SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

Cakes, Treats, and Everything Sweet

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    • Fourth of July Meringues and Red White & Blue Parfaits

      Happy Birthday America.

      On Independence Day you MUST wear something red white and blue as well as try to eat something red white and blue. I’ve got you covered with the last one. The rest is up to you.

      An extra special Thank You to all the Men & Women in our Armed Forces for your selfless and brave service.

      fourth of july meringues

      fourth of july meringues 2

      Fourth of July Meringues 3

      Eton Mess with red white and blue meringues

      Red White & Blue Parfait:  Layer sweetened whipped cream, top with macerated raspberries and macerated blueberries, drop in some crumbled meringues, top with whipped cream and repeat…

      Fourth of July Meringues

      yield: about 16 meringues

       

      3 large egg whites

      3/4 Cup superfine sugar

      large pinch (1/4 tsp.) cream of tartar

      pinch of salt

      1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

      Sweetened Whipped Cream 

      1-2 Cups heavy whipping cream

      1-2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

       

      In the bowl of a clean stand mixer bowl place the egg whites and sugar. Place over a saucepan that has about 1 inch of water. Bring water to simmer and whisk whites and sugar until sugar granules are no longer felt when you feel with two fingers, and mixture is warm. Whisk in cream of tartar and salt. Place bowl on stand mixer with whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until meringue forms and is stiff peak and glossy; about 7 minutes; towards the last minute pour in the vanilla while whisking.

      Take a disposable pastry bag and fit with a round large tip (such as 804 or 805 Ateco). Using a bamboo skewer use gel paste food coloring and make a stripe of red color down one side of the inside of the bag. Do the same with blue gel coloring on opposite side of the bag. Make sure the stripe of color is fairly thick. Place the pastry bag inside a large glass or tumbler and fold the cuff of the bag over the glass to keep the bag in place. Carefully use a large spoon and drop dollops of meringue down inside of bag being careful not to disturb the sides of the inside of bag as much as possible.

      Pipe decorative swirls of meringues going about 4-5 turns onto prepared sheet pan. Bake in a 200 degree F (preheated oven) for about 1 hour and 15 to 1 hour and 20 minutes (depending on the humidity and size baking times will vary) or until meringues are dry. Rotate baking sheet half way through baking time. If meringues are taking long to become crisp you can turn off the oven and keep door propped open and let meringues cool the rest of the way inside the oven.

      Meringues will keep for several days in an airtight container.

      Serve meringues crumbled over ice cream or with sweetened whipped cream and macerated berries to make the parfait.

      To make the sweetened whipped cream; for every cup of cream add 1-2 Tbsp. sugar; depending on how sweet you like it and with a hand mixer or a whisk whip until you get stiff peaks. Assemble parfaits right before serving. Serve cold.

    • Pina Colada Cake

      I’m not gonna lie; this is an ambitious cake with many components which you may decide to make only parts of. I recently made this for both my nephews graduation party. The oldest graduated from college, and the younger graduation from high school, so excuse my not so great pictures as I only spent a few minutes taking pictures of the cake at the party.

      I love nothing more than a good three layer dramatic cake. Of all the things I make- 3 layer cakes are still my favorite. If you love the taste of pina colada, then this is the cake for you. As I always say, make it your own. If you decide you want to leave out the curd filling and just make a coconut cake with a simple filling, then by all means. I have made this cake many times with different variations. I will also give the variation for this cake in 2 layers at the end of the post for those who want just a 2 layer cake.  If you can find the large flake unsweetened coconut- it is an especially elegant cake; Bobs Red Mill makes a good version of the large flake coconut if you can find it.  Another variation is to fill it with store bought lemon or lime curd. Dickensons makes a great lime curd if you can find it. Since I cover the cake with sweetened coconut I purposely leave the coconut buttercream on the subtle side. If you like a real full on coconut taste you may also decide to flavor all of the buttercream with more coconut extract. Just play around with it- by adding a little at a time until you like the taste. The cake takes a while to make and assemble, so when I am planning to make it- I like to make the syrup, pineapple curd and the buttercream the day before to save time. Just keep all 3 components chilled overnight.

      * If you don’t like the visible flecks of vanilla bean in the frosting then you can use vanilla extract instead. I personally like the flavor of the vanilla bean paste over the vanilla in this buttercream as it adds a more pronounced flavor.

      Coconut Pina Colada Cake

      Pina Colada Cake 1

      Pina Colada Cake 2

      PIna Colada Cake 3

      Pina Colada Cake 5

      Pina Colada Cake

       

      Pineapple Curd

      recipe: adapted from Donna Hay

      300 gms Fresh Pineapple, chopped coarse

      2 tsp. lemon juice

      3 egg yolks

      2 Tbsp. cornstarch

      1/2 Cup caster (superfine) sugar

      150 gms unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces.

      In a food processor or vitamix, or super powered blender; process the pineapple until smooth. Strain pineapple directly into a small saucepan. Add in the lemon juice and stir with a heat proof spatula. Add in the sugar, egg yolks and cornstarch and stir vigorously or whisk to combine. Place over medium heat and stir continuously with the spatula or non metal whisk until thickened; about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter in pieces. Place in a bowl and cover directly with plastic wrap over surface. Chill until ready to use. Makes about 1 1/2 Cups; you will have a little left over. The curd will keep in the fridge for up to one week.

       

      Rum Cake Syrup

      1/2 Cup sugar

      3/4 Cup water

      2 Tbsp. dark rum

      1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water to a boil, stirring to ensure sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Set aside to cool at room temperature while you prepare the cake. Note: you can also prepare this a day or two ahead and keep in refrigerator to chill. Makes about 1 cup and you will have some leftover.

       

      Coconut three-Layer Cake

      4 3/4 + 2 Tbsp. Cake Flour
      1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
      1 tsp. salt

      1 1/2 Cup unsalted softened butter (3 sticks)
      2 1/4 Cup sugar
      9 egg whites (if using liquid egg whites from a carton- use 1 1/2 cups liquid measured)
      zest of one lemon- finely grated/zested
      2 tsp. vanilla or vanilla bean paste. (I like to use the paste)
      1 tsp. coconut extract

      1 Cup (full fat) coconut milk [shake several times before opening]
      1 Cup whole or 2 % milk

      1 Cup sweetened flake coconut + more for covering sides and top of cake.

      1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare three 9 inch cake pans by spraying with nonstick baking spray and lining with parchment circles, then spray lightly again.
      2. Whisk first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. In bowl of stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy; about 2-3 minutes. Mix coconut milk and whole milk in a 2 cup glass measuring cup, set aside. Add egg whites to butter sugar mixture one at a time or slowly if using liquid whites; stopping frequently to scrape down bottom and sides of bowl. Add extracts and mix. Note: mixture will look really loose and curdled (this is okay and normal)- it will come together in the end. In 3 additions on medium speed, alternate adding 1/3 of the flour mixture with 1/3 milk mixture starting an ending with flour mixture.  Fold in sweetened coconut with a spatula. Divide batter equally between the three pans.
      3. Bake at 350° F for about 25 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake. It’s okay if you get a few moist crumbs on skewer. Let pans cool on a wire rack until completely cool, then flip out cakes.

      Vanilla Bean & Coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream

      6 egg whites (note: I do not use liquid egg whites for this)

      1 1/2 Cups sugar

      5 sticks unsalted butter, room temp (slightly softened)

      2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

      1/2 tsp. (+ more to taste) coconut extract

      In a medium to large saucepan place an inch of water. In the bowl of your stand mixer place the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl directly over the pan of water and bring water to a simmer; whisking continuously. Whisk the whites and sugar until mixture is 160 degrees F. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer- just heat until you no longer feel any sugar granules and mixture is warm to touch. Remove bowl; wipe off the bottom of any water and place on mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high speed until a meringue forms and is shiny and stiff; about 5 minutes. Continue to whisk until the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm. Reduce speed to medium and add in one tablespoon of butter at a time until buttercream is smooth. Stop as necessary to scrape down sides and bottom to ensure you are getting on the meringue mixed in. NOTE: It will go through a grainy curdled phase- but don’t worry (this is normal) it will come together- just keep adding in the butter and continue to whip. Once smooth, stop and remove about 1 1/2 cups and place in a bowl large enough to mix. Mix the 1 1/2 cups of buttercream with the coconut extract, then set aside. Mix the remaining buttercream with the vanilla bean paste until all the paste is incorporated.

       

      To assemble:

      1. Trim off cake tops with a large serrated knife to level any domed tops. Flip cakes over and also shave off a thin layer of the cake that has turned brown; this helps the syrup soak in a bit more.

      2. Place a small dollop of buttercream onto a cardboard cake round. This helps “glue” the cake, so as not to slide while assembling. Place one cake layer down over the dollop of buttercream, being careful to center on cardboard round. Brush cake liberally with the rum syrup. Frost this first layer with the coconut buttercream, until buttercream is level and smooth.

      3. Prepare a second cake layer by brushing with syrup and carefully flipping cake over so syrup soaked side rests over the coconut buttercream. Brush the top side of cake also with syrup. Place a generous amount of the pineapple curd over the cake layer and smooth to the side of cake leaving about 1/2 inch boarder as curd will spread a bit. If you want extra assurance; you may pipe a border of vanilla buttercream (about 1/2 inch tall) along the outside edge border of the cake and place the pineapple curd inside the piped boarder. If you like a thicker layer of curd this is a way to get a thicker layer without having to worry about it seeping out the sides of the cake. If you don’t have a piping bag you can simply use a plastic ziplock bag and snip off one of the corners and pipe that way. If find I like this way (using the piped border) as some of the curd tends to soak into the cake after assembling and you can get a thicker layer of curd this way.

      4. Brush the third and final layer of cake with syrup and place it soaked side down over the curd layer. Brush the top layer of the cake also with syrup and spread a thin layer of vanilla buttercream over the top and sides of cake to “crumb coat”. Place the crumb coated cake into the fridge for 30 minutes. Frost the cake top and sides with remaining vanilla buttercream until smooth and cover top and sides of cake with flaked coconut. Keep cake chilled in refrigerator. Remove cake about 1 hour before ready to serve to come to room temperature. Store any remaining cake in the refrigerator.

       

      For a 2 layer cake: Follow directions as above but reduce amounts as per below and prepare two 9 inch cake pans and bake as above. Prepare a 5 egg white buttercream.

      3 1/4 Cups cake flour

      1 Tbsp. baking powder

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1 Cup unsalted butter

      1 1/4 Cups

      6 large egg whites

      1 tsp. lemon zest (fine)

      1 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla)

      1/2 tsp. coconut extract

      2/3 Cup coconut milk

      2/3 Cup whole or 2 % milk

      3/4 Cup sweetened flake coconut + more for finishing cake

       

      Five egg white Swiss Meringue Vanilla Bean Buttercream

      Follow method directions as above for buttercream

      (enough to frost and fill a 2 layer cake)

      5  egg whites

      1 1/4 Cup sugar

      4 sticks unsalted butter

      1 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste OR (Coconut extract to taste if you want coconut buttercream)

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

    • Homemade Oreos

      Oreos are the quintessential American cookie. Who in their lifetime has not either split open or dunked a good Oreo or two…or five. I swear they taste even better at 2 am in the morning when you can’t sleep and your stomach is growling. Just sayin’…

      I hardly ever buy Oreos though because my son will devour half a package in no time; and I don’t have much constraint when it comes to stopping at just one. For some reason I was compelled to try my hand at making them, but only after reading several comments from patrons who have visited the famed bakery in Boston named Flour. Their Oreos are known to be quite special. This recipe is from that baker, and is super easy. The recipe can be found in Joanne’s cookbook Flour. I found the recipe online from the Boston Globe. I only changed one minor thing- I used equal parts of regular and “black cocoa” which you can find online from King Arthur. The addition of black cocoa makes these the perfect dark black cookie the original Oreo is known for.

       

      Homemade Oreos

       

      Oreos 2

      Oreos 3

      Oreos 4

      Homemade Oreos

      recipe: adapted from Flour Bakery

      Here is the link for the original recipe found in the Boston Globe

       

      2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

      3/4 cup sugar

      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

      1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

      1 egg

      1 1/2 cups flour

      3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used half black cocoa and half regular)

      1/2 teaspoon baking soda

      1 teaspoon kosher salt

      1. In a medium bowl, whisk the butter and the sugar until combined. Whisk in the vanilla and melted chocolate. Add the egg and stir until well blended.

      2. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder(s), baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend them. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. The finished dough should feel like Play-Doh. Cover the dough with plastic, and set aside for 1 hour or until firm.

      3. Place the dough on a long sheet of parchment paper. Use your hands to shape it into a rough log, about 10 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Note: I split mine into two logs of equal length: which I then “nestle” each log into a split paper towel roll, which I use to ensure the dough stays round while chilling. Each log was the length of the paper towel roll. I always use this method when making slice and bake cookies. Each log ends up being about 2 inches in diameter.

      Place the log at the edge of the parchment. Roll the parchment around the log. With your hands on the paper, roll the dough into a tighter log, keeping the diameter the same.

      4. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or until it is firm enough to slice without crumbling.

      5. Set the oven at 325° F . Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

      6. Remove the dough from the paper. Cut the logs into 1/4 inch slices. Set them on the baking sheets 1- 1 1/2 inches apart. They spread quite a bit.

      7. Bake the cookies for 15 -20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes, or until they are firm when touched in the center. Mine were done exactly at 15 minutes.

      8. Cool completely on the sheets.

      Vanilla filling

      1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

      1 teaspoon vanilla extract

      1 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

      1 tablespoon milk

      Pinch salt

      1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on low speed for half a minute. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.

      2. Beat in the milk and salt. The filling will look and feel like spackle.

      3. Place 1-2 tsp. of filling on the flat side of one cookie. Press the remaining cookies on the filling, flat sides against the cream, to evenly distribute the filling. Note: I found it quite easier to put the filling into a pastry bag and portion out the filling by squeezing directly onto one of the cookie halves- it also gives a cleaner looking product.

      4. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    • Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pops

      Summer makes me lazy. Makes me so lazy that I’d much rather prefer eating an ice pop than scooping ice cream into a bowl. But summer was made for being lazy, right? Lazy pseudo naps in the hammock, lazy nights relaxing on the porch catching random breezes. No loading dirty bowls into the dish washer. Just fling the pop stick into the garbage. Lazy. Embrace it. You can totally blame it on me…

       

      blueberry ice pops 2

       

      blueberry ice pops 3

       

      Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pops

      recipe: adapted from Southern Living

      yield: 8-12 ice pops depending on size of molds

       

      Blueberry Swirl

      1 pint fresh, clean blueberries

      3/4 Cup sugar

      2 tsp. lemon zest

      1 tsp. lemon juice

       

      In a small sauce pan bring contents to boil and then turn down to simmer until mixture thickens. Let cool completely then place in refrigerator to chill until needed.

       

      Cheesecake Ice Cream Base

      8 oz. softened cream cheese

      1 1/2 Cups half and half

      1/2 Cup buttermilk

      3/4 Cup sugar

      pinch of kosher salt

      1/4 tsp. almond extract

      1 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

       

      1. Process ingredients in a blender until smooth; about 1 minute. Pour into a freezable container and place in the freezer. Freeze for one hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

      2. Stir 3/4 cup blueberry swirl into the ice cream base and continue to freeze again for another 20 minutes; saving the rest of the blueberry swirl to layer ice pops with.

      3. Layer blueberry ice cream into ice pops molds and freeze about 20 minutes. Spoon a thin layer of blueberry swirl, then freeze for 10 minutes. Spoon another layer of ice cream over swirl- freeze for 20 minutes, and continue once more with swirl and freeze as indicated before topping off with ice cream. After 15 minutes insert popsicle sticks into ice pops and continue to freeze until firm.

      p.s. If you don’t want to layer the ice pops with a stripe- you can mix in all of the swirl into the base and spoon the mixture into the molds-wait about an hour until firm enough to insert the pop sticks.

      You may also use the base recipe and process in your ice cream maker and once done churning, layer the base with the blueberry swirl in a square shaped ice cream container.

       

       

       

    • Blueberry Streusel Muffins

      You know that saying, “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t?”  Well, sometimes you feel like streusel, and sometimes you don’t. Guess what I felt like today? Yep. Totally into streusel. I love the crunchy sugary top of a muffin that happens after the streusel topping melts into the muffin. The best way to eat these is to break them open and smear sweet butter on them while still warm. These muffins have a very tender crumb because of all the sour cream in them. The technique is kind of an unusual recipe (from Cook’s Illustrated) but it creates a very soft tender muffin.

      blueberry streusel muffins

      blueberry streusel muffins 2

       

      blueberry streusel muffins 3

      Blueberry Streusel Muffins

      adapted from Cooks Illustrated

      yield: 12 muffins

       

      2 Cups all purpose flour

      1 Tablespoon baking powder

      1/2 tsp. salt

      2 Cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries

      1 large egg

      1 Cup sugar

      4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted & cooled

      1 1/4 Cups sour cream

      1 tsp. lemon zest

      Streusel:

      1/2 Cup all purpose flour

      1/3 Cup sugar

      pinch of salt

      1 tsp. cinnamon

      4 Tbsp. melted butter

       

      For streusel: In a small bowl combine all ingredients with a fork. Set aside until ready to use.

       

      For Muffins:

      1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin with non stick spray or butter.

      2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Add blueberries, and toss to combine.

      3. In a large bowl whisk egg until light colored; about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter in 2-3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 additions, whisking until just combined. Add flour mixture in 2-3 additions and gently fold after each addition until batter comes together; being careful not to over-mix. Batter may have small spots of flour remaining. Do not over-mix. Batter will be thick.

      4. Distribute batter evenly among prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle streusel topping over each muffin. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out with  few crumbs attached. Let muffins cool in tin for 10 minutes, then remove to cool over wire rack.

       

       

       

       

       

       

    • Happy Memorial Day- Cherry Crisp

      I have a very vivid memory of my childhood peering into the abyss of a large freezer filled with sour cherries. This freezer still exists at my parents house. It is ancient, but trustworthy. Michiganders are notorious for squirreling away vast quantities of food in freezers as you can never be too prepared for a brutal winter, or frankly just prepared for any kind of weather.

      We were not one of those families who had freezers full of deer meat. Like I said, for some reason I remember seeing a lot of sour cherries. Sour cherries (which are the variety Montmorency cherries) are a big thing in Michigan- right up there with blueberries. You never know when the mood strikes you to whip out a cobbler or crisp- and you must be prepared! If you are not privy to sour cherries by all means use fresh sweet bing or a mixture of bing and rainier cherries; just reduce the sugar probably by half.

       

      cherry crisp 3

      cherry crisp with almonds

      cherry crisp with vanilla bean ice cream

      Vanilla ice cream just takes it over the top….

       

      Cherry Crisp

      serves 7

      yield: 7 individual 4.5 oz ramekins or one large 1.5-2 quart casserole dish

       

      7 Cups pitted frozen tart cherries, thawed

      1 Cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar

      4 Tbsp. cornstarch

      1/2 tsp. almond extract

      1 tsp. vanilla

       

      1. In a medium nonstick saucepan combine first 3 ingredients. Cook over medium heat until mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Stir in the extracts. Fill ramekins 3/4 full, then top with crumble mixture (recipe below). Bake at 375° F for 24-30 minutes until topping is lightly browned. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Note: if you like you may make one large dish and use a 1.5 or 2 quart oval or rectangular casserole dish, and adjust the baking time as needed.

       

      Crumble:

      1/4 Cup flour

      1/4 Cup packed brown sugar

      pinch of salt

      1/4 Cup soft butter, cubed

      1/4 tsp. cinnamon

      1/4 Cup slivered almonds