The Great Picky Eater Caramel Cake!

The Picky Eater was home for spring break this week, and started getting a little bored but motivated after watching countless episodes of her new fave "The Great British Baking Show." She baked a spectacular cake which did her mother proud. Her being her, she followed her proclivities as an aspiring chemist to veer off recipe into unknown baking territory; this time with great success. (Sometimes not so much.)

Date, Mirin & Pear Caramel Cake
This was adapted from a gorgeous recipe, "Whiskey Date & Buttermilk Cake with Salted Pear Caramel Buttercream"courtesy of the blog Adventures in Cooking (the Dec 21, 2014 post) My modifications?  I don’t like buttercream, so I omitted that and just made the caramel.  I was also making this for four people, one of whom was me and one other of which was on a diet, so I scaled it down to 2 layers, not three.  It was still plenty tall.

Cake Part
4 ounces dates, cut in half and pits removed
Scant ¼ cup booze of your choice*
2 cups buttermilk
2 ¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pear Caramel
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 pear, cored and minced
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream (I just used milk because I couldn’t be bothered to buy cream)
¾ cup brown sugar
Pinch of fleur de sel to finish (optional)

OPTIONAL—whipping cream and pear (or apple) jam, custard, cream cheese, chevre, honey.  See notes on filling.

Boil the dates and (selected booze) in a small saucepan for ~10 minutes, until the dates look soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Set aside to cool, and then chop roughly using a mezzaluna (or blitz in the food processor, but I like rustic date bits and not needing to clean the food processor).  Combine with the buttermilk and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease two 8-inch cake pans.  Line the bottom of the pans with circles of parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a spatula and some muscle) cream together the butter and both sugars until smooth.  Add the eggs one by one and mix well after each addition.

Remove the bowl from the mixer (if using) and add the ~1/3rd buttermilk, 1/3rd flour, carefully folding by hand.  Continue until all combined.  It is easy to overwork the batter using the machine.

Split the batter between the cake pans and bake until golden brown and set in the middle.  Our instant-read thermometer read 205ºF in the middle, and came out with no batter clinging to it.  This took 45 minutes, but our oven is notoriously slow.  The original recipe suggests 25-35 minutes.  When done, allow to cool for ~10 minutes before flipping them out of the pans and reflipping onto a wire cooling rack.

While the cake is baking and/or cooling, prepare the caramel.  Bring the minced pear, water and sugar to a boil over medium high heat until pale golden brown in color.  Add the milk/cream, butter, and brown sugar quickly, off the heat, while stirring continuously.  Heat this mixture over medium-low heat until it boils, keep at the boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.

NOW.  What to do next.  What I did is fill the cake with caramel (trying to get lots of pear bits) and poured most of the remaining caramel over the top.  While this tasted excellent, it was determined to be structurally insufficient.  There are a variety of possibilities that I think would work well, which are listed below.  Some are more… uh….. involved than others.

Possible fillings:

• The aforementioned buttercream, but come on.  Gross.

• Make a pastry cream or custard and blend some of the caramel into it

• Spread with pear jam and then whipped cream

• Fill with cream cheese/chevre blended with honey

• Just do what I did

• Skip the layering bit and make a 1-layer cake.  

When done filling, cover the surface with the pear caramel, allowing it to run down the sides slightly.  If you want, sprinkle the top of the cake with a pinch of fleur de sel (but just a pinch, you’re not aiming for a salted caramel flavor). 

An interior view

Whatever you choose, the cake will be moist, spicy, and absolutely delicious.  The Daddy proclaimed it “actually very good” before launching into a Paul Hollywood impression inspired by my Great British Bake-Off streaming marathon.

*I used mirin, because it’s the only liquor in the house that actually belongs to me.  Mirin is an exceedingly sweet Japanese cooking wine, usually used to add the sweetness to Teriyaki and things like that.  If you are going to buy it, look closely at the ingredients.  A lot of stuff marked as ‘mirin’ is just watered down corn syrup.  The good stuff contains nothing but fermented rice.

Other possible flavouring agents include Cointreau, Armanac, Whisky (as in the original recipe), Cognac, Rum, and orange juice cut with water.  Personally I think the mirin-date combo was excellent.

Picky Eater Picks: Best Dessert Awards 2015!

We've watched the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, so to fill the void until they announce this year's Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes, we present the Picky Eater's Best Desserts for 2015. This year saw us evaluating a slightly more global crop of candidates, including entries from Paris, Amsterdam, Pittsburgh, New York City, Charleston (South Carolina), and San Francisco.
Unfortunately, our home baking efforts lagged sadly behind, and the pickings were pretty slim in those categories, but we do what we must do....

Hard to choose which biscotti you want at Enrico's; best take one of each!

Best New Cookie
Commercial: Biscotti from Enrico's Biscotti Company, 2022 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA With twenty-seven varieties, including black pepper walnut, coconut chocolate chip, and even a doggie treat flavor, this PGH institution does it all when it comes to biscotti.
Homemade: Chinese-style Almond Cookies
This is a mash-up of recipes from Emily Lucchetti's Stars Desserts and an old Sunset magazine. They rated pretty high on Dr. Hal's cookie taster monitor. The dough needs to chill for an hour before baking.
Chinese-style Almond Cookies 
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup raw almonds
+ 24-26 additional whole raw almonds
1 egg yolk
1 TB milk
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the 1 cup of raw almonds out on a rimmed baking pan. Bake until nicely toasted, about 7 minutes. (Toasting will take longer if they come directly from the freezer as mine usually do.) Cool slightly, then chop about medium size. Set them aside for the moment.

In a medium size bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Beat the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the whole egg and almond extract. Beat to blend. Stir in the flour and chopped almonds. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. (Overnight is okay.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, flatten slightly, and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

In a small bowl beat the egg yolk and milk together. Brush each cookie with the egg wash, sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, and press a whole almond into the center.

Bake the cookies 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned, switching the cookie sheets halfway through baking (if you are using more than one.) Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack with a spatula to finish cooling. Makes 24-30 cookies.

Two out of three are award winners- front: Chocolate Salami, center: Chocolate Scotch Shortbread,
back: forgettable Chocolate Loaf Cake

Best New Cookie- Chocolate: Chocolate Scotch Shortbread Cookies from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts. These were part of my annual Holiday Bake-a-thon with my friend Robert. They have deep butter and chocolate flavors, and are not too sweet. Stashed away in the freezer, I stealthily ate one a day, and managed to gain five pounds over the winter break.
Chocolate Scotch Shortbread Cookies
2 cups flour
1/2 cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (1/2 lb.) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

Cream the butter in the bowl of a mixer. Add the vanilla, sugar, and salt and beat to mix. On low speed (or by hand) add the flour and cocoa, beating only until the mixture holds together. Form the dough into a ball and flatten slightly.

Flour a rolling pin and 12"x12" piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough to an even thickness of 1/2" (no thinner) on the floured paper. Flouring a plain shaped cookie cutter (round or square) each time, use it to cut out the cookies, cutting them as close to each other as possible. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Press the dough scraps together and roll out again to cut more cookies. Refrigerate the sheets of cookies for about 10 minutes, to firm before baking. Prick the cookies three times in a vertical row in the middle, going all the way through the cookie each time. (Instead of pricking the cookies, you can use a cookie stamp to decorate them. I found a gizmo (the "Brigitte Message on a Cookie Cutter") that allows you to form words in the center of a rectangular cookie cutter.)

Bake the cookies for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Reverse the cookie sheets halfway. Don't let them burn, as this will make them bitter. Cool the cookies on a rack.  These keep and mail well. Makes 35-40 cookies.

Best Presentation- Desserts

Restaurant: Tied between the Chocolate Souffle Cake with pistachio butter, concord grape must, burnt meringue, olive oil, and sea salt from Cure (Pittsburgh) chef Justin Severino's dinner at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village

and the mignardises at Restaurant Jules Verne on the 2nd level of the Tour Eiffel, Paris.

Nothing like a view of the Seine to elevate an already amazing meal!

What exactly are mignardises? To quote Saveur magazine, "Mignardises are usually an artful arrangement of confections like gemlike pâtes de fruits or tiny macarons; a tradition that dates back to 18th-century France. Miniature sweets were de rigueur then--once pastry chefs had finished their work for the day in their brick ovens, they placed small treats inside to bake in the low, residual heat; the name mignardise comes from the Old French word for 'precious' or 'cute.'"

Homemade: The Picky Eater's Apple and Pistachio Frangipane Tart- does food get more attractive than this?

And here's her recipe:

Pâte sucree  (from the Use Real Butter Pear Frangipane Tart)

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

8 tbsps unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp whipping cream

 Place the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and whipping cream to the dry ingredients. Pulse again until it resembles wet sand. 

Place the dough (it may be totally crumbly) onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Using the plastic, gather the dough into a ball and press it together into a disc. Wrap with the plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, prick tart shell all over with a fork. Place the tart pan in the fridge for 30 minutes. Set the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry turns a pale golden brown. Let it cool until ready to use.

Pistachio Frangipane (from Tartine 3) and is.... kind of....involved....

Make a Pistachio Nut Milk, as follows:

1 3/4 cups raw pistachios

3 cups cows milk (I used 1% since that's what we always have)

2 T sugar

1/4 t fine salt

I skipped the overnight infusion, because time was short, and just blitzed the pistachios in the food processor until super über fine and stirred them into the milk.  It looked very green.

Then, you use the nut milk to make a pastry cream.  You only need half the nut milk though, so, either make double the pastry cream or half the nut milk.  I had to do the math, you do too.

Nut Milk Pastry Cream

2 cups pistachio nut milk

1/4 t fine sea salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 T cornstarch (maybe a tad more?  My frangipane was a little runny at the end)

2 large eggs

4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and eggs until smooth.  Heat the nut milk until just under the boil, and slowly pour 1/3rd of the hot milk into the egg mixture.  Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and whisk until it's the thickness of lightly whipped cream (~2 min).  Do not boil or it will curdle.  Strain and let sit until ~140F/60C, and then add the butter in four pieces, whisking until smooth.

FINALLY you get to make your frangipane!

Pistachio Frangipane

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room T

2/3 cup finely chopped raw pistachios

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

4 t cornstarch

3/4 cup Nut Milk Pastry Cream (again, not all of it.  The recipe should make 2 1/2 cups. Chad Robertson thinks you need to practice your math)

zest of one lemon

4 t orange liquor (optional, mom had Cointreau around so I used it)

Beat the butter and the powdered sugar on low speed to combine, and then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth and creamy.  Scrape down and add-- everything else.  Beat until evenly incorporated. Keeps for 2 days in the fridge

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Fill the parbaked pastry with frangipane and slice 3-4 apples thinly with a mandoline.  I used a variety I had never heard of from the farmer's market.....

Arrange the slices in a spiral, keeping the slices directional (the top and bottom of an apple are shaped differently, so keep them the same direction) and with the peel side showing.  Really doesn't matter, but it looks pretty.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the frangipane sets and stops being too jiggly.  If the crust starts to darken, cover the tart with tin foil.

Take numerous photos for instagram and feed to hungry college students!

Most Entertaining Confectionary Display

Another tie between

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

Fred's shops in Paris, the provinces, London, and now New York City(!), boast a unique marketing tool- his meringue, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate confections are assembled in the front window of the shop, visible to passersby, and a natural draw to enter and purchase!

and 

Michel Chaudun; 149 Rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris

One of THE Masters of the Chocolate Universe. This 100% chocolate egg cum portmanteau speaks louder than words

Best Candy or Confection

Commercial: Caramels from Gaby et Jules Patisserie, 5837 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA. As you step into Gaby et Jules, Pittsburgh fades away and you feel transported to a patisserie in a French suburb where miraculously the employees are friendly and speak English. On our last visit there, the Picky Eater went way off her usual low fat, low sugar diet and indulged big time. And it was worth every calorie!

Homemade: My version of last year's best commercial chocolate confection- Dude Sweet's Chocolate Salami, the Picky Eater edition.

Ellin & Robert’s Chocolate Salami (Vegan!)

Makes 4-5 

1 c  homemade (or store bought) marzipan- 

made from

7 oz. almond paste

1 ½ c powdered sugar

1 ½ TB light corn syrup

1-2 Tb cold water

(This will be more than 1 cup, use the remainder for more salami or another recipe. Marzipan will keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.)

1 c melted bittersweet chocolate (about 10 oz)

1 tsp vanilla

½ c toasted, skinned, and chopped hazelnuts

½ c toasted almonds, chopped

½ c dried figs, chopped in small (about 1/8”) pieces

½ c dried, pitted dates, chopped in small (about 1/8”) pieces

½ c cocoa nibs

additional powdered sugar for coating finished salamis

Make the marzipan-

Put the powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer on low, add the almond paste 1 tsp. at a time and continue beating until the mixture is crumbly. With the mixer still running, add the corn syrup, beat until incorporated, and then add the water. With the addition of the water the marzipan will hold together with the consistency of sugar cookie dough.

Stir the melted chocolate, marzipan, and vanilla together in a bowl until well combined. Add the nuts, dried fruits, and cocoa nibs. Mix until evenly incorporated. (The mixture will be very stiff and you may need to mix it with your hands.)

Refrigerate 30-40 minutes until somewhat firm. Scoop about one fourth of the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and use parchment paper to roll it into a cylinder, tapering the ends to make a salami shape about 1 ½” thick and 6-7 inches long. Continue with the remaining dough. Place on a plate or tray and refrigerate. Before serving, roll the salami in sifted powder sugar, randomly brushing some off  to  simulate the appearance of a real salami. Wrap in brown parchment paper and tie with string to give as a gift. Should keep, well wrapped and refrigerated for 3-4 weeks.

Best Legendary Cake: The Ultimate Coconut Cake from the Peninsula Grill, Charleston, South Carolina. We are staying at a hotel across the street from the Peninsula, and in a fit of extracurricular gluttony, I bought myself a late night to-go piece of their 12-layer coconut cake. My reaction: "Very Southern." You can find the authentic recipe (for a 6-layer version) on Martha Stewart's website, if you're feeling ambitious. I myself will wait for another trip to Charleston.

Maida Heatter Lifetime Achievement Award

Since the 1970's Maida Heatter, a.k.a. "the Queen of Desserts," has been making the world a sweeter and more chocolaty place. She is the author of nine classic dessert cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts.  Ms. Heatter is a member of the James Beard Foundation Hall of Fame. An octogenarian, she continues to bake joyfully from her home in Palm Beach, Florida.

This year's award, Homemade division, goes to .....

I went a little wild with the candy decorating this year!

Faye's Carrot Cake !!!!

Faye Celayeta was the “Auntie Mame” in my life. She lived in San Francisco in the 1930s, 40s, & 50s; had an apartment on Russian Hill,  knew everyone there was to know, and went everywhere there was to go. In the 1950s, Faye had a cooking show on KPIX, and I remember watching her as a child. She always said that she replaced the test pattern. 

This cake has graced countless events in our family- weddings (mine included), birthdays (most recently for my 64th- sadly these days I have to bake my own birthday cakes), bar mitzvahs, maybe even a few funerals.

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 t. cinnamon

4 eggs

1 c. oil

4 c. grated carrots

1/2 c. chopped nuts

8-10 walnut halves

Preheat oven to 350°.

Stir together the flour, sugar, soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a large mixer bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then slowly beat in the oil. 

On low speed, stir in the flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Hand mix in the carrots and nuts.

Pour the batter into 3 greased & floured 8” round cake pans, or a 10” tube pan. Bake 25-30 minutes in 8” pans, and about 1 hour in a tube pan.

Cool on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely on racks. Fill and frost with cream cheese icing (below). Decorate with walnut halves.  Serves 8-12.

Cream Cheese Icing

4 Tb butter, softened

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 1/3 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Blend the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, continue beating until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flavoring(s). Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before frosting the cake.

It is with great sadness that I must announce the loser in the category 

Worst Dessert of the Year:

From cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, this Gingerbread Bûche de Noël was a huge disaster! It tasted really awful and almost ruined our Christmas dinner. . So, readers beware, there are many accolades from serious foodies for this dessert, but don't believe everything you read (or see- from my photo this baby looks like it's pretty tasty- NOT!!)

Goopy Italian meringue icing, insipid cake, lackluster filling- BLEH!