Well, I haven’t gotten much hate mail in awhile so clearly I am being too politically correct as of late. So to rectify that, I shall bring up a topic that my friends and I were discussing the other day.

We were watching Top Chef and they all had to make a pie. The immense fear that was in the eyes of the contestants was too funny to me. It’s the fear that they all seem to get when they tell them they have to make a dessert. Now don’t get me started on the whole you know they do a dessert every season just memorize a recipe thing that I go off on every season, that was not the discussion my friends and I got into. The discussion topic was this….is it better to be a great cook or a great baker?

So I think we can all figure out where I stand on this one, but here is why…most people who can bake  seem to be okay in the cooking department as well. But I have met way too many a chef who is an awesome cook but can’t bake or make desserts to save their life (there are always exceptions I know). I am an excellent baker (though I have several sever disasters under my belt ) and a decent cook. I used to belong to a supper club in Arizona. Every single member was  a chef except for me. When it was time for the meals to be allocated (we did it from just pulling out of a hat) people would throw hissy fits when they got stuck with bread or desserts. But the two bakers of the group always just took whatever we got and rolled with it. And for the record, every single one of those chefs would just bring bread or dessert from their restaurants.

Then there is the convenience of being a baker. It’s so much easier to bring someone a loaf of bread then say a rack of lamb or crock of chili. Doable yes, but awkward and usually needing refrigeration.

So what do you think? Better to be a great cook or a great baker?

Speaking of great baking…I present my 3am idea….cinnamon rolls topped with NY style crumb cake topping. Not sure how this craving came about, but it did. Oddly enough, I could not find a recipe for that idea , so I had to make one of my own.

This was such a poor choice to make. I seriously could not stop eating these. Lucky for me there was hockey that night and I could give them away. See, again, with the portable baked goods (plus one for the bakers).

This ends up being more like pull apart bread  or a cake than that of individual cinnamon rolls. But the messier the better, eh?

Baking is Better NY Style Crumb Cake Topped Cinnamon Rolls

 
For the brioche dough:
1/4 cup warm water (filtered preferably)
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 tsp. dried yeast
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
8 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into dime sized pieces

For the filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

3 TBSP butter, softened

For the NY Style Crumb Topping:
2/3 cup granulate sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cimmamon
16 TBSP (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
3 1/2 cups cake flour

Place warm water and 2 tsp. of  the sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast on top and mix with a whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes while yeast blooms.

Add remaining sugar, vanilla extract, milk, flour, and salt. Using the hook attachment, mix on low speed for 3 minutes to start bringing dough together. Switch to medium speed and slowly drop pieces of butter into dough. Mix for 10-12 minutes. Dough will be wet and sticky and will have good elasticity when stretched.

Pull dough from bowl and onto a floured surface. Using extra flour on your hands, form dough into o a ball. Place dough in an oiled, medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm room, 70-75F, for about 2 1/2 hours. Dough will almost double in size.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars and cinnamon. Set aside.

On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread butter using your hands (messy but works best) across the dough leaving a1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly across surface. Press down the sugar into the butter.

Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can.

With a bread knife(or chef knife), using a gentle sawing motion cut the log into rounds a scant 1/2 inch thick. These are going to be smaller than your average buns because we are adding a crumb topping to them.

Spray baking spray into TWO 9-inch Spring form pans (you can just use a cake pan, but it is MUCH easier to remove using the spring form).

Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

20 minutes before the dough is done rising, prepare the crumb topping.

Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with a  spatula or spoon until the mixture resembles thick crumbles; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10-15 minutes.

Once cinnamon rolls have risen, split the crumble topping in half. As best you can evenly crumble topping on top of the cinnamon roll dough. Do this for both pans.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes and top with icing.

For Icing:

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.

Brioche recipe from Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook by Leslie Makie

Icing recipe from The Break Baker´s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Summer finally hit the Seattle area. Apparently in the next few days it’s going to hit hard. Which is what happens when all the Seattle people start wishing and a praying for the sun and warmer weather too hard, the weather over compensates.

I decided on our first full day of sun that I would embrace it and go out for a walk. I hate shorts but felt that the neighborhood should be punished and I would expose them to my pasty white Canadian legs. No seriously, I bring white to a new level. It’s like I always say, I’m so white I don’t absorb the sun, I reflect it.

So I grabbed the pair of shorts that I was the longest pair I could find that would still be considered shorts and a tank top, lathered up in sunscreen and headed out. When the sun is out, the people come out. So often you run into neighbors, and sometimes one you haven’t met. Like today. Today I met a neighbor I hadn’t met.

A perfectly fine gentleman who spent a large amount of time staring at my shorts while talking to me. I just figured he was looking at the ASU Hockey logo at the bottom of them. Apparently not. Apparently my fresh from the dryer shorts had a stowaway on them. Underwear. The bad news is that it was well, underwear, desperately clinging to the side of my shorts going for a joy ride. I guess the good news is that my neighbor now knows I have great taste in underwear.
Since it is Summer, nothing says Summer like a good ol’ ice cream sandwich. In this case a cookie one. A snickerdoodle cookie one. I have several people write me asking me that since I make all things snickerdoodle how come I don’t just have a cookie recipe. Truth, it’s one of two recipes I’m not allowed to give out. So this one is similar to what my family recipe is, minus a key ingredient that I wont say. But these ones are pretty good. I use nutmeg in mine which not everyone enjoys, but I sure do. Please note that you will need to make a DOUBLE batch of the cookies for the sandwiches.

For the ice cream I just made a caramel ice cream based and finely crushed up some snickerdoodles. So these are very snickerdoodly (yes, that is not a word…is now).
Thanks for all the well wishes for my birthday. Crazy Cocker Spaniel did great at the Beerfest, and as you can see by the last picture I had a good time too.

Show Em’ What You Got Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Snickerdoodle Cookies

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 3/4  cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

for rolling the cookies in:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375ºF.
Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls( I made mini ones, using a mini ice cream scoop). Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  If making minis bake for 6-7 minutes.

****You will want to make a double batch. ****

 Adapted from Betty Crocker
Caramel-Snickerdoodle Ice Cream

1 vanilla bean
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
8 large egg yolks
15 regular sized snickerdoodles or30 mini

Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into large saucepan; add bean.
Add sugar and 1/4 cup water and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve, about 4 minutes. Add milk; bring to simmer. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk caramel mixture into yolks. Return custard to saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on spoon when finger is drawn across, about 5 minutes (do not boil).
Strain custard into large bowl; refrigerate until cold.
Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Fold in crushed snickerdoodles. Transfer ice cream to covered container and freeze until firm.
Adapted from Epicurious.com

Once again, my ability to stop time has failed, and my birthday has rolled around again.
I’ll admit that 37 was not quite the year I thought it was going to be, it had a high learning curve, but then I guess you need those every now and then.

This year I will be celebrating in an unorthodox capacity…I’m going to Beer fest. I actually already went to one a couple of weeks ago, but this is the big Seattle one and I didn’t really have any plans. We are making the controversial (read most likely regret later) decision to bring the dog. My husband cringed at this idea, but it’s my birthday so he has to go along with it. Don’t worry, Crazy Cocker Spaniel won’t be doing any beer sampling. She will however most likely be annoying people and trying to jump and lick on them. Which some people like to get jumped…and licked, just not usually by animals.

I don’t usually bother with a cake for my birthday. Since my husband’s birthday is three days after mine we make cake for him. Unfortunately for me though, he likes BOXED yellow cake with STORE BOUGHT icing. Oh the horror. But as a good little wife I make it. I do however want a birthday treat of my own.

So when I ran across a recipe that encompassed all the food I love (except no bacon darn it all) I almost fell over. Pumpkin. Love that. Cheesecake. Love that. Bread Pudding. Duh, love that. But a Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding…are you F*ing serious with that. They were.
It was about as awesome as it sounds. Next time I might add a little more spice to mine but other than that, oh my. And now that I’ve made one, I see many more Cheesecake based Bread Puddings in my future. Watch out hips…here it comes. I topped mine with some butterscotch sauce that a friend of mine brought back from Oregon. You can use a caramel sauce just fine.

Hope everyone has a great Canada Day (those celebrating it) and I hope you all enjoy my birthday (July 2nd)…have a beer, it will be like you are with me.

Birthday Girl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding
14 to 16 1/2 inch slices brioche

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

For the topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Preheat to 350F. Set rack in middle. Spray a 9-x-13-inch oven proof glass (I used metal) baking dish with baking spray.
Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth.
Combine eggs, pumpkin, milk, heavy cream, salt, and spices in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment,. Beat until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and combine.

Pour 1/2 cup custard in bottom of baking dish. Tilt and swirl dish until bottom is completely covered with thin layer of custard. Layer 6 slices of brioche on top of custard. Pour half of the remaining custard over brioche. Add remain brioche and custard in layers.

Use a knife to cut 8 slits though layered pudding. Cover the top of pudding with plastic wrap and press down gently with your palm. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle brown sugar over top of pudding. Pour melted butter over sugar.

Place baking dish on a rack in a large meal pan. Pour hot water from glass forming a water bath. You want to go half way up the side. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and the custard has risen to top of baking dish. Check water bath occasionally and add more water if needed. Do not let the water evaporate from the water bath.

Carefully remove baking dish room oven and water bath. Allow pudding to cool on rack 1 hour. Serve slightly warm or cold. Store covered with a paper towel and plastic wrap in refrigerator.

Adapted from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters by Marilynn Brass and Shelia Brass

I will admit that I am not one to hang out with women all that much. The vast majority of my female friends tend to fall on the tomboy side of life. So when Sex and the City came out years ago on HBO I didn’t watch it. I went years having my friends go on and on about it. So when we finally got HBO, I sat down and watched the series over a few months. I also saw the first movie.
It was alright.
I just don’t relate to any of the characters. In fact, when people ask me which character am I, I always tell them Jennifer Hudson’s character. I think Louise? Her I could relate too. A thicker gal. Poor. Living with roommates. Educated but can’t really find a job. But still wants to be fashionable. This was my girl. And the fact that she squealed with delight over her LV purse. Which I also did. I also petted mine for days like it was a cat or something, but that’s just me.
So when the second movie came out, I was asked to go out with a bunch of girls to go see it. Okay, why not, I’ve come this far right? I had a great time. I actually enjoyed the movie. But I think that might have been artificially enhanced by the fact that the movie place we went to allowed cocktails. You had to be 21 or over to get into the place as well. Which I love and now only want to go to those types of movies. Imagine going to the movies where there are no kids or teenagers….and beer is on tap. And they bring you replacement beer throughout the movie! Heaven.  Everybody else had cocktails though. Just me and the token two guys at the movie were having beer. Needless to say, I think cocktails could have helped me enjoy some movies that I thought were subpar.
The same week I saw the movie I received a copy of The Perfect Finish (disclaimer…I got my copy for free, from the publisher). I was particularly interested in this one because it was written by the pastry chef for the White House. It seems that as of late all the cookbooks seem to be from some TV celebrity (I use that term loosely), so it was nice to get something written by a pastry chef.
Now my one concern though is that when it is done by a pastry chef, it can often become very technical. Those kind of cookbooks tend to scare off the average home cook by using big fancy words. Boo on big fancy words I say. The good news is that this cookbook is good for your average and above average baker. It gives the ingredients in both standard measure like the states people love as well as in metric, which everyone else (especially those of us who weigh their ingredients) love. There are plenty of recipes that I want to make from this book. The Walnut Layer Cake with Apple-Caramel Filling and Calvados Cream Cheese Icing will so be made come this Fall. The Candied Bacon Peach Cobbler will also be made once the peaches are how I like them. But what caught my eye this time around was the Fresh Coconut Cupcakes with Orange and Rum. Which I immediately decided should become Pina Colada Cupcakes. And so it was done.
These were made into minis because I was thinking cocktail party. And bite size just seemed the way to go. Though you probably want to use fresh pineapple, don’t. You need the juice from the can for the icing.
Oh and for all you Sex and the City fans, I will answer the other question SATC people always ask me…Aidan…all the way!!!

And if you’re not following CCbP on Facebook and want to….here.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, pulverized  into a powder in the food processor
10 TBSP unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP rum
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
Position rack into the center of the oven and preheat to 325F.
Grease a 24 cup muffin tin with baking spray.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, coconut, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and rum until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Add one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the sour cream. Beat on low speed until just combined. Repeat twice.
Using a spoon or piping bag, divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins. Bake for 13-16 minutes until the cakes are golden and the tops bounce bake when pressed. You can use a cake tester or wooden skewer to see if it comes out clean. Let cool in the tins on rack.
Cake recipe adapted from The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark,  W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
Pineapple-Coconut Buttercream

 
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6-8 cups powdered sugar (this will depend on the consistency you want)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
Juice from the can of pineapple
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut, pulverized into powder in the food processor
2 tsp rum
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.
Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the pineapple, coconut,  and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. and mix thoroughly.