Caffeinated and happy

I think my love and devotion to coffee has been pretty well-established throughout the course of this blog. My aforementioned hot, intelligent and generally awesome barista boyfriend got the ball rolling about a year and a half ago, and now that we've moved to San Francisco there's no turning back! There's a long history and thriving culture of artisan coffee in the city, and people here are pretty serious about their morning (afternoon, evening) cup of joe. 

Ritual Roasters is a San Francisco institution, with a reputation for incredible coffee and baristas that has given it national press and a devoted following. Barista boyfriend proved his chops and landed a job with these folks, and so it goes without saying that Ritual is now a permanent fixture in our lives. I love learning about coffee - from the tree to the cup - and have relished immersing myself into the culture along with him. The free coffee and watching my man roll up his sleeves behind the espresso machine again definitely helps as well. 

A winning combination

So what's a perpetually happily caffeinated girl to do? Make a cup, pour some into baked goods, and then sit down and enjoy finished baked goods with coffee :) I wanted to experiment with the combination of spiced chocolate and coffee flavors, and decided to use Ibarra chocolate - a brand of Mexican table chocolate that is made with cocoa nibs, cinnamon and undissolved sugar. It's a funny texture because it's primarily meant to be dissolved in milk to make Mexican hot chocolate and not eaten plain. I broke up the tablets into small chunks and then ground them into powder with a food processor. 

I substituted the ground Ibarra for cocoa powder in a recipe for chocolate baked donuts. I wanted to see if I could make them without a donut pan - who has space for a donut pan? - and settled for making giant "donut holes" in muffin tins. While the finished product looked predictably like small muffins, they had the tender crumb and thicker texture of cake donuts. The Ibarra? Heavenly. 

While the donuts were in the oven, I brewed myself a cup of Concepcion Buena Vista, a Guatemalan coffee, and worked it into a glaze that I dipped the tops of the finished donuts into. The thin glaze laces the top of the donuts with the multi-dimensional tang of coffee that balances the sweetness perfectly. 

Warning: these donuts last about five seconds in front of anyone who encounters them. 

Ibarra Chocolate Baked Donuts with Coffee Glaze

Donut recipe adapted from Vanilla Sugar

Glaze adapted from 5 second rule

Makes about 16 donuts

Donuts

1 1/2 C cake flour OR 1 1/8 C all-purpose flour + 3 Tbsp cornstarch

2/3 C ground Ibarra chocolate

1/2 C granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 C buttermilk, room temperature OR 3/4 C milk + 1 3/4 tsp white vinegar

2 eggs

Unglazed giant donut holes!

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Coffee Glaze

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 1/2 - 2 C powdered sugar

1/2 C freshly brewed coffee

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with nonstick spray. Mix flour, chocolate, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, then butter, then eggs and vanilla, combining in between each addition. Fill the muffin tins about 1/3 full, then bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops of the donuts spring back to the touch. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, whisk butter, coffee and vanilla together. Add powdered sugar until glaze reaches desired thickness. You can make it thick and opaque like icing, or thinner like I did so you get more of the coffee flavor and less overpowering sweetness. Let it cool a little bit before dipping the rounded tops of the donuts into the glaze. Let cool - glaze will sink in and make the tops shiny. Coat a second time and let cool completely.

Southern comfort

I'll go ahead and venture that aside from ice cream, pie is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Put ice cream on a warm slice of pie and you'll be my friend for life. We all know, that pies are a bit of an undertaking and they're definitely not something I whip up on a regular basis, but finishing my first quarter of my doctorate program was absolutely such an occasion (confession: I made this pie before I finished my final exams. But we'll gloss over the procrastination aspect of this project and just call it a celebration).

I haven't made an apple pie in ages, and for good reason. It takes about a year to peel and slice all the apples, another seven or eight months to make the dough, chill it and roll it out to make it fit a pie pan, and a generally unreasonable amount of time to cool before you can dig in. With that said, this recipe may be worth the wait.

I have recently discovered bourbon - yes, I know - and it's probably the first liquor that I've ever actually wanted to savor the taste of. The good stuff is round, sweet and the perfect accompaniment to the tartness of apples and zing of cinnamon. I think that splashing some Maker's Mark into the mix added a depth of flavor that you can't get anywhere else - you don't taste "alcohol" but there's a little something extra that made me a lot of friends from this pie.

Note: I only made one recipe of pie crust and it was definitely not enough for me to roll out and make two complete pie crusts (hence the streusel topping). If you want to make the traditional second crust of the apple pie, make twice this crust recipe and roll out, cut and top the pie as you choose. Just make sure you crimp the two edges together and cut some holes in the top for steam if you're leaving it whole and not in strips!

Bourbon Apple Pie
Crust from Joy of Baking
Filling adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Crust
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and chilled
1/4-1/2 C ice water

Directions: Blend flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add butter and process for about 15 seconds, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour 1/4 C of ice water in and process until the dough starts to hold together (you may need a little bit more). Don't overmix! Remove dough and dust with flour, then wrap with plastic and flatten into a disc. Chill for at least one hour before using.

Filling
6 medium-sized tart apples (I used Braeburn, Cortland and Golden Delicious)
1/3 C Kentucky bourbon (the good stuff!)
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Streusel topping
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks and chilled

Directions: Peel and slice all of the apples - I cut them into quarters, removed the core and then sliced the wedges into 1/4 inch thick pieces. In a large saucepan, mix together apples, bourbon, sugars, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are fork-tender but not mushy (about 15-20 minutes). Uncover and cook for another 5 minutes until the liquid is glossy and a little thickened. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and let cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough round from refrigerator and roll out on a floured surface to a little more than 1/4" thickness. Transfer to pie pan by folding round in half and moving it, or draping over your rolling pin. Pat dough gently down into sides and bottom of pan, and crimp edge.

Combine all ingredients for streusel in a food processor and pulse until the butter is in small pieces and the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

Pour cooled apple mixture into pie pan and spread to fill it evenly. Sprinkle streusel mixture all over top of pie. Cut foil strips and use them to cover the edge of the crust (it will prevent burning of the edge). Bake for about 50 minutes, removing foil halfway through. The pie is done when the crust is golden brown and you can see some bubbling from the filling.


Now here comes the hard part: you have to let it cool for at least 1 hour before you eat. This gives the filling a chance to set - if you cut into it right away you will have cinnamon apple soup!

Can "vegan" be delicious?

Let me preface this recipe by saying that I'm a bit suspicious of baked treats that are "gluten free" or "vegan." I'm a bit old fashioned in my devotion to butter, flour, eggs and milk in my baking, but I'm certainly open to be convinced that both of the aforementioned categories can be ridiculously delicious. I was recently challenged with baking for a friend's birthday - she's allergic to dairy and the treats were to be eaten during our 8am anatomy lecture. Obviously cakes were off the table, and in a search for something vegan that was (relatively) filling and healthy for the morning I stumbled upon this recipe for vegan blueberry banana muffins.

They were so easy to make, and no one even guessed that they were anything less than "normal." Moist with a tender crumb, the creaminess of banana and the tart pops of blueberries make these a fantastic addition to breakfast or an afternoon snack. I've gotten in the habit of buying large quantities of fresh blueberries during the summer when they're in season and then freezing them - you'll have the taste of July whenever you're in the mood, even when there's nothing good at the market! You can also make and then freeze the finished muffins them to keep for a longer time.

So what's the verdict on vegan baking? With recipes like these, I say keep it coming!

Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins
Adapted from Week of Menus
Makes about 12 muffins


1 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 C water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 C granulated sugar
3 large brown bananas
1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat muffin tins with nonstick spray.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add blueberries and toss to coat. In a large bowl, squish together bananas and sugar. Add vanilla, oil and water and mix well. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until just combined - don't overmix or they will be tough!


Divide batter and bake until golden brown and the top of the muffins spring back to the touch, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Another year

Time flies, and I really can't believe it's been another year. To think about how much has changed since the last time I made myself a birthday cake is pretty exciting - worked for almost a year at the most amazing restaurant (with the greatest coworkers ever), graduated from college, moved to a new city with this super awesome and very attractive barista, started my graduate program... and those are just the big ones! But at the risk of sounding very young, turning 22 is pretty anticlimactic and the only thing big change will be fewer "Awww, really? You're a baby!" comments and pats on the head from pretty much everyone who learns my age. I'm just grateful for another year surrounded by the people who make my life so much better, and have given me more love and support than I could have ever asked for.

But let's not get too nostalgic - there are things to bake and cakes to eat! I'd been thinking about my 22nd birthday cake for a while, and I was a bit more ambitious with the design than I have ever been before. I was very pleasantly surprised with the result, and would probably rank this as my favorite cake I've ever (gasp) made. The layers of white cake flavored with pistachio are light and fresh, and when refrigerated with layers of pastry cream in between take on an even more moist and tender crumb with a hint of vanilla flavor. The hardened ganache spread on top and dripped down the sides not only gives it extra decadence and effortless "cool" factor, but is a great complementary texture to the cake. If you want, you can make these into beautiful little cupcakes as well - just dollop cream on top and drizzle with ganache and you're ready to go!

I also made pastry cream (the custard-y filling in eclairs) for the first time for this recipe, and it's definitely not as intimidating as it seems. As long as you're hovering over the stove and don't let anything get too hot/boil/curdle, this recipe works very well! Make sure you make the pastry cream the day before you assemble the cake, as it needs time to completely set up.

Quick tip: If you don't have a long, sharp serrated knife, it's going to be hard to cut your cake layers in half without messing one up. Either do your best and make do with uneven layers (like me) or use two/three cake pans and make thicker cake layers. Because one of mine got split on the edge, it splayed out a bit when I stacked them. I remedied this by tightly wrapping plastic wrap around the finished product to hold it in place until it got cold enough to hold together itself. 

Pistachio and Vanilla Cream Layer Cake

Here's the rundown...

1. Make vanilla pastry cream, chill overnight 

2. Bake two 8" round pistachio cakes, let cool completely

3. Slice each cake round in half width-wise to make four thin round layers

4. Layer cake rounds with about 1/2" thick layers of pastry cream, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set

5. Make dark chocolate ganache and drizzle over top of cake, refrigerate until you serve

6. Swoon

Vanilla Pastry Cream

from Baked Explorations

3 C half and half

6 egg yolks (reserve 3 egg whites for cake batter!)

1/2 C granulated sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: In a medium sized saucepan, bring half and half to a simmer. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt in another bowl, until the mixture is pale (about 1 minute). Whisk half of the heated half and half into the egg mixture, then pour the egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the remaining half and half. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes, whisking constantly. The cream is done when the mixture thickens and starts to boil a little (when some bubbles pop to the surface). Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl, then press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the cream (to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours.

Pistachio Cake

(aka Aunt Sassy Cake) from Baked Explorations

1 1/3 C shelled pistachios

2 1/2 C cake flour3/4 C all-purpose flour

If you don't have cake flour, add 2 3/4 C all-purpose flour and 5 Tbsp cornstarch 

1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 C granulated sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/2 C ice cold water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (or 1/4 tsp white vinegar if your cupboard is bare)

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare 8" round cake pans with parchment or nonstick spray, and line cupcake tins with liners if desired. In a food processor, pulse pistachios until coarsely chopped. Reserve about 1/4 C of these for decorating, then continue pulsing until finely ground (but not powdery). Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and then combine with pistachios. 

Beat butter on med-high speed until light and creamy (about 3 min), then add sugar and cream the mixture until fluffy. Add the whole egg and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the ice water (start and end with flour). Beat on low-medium between each addition, just to combine.

This recipe also makes beautiful cupcakes!

In another bowl (totally dry and clean!), beat egg whites and cream of tartar (or vinegar) at high speed until soft peaks form.

Gently fold egg whites into batter, being careful to maintain the air in the mixture.

Divide batter into pans or cupcake tins, and bake until the top of the cake springs back to the touch. The cupcakes take about 20 minutes, and the 8" cakes take about 30, but check them every few minutes or so after 15 minutes because you don't want to overbake! 

Let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack before turning them out to cool completely. Trim the top of cake rounds with a long, sharp serrated knife. so they are level and not domed. Cut the layers in half by width if you'd like. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache

4 oz dark chocolate (I use Trader Joe's 72%)

1/3 C butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes

Directions: Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over medium-high heat. Stir until melted and smooth, making sure that no water gets in the mixture (it will curdle!)

Pour melted mixture over top of assembled and refrigerated cake, using a spatula to spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle with reserved chopped pistachios and refrigerate until serving!