you're good to go!

5) Now it’s time to begin piping, which is in itself an art. I’ve found that by gently squeezing the bag and then quickly releasing the pressure, I can get a nice little round macaron shape that doesn’t have a pointy top. Just a smooth surface. Make sure you put these on parchment paper or, if you have one, a silpat (your best friend, I swear.)

Look how cute they are!

6) Waiting for the macarons to develop a skin is another crucial part of the process. I had to wait for at least an hour for them to be completely dry and not leave a sticky residue on my finger. Of course, the hotter and more humid it is, the longer it will take. Now it’s time to slip them in the oven.

As you can see, not ALL were a success, but at least they all have feet!

By this point I had ready a strawberry cream cheese frosting and a lovely banana curd.  I filled ‘em up, and here’s the result!

Such a cutie, isn't he?

All of the cuties together!

I recommend everyone give these little suckers a shot. They can be bratty at times, but eventually they’ll listen to you ^_^.