Month: June 2013
Narco(leptic)
Swirled Raspberry Fudge
ingredients:
9 ounces white chocolate
3 ounces dark chocolate
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (you may need a couple more tablespoons, depending on your chocolate)
3/4 ounce crushed freeze-dried raspberries
two big pinches sea salt
directions:
Place the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl with a pinch of sea salt and 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk.
Do the same with the dark chocolate, but with 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk.
Melt each on high until the chocolate is mostly melted and the sweetened condensed milk is hot and bubbly.
Stir each together swiftly to melt the rest of the chocolate.
Layer 1/3 of the white chocolate in the bottom of a 12×6 (you could use an 8×8 as well, for thicker fudge) pan that has been lightly greased.
Sprinkle some of the crushed raspberries on top.
Dollop some of the dark chocolate on top of the raspberries (if it has already hardened, you can stir in up to 3 more tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk).
Repeat, layering white chocolate, raspberries, and dark chocolate.
Finally, dollop the remaining white chocolate and any remaining dark chocolate on top.
Swirl the whole mixture together very, very well with a fork.
Don’t be worried about messing it up or getting it too marbled. Just swirl.
Refrigerate until set, or freeze, if you’re impatient like me!
The Last Stretch
Protips
An immersion blender solves this issue very nicely.
Even better? Cookie dough pops. Om nom nom.
There’s nothing better than raw cookie dough. Except raw cookie dough that’s safe to eat and is covered in more chocolate.
One last protip? Stick these in the freezer (if you’ve tempered your chocolate, this won’t create any ugly blooms) and you have heaven on a stick.
Raisin in the Sun
Ithaca Bakery, here in town, makes killer rugelach.
Rugelach
for the dough:
from Dorie Greenspan
ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2 ounce pieces
8 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 cup all purpose flour
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt (she calls for 1/4 teaspoon of regular salt; I always prefer to use kosher or sea salt and I generally use pinches rather than measurements; here, a good, hearty 2 pinches will do.)
directions:
Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the chunks of cream cheese and butter over the top of the flour and pulse until a rough dough forms.
Gently form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.
Flatten slightly and refrigerate.
to assemble:
ingredients:
apricot or raspberry jam
3/4 cup sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 handfuls of raisins
chopped walnuts
1 egg mixed very well with 1 half egg-shell full of water
directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out your dough into a rectangle that is 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
Spread a thin, thin, thin layer of jam all over the dough.
Sparsely sprinkle a thin layer of cinnamon sugar all over the dough, then press a handful of raisins and walnuts over the sugar.
Do not fill your dough too full with the fillings, because they will leak out and burn in the oven.
Roll up your dough rectangle tightly (roll starting with the long end of the rectangle, NOT the short, unless you want gigantic rugelach).
Cut into 1-inch wide pieces, and place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
Brush lightly with egg wash, and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until puffed, golden, and crispy.
Khodahafez
(This is the last dessert I made not destined for the presentation.
I combined classic Persian flavors: cardamom, rose, pistachio, and saffron, and added mango for an extra kick.
I shaped the sholeh zard, or rice pudding, into firm, pressed rice cakes, inspired by Dave Chang’s ttuk, and then fried them in ghee.
The mango sorbet was just mango purée with a little bit of glucose and plenty of saffron.)
Khodahafez
rose whipped cream
sholeh zard
pistachio pain de gênes
mango saffron sorbet