Trio of Cream Puffs (strawberry, chocolate, and green tea)

Last night I went to a movie night with a newly formed film club that I am very fond of. I am also fond of the way we've decided to incorporate food into our movie nights, potluck style. My contribution was the vegan crumb cakes (below), an eggplant bread casserole (above) and these cream puffs.

I feel like these cream puffs may have triggered an anxiety attack. I'm blaming it on the cream puffs.

I made the cream puffs in the morning and they were adorable and thrilling in a way because I've never worked with choux pastry and my pastry bag sprung leaks all over the place and I was almost positive that the puffs weren't going to come out well. But they did. They were crispy on the outside and airy and delicate on the inside. I wanted to make a pillow out of choux pastry.

But here's the unfortunate part: I overlooked the fact that choux pastry does not hold up very well when left in sweltering apartment heat all day. By the time I was ready to fill them with whipped cream and take them to the film club the puffs had lost their crispness. I don't know why I become so upset by things like this. I tried to crisp them up again by throwing them in the oven for 5 minutes, which worked for the most part except that the internal temperature became too warm to fill them with the cream. But I was going to be late and so I filled them anyway and immediately regretted it because the whipped cream started to deflate immediately. My solution was to stick them in the freezer. By that time the cream puffs had been through such a variety of temperatures that they were pretty useless.

ARGGGHH!

Prune & Lemon Baby Cakes

Part 2 of the desserts I brought for Janice's Labor Day bbq--this part, not so much vegan. I wanted to make something lemony because that seems appropriate for an outdoor event and I had bought some French prunes from the farmers market the other day. Prunes are fascinating. I've never seen them in their non-dried form. I just assumed that "prune" was the term given to a dried plum, but apparently I was wrong. According to wikipedia, they are a small plums with easily removable pits. Okay.

These mini prune and lemons cakes were very simple to make. I used cupcake tins to make a small grabbable sizes and just inverted the cakes so that they wouldn't be mistaken for muffins. Ah, the versatility of bakeware. Also I made a lemon glaze to go on top just to give it an stronger lemon kick but you go without out the icing if you'd like. Without the icing I'd imagine that they'd make a very nice breakfast tea cake. I love tea cakes.

Ingredients:

16 prune, split and pitted

The zest of two large lemons (about 3-4 teaspoons)

1 cup granulated sugar + 1/8 cup sugar for muddling with the zest+1/4 cup sugar for cupcake tins

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature + 8 tablespoons of butter for the cupcake tins

1 large egg at room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1. preheat oven to 375

2. muddle the lemon zest with 1/8 cup of granulated sugar and set aside

3. sift together flour, baking powder and salt

4. with an electric mixer beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy (approx. 3-4 minutes)

5. add the egg and beat for another minute

6. add the buttermilk and beat for another two minutes (at this point the batter will seem oddly curdled but do not fear, this is normal)

7. add the vanilla and lemon zest/sugar mixture

8. slowly add the flour/salt/baking soda mixture in three separate additions, folding very gently

9. grease 16-17 cupcake tins with vegetable oil or shortening

10. at the bottom of each mold put about 1/2 tablespoon of butter

11. over the 1/2 tablespoon of butter but about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar

12. place the sliced prune on top of the sugar

13. divide the batter among the cupcake tins, about 3/4 full

14. bake for 20 minutes

15. let the cakes cool for about 20 minutes

16. while the cakes are still in the pans, take a serated knife and cut of the domes of each cake so that they will sit flatly when inverted (save the cake tops by wrapping and plastic wrap and freezing)

17. invert the cakes by taking a butter knife and gently running it along the edges of each cake and then place a large cookie sheet on top of the cupcake tins and then flip. The cakes should unmold easily.

Optional Icing:

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. whisk together

2. put the icing in a sandwich bag and push contents into one corner of the bag

3. snip and small corner off the bag and then ice the cakes.

Vegan Apple Rose Tarts

Happy Labor Day! I don't really understand what Labor Day is, but all the same, it's nice to have an excuse to have a bbq with friends. Janice, Jeff, and Jared (oh! i just realized they are all "J" people) invited me over for an afternoon bbq. This was also coincidentally a good opportunity to test out some dessert possibilities for the Les Figues auction this Saturday. Among the multitude of anxieties I am feeling about this event, the vegan portion of the desserts that I am catering is causing me a fair amount stress. Good stress though. I find the experimentation phase of working out recipes pretty exciting, but only when the recipes turn out well.

When baking vegan desserts, my stipulation is that it should be unrecognizably vegan, that it should be plainly good regardless of its non-dairy-ness.

I think this apple rose tart is 75% there. The pate brisee dough was a little too crumbly, maybe. I can work with this. I wanted to try veganizing this recipe because I'm very comfortable making non-vegan apple tarts and it seemed like an easy transition. And because the primary ingredient of this dessert is fruit, it felt a little safer to me.

I have a couple more recipes I want to try before I settle on a decision for the Les Figues Event.

Ingredients:

vegan pate brisee:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Earth Balance, cubed and chilled

1/2 Vegetable Shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons ice cold water

apple filling:

4 small apples or 3 large ones (granny smith preferably), cored and thinly sliced

1/4 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup apricot jam

1. Pour the flour onto a clean surface

2. Make a well in the flour and put the vegetable shortening, earth balance, salt, and sugar in the center

3. slowly work the flour into the center of the well until the mixture is crumbly (the dough will not hold together at this point)

4. add the ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time and work the dough until it begins to hold together

5. divide the dough in half, pat into discs and wrap tightly in plastic wrap

6. chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or you can freeze for up to 3 months

7. roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and place into either 12-15 tartlet pans or two large tart pans

8. arrange the apple slices in a single direction, going around the tart pan so that it looks like a rose

9. dot the apple slice evenly with Earth balance

10. sprinkle with generous amount of sugar

11. bake at 400 for about 30 minutes or until the apples and crust look golden

12. let the tart cool

13. heat up the apricot jam in a sauce pan at low heat

14. brush the tarts with the jam

Vegan Cookie & Cream Cupcakes For Kristina (+ more nutella banana cupcakes)

yes, i crush oreos with a mortar and pestle

Kristina turns 16 today! Kristina has recently become vegan and can almost never eat the things I bake. I think I want to learn how to bake more vegan things. This is a new challenge to myself.

For the occasion of Kristina's birthday I made vegan cookies & cream cupcakes. I've made these before and the recipe is very dependable. Really, I don't think much is sacrificed here just because there is no dairy. I found this recipe in "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World". The recipe is exceedingly simple.

I also made some more banana nutella cupcakes for my mom because she's become somewhat obsessed with them. She's admitted to eating four in one sitting.

Ingredients:

cupcakes-

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 vegan chocolate cream-filled cookies, crushed (oreos are now vegan but i think Trader Joes O's are quite good)

Frosting:

3/4 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening

3/4 cup nonhydrogenated margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

5 chocolate cream filled cookies, mashed finely

1. preheat oven to 350 and line 12 cupcake tins

2. whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large mixing bowl and set aside for at least 10 minutes so that the milk can curdle

3. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, almond extract into the soy milk/vinegar mixture and beat with an electric mixer until foamy (about 3-4 minutes)

4. sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder

5. gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until just combined

6. fill the cupcake tins about 3/4 full

7. baking for about 20 minutes-the tops will slightly crack

8. let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then let them cool completely out of the tins

9. frost generously

For Frosting:

1. beat the margarine and shortening together

2. add the powdered sugar in small increments

3. add vanilla and soy milk

4. fold in cookie crumbs

Nancy, You Sure Are Neat! (Upside-Down Fig Upside Down Cake)

It's Nancy's Birthday!

Do you know Nancy Romero? You should, you really should. Her hair always smells like happy apples and she owns one of those backpacks with a water bottle connected to a giant hose/straw built in. She deserves a cake. She actually needs cake because she bikes a gazillion miles a day.

No seriously, Nancy is a very wonderful person.

For her birthday I thought about making Nancy Cake again but I think the occasion called for a bit of celebratory experimentation. You may have noticed that I am obsessed with figs. I wanted to make a hazelnut fig upside down cake but very stupidly placed the figs upside down, creating an upside down-upside down cake. This was a shame because it would have looked so pretty with the open fig flesh all caramelized. And because I placed the open flesh into the batter I am scared that the cake became too moist with fig juices. I'm going to blame my stupidity on lack of sleep. My body keeps waking me up at 7:30 in the morning for no reason, even though I haven't been able to fall asleep before 3 a.m. lately.

I hope it tasted okay. The problem with baking birthday cakes is that you can't swipe a bite and test if they turned out well. You just have to hope for the best.

Oh also, while I was making this cake this morning I must have been making too much noise trying to get rid of air bubbles in my batter and the people living below me came up to complain. They thought I was angry at them and was trying to send them a message with my loud noises. It was embarrassing.

Happy Birthday Nancy Romero.

Ingredients:

Topping:

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

25 figs, depending on size (halved)

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

3/4 cup of brown sugar (I used dark because that's what I had but I think golden would be better)

Cake:

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups and 2 tablespoons of all purpose or cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

2 eggs

1 cups of sugar

1. preheat oven to 350

2. melt the butter for the topping over low heat

3. add the brown sugar and whisk together until fully incorporated

4. pour the butter and brown sugar mixture into a greased 10 inch cake pan

5. sprinkle the hazelnuts over the brown sugar syrup

6. arrange the figs halves, open flesh side down

7. set aside pan

8. in a large bowl beat the sugar and butter together until pale and fluffy

9. add the eggs one at a time

10. add the vanilla extract

11. sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder

12. alternate 3 separate additions of the flour mixture and buttermilk into the egg/sugar/butter mixture

13. pour the batter into the pan and over the figs

14. tap the pan down on a hard surface to get rid of air bubbles

15. bake in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly and the top of the cake in golden brown (it looks almost like the color of cornbread)

16. let the cake cool for 10 minutes

17. place a flat pan or plate over the top of the cake pan and then flip

18. the juices will run down the side of the cake, this is a good thing

19. let cool before serving

Honey Whole Wheat Fig Muffins

All these ingredients, together, make a world of sense to me. Iced with cream cheese frosting makes it all the more exciting.

I think I still have to experiment with the recipe a little because it was just barely too moist. Perhaps less buttermilk.

Because I made an enormous amount of batter I also tried to make loaf cake with this batter but they didn't set quite right and so I sliced the loaf up (biscotti style) and re-baked them just slightly to make breakfast bar type things and I really like them in that form. They're still soft and chewy but the honey has sort of caramelized around the outside. Quite nice with morning coffee.

Sable Cookies

Hurray for another order! Hansoul, a former co-worker of Saeyoung's, ordered a dozen chamomile apricot sable cookies. I love sable cookies. The dough is a little testy and the measurements have to be very precise, so precise that I prefer to use a digital scale but when it works the cookie is a very delicate, buttery, and not-too-sweet.

The chamomile apricot combination seems to be popular but while I was at it I thought I'd experiment and make other types of sable dough. Sable dough freezes perfectly for up to 3 months so when making it, it's probably smart to make in large quantities. I try to avoid extracts if possible and so when including ingredients like lavender or chamomile I buy the flowers dried and then grind them in a coffee grinder right before using. I think it makes a difference.

The types of sable dough made:

1. chocolate

2. lemon

3. lavender

4. chocolate lavender (i'm thinking chocolate lavender cookies with cream cheese filling)

5. vanilla

6. vanilla cinnamon

And also, did you notice the pretty gift wrapping?

Email me if anyone wants to order any sable cookies! sprout.bean.food@gmail.com

Caramel Apple Cake

Jee Hyun, co-worker is moving to Korea tomorrow due to the evil nature of U.S. immigration. We had a small going away party for her today and I provided dessert.

Saeyoung and I had a caramel apple the other day and it tasted incredibly comforting and was just plainly fun to eat. Going off of that I thought I'd use the caramel apple as inspiration.

It's all in the trimmings here. The cake is a very reliable recipe for yellow cake. But the caramel is not overly sweet and the roasted apples give it a little tartness. And the peanuts bring everything together.

I like this one very much.

I am sad to see Jee Hyun go. Good luck in Korea.

Ingredients:

for cake:

1 cup buttermilk

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (you can use all-purpose in a pinch)

2 large eggs

for caramel:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

for apples:

4 large granny smith apples

3 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

other:

chopped peanuts for topping

1. preheat oven to 350

2. beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes

3. add in eggs one at a time

4. add vanilla

5. sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder

6. alternate 3 separate additions of flour mixture with 3 additions of buttermilk

7. pour batter into a buttered and parchment lined 10 inch cake pan (you can use 8 inch as long as it's a high walled pan)

8. tap the pan a few times to get rid of air bubbles

9. bake in the oven for about 35 minutes

10. let cool for 10 minutes and then invert and let cool completely

11. in the meanwhile bring the oven up to 400 degrees

12. peel, core, and slice the apples into about 1/2 inch wedges

13. combine the apples with melted 3 tablespoons of butter, 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, and vanilla

14. lay out the slices in one layer

15. bake for 30 minutes or until slightly golden and fork soft

16. while the apples are in the oven make the caramel

17. bring the heavy cream, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup to a low boil over medium heat

18. use a candy thermometer to measure when the caramel reaches 220 fahrenheit (about 12-15 minutes)

19. take the caramel off the heat and mix in the vanilla extract

20. pour the hot glaze over the center top of the cake, the excess should drip over the sides

21. arrange the apple slices in a concentric circle around the top of the cake

22. top with peanuts

23. let cool completely-about 30-45 minutes

Adzuki Red Bean and Coffee Brownies

Okay, let's just say this right at the beginning. Let's say it like we're ripping off a bandaid.

This was a failure.

Conceptually, this is something I've been wanting to experiment with for quite a while. I've been slowly planning this for two weeks.

Red bean is a very commonly used ingredient in Asian desserts. Good. Coffee. Good. Chocolate. Undoubtedly good.

Here's where the problem was: I decided to make this gluten-free, which is dumb because i love gluten. Yay for gluten! The complete lack of flour made these brownies very heavy, rich and intense. If I could cut the heaviness in half, I think I'd be pretty happy.

I am not discouraged. I am going to re-work this recipe, perhaps tonight. I can make this work. I think there is potential here. And watch out world, when I figure this out I'm going to be throwing red bean into everything.

Who Do You Think You Are Katie Joel?

I totally failed at my baking ban. This is okay because I've finished the bulk of my chapbook. Or at least I thought I had until I had a bit of a formatting trouble today and it is giving me a massive headache. In any case, I wanted to bake something last night, and I'm not good at denying myself much.

In the new Food & Wine Magazine there was an article about some sort of party at Katie Joel's house. I don't understand. Who is Katie Joel? Why is she somehow associated with things culinary? I still don't know why she hosted the first season of Top Chef. I don't even care enough to wikipedia her. They featured a supposed blue ribbon recipe for angel food cake that apparently won Katie Joel's grandmother a ton of medals and such. I'm generally suspicious of "grandmother" recipes and even more suspicious of award winning recipes. If these recipes are so valued and treasured, why would one reveal it in a large-distribution magazine.

Fishy, I say.

And you know what? My suspicion was well founded. The cake finished baking in half the suggested baking time (and I have a slow baking oven). Also the measurements were all wrong. What was supposed to fit a 10 inch tube pan, actually filled a 10 inch tube pan in addition to 12 cupcake tins!

That being said, with the necessary adjustments the cake was quite good but tasted mysteriously of cotton candy. If I were to make this again, I think I would cut the amount of sugar from 2 1/2 cups to 2 cups, maybe even less. Also, I put the sugar through a food processor to make a finer grained sugar because it makes for a better meringue with beating the egg whites.

Here is the recipe.

But remember to cut the baking time by half.