summer Archives | butter loves company

quick peach compote

September 10, 2016 by Butter Loves Company

Growing up in New England, the first few weeks of fall kicked off my favorite time of year. The sweep of crisp air pushes out the summer humidity as colorful leaves crinkle beneath your boots. This meant soccer season, cider doughnuts, apple picking, and holiday events with friends and family. If you’re a holiday season nut like I am, you surely understand the stomach butterflies of excitement that arrive around this time of year.

While autumn in Los Angeles doesn’t quite compare to the fall back east—the summer heat seems to stick around through October here—there is one constant of the fall season no matter where you are: fall baking. The warm spices of cinnamon and nutmeg rush in. Apple pie and pumpkin bread are begging to be in your oven, filling your kitchen with an almost tangible comfort and calmness.

While we hold onto the final official moments of summer (and summer produce) and anticipate the beauty of fall, let’s grab a few last peaches from the market and celebrate the two seasons together with this quick peach compote.

This easy recipe uses juicy fresh summer peaches and borrows warm scents of cinnamon and nutmeg from the impending fall to ease you seamlessly from beach days to sweater weather. Simply slice or dice the peaches, simmer, and fifteen minutes later your compote is ready. The result is a terrific sweet, tangy, and spiced topping for morning yogurt bowls or evening ice cream. You could also spread atop toast, perhaps along with some ricotta cheese.

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.

6-inch super s’mores cake

August 14, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

Let me start by saying, I cannot eat this s’mores cake without singing my sugar- and butter-laden version of Britney Spears’ Gimme More, aptly retitled, “Gimme S’more.” So far my debut as a pop star has only hit the living room, but I’m considering going on tour. And trust me, if I brought this cake, you’d buy tickets. You. Totally. Would.

S’mores epitomize summer. The ultimate campfire food, these gooey treats are best eaten after a fire-roasted hot dog, on a sticky night and with no shoes on. Three simple ingredients: chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers combine to create the perfect sweet, creamy, crunchy, decadent and airy 4 x 4 inch square. For us city dwellers who still want to have ‘s’more’ summer fun but don’t have grills or fire pits to perfectly roast our marshmallows on, a kitchen torch is truly a game changer. It opens up the door for both regular s’mores and also their haute cuisine big sister, this s’mores cake (brought to you by my Tuesday night baking impulse, and apparent delirium).

To give this cake that true s’mores feel graham crackers are ground up and added to the batter to make sweet cinnamon spiced layers, chocolate chips and ample cocoa powder are used in place of chocolate bars to add depth and crunch to the chocolate layers and a sweet and stretchy marshmallow Fluff filling seals the layers together. Lastly, a light, airy meringue topping coats the entire cake. The BEST, I repeat, BEST part about making this cake is using the kitchen torch to “roast” the topping. Once you start in with the torch, you’ll be amazed that the smell is identical to that of roasting marshmallows around a campfire.

Full disclosure: When I made this cake I used large chocolate chunks and also overcooked the chocolate layer slightly. It was drier than I prefer and I felt the large chunks of chocolate made the cake too hard to cut through (you can tell in the pictures). My updates are reflected in the recipe below and I recommend you check fairly frequently for doneness; which is when the outside edge of the cake is fully set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean (it won’t come out completely clean due to the chocolate chips in the batter). You should not feel like you are inserting the toothpick into jiggly pudding. One thing to remember, the cake will set up a little more as it cools in the pan.

6-inch super s’mores layer cake

graham cracker cake and meringue topping adapted from Deb Perelman’s ‘Smitten Kitchen Cookbook’
brownie cake adapted from Bite Me More
marshmallow Fluff filling adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

prep Time: 45 minutes
cook Time: 60 minutes (if cooking graham and chocolate cakes one after the other)
total Time: Solid 3 hours between prep, cook, speed cooling, and assembling
makes one, three layer, 6-inch cake (two graham layers, one chocolate layer), or if you choose to slice each cake layer in half horizontally, it will make a six layer, 6-inch cake, as pictured.

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Cake:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup honey graham cracker crumbs, finely processed to a powder (from about 7 standard graham cracker sheets)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Brownie Cake:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Marshmallow Filling:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup marshmallow cream (Fluff)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4–1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Meringue Topping:

4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

To Make the Graham Cracker Cakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or spray two 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and then grease the paper.
In a medium bowl mix together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl—or the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment—mix butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Mix a third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then add the milk, then another third of dry mixture, and then the yogurt or sour cream, and lastly, the rest of the dry mixture. Mix completely.
Divide batter between prepared cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake’s center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on wire rack. Then invert onto rack and remove the cakes. Cool completely.

To Make the Brownie Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or spray one 6-inch round cake pan with non-stick spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and then grease the paper.
In a large bowl—or the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment—mix melted butter, sugar and light brown sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips, stirring until flour has become completely mixed in and smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges of the cake have set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out easily and with minimal batter (it will have some chocolate on it because of the chocolate chips). Cool in pan for 10 minutes on wire rack. Then invert onto rack and remove the cakes. Cool completely.

To Make the Marshmallow Filling:

In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, marshmallow cream, vanilla, and cream on medium speed until completely smooth. Add 3/4 cup powdered sugar and salt. Mix on low speed to incorporate and then increase speed to high to beat another minute. Add 1/4 cup more powdered sugar if the filling is too runny.

To Make the Meringue Topping:

Fill a medium saucepan part way with water and bring to a simmer. Place egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heat-proof bowl. Place bowl over simmering water and whisk mixture until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm to the touch, about 3 minutes.
Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk until glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine. Best if used right away.

To Fill and Assemble:

Arrange one graham cracker cake layer on the center of a cake stand or serving plate. With a knife or offset spatula, spread about 1/2 the marshmallow filling across the top of the cake. Place the chocolate brownie layer on top of the filling and spread the other half of the marshmallow filling across the top. Top with second graham cracker cake layer.
Now, spread a thin layer of the meringue topping over the top and sides of the assembled cake. Refrigerate cake for 10 minutes to set. Once set, remove the cake from the fridge and generously frost the top and sides with more meringue, reserving some for the top. Fill a piping bag, or zip lock bag with a corner cut off, with the rest of the frosting. Pipe dollops onto top of cake. Torch top with a kitchen torch. I have also heard you can set the cake under the broiler for 5 minutes to brown the top of the merengue; however I have not tried this and, if you do, I would ensure your cake plate is oven safe.

white carrot muffins

June 25, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

I’m fairly convinced New York City is home to about every food option you could ever hope for. 4:00 am waffles? No problem! Questionable street meat? You got it! Ten course tasting menu from a world-renowned chef? Well, it’s definitely there if you have a bulky wallet.

Even with no farm in sight, this past weekend we stumbled upon a market with some of the freshest produce I’ve seen outside of suburban nurseries. The Union Square market was chock full of some of the most vibrant, most reasonably priced fresh fruits, veggies, meats and eggs. One of the stands attracting a flock of photographers consisted of piles and piles of assorted, beautifully colored carrots: sunny yellow, deep purple swirled with orange and bright, bright white.

I started wondering how these multicolored carrots might work in baked goods that are generally rich with traditional carrots (e.g. carrot cake, carrot muffins, carrot soufflé). I knew that once we got back to Boston I had to find out the answer. Here is the result of my exploration.

In my opinion the white carrots have a softer flavor than the other varieties, but are perfectly delicate and sweet when kissed with a little spice. If you’re looking for a morning muffin that is ultra-light and fluffy, and not one bit too crumbly, you’ve found it. Of course, because the white carrots can be hard to come by, you can make these with orange carrots just as easily. I haven’t tried making them with the purple variety yet, but if you do, I am dying to know how they come out!

white carrot muffins
adapted from Dorie Greenspan in “Baking with Julia”

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: about 35–40 minutes
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 white granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded white or orange carrots (from about 3 medium)
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

Place a rack in the center row of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Grease or line a 12 mold, standard size muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and both sugars until combined and free of lumps. Add the baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt and combine.
In a large glass measuring cup, or a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined.
Pour this liquid mixture over the dry flour mixture. With a whisk, rubber spatula or spoon, gently but quickly stir ingredients to blend, being cautious not to over mix (better to have some lumps than to over mix in this case). Gently stir in the shredded carrots, coconut, cranberries and walnuts—if using. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees F to cook an additional 8–10 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove and let muffin pan cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and let cool. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Best if eaten on the day they are made. These last a few days but their texture becomes a bit more dense the longer you wait to eat them.

piña colada ice pops

June 17, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

I contemplated calling this recipe “Vacation on a Stick”—it really is!

One lick and you’re transported to a cozy mattress in a covered cabana, on a white sand beach with turquoise waters where Bob Marley tunes sway in your ears.

Or, in my case, one lick and I’m still sitting on my couch on a Sunday, with my eyes glued to the entire second season of “Orange is the New Black,” my feet up on the coffee table and Greg by my side. “Vacation” is in the eye of the beholder and whoever that beholder is should be holding one of these Piña Colada ice pops. (You can thank my dad for my corny genes.)

A Piña Colada is a truly classic summer cocktail. Its essence has been married to the concept of rest and relaxation since its creation in Puerto Rico in 1954 (1963 depending on who you believe). Often served frozen, the drink hopped easily from a glass in my head to my new ice pop molds. Fresh, sweet and juicy pineapple is blended with tropical coconut flavors leaving a faint scent of Banana Boat sunscreen in your nose. Spike these with a little rum if you’d like a boozy ice pop (remember this will take a bit longer to freeze). I think they are perfect to serve at a BBQ or as a light and refreshing alternative to a summer dinner party dessert.

I personally like my ice pops a little chunky which is why I added the shredded coconut, but I realize many of you may prefer them smooth. To make a smooth ice pop you can do a few things:

Omit the shredded coconut altogether. This won’t affect the flavor too dramatically.
If you want it really, really smooth you can strain the blended mixture through a sieve over a bowl and only freeze the liquid that is left in the bowl.

piña colada ice pops (aka “vacation on a stick”)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Freeze Time: 24 hours if using rum, at least 4–6 hours if not
Makes: 6-8 ice pops

Ingredients:

An ice pop mold, or multiple ice cube trays
3 cups chopped fresh pineapple, 1 inch chunks are fine
1/3 cup cream of coconut (e.g. Coco Lopez)
1/3 cup coconut water
1/3 cup light rum (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions:

In the work bowl of a food processor or blender, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, blend the pineapple, cream of coconut, coconut water and rum (if using) until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in the shredded coconut with a spoon. Pour mixture into ice pop molds, dividing equally, and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove and insert wooden ice pop sticks. Place back in the freezer until solid, about 24 hours (4–6 hours if omitting rum).
Once the ice pops are solid, pop them out of their molds and enjoy! If the ice pops are not easily releasing from the molds, you can run warm water around the outsides of the mold to loosen.