Thoughts and Ideas- Sarah Magid Cakes

Homemade Peppermint Patties

2009-11-21T20:50:00.004-05:00

I have been freelancing designing jewelry for a big fashion company, and every afternoon around 3 we make a run downstairs at the deli next door for some pick-me-up treats. Although I bring some healthy snacks from home, sometimes life calls for candy...and my personal favorite is York Peppermint Patties. The combination of minty, melt-in-your-mouth, and chocolate always gives me the candy/sugar rush I need to get back to designing.

After a few weeks of admitting my peppermint patty addiction, I decided that it was time to make my own and better control the ingredients in it. (And to make enough of a stash for me and my co-workers for finishing up the collection.) I researched a few recipes to create my own version, and found a terrific place to start in David Leibovitz's The Perfect Scoop. (An ice cream book that is one of my favorites).

*note..I only took pics up to the drying out phase, because after I made the first patty I was in a trance to eat them all up and forgot. They do look like the real thing once made.
The trick with these is to make sure you roll them super thin, and when they air-dry to make sure you flip them once or twice so that both sides of the patty get a crust. When you see how easy it is to make these, you will never buy them again! They also are perfect for chopping up and sprinkling on top of a cupcake for a holiday type mood, or layering in a cake.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

2 cups sifted organic powdered sugar
3 tablespoons organic light corn syrup (Whole Foods has a private label brand made with non GMO corn)
2 teaspoons water
1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil or extract
8 ounces bittersweet, or 70% dark chocolate, such as organic Green & Black
extra powdered sugar for dusting

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar.
2. In a medium sized bowl, add corn syrup, water, and peppermint oil.
3. Slowly add powdered sugar, stirring until it is mixed, then using your hands, knead it into a ball. It will be coming apart at first, but with some firm kneading, it will soften and turn into a minty ball.
4.Using a rolling pin that has been lightly dusted with powdered sugar, place the ball on one of the sheets lined with sugar. Roll dough, making sure to add a sprinkle of sugar here and there so nothing sticks, until it is 1/4" thin, or even thinner. (Remember After 8 mints???? you could go there)
5. Using a small round cutter dusted with powdered sugar so it does not stick, cut out rounds in the dough and place rounds on second baking sheet.
6. Once all rounds have been cut, they need to air dry so the patties get a hard crust, about 4 hours. You could leave them over night as well.
7. To dip in the chocolate, set up a wire rack over a piece of parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler by placing small chopped pieces in a bowl over a pot of boiling water...or use your microwave in 20-30 second bursts, stirring frequently.
8. Using a fork, place a patty on top and dip in the chocolate, or use two clean fingers to wipe each side with chocolate, then place on the wire rack.
9. Place wire rack in refrigerator to let set, about 5 minutes.
10. Keep cool and well wrapped, we had the whole batch in our house for less than 2 days, they were that good!

Mela's Cake

2009-11-21T20:34:00.004-05:00

A princess/Jean Paul Gaultier inspired cake for Mela...a friend of Clyde's. Chocolate cake with pink frosting, and some glittery painted details, sugarpaste flowers, emerald green gelatin sequins (see how these experiments come in handy!) and a glitter gold gelatin sequin as her belt.
I even did a quick haircut to match Mela's.
Happy Birthday Mela!!
xo

stained glass cake

2009-11-21T13:33:00.002-05:00

I trust my intuition more than I know...and today while I was frosting a cake for a birthday, I still was unsure what exactly the decorations were going to be. The cake is a red velvet with cream cheese vanilla frosting, and for some reason, the cream cheese makes the flowers become soft, and they just don't look right.

I found myself tinting some frosting black, and piping flower 'doodles' that I usually scrawl on paper or notes which are flowers with leaves in all kinds of shapes. At first I thought to try and handpaint the insides of the flowers, but then had that moment where I realized the leaf shapes were almost exact to my gelatin flower experiments.

Placing gelatin leaves and even some sequin experiment leftovers on the petals created a stained glass effect, and perhaps even a Marni jewelry look too??? Then I thought about Clyde and Ruby's book that my dad gave to them. It was his favorite book from childhood, Harry the Dirty Dog. I realized that the graphic quality from that book may have subliminally inspired this kind of look too....

Lady Caramel Apples

2009-11-08T15:53:00.008-05:00

Caramel apples have been on my mind ever since the leaves first started to turn golden, and right away when I entered the farmer's market I laid my eyes on the small baskets of Lady Apples. Lady Apples are miniature apples which are sweet and crisp, (unlike Crab Apples) and perhaps the most perfect fruit for a child.

paper sticks inside Lady Apples waiting for caramel

I do enjoy the sour/sweet combination for a caramel apple, but knew that the kids would like the sweeter variety, plus it meant that I could use a few leftover for their lunches. Researching many kinds of caramel apple recipes, I found one on Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbook site that uses honey instead of sugar, an idea that seemed perfect for apples. The recipe took around 10 minutes to make, and the result is a very sweet, honey flavored caramel. Using the mini apples makes it just the right amount of sweet to apple ratio, and small enough to not feel too overindulgent.

If I had the farmhouse I dream about, I would search the woods for twigs to stick in the centers for a perfect looking caramel apple. Instead we used paper sticks for our perfect Fall snacks.

Caramel Lady Apples
(recipe adapted from Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks.com)

11 Lady Apples (they typically come in a corrugated box, I used 11 and 5 leftover)
3/4 cup organic heavy cream
3/4 cup honey-I used a mild clover
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

special equipment- candy thermometer, wooden spoon

Preparation: Rinse apples, stick wooden or paper sticks down the stems. Place on parchment paper or Silpat and chill in the refrigerator. Also place a large bowl with cold water in the freezer.

1. In heavy bottomed saucepan, bring heavy cream and sea salt to a simmer.
2. Add honey and raise heat to medium high, so that it is on a constant boil. But you have to keep stirring constantly or else it will burn.
3. After a few minutes, clip the candy thermometer inside the pan, and stir frequently.
4.Once the temperature reads 255/260, remove cold water from freezer and place on counter top.
5. Remove pan from heat, and place inside bowl (but careful to not have any water get inside). This cools down the caramel instantly, so you have to dip the apples quickly.
6. Tilt the pan to one side, and using the other hand, dip the apple in and twirl, coating all sides. Place coated apple on parchment paper.
7. If you want, you can sprinkle some sea salt, or chocolate chips into the caramel.
8. Refrigerate to set the caramel, and if you like, you can serve them chilled so they are extra crisp!

Ladybug Cake

2009-10-17T21:38:00.006-04:00

Today I made a very special cake... The 1st birthday cake for a little girl, shaped like a ladybug. As a mom of two, I get very sentimental about the importance of a first birthday party. Its a celebration on so many levels; for parents for making it through all the highs and lows, and for the babies now being official toddlers.

For the first birthday, simplicity and chocolate rule. She had a dark chocolate cake, frosted and filled with whipped vanilla buttercream. The "grass" is dyed coconut with some sugar sculpted flowers scattered for a true garden feel.

Happy Birthday Sylvie! Hope 1 is a great year for you!
xo

Kate and Avi's wedding

2009-10-12T21:15:00.008-04:00

Kate and Avi were married today, and I loved working with them, because they were the essential Brooklyn couple. They were married at the Brooklyn Historical Society, had the reception at Frankie's in Carroll Gardens, had Sarah from Saipua do the flowers, and Mast Brothers chocolates as place settings. Kind of all the greatest hits in one...

They were unusual in the fact that they wanted a different cake flavor, suggesting hazelnut or rose as an option. We narrowed it down to something more crowd pleasing, coconut white cake with lime curd and whipped coconut buttercream. The cake uses 7 egg whites, and the curd uses 8 egg yolks, so after making endless batches of cake, it was really easy to make the curd.

For the decoration, they wanted a soft sage green color base, and sugar flowers with colors inspired by their real flowers they had at the wedding; ochre, sage, pumpkin, mauve. Beautiful fall colors.

placing larger flowers on cake first...

first stage of sugar flowers, drying them upside down so they look open when dry.

the sugar flower garden in bloom

I started the sugar flowers mid-week, wanting to give them a few days to harden. I dusted each center with a mixture of three petal dusts, to give the flowers a watercolor type feeling. I think when you use just one color it feels more mod and pop, but when you mix colors and can see bits of erratic shading, it feels more like something you might see in a garden.

After frosting the cake, I placed the flowers in a cascade effect, starting with the larger sizes. I placed smaller ones around them, and piped white centers on some of the flowers. I like the look of the hand dusting, but wanted to also ground the flowers a bit.

Kate and Avi bought this handmade cake topper that looked like them. With a sage green base, it fit perfectly on top of the cake.

Happy Wedding!
xo

Luci's platypus cake

2009-09-26T20:26:00.005-04:00

My friend Shin and I have a wonderful system worked out.
After meeting her in Chicago over 12 years ago, she now works in one of the top five salons in NYC and is a genius with curly hair. Since we are friends, we've moved past a proper payment situation to a barter--cakes for the family, for haircuts for the family. My favorite part of the whole deal is when her older daughter Luci dreams up her birthday cake.

Over the years, I have made a mermaid, a white cat, an Elmo cake for her little sister, and this year the idea finally became a challenge--a platypus. I had to do a bit of research to truly capture the subject matter, and found myself fascinated with the animal. Its in its own species category as its one of the remaining prehistoric animals. For reasons far beyond my understanding, Luci has an obsession with platypus, as do many of her alpha Manhattan classmates at the party.

Shin and her two daughters and husband are so loving and creative, and it makes me so happy to make a cake for someone who really appreciates it from both the mom and child perspective.
I will cherish this note from Luci forever. Makes my heart swell that I have really made it in the world.
Happy 7th Birthday Luci!

Kim's cake

2009-09-21T16:45:00.010-04:00

My wonderful friend, Kim Ficaro has a birthday today.

one of Kim Ficaro's masterpieces

She is without a doubt, one of the most creative people I know, who transforms the ordinary into utter beauty.

She helped style and art direct my book, and I love seeing her work in food, design, and home magazine, catalogs, and newspapers. She uses flowers, found objects, and beautiful fabrics to make stunning arrangements. She also uses many textiles for tablecloths, or for accenting a plate of food. For her birthday cake, I thought about using an idea based in textiles.

I am designing a wedding cake for a textile designer named Libby (libbymarie.com) whose polka dot print is becoming a subconscious obsession of mine. I thought for the cake it would be fun to try and get a graphic, fabric inspired feel with painted polka dots.

Libby's hand printed textiles.

I love the loose and whimsical outlines on the polka dots, as well as the watercolor feel.
I used chocolate powder mixed with espresso for the brown "paint" and the cake has a base of espresso whipped buttercream. The fuchsia outline is vanilla buttercream, and I found a way to incorporate my edible gold sequins. The kids ate some of the circle gold ones, so I didnt have as many as I wished, but feel like it gives the cake a bit more glitz.

A perfect little cake for the small gathering tonight.
Happy Birthday Kim! Thank you for making the world a little bit more beautiful each day.
xo

Gold Crush

2009-09-20T11:33:00.007-04:00

My friend Alicia, who I used to work with and whose wedding cake I made in June, told me that she was making the jewelry for the Philip Lim fashion show. The show took place a few hours before my book signing, so for good luck (and because she is an amazing friend) she dropped off an extra necklace for my event.

Alicia is a master with metals, and she handmade each necklace out of thin sheets of metal with a process called electroplating to have it slowly crumple into what looks like, a crushed piece of paper. Except that it is shiny gold and hangs on the neck like a floating work of magical art.

She set the crumpled gold with faceted topaz glass stones and leather cord, so you can adjust it higher or lower. A really easy piece to wear that I loved at first sight.

the necklace

I wore it to my event with a Marni dress that had splashed of color and texture that reminded me of the necklace. At Kinokuniya, the crowd was a mix of bakers, designers, and lots of well dressed people. (The spill-over from the Anna Sui show that just let out).

johnny working the crowd

I felt inspired by the jewelry, the cakes, the people, and the gold. I thought sheets of gold leaf could be crumpled on top of a dark chocolate ganache frosted cake. Or thin sheets of chocolate could be softly sculpted by hand, and dusted with gold powder. Philip Lim called the show "Crush" so this is the crush cake dedicated to Alicia. xo

Book Signing at Kinokuniya

2009-09-12T21:24:00.002-04:00

My favorite bookstore in Manhattan is Kinokuniya. A Japanese bookstore that is a cultural goldmine of books ranging from crafts (making felt versions of French pastries for example), beautiful sewing, home, and design books, to carrying small tchotchke children's stickers, pens, and a cafe too. I fell in love the first time I walked in, and am so excited to be in the presence of such a great shop for my book signing next week.

Kinokuniya is right across the street from Bryant Park where Fashion Week is taking place, bringing all the elements together in my life; cake + fashion.

Wednesday, September 16, 6-7:30. Ave of the Americas between 40/41.
Treats and my fancy autograph.
Hope you can make it!
xo

My New York Times Debut

2009-09-11T22:08:00.002-04:00

I am so honored to be part of Amanda Hesser's 'Recipe Redux' column this weekend. I have always admired her writing and am so excited to be in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/magazine/13food-t-001.html

When she first contacted me in the Spring, it was the week that the Obamas broke ground on their new garden. I felt so inspired by this symbolic gesture of back-to-the-land eating, that I wanted to use an herb or something that would be flourishing in their garden by September. Thyme is one of those herbs that are so easy to grow, and can go either savory or sweet.

And I just love meringue cookies, they satisfy so many sensations at once.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!
xo

Libby and Greg's wedding

2009-09-10T22:20:00.001-04:00

I am so excited to be doing another wedding that will be held at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The whole aesthetic and atmosphere of a working farm-to table makes my cakes so happy.

The palette for the wedding is simple; black, white, gray, and silver. The bride is a textile and stationary designer, and her style is whimsical and chic. (Hence the polka dot cake inspired by her work). We discussed doing small cakes for the tables.

She has vintage wedding toppers from her mom, and each cake would have one on top.
I recommended white Mosser milk glass cake stands for small cakes, since they make them in the 6" diameter, and they always look elegant.

We may even mix up the cakes with having plates of Goldies, but perhaps of gold dust, they will be silver.

It will be very beautiful!

Edible Sequins

2009-09-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

I have been working on jewelry projects lately, and have been loving the look of worn gold. Especially the kind of worn gold that sparkles softly in the dark on a jacket or dress...

How could it be possible to create this kind of feeling for a cake? I thought back to the gelatin experiments I did earlier, and came up with the idea to mix luster dusts and edible glitter into the gelatin, to see if I could make something that feels like a sequin, but could be a cake decoration.

mixing 'Old Gold' and 'Emerald' metallic luster dust into warm gelatin

I used old jewel candy molds that I picked up at the cake supply store. I also dripped freehand blobs onto a plate to see if that could work too. (It did not. Fortunately a few soaks in water freed the glitter from the plate.)

I also sprinkled edible glitter into some of the mold, to see how it would look.

Once dry, these are thin, shell-like decorations, but surprisingly not fragile.

These could be used to sprinkle on top of cupcakes, or it could be whimsical to pierce a hole in the center to mimick a true sequin. It would be gorgeous to have a sequin covered cake, sort of like a couture YSL jacket from the 70's.

Beet Maple Meringues...and I heard you say ewww

2009-09-05T21:16:00.010-04:00

Beet Maple Meringues

I have been thinking about a dish to prepare for the Slow Food movement Eat-In, which is happening across the country on Labor Day. The purpose is to bring awareness to childhood food education--to reform the outdated standards which children face in school, and to encourage healthier, smarter food for children. Its a massive undertaking with many political implications, but on a personal level I want to try and help as I can.

The Eat-In is a potluck, and asks that people bring a dish that is healthy, exciting for kids, and made with ingredients costing under $20. I have been wanting to make meringues for a while as I think the light, crisp feeling they give are perfect for a sweet low in fat and gluten free (in order to please everyone attending).

I decide to make meringues flavored with maple syrup, and better yet, cook some beets in the maple syrup to impart a hot pink hue.

as the egg whites are whipped, I slowly pour in the cooled syrup, and look what a gorgeous shade of pink...

My hands were too covered in eggy goo to take pictures, but I piped the flowers using just the coupler on my pastry bag.

They came out crisp, sweet, and disappeared within 5 minutes, mostly by little hands of Clyde's friends. After eating some lunch and sweets, Clyde helped the Growing Chefs make homemade pesto for the crowd.

The movie "What's on Your Plate?" was screened, and I thought it was amazing. Two spirited girls from the East Village track where their food is from and how it gets to their table. http://www.whatsonyourplateproject.org/

It was a lovely event, and I feel so inspired at how many people showed up--not everyone needs to have a kid in a public school to feel the urge for change. Later that day, my friend asked me to join the nutrition committee for the PTA, and armed with confidence that people really care about school food beyond parents, I happily signed up. xo

Beet Maple Meringues

6 organic egg whites, room temperature
pinch of sea salt
1 cup maple syrup
1 small beet, peeled and minced into pieces
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar or arrowroot

1. Add minced beet and maple syrup together in a small heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook on medium-low heat covered for 30 minutes until beets are cooked and soft. Strain, reserving chopped beets for some other experiment. Let maple syrup cool.

preheat oven to 200 degrees, line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

1. Splash a bit of white vinegar and salt in the bowl fitted for a standing mixer. Rub with paper towel and wipe clean. This will ensure the bowl is grease free for your egg whites.

2. Beat egg whites on medium-high until foamy and bubbly, then add sea salt and cream of tartar/arrowroot.

3. Increase speed to high, until mixture is thick and creamy. Slowly add cooled maple syrup mixture and vanilla, and mix until combined.

4. Using a pastry bag fitted with the coupler, fill and pipe five blobs for petals, and one center blob for the stamen on the parchment paper.

5. Place in the oven, and bake for 1 hour, then turn off oven but keep the door shut for at least 2-3 hours until meringues are crisp to the touch.

6. Keep in airtight container, as air will quickly soften these.

For more information about the marvels of the Slow Food movement, please visit www.slowfood.com. September is pay what you can membership month.

Lazy Crisis Picnic Galette

2009-09-04T21:41:00.012-04:00

As summer comes to an end, its nice to see old faces that have been gone for a while, and to feel the school year energy picking up. A group of friends and classmates from the neighborhood organized a sunset picnic at a new waterfront park in Greenpoint, where the glittering Manhattan skyline is the backdrop for kids playing with sticks and running around.

Although I had plenty of time to think about something to bring, I couldn't get motivated until about 2 hours before the picnic. By then a few deserts were off the list- the ones that require chilling and many steps such as homemade ice cream, pie, or cake. Slightly panicked but keeping it cool, I took note of what I had in the house.; ripe white peaches, sweeter than candy, and a bag of cherries flash frozen from the market. I had to make something quick, as time was short. I thought the perfect desert would be a galette, since the dough could chill quickly, and as a free-form tart, wouldn't have to be too fussy with details.

cut cold butter into little cubes and let sit in the freezer to chill out.

I have a recipe in my cookbook for a plum galette, and I use the dough as the base for other fruits in other seasons. But as I opened the pantry to put it together, I realized that I had used up my whole wheat pastry flour, and had run out of parchment paper. Not to be deterred, I found a bag of wheat germ, and added a bit as a substitution for the wheat flour.

fingermarks are the making of a great thin galette or tart bottom. Note the flecks of wheat germ giving the crust a nutty hue.

wrap the scraps in plastic wrap and place in freezer for cutting out top decoration if you have time.

The next obstacle proved to be the logistical one of transportation. As I had two kids with me, park paraphernalia, and cute but wobbly shoes, I did not want to have a galette sliding around on a plate with a 99% probability of falling before we got to the end of the block. I thought that it would be easier to make the galette in a tart pan instead of a free form shape, making it easy to serve and carry at the same time. So the galette morphed into a tart-esque creation, as I chilled the dough in the tart pan, and cut some decorative scraps for the top.

peaches, cherries, and some lemon zest

With summer ripe fruit, you don't have to do much. Once baked and bubbly, the juiciness of the peaches tasted like summer and happiness. The galette/tart was quickly gobbled and I even managed to steal a slice since I want to savor summer as long as I can before it quickly comes to an end next week.

ready to go in the oven

sweet victory.

LAZY CRISIS PICNIC GALETTE

For the dough:
1 3/4 cups organic all purpose flour
1/4 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1 3/4 sticks unsalted organic butter, cut into small cubes, chilled in freezer for a few minutes
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons ice water

1. In food processor, add dry ingredients and pulse until combined.
2. Add butter a few pieces at a time and pulse, so that the dough resembles sand.
3. While motor is running, add lemon juice and 2-3 tablespoons water, or enough for dough to start to ball in the machine. Usually this takes 20 seconds.
4. Place dough on piece of plastic wrap, cover with another piece of plastic wrap, and roll thin with a rolling pin to 1/4" inch. Place in freezer.
5. Preheat oven to 450 and prepare filling.

For Fruit Filling:
3-4 ripe white peaches (you want around 2 1/2 cups)
around 10 cherries (I grabbed a handful but you can use more if you wish)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
dash of salt
1 tablespoon organic all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon organic cane sugar (optional if peaches aren't like candy. mine were so I omitted)
optional:
1 tablespoon unsalted organic butter
raw sugar such as rapadura

1. Slice peaches into small, even pieces, around 1/4" thick. into a medium size bowl.
2. Pit cherries and cut into pieces.
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

To assemble.
1. Take pastry dough out of freezer and unwrap one side onto the tart pan. The size I have is a 9" pan.
2. Use your fingers to press evenly into the pan and up the sides.
3. I quickly re-wrapped excess dough between plastic wrap and rolled it thin, then cut out the hearts for the top. I also ripped pieces of dough up and sprinkled it on the areas where the fruit was showing.
4. Optional to finish is to cut up one tablespoon butter with your fingers and drop bits all over the top. Then sprinkle cut-outs on top with sugar.
5. Bake in oven for 25 -30 minutes until top is dark brown and fruit is bubbly.
6. Let cool an hour before cutting.

Donut Ice Cream

2009-08-18T20:17:00.001-04:00

I double dog dare you to eat a donut-donut ice cream sandwich

The time of summer has come where its so hot your brain and stomach sort of melt together, and the desire for ice cream is full force.

I like to make ice cream, but with the surge of amazing new artisanal flavors and brands, I feel the need to make something totally different and delicious. But not so weird that the kids will deny it.

A few years ago, my husband was a reporter for the now defunct Life Magazine, and we had the honor of eating at a restaurant in Chicago called Moto. He was writing about new food in Chicago and we ate dinner there. The most memorable moment of the meal was the "Donut Milk" dessert, which was a small shotglass of warm milk which looked and felt like milk on the tongue, but tasted like a rich honey glazed donut.

I have thought often of that drink, how it made me feel so many emotions at once- comfort, humor, nostalgia, college dorms, Sunday mornings, etc. while drinking it. I have wanted to make it for so long, but haven't felt the right moment for how I could use the amazing flavor in a new way. While racking my brain for a good ice cream flavor, it struck me that making the donut milk will be the perfect base for a flavorful, donut ice cream. And a note to self that in the winter this will make a killer hot drink for the campfire.

But here is the dilemma- I bake with organic ingredients, yet I also have two kids who love the local donut shop. We actually have one of the best old fashioned, old school donut stores in all of New York City called Peter Pan Bakery. The women wear mint green and pink uniforms and the baker can be seen working at 3 in the morning through the window. (Witnessed on my last moms-gone-wild night out).

I do love making homemade donuts, but I usually do it in the winter to celebrate Hanukkah. (Fried jelly donuts symbolize the oil in the menorah that miraculously lasted for 8 nights instead of 1). They take lots of time to rise and sweating into a vat of boiling oil is pretty unappealing in the summertime heat. So with great humility and for a lack of a better word for being a totally lazy mom in an overheated summer kitchen, we will use the humble Honey Dip from Peter Pan Bakery for this cause. (If you do make homemade donuts, you really are better than me at the moment and I am sorry if I let you down.) My organic donut recipe will come in the future when life is feeling less boiling and kids going summertime-crazy. For now, making life easy and delicious makes the most sense to me.

First rip up three donuts.

Add milk and heavy cream to saucepan

Bring to a boil, then cover for 25 minutes to infuse the flavor

Strain the mixture in a fine mesh sieve.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until light and thick. This is an important step

You can use a saucepan or microwave to get the custard going. It should coat the spoon.

It is ready when the mixture thickens up and you can mark your finger down the back.

The glory.

the critic's reaction

the spoon is licked clean

DONUT ICE CREAM

3 honey dip/glaze donuts

1 cup organic heavy cream

2 cups organic whole milk

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

6 organic egg yolks

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

*extra donuts for double dog dare ice cream sandwich

1. Rip donuts up into pieces, put into a small heavy bottomed saucepan.

2. Add milk and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover pot, let sit for 25 minutes for donut flavors to absorb.

3. Set up a medium size bowl with a fine mesh strainer on top. Pour donut mixture through strainer, with a spatula.

4. In a medium size bowl or standing mixer, whip the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is light and thick, about 4 minutes.

5. Now to make the custard base two ways:

a. Microwave method: Warm donut milk in microwave safe glass bowl for 1 minute. With standing mixer on low speed, slowly pour the warm milk into the egg/sugar mixture until combined. Then pour everything back into the glass bowl, and put into the microwave for 3 1/2 minutes, stopping it every 1 minute to whisk and mix. Check more frequently if mixture gets hot, this is to ensure the eggs do not curdle and overcook. Once hot, custard should be thicker and noticeably coating spoon. Add vanilla, let cool to warm temperature, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

b. Stove top method: Pour donut mixture into medium heavy bottom saucepan. On low heat, slowly add the egg/sugar mixture and bring to medium heat, whisking frequently until mixture is hot and almost simmering. Whisk constantly to prevent curdling, and after 5 minutes, custard should be thicker. Pour into glass bowl, add vanilla, and let cool to room temperature.

6. Once your donut cream mixture is chilled, follow the directions on your ice cream maker.

*Note: If you are a 6 year old boy who cleans their room, or a total glutton, you can buy extra donuts for a donut ice cream sandwich. Split the donut in half, and slather with a thick layer of donut ice cream, refreeze for 20 minutes then eat. Peter Pan Bakery does this with their donuts and all kinds of flavored ice cream, it is the ultimate combination!

Cherry Berry Scones

2009-08-11T19:44:00.008-04:00

Following the theme of early morning baking during hot summer days, today we made some Cherry Berry Scones, with more of the fruit that we amassed at the farmer's market over the weekend.

I like to make scones because they are hard to screw up once you get the basic proportions down. With lots of butter coating the flour and grains, you are bound to always have a flaky, tender crumb. I know the idea of blueberries and cherries sound quite dull, but when fruit is ripe and at its peak, there is a taste to it that is unmistakable- a hint of sunshine, fresh earth and a true sweetness because its meant to be eaten. Fruit out of season is such a sad, wasteful thing--not only in the bad taste, but all the unnecessary energy that went into it.

my mix of flour, ground oats, wheat germ, and flax

unsalted cold chunks of butter get coated so that each morsel is flaky, moist, scrumptious

Lately I have also been resourceful with what I have in my pantry (aka husband wanting to throw out all the small bags of random things from the bulk aisle at the health food store). Lots of goodies like oats, flax, and wheat germ. This morning I felt like I should throw some of these in, partially to get rid of them and also to have a heartier base for the sweet, ripe fruit. Although these aren't as firm as the oat scones I love to make, I think they make a great morning treat. We carried some extras around all day and by the afternoon they still were moist, delicious and the kids ate them all up.

what the scone mixture looks like after the butter has been added. Coarse sand

the fruit. note that I got butter on my lens so it has a very 70's erotica look

Clyde got all Jackson Pollock with the buttermilk coating. He is getting into 6am baking.

Morning Victory. See how the butter melted and got all oozy on the piece. It was so good.

Note: You can mix any kinds of berries. Berries are good for scones because they don't mush up, they just cook into these little bursts of flavor. I think apricots and blueberries are a good combination too, as they are super ripe right now. Again you could also spice things up with some cinnamon, cardamom or cloves but for pleasing the masses I stayed true to the fruit.

Cherry Berry Scones

2 cups all purpose organic flour

1 3/4 cup ground oats (I cleaned my coffee grinder and ground whole slow cook oats until it became powdery)

3 tablespoons wheat germ

1 teaspoon flax seeds or ground flax seeds ( I ended up grinding them to hide from Clyde)

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons organic cane sugar (I bet maple sugar would work well too)

6 1/2 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, cubed and chilled (I stick this in the freezer while preparing dry ingredients to ensure it is very cold)

1 1/2 cup blueberries and cut up cherries, or a mix of all kinds of berries

1 cup organic buttermilk

buttermilk or milk for brushing

demerra, turbinado, or cane sugar for sprinkling

preheat oven to 400 degrees, line two baking sheets with foil

1. Cut up fruit (if using cherries) and set aside in small bowl.

2. Measure dry ingredients and add to food processor. Pulse until combined.

3. Add butter a little at a time and pulse until mixture looks like coarse sand.

4. Pour mixture into medium sized bowl. Add buttermilk until just combined, then add fruit.

5. Use a measuring spoon if desired, to have even looking proper scones. Or you can roll them by hand into blobs that look alike. I made one tray smaller so that it would be more kid friendly.

6. Place scones on prepared baking sheet, brush tops with buttermilk or milk, then sprinkle sugar on top.

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on size. They should be slightly golden brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

8. Best eaten fresh from the oven with a bit of butter and not a white shirt. We have a tub full of morning pajamas with berry stains!

Farmers Market Fruit Pie

2009-08-09T11:51:00.007-04:00

Yesterday at the market I blew my budget at the fruit stand. It was hard to avoid the ripe crop of apricots, blueberries, nectarines, cherries, and donut peaches. I have been slow to make a lot of pies this summer due to traveling and the idea of a hot kitchen, but I knew if this fruit did not get put in a pie we would have serious belly aches from eating it all this week.

my fruit loot.

Clyde was excited to help roll out the pie dough, and I made the crust last night so it would be chilled for this morning. I think the trick to summer pie baking is to do it early before it gets too hot. Like around 6:45 am on a Sunday when the kids wake up...

Clyde in his pajamas rolling the crust

We washed and cut up the fruit, feeling kind of crazy and wanting it all in one pie. One trick to my pies is that I roll the dough in between parchment or plastic wrap so I don't add extra flour to the crust. I also use it to push the dough into the pie pan, so it doesn't get stuck to my fingers.

use plastic wrap to transfer and evenly place pie crust

dot the filling with cold bits of butter

cover the top with a glaze of milk and cane sugar, some cut outs too

glorious pie. With a crumbly, light crust thanks to mix of butter, shortening, and apple cider vinegar

I ate 3 slices for lunch, something I like to do once a summer.

The only other note I want to say about this pie is that I kept it truly simple. I had the temptation to reach for some cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, etc. but Clyde would have none of it. You can definitely spice this up and give it more of a flair, but sometimes when you bite into a juicy summer fruit its all that you really need.

Farmers Market Fruit Pie

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon organic cane sugar

pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted organic butter, cubed and chilled in freezer

1 stick salted organic butter, cubed and chilled in freezer

4 tablespoons organic shortening (such as Spectrum brand)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar put into the freezer to chill.

1. In food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Mix to combine.

2. Add butters quickly, and pulse food processor until butter is resembling small peas.

3. Add shortening, mix for 10 seconds, then add a little of the chilled apple cider vinegar until dough comes together in a ball. (Keep pulsing until this happens).

4. Separate dough into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. The dough needs at least 4-5 hours for the gluten to relax and so your dough has a nice tender crust.

the next day....

Roll out both discs into circles. It may need a bit of softening so it does not crack. Cover the bottom of a 9" pie dish with one of the circles up the sides and to the top. If you need more dough, you can use small pieces to cover bald spots. Wrap the remaining circle and place in freezer to chill.

Place covered pie dish back in freezer while you prepare the filling.

For the Filling:

5-6 nectarines

3-5 apricots

1-2 donut peaches

1/2 cup blueberries

1 cup pitted cherries

all in total, you should have around 4 1/2-5 cups of fruit. You can mix it up as you wish!

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons organic cane sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons organic all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cold butter cut into small cubes

heavy cream or milk for brushing

turbinado or cane sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. In large mixing bowl, cut fruit into small pieces. (some I left chunkier for texture, but in general, pieces should be at least 1/4" thick so that it cooks evenly)

2. Add extracts, sugar, flour and mix until fruit is coated.

3. Place fruit into chilled pie dough, then remove second disc from freezer.

4. After fruit has been added to chilled pie shell, brush edges with some milk or heavy cream and cover with second disc. Pinch the edges so that it sticks together.

5. Use a sharp small knife to cut out a heart, or any other small shape in the center, and make venting holes around the pie for steam to escape.

6. Brush entire top with milk or heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.

7. Bake for close to an hour, checking after 40 minutes to make sure edges are not too dark. If they are browning quickly, cover edges with strips of aluminum foil.

8. Pie is done when filling is bubbling and your house smells like a country cottage even though its in the city!

Let cool for 1 hour before cutting so juices can thicken. Serve with fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or eat two slices by yourself with some coffee.

Thank you farmers!

cookie paper doll

2009-08-03T20:49:00.010-04:00

The final masterpiece

I like to think of sweets as a medium for making things, rather than just food. Sometimes its easy to be discouraged to make something homeade as a gift, for fear that it will be rejected as "homeade", but thinking about the humble sugar cookie as a metaphor for a piece of blank paper is a great place to start creating things.

The upcoming birthday of my wonderful sister-in-law Sarah inspired the idea for a sugar cookie paper doll. She works in fashion and has fantastic taste, plus she travels to Europe to visit showrooms of some of my favorites such as Marni and Dries van Noten. As an homage to her love for beautiful clothes and things, I thought a cookie paper doll would make a great birthday present.

I started by rolling a squarish shape out of sugar cookie dough, and cutting freehand with a sharp knife the shapes I envision.

After baking the dough, I made royal icing to pipe some dimension. I wanted to make the Sarah doll in a Prada-ish slip, a dress (inspired by her Roland Mouret one she wore on a visit), a Marni necklace, a 10 Corso Como shopping bag, a bottle of Veuve, a giant birthday cake slice, and some hearts floating around.

detail of the 10 Corso Como bag and cake

the Brian Atwood inspired shoes

the Veuve Cliquot bottle

I love this idea and can see using it for other kinds of friends, could be even funny for cats or dogs. Anyone who is a smart cookie of course!

Connecticut Style

2009-07-29T16:32:00.002-04:00

Today I carried a hot pink cake through Penn Station to travel to Connecticut for a TV show called Connecticut Style. The hosts were lovely, delightful, hilarious, and the show was really fun. Being in a huge kitchen, even though fake, was really fun as I pretended I was Julia Child for a moment.

Here is the link, thanks so much for everyone who helped make it happen! On a funny note, check out the link name (organic and cheap)! Clyde and I had the giggles over that one!

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/ct_style/book_lovers/CTStyle_wtnh_organic_and_cheap_200907290945

Mini Chocolate Chip/Pantry Raid Ice Cream cookies

2009-07-25T12:00:00.008-04:00

My brother and I threw a dinner party for 10 close friends that I miss and see less often now that they all moved to Los Angeles. It was up to me to plan dessert. Without much time and a bit of jet-lag, I decide to go easy on myself and do something that is half store-bought (but could be 100% homemade if one makes ice cream from scratch) and half made by hand.

I decided on mini chocolate chip cookies filled with a variety of ice cream, since I was positive half my friends have been brain-washed by anti-carb/sugar anxiety. To be safe, I thought a bite-size portion would be perfect for them. Since it is such a small bite and I wanted great flavor, I included salted and toasted almonds, walnuts, bittersweet chocolate chopped up, and semi-sweet chips. To be honest it was somewhat of a pantry-raid style cookie, but topping it with a pinch of fleur de seul brought all the elements together perfectly.

Rolling dough out (note the Meyer Lemons in the background...)

Cutting into small bite size cookies...

The batter is thick, and the cookies are meant to keep their shape. You can roll them much thinner, or exchange some of the "bits and pieces" that you include. As for the ice cream filling, I chose a vanilla and espresso ice cream as two options, keeping along with the simplicity theme. The best part is that if you get tired of filling the cookies, you can always just eat them plain with a scoop of ice cream.

Mini Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookies

for the cookies:

2 1/2 sticks unsalted organic butter (8 1/2 ounces)

1 1/2 cups packed organic dark brown sugar

2 organic large eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder mixed with 1 teaspoon water

pinch of salt

3 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

a little over 1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup mix of chopped salted roasted almonds and walnuts

fleur de sel

1. Cream butter and sugar together until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Add eggs, one at a time and mix on medium speed until mixture thickens.

3. Add vanilla and baking powder/water mixture

4. Slowly add flour until combined. If beaters get stuck, you can mix with your hands.

5. Add chocolate, chocolate chips, nuts, and whatever goodies you are in the mood for! (toasted coconut, other kinds of nuts such as Brazil or macadamia could be good too)

6. Spread mixture on baking sheet covered in foil. Roll to 1/4" thickness and chill in freezer or refrigerator until firm.

7. Preheat oven to 375. Use small cookie cutter to cut shapes out onto ungreased baking pan. Sprinkle fleur de sel on half the batch of cookies.

8. Bake 8-10 minutes until browned.

9. Set aside on wire rack to cool.

For the filling:

1 pint favorite ice cream (buy multiples if you are planning to offer a variety of flavors)

1. Let ice cream soften either by sitting out in hot kitchen, or in microwave for a few minutes.

2. Use a tablespoon to scoop a mound onto one cookie
3. Place cookie with fleur de sel on top and squeeze slightly to sandwich cookie.

4. Serve immediately or chill in freezer, covered in plastic wrap.

L.A. Trip

2009-07-25T11:26:00.005-04:00

I am on the last day of my wonderful trip in Los Angeles. It has been an exciting month of travel and seeing old friends and family, so there will be bits and pieces of my trip coming out soon. Even thought I grew up in Southern California, being in NYC for so long its easy to forget how lush and almost tropical things feel here.

My brother lives in Silverlake, a community where most of my friends live too; cute houses, curving roads, and a spirit similar to where I live back home. Walking down the street I was floored by all the lush plants, flowers, and trees that greeted me. Just thinking about all the things that grow here threw me into a tizzy, I could really live, or bake, off the land.

First a passion fruit bush...

Then the neighbor's fig tree...

Then a grapefruit tree...

These were all in a half-block radius from my brother's house. I thought about fig galettes, passion fruit mousse, grapefruit chutney, and then I just decided to sit and watch the view.

Later in the day, we had our visit to my parent's house. In 'Organic and Chic' I mention how I raid their Meyer Lemon tree. Silly me, now they were on to my game plan so I was on my best behavior and took only a dozen. I still have to raid the kumquat tree and lemon tree in my brother's front yard, so my suitcase will only be able to hold so much, unfortunately.

The infamous Meyer Lemon tree...I picked that juicy sucker on my way out...

Chicago whirlwind

2009-07-12T22:52:00.008-04:00

scribble scribble

I have been in Chicago doing press and book signings, and it has been quite fun to bake for loads of people and to talk about organic recipes.

I had my first television appearance on WGN Chicago news. It was really fun, and the building had huge sound stages, and an employee of the month parking spot. Loved it!
http://www.wgntv.com/news/middaynews/middayfix/wgntv-mdf-organicandchic-070809,0,3005729.story

Saturday was two book signings, the first at the Bookstall in Winnetka; a charming and wonderful bookstore with friendly staff that harks back to another time where books feel important and magical. It has been around for a long time, and my husband told me that you really make it as an author having a signing there. Lots of wonderful family and old friends came by.

It was also Clyde's birthday, hence the strange candle hat in the photo.

Saturday afternoon was a signing at Anthropologie in downtown Chicago, on State Street.
I was blown away by the visual manager, Abigail, who had spent the previous day baking 200 cupcakes with her mom, and hand-sewing linen aprons for kids to decorate. I found out the fun fact that each Anthropologie store has their own visual team so each one you visit is utterly unique.

The gorgeous set-up with a board announcing the signing. They even made homeade lemonade to go with the treats!

How cute were the girls all in aprons?

the swarm

Harriet, to whom the book is dedicated to, stood by my side! She continues to be my inspiration and biggest fan. She would shoo away anyone who was chitty-chatting too much and would ask if they were buying the book! It was very cute.

And today, my interview on NPR with Liane Hansen, whew what a week! http://tinyurl.com/mpwd6f

We are heading up to rural Wisconsin for the rest of the week, but when I return there will be some exciting new baking ideas brewing...Thanks to all who stopped by the signings! xoxo Sarah

Bakers

2009-07-05T22:28:00.007-04:00

Ever since the cookbook came out, its been so nice to hear how much people love it. But the true test of any cookbook is how the recipes taste, how they look, and what the eaters really thought of it. Here are some pics that bakers have sent to me, and it really fills my heart like a cream puff seeing them.

Cristy's cupcakes (Boston, MA)
Cristy made these for a bridal shower, how chic is the 3 tier? I bet there are so few on the bottom because the bride-to-be ate the rest. That happens to me sometimes.

Sarah (Minneapolis)
Sarah made vanilla bean cupcakes, lemon curd filling, homeade whipped cream top, and fresh market fruit for a 4th of July BBQ. Holy smokes! Sort of like deconstructed fireworks made out of fruit.

Noel (Colorado).
Noel ingeniously used a ziploc bag for piping. And she ate one before bed which gave her really good dreams.

Its so great that people are baking from the book and are feeling happy and sweet from the results. Love seeing all the beauty, keep it hot in the oven!
xo
Sarah

Cookies that taste like Clouds

2009-06-24T21:53:00.008-04:00

There is a delicate art to using tea in food, and after many experiments, I have finally found a tea line with unexpected flavors that have made some amazing cookies. The brand is called Tay Teas, and they are all handmade in upstate New York, in a small town called Andes. It was first introduced to me by my friend Carolyn, former owner of Jan & Aya, who carried the line in her shop. The teas are packaged in simple stamped tins, and are no match for the explosion of flavor and harmony each blend contains.

Duchess First Love tea

When using tea in baking, the oils and aromas from the tea is brought out by heat, and sometimes proves disastrous in taste. But making my Crisp, Crumbly Tea Cookies with 2 tablespoons of ground Duchess First Love tea, made a cookie that someone said "tastes like clouds". One of the more memorable compliments ever.

The trick to using tea in baking, is to make sure it is not too coarse or bulky. Sometimes I will rip open tea bags, but in general prefer loose tea as I can grind it to be more fine, or keep it chunkier.

While visiting the Tay Tea shop last weekend, I had the chance to sample some other teas that struck me as ones to experiment with. Persian Rose, for example could make an amazing tea infusion for a Madeline or crisper textured cookie.

Another soft spot towards the Tay Tea shop, is that it is located 20 minutes from where I got married in the country. That may be the reason the baking gods are looking down on me from their fluffy white clouds, to help me bake some magic.

Design*Sponge

2009-06-21T23:35:00.003-04:00

I spent a very rainy but wonderful Thursday morning with Grace from Design Sponge. She is so savvy, smart, and humble, we had laughs and good chats.

I am finally starting to feel like its fun being on camera and teaching about baking...especially when I am having a good hair day and the cake is cooperating.

I had first wanted to create something really extravagant for the segment, but realized that its about having accessible ideas, so that others can make something beautiful too.

I went for dusted lilac flowers, with optional acid yellow stamen. They have a dark fuschia dusting in the centers for dimension and color, and make the yellow really pop.

The shooting went well, I am so happy with video.

It reminds me that life is so brief, and when you do something you love, it makes the world a better place.

and a cupcake a day never hurts either.

Donna's shower

2009-06-08T21:50:00.004-04:00

For a very chic mom-to-be: Goldies (organic Twinkies with a twist) and Silver Ring-a-Dings (my version of Hostess Cupcakes). On the cupcakes, I piped hearts and dusted them with silver glitter.
The food at her baby shower was comfort food, so organic versions of junk food were the perfect compliment.

Sounds like the baby is off to a very good start...
xo

book cuteness

2009-06-08T17:25:00.002-04:00

A friend made the pudding from my book, and sent me this picture.
How terribly cute! Thanks Sarah B.!

Michelle's cupcakes

2009-06-06T21:57:00.003-04:00

I decided to spice up the look of a batch of cupcakes for a recent order.
Instead of having them be uniform, what if together the decorations had a scattered loose feeling, like a field of flowers? In this case, lilac flowers with gold glittery centers on shimmering gold dusted frosting.
Once placed a cake plate, these will look beautiful as nature is never perfect...

Celebration Cakes

2009-06-04T23:51:00.000-04:00

This past weekend has been a whirl of cakes, including celebration cakes.

I was given full creative freedom to come up with whatever I wanted, and had really specific ideas for how I wanted the cakes to be.

Wes's cake- my good friend's husband had his 40th birthday. He is a craftsman/metalsmith/carpenter/designer and makes beautiful objects. I felt inspired by his use of metals and clean, minimal materials. His cake felt to me like it should be looking like metal stacked, sort of Frank Gehry-esque.

As for the flavor, his wife gave me their favorite chocolate bar--organic dark chocolate with ancho chilies, with dried cherries scattered throughout. I baked a dark chocolate cake with ancho chili, a layer of sour cherry compote, then a espresso and vanilla whipped buttercream. All covered in a dark chocolate glaze and dusted.

Helemai is a friend from jewelry design who is from Estonia and hates anything too sweet. For her I baked the carrot cake from my book with the lemon zest cream cheese frosting. Her favorite colors are yellow and orange, and I felt like crazy, messy flowers sort of like a vintage fabric, would be perfect.

Clyde's kindergarten teacher had a surprise baby shower in class, unfortunately Clyde was home sick with the flu, so we only got the shots of the cake before she did. A vanilla whipped buttercream in a pale blue, with white flowers, silver glitter dusted stamen.

Life is sweet...we all need to celebrate with cake!

My cookies on Cookie

2009-06-03T18:38:00.003-04:00

The lovely Cookie Magazine posted my '5 Tips of what to do with sugar cookies' on their food blog, "One Little Bite". Just some ways to think outside of the cookie cutter...

Organic and Chic: Cookie Creations from Sarah Magid

To celebrate today's release of her cookbook Organic and Chic (Morrow), dessert afficionado Sarah Magid shares fun tricks and tips for entertaining kids using this simple and delicious cookie-dough recipe.

Clyde's Sugar-Cookie Dough

3 sticks organic unsalted butter, softened
2 cups organic cane sugar
2 organic eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups organic all-purpose flour, sifted

1. In standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl every so often.

2. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla and salt. Slowly add the flour, beating until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Dough is now ready to be used according to each recipe (see below).

1. Cookie beads: an homage to the candy necklace

You will need one batch of cookie dough; food coloring; something sharp to make holes, such as a skewer or toothpick; milk for brushing; and ribbon or yarn.

Tear off handfuls of dough and tint each one a different color. Separate each chunk of colored dough into smaller pieces, and roll them into 1/2-inch to 1-inch balls. Let them chill for 20 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat the oven to 350° F while the dough chills. Once the balls are chilled, use a skewer to pierce a hole all the way through, making sure the holes are large enough for a string to fit through. Use a pastry brush to brush milk onto the beads. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes, being careful not to allow them to brown. While they cool, wrap a piece of tape around the end of a the yarn or ribbon, and use this as the needle to string the beads. Tie the ends into a large bow to make a bracelet or necklace.

2. Psychedelic cookie puzzle: for little free spirits

You will need one batch of the cookie dough, food coloring, and a parent who knows how to use a knife.

Tear off handfuls of dough and tint each one a different color. Then mix them together, swirling together the pieces of colored dough until the whole thing resembles a tie-dye T-shirt. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick. Heat the oven to 350° and let the dough chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Then place a small square or circlular plate on top of the dough, and using a sharp knife, cut out around the plate. Repeat until there's no more dough. These will make each child's individual puzzle base. Using the knife, carve lines into the dough to make puzzle "pieces," cutting all the way through to the cookie sheet, but keeping the entire shape together. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then let them cool.

3. Cookie pop faces: a fun birthday-party activity

You will need one batch of cookie dough; lollipop or Popsicle sticks; candy glue (recipe below); and about 1 cup each of dried coconut, raisins, fruit roll-ups, chocolate chips, and pretzels.

For the candy glue:

1 cup organic powdered sugar
2 tablespoons organic heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift the sugar into a small bowl.

2. Add the vanilla and cream, and whisk everything together until it has a gluelike consistency.

Roll out the dough until it's 1/2-inch thick. Heat the oven to 350° F, and let the dough chill in the refrigerator. Using a circle cookie-cutter or a drinking glass, cut out circles and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place them about 1/2" to an 1" inside each circle to make the cookie pop. If dough breaks as you do this, use your hands to smooth it out. Bake until the cookies are light brown, about 11 minutes. Once cool, allow the children to use the candy glue to attach dried coconut (hair), raisins or chocolate chips (eyes), cashew nuts cut in half (for a nose, or if no nuts are allowed, you can use a piece of a pretzel stick), and thin slices of fruit roll-up for a mouth.

4. Friendship cookies: These are especially sweet for a play date.
You will need one batch of the cookie dough, food coloring, milk, and an adult who can use a knife.

Tint the dough with pink food coloring, roll to 1/2-inch thick, and let it chill in refrigerator while the oven preheats to 350° F. Using a large heart-shape or circular cutter, cut the dough out, then move the cookies to a new piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Use a knife to cut a zig zag line down the center. Then, use a toothpick to prick the words best friends across each cookie. In a small bowl, mix together about 1/2 cup milk and some food coloring. Using a pastry brush, paint the cookies with the tinted milk to give them a glossy finish. Bake them until they're lightly browned, about 11 minutes.

5. Sugar-cookie pretzels: a perfectly crunchy sweet cookie

You will need one batch of the cookie dough, food coloring, and colored sugar crystals.

Using a tablespoon, divide the dough into pieces. Make each chunk of dough into a long, snakelike piece, about 4 inches long. Take the ends and loop them over each other to resemble a pretzel. Lie the pretzels on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and chill them for 15 minutes while the oven preheats to 350° F. Using a pastry brush or paintbrush, cover the pretzels with milk, then sprinkle sugar on top. Bake them for 13 minutes, until they're lightly browned.

June 02, 2009

Janet & Ethan's cake

2009-05-30T12:26:00.004-04:00

I am really loving how this cake came together, the pale dusting in the flower centers and scattered piped stamen.

This cake is traveling to Stone Barns at Blue Hill Farm, so we opted to make a smaller cake for cutting, and then have additional cakes for the guests.

The flowers were made in all shapes and sizes, and dusted with a combination of handmixed colors using yellow, aqua, light brown, avocado petal dusts. What I love so much about decorating cakes is feeling like I am working on a painting or sculpture.

The base is a pale sage, tying into their flowers, invitation colors, and of course, the lush green pastures that surround the farm. My friend made this bouquet of flowers for me, which certainly helped inspire me as I decorated the cake.

The centers have a sprinkling of stamen, I wanted to not have every flower piped since the effect of the handbrushing feels so lovely and soft.

Happy Wedding!
xo

The force is with me

2009-05-26T21:30:00.005-04:00

Because I have two little ones, I get asked often to do children's cakes. I often find the time that goes into them is hard to charge, and tends to take more time than wedding cakes, but knowing how much that little one will enjoy the cake that makes me say 'yes' every time.

Such is the case with this Yoda cake, made for a cutiepie in Manhattan. I can relate to the Star Wars obsession since Clyde is right up there.

The Force is quite organic and delicious...

Alicia and Joel's Wedding

2009-05-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

Alicia and Joel were married in a beautiful space in Long Island City last night- a raw industrial loft filled with wild bouquets of herbs and flowers, antique furniture and lovely friends.
The cake: whipped espresso buttercream between layers of dark chocolate cake. It meant a lot to bake this cake because I love Alicia so much and am so inspired by the jewelry she creates. Not only is she an amazing cook, designer, and friend, but she is a true romantic. When I met her years ago she dreamed about falling in love and being happy, and its so wonderful to see it all come true.

The decorations for the cake were inspired by her love of vintage lace, fabric, as she mixes modern clothes and vintage with ease. The colors are classic; cream and nude. Since the space was industrial, she wanted to bring nature into it with greens and creams for the flowers.

I used these amazing lace molds that I hand-cut each flower out, and dusted with pearl luster dust.

I molded each flower, then molded the pearl stems and leaves. I piped small pearl centers on the flowers to give some further dimension.

The golden butterflies are in two sizes, small and large. They are placed to flutter through the lace flowers. I piped beading on the edges and painted them with the pearl luster to simulate more pearls.

A spray of blossoms held dangling cards for place seats, with feathered birds on the branches, continuing the feel of nature in the room.

I loved the mix of herbs in the bouquets and table settings, and floating candles in stainless steel buckets.

There were bottles on mantles, tables, and window ledges filled with herbs, flowers, and purple artichokes.

After dancing to music and cocktails, they cut the cake. Such a lovely couple.

congratulations!
xoxo

Mothers Day Cookies- Rainbow Madelines

2009-05-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

Since living in NYC means we are far from close family, for Mothers Day I have to think of something that can be sent via mail, that will taste delicious, and will also have a bit of a dazzle factor.

So I thought it would be easy to bake madelines. Since they have lots of butter in them they are sure to stay moist. But how to make them a little more special? First thoughts were to add rosewater, orange blossom water, dip them in chocolate; all good things, but a delicate simple lemon buttery flavor seemed perfect.

lemon zest on the pale fluffy whipped eggs and sugar

Why not just color them in an array of colors so they seem special and in the spirit of a rainbow, which is how moms can make you feel on the gloomiest day?

my assistant preparing the colors

Once cool they can be wrapped in plastic bags, and even more special, wrapped in drawings made by the kids.

Happy Mothers Day!
xoxo

Rainbow Madelines

1 stick organic unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 organic large eggs
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
1/2 cup organic all purpose flour

assorted food colors

1. In standing or hand mixer, beat eggs and sugar together until thick, pale, and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes.

2. Add lemon zest and melted butter, mix until combined.

3. Sift flour over mixture and gently combine.

4. Cover batter and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 375, butter or spray madeline pan.

6. In small bowls, add a drops of different food colorings and mix batches of batter to color them. Keep remaining batter in refrigerator.

7. Fill each cavity with a tablespoon batter, so it is about 2/3 full. Bake for 10 minutes until edges are light brown.

8. Use fingers or spoon to gently coax madeline out of pan, and let cool on wire rack.

9. Once cool, keep in airtight container or bag in between waxed paper to prevent sticking.

Homeade Mallomars

2009-05-04T19:41:00.000-04:00

A deep dark secret of mine is my love for a Mallomar-- A sugar cookie covered with a blob of marshmallow, cloaked in a thin shell of dark chocolate. Sold only in the cool months because of its delicate composition, I realized that this past winter I spent too much time eating test recipes from my book to make room for them, and now the mention of them in a magazine last week set off a deep obsession that needs to be fulfilled.

Like Girl Scout cookies, these tend to last less than 48 hours in our house, but like my other former bad-junk-desert obsessions, there had to be a way to make these organic and homemade.

I decided to make my own version, slanted towards a deconstructed smore. I wanted the cookie base to have more oomph, and a graham cracker cookie would give it some chew and deserved texture.

To make authentic graham crackers, one needs to use graham flour, but since I don't have it on-hand and am positive the local shops would not either, my recipe uses many of the same elements such as molasses and honey for a similar flavor but with basic pantry supplies. Wheat germ gives it a bit of a hearty crunch.

graham cracker dough rounds

The beauty is, after you have cut out all your rounds for a cookie base, you can either re-roll the scraps or just bake them as is, then crumble them up for a graham cracker cookie crust. (perfect for a mini tart )

I pricked them with a fork to keep them from puffing in the center.

first batch eaten by cookie bandits

As for the marshmallow filling, one must make homemade marshmallows. Seems like lots of work, yes its true, but one batch will make a huge supply of fluffy, delicious marshmallows that you can freeze for future summer smores.

peaks of marshmallow goo await their chocolate fate

Last the chocolate glaze is the easiest part, either melted in the microwave or stovetop with a bit of shortening to firm up.

Homemade Mallomars

For Graham Cracker Base:
1 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon packed organic dark brown sugar
pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
7 tablespoons chilled organic unsalted butter, cubed into small pieces
1/4 cup whole organic milk
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

1.Prepare two sheets of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet. Set aside.
2.. In food processor add all dry ingredients. Pulse until mixed.
3. With food processor running, add butter one at a time until mixture looks like coarse meal.
4. In separate bowl, add milk, honey, and molasses together. Pour into food processor and pulse until dough is combined, about 30 seconds-1 minute. The mixture will be very sticky.
5. Scrape dough onto one piece of parchment paper. Cover with second piece and use a rolling pin to roll dough thin, about 1/8" thick. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 and cut cookies with 1 1/2 inch circle cutters. Use a fork to prick the centers so they dont get puffy.
7. Bake cookies until darkened around edges, about 11 minutes. Let cool on baking rack.

Marshmallow Filling
*note: When just made, these are piped onto the cookies, but you will have lots left over for the standard square cut size to save for future use.

3 envelopes gelatin
1 cup cup water
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
2/3 cup organic corn syrup (light from whole foods)
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
for dusting:
powdered sugar

1. In bowl of standing mixer, place gelatin and 1/2 cup of the water, let sit for at least 5 minutes.
2. In small heavy bottom saucepan, mix can sugar, corn syrup, salt and turn on high. Avoid stirring, use candy thermometer until temperature is 240 degrees, (soft ball stage). This takes around 8-10 minutes.
3. Fit standing mixer with whisk. Once mixture reaches 240 degrees, turn standing mixer on low speed, and evenly and slowly pour the hot mixture into the mixer. Immediately increase speed to high and let the magic happen. In about 5 minutes, the mixture will look thick, white, and fluffy, like marshmallow fluff. This is good.
4. Keep beating until mixture has cooled slightly and is thick. (total beating time about 10 minutes).
5. Stop mixer and add scraped vanilla pod and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
6. Fit a piping bag with coupler but no tip. Fill bag with marshmallow and squeeze gently over the cookies on a wire rack. Let the marshmallows set for at least an hour before you make the chocolate coating.
*For extra marshmallow: Line a small casserole or baking pan with plastic wrap, spray with canola oil and add marshmallow to the lined dish. Sift some powdered sugar on top, and let sit overnight to dry out. The next day, fill a glass with hot water. Dip the knife in the water to cut the marshmallows into even squares.
In a small plate, sift powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup. Dip sides of marshmallows in sugar to prevent sticking. Store in airtight container .

Chocolate Coating
12 oz fine dark organic chocolate (about 3 bars)
3 tablespoon organic shortening (Spectrum brand)

1. Chop chocolate into small pieces, place in small glass bowl.
2. Add shortening and microwave on small bursts for 20 seconds at a time until just melted. Stir until resembles a liquid.

3. If using a double boiler, place chocolate and shortening in a larger glass bowl, over a saucepan filled with warm water on medium heat. The water should not touch the chocolate, its just for heating it up indirectly.

4.Using a fork, dip cookie in chocolate, use small offset spatula or spoon to spread over marshmallow. Let chill in refrigerator for a few minutes. Die from kitchen exhaustion and eat 6 to revive your body!

Full Circle Cake

2009-04-30T12:29:00.004-04:00

I am baking a cakelette today for a couple.

The boyfriend bought a cake from me 3 years ago, when he saw my cake in Domino Magazine.

His girlfriend contacted me since they just got engaged, and wanted to celebrate with a reproduction of the original.

How sweet and full circle cake and life can be.

Inspiration Board-late Spring

2009-04-28T08:03:00.005-04:00

The last few warm days have brought a gush of summer inspiration. I recently updated my inspiration board that hangs in the kitchen, bringing a constant source of thoughts and ideas.

summer grass, peonies, the color white, Michelle Obama, Prada gold coats, country weddings,

chunky jewels, sparkly cookies, secret paths in the forest, cotton candy, pastel ice cream cones...
cant wait for the beach!

Cakelette

2009-04-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

I like to call my small wedding cakes a 'cakelette' because they are special little works of art.

I am making a cakelette for a couple who are getting married this weekend, and it is simple yet bright.

Their palette is purples and pinks, so for the cake I thought a white cake with colorful flowers would reflect on the table settings but not compete

Something about this vintage print inspired the colors as well;

Especially since the centers will have antique gold, similar to the frame.

And just to make it a little more sweet, I handpainted some detail inside the purple flowers.

Happy Wedding!
xo

Kite Cupcakes

2009-04-25T21:48:00.000-04:00

Every Spring my son's school PS 132, has a kite festival in Brooklyn.

Among craft tables, music, and face painting (myself as a volunteer), there will be a bake sale.

Ruby and I coordinating our outfits to facepaint

The festival is planned for a sunny Saturday, and I'm betting parents are upping the sugar level intake for the day. Got to make them look good so the kids will whine, beg, annoy, until they get them.

So I whipped out my Royal Icing as an experiment, and piped kites and hearts. Surprisingly they had to dry for almost 24 hours until dry, and its not even raining here.

In the blazing heat, the royal icing kites softened and didn't stand stiff in the blue-sky buttercream as I had hoped. They still looked pretty but were definitely outdone by the cookies, according to Clyde. My son's betrayal...

Thankfully someone is on my team...

I have learned over the past school year that PTA bake sales do not enjoy some choice ideas that I have, such as earlier donations of dark chocolate/almond/bacon lollipops, or espresso whipped cream cakes. Time to tone it down a notch!

Yellow China Cake

2009-04-19T21:51:00.004-04:00

I love beautiful china plates. Not the ones that seem very austere and sterile, but ones that give you a feeling of beauty that you want to look at, and when food is placed on them you remember that it is a plate, and that food goes there, and it excites you even more.

One plate that makes my heart sing is the Jasper Conran Green Chinoiserie for Wedgwood. The colors are a strong mint with navy, and a palate in between.

For a few years, I have tried to figure out how to create a cake from this china without being so literal as to copy the same colors, and images.

So I saw this yellow toile print, it came together. Why not a joyous bright yellow with navy to offset it. Handpaint the cake, as the technique is done with real china, and have the flowers be the only dimensional element of the cake.

The flowers are a pale blue gumpaste, and I handpainted the centers in layers of dark royal blue to give them a ceramic, lacquer feeling.

I recently re-did this cake for a magazine that is coming out in the Fall in bright colors, and am excited to see how it turns out.

Homeade Easy Playdough

2009-04-17T14:11:00.012-04:00

My homemade Playdough is a secret mom weapon. It prevents Lego related meltdowns, cures cases of the "Imbored", and relieves you of having to ever buy a plastic container of Playdoh again. After you make this once, you will feel empowered; share it with your friends and make some for your next playdate.

Clyde measuring with the precision of a future Jewish surgeon...

Its simple enough that a child can help measure and place all the ingredients in the small saucepan. Everything goes in at once, and is cooked together for a few minutes, and its done.

Ruby's Cookie Monster hybrid

The texture is smoother than Playdoh and without that strange yet nostalgic smell.

I use my cake professional food grade colors for mixing, but regular or natural food coloring will work as well, although the color may be more faint. It has a nice pale buttery color to it if you are feeling au natural.

Dough with a streak of deep pink food coloring

The fun lasted for a while, and ended in a giant blob of all colors, and two happy children. The perfect ending to vacation.
xo

Homemade Easy Playdough

1 cup all purpose organic flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. Add all ingredients to a small heavy bottom saucepan.

2. Using a whisk, combine ingredients, and stir frequently over medium-high heat, until mixture begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.

3. Keep mixing until mixture is so thick and begins to clump.

4. Remove from heat, use your hand to grab balls of dough to tint separately.

5. Tint with crazy colors, and keep in a covered container so it doesn't dry out.

Janet and Ethan's Wedding

2009-04-15T21:31:00.006-04:00

I am making a cake next month for a couple who are having their wedding at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. A place I dream of living at, where I could run out to the field to pick my veggies and then grab some eggs from the coop for a cake.

Their cake is inspired by her bouquet, a mix of white flowers with touches of green.

I thought to do a pale green cake, with a tumbling of white flowers, including dianthus, carnation, and a mix of other made-up flowers that I wish existed.

Perhaps a pale dusting of green in the center, feeling quite refreshing.

I also am making a sheet cake for the guests, a dark chocolate cake with espresso whipped buttercream filling. Each piece will have a small hand sculpted flower with a dusting of the green color in the center.

It is going to be a very delicious and gorgeous wedding.

little hands say it all

2009-04-13T22:46:00.005-04:00

A cold rainy afternoon, lots of cookies to be baked.

A list written by Clyde of all the toys he wanted for Christamas (three double-sided pages)

This picture says it all for me...

photo by my friend Johnny Gembitsky

Mice love

2009-04-11T19:06:00.006-04:00

Whenever the urge to leave the city for the suburbs comes, I think about my neighbors who live in my building. Its an instant community of like-minded parents and creative people. I think about drinking wine with them watching the Presidential debates. Or the Bastille day party with Moroccan food in the backyard. Or the sardine grilling on the stoop. Or the movies projected on the wall of the park down the street, and the kids dancing on top of the jungle gym.

Sarah and Jamie, my ground floor neighbors, got married this afternoon. Sarah who is French, met Jamie in Berlin and took a chance at love, leaving everything behind to start a new life here. She is an amazing baker and makes jams, preserves, and chutneys that we conspire to sell. Her French sensibility is refreshing in the way she bakes, most things are less sweet, more complex, less familiar.

When Sarah and Jamie planned a wedding, I was excited to bake their cake.

All was going well until Ruby had to be rushed to the hospital with a respiratory virus, throwing my elaborate Passover Seder plans and dreams of fancy wedding cake to the gutter.

After two days in the hospital, she is now back home and healing, and my mind can think again about cake.

With such little time before the afternoon wedding, I decided to go simple and sweet, and to make little mice toppers of the couple as the focus of the cake. My first attempt ended up looking like greasy rats, perhaps a bit too realistic for city life.

greasy rats, not good for the cake

Plan B, a bit more delicate, Sarah had shown me her dress which was a vintage kimono of Jamie's mother, in a pale gold.

I replicated the dress for the mouse, along with some colored circles.

Jamie's two daughters from a previous marriage deserved mice of their own, with matching dresses and red shoes.

the girls and their mice interpretation

The wedding, so touching and sweet at a small bar called Pete's Candy Store, where there is an old stage that makes a soft glow on every one's faces like they are back in time to the 40's. Ruby danced with Sarah before the wedding got started.

Ruby feeling well enough to dance

Clyde playing camera shy

We had to leave before the cake was cut; tired children who needed their dinners and rest. But my wishes of love and happiness to my wonderful city "family". xoxo

Felt Flower Cake Power

2009-04-06T15:37:00.011-04:00

The women artist event at Abitare this past weekend was so fun. Where else would I have been able to display my organic treats on such lovely handmade pottery? I made organic shortbread, one batch flavored with Tay Tea caramel rooibus tea, the other with organic Earl Grey. I also made dark chocolate cupcakes with espresso whipped buttercream piped into gold dusted rosettes. The kind of gold roses I would grow if I had a garden...

Earl Grey cookies in the background, gorgeous ceramics by Frances.

I had the chance to meet Frances Palmer and see some handmade whimsical pieces that I wanted to steal, and to shmooze with Llubav who is hilarious and warmhearted. We have become friends since we both spoke at the Greenpoint Design Conference last year.

Llubav holding the first copy of my book, and me in my favorite new dress

Llubav is an incredible felt artist, making flowers and garlands out of bright colored felts.
The colors and modern shapes are so clean, yet still feminine.
She cuts each petal by hand and hand sews small metal sequins and beads in the center of each flower.

Llubav's pins which I should have also stolen

The loose large flower on her ring pillow reminded me of the form of a peony.

Ironically, we have had a bouquet of white peonies in the house that lasted until today. The essence of the peony is so Spring, so fleeting, that it would be lovely to capture it in a cake.

A modern cake with a feminine touch; a white buttercream frosted cake with clusters of loosely formed hand sculpted sugar peonies in a range of colors such as pale blush, shell pink, pale magenta, and pale tomato red.

Sugar Pearls

2009-04-06T15:17:00.000-04:00

I am designing a cake for my friend Alicia's wedding. We used to design jewelry together years ago, and her personal style and jewelry is so over the top. Something about lace and pearls is coming to me when I think about her, since she wears lots of vintage clothing and mixes eras together with ease.

I would love to use lace in a way that is not hokey and expected. I have been looking at these silicone molds for lace impressions, that you use with gumpaste. You press a small piece inside, and you put the molds on top and bottom, so the lace is double sided.

Pearls seem refreshing when done right, especially in the late Spring. Her wedding has a slight 1940's vibe to it, and feel like these elements done right will complement the tone. I was so excited to find a mold for making pearls, so they are all even-sized and in a row.

Pearls, made out of gumpaste and dusted with pearlescent dust.

For the first cake, I would wire some of the pearls together, so that it could form sculptural flowers. It would have a pale blush base, with some small pearls shaped like leaves, with the more sculptural pearls clustered around it.

For the second cake, I want to try the look of gold lace flowers, pearl branches and rose gold butterflies. Something sort of chaotic like an Alexander McQueen couture gown, which I'm sure Alicia would wear to the grocery store with converse sneakers if she could.

After thinking of a few options I feel strongly about these and now on to Alicia and her fiancee to look and think about.

Matthew's Cake

2009-04-01T20:08:00.004-04:00

I was about to make a cake for my friend Matthew's birthday when I saw the cover of this month's Saveur.

(image from Saveur)

It is an image that gave me a serious case of deja vu since I have eaten that tart probably 25 times, feeling the thrill looking at those crystal nuggets of sea salt glistening on top of dark chocolate ganache.

Its a crisp shell, filled with a slightly gooey caramel, covered in a thick coating of dark chocolate ganache, dusted with grey sea salt. And there goes a button on my pants.

Crust, so easy to make.

I made it in the afternoon, while juggling cooking a dinner for out-of-town friends, afterschool pick-up, and right as the caramel struck 365 degrees, Ruby walked in the kitchen with her hand full of dirty diaper she had ripped off in the midst of potty-training cognition.

So images are brief to the shell and the finale, since in between is a blur. All I know is that the caramel has a deep, almost burnt-sugar taste that mellows once you add butter, heavy cream, and creme fraiche. I used sour cream instead of creme fraiche, and it tasted rich and just as divine.

As for the ganache, my heart belongs to Green and Black 70% chocolate. For the salt, I used my black Himalayan sea salt from Trader Joe's, which gives great contrast to baked goods.

For Matthew, I decided to keep it simple, and monogram the tart with his initial in large dragees. I sprinkled a mix of the black salt and white sea salt for contrast.

Marlow and Sons Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt Tart (adapted from Saveur magazine)

CRUST:

1 1⁄2 cups organic flour
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. organic unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners' sugar
2 egg yolks
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

CARAMEL:
1 1⁄2 cups organic cane sugar
3 tbsp. organic light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. organic unsalted butter
6 tbsp. organic heavy cream
1 tbsp. organic sour cream (or crème fraîche which is harder to come by at times)

GANACHE
1⁄2 cup organic heavy cream
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, such as Green and Black 70%, finely chopped
Himalayan black sea salt for garnish

Make the crust:

1.Heat oven to 350˚.

2.Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla.

4.Mix in dry ingredients. Transfer dough to a 9" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan.

5. Place in freezer for 15 minutes. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Make the caramel:

1.In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil.

2.Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 365°. You may have to remove right before if sugar smells like it is about to burn, the temperature can rise very quickly. Dont have a small child run around in a dirty diaper at this point.

3.Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and sour cream or crème fraîche. The mixture will bubble up, but keep whisking until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; place in freezer for 2-3 hours if you are in a rush like I tend to be, or you can refrigerate for 4-5.

Make the ganache:

1. Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat, or heat cream in glass mixing cup in microwave for 1 minute.

2.Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth.

3.Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours. Or be like me, and pop it in the freezer because you are running late, again.

4.Sprinkle tart with black and white sea salt, slice, and serve chilled. If tart is not chilled, the caramel may get runny and become a creamy, gooey pool that you have to spoon up and eat all to yourself.

April Poo Day

2009-03-31T20:47:00.004-04:00

As a mom there is only so far I can go with serious baking. Since Clyde has been little he has always enjoyed sitting on the counter baking with me, but now that he is almost 6, baking is on the back burner for him compared to Legos, Star Wars, and Bakugan books.

So for April Fools day, he thought up an idea to make poo shaped cookies, and how could I resist? Any time spent making a creation with and for him is time well spent.

We made the batter, then dipped our hands in water as we shaped these chocolate delights. Ruby pointed to our baking sheets and said "Ewwwww doodie", so we knew they were perfect.

The cookies softened a bit while baking, so after I took them out of the oven I used my fingers to pinch and shape them a bit.

We wrote on bags and tied them up for his friends. Instead of the traditional "To:" and "From:" Clyde decided it should just say "From: the toilet".

When husband came home he was appalled that I would bring something to school that could ignite major mom controversy, so Clyde and I had to cross out the "toilet" word and write "MUD" and "dirt" instead.

Censorship already.

Chocolate Poo Cookies

2 cups organic all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks organic unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
2 organic eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 11 ounce bag organic semi sweet chocolate chips

1. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside
2. In standing mixer, cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes until creamy.
3. Add vanilla and eggs on low speed to mix.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients (from bowl) until combined.
5. Using wooden spoon or silicone spatula, incorporate chocolate chips.
6. Using a bowl of water to keep hands wet to prevent dough from sticking, roll 2-3 teaspoons of dough into log shape.
7. You can fit 12-16 logs per baking sheet. Place sheet in freezer to chill dough while you heat oven to 350.
8. Bake for 8 minutes until tops are just set, they will be soft but they should look dull, not shiny.
9. While cookies are still hot, use fingers or spoon to shape cookies into more realistic shapes.
10. Let cool on pan for a few minutes, then use a spatula to transfer to a wire wrack.
10. If handing out immediately, Clyde had the idea to color circles with yellow marker on toilet paper and place them on top.

Freud would be proud.
xo

Chive Blossom Cake

2009-03-23T19:15:00.005-04:00

I was asked to design a cake for New York Magazine Weddings, based off of something inspired by a bridal theme, such as flowers, ribbons, flatware, etc. I thought about my own August wedding, that took place seven years ago in the country.

There was something so lazy, sunny, and worn about nature by that time, everything past its full bloom but still lush and buzzing.

The cake I sketched was based off the idea of flowers at a country wedding, and the kind of ideal table setting that one has at long old farmer's tables with antiques and handmade linens.

As for the cake, I keep trying to think of ways to make a cake 100% organic. My decorations are all natural gumpaste, but not officially organic, so the only way to do so is to use buttercream.

My hesitation is with dimension- buttercream is so soft it can only hold a small peak. So I decided to build up flowers on a cake to see whether I could get a more structured feeling.

To give some dimension to the piped leaves and flowers, I tinted a few batches of buttercream in three shades of green, and two shades of purple. I piped the base of the stems and flowers is the darkest color, then using the same piping bag, filled it with the lighter shades. What happens when you do this, is that the edges of the piping tip will pick up some of the darker shade, creating a shadowed flow of frosting.

For the flowers, I built up with the darker purple base with the small star tip. Then after I filled the lighter purple color, it created the perfect shadow to mimic small chive blossoms.
I kept building on the circle shape until it became a semi-circle.

Ahhh summer love.

white wares

2009-03-23T11:59:00.006-04:00

Isn't this so lovely? A shot art directed from my friend Carolyn Veith Krienke who owns Jan & Aya, and photographed by Philip Ficks. I love the combination of jewelry, flowers, cake, and ceramics. Jan & Aya is moving to an online retail site next month, and I am excited for retailing ideas she has that involves artists and designers. Certainly the way of the future. xo

Abitare women artists event

2009-03-22T19:49:00.005-04:00

My friend Lizzie Hand is the co-owner of an inspiring design shop called Abitare, located in Brooklyn Heights. She and her partner search the world for small designers and unique objects, and the result is a perfect balance of simple yet stunning, sophisticated, and drop dead gorgeous things for living.

She is hosting a first-ever women artist gathering, and I am so honored to be part of it, along with my friend, the felt-abulous Llubav Durer and ceramicist Frances Palmer. There will be bubbly, cookies, pretty wares, all in the chic and beautiful shop.

It will be Saturday, April 4th, 1-4. Please stop by to say hi and nibble on some treats, buy some lovely presents for yourself, and fingers crossed for a stunning Spring day.

sea cake

2009-03-21T19:57:00.004-04:00

I am working on a cake for a wedding magazine, to be published this summer. So while I cant show the finished cake just yet--I did want to share some of the steps in making it happen.

I usually stray from royal icing- a thick frosting that hardens when exposed to air- because it has to be piped, and usually is flat, rather than sculptural. But from time to time its always good to try something new and shake up ideas in a new format.

Look how thick and gorgeous this is, only a few minutes into beating. The cake for summer is beach-inspired, and I am looking for a less sculpted and more carefree look- perfect for royal icing.
I keep the royal icing on the thick side, so that it will hold ridges and details from the tips.

A piece of white seaweed, dried. I used pastry tip #104, commonly used for rose petals. I like how dimensional this feels, even though the back is flat.

My favorite nature inspiration book, 'Art Forms in Nature' by Ernst Haekels. I've used this book for jewelry design, and look at it from time to time to get excited by his beautiful drawings.

While piping away, I used my book and a dried seahorse that I bought at a medicinal shop in China to feel beach-inspiration. Hard to do when it snows the first day of Spring.

For ultimate beach feel, I made seaglass out of gelatin in my jewel shaped plastic mold. (I bought them and used them once before; for a jeweled cake inspired by Marc Jacob shoes.)

So far I am really happy about the result, will post the cake when it comes out in a few months...until then think sunscreen, sand, and sweetness.

Cakescrap Pops

2009-03-14T21:15:00.009-04:00

While trimming the birthday cake I baked yesterday, I decided to keep the scraps for my own cake pop experiment. I had read about the cake pop phenomenon; people use leftover cake (or bake a cake for the sole purpose of making pops), mix it with some kind of binding ingredient such as softened cream cheese, stick a stick in it, dip it in some kind of chocolate or coat with fondant, and decorate.

I trim my cakes when stacking them into tiers, and thought that instead of the family and myself eating them, I should try something new.

It was hard to tell the little gypsy beggars that no cake scraps would be handed out just yet.

Instead of adding all sorts of ingredients, I figured that the excess frosting would really be the only thing I would want to have in my cakescrap pop. Keeping it pure and simple.

I had about 1 cup of cake scraps once I crumbled them up, and about 1/2 cup of remaining mocha meringue buttercream.

After mixed, I rolled them into even sized balls. I refrigerated them overnight to chill.

Alas, when I woke to finish the final step of dipping them into dark organic chocolate ganache, there were only 5 remaining. Gypsy cake bandits struck again.

I stuck paper lollipop sticks in the centers, chilled them and warmed some organic dark chocolate chips with some butter. It was a little thick, but easy to do since I had the kids helping out. After dipping I chilled them again in the fridge while contemplating who deserved the precious treats.

The result is that these are spectacular, delicious, and a resourceful thing to do with leftover cake (an impossibility in this house) or cake trimmings. I dusted some glitter on them, and ended up handing them out to the helpful friends of the day--my neighbor who helped carry up groceries, and a friend who is pregnant who surely will need an emergency cake/chocolate snack.

Manly Cake

2009-03-14T12:46:00.009-04:00

Today I baked a last minute request for a birthday cake. It was a joint birthday of a man and woman, but to be honest I didn't know that there was a woman involved until it was picked up. So my thoughts along the way of making the cake were all about keeping it festive but making a decorated cake chic enough for a man.

I think that cakes for men deserve their own kind of glory, their own kind of sparkle. That's why I thought to make a buttery meringue mocha frosting, and to keep the pale coffee color as the base for the cake. (I have to say, I am really loving the ease and thick texture of meringue buttercream frosting which I have been making lately.) My husband championed the manly combination of dark chocolate cake with mocha, a good sign.

Without time to whip up decorations prior to today, I have to use what I have on hand. Its for these moments that I always try to sculpt extra sugarpaste flowers or gelatin decorations.

Since its a small party, I decide on a 7" cake with a 5" tier on top. Tiers always give me a better foundation for decorations, since they can cascade down the front.

first application of flowers

I decided on metallic flowers, since they are like steel and gold, something not necessarily feminine if you think of it in the reference of buildings, weapons, and plumbing. Here are some pieces drying, although I decided against the silver leaves since the cake felt too small for them. If you notice there is a hue on some of the flowers, this is because they are sculpted out of different colored gumpaste, and although painted silver or gold, you still get hidden bits of color peeping out.

As for inscribing their names, I think a turquoise will complement the beige and metal tones nicely. I have been thinking about those old sterling pieces of jewelry with bright turquoise stones, and how nicely they complement each other. A bit of a cowboy feeling.

I piped the centers of the flowers, but it looked a little too bright, so I toned the turquoise down with some handpainted gold. Without the brushed gold, it looked like plastic beads; a look that I took note mentally to use for another project in the future.

I added beading to the bottom of each tier, as well as the edge of the top tier. I was so in love with the brightness of the turquoise, I gently had to talk myself into putting the piping bag down and to stop.

A more antique, jewelry feeling with this cake. When I heard that the other recipient is a woman, I felt pleased that it had some feeling of masculinity, but it still felt right for both.

Party time

2009-03-07T19:41:00.011-05:00

I thought about what a girl cake should taste like, something sweet like strawberries and cream.

the birthday girl in polka dots

Baking the cake was fun; I used a white cake from my cookbook and frosted it with a luscious, creamy strawberry meringue buttercream frosting from Martha Stewart. And, as I am obsessed with my mandoline, I used it to shave thin slices of strawberry to lie in between the layers of cake.

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream, adapted from Martha Stewart

4 organic egg whites
1 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 sticks of organic unsalted butter (12 ounces), cut into 1" pieces at room temperature.
1 tablespoon vanilla
rose pink food coloring
9 oz organic/natural strawberry preserves, placed in food processor and pureed until smooth.
6 large organic strawberries

1. In metal bowl of standing mixer, add egg whites and sugar, whisk to combine
2. Place bowl on top of pot filled with hot water, use this like a double boiler. (Hot water should not go inside the bowl, just simmering underneath it coming up a few inches on the bowl)
3. Whisk constantly, and place a candy thermometer inside to monitor temperature.
4. Keep whisking until mixture reads close to 160 degrees. (About 10-15 minutes). Remove from hot water.
5. Place bowl in standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for 8-10 minutes until thick, bright white, and shiny.
6. Remove the whisk and replace with a paddle attachment. Beat mixture on medium and add pieces of butter one at a time until incorporated, vanilla, and food coloring.
7. Add strawberry jam puree until mixed, then frosting is ready to use.
8. Use mandoline to shave thin slices of strawberry, and use to layer on top of frosting. Then frost underside of other layer (so that the strawberries don't make the cake soggy)

The decorations were easy to place on the cake, once frosted and chilled. Clyde helped place some of them too, which made him laugh. I piped little dots for the top of her dress, then handpainted them with gold luster dust.

When she saw the cake, Ruby didn't know who to look at first. Yoda? Elmo? Kitty? She took a lick and danced.

After a few pieces...

Love you so much Ruby!
xoxo
Mommy

Ruby's Cake

2009-03-06T06:28:00.004-05:00

With the upcoming party for Ruby's birthday this weekend, I got started today on the decorations for her cake. I have been thinking about her cake for months, (yes I am crazy), going back and forth between a few different ideas. Elmo cake? Kitty cake? Yoda cake? These are the top three things that excite her more than anything.

Last year, her birthday party was an elegant tea party, filled with puffed pastries, pink cupcakes and this cake:

So for Ruby's 2nd birthday cake, I toyed with a few ideas, but then it all came together when I found a vintage cake doll mold. Its the kind that you stick a half doll in the top, and the skirt is made out of cake. I am going to make small sugarpaste decorations and then place them in a pattern, a la Louis Vuitton if you can see the resemblance in the sketch...

The first round of decorations, coating the "2" in lavender edible glitter, painting the circles red for Elmo, and dusting the Yoda heads with emerald green luster dust and shimmery brown luster dust to get his crusty old skin right.

I piped white eyes, then tinted the frosting orange for the nose. As for the eyes and mouth, they are hand painted with charcoal luster dust mixed with vodka. For making the "paint" you have to use alcohol, not water.

I used the same black "paint" for the eyes, nose, and whiskers on Hello Kitty. I brushed her fuchsia bow with some shimmery cotton candy luster dust.

Crusty creepy Yoda faces. Ha! Big brother Clyde is Ruby's hero, hence all things Star Wars and Lego have become her favorites too.

The cake will be assembled tomorrow morning since we have lots to do before the party. As for the cake, the frosting will be pink, perhaps a strawberry cake with vanilla frosting to mix things up a bit.

Clear Flowers, fashion or cake?

2009-03-04T16:16:00.007-05:00

Here is the cake inspired by the Marni resin flowers.
I think I would redo it with a pale gray backdrop instead of yellow. It seems to fight the colors of the flowers a bit too much.
However, as for my first use of the gelatin flowers, it is interesting to see how they work.
I had to prop the petals while drying with clean piping tips since they are rounded. I wonder if I should create the flowers separately; applying them to the cake once they are complete, rather than petals.

I've seen some decorators use wire in their gelatin petals to keep shape, it reminds me of the Blumarine ads
I think this is one of those examples where the fashion and the food are interchangeable. Her pin could be something edible, placed on top of a cake.
Still exploring with the gelatin...I feel like I am close to something!

Fashion Smashion

2009-03-03T16:42:00.006-05:00

Today I had a shoot for an upcoming fashion-related publication, and I finished the cakes inspired by fashion.

For the Chanel couture cake, I first prepared my cake dummies. When shooting for editorial, it is rare for a baker to actually make a cake, since it is handled so much and never eaten. It makes it easier to focus completely on the decorating, and the cakes are light and easy to transport since they are made out of Styrofoam. Cake supply companies sell cakes in round shapes, squares, hexagons, and even custom cut cakes to order.

The first thing I do is decide the size of the tiers. Then I place some of my sugarpaste flowers on the Styrofoam to visualize how I am going to place them.

I use bamboo kabob sticks as supporting rods through the center of the tiers, since one side is sharp and will easily pierce the Styrofoam.

I frost the cake with real frosting, then when it dries I place the sugar flowers on top, using frosting as "glue" for the flowers. Once applied, I piped white stamen in different sizes in the centers.

I think the elements all came together nicely- the chaos of different flowers clustered together.
I am thinking about incorporating this cake idea for an upcoming wedding in the country!

Failure and Success

2009-03-03T16:05:00.007-05:00

Sadly, the macarons came out like meringues; crunchy, light, rosy, and brittle but no chew like Mr. Herme's. I asked my French neighbor what the secret "je ne sais quoi" is to them, and her response was, that she never even tried. I guess when there is close to perfection out there, why even bother? The secret to macarons may be much more experimentation than I thought.

Happily, the kids and I munched on rose "cookies" all weekend, then things moved towards finishing the birthday cake.

Then the unexpected; my sister in labor at the hospital, I had to drop the literal cake spatula and head over for her new baby boy!

Sometimes when these grand moments in life happen, all the little worries and problems flutter aside. So when I got home elated and exhausted from coaching her tough labor, I realized the fancy pistachio cake for Amy's 30th birthday was not going to happen.

The party for Amy shrunk in size a bit because of the snowstorm, so I baked a smaller cake.

The "30" sticks worked perfectly. I piped some grass with my frosting tinted with 'Avocado Green' food coloring, a muted and perfect green color to make the bright flowers pop. The cake is dark chocolate with whipped espresso buttercream.

The birthday girl's slice.

Nothing like a wonderful party full of love, champagne, friends, homemade food, to make any failure feel like history.
xo

Merci Paris

2009-02-26T00:37:00.010-05:00

A good friend came into town from Switzerland last night, so a feast was in order. I baked freshly made ricotta with herbs, got crazy with the mandoline for a salad of fennel, apple, and scallions, and grilled skirt steak in the kitchen, setting off only three fire alarms. A nice meal, yet nothing mattered in comparison with what was in store for desert.

One of the guests, another friend, had arrived from Paris yesterday. In her hands were a red box from Pierre Hermes, filled with macarons.

Throughout the wine, laughing, eating, talking, deep down I was waiting so quietly and patiently in my seat for those little jewels to be opened.

My friend chose an array of flavors which combinations proved not weird once bitten-- white truffle (the savory, not sweet), wasabi and grapefruit, green matcha tea and chestnut, passion fruit and chocolate, caramel and sea salt, dark chocolate, and vanilla.

They dusted some of the macarons with a shimmer dust, similar to what I use on my flowers and cakes. A sign...it must be...that I make some macaroons.

Macarons traditionally are made using a circle template, so each one fits as a sandwich perfectly. But what about doing something sweet and homemade, like heart shaped macarons? I think this might be the perfect cookie that I want to make for Ruby's birthday, this Monday. Her birthday party will be the following week, and no crazy cakes need to be baked until then. Perhaps something simple and childlike for the flavoring, strawberry with a splash of rosewater for a je ne sais quoi feeling?

If Pierre Herme were trapped in my body, a Jewish mom in Brooklyn, I think he would make these:

Rose macaron with strawberry pastry cream. Perfect for a two year old named Ruby Josephine.
Pictures to come, once hangover ebbs and pastry cream chills.
xoxo

PS: The spelling for macaron is French, if it were spelled macaroon it would be refrencing those shredded coconut ball deserts.

Lucky Horseshoe + Glitter

2009-02-24T19:04:00.008-05:00

At the cake store a few weeks ago, the manager showed me something new they had in the store for decorating cakes: GLITTER! Edible glitter, that is.

There already are a few products for making metallic looking finishes, but nothing quite as sparkly as this. The texture of chunky glitter can make even the most basic confection seem really fancy. It reminds me of the German glitter glass that is made into letters and numbers at Tinsel Trading Co. (an amazing crafts/vintage findings shop) in NYC.

So far the best way I have found to use it is to prep the surface with a coating of clear alcohol such as vodka, then to sort of tap glitter on, using a paintbrush. I have found doing this in two coats makes a nice, thick opaque glittery surface.

There is an upcoming birthday party for a friend turning 30. She actually has the same birthday as my daughter Ruby, so we joke they are soul sisters. The hostess spied for me what cake she likes and what kind of decoration too--pistachio cake, and horseshoes.
I have been wanting a good excuse to experiment with organic pistachio extract, since there is a cake made at Fabianne's Cafe in Williamsburg that I am obsessed with. As for the decorations, horseshoes are chic, and also a perfect way to try out the glitter.

For the cake, I want it to be really fun and sparkly in honor of the birthday girl. Bronze glittering horseshoes, with a giant "30" sticking out from the top, with a few wildflowers and painted bits of grass. Maybe even some small beading on the edges of the tiers.

Since I want the gumpaste to be very hard, I am making the decorations today for Monday's cake. I have never tried making something that sticks out of the cake like what I have in mind, so here goes...

Here I am free-form cutting the numbers with a knife.

The plan is to sink the lollipop part into the cake, so that only the "30" will show. I embed lollipop sticks into the base of each number, where the gumpaste is thicker, so that *fingers crossed* they will dry and allow me to use them this way.

The left side shows the gumpaste wrapped around the base, the "0" is waiting to be finished.

I tinted the gumpaste peach so it gives a subtle glow to the bronze glitter where it may peek through.

The shapes after the second coating of glitter.
Off to dry for a few days, then assembly on Monday. Not sure yet whether to pipe detailing onto the horseshoes or to leave them as just shapes.
In the meanwhile, there are some other ideas brewing for this fantastic glitter to come.
xo

Its blooming white flowers

2009-02-23T20:25:00.006-05:00

A shot of more flowers I have been working on, and how they are coming together. Some are handsculpted, like the way Chanel has the camellias as a signature flower. Others are rolled roses, which to me feels more graphic and modern, less about to make a "perfect" rose.

Hand sculpted flower in the beginning stage...

Making some graphic leaf veins with the tip of my leaf gumpaste cutter.

A rolled rose, made by taking along strip of gumpaste, rolling and pinching the edges at the same time.

When they are all done, I am going to see whether having silver painted centers will make them pop more than being all white. No offense Karl, but sometimes a little sparkle is needed!
xo

Chanel Couture Cake

2009-02-23T20:25:00.005-05:00

Can you believe this gorgeousness?

I have a shoot next week where I am designing cakes inspired by fashion.

Finally a reason to put together my Marni flower cake, (yay!) and as for some other ideas, I have got to do something with the exciting ideas from the Chanel couture show.

From what I have gathered, Karl Lagerfield used the metaphor of starting with a blank piece of paper. A metaphor we all can relate to in so many ways. (Like how many times I wish my closet were a blank piece of paper that would re-start with fabulous thigh high boots--even if not so perfect for the playground--) The backdrop of the show were massive swirls of soft rosettes and shapes, inspired by nature and all made out of pure white paper. The most outstanding element of the show was the headpieces each wore. Ranging from a rose-and-thorn hat, to something that looked like a mouthwatering bouquet of meringue flowers, there is so much inspiration here.

First I started with some sketches:

Would a thorn and rose cake be too dark? I am really feeling black and silver, but maybe that's for another day. I like the idea of a tall white cake with explosions of flowers.

I started making the flowers, anticipating that I will need a lot. Thank goodness my vintage jello molds are a good shape for drying my daisies. So far here are some of the finished flowers. I hand sculpted some white roses/camellias, and used my gumpaste cutters for others.

More flowers to come...
merci coco chanel
xo

pecan cookies aka what to bake when there are no eggs in the house

2009-02-22T15:06:00.006-05:00

Today at the park the rain started, so we headed home to avoid getting chilled to the bone.
We got inside, and the mood for some cookies struck pretty bad. I didn't want to leave the house again so we had to make do with what was in the kitchen.

Ruby, my baking assistant in uniform

Ransacking the freezer where I keep my nuts, I found a huge bag of raw pecans. I love baking with them, because they have a nice buttery taste, and crisp nicely when baked. I needed something easy and quick, because kids cant wait for too much fuss when cooking.

I found this recipe in my mom's old cookbook; Maida Heatter's Book of Great Deserts, and was especially glad for it since I had run out of eggs.
Its a not-so-sweet cookie, with a very crumbly crumb. With such a small amount of sugar I didn't feel guilty when Clyde ate three. Perfect for afternoon tea too, I packed up the rest and gave them away as a gift so I can try to avoid eating the rest.

Pecan Crispy Crumbly Cookies (adapted from Maida Heatter's Plantation Pecan Cookies)

1 heaping cup of organic raw pecans
1 cup organic all purpose flour (I bet these would be good with whole wheat, but like the eggs, I am low on baking supplies today)
1 stick organic unsalted butter
1/4 cup organic rapadura sugar, or cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon brandy
25 pecan halves

*optional* turbinado or additional sugar for sprinkling.

1. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets.
2. In food processor, grind pecans on and off for 10 seconds at a time until small pieces..
3. Add 1/4 cup of the flour, and continue to pulse on and off until almost powdery. Set aside.
4. In mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until whipped and creamy, 3-4 minutes.
5. Add vanilla, salt, and brandy to butter, whip for 30 seconds.
6. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 3/4 cup flour, then add the ground pecan/flour mixture.
7. Batter will be soft and buttery. Using hands dipped in water, scoop a teaspoon at a time, place on parchment paper about 1 -1/2" inches apart.
8. Sprinkle optional sugar on top, and press a pecan half on top. Try to flatten a bit, so they are a disc shape.
9. Place in freezer to chill while you preheat oven to 375*.
10. Once oven is ready, bake for 16-18 minutes, until light brown on bottom.

my little precious cookies waiting to bake

With the rain and coldness continuing in the day, it sure is nice to have the house smelling like cookies. Eggs can wait until tomorrow.
xo

Green with happiness

2009-02-19T14:28:00.008-05:00

I am finishing up the flowers for a wedding cake this weekend in NYC. This decoration has been quite popular as this is the third wedding cake this month I've done using this color flowers. I designed the cake above for the Fall 2008 issue of the Knot, and they took such a beautiful shot.
If you look, there are two subtle tones of green flowers for the cake.

There used to be a saying when I designed shoes, that no one ever buys green. (This was for dressier shoes, not sneakers). Merchandisers and salesman said that the color never went with any clothing, that no one makes a good color green leather, and that its just the way things are--green never sells.
When I saw Michelle Obama wearing green pumps at the Inauguration, along with the recent shoes on the runway for Fall '09, I cant help but feel happy that change is spreading to these little rules too.

This cake reminds me that if you take a color that can be done really wrong, but play with it to get the right tone, it can end up quite refreshing to the eye.

1938/2008 flowers

2009-02-17T20:31:00.000-05:00

As a continuation of the gelatin technique, my mind already has moved on to other things that have been simmering in the backburners. I collect magazine tears and images that move and inspire me, and will tack pictures on my giant inspiration board in my kitchen. Sometimes they wait there for months, and over many days staring at them while working, hope that they bring some new idea...So it made me so happy to finally find a home for pictures that have been up on the board for a long time.

An image from the Marni 2008 fashion show, of women wearing bright, colorful flower necklaces has brought so much excitement and inspiration to me. As a jewelry designer, the technical feat of using such a hard, unpredictable material and making it so soft and feminine is astonishing. These pieces are feats of design, small wearable sculptures that border art and fashion.

When the Alexander Calder show opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the spark finally did ignite: 70 years ago, (yes 1938!) Calder welded hard, cold metal (a material as difficult to use as resin) into a delicate, feminine, and bright necklace. Small bits of colored glass caged by simple, giant prongs form the essence of the flower, but it feels modern, edgy, and sculptural.

I tried recreating the multilayered effect of the Marni flowers; loading a brush with warm brown gelatin, and leaving the centers open for different colors.
As you can see in my attempts, I drew in the colors for the centers. In my hurry of being so excited, I didnt prepare enough striking color combinations.
I think neon orange or a bright, unexpected color would be perfect.

Its hard to believe that Calder made his necklace in 1938, and 70 years later Marni captured the spirit of it in a totally new feeling. My edible version is an homage to using new materials in unexpected ways.
I really love these flowers and am looking forward to using them soon.
xo

Gargouillou-The Garden Cake

2009-02-15T20:48:00.000-05:00

I hope newspapers never die out, because even though I read them online, there is something special about that ink smell, the feel of the paper, and the way an image looks printed out, rather than on a screen. Usually my husband will steal our paper on his way out, and I will read the sections that I may have missed later in the evening. Last week, I caught the NY Times Dining In section a few days past. An article about a French chef named Michel Bras who had a moment of inspiration running through mountains and fields at the peak of their bloom, in 1978, to create a dish inspired by a brimming garden.

Chefs since have interpreted the dish, using black brioche or crushed tomato crumbs to simulate dirt. But what about a cake? What about translating the vegetables from a savory moment to something sweet.

In the past few weeks I have been experimenting with gelatin decorations. I ordered molds from Diane Simmons of Cake Connection, (www.cakeconnection.com) and she gave me some simple advice for making the leaves and flowers. You can see images on her site of expertly crafted flowers and leaves, that look like glass, although they feel more like cellophane. Made of a concentrated liquid of gelatin and water (recipe below), I have been toying with using different colors as a layering effect to create a more handmade look.

my organic leaves

The photo of the Gargouille with the baby swiss chard, where the center stem is magenta, and the leaf is green struck me as the perfect reference for layering the gelatin.
As for the base of the cake or cupcake, it would be frosted in a thick dark organic chocolate ganache with cake crumbs pressed into it as the "dirt".

The leaves and butterflies are quick to make, but take 6-8 hours to dry. The beauty of these gelatin decorations is that you can also paint on top of them too.
Gelatin Flowers/Leaves Recipe (adapted from Diane Simmons of Cake Connection)

*note: Its best to use the thin molds that Diane Simmons created, since they are very thin and flexible the flowers and leaves work in these. I tried painting onto plastic wrap but the pieces broke. The molds are $30 for 5 sheets of varying leaves, petals, flowers. You can order them online or by calling her. She is really helpful and nice.

3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons powdered organic gelatin (order online at www.gobiofood.com)

1. In a small microwave safe bowl, pour gelatin in and add water, mix and let sit for one minute.
2. In microwave, set timer for 20 seconds, then mix gelatin.
3. Repeat heating the bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds, then mix again. Keep doing this until the mixture is hot and even foamy.
4. Depending on the range of colors you would like, ration spoonfuls of the gelatin into other small microwave safe bowls.

I like to use small white ramekins to mix colors

5. Using a toothpick, dip a clean end in water based food coloring, then swirl into bowl of gelatin. Use a separate spoon for each color.
6. While gelatin is liquid and warm, either use a paintbrush or small teaspoon to coat the various shapes in the mold.

handpainting magenta stems

7. When gelatin thickens, you can add a touch of water and reheat for 15 seconds in the microwave.
8. Let dry in molds for 6-8 hours, you will know it is done when the edges are peeling upward away from the mold.

*additional note: I have found for layering colors, its best to have each color be applied thick enough so that they can slightly overlap.

layered yellow and fuschia butterflies

Here is the idea of what the cake would look like:

mmmm so dirty!