Girl et Galette

Every time I think spring is here and summer is just around the corner, we have yet another cold snap. I’m fighting off this weeks’ frostiness with St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. The oven warmed up my kitchen, while we were warmed up by this masterpiece of a baked treat, made even more masterful with the perfection that is le beurre salé de Bretagne (salted Breton butter).

 St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

From Melissa Clark at the New York Times, with a few notes from Caely
Makes 16 to 20 servings

For the cake:

45 ml (3 tablespoons) milk at room temperature
1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
85 grams (6 tablespoons) butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (if you used unsalted butter)
1 large egg
195 grams (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour

For the topping:

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup (I subbed for honey as corn syrup kind of freaks me out)
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I’m running low on my precious vanilla supply from the states and this seemed like a lot, I used 1 teaspoon)
170 grams (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
340 grams (1 1/2) cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling.

In a small bowl, mix milk with 2 tablespoons warm water. Add yeast and whisk gently until it dissolves. Mixture should foam (very) slightly.

Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in the egg. Alternately add flour and the milk mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition. Beat dough on medium speed (I subbed paddle attachement for a dough hook at this point) until it forms a smooth mass and pulls away from sides of bowl, 7 to 10 minutes.

Press dough into an ungreased 9-by 13-inch baking dish at least 2 inches deep (I did grease the pan as I always, always have trouble getting things out of a dish cleanly and in one piece). Cover dish with plastic wrap or clean tea towel, put in a warm place, and allow to rise until doubled, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare topping, in a small bowl, mix corn syrup with 2 tablespoons water and the vanilla. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat in the egg. Alternately add flour and corn syrup mixture, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.

Spoon topping in large dollops over risen cake and use a spatula to gently spread it in an even layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes; cake will rise and fall in waves and have a golden brown top, but will still be liquid in center when done. Allow to cool in pan before sprinkling with confectioners’ sugar for serving.

Maybe it’s my way of shaking off winter, but I’ve been craving lemons something fierce. Their clean fruity brightness convinces me that summer is on it’s way, even if the thermometer outside say otherwise (it snowed again today, very out of character for the end of March in Brittany). This sweet lemony cake with a hint of honey is the perfect fix for my cravings.

Honey Lemon Yogurt CakeServes 8

2 eggs
250ml (1 cup) whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt 
200g (1 cup) sugar
80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
250 g (2 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
a good pinch of salt
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste/extract
the juice and zest of half a lemon

Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round 25-cm (10-inch) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, honey and lemon juice and zest. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture a little bit at a time, scraping down the sides as you go. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.

Whenever the urge for brownies strike, it’s all-powerful and consuming. To the point that I’m checking the clock every other minute while they are in the oven, urging them to bake faster, and once they finally do emerge from the oven in all their gloriousness, I never let them cool before I cut into them. I’d rather burn my tongue than wait one more minute!

Living abroad has made this insatiable brownie craving rear it’s ugly head all the more often, I suppose because brownies are so terribly American and I reach for them instinctively during bouts of homesickness . Here is my go-to recipe in times of dire brownie need.

Best of Brownie

100 grams (3.5 ounces) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
115 grams (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
200 grams (7/8 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
85 grams (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

In a medium heatproof bowl over a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally until they are just incorporated together. Remove from heat and stir together until it’s smooth and glossy. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Fold in flour with a spatula and scrape batter into prepared pan, spread until even. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle just comes out clean.

If you’re feeling fancy, use a sieve to dust the brownies with powdered sugar or cacao powder before serving. Or, if you’re into that whole salty sweet combo (who isn’t?) sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over the top. Let cool before you dig in (or don’t, but try not to burn your tongue like I do) and cut into desired size.

If you’ve been reading regularly you know I had buckets and buckets of apples to use up last autumn. Pounds and pounds of them. I know, woe to me. Many of those apples made it into desserts such as Apple Brownies, Yogurt Apple Cake and Apple Banana Bread with Roasted Hazelnuts. But even more of them ended up peeled, cored and cooked into apple sauce that is now buried in the depths of our deep freeze. Cleaning out the freezer the other day, I stumbled upon this cache of apple sauce and decided it needs to get used up to make room for the many peas and broad beans I’ll be freezing in a couple of months once spring has finally arrived.  

In my quest to use up apples, I’ve found a very efficient recipe: The Triple Apple Cake. A cake that is light on the oil and sugar because it is so heavy on the apples. Apple sauce makes it moist, apple cider boosts the flavor, and sliced apples on top make it texturally interesting.

Triple Apple CakeMakes 1 large cake, approximately 8 servings

30 ml (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
150 grams (2/3 cup) sugar plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
225 grams (1 cup) apple sauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider (can sub apple cider vinegar or white wine)
330 grams (3 cups) flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3-4 medium sized apples

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C (350 ° F).

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and apple cider. Once the mixture is smooth and free of lumps, mix in the apple sauce.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and seasonings. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, taking care not to overmix. Pour the batter into a greased 25 centimeter (10 inch) cake pan.

Slice the apples into thin slices and arrange them as you please over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over your apples. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Bon appétit!

My best friend Kelsey is obsessed with ginger. The ladies who worked at the sushi restaurant down the street from our apartment in San Francisco dubbed her “the ginger lady” because she was forever asking for more ginger.

I know the internet is chockfull of recipes for Ginger Carrot Soups, but thanks to a little inspiration from my friend Kelsey, this one sticks out from all the rest. This recipe is for you Kels, because its heavy on the ginger and the attitude, just like you my friend.

Ginger Lady’s Carrot Soup

Serves 4

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds carrots (1 kil0), peeled and sliced
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into small cubes
6 cups (1.5 quarts or 3 pints) chicken or vegetable broth
2-4 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced (It’s a strong flavor for some people, so start with less and add more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
The juice and zest of half a lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup (60 ml) crème fraîche plus  for serving (about 1 tablespoons per person) If you don’t have crème fraîche handy, you may substitute sour cream or a thick plain yogurt such as a greek yogurt 
A handful or fresh herbs, chopped (I’ve used basil and parsley)

In a large saucepan, heat the butter or oil over medium heat. After a minute, add the onion. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes, pay close attention that the onion does not brown! Add the potatoes, carrots and garlic to the onion and sauté for about 2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic.  Add the broth, ginger and coriander. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove cover and simmer gently until carrots and potatoes are tender, time depending upon how thickly the carrots were sliced.

Once the vegetables are tender, remove the soup from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice, crème fraîche and salt and pepper to taste. Blend carefully with an immersion blender (if you do not have one, blend soup in batches in a blender), making sure not to splatter yourself with hot soup as I have done too many times to count…

May be served hot or cold, with a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprinkling of fresh herbs.

Any French person, whether they be Parisian or Provincial, will tell you that the best butter comes from Brittany. The combination of happy grass-fed cows and epically magnificent sea salt (Sel de Guérande) makes for  some pretty righteous stuff. So righteous in fact that when I smuggled some home to California for Christmas one year and busted it out for my family to taste, they all closed their eyes and sighed as it melted on their tongues. Heaven, they said.

This salted butter is Brittany’s culinary gem and it pops up in every famous Breton specialty. No galette would show it’s face on a plate without a heaping portion of beurre melting all over it. The display cases of every boulangerie are bursting full of butter, from the  kouign amanns to the tart crusts to the cookies. But one cookie is particularly symbolic of Brittany and its butter: the sablé.

Sable means sand in French. Not the most appetizing name for a cookie I suppose, but it makes sense as the cookie is crumbly and crunchy and grainy like sand. The best comparison for a sablé is shortbread, though they are lighter and less dense than their Scottish counterparts.

Sablé au chocolat                                                                                                Adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

Makes 40 to 48 2-inch thin cookies, fewer if thicker

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces or 115 grams) salted butter, at room temperature
1/2 to 2/3 cup (100 to 135 grams) granulated sugar (less for a more bittersweet cookie)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 ounces (100 grams) dark chocolate,  finely chopped until almost powdery in a food processor (you can grate the chocolate if you don’t have a food processor, but this is a long and tedious project)
Coarse sugar for decor (optional)

Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking soda together into a bowl and set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla, beating until combined, then scraping down sides. Add dry ingredients and grated chocolate together and mix until just combined.

Scrape dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up and chill it in the frige until just firm, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll dough gently to desired thickness (they will puff ever so slightly in the oven).  I did half of mine very thin (1/8″) for a crispier cookie and the other half a bit thicker (approximately 1/4″) for a more toothsome cookie. They’re delicious both ways!

Once the dough is rolled out to desired thickness, cut into creative shapes with cookies cutters and space them an inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle decoratively with coarse sugar. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (for thinner cookies) or 10 to 12 minutes (for thicker ones). Leave cookies on baking sheets out of the oven for a couple minutes before gently, carefully transferring them to cooling racks, as they’ll be fragile until they cool.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks of 4 p.m. rations.

As predicted, more apples are popping up in my baking. This time they have some bananas and roasted hazelnuts to keep them company.

Apple Banana Bread with Roasted Hazelnuts

220 grams (2 cups) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
115 grams (1/2 cup) apple sauce
170 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
80 grams (1 cup) roasted hazelnuts (may sub walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). In a large bowl mix the dry (first four) ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with the oil and applesauce. Mix in the eggs and then the sugar, vanilla and spices. Slowly incorporate the flour into this mixture. Once the batter is mixed, fold in the hazelnuts. Pour the batter into 2 9×5 inch pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean from the center of the bread.

Variation: For a vegan version, leave out the eggs and add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar