Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are my favorite cookie, for sure. While I like the classic chocolate chip, I love the chewiness and nutty flavor that the oats add. The added health factor of the oats also makes me feel less guilty about the other ingredients in these cookies and if you use dark chocolate, the health benefits practically demand that you make these cookies right now, seriously. These cookies are pretty much perfect. They're chewy and slightly crispy at the edges. I added in a bit more oats to the recipe to amp up the texture and flavor of the oats and I might omit the water next time, but these cookies definitely deserve a place in your cookie repertoire.

That being said, I will continue to try out other chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipes in the search for the very best. You can never have too many recipes for such an awesome cookie.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Mad Hungry, Lucinda Scala Quinn, Marthastewart.com
About 24 cookies

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
1 stick of unsalted butter(4 oz)
6 tbsp brown sugar
6 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/8 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 large egg
3/4 tsp coarse salt(1/2 the amount if using fine salt)
1/4 tsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 375 deg Fahrenheit. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars together with a handheld mixer or in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the egg, vanilla, and water mixing well after each addition. Add in the flour mixture mixing until just combined. Mix in oats and chocolate chips.

Scoop tablespoonfuls or use a small ice cream scoop to drop mounds onto parchment lined rimmed baking sheets spacing an inch apart. Press down slightly for flatter cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Move to cooling racks.

Store in an airtight container for a few days or freeze scooped dough balls for baking another time.

Quick Banana Cake

Whenever I buy a bunch of bananas, I wait until they ripen a bit before I eat them because I like the sweet scent of slightly ripened bananas. However, since the window of time between ripe and overripe is very small, I often find myself left with a few bananas that are too ripe to eat. Since I love bananas in baked goods, this isn't a bad problem to have.

This cake is perfect for using up those overripe bananas you have laying around. It's very quick and easy to put together and is great either steamed or baked. It's moist, not overly sweet, and makes a great treat for breakfast or an on-the-go snack.

Quick Banana Cake
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
120 grams granulated sugar
110 grams oil
225 grams all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Large pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl, set aside. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until it becomes pale and forms a thick ribbon.

Mix in the oil and bananas, whisking thoroughly after each addition.  Add the vanilla extract. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined. Pour the batter into an 8 x 8 inch square pan, bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Note: This cake can also be steamed over medium high heat until the cake tester comes out clean, probably around 30 minutes.

Mascarpone Cheesecake

This is the dessert that I've made the most since I started baking. I would say that I've made close to 20 of these cheesecakes if not more.* A mascarpone cheesecake is much lighter than a new york style cheesecake and also not as tart, so if you're looking for a dense new york cheesecake, this is not it. However, I've found that many people like this cheesecake because it is lighter and sweeter than the typical cheesecake.

If you love cheesecake, I really recommend giving this one a try. It's a family favorite and will please most cheesecake fans.

*This title has since been claimed by the chinese style chiffon cake also found on this blog, though this is still one of my favorites.

Mascarpone Cheesecake
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
16 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
16 ounces of mascarpone cheese, room temp
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temp

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl, press into the bottom of the springform pan and slightly up the sides if you wish. Bake until the crust is set and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Cool. Decrease oven temp to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make the filling, place the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake until the center moves slightly when shaken, about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Cool the cheesecake completely on a rack for a few hours, then refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Run a knife around the sides of the springform pan to remove and serve cold.

Note: Most cheesecake recipes tell you to bake in a water bath so that it doesn't crack. I've found that cracking is mostly due to air incorporated into the cheesecake when beating or extreme changes in temp which is why I've switched to making my cheesecake fillings in a food processor and let the cheesecake cool slowly after it's baked. Even when I used to bake my cheesecakes in a water bath, they would crack in the refrigerator because I cooled them down too quickly. Of course, if you would like to use a water bath anyway just in case, that's up to you. If your cheesecakes still end up cracking, just cover it up with a topping like melted chocolate, jam, or berries. No matter what, it will still taste delicious.

Banana Cream Pie

There are few things more perfect than a banana cream pie, but though I love them so, I've never made one until now. However, seeing as I had all the ingredients I needed and a pie crust to use up, I finally decided to make one and this one turned out pretty perfect. It's beautifully creamy and decadent without being overly rich. It has great banana flavor and I love that it's firm enough for a slice to stand on its own, but not so firm that you lose the airy texture of a cream pie.

The recipe is basically the same as the original. I've just altered some of the directions because it seems to work out better this way. If you're looking for a great banana cream pie, look no further.

Banana Cream Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Pate Brisee - Makes one pie crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt(use half the amount of fine salt)
1/8 - 1/4 cup of ice water

* If you have the time, make this crust using the technique described here. It is seriously the flakiest pie crust I've ever had, there are clear visible layers within the crust. However, the crust is just as good and still beautifully flaky made the way below.

Blend the flour and salt in a food processor to remove any lumps, add the cold butter and pulse until it is the size of peas

Add the ice water slowly using only enough so that the crust holds together when you squeeze it in your hand, it should not be too crumbly, nor too wet. Dump the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and gather it into a mound, then flatten into a thick disc. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

When ready to make the pie, take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it into a big enough round to fit a 9 inch pie dish.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fit the dough into the pie dish, fold edges under, crimp, and prick all over with a fork. Brush the edges with egg wash and chill for 30 minutes until firm. Line with parchment, fill with pie weights or dried beans, then bake for 25-30 minutes until edges are golden brown. Remove pie weights and parchment, then bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool.

Vanilla Custard
3 cups whole milk
7 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt

Heat milk with sugar and salt in a saucepan until it reaches a simmer. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the cornstarch and vanilla until there are no lumps. Add the heated milk into the yolks a little at a time whisking all the while. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over a medium heat whisking constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Strain over a sieve into a bowl and let cool slightly. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and when it has cooled down some more, chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled.

Whipped Cream
1 cup of heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Place ingredients into a chilled bowl and whisk with a mixer until it reaches soft peaks, do not overwhip.

To assemble:
3 or 4 bananas, cut into 1/4 inch slices

Arrange bananas in a spiral on the bottom of the pie crust, top with the custard, then finish with the whipped cream. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, you can cut some more bananas and arrange them on the top or serve as is. The pie is best served the day that it is made.

Yeast Starters and Bread



Fluffy Sourdough

Last week, I decided to start making bread. I had intended to do so several months ago, so I already had the necessary ingredients. Days passed, then months, and I just never felt like I had enough time or had the energy to start. Every time I scrolled through my log of recipes deciding which I should try next, I always went with something simpler and less time consuming. However, I knew that the economy-size package of yeast I purchased would eventually go bad and so, I needed to start making a dent in it pretty soon. In one of these recipe scrolling moods a few days ago, uninspired by the many desserts on my list, I looked to the bread recipes on my list, but none of them really felt like the right place to start.

For a while now, i've been wanting to make my own honey wheat bread. I love the Honey Wheat Bread at Cafe Intermezzo in Berkeley, but it's not exactly a short trip there just to buy the bread. It also seems that since I first tried this place a couple years ago, they have reduced the sweetness in the bread which was what I loved about it in the first place. Unlike typical whole wheat bread, their bread has great wheat flavor, but it is as soft and fluffy as white bread. After many unsuccessful attempts to track down a similar-tasting supermarket honey wheat bread, I just gave up altogether and hoped that I would somehow be able to recreate it in my own kitchen so I could have it whenever I wanted. Although this was the bread initially on my mind, a little internet research led me down a different path.

Last year around the time of the release of the Tartine Bread cookbook and the promo video with Chad Robertson, I was fascinated by the process of making artisan yeast bread. The idea of a starter, the preservation of it, and the intricacies of bread making intrigued me.After the proper internet research and recipe gathering, I was less daunted by the process of it all. As a native San Franciscan and sourdough lover, I thought it only right that I should attempt to raise a sourdough starter and try my hand at making sourdough bread.

From my research, I knew that it would take about two weeks for my starter to sour.  However, before it does sour, the starter can be used in the same recipes to produce delicious white bread. As of this post, my bread has not begun to sour yet, but with each loaf, I can tell that the flavors are getting more complex and slowly moving towards that sourdough flavor.I have already made several loaves of bread from this starter since I first mixed it up a few days ago from a wheat bread to an apricot and ginger loaf. As it turns out, starter is amazingly versatile and once you get the hang of how bread should feel, it's actually very easy and can be used to make a variety of breads. First, the mixing and growth of the starter.

Sourdough Starter
Adapted from Esther Nelson on Allrecipes.com

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups warm water
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together with a whisk until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature in a draft free area for 8 to 12 hours. You can start to bake white bread with it at this point. Leave it at room temperature for 4-8 days feeding it at least every day for faster growth or in the refrigerator for slower growth feeding every two days or so. Don't expose the starter to temperatures that are too hot as the yeast will die. If you are unable to feed the starter for a while, store it in the freezer and take it out when you can begin taking care of it again. The starter should be a creamy white. If you see any pink or yellow growth, throw the starter out and begin again. If you have a liquid at the top, that is the alcohol from the fermentation, just mix it back into your starter before using or feeding. The starter should have the consistency of pancake batter.


Feeding the starter:
For the first few days, feed it more frequently to encourage growth by adding  at least 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of warm water to the starter each day and whisking it in to incorporate air. You may remove some of the starter each time before you feed it if you like or just leave it.

However, you will need to refresh the starter every few days by removing a cup or so(either use it or discard it) leaving at least a quarter cup behind when feeding. In feeding it after the initial period, replace whatever you take out with at least a half cup each of flour and warm water(always in equal amounts) and whisk until smooth. You can add more or less flour and water depending on how much you want to end up with for baking.

After each feeding, wait at least 6-8 hours before using it again to give the starter time to grow. If your starter is in the refrigerator, take it out the night before you plan to use it to thaw.

Artisan Style Sourdough Bread
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse, makes one loaf

1 1/2 cups of sourdough starter
2 cups of bread flour, more for kneading
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

In a mixer with a dough hook, mix flour gradually into the starter with the salt and sugar. Mix for 8 to 10 minutes until dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Remove dough from mixer and knead a few times into a smooth ball. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1.5 hours until doubled. I preheat my oven for a few minutes, turn it off, then place the bowl in there to rise.

After the dough has risen, punch dough down. Shape into a loaf, then place onto a baking sheet or baking stone and let rise for another hour or until doubled. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, slash loaf and place your baking sheet or stone with the loaf into the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes until bread sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Let it rest about 30 minutes before serving.

For apricot and ginger bread, add in 1/4 cup of chopped dried apricots and 1/4 of chopped candied ginger when mixing dough. You can also add in many other things such as nuts or other dried fruits and cheese.

Loaf is topped with shredded Comte before baking

Fluffy Sourdough Bread
Makes two loaves
Adapted from Donna on allrecipes.com(San Francisco Sourdough Bread)

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups starter
4 3/4 cups bread flour
1 cup warm milk
3 tbsp sugar
3 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp softened butter

Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook. Add milk and butter. Mix in starter, then gradually add the remaining flour. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Place in an oiled bowl and allow to rise for at least one hour in a warm place.

After the first rise, punch dough down, shape into loaves, then place on a baking sheet to rise for another hour. After it has risen a second time, bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes until it sounds hollow when thumped. Let it rest about 30 minutes before serving.

You can brush with egg for a golden brown crust and top with cheese as I have done here. The cheese and egg can weigh the bread down slightly, so that it is not as airy.

You can use all purpose flour to make your bread, but it won't have the chew of bread made with bread flour. Other types of flour can be substituted as well in varying amounts according to your taste. I have also used cream, nonfat milk, and coconut milk as substitutes for milk in these recipes, so anything will work although I've read that fat and sugar do contribute to the softness of the bread, so take that into account when making substitutions. Spritz the loaf with water or brush with egg wash for a thicker crust. Add different things to your bread for different flavors such as instant coffee granules, cocoa powder, matcha green tea powder, different extracts, etc.

I have also made an all wheat bread using this starter, but will not share that here because it is not the Honey Wheat recipe I am after. This is what it looked like.

9/28
It has now been about two weeks and I still have my starter. I've been feeding it about every two days and have been making a loaf of bread with what I take out. A few days ago, I almost killed my starter by overheating it, but was able to save it with additional yeast, flour, and water. However, the sourness has somewhat disappeared on account of the heat and it will take some time to redevelop the flavor. With the additional yeast, my starter has been doing really well, rising and falling throughout the day very easily.

I've been playing around with the dough and even with the same recipe, the bread never comes out exactly the same. Depending on the pan or stone I bake the bread on/in, the temperature during the day, or how I treat the dough, the bread comes out differently each time. I think it's good to be adventurous in bread making as with anything else in life. Figure out what you like best and play around until you have something you like.

Raspberry Cream Cake

Since I have become much more comfortable with chiffon cake in the last year and have been disappointed with the bakeries in my area lately, I decided to make my own birthday cake this year. I've also bean meaning to get more mileage out of my newly acquired cake pans which have thus far only been used to make the relatively tall chocolate cake, not to mention it's also fun to make your own cake. I still have not gotten to Christina Tosi's banana cake yet but I do hope to when I feel up to making another cake soon.

Back to my birthday cake, I love fresh fruit cakes with whipped cream and princess cake, so I decided to come up with a cake that combines elements of both. Typically, princess cake is composed of layers of genoise with raspberry jam, kirsch custard, whipped cream, and a layer of marzipan covering the entire thing. Since I'm not a fan of kirsch or marzipan, I decided to make a cake consisting of genoise, raspberry jam, vanilla pastry cream, raspberries, and whipped cream.

Overall, the cake turned out much better than expected, but I could have taken out even more sugar in each of the components and reduced the amount of vanilla slightly. The recipe below reflects these adjustments. I will probably try a white cake next time and add more jam so the flavor comes through more. I decorated the cake the same way I decorated the chocolate cake last time simply because I wasn't really sure what I could do otherwise and was too lazy to do much to it.

Raspberry Cream Cake with Pastry Cream and Jam
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Genoise
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more, softened, for pans
6 extra large eggs, room temp, separated
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/8 cups cake flour, sifted
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, butter the bottoms of two 8 in cake pans, line with parchment paper, set aside

Whisk egg yolks in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water with 3/4 cup sugar until sugar is melted and eggs are warm, remove from heat. Add vanilla and salt, then beat 3-4 minutes until pale and thick ribbons fall from the whisk.

In another clean bowl or in your stand mixer, whip egg whites at high speed until soft peaks, then gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar while beating until it reaches stiff, glossy peaks. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten. Then fold the remaining whites into the mixture being careful not to deflate them. Fold in cake flour, then butter carefully.

Divide the batter among the pans, bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. If not using  nonstick pans and cake is securely attached to the pan, invert onto a cooling rack and let cool this way so the cake doesn't deflate. Otherwise, simply let cool until ready to assemble.

Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 of a vanilla bean, scraped

1/8 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

Whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and sugar in a bowl. Meanwhile, heat milk and vanilla bean with the scraped seeds and salt in a pot until simmering. Mix half a cup of milk into yolks while whisking. Pour egg yolk mixture back into pot and heat while whisking until it thickens. Pour the pastry cream over a strainer into a bowl, mix in tablespoon of butter. Cover with plastic wrap with plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry cream so a skin doesn't form. Let cool for about 2 hours.

Stabilized Whipped Cream

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 tsp of unflavored gelatin

2 tbsp water/pomegranate or cranberry juice

1/2 cup sugar

A drop of red food coloring(optional)

Pour water/juice into a small pot, sprinkle gelatin over. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, beat cream and sugar until very soft peaks. Heat gelatin until it dissolves. Pour gelatin mixture into the softly whipped cream and continue to beat until soft peaks.Mix in food coloring if desired.

 

 

To assemble:

Raspberry Jam, seedless

Pastry Cream, cooled and mixed to loosen

Whipped Cream

Raspberries

Cakes, cooled and sliced into layers

 

 

Level cakes if necessary and cut each cake into two layers. Lay bottom layer of one cake down onto cake pedestal or plate. Spread a layer of raspberry jam onto the cake, top with half the pastry cream. Lay top layer of the cake on top.

 

 

Spread with another layer of jam, then a layer of whipped cream. Cover in berries, top with another thin layer of whipped cream, and the top layer of the other cake flipped over. Spread another layer of jam, the remaining pastry cream, and top with final layer of cake. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream. Decorate with raspberries. Refrigerate to set up for 1-4 hours before serving.