Cranberry Orange Scones

I always have thought of scones as a not-so-savory biscuit. They should be light and flaky with plentiful layers just like a biscuit but also have a touch of sweetness. Going to afternoon tea and getting scones with jam and clotted cream, delish!

For that person you know who doesn't have the biggest sweet tooth and isn't the biggest dessert person, scones are an excellent treat for them because they only have a hint of sweetness. These make a great homemade gift, with an extra personal touch

Any type of fruit, nut, candy or chocolate can be thrown in to make a unique scone recipe of your own and the person you are gifting with these delicious little pastries will be ever so thankful.

Reptar Bars!

If you grew up in the 90s, it was pretty much a given that you watched Nickelodeon and every show from All That to Rockos Modern Life. I pretty much lived for all of those shows as a child and the Rugrats were one of my favorites [ I always wanted to be a nicer & sweeter version of Angelica].

I was watching Rugrat repeats recently on "the 90s are all that" & then I stumbled upon this blog, and found the most awesome thing ever..REPTAR BARS! Of course I had to make them, but a little more refined. I swapped out the jarred marshmallow fluff for a scratch-made Italian meringue, a homemade salted caramel sauce, & I even tempered the chocolate, for some practice. You could of course always use store bought caramel,  fluff and non-temper [Nestles] chocolate to make your life easier, but that's just not me.

They definitely do turn your tongue green.

Holiday Goodies

I know the holidays are over and I'm a little late with this post but I feel so accomplished because I fulfilled my list of quintessential holiday treats to create and I just thought I'd share. Think of it as ideas for next year :)

My gingerbread cottage in the woods, with handmade templates & walls
Recipe [x 3 for two houses + lots of extra for cookies]

Buche de noel [Yule log cake] with coffee swiss buttercream, chocolate ganache, & meringue cookie trees & mushrooms
Recipe

Festive gingerbread cookies, inspired by Bakerella
Recipe [left over from the house]

Happy New Year :) Enjoy!

Parker House Rolls

The best way to top off an amazing dinner party, other than a decadent dessert would be with some homemade bread. That wow factor can be acheived with homemade rolls, which gives any good dinner party an extra special touch. Making bread is a labor of love, but trust me its completely worth it and once you start, you will instantly fall in love and always want to make your own bread.

Classic's are always supposed to be phenomenal, because how else would they have become so classic? This bread epitomizes the classic dinner roll, with its soft, buttery, fluffy texture. Its easy to make and shape the dough, and even better it freezes beautifully so you can bake from frozen and always look like a superstar when hosting a dinner party.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is one of those things I never grew up eating because its such a southern staple- I live in LA, and I'm Jewish I grew up eating noodle kugel, and more boring pies like apple. I honestly think the first time I tasted it was when I made it a few weeks ago. I came across these bars a while ago, and I absolutely love them and they reminded me what a pecan pie would be like in bar form.

Also, because I love chocolate, it couldn't hurt to add some the pie, and it didn't. The chocolate just adds an even richer quality to the already insanely gooey and delicious filling of this pie. Its suc h a simple recipe, basically everything goes in one bowl. You can always substitute the crust with a store-bought one, but if you are going to take the time to make the pie, you might as well just make the crust too- its always well worth that little extra step. I pretty much followed this recipe straight-forward, since being a novice I didn't want to change anything. I'd say this one is definitely a winner.

Pumpkin Roulade

I've always wanted to make a roulade cake. The idea of rolling up a cake with a delicious filling is just fun. Its so oh so pretty once you slice into it and reveal the pinwheel shape, everyone will think you've worked so hard while all along its such a simple cake.

You can make this cake with any flavor combination but since its the holidays and pumpkin is so widely available, it just seemed fitting. I filled mine with a spiced swiss buttercream that enhances the spiciness in the cake; fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest. These flavors merry so well together.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Biscotti are such lovely little crunchy cookies that can easily be turned into an elegant homemade gift. For the person who enjoys  'not so sweet' desserts, these are be the perfect treat for them. Biscotti can be left plain, but are most commonly found chock full of dried fruits or nuts.

 
Cranberries & pistachios are the perfect green and red representation for the holiday season in a dessert. To dress these cookies up even more, you can dip them in white and dark chocolate and coat them in red & green sanding sugar.

Candy Cane Macarons

I know for some making macarons can be quite the daunting task, but once you get the hang of it you can make them in a snap and for any occasion. For the holiday season, I took these delicate little almond cookies and sandwiched them with a delicious chocolate french buttercream. Because chocolate and mint are a match made in heaven I rolled them in crushed candycanes for a little extra festive touch. 

Since I've made them in the past, here is the recipe for the cookies & the buttercream, and a little how-to. These are a quick little cookie to serve at your holiday get-together

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

This is round two of the pumpkin madness that ensued in my kitchen last weekend and probably my favorite of all the treats that were baked.

Anything with streusel on top is going to be great- because streusel on its own its amazing. I made so much extra streusel while making this, I was forced to make another baked good to top with all of it.

These muffins make a great breakfast, snack, or even dessert - and if you are not a fan of pumpkin, you can leave it out and have a really good spiced streusel muffin as well!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

This is by far my favorite time of year. I love the cold weather, the holidays, the seasonal foods/desserts and spending time with my favorite people. I think pumpkin is the quintessential flavor for the holiday season. Its so versatile, with sweet and savory applications, like making a great soup or my case ice cream, scones, muffins, macarons, & bars. Right now I'll just be focusing on the ice cream, but I never thought one 30 oz can of pumpkin puree could really stretch out its pumpkin-y goodness to so many delicious treats.

 
If you are fortunate enough to own an ice cream maker, tasting that first freshly made pint in like nothing else and you'll wonder why you ever ate the store bought stuff [although, there are some really great artisanal brands].

Pumpkin pie is such a staple for thanksgiving, and don't get me wrong it is good but can get a little boring. This ice cream tastes like the best pumpkin pie ever but cool and refreshing as well. If you must have pie on thanksgiving, you can always pair this a la mode with a different flavored pie.

Honey Sage Cornbread

With fall approaching in Los Angeles [I say approaching because although its technically fall, LA weather has been teeter-tottering between somewhat cold and disgustingly hot the past few weeks], its nice to have something warm and comforting on those chilly nights. I was making turkey chilli for dinner and what better to go with chilli, than cornbread? They are pretty much a match made in heaven.

Cornbread can be a little boring though, but some simple ways to jazz it up are by adding some honey, some fresh herbs, cheese or a mild onion. Many things can turn plain old cornbread into a delicious masterpiece. I went with a honey-sage combo because my mom found sage flavored honey at a farmers market and I had fresh sage at home, so it seemed perfect.

I just used this recipe on the back of the cornmeal box, with a few of my own touches and it is one of the quickest one-bowl wonders ever.

Chocolate Cake Trifles

I made this cake in my last post, and everyone should take note that when you make a cake and you have left over trimmings, you should always make a trifle! Forget the cake balls, and go with something a little more sophisticated. They are delicious, so versatile, making them individual sizes is all the better.

 

Every since I first made a french pastry cream in my first baking class its been one of my favorites because its basically pudding, and who doesn't love pudding? Also, the flavor combinations you can add this simple vanilla-based custard are endless. I decided to go with a salted caramel and a spiced Mexican hot chocolate flavored pastry creams.

Giraffe Birthday Cake

Last week was my best friend's birthday and she asked for a giraffe cake, because she is a giraffe :)

I haven't worked with fondant too much and this was my first time molding it and I was pretty happy with the results. I used this picture and used it as a guide for molding my giraffes and put them on top of a milk chocolate cake, filled with cherry Italian buttercream, and iced with Italian buttercream.

A few roses, and some grass and voilà! its now a giraffe in a rose garden cake.

Happy Birthday Yoohoo! <3

Mocha Macarons

Yes, I'm still alive. No, I haven't forgotten about my blog and now that I finally have my beautiful new kitchen, I am baking more and definitely updating more. I also started a new baking class at school "Advanced Patisserie Techniques" aka fancy plated desserts and candy making. Exciting, but also intimidating.

For my one of my final desserts in my last class (last week), we had to once again make the dreaded french macaron. One misstep or extra fold and these stubborn little cookies will crack, break, and just not achieve their coveted "feet". These are the most finicky cookies you will ever come across and you will cry as you make them over and over and not understand why they didn't turn out "just right". Until now that is, because I finally found a recipe that I absolutely love love love. I thought my recipe from school was good, but when the success rate only turns out to be 70%, it becomes frustrating.

My favorite macarons are Francois Payard's and I was beyond ecstatic when I found his recipe on food & wine's website. This recipe has the same ingredients as a typical macaron, just made with a different technique which I believe guarantees success. I filled these little cuties with the most delicious chocolate-coffee french buttercream. Pure decadence.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

I apologize for the lack of posts but I moved recently, and my house is under construction [finally, its almost done!] and that includes my kitchen which is almost finished. So lack of kitchen, means lack of oven & mixer, and therefore lack of baking. Luckily, I was able to bake once at Josh's house which made me a very happy girl. I also started school again, so I am constantly baking but it's just not the same as in my very own stress-free kitchen at home.

I went to Fresh & Easy for the first time with Josh and on their candy aisle was chocolate covered toffee bits, and I just knew they would make for a delicious cookie add-in. Chocolate chip cookie dough base is so versatile and delicious that you don't even really miss the plain chocolate chips. You get a little added crunch from the toffee and an additional sprinkle of salt on top rounds off into the perfect salty sweet cookie bite.

Simple & comforting.

Pain de Mie

Soft, fluffy, fresh-out-of-the-oven white bread is the best kind. This is definitely not the wonderbread that was put in your lunchboxes throughout elementary school. During my breads class this was probably my favorite bread to make because its such a staple pantry item in most households. Being able to make it fresh and by scratch transforms this simple sandwich bread into something completely wonderful.

The butter, the salt..you can taste all of the ingredients in it. It is not just a bland slice bread. Add some honey if you desire and make it a honey-white bread. It is delicious just on its own.

Browned Butter Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies [w/ Maple & Cardamom]

Growing up I always hated oatmeal cookies. I was convinced they were only the 'healthy' cookies that my grandparents and their friends ate, especially the ones with raisins. I could tolerate the ones that had chocolate chips in them. Things have changed though, and while I still do not like oatmeal-raisin cookies, having fun with flavor combinations can turn a dull oatmeal cookie into something completely wonderful.

When you brown butter, it becomes rich and nutty which is a perfect way to transform these cookies. Brown sugar and maple syrup compliment each other perfectly and instead of the typical cinnamon that goes with this cookie, how about cardamom? Its very potent, but the perfect pinch brings these cookies to a whole other level. I would definitely recommend these to those who are not a fan of oatmeal cookies, because that will become a thing of a past.

Rainbow Birthday Cake

 One of my besties birthday was this past weekend and naturally I wanted to make him a birthday cake. I saw this layered rainbow cake on a blog I follow a few months ago and I knew at that moment him + the rainbow cake = a match made in heaven. He loved it, everyone loved it, I was happy and considering my blog is in dire need of an update,  I'm going to talk about it.

This is such a fun cake, especially for summer or birthdays or anything festive to celebrate. Some birthday cakes can be so one-note, so instead of just layering cake/frosting/cake, I soaked each layer  in a vanilla syrup and filled it with some blackberry preserves as well. The purple frosting piped on the top and sides is also a blackberry buttercream to keep with the theme. If you don't like blackberries, you can use strawberries, raspberries, etc.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Everybody loves cupcakes. They are fun, cute, and endlessly customizable. Cupcakes with beer and hard liquor = even better. Although I  do love a good cupcake like the next person, they are truly the remedial treat of the patisserie world. If you can make cake batter, you can make cupcakes. So it irks me that so many classically trained pastry chefs have settled by just making cupcakes, and only cupcakes day in and day out. We don't even make cupcakes in my patisserie program because they are so simple and many of my chefs have mocked said cupcake makers. So since cupcakes are so simple in nature, but so fun to make, one should thrive for perfection and come up with creative flavor combinations that really can outshine a plain chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet cupcake.

Adam's birthday was on Monday, I offered to make him a birthday treat. I wanted to try something I don't bake often, and then a light switch went off. I thought about chocolate stout and how its used in baking and then remembered Adam's obsession with Guinness and it was settled, my birthday treat was born.

A Guinness cupcake with Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream. And it was delightful.