See if you can keep up with me here. A cake for 50 people and it’s the summer. My inspiration for this cake came from my stage last summer in Chef Iuzzini’s kitchen. His Sous Chef, AJ Bellarosa, made a wedding cake with lime scented white chocolate mousse filling and creme brulee pellets throughout the mousse layer. At that moment, It just stuck with me, what kind of cakes I would be making. Cakes that were desserts and not just, cake and buttercream (which is absolutely fantastic and OK, just not what I would want).

PHOTOS: Danielle Bilton

The font and the soccer ball, were done by tracing a print out under a piece of acetate with melted and colored white chocolate.

I should also mention as the cake layers were cooling, I had spread the thinnest layer of seedless raspberry jam on each layer. I just thought the hint of the raspberry flavor was necessary to accent the fresh lime zest.

At the end of the party, all that was left was the soccer ball. People actually went back for thirds!

It’s that time again: Rooftop BBQ’s in Brooklyn

PHOTOS: Danielle Bilton

Each summer, Nick and I try to hold a few rooftop BBQ’s and this was our kickoff one. Nick made everyone’s classic favorite, four racks of ribs, and salad. I made cornbread, and strawberry rhubarb crisp with basil ice cream.

My guests enjoyed the dessert. One friend said she thought the basil ice cream tasted like sweet pesto. Not sure if it was a compliment, but she did eat the whole thing.

BASIL ICE CREAM:
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup well-chilled heavy cream
Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer; an ice cream maker

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender (reserve saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute.

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Add milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil). Immediately remove from heat and pour into a metal bowl. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRUMBLE:
2 pints of fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1 quart chopped rhubarb, about 3-4 stalks depending on size
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice from one lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch

CRUMBLE:
1 3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup flour
1 lb. brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, and chilled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.

FOR THE FILLING:

In a large bowl combine all ingredients until fruit is well coated. With a rubber spatula, scrape filling into baking dish and set aside.

FOR THE CRISP:

In the same large bowl, with clean hands, mix together oats, almonds, brown sugar, and salt.  Toss in chilled butter and begin to quickly rub the butter between your fingers with the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle topping to completely cover the filling. Now it’s ready for the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until top is golden and juices are slightly bubbling from the sides. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

A few weeks ago, I was approached to make a red velvet 3-tier wedding cake, using Martha Stewart’s recipe. The bride had made it many times and loved this one recipe.

PHOTOS: Danielle Bilton

The cake batter was very RED, so I would advise you to wear gloves. With the leftover cake batter, I made mini cupcakes and topped them with pearl dragees .

They were a great, casual dinner party dessert. Everyone felt OK to eat at least four or more mini cupcakes.

A few weekends ago I had a small gathering for my birthday. I decided to make my own cake. I felt it was OK since I’m the pastry cook of the group.

PHOTOS: NICK BILTON

There were four layers to the vanilla cake, and in between I filled two with dulce de leche butter cream and the middle layer with chocolate pastry cream (a la Pierre Herme).

The strawberries were too good too pass up at the farmer’s market, so I made a “strawberry salad” to accompany each slice of the cake. And green being my new black,  I colored the frosting a bright birthday green.

After indulging in the cake, we all danced the night away…

Strawberry Salad:

1 pint of strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup granulated sugar
the juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

In a small bowl, toss together all ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Trying to make desserts healthier and taste good is tough, I’m not going to lie. Why spear the rich texture of the yolks in a perfect custard or the fluffy sweetness that is meringue? Well, I’m taking baby steps.

I started out with poaching pears in port, and whole spices.

If you need to store the poached pears, the best way is to store them in their poaching liquid.

Where I really took a leap of faith, is with my tart crust; I used half whole wheat pastry flour.

I used frangipane filling (almond cake batter like filling) to set the sliced poached pears in. Our friends Deidre and Jon, had Nick and I over for a delicious dinner (Thank you Jon!). After dinner, I presented my tart to our friends without telling them of the bait and switch. And it was pure indulgence; they loved it. I topped each slice off with a small spoonful of creme fraiche. They all raved about the flavor of the whole wheat crust coming together with the almond filling and the pears. Once I revealed the true identity of the crust, they all felt more than happy to ask for seconds.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

PHOTOS: Danielle Bilton

Poached Pear Tart

For the crust:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1) Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in 1 egg. Add the remaining egg and mix until smooth. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flours all at once and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

2) Divide dough into 2 equal balls and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

3) To line tart pan, roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Lift and rotate dough after every few strokes, dusting underneath as needed to discourage sticking.

4) Carefully transfer rolled dough into tart pan, easing it into bottom and sides, gently pressing into place. Do not stretch dough, or the side will shrink during baking. If any tears occur, just patch it up with extra dough.

5) Trim dough with a knife, to level with the edge of tart pan. Place tart shell on a cookie sheet and in the refrigerator until firm about 15 minutes.

6) After refrigeration, dock (make small holes in) dough with fork about 2 inches apart.

7) With a butter knife or small offset spatula, smear about 3/4 cup of frangipane filling onto the bottom of the tart shell.

8)Gently press and arrange sliced, poached pears into filling.

9) Bake tart until the crust is golden and the filling is set, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The filling should feel firm. Let cool and serve with creme fraiche.

For  frangipane filling:

Frangipane cream variation on page 211 from TARTINE BAKERY cookbook

Poached Pears:

5 bartlett pears, peeled, sliced in half, and cored

3 cups port wine

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1) Bring wine, agave, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean to boil in heavy large saucepan. Add pears; bring to simmer.

2) Cut parchment paper round to fit pan; press paper atop pears. Partially cover pan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until pears are tender, turning occasionally, about 30 minutes.

3) Transfer pears and poaching liquid to medium bowl. Cool to room temperature. (Pears can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Hello all! It’s been too long. Since my last post I’ve grown a new obsession for ramen noodle soup. Not the cup’o noodles, but freshly made ramen. My husband and I often go to this tiny East Village Japense restaurant called, Rai Rai Ken. Now, there is a close tie for the best ramen with Momofuku noodle bar and Rai Rai Ken; I prefer the cozy atmosphere at Rai Rai.

My obsession was getting a little expensive, so I decided to make my own miso ramen.

Making it was a bit much, but so worth it in the end. I even made garlic chips! Which is just thinly sliced garlic fried up in a small sautee pan. I didn’t have a recipe to work with, so I just went on taste.

I had purchased my noodles from fair-way, they were manufactured by KA-ME. I was very pleased with the end result. It was not quite Rai Rai, but very close. In the end, I had threw in a lot of different sauces: soy sauce, fish sauce, sirracha, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, and miso paste.

I used organic chicken stock, bok choy and cooked the noodles separately; which is a must or they get mushy.

PHOTOS: DANIELLE BILTON

One Problem:

I was so excited to make it, that I didn’t write any of my measurements! Only until I sat down to write this post had I realized. I will make it within the next two weeks and re-post the recipe then. In the mean time, have a Sapporo beer! (Japanese beer) Cheers!

I probably make pizza ever other week. I come home throw the dough together, let it rise. And by the time Nick gets home, it’s ready to roll out.

It all starts with the rising of the yeast. As my friend Mory said, “It should look like a pint of Guinness.”

After wet ingredients are mixed and kneaded with dry, place in a well oiled bowl.

Let sit for an hour, covered with a dish towel or saran wrap.

The dough was more puffed/rounded. But by the time I got around to taking the photo the dough relaxed.

And don’t forget to get the freshest mozzarella you can find.

Pizza Dough

1 package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)

3 cups flour, plus more for dusting

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the flour, a little at a time, mixing at the lowest speed until all the flour has been incorporated.
When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium; stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough by squeezing a small amount together: if it’s crumbly, add more water; if it’s sticky, add more flour - 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball, this should take about 5 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it’s smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a round and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e. over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Once the dough is domed and spongy, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.
Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Dust a pizza paddle with flour and slide it under the pizza dough.
Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite flavors. You can make a “white” pizza which consists of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Then there is the traditional with marinara sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil. Get creative! The world is your pizza!
Slide the pizza onto parchment lined baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Repeat with the remaining dough.

 My mother in-law, Sandra sent me this recipe for banana rum ice cream. The recipe said to serve ice cream with chocolate sauce, but I opted for my fleur du sel caramel sauce.  I let my bananas turn nice and black and soaked them in dark rum. I made my salted caramel sauce first to let it get nice and thick.

On to the ice cream…

And for the grand finale

PHOTOS: Danielle Bilton

For the Ice Cream

425ml milk

1 vanilla pod, split

6 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled

Juice of 1 lemon

140ml sour cream

6 medium egg yolks

115g sugar

2 tbsp dark rum
To make the ice cream, place the milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan. Set over a low heat and slowly bring up to boiling point, but don’t boil. Cover and set aside.

Mash the bananas with a fork and once they have turned to mush, mix in the lemon juice and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until they become paler, then slowly whisk in the warm infused milk. Immediately return to the saucepan (with the vanilla pod) and, using a wooden spoon, stir continuously over a low heat for about 20 minutes or until the custard has thickened to the consistency of runny double cream. Then immediately stir into the mashed bananas so that the custard quickly cools. Remove the vanilla pod, add the rum and purée the custard. Cover and chill.

If you have an ice-cream maker, freeze the mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container, cover and freeze until needed.

If you don’t have a machine, pour the mixture into a shallow container, cover and freeze for an hour. Stir the mixture with a fork and repeat, stirring every 40 minutes, until it is frozen.

No I did not spell it the wrong way. These cookies are from France and are not spelled, “macaroon”. They’re so sophisticated, they only need one ‘O’. Less is more.

I must say the master of french macarons is Chef Pierre Herme. As far as I know, he does not sell his little masterpieces in the US. So you will just have to go to Paris to fetch some.

The base of this cookie is a Swiss meringue. Which is sugar and water heated to 248 degrees F. Then the heated sugar is poured into frothed egg whites; as the mixer is going.

There are a few key items you must do while making these:

*Bring egg whites to room temperature

Meringue

Almond  flour and confectioners sugar getting mixed into meringue

*Pulverize and sift twice, almond flour and confectioners sugar
*Mix dry into wet just until combined. Making sure not to over work batter

*Let unbaked cookies sit out on tray at room temperature for at least an hour….Or 3 days as Chef Herme does.

*When baking, make sure to leave oven door ajar. This prevents macarons from cracking and baking to fast.

To flavor my macarons, I added two tablespoons of pulverized and sifted freeze dried blackberries.

PHOTOS: DANIELLE BILTON

Traditionally the filling is a french buttercream. I decided to use blackberry jam for my filling. Just a personal preference.

I know this may seem complicated and involved, but it’s worth it.

From Pierre Herme:

125 g almond flour

125 g confectioners sugar

Blitz in food processor. Sift, and set aside.

125 g sugar

31g water

47 g whites

250 g almond sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat sugar and water to 248 degrees F.  At 237 degrees F whisk whites.

Once heated, add sugar in a slow, steady stream as mixer speed is on medium. Whisk meringue until cool. This is the part where you can add color and/or flavorings.

Take meringue off mixer and gently mix in almond flour/sugar mixture, just until combined.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, pipe out quarter sized macarons. Let sit out for at least one hour.

Bake for 10 minutes as door is maintained opened with a wooden spoon.

Let cool completely, fill, sandwich, and bon appetite!

Unlike some people, I really  like savory ingredients in pastries (within reason; bacon can be tricky). It also helps that rosemary is my favorite herb.

This is a recipe from the williams-sonoma New Flavors for desserts book. Great rustic recipes.

In addition to the cake, there is a port wine sauce with dried figs, cooked together.

When serving, you don’t want to drown the cake with the figs, rather generously drizzle.

PHOTOS: DANIELLE BILTON

Recipe:

2 cups dried figs

8 juniper berries

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 cup port

1 2/3 cups sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter

4 small sprigs fresh rosemary

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

3 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 5 3/4-by-3 1/8-inch mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Enclose the juniper berries and peppercorns in a tea ball or bag and place in a saucepan. Add the port,2/3 cup of sugar, and the cinnamon sticks and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Add the dried figs and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let sit for 1 hour.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and add 3 rosemary sprigs, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; discard rosemary.

While the rosemary steeps, pluck the leaves from the remaining sprig and coarsely chop the leaves. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and chopped rosemary.

Using a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined. Add the remaining 1 cup sugar and beat until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients in 2 batches, mixing only until a few dry streaks remain. Up the speed to medium-low and drizzle in rosemary-infused butter. Increase the speed to medium and beat until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pans.

Bake the cakes until domed, brown around the edges, and a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

To serve, slice the pound cakes  and serve with the port-soaked figs.