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Yummy Links: From Dungeness Crab to Turkey Cookies

partysugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:50:32 -0800

San Franciscans get excited: it's dungeness crab season! - SFoodie
This holiday season, why not bake a beautifully festive cake or cupcakes? - Hostess With the Mostess
Eating dark chocolate may help you handle stress. - The Epi-Log
The FDA has withdrawn the ban on the sale of Gulf Coast raw oysters during warm months. - Eater
Introducing: people talking on bananas. - People Talking on Bananas
Could Jose Garces be the next Iron Chef? - Grub Street Philadelphia
Rachael Ray on the Martha Stewart Show makes for some uncomfortable television. - Eat Me Daily
Learn how to fight wine snobbery. - Chow
Turn Keebler Fudge striped cookies into Thanksgiving turkeys. - Serious Eats

Come Party With Me: Pumpkin Carving - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:15:04 -0700

Along with a hearty Fall meal, at my annual pumpkin carving party, I like to serve a pumpkin themed dessert.

In the past I've done ice cream sandwiches and pumpkin bars, but this year I've been all about cakes, so I'll be whipping up a relatively easy pumpkin cake.

The batter is seasoned with orange zest and the frosting is a decadent blend of caramel and cream cheese.

The resulting cake is festive and seasonal and can be made several days before the party. To take a look at the recipe I plan on using, keep reading.

Taste Test: Cheesecake Factory Cheesecakes

YumSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:50:57 -0700

I must admit: I'm not the world's biggest fan of cheesecake, it's always seemed a bit too rich. But I'm obsessed with red velvet cake, and was intrigued when I first heard about red velvet cheesecake. I put it on my list of things to make and before I could get to it, The Cheesecake Factory came out with a version and sent one our way - along with a couple others. Was it the perfect hybrid of Southern red velvet and smooth cheesecake decadence? How was the cheesecake on a whole? Find out when you read more

Ring In the Jewish New Year With Honey Cake

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:00:05 -0700

I'm always reminded of the change in the seasons with the arrival of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which begins at sundown this Friday. It seems to straddle the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall. For Jews around the world, it's a time to come together with family, contemplate the past year, and hope for good deeds in the months ahead.Rosh Hashanah's food customs echo these sentiments. One ingredient that plays a recurring role is honey, which symbolizes sweetness for the new year. As a child, I remember counting on apples and honey, but honeyed cake is an equally traditional and more gratifying end to a meal. It's not too sweet, has a gingerbread quality, and would be the perfect finish (or start) to the day, whether or not you're observing the holiday. See the recipe when you read more

Simple Tip: Transport Baked Goods in Bakery Boxes

partysugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:15:40 -0700

Unless you make and transport cupcakes on a very regular basis, you probably have no need for a bulky plastic cupcake carrier. However, on those occasions when cupcakes have to be carried from your kitchen to another location, do what I do and pick up a baking box. A local bakery, or even the baking section of your grocery store, has a large supply of these boxes in a variety of sizes. If you've developed a relationship with the employees, they'll most likely give you the box for free. Ask for a large, medium, or small box and you can safely transport cakes, cookies, or pies without ruining a beautiful frosting job. Does anyone else do this? What's your secret for taking baked goods from one place to another?

Yummy Links: From Nirvino's Wine App to Eater's Expansion

partysugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:50:56 -0700

Introducing the newest must-have wine application for your iPhone. - Nirvino
Fabio Viviani's cookbook by the numbers. - Eat Me Daily
Here are 21 tasty bar snack recipes. - Chow
Everything you need to know about buying sustainable seafood. - Sunset
Eight common fast foods you should avoid. - SF Weekly
Michael Pollan's next mission: reform health care. - Grub Street
The real reason Hector was kicked off of Top Chef? His thermometer didn't work.- The Feedbag
Is it OK to serve pesto at a dinner party? - The Epi-Log
This lavender honey spice cake is seriously Italian. - Serious Eats
Eater is expanding and looking for bloggers/photographers in a city near you. - Eater

Come Party With Me: My Birthday Party - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:38 -0700

I'm pretty traditional when it comes to birthdays and I can't remember celebrating one without a special cake. It may come as a shock, but every year, I make my own birthday cake. Researching cake recipes and going through the process of baking one has become a ritual that I look forward to and enjoy - as much as the senselessly extravagant birthday party. For 28, I've decided on a chocolate truffle cake with ganache topping and rum syrup. Instead of serving regular vanilla ice cream, I'm upping the ante and pairing the cake with a tropical sorbet terrine. It has three (coconut, raspberry, and mango) layers of sorbet that I think will perfectly complement the richness of the cake. To look at these scrumptious dessert recipes, read more.

Tropical Sorbet Terrine
From Everyday Food

Ingredients

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 pint coconut sorbet, softened
1 pint raspberry sorbet, softened
1 pint mango sorbet, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 6-cup (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches) loaf pan with a long strip of plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides; set aside.
Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes; let cool completely.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup toasted coconut in prepared pan. Dollop coconut sorbet on top, and spread evenly; sprinkle with cup toasted coconut. Repeat with raspberry sorbet and remaining cup toasted coconut, then mango sorbet. Fold plastic overhang over sorbet, and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 2 weeks.
To serve, unfold plastic, and invert pan onto a plate; remove plastic. Slice terrine crosswise with a serrated knife.

Serves 12.

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Chocolate Truffle Cake
From Saveur

Ingredients

For the cake: 
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 
1 1⁄2 cups flour 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, preferably 54%,  chopped 
1⁄2 cup confectioners' sugar
 7 eggs, separated 
1⁄2 tsp. salt 
1 cup sugar 
1⁄2 cup dark rum
For the ganache
 24 oz. semisweet chocolate, preferably 54%,  roughly chopped
 3 cups heavy cream 
Chocolate shavings 
Cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

Make the cake: Heat oven to 325°. Line bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper. Grease pan with 1 tbsp. butter. Add 1⁄4 cup flour; shake to evenly coat inside. Invert and tap out excess flour; set pan aside.
Set a medium bowl over a 1-qt.saucepan of simmering water. Add chocolate; melt. Set aside to let cool.
In a large bowl, beat the melted chocolate, butter, and confectioners' sugar with a handheld mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in the flour and salt and mix until just combined; set batter aside.
In a bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until frothy. Sprinkle in 1⁄4 cup sugar and beat to form stiff, glossy peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the cake batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula. Bake until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack; let cool. Invert and unmold cake. Cut cake horizontally into 3 even layers; set cake layers aside.
Dissolve remaining sugar and 1⁄4 cup water in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking occasionally, until syrup has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in rum; let cool.
Make the ganache: Place chocolate in bowl of a standing mixer. Bring cream to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan; pour over chocolate; let sit for 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, combine chocolate and cream. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until ganache reaches room temperature. Chill until ganache has the consistency of peanut butter, 2 hours. Transfer bowl to standing mixer fitted with a whisk. Whip on medium speed, 15–20 seconds.
Place bottom cake layer on a cardboard cake circle. Using a pastry brush, brush cake with one-third of rum syrup. Using a butter knife, spread 1 cup ganache evenly across cake top. Top with second cake layer and one-third of rum syrup; repeat process with remaining cake, rum syrup, and ganache. Spread remaining ganache over cake. Press chocolate shavings onto sides. Shake cocoa powder over cake with a mesh sieve.

Serves 16.

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Cupcakes So Good They'll Make You Hum

partysugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:30:10 -0700

Last week my sister hosted a Summer cocktail party that doubled as a birthday celebration for two friends. Since I've been known to make birthday cakes in the past, she asked me if I could do two cakes for the party. Immediately I began to worry: baking and assembling two cakes requires a lot of time. Just as I was starting to panic, I remembered the ingenious invention that is the cupcake! Each birthday girl could get her own minicake topped with a candle. Inspired by our slideshow of unconventional cupcake recipes, I decided to make hummingbird cupcakes. A native to the South, hummingbird cake is a cream cheese-frosted white cake with crushed pineapple, coconut, mashed bananas, and walnuts mixed into the batter. It's sweet, moist, fruity, crunchy, creamy, and divine - quite simply, it's everything you want in a cupcake. Although the pineapple topping is extra work, it's worth it. The cupcakes wouldn't be the same without the feathery juicy dried pineapple. To take a look at the recipe I used, read more.

Hummingbird Cupcakes
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup coconut flakes
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe below
Dried Pineapple Flowers, recipe below

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined, about 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Beat at medium speed until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in flour mixture.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with dried pineapple flowers, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and vanilla until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
With mixer on medium speed, gradually add butter, beating until incorporated.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add sugar, beating until incorporated. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

Makes 3 cups.

Dried Pineapple Flowers

2 large or 4 small pineapples, peeled

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.
Using a small melon baller, remove and discard all pineapple skin.
Using a sharp knife, cut pineapple crosswise into very thin slices. Transfer slices to baking sheets.
Bake until tops look dried, about 30 minutes. Flip slices; bake until completely dried, 25 to 30 minutes more. Pinch center of each pineapple slice to shape into a cone, and let cool in a clean egg carton to form flowers. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Makes about 2 dozen.

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World's Largest Cupcake Attempt Is a Sweet Success

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:30:04 -0700

Another one to add to the list of highly unconventional cupcakes: This 1,224-pound behemoth of a baked good, which just knocked out a recent record contender for the title of world's largest cupcake.

The prodigious pastry, which composed of triple vanilla cake batter and topped with pink frosting, was more than eight times the size of the previous record holder in girth. It stood 4 feet tall and spanned 11 feet around, and was created by Manchester, NH-based GourmetGiftBaskets.com. It required 800 eggs, 200 pounds each of sugar and flour, five days of preparation, and 12 hours of baking time.
Slices of the cupcake were served over the weekend at the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise Classic Car Show in Detroit, MI, in exchange for donations to breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Even though the cupcake contained an estimated 2 million calories, I wouldn't have been able to pass up this once-in-a-lifetime indulgence. Does the cupcake look appetizing to you?

Photo Courtesy of Charles Whitman

7 Unconventional Cupcake Recipes

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:50:40 -0700

If you woke up thinking it was merely a typical Tuesday, you were mistaken: today is Cupcake Day! While it's true that the cupcake market has probably reached its saturation point, most of you still admitted you aren't over the cupcake craze. Yearning for something other than run-of-the-mill vanilla and chocolate? Click through for seven unique alternatives.

View Slideshow ›