Chocolate Bread With Sergeant Terry Jeffords from Brooklyn Nine Nine!

I posted this 3 years ago but wanted to revive it because Terry Crews from Brooklyn Nine Nine bakes a yeasted chocolate coffee cake with Martha Stewart. The video is charming and the bread is delicious!

When I saw this yeasted chocolate coffee cake on the Martha Stewart website, I about fell out of my chair.  Yeasted bread?  Yum.  Chocolate?  Yum.  Cinnamon as well?  Woo hoo!  Another great plus about this recipe is that there is a video of Martha Stewart making the bread with former NFL linebacker Terry Crews.  He is the kind of person who appreciates a recipe that has lots of butter, sugar and chocolate.  Great guy.

Warning:  I cannot stop eating this bread.  I baked it yesterday and the loaf is almost finished!  

Warning Number Two:  Do not cut into this loaf until it is completely cool.  The whole thing will collapse if you do.  I may have discovered this on my own.  After all, you know that I really have no self-restraint.

Dough
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus a pinch of granulated sugar
3/4 cup warm milk, about 110° F (43° C)
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick salted butter, room temperature

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar over the warm milk. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, the whole egg, and the egg yolk. Stir into the yeast mixture. Add the flour and salt and mix until combined. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Add the salted butter and mix until the dough is soft and sticky, about 10 minutes.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream, for egg wash

Butter a 9- or 10-inch loaf pan and place some parchment paper inside (see photo).  

In a small bowl, mix together the chocolate, brown sugar, and a cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture is uniform. Reserve 1/2 cup for later use.

Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is an 18-inch square. Brush the egg wash around the edge of the dough to make a 1-inch border. Spread the chocolate mixture (except for the 1/2 cup that you put aside) evenly throughout the dough, leaving the 1-inch border intact. Starting at one end, roll the dough tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch the edges closed. Fold the dough in half into a U-shape.  Then, twist this U 2-3 times to make it look kind of like a braid (see photo). Place the dough into the loaf pan. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of filling over the top of the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow the dough to double in size, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the loaf for 55 minutes, or until the top is deeply golden.  Using the parchment paper to help you take out the loaf, transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.  Do not cut until the loaf has cooled considerably!

Fall is Here! (Allegedly)

The First Day of Autumn came some while ago and there was even an adorable animated Google Doodle to commemorate the occasion!  It's a little strange to think of autumn, Halloween and fall-ish things when the kids and I are walking home from school here in Southern California.  The sun is shining very brightly and with the weather at 90F, there is not even a hint of that crisp, smoky air that usually accompanies this time of year.

To celebrate the arrival of a new season, I baked this ginger apple cake.  Yes, I will cling to any excuse to bake something sweet.

The cake was a big success and it packed well for the kids to enjoy at school the next day.  Upon tasting, I remarked, "Wow, this tastes better than I thought it would.  It's pretty good!"  Dr. Obvious gushed, "No, it's not pretty good.  It's freakin' amazing."  Now, to me, if a dessert is "freakin' amazing" and there isn't any chocolate in it, I think that is freakin' amazing.  It's certainly noteworthy, at the very least.

Ginger Apple Cake – Food 52.com by "drbabs"

• 3 large apples (I used Honeycrisp and Fuji.)
• 4 tablespoons turbinado sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter + ~2 TB butter + more for pan
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger (if you want more of a gingery kick; optional)
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (I peeled a 2 inch piece and grated it with a microplane grater)
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 3 tablespoons dark rum
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 10 walnut halves

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9” springform pan. If you are concerned about your springform pan leaking, wrap the bottom with aluminum foil.
2. Core and peel apples, and cut into thin slices. Melt ~2 TB of butter in saucepan and cook until it is lightly browned. Stir in apple slices until all slices are covered with browned butter. Sprinkle ~2 TB turbinado sugar over apples, and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, till apples are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger (if using) and salt. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Beat in two eggs. Beat in lemon zest, ginger, molasses, rum, and vanilla extract. (The mixture will look curdled. It's OK.)
5. Stir in the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring after each addition so the batter is thick and smooth. Fold in the milk and yogurt till batter is smooth and thoroughly combined.
6. Scrape half the batter into the prepared springform pan. Cover with apple slices, and spread the other half of the batter over the apples. Smooth top with spatula. Place walnut halves on the top of the cake, and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar over the top of the cake.
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake may slightly pull away from the sides of the pan.
8. Transfer to a cooling rack. Run a knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it completely from the sides of the pan. Open the ring and remove it. If you want to remove the cake from the base of the springform pan, wait until it has cooled completely, then slide a long thin spatula between the cake and the base. Use a large spatula to then move it to a serving plate.
9. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a blob of barely sweetened softly whipped cream.

When You Can't Ski, Make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Major Obvious was bummed this past weekend because we had to cancel our ski trip when Little Man came down with a cold.  Cookies to the rescue!  My brother accidentally bought me a million pistachios from Whole Foods, so I threw those in, too.  And by the way, David Lebovitz is a genius.

Chocolate Chip Cookies – David Lebovitz

Ingredients

·       2 1/2 cups (350 g) all-purpose flour

·       3/4 teaspoon baking soda

·       1/8 teaspoon salt

·       1 cup (8 ounces/225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       1 cup (215 g) packed light brown sugar

·       3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       2 large eggs, at room temperature

·       2 cups (about 225 g) nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, or pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped

·       14 ounces (400 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/2- to 1-inch (1.5- to 3-cm) chunks or 3 cups (340 g) chocolate drops

Directions

1.     In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

2.     In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium speed just until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then stir in the flour mixture followed by the nuts and chocolate chunks.

3.     On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches (23 cm) long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably for 24 hours.

4.     Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

5.     Slice the logs into disks 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick and place the disks 3 inches (8 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the nuts or chips crumble out, simply push them back in.

6.     Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. If you like soft chocolate chip cookies, as I do, err on the side of underbaking.

7.     Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.  

8.     Storage: The dough logs can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month. The baked cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Wolf Pie - Great for Meatless Monday!

Wolf Pie, the hilarious picture book by Brenda Seabrooke and Liz Callen, retells the story of the 3 Little Pigs with a fantastic twist.  The wolf becomes a friend of the pigs and a willing vegetarian.  After reading the book, Sweetie Pie and Little Man were inspired to make up their own recipe for Wolf Pie, highlighting their favorite vegetables.  Here is their creation!

Wolf Pie
filling recipe by Perficious Eats, Sweet Pea and Little Man

Filling Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon of water, beaten together in a little dish (this is the pie crust's egg wash)
salt and pepper to taste
optional:  several threads of saffron

Pie Crust Ingredients:

Use your favorite pie crust recipe here.  I like Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe for this.

1.  Make the pie crust, separate into 4 little discs and refrigerate.  (If your recipe makes enough dough for a 2-crust pie, then only use 1/2 of the dough for this recipe.  You can freeze the other half for another day of pie!)

2.  In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Saute the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and add the flour.  Add the broth slowly and keep stirring to break up the flour clumps.  Add the saffron, salt and pepper.  Simmer for a few more minutes and take off the heat.

3.  In a separate pot, cook the sweet potatoes in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes.  Drain and add to the sauce pot.  Stir in the peas and corn.

4.  Divide the mixture among 4 ramekins.

5.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator, roll out 1 disc into a thin layer that can wrap over a ramekin.  Before you cover the ramekin with dough, brush the top edge and sides of the ramekin with the egg wash.  Cover the ramekin with the dough and repeat with the other 3 ramekins.  Brush the tops of the pies with more egg wash and cut slits or poke holes into each pie crust.  We used a fork to make holes in the crust that looked like each person's first initial:

6.  Bake the ramekins for 1 hour, or until the crust looks golden brown and the filling is bubbling inside.  Yum, yum.

Blueberry Banana Blintz Muffins

I will admit it - I am kind of obsessed with blueberry muffins.  We had a pretty chilly weekend here in Colorado Springs (14° F) and these seemed like the perfect way to warm us up.

I made a few changes to Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffin recipe in an effort to lighten it and to make things different from the usual blueberry muffin.  The cottage cheese and blueberries together reminded me of blintzes, and the banana adds a yummy sweetness that balances the cottage cheese flavor.

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 ripe banana, peeled

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup (about 8 oz) small curd cottage cheese

¼ cup milk

2 ½ cups unbleached flour (all-purpose is fine)

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt (kosher or regular is fine)

1 pint frozen blueberries (fresh is fine, but this is not the season for that)

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.  Place cupcake liners in muffin pans.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
Add the eggs 1 at a time on low speed.  Add the banana, vanilla, cottage cheese, and milk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until almost completely mixed.
Gently fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula.  (I actually just threw in the blueberries and let the
paddle keep going a few rotations.  This made the batter streaked with blue and purple juices,
which I thought looked kind of cool.  But if you don't like the batter to look "tainted," then make sure
you use the spatula to mix those berries).    

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup almost all the way.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.
These muffins taste best when eaten shortly after coming out of the oven, as the cheese is still soft.
If you want to eat them later on, you may want to reheat them a little bit first.    

The Weather Outside is Frightful

The snow is really coming down out there.  For the first time in his young life, Little Man is having a Snow Day.  No School!!!

Perhaps it's a cliche, but traditions sometime weather the storm for a reason.  When one bakes cookies while it's snowing outside, the house gets even cozier.  The air smells like vanilla, sugar, butter and yummy-ness.

Martha Stewart's incredible team at Everyday Food has come up with this fantastic idea for holiday cookies.  Make your favorite sugar cookie dough recipe, separate the dough and dye each kind a different color.  Roll out the "main" dough into a sheet, add different colored dough on top (with dots, stripes, or whatever you'd like).  Roll again, use cookie cutters, and voila!  For some reason, this exact methodology is not posted on the Everyday Food website even though it was featured in their printed magazine (the last printed issue that's ever going to be published, apparently).  

Happy Baking and Happy Holidays!

Lunchbox Treats - Pound Cake

Is lunch complete without something sweet?  No.

Original Pound Cake - King Arthur Flour 

Ingredients:

2 cups (4 sticks) butter
2 to 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
8 extra large or 9 large eggs
4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons brandy or sherry
2 teaspoons vanilla, almond or other flavoring

Directions:

To lighten the cake, separate the eggs before you begin. After creaming the butter and adding the sugar, beat in just the egg yolks. Beat the whites separately until they form stiff peaks, and fold them in after all the other ingredients have been combined.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter until very light. Add the sugar gradually and then the eggs, one by one, and continue beating until the mixture is very light and fluffy. (An electric mixer can be most helpful and effective here.)

When you cream butter, it may seem at the beginning as if you're just mashing it flat. But if you persevere, you'll begin to see it get "fluffy." What you're really doing is adding air. When you beat the butter with sugar, it becomes even fluffier, evidence of more air. And when the eggs are beaten in, the fluffiness is at its peak. That's why this part of the mixing is so important. The more air bubbles you can beat in at this stage, the more air bubbles there are to expand in the heat of the oven. Baking powder or soda can do part of the work of leavening, but the more air bubbles you can get into a batter manually, the finer and lighter the texture of the finished cake.

In a separate bowl, blend together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Pour the milk into a third small bowl, mix the brandy and vanilla, or whatever flavoring you're partial to.

Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Pour into a lightly greased tube pan, or two 5 x 9-inch bread pans, and bake for about 1 hour or until the top surface of the cake springs back when you press on it gently with your fingers.