Category: Desserts

Florentines

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Florentines

Paula Peck's Florentines

I’m no expert in making Florentines but it’s hard to go wrong with these gooey chewy chocolate dipped cookies. I realize they should probably be crispier, thinner, maybe rounder, and more even. But I’m not complaining. A cookie recipe that my father remembers my grandmother making, he confirmed that these turned out how she intended. Candied orange peel is the special ingredient that makes these different from many Florentine recipes that use grated orange zest. It maybe a little harder to find, but candied orange peel is what will definitely win over those orange-chocolate lovers. Not a orange-chocolate fan (I’m not particularly crazy about it myself)? Try candied ginger and you’ll have a whole different cookie.

A note about this recipe: those of you who are foolish ambitious enough to try to replace the shortening in this recipe with coconut oil, feel free but just make sure you use a very a mild one. Otherwise, the results are..lets just say, less than ideal. I would recommend skipping the shortening all together and just using melted chocolate as is.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup candied orange peel, finely chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons sifted flour
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease baking sheets well.

Combine sugar, cream, honey, and butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Raise heat and boil without stirring until soft-ball stage (a ball forms when a bit of mixture is dropped into cold water) or until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer. Cool slightly.

Stir in orange peel, nuts, and flour. Drop small rounds of batter on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie. Flatten each cookie with a fork dipped in milk (if necessary). Bake 8-10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. They will spread while baking. Therefore, immediately upon removing them from the oven, pull each one back into the shape of the round with a greased 3-inch cookie cutter. Using a cutter will ensure their final roundness.

When cookies are firm, remove from cookie sheet and finish cooling on a rack. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Stir in shortening. Coat underside of each cookie thinly with melted chocolate. Place in refrigerator long enough to set chocolate.

Yield: approximately 16

Adapted from “The Art of Fine Baking,” by Paula Peck

Florentines

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Panettone

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Panettone

Panettone

This classic Italian Christmas bread you see in those funny shaped boxes in just about every supermarket this time of year, is somewhat of a holiday staple. I’ve never been a huge fan of Panettone, but it’s hard to resist this rich sweet bread hot from the oven. It’s a fairly simple recipe that yields impressive results. In the original recipe from “The Art of Fine Baking,” my grandmother says to use the “extra-rich coffee cake dough” which calls for 12 eggs. Since I’m always a little apprehensive about recipes that use more than 8 eggs, I decided to use just the basic coffee cake dough recipe which uses a moderate 6 eggs instead. The result was perfectly satisfying- as I said, it’s hard to resist warm rich raisin bread right from the oven. Happy Holidays!

Ingredients:

Basic Coffee Cake Dough or Extra-Rich Coffee Cake Dough
1 1/2 cups additional all-purpose flour (if using the extra rich coffee cake dough)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup black raisins
2/3 cup diced candied citron
1/4 cup melted butter

If using Extra-Rich Coffee Cake Dough, follow recipe and add enough additional flour to make a fairly firm dough. Otherwise, follow Basic Coffee Cake Dough recipe.

After dough has risen, knead in raisins and candied citron. Do not handle dough more than necessary after fruit has been added, or it will turn gray.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease Panettone holders or grease a large baking sheet. Divide dough in half. Shape each piece into a ball. Place balls into Panettone holders or space well apart on greased baking sheets and enclose with a 5-inch collar made of greased heavy brown paper. Secure collars by pinning them (if necessary).

Let dough rise until almost double in bulk. Brush with melted butter. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking 30-40 minutes longer, brushing twice more with melted butter. Bake until golden brown.

Panettone

Adapted from “The Art of Fine Baking,” by Paula Peck.

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Scandinavian Christmas Cookies

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Scandinavian Christmas Cookies

Scandinavian Christmas Cookies | impeckableeats.com

This festive cookie recipe from “The Art of Fine Baking” was actually recommended by a few of you readers. Lightly spiced but with a brightness from the lemon zest, they are the perfect alternative for ginger cookies. Cut them in whatever shapes you like and eat them with or without icing. This versatile cookie can be served for dessert, with tea, as a fix for that sudden sugar craving, or even left out with a glass of milk for Santa. I may just have to make this a new holiday baking tradition.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon dark rum
4 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
frosting or icing of your choice (optional)

Cream butter with sugar. Add syrups, lemon zest, and rum. Mix well. Add flour mixed with salt, baking soda, and spices. This should make a soft dough.
Chill dough until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking sheets.
On a well-floured cloth, roll dough very thin (less than 1/8 inch, if possible). Cut into desired shapes. Transfer cookies to baking sheets with a spatula. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and lightly browned. Cool and frost (if using icing or frosting).

Yield: approximately 9 dozen

Christmas Cookies

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Ginger Poundcake

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Ginger Poundcake Loaf Slices

Ginger PoundcakeAt first glance, pound cake may seem very plain and boring. Even this ginger poundcake version may seem to lack the excitement of todays elaborate desserts. Thoughts of that dry crumbly cellophane covered mess at the corner deli might even come to mind at just the mention of simple pound cake. So let’s change that.

I too, was less than enthusiastic to make just pound cake (flavored or not). However, I knew there had to be a reason my grandmother included both two mixing methods as well as five different versions in “The Art of Fine Baking.” Also, out of all the memories my father has of her wonderful baking, he has described few as a “phase” like pound cake. Golden brown, light but substantial cakes coming out of the oven one after another until the perfect recipe emerged. With a moderate amount of sugar, and eggs beaten until thick or stiff (depending on the mixing method), this ginger poundcake has just the right level of sweetness and is fluffy yet still cakey. As the smell of sugar, eggs, and butter began to waft through my kitchen moments before the cake was ready to come out of the oven, I knew my opinion of pound cake would soon change.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
1/4 cup cognac or rum
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a deep 9-inch tube pan and dust with flour.
Combine candied ginger and cognac or rum. Let stand for 20 minutes. Drain excess liquid and toss ginger with 1 cup flour.

Separate egg yolks and whites. Cream butter with 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add a pinch salt to egg whites and beat until egg whites hold soft peaks. Add remaining sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition for at least 5 minutes, or until egg whites are very firm.

Fold 1/4 of stiffly beaten egg whites thoroughly into creamed butter-sugar-egg yolk mixture. Pour mixture back on top of remaining egg whites. Fold gently together while sprinkling in flour and candied ginger mixed with flour. Be careful not to over mix.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake about 50 minutes or until cake is golden brown and pulls away from the sides.

Adapted from “The Art of Fine Baking,” by Paula Peck.

Ginger Poundcake

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Sauteed Apple Cake

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Sauteed Apple Cake

Sauteed Apple Cake with Almonds

When I found this recipe nestled in the puff pastry and strudel section of “The Art of Fine Baking,” the end result seemed difficult to visualize and definitely wasn’t what I expected from a recipe with the title “Sauteed Apple Cake.” I therefore had to try it. Layers of flaky puff pastry hold buttery sautéed apples and a giant dollop of sweetened whipped cream with a crunch of almond ties it all together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.

As shown in the photos, I chopped the apples in fairly large pieces so that they wouldn’t become too mushy during the saute process. However, I actually think the finished cake benefits from slightly smaller pieces or just slices, because it holds together better. The taste, of course, isn’t affected either way and is reminiscent of apple pie.

I made the flaky puff pastry (or “puff paste” as it is referred to in the book) layers from scratch…yes, from scratch. Homemade Puff Pastry is pretty much unheard of today. It’s very time consuming and it also makes you very aware of how much butter you are consuming when eating something as simple as a turnover or palmier. I actually enjoyed the process of repeatedly rolling the dough to create the butter layers. The resulting pastry tastes richer and a little more pure than those made with frozen puff pastry. However, such a lengthy process isn’t for everyone and this recipe can be made easily using the frozen version for this same unique twist on a cake.

Sauteed Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 recipe Homemade Puff Pastry or two sheets frozen puff pastry
2 egg whites mixed with
2 teaspoons water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Sauteed Apple Filling
3 lbs tart apples – such as granny smith- peeled, cored, and sliced or coursely chopped
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If using homemade puff pastry, roll out pastry slightly less than 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges. Divide into two 8 inch squares and 4 strips 1/2 inch wide. Place squares on baking sheet. Brush one square with egg white mixture and arrange strips along edges to make a border. Chill both squares. Just before baking, brush plain square with egg white mixture. Sprinkle it with granulated sugar and sliced almonds. Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

While pastry bakes, make apple filling: In a large skillet, saute chopped apples with butter over medium heat. Sprinkle apples while they cook with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Turn occasionally with a spatula to lightly brown apples on all sides. Do not stir or apples will become mushy. When they are tender or lightly browned, remove from heat.

Pile apples into baked shell. Fit sugared square on top. Serve warm with whipped cream.
To re-warm: place in 300 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Serves 4

Sauteed Apple Cake with Whipped Cream

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