Unfortunately, our home baking efforts lagged sadly behind, and the pickings were pretty slim in those categories, but we do what we must do....
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| Hard to choose which biscotti you want at Enrico's; best take one of each! |
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.
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| Two out of three are award winners- front: Chocolate Salami, center: Chocolate Scotch Shortbread, back: forgettable Chocolate Loaf Cake |
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.
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| 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
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 .....
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| 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!!)
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| Goopy Italian meringue icing, insipid cake, lackluster filling- BLEH! |
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