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fresh fig and almond cake

August 7, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

My grandmother is a magical gardener. She can take a seed and push it into the ground with her thumb and voila! A beautifully lush plant sprouts up seemingly instantly. And, while she insists she “didn’t do much” this year, a quick tour around her garden tells a different story.

She points out each plant rattling off vegetables in her adorable Portuguese accent…beets, tomatoes, beans, kale, lettuce, rhubarb, chard, a half dozen varieties of squash…I quickly lose count of the vegetables. She could also season meals for the entire city with all the herbs she is growing. She picks some lemon verbena for me to dry out and use for tea. “It’s great for your tummy,” she says. Grandmothers are always looking out for you!

She’s nonchalant as she points to peaches hanging from her peach trees, cherries, strawberries, grapes, and finally the fresh figs. She always has fresh figs.

This fig and almond cake is something I can picture my grandmother making to use up her fig bounty. It is a simple snacking cake that highlights the uber-sweet fruit at its peak ripeness. Ground almonds add nuttiness and texture to the cake. I couldn’t find enough fresh figs at the store nearby to make the full recipe so the pictures are of a halfed version. If you want to make the half recipe like I did, you can halve the ingredients listed below. When it came to halving the eggs, I chose to use one full egg and one egg yolk, for richness.

If my grandmother dropped a crumb of this cake into her garden, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she had a fig and almond cake tree come up next summer 😉

fresh fig and almond cake
adapted from the new york times

prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: about 45 minutes
makes one 9-inch cake

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus butter for greasing pan
1 cup natural raw almonds (not blanched, not salted)
1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
10-12 ripe figs

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Butter a 9-inch tart pan, or pie pan, and set aside. In the work bowl of a food processor, pour the almonds and 1/4 cup sugar and grind for about 20 seconds or until it is a coarse powder. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, honey, and almond extract. Add the almond and flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat together until batter is just mixed. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Remove the stem from each fig and cut them in half, lengthwise. Arrange the fig halves cut-side-up over the batter. Sprinkle figs with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden outside and a toothpick inserted into the cake’s center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

All aboard the almond train! Check out this recipe for Almond Apricot Olive Oil Cake.

iced brownie thins

August 4, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

How fun are these little cookies?! They are like 2-D donuts! Or chocolate donut pancakes!

As fun as these roll-out cookies are for kids to make and eat, they are equally as satisfying for adults. The brownie thins have a mouth-coating chocolate flavor and the texture of a flattened fudge brownie. They are soft and chewy and are topped with sweet and crunchy vanilla royal icing and colorful nonpareils. Who wouldn’t love that?

Put one of these on the bottom of a bowl and top it with ice cream and you’ll be considered a superhero at home.

You’ll notice that Dutch processed cocoa powder is listed as an ingredient for this recipe. If you’re unfamiliar with the difference between Dutch processed and natural cocoa powder, I put together a separate post to help explain. You can find the deets here. It gets somewhat science-y, folks. Hold onto your hats.

If you skip that post, here’s the quick version:

Dutch Processed (alkalized): Acid removed, darker color, smooth flavor, works best with baking powder, should not be used in recipes that call specifically for natural cocoa powder.

Natural (non-alkalized): Acidic, lighter color, sharp flavor, works best with baking soda, can sometimes be used in place of Dutch processed cocoa in recipes.

In this recipe I specifically used Valrhona Unsweetened 100% Cocoa Powder, which is Dutch processed (alkalized). You could actually try using natural cocoa powder (non-alkalized) in this recipe because of what we learned here. I have not made this recipe using natural cocoa (yet), so, if you try it, please do let me know how it turns out!

Whoops!

This dough is chilled and ready to roll!

plenty o’ sprinkles

iced brownie thins
adapted from the smitten kitchen cookbook

prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 8–11 minutes
total time: 1 hour 30 minutes (includes chill time)
makes about 12 iced donut-shaped cookies or a lot more little ones (you may have extra icing)

Ingredients:

3 cups (275 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2/3 cup (55 grams) unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
16 tablespoons (225 grams or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For icing:
2.3 ounces pasteurized egg whites (about 2 large eggs)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
nonpareils or sprinkles for topping

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar on low-medium speed until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Lightly flour a work surface and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter of your choice, cut cookies out from the dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheets leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Cook for 8 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly puffed but still appear soft. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely while you prepare the icing.
To prepare the icing: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners’ sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks (5 to 7 minutes). Transfer to a pastry bag and pipe onto the cooled cookies. (You can also use a knife to spread onto the cookies if you’d like.) While the icing is wet, sprinkle with nonpareils, if desired. You may have extra icing and you can keep it in a well-sealed container in the fridge for a couple days to use again!

Is chocolate your jam? You should totally check out this recipe for Chocolate Pecan Torte with Strawberry Buttercream.

feta scallion buttermilk biscuits

July 28, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

Buttermilk biscuits get a savory punch in this easy recipe full of feta cheese and scallions. It’s kind of like a Greek take on the southern classic. You get the saltiness from the feta, the delicate onion flavor from the scallions, tang from the buttermilk and, flakiness from the really, really, really cold butter. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, sour cream or Greek yogurt thinned out with a little bit of milk or cream will also work. You could make a killer breakfast sandwich on one of these biscuits or split one in half and griddle each side with butter and then serve warm with even more feta and scallions on top. Mmm, sounds so good.

This is a ONE BOWL biscuit recipe and you don’t even need a stand mixer or food processor, making it especially perfect when you don’t want to dirty too many dishes. We will, however, dirty our hands!

First things first, dice your butter and return it to the fridge to stay cold while you get things started. Because we’re using our hands to mix the dough, it is extra important to have all of your ingredients at the ready before you start. When you’re hands are covered in sticky dough and it comes time to add the feta, you’ll be happy it is by your side and not in the fridge. If you ever feel like the dough is sticking to your hands too much during mixing try rubbing them together as if you were trying to start a fire and the dough should roll right off!

If you like these, you should definitely also check out these blueberry buttermilk scones with homemade cinnamon sugar butter. They are my favorite and the butter is to die for!

feta scallion buttermilk biscuits
Adapted from Joy the Baker

prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 15–18 minutes
total time: about 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, plus additional for sprinkling on top before baking
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 cup cold buttermilk, well-shaken
1/2 cup scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced (I recommend a very generous 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups feta cheese (Or bleu cheese if you’re feeling stinky!)
1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash

Instructions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the cold butter cubes (using your fingers or a pastry cutter) and work it into the dry ingredients until the butter flakes are the size of peas.
Create a well in the center of the flour/butter mixture and add the cold buttermilk and egg into the well (a-la mashed potato and gravy volcano). Stir until the egg and buttermilk are just evenly distributed in the flour mixture. Add the scallions and feta cheese. Stir to combine until the biscuit dough starts clumping together into a ball. Be careful not to over mix.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a 3/4-inch thick circle (if the dough seems too wet, add a touch more flour). Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter (or the top of a round drinking glass), cut biscuits out of the dough. Press any dough scraps together to make a few more biscuits out of the remaining dough.
Place the dough circles 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and brush lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm. Biscuits are best the day they’re made, but can be frozen and rewarmed in the oven on low heat.

favorite m&m cookies

July 23, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

I would marry these cookies if I could. Seriously, they are my favorite. They are chewy, crunchy, sweet, colorful, comforting, fun, and yum, yum, yum.

I can’t even tell you how many times I have made these and they are always a hit. If you’re at all a fan of M&M cookies, you will love this recipe. The edges are crispy with a slightly caramelized flavor, and center remains chewy so you can still recognize the cracking of the M&M candy shells as you bite through. These are not ‘soft baked’ M&M cookies but they aren’t fully crisp either. They bend a little before they break, if that makes sense (cue Dashboard Confessional flashbacks).

To balance out the sweetness of the milk chocolate candies, I like to add some bittersweet chocolate chips. They keep the cookie from being single noted. Semisweet works too, but it is best if they have at least 60% cocoa content. I use some from Surfas that are 72% cocoa.

Here’s the part you’re going to hate: the dough really gets better if you let it chill 24 to 36 hours before you bake it. As the dough chills, it will gradually dry out, concentrating the flavors of all the ingredients. Concentration=flavor. If you can’t resist, bake a few cookies after letting the dough chill for 2 hours and then keep the remaining dough in the fridge for a day or two before you bake the rest. Oh, and this dough freezes amazingly well, so you can make it when you have some time, refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours and then transfer it to the freezer for up to a month. When you’re ready to bake, remove the dough from the freezer and let it sit out for a few minutes until it is scoop-able, but still cold, and then bake as usual.

favorite m&m cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres in The New York Times

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes (includes the minimum chill time)
Makes 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies (Or a lot more smaller ones!)

Ingredients:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
16 ounces (about 2 cups) M&M candies
3 ounces (about 1/2 cup) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (best if at least 60 percent cacao content)

Instructions:

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined but not fully incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces and candy in and mix on low until just incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours (or at least 2 hours).
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Scoop dough into about 2 1/2-ounce golf ball-sized rounds and place on the baking sheet with about 3 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake until golden brown, but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. (Or until you just start eating them.) Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day You may also freeze the remaining dough for up to a month; make sure you triple wrap in plastic before doing so.

peach blueberry pie

July 21, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

Let’s continue to highlight summer’s fruit bounty between two buttery pastry layers, cool? Sweet, fresh peaches and juicy blueberries star in this easy, summer pie that is perfect for your next summer gathering. You want to know how we get the great blueberry flavor into the pie?

Just kidding, but how adorable is that commercial?? Makes me laugh every time.

As always, you can use a frozen pie crust if you’d like, but I do think it’s worth making one from scratch. If you have a food processor, it’s simple: mix the dry, add the fat, ‘glue’ together. I usually go for an all-butter crust but this time we’re switching it up with the addition of shortening. I’ve heard many times that when it comes to pie crust, butter adds the flavor and shortening adds the flakiness. While my heart still belongs to all-butter crust, this recipe from Ina Garten is excellent and yields a light and tender crust that is very easy to work with (Yay Ina!).

Did you know you can easily customize your pie crust simply by using a regular cookie cutter? I was feeling a little tropical when I rolled out the crust so I grabbed a palm tree-shaped one from my collection and got started on my tropical vacation pie! I also carved out the insides of a pineapple and filled it with a frozen pina colada to enjoy while the pie was in the oven. Kidding, but that does sound fun. Let’s do that next time!

ina garten’s perfect pie crust
recipe from food network

prep time: 10 minutes
makes enough for one double-crusted pie

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Instructions:

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to combine.
Add the butter and shortening and pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter chunks are the size of peas.
With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto a floured board and gather it into a ball. Divide in half and shape each ball into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (preferably 1 to 2 hours). While the dough is chilling, proceed with pie recipe below.

peach blueberry pie
adapted from joy the baker

prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 60 minutes
total time: about 2 hours
makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

one recipe Ina Garten pie crust (above)
about 3 pounds ripe peaches, washed, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-inch thin pieces (about 5–6 medium peaches)
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1–2 tablespoons cornstarch (if your peaches are super juicy, use 2)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
2 tablespoons sparkling sugar, for sprinkling before baking

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine peach slices and blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, spices, flour, and cornstarch. Pour the sugar mixture over the fruit, and gently toss together to coat the fruit. Stir in the lemon juice. Place bowl of fruit in the fridge to rest while you roll the crust out.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and place a baking sheet on the lower rack, just below where you’re going to place the pie (to catch any fruit juices that may bubble over).
Remove one of the chilled pie dough disks from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into about a 13-inch round, making sure to lift each side up off the surface every once in a while to make sure it is not sticking. Gently lift the 13-inch round from the floured surface and center in the 9-inch baking dish. (Tip to help transport the dough: Fold the crust in half and then in half again. Place the dough in the pan with the pointed side of the folded dough in the center. Unfold.) Place in the fridge while you roll out the top crust.
Roll out the top crust into a roughly 13-inch circle just like you did with the bottom crust (here is when you could use cookie cutters to design the crust if you’d like). Remove the bottom crust and fruit filling from the fridge. Gently pour the fruit filling into the pie dish. Carefully lift the top crust from the work surface and lay it over the fruit in the pie dish. If necessary, trim the crust, leaving about 3/4-inch overhang around each side. Press the top and bottom crusts together to seal and then fold the crust edges under. Crimp the edges of the dough with your hands or a fork. If you did not make cut outs in the top crust, make sure to use a knife to add a few small slits to the crust (for air ventilation while it is cooking). Brush lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
Place pie in the oven and bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake for 45 to 55 more minutes. Remove from the oven when crust is browned and golden, and the juices are bubbling. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days covered with plastic wrap.

fresh peach coffee cake

July 15, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

Summer time and the livin’s easy…scratch that, the livin’ is peachy!

It’s stone fruit season, which means it’s time to pick up all those fruits with large, “stone-like” seeds or pits. Think peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, and even cherries. I recently purchased a few perfectly ripe, fresh peaches with the best intentions of using them for nutrient-rich smoothies or to top light summer salads. Within moments, I accidentally reached for the butter and cinnamon and forget all about my original plans. When your hands are baking supply magnets, there is just no controlling them. As a result, today we are making this fresh peach coffee cake!

This easy recipe for fresh peach coffee cake has tang from sour cream, sweetness from juicy peaches, warmth from cinnamon, and crunch from double streusel. It is quick to prepare which is essential for those summer days when you don’t want to break a sweat in the kitchen. Its crumb is dense yet moist so it holds its structure when sliced while its center remains tender to the bite. I always like to double my streusel, which is reflected in the proportions below. The more sweet, nutty clusters, the better, as far as I’m concerned. Feel free to serve this cake for breakfast or add a dollop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of honey for a sweet dessert.*

Like most coffee cakes and quick breads, this can be made ahead, but because of the fresh peach slices in this one, it is best eaten within a couple of days. Because it only calls for three fresh peaches, it is also the perfect option when you don’t have enough peaches to make a pie (another one of my peach favorites).

*I plan on making this for a Rihanna-themed dinner party. I shall call it Peach Better Have My Honey. It’ll accompany items like Love the Way You Pie, Where Have You Bean, Shut Up and Chive…I need to be stopped.

fresh peach coffee cake
adapted from Ina Garten

prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 45–55 minutes
total time: about 1 hour and 30 minutes
makes one 9-Inch Square Cake

Notes: To be sure your cake doesn’t spill over during baking, try to use a pan with at least 2-inch edges. For mine, I used an 8-inch pan with 2.2-inch edges.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

Streusel:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (you can toast them in the oven while it preheats)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350° Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or an 8-inch pan with high edges), and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth.
In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined.
In a medium bowl (or the now-empty bowl you used for the flour mixture), prepare the streusel by combining the flour, light brown sugar, salt, butter and pecans. Using your hands, break the butter pieces into the flour. It is ready when most of the flour/sugar mixture sticks to the butter and forms little clumps.
Spread half of the cake batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining batter on top and then arrange the remaining peaches on top of the batter, followed by the remaining streusel.
Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you like coffee cake, you should also check out this Brown Butter Banana Bread, with Crumble!

pan aux raisins

July 14, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

As part of my ongoing quest to become a Parisian woman (Happy Bastille Day!), I am teaching myself to make every traditional French pastry that I’m introduced to. This Pan aux Raisin is the next step in this journey of mine (see you soon almond croissant and kouign amann). Inspired by those sold at Flour Bakery and Cafe in Boston, these ‘tres chic’ brioche swirls are filled with pastry cream and plump golden raisins.

Bread with raisins? Total snooze-fest, right? I get it. I would’ve said the same thing before I made them but now I understand why they are Flour founder, Joanne Chang’s favorite pastry. They are a perfect subtly sweet, creamy, and doughy treat even for raisin haters (just go light-handed on the raisins or skip completely—they’ll still be good, I promise).

The basic brioche recipe here yields enough for two batches of Pan aux Raisins or you can freeze half the dough and save it to make plain brioche buns in a pinch. For ease and sanity, I suggest you prepare the brioche and the pastry cream the night before you’d like to enjoy the completed Pan aux Raisins. This will allow the brioche to proof in the refrigerator overnight and will also give the pastry cream time to cool and come to its thick, creamy, pudding-like texture. On the morning of baking, all of your components will be ready so all you’ll have to do is assemble, let rise for an hour or two, and then bake!

Pain aux Raisins
Recipe from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe

prep time: 1 hour (plus overnight for proofing of dough/cooling of pastry cream
cook time: 30–40 minutes
total time: 12–14 hours (includes proofing time)
makes 10–12 pastries

Basic Brioche Dough (makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (315g) all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups (340g) bread flour
1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 tsps) active dry yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp (82g) sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup (120g) cold water
5 large eggs
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (310g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces

Instructions:

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and the eggs. Beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until all of the ingredients have come together and all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Once the dough has come together, beat on low speed for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and seem quite dry.
With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Once you have added all the butter, continue mixing on low speed for about 10 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all of the butter is mixed in very thoroughly.
Once the butter is completely incorporated, turn up the speed to medium and beat for another 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny. It will take some time to come together. Once it has, turn the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. You should hear the dough make a ‘slap-slap-slap’ sound as it hits the sides of the bowl. You can test the dough by pulling at it. It should stretch a bit and have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and moves more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it. It is ready when you gather it all together and pick it up in one piece.
Place the dough in a large bowl or plastic container and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Let the dough proof in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. At this point, you can freeze all or half the dough in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Pastry Cream (makes about 2 cups)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups (300g) whole milk
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1/4 cup (30g) cake flour (if you don’t have it, here is a tutorial on how to make cake flour out of all-purpose flour at home)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, scald the milk over medium-high heat (bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, but the milk is not boiling). While the milk is heating, in a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and salt. (Mixing the flour with the sugar will prevent the flour from clumping when you add it to the egg yolks.) In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until blended and then slowly whisk in the flour mixture (it will be pasty).
Remove the milk from the heat and slowly add it to the egg-flour mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly (you want to make sure that you only add a little at a time so the hot milk doesn’t cook the eggs in the mixture). When all of the milk has been incorporated, return the contents of the bowl to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk continuously and vigorously for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. At first, the mixture will be very frothy and thin; as it cooks longer, it will slowly start to thicken until the frothy bubbles disappear and it becomes more viscous. Once it thickens, stop whisking every few seconds to see if the mixture has come to a boil. If it has not, keep whisking vigorously. As soon as you see it bubbling, immediately go back to whisking for just 10 seconds, and then remove the pan from the heat. Boiling the mixture will thicken it and cook out the flour taste but if you let it boil for longer than 10 seconds, the mixture can become grainy.
Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small heat-proof bowl. Stir in the vanilla, then cover with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface of the cream. This will prevent a skin from forming (Kind of like pudding!). Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until cold, or up to 3 days.

Pain aux Raisins

Ingredients:

1/2 recipe Basic Brioche dough
1 recipe pastry cream
1 cup (160g) golden raisins
1 cup (140g) confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 16 by 12 inches and 1/4 inch thick. It will have the consistency of cold, damp Play-Doh and should be fairly easy to roll. Position the rectangle so a long side is facing you. Spread the pastry cream evenly over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle the raisins evenly over the cream. Starting from the long side farthest from you and working your way down, roll up the rectangle like a jelly roll. Try to roll tightly, so you have a nice round spiral. You can even-off the ends by trimming about 1/4 inch from either side.
Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut the roll into 8–10 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide.
Place the pieces, cut-sides down, evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to proof for 2 hours, or until the dough is puffy, pillowy and soft.
Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350°
Bake the pastries for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they are golden brown on the edges of the spiral and pale brown in the center. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes.
While the pastries are still hot, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, 2 tablespoons of the water, and vanilla until smooth. Add more water as needed to thin the glaze enough to make it spreadable. Generously brush the tops of the still-warm pastries with the glaze. The pastries are best served warm or within 4 hours of baking. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, and then warmed in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes before serving.

hong kong style bubble egg waffles (eggettes)

July 9, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

Bubbly for breakfast? Yes, please. No, not mimosas. This time, we’re talking about bubbly waffles!! These funky looking, egg-y waffles are a classic Hong Kong street food and with the magic of this bubble waffle iron plus the below recipe, you can make them at home.

Greg and I first had bubble waffles at this great restaurant Shojo in Boston’s Chinatown where they were served with fried chicken and Szechuan peppercorn maple syrup, alongside tiki drinks and old kung fu movies (I mean, amazing). As soon as we popped off our first bubbles, we were immediately hooked. The chew of the puffed bubbles paired perfectly with the crispy parts of the batter dividing them.

One of the main differences between these bubble waffles, sometimes called eggettes, and traditional waffles is the addition of sweetened condensed milk. I think this is what gives the waffle its lightly sweet custard flavor.

Pair the waffles with sliced berries and a sprinkling of confectioners sugar, some syrup, or go savory with fried chicken. They are great eaten warm but I even like to make a big batch and pick at them throughout the day at room temperature. They are the perfect whimsical treat for your brunch table!

hong kong style bubble egg waffles (eggettes)
adapted from Ginger and Scotch

special equipment: bubble waffle iron

prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
total time: about 30 minutes
makes 4-5 bubble waffles

Ingredients:

1 cup (4 oz or 120 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon tapioca starch or corn starch
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
5 oz (150 mL) water
vegetable oil or non-stick spray for coating egg waffle pan

Instructions:

In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of your electric mixer, mix together the flour, baking powder, and tapioca or corn starch.
Add the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.
Add the sweetened condensed milk and water. Mix thoroughly. It may be a little bit lumpy, which is fine. You can let it sit for a few minutes in the fridge or at room temperature to help the lumps subside.
Separate and pre-heat each half of the bubble waffle iron on separate burners over medium-high heat until hot, 3-5 minutes.
Lightly brush or spray each pan with vegetable oil.Pour ¾ cup of the batter into the middle of one side of the egg waffle pan and shimmy the pan a little to distribute some of the batter to the outer holes. Immediately place the other side of the pan on top, flip the pan over and cook for 2 minutes. Flip again and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the bubbles are golden and in-between is deep golden. The timing may vary based on your stove but you want to cook it until the bubbles pull away from the pan easily. Open the pan and invert the waffles onto a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Enjoy!

funfetti pie crust (happy pi day! 3.14.15)

March 14, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

With National Kiss Your Fiancé Day* just around the corner, I can’t help but ask: are National “________” Days getting out of hand? Regardless, as a pun-loving baker, there is one National Day I could not be more on board with. It’s Pi Day and it is… Today!

That’s correct, we are talking about a day commemorating the mathematical constant π (3.14159265359… you get the idea). But, we are also talking about the best way to celebrate this special day—and that’s with pie, of course! We learned about it in school and now here we are, putting our math skills to great use.

Don’t mistake tomorrow for your typical Pi Day though. As Mashable points out, today is the only time for the next 100 years where the calendar date reflects the first FIVE digits of that fabulous number (3.1415). The next time this will come our way isn’t until March 14, 2115. Because this isn’t your average Pi Day, you can’t celebrate with an average pie, right? Right. Time to funfettify your pie.

I first made this all butter pie crust filled with sprinkles for my birthday. When you are the baker in the family, you make your own birthday cake (ahem, pie). I like to get my hands dirty and use a pastry blender, but feel free to use a food processor for ease and speed. If you take that route, be mindful not to over-pulse as you want to have lots of visible butter bits. They are your keys to a flaky pie palace.

*National Kiss Your Fiancé Day is March 20^th. I’m not a fiancé, but to me this begs the question, why are you not kissing them other days??

funfetti-pie-crust-recipe-national-pi-day-1

yup. feet.

funfetti pie crust
adapted from The Smitten Kitchen

Makes enough dough for one double-, or two single-crust pies.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 sticks (8 ounces/1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ice water (about 3/4 cup, will be dough glue)
1/4 cup sprinkles of your choice

Instructions:

Prepare your cold ingredients: fill a 1-cup liquid measuring cup with water and a couple ice cubes and set aside. Dice your butter into 1/2-inch pieces and place in a small bowl. Move the bowl to the fridge or freezer until you need it.
In a large, wide bowl whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of salt. Get out your pastry blender.
Remove your diced butter from the fridge and sprinkle the cubes over the flour. Begin working them into the flour with the pastry blender. Try to break down the butter evenly and stop when all of the butter pieces are around the size of peas.
Pour in vanilla extract and then start slowly drizzling 1/2 cup of the ice-cold water over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, stir the dough together. Add in more cold water, a tablespoon at a time, just until you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula. Pour in the sprinkles and then, using your hands, gather the clumps together into one mound, kneading and turning the dough gently a couple of times to distribute the sprinkles as you pull it all together.
All set! You can now chill the dough by dividing it in half and wrapping each half in plastic. Let the dough chill in the fridge for at least one hour before rolling it out. The dough will keep in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for a month or so. Any time you are going to make dough for a later use, make sure to wrap it an extra time in plastic to ward off any freezer or fridge smells.

brown butter cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread

March 10, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

WARNING: This is the kind of bread you can easily polish off in a single sitting. The second you peel the first layer of this buttery sweet dough off the loaf and smell the warm cinnamon sugar filling, your other hand will already be reaching for your next piece. Maybe it’s best if you keep some friends around to share. Or, be greedy and have it all—I would. You won’t even need to waste time slicing because this is homemade PULL-APART bread. Hands-on food is fun. Nothing like instant gratification.

I love making breads and things with yeasted dough. It makes me feel like a superwoman because I used to think only professional bakers could work bread magic (for one of my favorite yeasted dough recipes, see here). Just take a look at the layers completely transform before and after baking. It’s amazing! It’s like a science experiment in the kitchen and, man, it makes me just love science. I hope you will too.

While there are few combinations better than the simple cinnamon and sugar, you can get as weird as you want with this pull-apart bread recipe. Maybe toss in some chocolate chips … or raspberries … or even go savory and swap out the cinnamon sugar for olives and cheese. Whatever you do, you’d better get ready for carb satisfaction!

P.S. This bread pairs excellently with a Bloody Mary. We had to test, you know, to be sure. 🙂

brown butter cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread
recipe adapted from joy the baker

prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 35 minutes
total time: about 3 hours (includes time for dough to rise)
makes: one 9x5x3-inch loaf

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3 tablespoons warm water (between 105°F and 115°F)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus a pinch (divided)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

Instructions:

Activate your yeast: In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 3 tablespoons of warm water. Stir until the yeast begins to dissolve. Add the pinch of granulated sugar and allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is foamy and frothy.
Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115°F to 125°F.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined. Add the yeast mixture, followed by the eggs and stir until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. It may take a little while to come together. Add 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and mix on low for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.
Place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm space to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Make ahead: After you let the dough rise to double its size, it can be refrigerated overnight to use in the morning. If you’re using this method, let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before continuing the recipe.
Prepare the filling: While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
Assemble and bake: Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. The dough should be about 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. Use a pastry brush to spread the melted brown butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again so you are left with six stacks of six squares. Layer the dough squares on their sides in the loaf pan. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. You will want to make sure the dough in the center is cooked so don’t be nervous if the top reaches a deep golden brown. That’s what you’re looking for.
Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool for 20 to 30 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a platter. Serve warm.

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