Suzi's Blog

Chocolate Mint Sticks

by Brian on May 16th, 2010 in Cookbook Reviews,Cookie Jar,Recipes No Comments

Suzen is not fond of brownies. She really does not like mint frosting. So, I am forced to self-brownie.

I know this blog has several brownies recipes, and there will be more. Just as there are connoisseurs of wine, so I know brownies. I can tell you how many eggs, melted or whipped butter, what kind of chocolate, what kind of sugar, the type of nuts, if the nuts were toasted, …

How many brownie books are in your kitchen? I have a few. Well, a lot. Well, just about every one I’ve ever looked at.

I think brownies are a fascinating food. After chocolate chip cookies, and of course Oreos, they are the American favorite. When you walk the baking aisle of your supermarket, you do not see a lot of packages for peanut butter cookies. But brownie boxes adorn the shelves like ornaments on a Christmas tree.

Do I have a favorite? Yes, it’s this one. Today. And next week, there may be another. I bake a batch or so a week. [If Suzen responds to this blog and says that I am not telling the truth, please just ignore her exaggerations]. My daily dosage is about 2 or 3. Or 4. Look, how many brownies does it take to match one piece of 3-layer cake? Viewed that way, brownies are a calorie bargain. Especially if the frosting is thin, which it is in this recipe.

This base of this brownie is actually the “standard” recipe but then extended with a thin layer of mint icing followed by the thinnest possible glaze of dark chocolate. This recipe is from my mentor, Maida Heatter, and I’ve made it more times than I would admit to you, to Suzen, or a priest.

Quick to make, quick to please your mouth, these brownies will not linger long in your kitchen. Which means there will be room next week for some variety!

Chocolate Mint Sticks

Yield: 32 very small bars

Ingredients:

For the Brownie Base:

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 ounces (one stick) unsalted butter
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 ounces (generous ½  cup) wallets or pecans

For the Mint Icing:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup strain or sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon (or a few drops more) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preparation:

Preparation of the Brownie Base:

Adjust a rack one third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 inch square cake pan and dust all over with fine, dry breadcrumbs. Invert the pan shakeout the exit excess. (This cake has a tendency to stick to the pan; using the crumbs will prevent that.)

Put the chocolate and the butter in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Stir until smooth. Remove the top of double boiler and set aside to cool slightly.

In small bowl of electric mixer beat the eggs until they are foamy. Beat in salt, vanilla, and sugar. Add the chocolate mixture (which may still be warm) and beat to mix. On low speed add the flour, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed. Stir in the nuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it to make a smooth layer.

Bake for 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and let stand in the pan at room temperature until completely cool

Preparation of the Mint Icing:

Place all the icing ingredients in the small bowl of electric mixer and beat until smooth. It might be necessary to add a few drops more a heavy cream, but it should be a thick mixture, not runny. Spread the icing evenly over the cake still the pan. It will be a very thin layer. Place the cake refrigerator for five minutes, no longer.

Preparation of the Chocolate Glaze:

Melt the chocolate and the butter in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Stir until completely smooth.

Pour the hot glaze over the chilled icing and quickly tilt pan in all directions to cover the icing completely with the glaze. It will be a very, very thin layer glaze, just enough to cover all the icing (if the icing does show through in a few spots don’t worry.)

Refrigerate the cake for about half an hour, or until the glaze starts to look dull.

Remove, cut, and serve. These are delicious both chilled and warmed to room temperature.

Source: Maida Heatter’s Cookies by Maida Heater

Strawberry and White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

by Brian on May 15th, 2010 in Cookbook Reviews No Comments

A first-class dinner party has to end with a very first-class dessert. For last week’s dinner party, I knew I wanted a fresh strawberry tart as the end piece. I had also suggested that we start with a tart appetizer. What’s wrong with a meal bookended by tart pastry?

Suzen’s eyebrows shifted. I was informed that two tarts was one too many. Out went the opening tart, replaced by an olive appetizer. And, then, somehow, someway, mysteriously, the ending tart went too. Oh, yes, Suzen reminded me our guests had seen a tart from us just a month ago so we needed some else. Something spectacular. Something different. And, with berries, which were already in the fridge.

There is this dessert book I’ve been saving, I guess for such emergencies. Sherry Yard is the pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck, so you know she is first class. Her beautiful book, Desserts by the Yard, is one of those slow page turners. You look at a recipe, or at an incredible picture, and you really sort of mentally digest that one before moving on. If reading added calories, this book would be banned.

And there in Desserts by the Yard is a spectacular 3-layer strawberry cake. A spongy buttermilk cake, made with white chocolate, is baked, then sliced into the three layers. The layers are separated by strawberries buried in a tangy mix of whipped cream and crème fraiche. As the picture here shows, this dessert is eye-stunning. The cake itself softly carries just the faintest notes of the buttermilk and white chocolate. And the filling, with little sugar, bites at your tongue and uses the sweetness of the berries to compose a full flavor palette.

This dessert look beautiful, tastes perfectly, and will impress your guests. With the layers and fillings, it looks complicated — part of the reason you guests will utter an “oh, my,” when they see it. Yet it’s an easy cake to make. The time factor, about 3 hours end to end, simply comes from needing to let the cake bake, then fully cool. It’s a great project to have going while you work on other aspects of dinner. With this cake, you know your evening will end sweetly and sensationally.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 ounces white chocolate, preferably Valrhona
6 ounces (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs, separated  
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the Filling and Topping:

2 cups heavy cream 1 cup crème fresh
1 tablespoon sugar
2 pints strawberries, hulled and quartered 

Preparation:

Make the Cake:

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12 x 17″ half sheet pan with pan spray and with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

Melt white chocolate in the microwave safe bowl at50% power for about two minutes or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and set aside. Be careful, because white chocolate burns easily.

In a stand mixer fitted the paddle attachment, or a large bowl a hand mixer, cream together the butter and 1 ½ cups sugar at high-speed for two minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beaters and continue to beat for three more minutes, until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk 2 tablespoons butter into the melted white chocolate until blended. Scrape this mixture back into the butter and beat on low speed until well blended. Add the egg yolks in two editions, scraping the bowl down after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

On low speed, alternating wet and dry ingredients, add the buttermilk and the flour mixture in four additions. Scrape down the bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed with a hand mixer until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and continue to beat on medium speed. Beat until the egg whites form stiff, glossy peaks. Fold half the egg whites into the cake batter, then gently fold in the rest.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Using a spatula, preferably offset, smear the batter evenly over the pan. Bake, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through, until golden brown and firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan. Lightly spray the back of a half sheet pan with pan spray and cover with parchment. Invert the cake onto the parchment covered tray, remove the pan, and peel off the parchment.

When the cake is completely cool, cut crosswise into 3 equal pieces.

Make the Filling and Topping:

Whip the cream, crème fraîche, and sugar together to medium stiff peaks.

Assemble the Cake:

Place the first piece of cake on a serving platter. Spread 2 cups of the whipped cream evenly over the top. Arrange half the strawberries on the whipped cream and then spread a little layer of the cream over the berries. Place a second cake layer on top, repeat with2 cups more cream and the remaining strawberries. Top with the last layer cake and spread the  remaining cream on top.

Chill until ready to serve. The cake can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead.

Source: Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard