Month July 2012

Homemade Entemann’s NY Coffee Cake- AKA, Vacation Coffee Cake

Carroll 1 Comment

The last few summers we have joined my brother, Sir Ryan and his family for a stay at the beach.  A perfectly relaxing getaway filled with sun bathing, wave catching, pool peeing, and beer drinking card playing.   Traditions run strong in this family, and one that comes with this annual trip is Sir Ryan’s love of coffee cake and the yearly appearance of the Entemann’s Box.  This year I thought I would try my hand at it, I was sure I bring it better than a box.  The cake came out great, moist and fresh, perfectly crumbly.   The guys loved having it to start their early morning fishing trips!

Vacation Breakfast!

Sir Ryan and my husband Sir Wes went fishing every morning.  Sir Sully joined them one morning for a bit.  The senior boys each caught one fish only, but they enjoyed themselves as true fishermen do.

The Guy’s Early Morning Fishing Trip

New York-Style Crumb Cake
source: Cooks’ Illustrated free iPhone app and Cooks’ Illustrated May 2007

Don’t be tempted to substitute all-purpose flour for the cake flour, as doing so will make a dry, tough cake. If you can’t find buttermilk, you can substitute an equal amount of plain, low-fat yogurt. When topping the cake, take care to not push the crumbs into the batter. This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. If doubling, increase the baking time to about 45 minutes. Cooled leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

For the Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour (7 ounces)

For the Cake:
1 1/4 cups cake flour (5 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Thank you Entemann’s, you’ve inspired!!

To make the topping: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

To make the cake: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low-speed to combine. With mixer running at low-speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces between your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

Homemade New York Coffee Cake

The only thing Sir Sully caught was a wave, to his dismay.

We had a great time at the beach this year, with a new breakfast tradition and a couple of fisherman!  Maybe next year we will be lucky enough to have fish for dinner!

Cherry Rose Hand Pies, a Homemade Childhood Favorite!

Carroll 2 Comments

We have been taking a lot of trips to the beach lately, which for us is an all-day affair, living 1 ½ hours away from it.  So we get going early, pack a cooler and load the car and are on the road before the morning steam is finished rising.  I discovered last summer that packing chocolate really doesn’t work; it in fact just leads to a plain mess.  So this summer I went with hand pies, perfect for any picnic, lunch box or on the go treat.  I don’t want to knock Hostess or Little Debbie….but…

Cherry Rose Hand Pies

Cherries are in season, and to make these a little more special I added the rose water.  The flavors blend perfectly, giving a floral finish to the cherries.  If you are on Team Hate Rose Water, substitute vanilla extract and double the amounts.  I do know many chefs that detest rose water, but one chef I know recently told me, “Those haters just see it misused a lot”.  A little goes a long way in the case of rose water.

Hand Pies for Everyone!!

Ingredients

Pie Dough –

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons butter, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons shortening
  • 6 tablespoon ice water

Filling –

  • 2 ½ cup pitted cherries
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon rose water
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

Glaze –

  • 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon rose water

 Preparation:

 In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until mixed well.  Add the butter and shortening into the bowl and run until it looks like coarse meal.  Slowly add water in until the dough comes together.  Remove the dough from the bowl and knead into a ball.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour. 

While the dough rests, start the filling. In a medium sauce pan, combine the cherries, sugar, rose water, and salt. Over medium heat allow the ingredients to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring well.  As the juices from the cherries release, remove 4 tablespoons of the sauce and place in a small bowl.  Add the cornstarch into the bowl and mix well.  Stir the cornstarch slurry back into the sauce pan and continue to simmer, stirring constantly until you have the consistency of pie filling.  Remove from bowl and place in refrigerator to cool.

To make the hand pies divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll them into balls. On a floured surface, with a rolling pin, start flattening the balls into 6″-7″ circles. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375. Remove your dough and allow to stand about 5 minutes. In center of circle add 2 tablespoons of the filling and fold in half. Crimp the edges with a fork and poke the fork into the center of each pie to allow the steam to exit.  Place the pies back onto the parchment lined baking sheet and place in oven.  Cook for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden.

While the pies are baking, make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until smooth.  Once the pies have been removed from the oven, allow them to cool slightly, and then spoon pour the glaze over them.  Allow the glaze to set while the pies continue to cool.

Makes 8 hand pies.  These can be refrigerated up to a week or frozen up to a month.

Lunch Box Favorite!

I love the portability of hand pies, easy and convenient.  But most of all, I love being taken back to the special days of my childhood that I would find a hostess pie in my lunch. 

Savory Palmiers by Mat!

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I have some extremely creative and talented “foodie” friends, some of them are chefs, some are not, and recently I was able to talk one of them into sharing a unique recipe here at Vanilla Lemonade.  So without further ado, I give you …Mat!

I’m no chef, I just like to play with my food! When I find something that I enjoy, I wonder wildly what variation of ingredients I can combine to make it my own! After my partner encouraged me to make him some quick Apple tarts he had seen made by a popular TV Chef, I decided to use the extra sheet of Puff Pastry dough to make palmiers for the first time. They came out wonderfully and my mind went to work on what else I could do to a palmier. Enter the Sweetly Savory and Blazin’ Bleu palmiers! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.. And now I have a whole new option instead of crackers to pair with a cheese board, soups and salads!

Sweetly Savory Palmiers

Ingredients:

½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
½ cup Sundried Tomates (the variety packed in oil)
½ cup fresh Basil leaves
1 tbsp Anchovy Paste
7 cloves of fresh Garlic
2 tbsp Clover Honey
1 tsp fresh cracked Pepper
¼ cup Olive Oil (for added flavor use the oil from the tomatoes)

1 sheet pre-packaged Puff Pastry dough ( recommend Pepperidge Farms)


Thaw your puff pastry sheets in the refrigerator overnight to ensure proper thawing. Puff Pastry dough should always be kept very cold. Work with it in short order to ensure the butter throughout the pastry does not melt; this will prevent the gorgeous “puff” that results when baked.

Place all ingredients (except puff pastry dough) in a food processor and process on high to finely chopped all ingredients. The resulting product should be a fine somewhat dry paste. Be sure to process long enough to gain a fine texture.

Take one sheet of Puff Pastry dough and place on a floured surface. Utilizing a rolling pin, roll to approximately 11.5” x 9.5”. Evenly spread the prepared filling over the puff pastry. Once spread, roll the pastry (using your fingers) from the top and bottom; meeting in the middle with evenly rolled ends. Compress the rolls together creating a cylindrical shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Once sufficiently chilled the pastry roll with be very firm to the touch, slice the roll in ¼” slices and place on baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat.

Bake palmiers for 11 minutes and flip to ensure caramelization on both sides. Bake for an additional 7-9 minutes. Remove the palmiers from the lined baking sheet and cool on rack.

Store in a sealed container to retain the fresh baked-ness! Enjoy the palmiers on their own or pair with a cheese course or salad.

Yields: 1 dozen

Blazin’ Bleu Palmiers

Ingredients:

¼ cup Sun-dried Tomatoes (variety packed in olive oil)
1 tbsp fresh Thyme leaves
¼ cup Olive Oil (for added flavor use the oil from the tomatoes)
1 tbsp Tomato paste
2 Green Onions
5 cloves of fresh Garlic
1 ½ tbsp of Sambal Oelek
2 oz. Blue Cheese (use a wedge to facilitate grating)

1 sheet pre-packaged Puff Pastry dough ( recommend Pepperidge Farms)

Thaw your puff pastry sheets in the refrigerator overnight to ensure proper thawing. Puff Pastry dough should always be kept very cold. Work with it in short order to ensure the butter throughout the pastry does not melt; this will prevent the gorgeous “puff” that results when baked.

Place the 2 ounces of bleu cheese wedge into the freezer. This step is crucial to ensuring a smooth grate.

Place all ingredients, except puff pastry dough and bleu cheese, in a food processor and process on high to finely chopped all ingredients. The resulting product should be a fine somewhat moist paste. Be sure to process long enough to gain a fine texture.

Take one sheet of Puff Pastry dough and place on a floured surface. Utilizing a rolling pin, roll to approximately 11.5” x 9.5”. Evenly spread the prepared filling over the puff pastry. Once spread grate the frozen bleu cheese evenly over the spread paste. Roll the pastry (using your fingers) from the top and bottom; meeting in the middle with evenly rolled ends. Compress the rolls together creating a cylindrical shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Once sufficiently chilled the pastry roll with be very firm to the touch, slice the roll in ¼” slices and place on baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat.

Bake palmiers for 11 minutes and flip to ensure caramelization on both sides. Bake for an additional 7-9 minutes. Remove the palmiers from the lined baking sheet and cool on a rack.

Store in a sealed container to retain the fresh baked-ness! Enjoy the palmiers on their own or pair with a cheese course or salad.

Yields: 1 dozen

Don’t these sound fantasmo- I loved that he was bending rules!!  Thanks Mat, for these most creative and scrumptious treat!!

Smores- Golden Graham Style!

Carroll 1 Comment

I am not sure there is a better combination of sweets than chocolate, marshmallow and graham.  The joy isn’t just in the taste of the ooey gooey smores, but in the trip back to your childhood nights you take when you eat them.  Same can be said for Rice Krispie Treats- I feel like I am in the small desk at Woodland Elementary whenever I eat the kids treat.

Childhood Ooey Gooey Goodness

Inspired from childhood, my friend Alex and Macaroni and Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 6 cups mini marshmallows, 1- 10 ounce bag
  • 1 12 ounce package semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 5 tablespoon butter
  • 6 cups Golden Graham Cereal
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

    All the flavor and no need to build the fire!

 

Directions
Place package of chocolate chips and 1 cup of marshmallows in the freezer to chill. Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.

In medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat.   Add in 5 cups of marshmallows and stir until completely melted.  Drop in the salt and vanilla and stir.  Once combined remove from heat and pour into your largest mixing bowl (I used my large tossed salad bowl).  Add the cereal into the mixing bowl and stir until well coated before throwing in the frozen chips and marshmallows.  When all is mixed well spread into the baking pan, pressing to evenly fill the pan.  Allow to set, storing in the refrigerator. 

Makes about 2 dozen squares.

Perfect Camping Treat

Added bonus – Pretty sure you can get the kiddos to do the dirty work to get these smores!

Peach and Tarragon Peach Mason Jar Pie

Carroll 3 Comments

Happy Independence Day to all!  Sir Wes LOVES the 4th of July, I secretly think he has the goal to participate in Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest, which just thinking about makes me a little sick.  Most years we stick with a batch of Sangria, a cookout and a trip down to Celebration to see the fireworks instead.  Yesterday I made a dessert that would be perfect to pack on any picnic, park, beach, or backyard.

Peach and Tarragon Mason Jar Pies

I can’t resist the scent that comes from the piles of peaches at the market, the smell is so strong you can taste it.  I love this quote of a Farmer describing his peaches on NPR, “Drips off your elbows, drips off your chin, drips off your face, drips onto your shirt, onto your pants, onto your shoes … We just want the consumer to know out there, that this is an awesome fruit and it’s a great time of year.”

Easy Travel Peach Pie!

Fresh peaches and a leftover pie dough sheet in the fridge, perfect for this all American holiday!  I had a bit of fresh tarragon staring at me from the refrigerator shelf , so I added that into the filling.  I love adding herbs to fruit, they just add a different, refreshing twist.

  • 4 peaches, pitted and diced
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon chopped tarragon (basil or cilantro will work here too)
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 pie dough sheet, use your favorite recipe, or purchase one
  • 4 ½ pint mason jars

To prepare the filling:

Place all the peaches, sugar, tarragon and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Allow to gently simmer, pulling out the juices of the peach, with the sugars thickening the juice.  After 15 minutes remove from heat and cool in refrigerator.

To assemble Mason Jars:

Roll out dough to a standard pie thickness, cut out 8 circles of dough by using the top of the mason jar.  In each jar place a cutout on the bottom and scoop the peach filling into the jars.  Top with the remaining dough. 

Place mason jars on baking sheet and cook in oven for 30 minutes at 425°.

The smell of peachs makes my mouth water!

Happy Independence Day, may we all appreciate the freedom we have, thanks to the service men and women who have provided it so courageously!