I’ve been getting a lot of practice making breakfast pastries lately.  A couple of months ago, the owners of the shop I work for decided that we should open three hours earlier and have a menu of morning baked stuff.  I now have to wake up basically in the middle of the night to walk to work and make this happen.  I’m thinking about quitting soon….but you didn’t hear me say that, and you certainly didn’t come here for banal griping.  You came for Nancy Silverton’s Pecan Sticky Buns!

It’s pretty much a given that sticky buns have a lot of butter in them, but this recipe uses a sh*t-ton of butter.  There’s brioche dough..no, make that laminated brioche dough (unlike the other sticky buns we did about–yikes– four years ago)…and then there’s the sticky top part.  The only component without butter is the pecan-cinnamon swirl inside.  When everything’s tallied up, it comes to five sticks for a whole recipe!!  My mind immediately went to work wondering where I could shave off a few tablespoons.  First off, a whole recipe makes two 9-inch pans, or 14 buns, and I certainly didn’t need that many for the two of us.  A quarter of a recipe would be fine…I knew I could squeeze four slightly smaller buns out of that and bake them in a 6-inch pan.  I ultimately decided on making a half recipe of brioche dough, and only taking half of that to make buns with (I’m saving the other half for another project).  I kept the full amount of butter in the dough itself.  Best not to mess around with that.  I used about two-thirds the butter called for in the laminating step and half for the topping.  I don’t think I missed out too much…my buns were sweet and soft and flaky.  I plan to experiment more with this laminated brioche thing later on…it’s a cool technique.

By the way brioche is a lovely dough to work with…if you can keep it cool enough while you shape it, that is.  It’s so soft and nice to touch.  And it rises beautifully.

It took me like an hour to figure out how to put two pics side-by-side in Photoshop, btw…wow.

I made my base dough on day one, parked it in the fridge overnight after its first rise, and finished off the laminating and rolling the next day.  I did my dough in my stand mixer.  Since I just made a half a batch, my KA had no problem cranking it out.  It was really such a small about of dough, though, that I think even the whole recipe would have been just fine.  Despite my earlier talk about breakfast pastries, my husband and I actually ate two of these sticky buns for dessert.  After getting up so early for work now everyday, I can’t manage to get up early enough on the weekends to have buns proofed, baked and cooled before brekkie.  The other two baked buns were wrapped up tight and stuck the freezer, to be defrosted and enjoyed properly one weekend morning with a cup of coffee.

For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan or read Lynn’s Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Nicole’s Cookies on Friday.  There’s also a video of Nancy and Julia making the buns together.  Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

May is a good time to be in New York City.  People are happy to be out and about.  It’s nice sleeping weather (our house doesn’t have A/C, so this is a big thing for me!).  And there’s finally more at the greenmarket than tired ol’ potatoes and apples.  About the same time I saw the first rhubarb here, my copy of Nigel Slater’s Tender, Volume 2 (called Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard in the US edition).  I knew he’d have some good rhubarby ideas for me…this guy has a London city garden that puts my weedy Brooklyn backyard to utter shame.  I’ll certainly never have a mini orchard like he does, but maybe one day I’ll have a couple of raised beds for a few homegrown herbs and things.  Until then, I’ll have to tote my seasonal fruit and veg home from the market.

Slater’s Rhubarb Cinnamon Polenta Cake would be just as good for breakfast as it is for dessert.  It’s made from more of a dough than a batter.  The cake is a little crunchy from the cornmeal and perfectly moist, but sturdy enough to support the layer of baked rhubarb that makes a pink stripe in the center.  I make a stove-top rhubarb compote a lot when it’s in season, but I kind of like the more hands-off baked method from this recipe, and I’d use it again even if it’s just for my morning granola.  The rhubarb more or less keeps its shape when handled this way and you get to pour off the gorgeously pink liquid it releases.  Even if I wasn’t going to serve it alongside the polenta cake, I wouldn’t think of pouring this down the drain.  Hello, homemade rhubarb sodas, cocktails, yogurt or ice cream drizzle…I could go on.

Rhubarb Cinnamon Polenta Cake- makes an 8-inch cake
adapted from Tender, Volume 2 by Nigel Slater

Note: Use a medium to coarse cornmeal/polenta for the best texture. The cake is fragile when warm, so it’s best to serve it cool, together with the reserved juices from the cooked rhubarb.

for the filling
500g rhubarb
50g sugar
4 tbsp water

for the cake
125g medium to coarse cornmeal/polenta
200g AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of ground cinnamon
150g sugar
grated zest of a small orange
150g butter
1 large egg
2-4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp demerara sugar

-Lightly butter am 8-inch (20-centimeter) loose-bottomed cake tin, preferably spring-form. Set the oven at  350°F (180°C/gas mark 4). Put in a baking sheet to get hot.

-While your oven is heating, trim the rhubarb, cut each stem into three or four pieces and put them in a baking dish. Scatter over the sugar, toss, and let everything sit until the oven is hot.  Sprinkle over the water and bake for about 30 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but still retains its shape.  Remove the fruit from the dish and put them in a colander to drain. Reserve the juice to serve with the cake.

-Put the cornmeal/polenta, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and caster sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add the grated zest and the butter, cut into smallish pieces, then blitz for a few seconds till you have something that resembles breadcrumbs. (You could also do this by hand, rubbing the butter into the polenta with your fingertips as if making pastry.) Break the egg into a small bowl and mix with the milk, then blend into the crumble mix, either with the food processor or by hand. Take care not to over-mix: stop as soon as the ingredients and liquid have come together to form a soft, slightly stickydough. If it isn’t sticky, add a little more liquid.

-Press about two-thirds of the mixture into the cake tin, pushing it a couple of centimetres up the sides with a floured spoon. Place the drained rhubarb on top, leaving a small rim around the edge uncovered. Crumble lumps of the remaining polenta mixture over the fruit with your fingertips, and don’t worry if the rhubarb isn’t all covered. Scatter over the demerara sugar. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 45-50 minutes, then cool a little before attempting to remove from the tin. Serve in slices with the reserved rhubarb juice.  You can wrap leftovers in plastic and refrigerate for a couple of days…just bring back to room temperature before serving.

Glad I didn’t have to wait very long for TWD to choose Gale Gand’s Hungarian Shortbread…this recipe has been calling to me since I bought Baking with Julia years ago (but I was rather painfully pretending I couldn’t hear because of all the butter).   Shortbread dough with a homemade rhubarb jam layered in between– oh, come on.  Actually, I didn’t find rhubarb at the greenmarket in my neighborhood the weekend I made these, so I used it as an excuse to help clear out the fridge and went with store-bought jam instead (I used Sarabeth’s Plum Cherry).

I made half of a recipe, which worked wonderfully in an 8-inch square metal cake pan (I prepped it with parchment first).  The dough is pretty cinchy to layer in the pan because you freeze it and grate it….then just sprinkle the grated dough fluff right in and pat without really pressing much.  I grated my dough the old-fashioned way, but I hear a food processor works great, too. I figured my store-bought jam would likely be sweeter than a homemade rhubarb one, so I cut back on the sugar in the shortbread just a tad to compensate.  Then I added in a splash of vanilla and bumped up the salt with an extra pinch.  I didn’t want the bottom layer to be rawsies (which can sometimes happen with multilayered bar cookies), so I decided to par bake the bottom crust before adding jam and top layers.  Twenty minutes in the oven was enough to make the bottom layer look set but not browned, which was all I was going for.

I went to Budapest back in the nineties, but I didn’t have anything like this.  I’m certain I would remember, because these are really delicious (so don’t feel bad at all if you want to skip the homemade filling and use jam from the shops).  And they hold up very well refrigerated, as I can assure you, since it takes us days for the two of us to get through an 8-inch pan.  In fact, I wound up freezing the last couple of pieces before my husband and I went out of town for our anniversary this past weekend (nine years– what?!?), and they were perfect after they defrosted to room temp…even the powdered sugar on top was still intact!

For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan or read Lynette’s 1smallkitchen and Cher’s The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler…  Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

Wow–I went all last week without a post.  Blah.  But now it’s time for cake with TWD and Norman Love’s Lemon Loaf.  I bought a few Meyer lemons at TJ’s a couple of months ago, and although I was too lazy to use them then, I did manage to zest and juice them and stash that stuff in the freezer for another time….a time like this!

I didn’t have any issues with this recipe. I did do a half recipe (although I think that with the particular pan I used, I actually should have done two-thirds or three-quarters to get taller slices).  It’s a pretty easy recipe and it’s made by hand.   There were a couple of things I fiddled with here to ensure a moist and lemony cake.  I rubbed the lemon zest into the sugar before mixing anything and I added (for a full recipe, the equivalent of) the juice of one lemon into the egg/sugar mixture.  I also made a quickie soaking syrup by heating some extra juice and sugar together, and brushed it all over the loaf while it was still hot.

I liked this loaf cake.  It had a nice sunny color and a good pound cake-style texture.  I think cakes like this are really good with a little bit of fruit sauce or compote.  Jam’s fine, too, when I don’t have any berries in the house.  After I took this picture, you bet I totally smooshed the jam and cream over the the top and ate it as a open-faced cake sandwich (or maybe cake smørrebrød since I used lingonberry jam)!

For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan or read Truc’s blog, Treats and Michelle’s, The Beauty of Life.  It’s also on The Splendid Table’s site.  Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

Every year I think about making Hot Cross Buns for Easter (or Good Friday, I guess), but I never get to it.  Well, finally, this is my year!  And let me tell you that eating one of these sweet, spiced buns freshly homemade is a real treat.  I made these with currants and candied orange peel, although you could use raisins or craisins or whatever dried fruit and zest you choose. If you are British or Australian, you may not like what I’ve done on top here.  A “traditional” English hot cross bun has a cross made not of icing (like mine), but of a flour and water paste that is baked on.  But what can I say– I’m American and I like my icing!!

You’ll see that this recipe begins with preparing a sponge starter.  It is really easy…there’s nothing to it but a little added resting time.  The sponge lets the yeast get some extra fermentation, which is better for flavor and makes for nice soft buns. The rest of the dough is a snap to put together in a stand mixer.  These aren’t so complicated to make, even if, like me, you don’t do a whole lot of bread baking at home…the hardest part is waiting for them to cool completely.  You bet I devoured this guy with a little salty butter  just as soon as he was cool enough to “cross”!

Hot Cross Buns- makes 12
adapted (quite a bit) from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman

Steph’s Note:  There’s no real need to soak your currants or orange peel unless they are very dry.  If that’s the case, I’d put them in a small bowl with a couple teaspoons of orange juice or Grand Mariner and microwave for ten seconds (cool before using).

for the sponge
38 g AP flour
190 g milk, about 85°F
9 g sugar
7.4 g (2-1/4 t) instant yeast

for the final dough
340 g AP flour
60 g butter, softened
57 g sugar
1 egg
3 g salt
2 g ground allspice
2 g ground cinnamon
110 g dried currants
40 g candied orange peel, finely chopped

for the icing (amounts are approximate)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted if lumpy
4 teaspoons milk

-For the sponge, combine the milk and yeast in a medium bowl. Whisk in the flour and sugar. The mixture will be very loose. Cover and let rest until it is about 3 times its original volume,  30-40 minutes.

-In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix final dough flour and softened butter until the butter is evenly distributed through the flour.

-Add egg, sugar, spices, and salt. Continue to mix until combined. The mixture will be quite dry at this point.

-Switch to the mixer’s dough hook. Add the sponge and mix on low speed. Mix until well combined, about 3 minutes.

-Up the mixer to medium speed, and mix about 8 minutes.  You can occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl, if needed. The dough will start to leave the sides and come together around the dough hook, and the gluten should have reached a medium level of development.

-Add the currants and orange peel and mix on low speed just until they are evenly distributed through the dough.

-Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled, covered container. Ferment in a warm place for one hour, giving it a fold (kind of like a letter) after 30 minutes.

-Turn the dough onto an unfloured counter and divide it into 12 pieces (about 70-75 g each).

-Form each piece into a ball. To tighten the ball, place it on the counter with your cupped hand loosely around it, and move your hand in a tight circle several times.

-Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I used a 1/4 sheet tray…they did not touch when I arranged them on the tray, but as they proofed, they expanded to gently touch.)

-Cover and proof in a warm place for about an hour.

-Preheat the oven to 400°F . Bake the buns on the parchment-lined sheet at 400°F until the tops are browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue baking until browned all over, about another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool completely.

-When the buns are completely cool, whisk together the icing ingredients.  You can add extra confectioners’ sugar or milk as needed to make a thick, but pipeable paste.  Put it in a piping bag with a medium-small round tip and pipe it in a cross over the buns.  They are best when eaten fresh (although I did freeze a few for the weekend).

This week TWD is putting on our Easter best with Nick Malgieri ‘s Pizza Rustica.  If you are wondering “what heck kind of pizza is this?” then think instead of cheese pie.  Ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino…like calzone filling inside pie crust.  This is rich and special…no wonder it is an Italian Easter tradition.

The pie dough is a pasta frolla, which is actually a sweet dough, and is used in cookies as well.  A sweet dough may sound odd for a savory pie, but with the salty filling, it just works.  I should note though, that I cut back the sugar in the recipe from 1/3 cup to 3 tablespoons.  For me, this was just the right level of sweetness.  The dough also has some baking powder in it, so it puffs a bit and reminded me a little of a biscuit.  The pasta frolla is really easy to work with.  If you need to patch it while rolling it out, just press it back together.  For better browning, you can brush the lattice strips with a little eggwash before baking.

At the shop where I work, we make a pizza rustica almost every day.  The filling has prosciutto in it and I don’t eat pork, so in the year and a half I’ve been there, I’ve never had a taste!  I was really excited to make one at home that I could finally try.  This recipe also has prosciutto in the filling, but I think the substitution possibilities are pretty limitless here.  In mine, I went with chicken sausage and kale (both of which I cooked and cooled first), and some red pepper flakes for spice.  One thing that I’ve learned from making rustica at work is that it’s important to remove any excess liquid from the filling components before assembly.  The night before making my PR, I drained my ricotta in a sieve lined with a coffee filter.  I also was sure to squeeze any juice out of my cooked kale before chopping it up.

I think that pizza rustica is best eaten room temperature.  And you know what goes great with it?  Red wine.

For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan or read Emily’s blog, Capitol Region Dining, and Raelynn’s blog, The Place They Call Home, as they are co-hosting this recipe.  Thanks, ladies!  There’s also a video of Nick and Julia making the pizza rustica together. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.

Usually I don’t work on Fridays.  Typically I have the day to myself.  Sometimes I do errands or shopping.  Occasionally I can find a friend to escape work and have lunch with me.  Always I eat breakfast and watch episodes of House Hunters.

Breakfast du jour was a Savory Cheddar and Scallion waffle topped with salsa, sour cream and an egg.  I treat myself right, don’t I?  Actually I just pulled the waffle out of the freezer and reheated it.  It was leftover from a “breakfast for dinner” night earlier in the week. That’s the beauty of a savory waffle…perfect for brekkie or dinner.  It’s not weird, trust me. This one has a bit of a Southwestern twist to it– some cornmeal, scallions, cheddar, cilantro and hot sauce (I use a heavy hand with the Crystal).  I was worried that the cheese might adhere to the waffle iron and act like superglue…it didn’t.  I had beautifully formed, crisp-edged waffles with buttermilk tang and a savory flavor.

I’m trying to use my waffle iron more often.  After I get past the annoyance of removing it from its styrofoam and box (yes, OK, I am an original packaging hoarder), making waffles is really fun.  And eating them, even more.

Savory Cheddar and Scallion Waffles- serves 2-4 (this made four big waffles in my iron)
adapted from Eating for England (who adapted it from Joy the Baker and Williams Sonoma)

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c cornmeal (coarse, if you have it)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 large eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
couple dashes of hot sauce, to taste
1 1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c finely grated cheddar cheese
1 chopped scallion, white and green parts
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

-Heat your oven to 200°F and heat your waffle iron, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Grease it with a little vegetable oil if it needs it.

-In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, black pepper, sugar and salt.

-In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, hot sauce and buttermilk.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then add the cheese, scallions and cilantro. Stir until just incorporated. Try not to over-mix the batter.

-Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.  Hold the finished waffles in the warm oven while you make the rest.

-Garnish as you wish (for me, it was salsa, sour cream, an egg and some extra cilantro) and serve immediately.  If you have extra waffles, wrap them well and freeze them…they can be recrisped in the toaster or oven.

We may represent six different continents, but this week we’re all Irish in TWD with Marion Cunningham’s Irish Soda Bread.  I like Marion Cunningham.  I think she seems like a cool lady, and I have a few of her books (the most well-used is The Breakfast Book).  But I digress…

I knew that I wanted to have this bread with butter and marmalade on St. Patrick’s Day morning, but I didn’t know how I was going to pull it off for breakfast when it takes almost an hour to bake and then more time to cool.  I was worried about making it in advance, because in the book, the recipe intro says it turns “as hard as the Blarney Stone” (which I have kissed, btw) after a few hours.  Then I watched the video of Marion and Julia making the bread together…Marion whips out an already-made loaf and clearly says that it had been baked the night before, left to cool completely and then wrapped.  So that’s what I did…I made it the night before and it was still perfect the next morning.

This recipe has just four ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk), and the dough is simply stirred together…it’s almost amazing that it turns into bread!  I had actually wanted to sneak some currants in my loaf, too, but then I completely forgot about them until the second after I’d scraped the sticky dough into the pie plate.  I wasn’t going to mess with it anymore at the point.  No matter– the bread had plenty of flavor…a little salty and a little tangy.  Like most Irish people I know, my loaf also had plenty of character….I probably could have kneaded a bit more flour into it to make it a smoother round, but I liked its quirkiness just fine.

Don’t wait until next March to make this….it’s so easy and good that it’s perfect anytime.  For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan (it’s also here in somewhat condensed form) or read Carla’s blog Chocolate Moosey, and Cathleen’s blog My Culinary Mission, as they are co-hosting this recipe.  Thanks, ladies!  Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll.

Apparently I think Saint Patrick’s Day is a good excuse to drench chocolate cake in booze.  OK, I would gladly do that any day of the year (as is evidenced by this and that), but last year I marked St. Paddy’s day with whiskey-soaked chocolate and now I’ve moved to stout.  Chocolate stout cakes are nothing new, but I am loving the ease of this one.  So easy, you can whisk this together while sipping the remainder of your can of Guinness or Murphy’s and be confident you won’t muck it up.

You may notice that this cake is vegan.  I’m not, but I can appreciate that the lack of eggs and dairy let the chocolate flavor of this cake shine.  The stout and Guinness boost that taste and temper the sweetness. There’s so much liquid in this cake that it stays moist and fudgy…improves with time even.  Three days later and I think it’s better than the first.  I’ll raise a pint to that!

Fudgy Chocolate Stout Cake- makes an 8″ cake
from mrslarkin’s recipe on food52

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
 7 tablespoons natural cocoa powder (not dutched)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Guinness or other stout
1/2 cup espresso or strong coffee
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Set oven rack to middle. Grease an 8” round cake pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment and lightly spray the parchment.

-Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

-In a measuring cup, mix together stout, coffee, water, vanilla and vinegar.  Stir into the flour mixture a few turns, then add your oil and combine until you have a smooth batter (you can use a whisk for this, just be gentle).

-Pour into prepared pan.  Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Check with cake tester, which should come out very slightly moist.  Remove from oven and let cool on rack.

-Turn out onto cake plate.  Peel off the parchment. Dust cake with powdered sugar, or cover with frosting.

*Alternatively, this recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes. Bake for 18 – 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes. Frost with your favorite frosting or dip tops into a simple icing made of confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder and coffee. Decorate top with a fresh coffee bean while icing is still tacky.

Weekend mornings are made for laziness and pancakes.  Unfortunately for the last few weeks, Saturdays here have not been so lazy.  We’re getting the windows replaced in our house, and it’s been a long and messy process that, six days a week, starts with contractors coming over at 8:30 and ends in me finding at least one new ding in our carefully refinished original wood floors.  Seriously, that makes me want to pull my hair out.  Thankfully, there’s Sunday.  A day when I don’t have to worry about being changed out of my Hello Kitty pajama pants before nine.  A day when I can make Cinnamon “Toast” Cloudcakes for breakfast!

Cloudcakes require a little extra effort than regular pancakes, but if I can handle it in the morning, then I promise you can, too.  Really, you just need to whip and fold some egg whites…that’s what makes them puffy and cloud-light.  The “cinnamon toast” here just refers to spicing in the batter.  If you want plain cloudcakes, simply axe the cinnamon.  The recipe sounds like it makes a ton, but they are just little silver dollar-sized things, so a tall stack is what you’re after.  I made a half-recipe for just the two of us.  And some turkey bacon, which I see now looks totally weird in pictures.

Cinnamon “Toast” Cloudcakes- makes twenty-five 3-inch pancakes, serving 4 to 6
from Cook’s Country (April/May 2005)

Home stovetops vary, so you may need to adjust the burner setting between medium-low and medium. For maximum rise, allow the eggs and buttermilk to come up to room temperature before using them. Low-fat buttermilk works best here; if using fat-free buttermilk, reduce the amount to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Although these pancakes are at their puffiest when served in batches, they can be kept warm on a cooling rack coated with cooking spray and placed over a sheet pan in a 200°F oven for up to 20 minutes.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk (see headnote)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs, separated, plus 2 extra egg whites
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 – 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

-Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in large bowl. Stir buttermilk and sour cream together in medium bowl until combined. Add egg yolks and butter to buttermilk mixture, and stir well to combine. With electric mixer or balloon whisk, beat all 4 egg whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Pour buttermilk mixture over dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. (Batter should be lumpy, with visible streaks of flour.) Using spatula, carefully fold whites into batter until just combined. Do not overmix–a few streaks of whites should be visible.

-Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Using 1/8-cup measure or small ladle, spoon batter into pan. Cook until bottoms are evenly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Serve, cooking remaining batter and using more vegetable oil as needed to grease pan.