The Search for the Best Brownie Recipe

I never thought I would come across a recipe that could match Nick Maglieri's Supernatural Brownies. They are deep, rich, moist, and simple to make. All the characteristics of the best brownies recipe in my book.

But that was before I discovered Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  I love everything about the place from the incredible frosting on the cup cakes to the owner's story. Baked was founded by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. They met while working at an advertising agency, but their first love was dessert. All the stories I came across about the pair said they were tired of the cupcake craze and cakes that were shaped like purses, but tasted like cardboard. Matt Lewis went to ICE (back when it was still the Peter Kump School) at night and the two ended up opening a wonderful bakery with a focus on classic American desserts, made even better.

So back to the brownies.

While I was doing research on Baked and toying with the idea of interning their for class (why 'o why is there no subway that goes to Red Hook) I came across my new favorite recipe: Matt and Renato's Baked Spicy Brownie. It has so much flavor it left me speechless. After my first bite I had a look on my face that made my husband jealous. They are that good. These brownies earn my high praise because they have a little kick to them with some ancho chilli powder, fresh ground ginger (I used grated fresh ginger root - amazing) and cinnamon. I gave some to friend of mine and she told me they were too good to share with her husband. I take that as the highest compliment.

My deepest thanks to Matt and Renato for coming up with the best brownies recipe imaginable!

The Baked Spicy Brownie

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Dutch cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 5 ounces coarsely chopped dark (60 percent) chocolate
• 1 stick unsalted butter , plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal 8" x 8" pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cocoa powder, chili powder, and cinnamon.

Configure a double boiler (fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water and fit a metal bowl on top without letting it touch water; bring water to a boil). Place chocolate and butter in bowl and stir occasionally until both are completely melted and combined, about 6 minutes. Turn off heat, but keep bowl over water and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove bowl from pan. Let stand until room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Add eggs to chocolate-butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add vanilla and ginger; whisk to combine. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or the brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle flour-cocoa mixture over chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (do not use a whisk!), fold the dry ingredients into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour-cocoa mix visible.

Pour batter into the greased pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake brownies for 27 to 30 minutes; brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool brownies completely before cutting and serving.

Happy Passover - Now Please Pass the Dessert

I am hear to debunk the myth that it is impossible to make a Passover cake that tastes good.

I remember a few years ago, before I had a reputation as a good cook, I offered to bring dessert to a Passover sedar at an ex-boyfriend's house. His mother made a face and told me all Passover over desserts taste like cardboard.

Proving her wrong made me very happy. That is probably one of the reasons that relationship didn't work.

But I digress. Here is an easy Passover dessert recipe that can be served with meat or dairy - it was a big hit at our sedar last night and I had to fight to get a slice for myself!

Apple Nut Cake
Adapted from The New Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Gloria Kaufer Green

For the filling:
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1 generous teaspoon cinnamon
1 large golden delicious apple or other baking apple

Batter:

2 large eggs, one separated
1 cup sugar divided
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup matzah cake meal
2 large egg whites

Grease an 8'' square baking pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the filling combine walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon, set aside.

Peel the apple if desired (it's not necessary and I don't usually do it). Core and thinly slice it.

For the batter combine 1 whole egg and one yolk (reserve the white) in a medium mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thick. Gradually add 3/4 cup of the sugar and beat until light. Beat in the oil and orange juice until well combined. Then at slowest speed mix in matzah cake meal.

Put the remaining three eggs into a mixing bowl and use clean beaters to beat til frothy. Gradually add last 1/4 cup sugar and beat until forms stiff peaks. Fold whites into the matzah cake meal mixture mixing completely.

Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the nut mixture . Arrange apple slices in one layer on top of the nuts. Cover with the remaining batter and then sprinkle the remaining nut mixture on top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on wire wrack. Cut into squares or rectangles to serve.

It's not all easy but worth it

I realize my perception of easy has changed dramatically since I started culinary school.

I recently brought a fruit tart to work that I made over the weekend in class. My co-workers thought it looked impressive. All I saw was it's flaws...the crust was slightly uneven, the kiwi not perfectly cut. But I was still proud of it considering how neverous I was about the assignment: design a beautiful cake that could sell for $35 in a bakeshop.

The next day when I brought the cake to work, and people asked me how I did it, I told them it was easy. My stress and nervousness of the day before disappeared when I saw what I accomplished. The steps of making the crust, filling it with rasberry flavored pastry cream, cutting up fruit and the struggle to artfully arrange rasberries, kiwi, strawberries and blueberries on the tart didn't seem so difficult the morning after.

But the truth is when I am in class the work seem more than a little intimidating. There are plenty of frustrating moments when I worry that I can't do something, or I feel like I am back in the third grade being criticized by the teacher for having bad handwriting that she hinted would doom my entire future.

But the assignments I've worried about the most -like being able to roll  out croissant dough and shape it perfectly, turned out pretty good. When I start to get too frustrated, I remind myself that our instructor has been doing this for nearly 40 years. I tell myself not get discouraged that I can't get something perfect the first time, or that it is a lot harder than he makes it look.


Success rolling croissants before they want in the oven



During the week in between I mull over my successes and failures in class. After a few days pass, my confidence increases. I realize I am learning a lot and if I keep I'll be able to make it seem as easy as the chef one day. For now my creations might not make the cut at Bouchon Bakery or Balthazar, but they impress my friends and co-workers and taste pretty good. While I have a learning curve ahead of me, for now I'll take that as my little victory to celebrate.


Success! My instructor called this mini tart beautiful!

 And at leat my most important critic approves.


Jeff enjoying a chocolate croissant I made in
 class

My New Favorite Treat

All these years that I've been spreading cream cheese on bland matzo, I've been missing out on a much more tasty treat: Hot Cross Buns.

Guess I shouldn't be surprised since these fragrant buns crop up in bakery windows in time for Easter - hence the cross.

But they are so tasty with freshly grated nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon, candied orange peel and currants mixed in the dough that I think I'll ignore their association with the holiday (like I do with cadbury eggs and chocolate bunnies) and grab some they next time I spot them in a store.

My obsession started when we made Hot Cross Buns in Chef Sim Cass's class at the Institute of Culinary Education. Cass was a founding baker at Balthazar, and I've heard him called one of the best bread makers in the country. So I feel really lucky to be in his class, no matter how rigorous it is or how beat I am when I get home.

I'll share the recipe we used in class, although it might be a little labor intensive for a home baker. But unlike some of the breads we made with Cass, these buns can be cooked in an ordinary oven so it is not impossible to make it on your own.

But if you see them in a bakery window take the easy way out pick up about half a dozen - they are so worth it!

Celebrating Our Jewish Grandmothers

Faye Horowitz

My grandmother would have turned 100 years old this year.

I used to joke that she was some kind of spy. But the truth is I wish I knew more about her.

A few years ago my cousin dug out papers from when my grandmother came to the United States on a ship from London. She was 10 months old. The spy theory grew because her name was spelled different ways on all of her papers. She was Frannie, Fagle  and Faye, the name I knew her buy growing up. Her maiden name was spelled differently too – Kittay and Kittaje.

Like many grandmothers, she was my earliest cooking influence. She was strictly kosher. She brought her own food when she came to visit our house. I remember that she threw out a dish once when my father washed it for her with non kosher soap. She said it was Traf – no longer kosher.

Her recipes are all lost. My mother doesn't think she had ever written any of them down. The one dish I remember my grandmother would bring to our house was her meatballs. I would nibble at them, which was pretty impressive for a little kid who was an incredibly picky eater.

My grandmother is the reason why my mother doesn't cook. She was a slave to the kitchen. My mother told me once she didn’t want to be like that. And she never was.

I’m certain my grandmother is responsible for my obsession with chocolate. She always had a Hershey Bar in her purse. She would break off pieces and snack on it through out the day. When she came to visit she would bring heavy, dense frosted brownies that I think couldn’t come from anywhere else than the kosher bakeries in her Bronx neighborhood. She would bring me Hershey Kisses too. Those were my favorite. I’ll even admit that HersheyKiss was my profile name when I met my husband on Jdate.

My grandmother died when I was in college. She had been sick for years and didn’t remember much at the end. She thought her husband was still alive and was angry that he never came to visit. Watching her made me never want to grow old.

In honor of my grandmother's 100th birthday, I'm posting my favorite brownie recipe. I have yet to come across a recipe for the dense frosted brownies my grandmother used to bring to our house. But these brownies are really rich, easy to make, and always impress a crowd. The trick is letting them cool and set over night before serving.

courtesy of Saveur.com

 

Supernatural Brownies
another recipe by Nick Malgieri,
Director of the baking program at the Institute of Culinary Education

Ingredients:

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, more for pan and parchment paper
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 3/4 cup whole walnuts, optional.

Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined. If using chopped walnuts, stir them in. Pour batter into prepared pan. If using whole walnuts, arrange on top of batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Yield: 15 large or 24 small brownies.

Note: For best flavor, bake 1 day before serving, let cool and store, tightly wrapped.

When Life Gives you Lemons and Simple Syrup

I know it's a little early to be talking about lemonade.

But we were learning about cooking with sugar in class this weekend and it was on the lesson plan.

And the batch of lemonade came out with the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness that I had to share. It reminded me of the lemonade at my favorite stand on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

I'm going to be saving this recipe for the first heat wave of the season, which can't come soon enough.

The simple syrup can also be used in iced coffee so I will definitely be keeping a batch of it on hand this summer. Our instructor said it can be stored in the fridge for a while, but knowing how sweet I like my coffee, I doubt it will last very long.

Here is the recipe. You'll need a candy thermometer, but otherwise it's something easy that can be done at home.

SUGAR SYRUP

6 fluid ounces water
1 pound of sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon water or 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

-Place water in saucepan over low heat
-Sprinkle sugar on top of the water
-Shake the pan on the stove - do not stir (a trick the instructor taught us for working with sugar)
if sugar has turned color because of impurities skim off discolored foam and cover for 2 minutes while boiling, if there are no impurities leave uncovered
-At the boiling point add cream of tartar or corn syrup
- Boil until candy thermometer reaches 230 degrees

Lemonade

8 oz sugar syrup
1 cups cold water
10 ounces lemon juice (squeeze lemons into a measuring cup until it reaches 10 oz)

Add cold water and lemon juice to the simple syrup. Stir. Pour over ice and serve!

You can adjust the lemon juice or syrup if its too sweet or tart. I liked the balance of our recipe and it got Jeff's approval, too!

Research: Bubby's Mile High Apple Pie

Part of my "studies" for Culinary School requires checking out some of New York City's best restaurants and bakeries to learn all the characteristics of what makes a good dessert.

Sounds too good to be true, right? But it was some of the first advice we were given in class: go visit some wonderful bakeries, bread shops and markets, talk to the owners, ask to see the kitchen and even ask if you can work there for a day to get experience.

It sounds like heaven to me!

So one of the first places I checked out was Bubby's Pie company in Tribecca. I had stumbled across "Bubby's Brunch Cookbook" by restaurant owner Ron Silver in a gift shop a few weeks before and couldn't wait to see the place.

We ended up there late in the afternoon - way past the brunch hour. So instead of trying Bubby's legendary sour cream pancakes we opted for the Mile High Apple Pie at the recommendation of our waitress. The balance of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and made it the best apple pie I've ever had. And the light flaky crust has the perfect degree of crispness. I was so impressed I bought another cookbook at the restaurant by the owner, "Bubby's Homemade Pies," and had it autographed by Silver.

BUBBY'S MILE HIGH APPLE PIE

From "Bubby's Homemade Pie's" by Ron Silver and Jen Bervin

The secret to make Bubby's pie “mile high” is to pile the apples higher than the tin. The apple's will cook down while baking but the crust remains sculptural, curvaceous, and high. Bubby's uses local Macouns apples from the farmer's market if available. The recipe suggests sautéing the apples in butter first. 

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie, chilled

3½ pounds apples

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the top crust

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

 DIRECTIONS

Roll out the smaller batch of pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining large ball of dough for the top crust. Rechill the pastry if necessary.

Peel, core, and slice the apples ¼ to ½ inch thick (to get about 7 cups). In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the apples for 2 to 3 minutes, until the outer edges get slightly soft. Remove from heat. In the pan, measure the sugar, flour, butter, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves on top of the apples, but do not stir until they are ready to go into the pie or they will get too soupy.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

When you are ready to proceed, toss the apples with the other filling ingredients. Because this pie is so tall, mounding up the apples takes a little finesse. Scrape the apple filling into the bottom crust until the pie reaches average height, then add the remaining apples by the handful, using your free hand to steady the mound.

Cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Cut vent slits in the top crust and sprinkle it very lightly with water and then sugar. Because the top crust slope is so steep, you need to flick a little water at it to keep the sugar from rolling off and caking at the crust edge when you sprinkle it on.

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 10 minutes, or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blonde. Turn the oven down to 375°F, and bake for at least 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through slits in the top crust. With a pie this high, you can expect some runoff on the tray. Test apples for doneness by poking a wooden skewer down through the open vent slits of the top crust. Apples inside should yield to the skewer with slight resistance—cooked through but not mushy. Look for thick slow bubbles where the juices pool near the edge of the crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature. Store the pie uncovered at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Bubby's All Butter Pastry Dough
From "Bubby's Homemade Pies"

An all-butter crust takes finesse to mix and handle because butter gets soft quickly at room temperature. Keeping a butter crust cold takes more attention, but pays off in flavor and flakiness. Its versatile flavor complements and accentuates other flavors in much the same way that a pat of butter and a pinch of salt do in the filling.

For 8- to 10-inch double crust
or 12-inch single crust:

5 to 6 tablespoons ice cold water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

11-1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Measure out the water for the crust (with a bit of extra water in the measure in case you need a touch more) and then add ice cubes. Chill it in the freezer.

Measure out the flour (unsifted) by leveling off dry measuring cups, and add the flour to large bowl. Add the salt to the flour and give it a quick stir to combine evenly.

Use cold butter, measure out the amount you need, and then coat the cold, solid stick with the flour in the bowl. Using a dough scraper or a long butcher knife, cut the butter lengthwise in half, and then lengthwise in quarters, coating each newly cut side with flour as you go. Dice the butter into 1/4 inch cubes (or 1-inch sticks if using a food processor). Break up any pieces that stick together and toss them all to coat them with flour. (If it is a warm day, chill this mixture briefly in the freezer before continuing.)

Hand Method: Using a pastry cutter, press the blades through the mixture, bearing down repeatedly like you would to mash potatoes. Repeat this gesture until the largest pieces of fat are the size of shelling peas and the smallest are the size of lentils (none smaller). Do not get over-enthusiastic here: this size range makes for excellent flakiness. Rechill if necessary.

Food Processor Method: Add the flour, salt, and butter mixture to the food processor and pulse it a few times. Do not use the continuous ON setting for pastry. To get the fat to cut in evenly you must stop and angle the entire food processor to give its contents a jostle by shaking and tilting it every couple of pulses. Pulse the mixture until the larger fat pieces are the size of shelling peas and the smallest fat pieces are the size of lentils. Do not overmix. Watch closely—it typically takes less than 10 quick pulses to get there. If you have a few bigger chunks of butter in a mixture that is otherwise perfect, dump the mixture into a large bowl and cut the bigger chunks down to size by hand with a pastry cutter so that the whole mixture remains consistent for flakiness.Transfer the fat and flour mixture to a bowl and chill it. Do not use the food processor to add the water to a pastry crust. Always mix in the water by hand.

When adding the water, begin with a fully chilled flour and fat mixture and ice cold water. Be judicious, even stingy, with the water. Do not add all the water at once; it must be dispersed into the mixture incrementally. Add water two or three tablespoons at first, quickly tossing the mixture with your hands after each addition with light upward motion to distribute the water evenly throughout it. Work the dough as little as possible.

Continue adding little bits of water at a time. When there are no floury bits anymore—just little comet-like cobbles that don't quite cohere—slow down and sprinkle or flick water in at this point. One drop can make the difference and bring it all together. The balance can shift quickly from crumbly to wet. You might need a touch more water. The pastry should be just a little bit tacky when you touch it.

To test the dough for consistency, lightly pat together some dough the size of a tennis ball. If the ball crumbles apart or has lots of dry-looking cracks in it, the dough is still too dry; let it break apart. Add a drop or two of water to the outside of the ball and work it just a little. If it holds and feels firm and supple, mop up any remaining crumbs with the ball—if they pick up easily, the dough is probably wet enough. If they fall back into the bowl, you might need a touch more water to pull the dough together. The pastry should be just a little bit tacky when you touch it.

Wet dough may seem easier to work, but because the extra water overdevelops the gluten it makes a really tough crust. If your pie dough is stretchy (glutinous) and quickly retracts when you roll it out, chances are you have added more water than you need and your pastry is overworked. If your dough is quite sticky, soft, and wet, it is better to pitch it and start over.

Dough can feel like it's holding together because the butter is melting. If at any point the dough ceases to feel cool to the touch or the butter pieces feel melty, soft, and warm, put the whole mixture in the freezer until it's cooled down again—about 10 minutes. It's impossible to gauge the water ratio accurately if the fat is melting into the flour.

For double crust, divide the dough into slightly uneven halves and shape each half into a ball—the larger of which will be for the bottom crust, the smaller ball for the top. Cover each ball tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least half an hour to relax and slow the gluten development and rechill the fat. In practical terms, this cold rest makes the dough easier to roll out.