Home Baking on Kitchen3N

The Last Chocolate Chunk Cookie

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When I die, I want this recipe printed on my tombstone. Just kidding, Muslims don't do tombstones. But this really is the cookie I've been searching for all my life. Free of all the silly things people add to chocolate chip cookies (CCC's from here on out) to one up their game like extra SALT on top or TAHINI or the worst of all, NUTS. I don't understand the need to muck up the most brilliant baking invention of all time with things that are not chocolate, flour, sugar, butter, leaveners, salt or vanilla. The original Nestle Toll House recipe, as brilliant as is, is missing a little complexity, and little texture. I've tried SO many CCC recipes. Bang on a Pan. The Chewy. The Thin. Something from Buzzfeed. Tahini. Nestle. America's Test Kitchen. And they all have their redeeming qualities. But for me, the NY Times recipe by David Leite is the closest I've come to perfection: a combination of cake flour and bread flour, one makes it tender, the other adds a chewy texture. A full 2 tsp vanilla for extra flavor. Refrigerating the dough to let the gluten relax. I did need to tweak it to my tastes. I use my trusty OXO medium cookie scoop for perfect sizing. I use chocolate chunks in lieu of chocolate disks/feves/chips and I reduce the amount of chocolate from the original recipe. I know I make fun of my husband a lot for his critiquing the amount of chocolate in the original recipe, but he's kind of right. The 16oz that I have here gives you a generous amount of chocolate (use good quality!) while allowing you to taste the nutty, buttery, chewy cookie. This is the only recipe I use my scale for, mainly because the measurements are so fussy otherwise, with so many cup measures, plus or minus tablespoons. But this recipe is worth the fuss. Think of every delectable high quality CCC you've had at the best bakery - this one is it. Everything from the size (it's big enough so the centers are chewy, the edges are crispy), to the proportions, to the wait time - it's sheer perfection. Pro tip - if your brown sugar hardens, don't toss it! Place in a microwave safe bowl, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave at 30 second intervals at medium power until softened. Final tip, I don't know about your sieve, but salt doesn't go through mine. So I usually sift the flours and leaveners together, then add the salt. Whisking to combine. Don't let the butter get too soft, and that's it. Happy baking!

Ingredients

2 cups minus 2tbsp cake flour (8 1/2oz)
1 2/3 cup flour bread flour (8 1/2oz)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10oz) light brown sugar
1 cup plust 2 tbsp (8oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
16 oz chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or a combination of both

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer cream the butter and sugars together at medium speed for 5 minutes. It should be light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time. Stop to scrape down the bowl before turning on mixer again. Add vanilla. Then, with the mixer on low add the dry ingredients, stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Finally, add the chopped chocolate and stir with the mixer if it can handle it, if not, use a wooden spoon.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1 3/4in cookie dough scoop (I use the OXO medium scoop), scoop out balls of dough until sheet is full. Flash freeze for 30 minutes. Take out then plop them into large ziploc bags or plastic containers. I recommend sticking them in the fridge to let the dough rest and the gluten to relax, as well as the flours to absorb some of the flavors/moisture. Refrigerate between 24 and 72 hours or freeze them if you'd like to bake them a week or two later*.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet with plenty of space between each. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, at least 15 if taking directly out of freezer. Bottoms should be caramelized, nutty brown. Tops may look underdone but that's ok as it continues to cook on the pan, even after taking out from the oven. After they cool completely, store in an airtight container and consume within 2 days.**

*I know I can't help but bake some off right away, so please go ahead and do so (after the 30 minute freeze), but do save some for baking later so you can taste the difference! **It loses freshness after that, but probably still edible dipped in milk.

Coconut Layer Cake

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This cake was kind of born 2 and half years ago when I was tasked with feeding 100 people with a coconut cake. "Can it have pineapple filling?" my dear friend Jaf asked. YES, YES IT CAN! This cake is a delicious, crowd pleasing hit in its original version, but with this pineapple filling, it takes it over the edge. It's kind of retro, but the fruitiness balances out the richness and creaminess from the buttercream. It's a little fussy, yes, with the beating of egg whites and the careful folding in, but the payout is worth it. It's the lightest, fluffiest, sweetest, nuttiest, flavorfullest cake you'll ever have. Ever. A retro cake deserves a retro look, so feel free to frost this simply, with swooshes of buttercream and toasted (and cooled) coconut flakes. I've piped some old school borders here with Wilton's open star tip and some silver dragee accents. I haven't tinkered with the original recipe at all, except that I bake them in 8in cake pans as opposed to 9in. I like the look of taller cakes, but if 9in is all you have, feel free to use those, just decrease the bake time by a few minutes. Cake recipe adapted from Taste of Home. Pineapple filling recipe from Genius Kitchen.

Ingredients

For the cake:

5 eggs, yolks separated from whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 cups flaked coconut (I like Baker's brand for this)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

For the filling:

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp corn starch
1 20oz can crushed pineapple in its juices
3 tbsp butter

For the buttercream

1 cup butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 to 5 cups confectioner's sugar, to taste
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2tbsp whole milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 3 8in cake pans with non stick cooking spray. Place over a large sheet of parchment paper and draw circles around the circumference of each pan. Cut out each circle and place at the bottom of each pan. Spray parchment circles with non stick spray.
In the bowl of stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat butter with 1 cup of sugar on medium low. After about 2 minutes, when butter and sugar is pale and fluffy, add oil and remaining sugar. When well combined, add egg yolks, one at a time. Stop occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Add coconut, vanilla and almond extracts. Stop the mixer.
For the dry ingredients: sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add salt and combine with a whisk. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter, then 1/2 of the buttermilk. Add second third of dry ingredients then remaining buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients and flaked coconut. Mix on low until just combined.
In a large bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Mix on low, increasing to high, for about 4-5 minutes until beaters come out of the egg whites with stiff peaks. Add 1/3 of beaten egg whites to the batter to loosen it up. Add half of remaining egg whites to batter and fold in with spatula, cutting down the middle, then scraping against the bowl and folding up and over the batter. Rotate the bowl slightly and continue until you can no longer see egg white. Add remaining egg white and fold until just combined.
Divide equally between 3 cake pans and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.*
For the filling: in a small to medium saucepan combine salt, sugar, cornstarch. Whisk with preferably a flat whisk until combined. Add crushed pineapple and stir to combine. Turn on the heat to medium high. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until no longer milky white in appearance. When thickened, remove from heat and stir in butter. Turn out onto a plate to cool.
For the frosting: beat butter with cream cheese with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or in a large bowl with handheld electric mixer. Sift 4 cups sugar into a bowl. Add a little bit of sugar into the butter and cream cheese until well combined. After adding 4 cups of sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and coconut extracts. Scrape down the bowl occasionally. Taste the frosting. If desired, add final cup of sugar, sifted. Add milk as needed to thin out frosting. Give a final beat until it looks like buttercream.
Fill a large piping bag with buttercream and snip off 1/2in tip. Place a small amount of frosting onto a 10in round cake board. Place first cake layer onto cake board. Pipe a dam around the circumference of the cake layer. Spoon 2-3tbsp pineapple filling onto cake. Smooth it out. Place second layer, press down slightly. Repeat and decorate as desired.

*I usually invert onto 8in round cake boards lined with plastic wrap and freeze until reach to decorate. These cakes are super tender and work best for decorating when frozen solid.

Cherry Almond Cake

Wed, 02 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I know, I know. I'm actually posting a non-chocolate recipe. There are few things that I enjoy as much as I enjoy chocolate. Vacations. Lobster truffle mac and cheese (just discovered at cute Sunnyside spot Côté Soleil while out to dinner with the talented and endearing Moni Begum of Moni's Kitchen). Moroccan almond cookies made by La Rose Kitchen. Actually, any almond dessert is fabulous. Rainbow cookies. Marzipan (yup, straight up). Stollen (German holiday sweet bread with marzipan filling).

So cherry almond cake was a no-brainer. Last week I had made a cherry frangipane (fancy word for almond filling) tart. Recipe from NYTimes. It was SO good, but since there’s already a perfectly good recipe out there, I wanted to share a less-fussy version of the dessert for those who may not have the time or desire to make pâte sucrée, chill it, roll it out, fit it, trim it, blind bake it, then fill and bake once more.