The date came and went (March 11th), but only now I have a chance to share a few things I made for the occasion. As you may know, most of the sweets I bake we don’t get to eat, but this series of bakes is the exception that confirms the rule. We got to savor all the sweetness! But let’s start with the bread components.
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FOCACCIA ART
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Maybe you remember the Quilted Focaccia Buns of a recent past? I got this idea from the book Beautiful Bread, which I highly recommend, as Theresa Culletto shares amazing designs and all the tips to make them happen. It is all a matter of making a big enough dough to cover a large baking sheet, and then planning decorations with veggies cut in shapes.
It is quite amazing how much flavor and smell little pieces of leeks impart to the dough. You can also use chives for the stems if you prefer, they will likely be easier to work with, no real prep needed.
Moving on, I had to bake a sourdough, and chose a Springtime design for it…
And now, to the sweets… From Molly Yeh’s new book Sweet Farm, one of the most delicious cookies ever, a Cherry Mahlab Linzer! I cannot share the recipe for copyright issues, but I’m tempted to tell you that the book is worth it JUST for that one. Mahlab is a Middle Eastern spice that resembles cinnamon and imparts great flavor to the dough. I will be using it often.
The dough rolls like a dream, browns beautifully in the oven, and crumbles in your mouth with that texture that only almond flour will provide. Absolutely a must-make!
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From the past, I re-visited the German Chocolate Macarons, which I did not have a change to taste the first time I made, but the feedback was so great, I was intrigued and could not wait to make again FOR US. Wonderful they were, all modesty aside… Recipe available here.
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TWO VERSIONS OF BRIGADEIROS
Red Velvet and Lemon. They were both made with the same basic method: 1 can condensed milk + 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan. To the Red Velvet I added one full tablespoon of cocoa powder + 1/2 tsp Red Velvet Emulsion from LorAnn and a pinch of salt.
To the Lemon version, I added 2 tablespoons Lemon Curd (store-bought), and a pinch of salt. On a later version I added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest, I liked that better. Both versions cooked the way described in this old post of mine.
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And now, for the Piece of Resistance, THE CAKE! Choice of the husband, who found the recipe online and twisted my 65 year old arm to make it. Recipe published here, and also in his cookbook SWEET.
This is one amazing cake! Luscious, moist, tender, almost feels like flourless. The ganache on top takes it exactly there: over the top. And of course, I had to add a Brazilian flair to it and topped with Red Velvet Brigadeiros. And some luster powder. Because if I cannot bling on my own Birthday, there would be something wrong with me.
VANILLA ELDERFLOWER PINWHEEL COOKIES (from The Bewitching Kitchen)
2¼ cups (282 g) all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons (98 g) unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup (80 g) powdered sugar 1 large egg, room temperature 1 tablespoon (12.5 g) vanilla sugar 1 tablespoon elderberry powder (like this one) tiny amount of purple food gel dye, if needed white coarse sanding sugar
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar together on medium-high until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla, mix to combine, and then scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix until well combined.
Divide the dough in half, add elderberry powder and food gel dye to one half, and mix until fully incorporated. Divide both halves of the dough in half again so you end up with two equal portions of vanilla dough and two equal portions of elderberry dough.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll each portion of dough out to a roughly 8-x-10-inch (20-x-25-cm) rectangle. Place a purple dough rectangle on top of a vanilla rectangle and use a rolling pin to gently press them together. Repeat with the other rectangles of vanilla and elderberry dough. Starting with the shorter side, roll the rectangles of dough into logs. Tightly wrap the two logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper or perforated silicone baking mats. Remove a cookie log from the refrigerator and let it warm up for a few minutes at room temperature. Roll on sanding sugar to coat the surface. Using a sharp knife, cut each log into ¼-inch slices. Place on the prepared baking trays and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Comments: Depending on the brand of your elderberry powder, you might not need the food gel dye. I used a very small amount, delivered with a toothpick. The sanding sugar coating is optional but I think it adds a lot to the overall look of the cookie.
200g all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 150g granulated sugar 1/2 large egg (whisk and add about half, no need to be too precise) 1 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 tablespoon heavy cream softened butter to coat tins pink, red and white sanding sugar
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2—3 minutes. Add the egg, cream and vanilla and beat on low speed until the egg is completely incorporated. Beating on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and continue to beat until almost incorporated.
Press the dough into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Coat the tartlet tins of your choice with softened butter using a brush. Shower them with sanding sugar to form a layer at the bottom and edges. Place the tins on a baking sheet. Press a ball of dough in the tin, filling each 3/4 of the volume. Bake at 350F until set but not getting too much color, 15 to 18 minutes. Let the cookies sit in the tartlets for five minutes then remove gently using a small spatula if needed to help. Tapping the tins should work fine. Careful, they stay hot for a while.
Comments: Those are just adorable indeed. Best consumed the same day, but if you keep them tightly closed in a container they will be ok next day. Probably any cookie recipe will work, make sure to make it a little softer than usual for cutout cookies, that’s why the heavy cream is a good addition. Chocolate dough could be great, I intend to give it a try soon.
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COOKIE #3
CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE PINWHEELS
You’ll get a perfect swirl using Matt Adlard’s technique! I can’t share the recipe, you need to be part of his BAKE IT BETTER club, which is easy to do with a click here. Totally worth it!
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM (decoration inspired by @cookingclassy)
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM (from The Bewitching Kitchen)
for the cupcakes (makes 10):
100g all-purpose flour 150g granulated sugar 20g cocoa powder (Dutch-processed) 45g unsalted butter 1/8 tsp salt 120ml milk at room temperature 1 large egg, room temperature 1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder
Heat oven to 350F.
Place flour, cocoa powder, salt, butter and sugar in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
In a small bowl, whisk milk and egg. Pour half this mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix on medium speed. Scrape the bowl, continue mixing and pour the other half of the milk-egg. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to high for a few seconds.
Fill cupcake tins a little over half the volume, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
113g (1/2 cup) butter, softened 1/4 cup raspberry jam, seedless pinch of salt 3 cups powdered sugar super tiny amount of pink food gel color
Cut the butter into cubes and place in a mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix butter until smooth, for about 4 minutes. Add jam, the pinch of salt and mix again until well mixed with butter, a couple of minutes. Add the pink gel color.
With the mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until fully combined and free of lumps. Once it is all incorporated, turn the speed to high and mix for 2 minutes. That will give you a smooth buttercream that you can use immediately to frost the cooled cupcakes.
Decorate with a fresh raspberry and hearts made with tempered chocolate (or compound chocolate) melted and piped into parchment paper or acetate.
Comments: Normally I donate all the sweets I bake, but because it was Valentine’s Day, I saved one cupcake to enjoy with the hubby after our meal. OMG! Words of the husband: “Good thing we only had one to share because if we had more I could not stop eating them”. Moist, delicious, and the buttercream frosting absolutely perfect, bringing a little sharp flavor to the party. Make them. Just make them if you want a wonderful treat.
MOVING ON…
VANILLA CAKE WITH HIBISCUS GLAZE (recipe published in the past, click here)
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SUGAR COOKIES WITH RUFFLES AND ROSES (after @sweetambs)
I am a bit surprised that I never blogged on this particular recipe, adapted over the years from several sources, including a version from Phil’s family. It uses a small amount of baking soda, that makes the cookie puff a little bit but not spread too much. My current favorite version includes ground star anise, I am kind of smitten by its flavor.
GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES (from The Bewitching Kitchen)
375g flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp ground ginger 1 + 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cloves 1/2 tsp cardamoon 1/2 tsp ground star anise 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup butter (170g) 1/2 cup molasses 1 egg
Mix flour, baking soda and spices in a large bowl. Reserve.
To a mixer, add butter at room temperature and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add molasses, mix until incorporated. Add egg and mix. Add the flour mixture in two steps, mixing at low speed.
Place dough in fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Roll out, cut shapes, bake preferably from frozen for 10 min, at 350F.
I love the smell of these cookies while baking and also as they sit later at room temperature. The star anise is a fantastic addition, a tip I got a few years ago from Haniela.
Bewitching Kitchen 