SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

Cakes, Treats, and Everything Sweet

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    • Gingerbread Pear and Almond Tart

      Perfect for Christmas morning, that’s what this is. This tastes like Christmas to me. The crust of the tart is basically an amazing gingerbread cookie topped with ground almonds, sweet marmalade coated pears and topped off with a sprinkling of icing sugar. The dough is so amazing it would also make wonderful cookies on its own. The recipe comes from the creative Donna Hay from Australia issue # 63.

      Gingerbread Pear and Almond Tart

      recipe from Donna Hay magazine issue # 63

      yield: serves 6-8

      125 gms unsalted butter (9 Tbsp.) softened

      1/2 Cup light brown sugar

      2/3 Cup golden syrup (I use Lyles golden syrup brand)

      2  1/2 Cups all purpose flour, sifted

      2 tsp. ground ginger

      1 tsp. baking soda

      1/2 Cup almond meal (ground almonds)

      2 Tbsp. caster sugar (superfine sugar)

      3 firm brown pears, unpeeled, cored and sliced (ea. pear slice into 8 slices)

      1/4 Cup caster sugar

      1 tsp. vanilla

      1/4 Cup orange marmalade

      1 egg white, beaten

      confectioners sugar for dusting

      Preheat oven to 325° degrees F. Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup, flour, ginger, and baking soda and beat until mixture just comes together to form a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

      Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 8 inches wide by 15 1/2 inches long. Mix the almond meal and 2 Tbsp. caster sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle down the center of the dough leaving a 2 inch border on all sides. In a medium bowl toss the pears, marmalade, vanilla, 1/4 Cup sugar to combine. Top the dough with the pears shingling them in an alternate pattern. Fold the edges of the dough over the pears. Brush with egg white and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes until the tart is golden. Let cool on a wire rack and dust with sprinkling of powdered sugar.

    • Hot Fudge Sauce

      When you think of breaking your diet, do you think of hot fudge?  This hot fudge sauce is legendary; or so I’m told by my Mother. All I know is it’s darned good and perhaps worth breaking your diet over, but don’t blame me…..I’m just providing the recipe. The rest is your decision.

      Growing up in Muskegon, Michigan there was an old hotel in my home town called the Occidental Hotel. The hotel was an icon in our small town and in April of 1975 it came down in a well planned implosion to make way for a shopping mall. It was a bittersweet time as people were excited about a new mall but at the same time this iconic hotel was being destroyed. Fast forward now present day and that same mall was demolished 3 years ago to make way for a new culinary school. Funny the circle of life, no? definitely food for thought.

      I still remember getting up that morning in 1975 to make our pilgrimage downtown to stand with many other folks behind roped off areas to watch it come down. I was told by my Mother many times during my childhood about this hotel having a famous candy shop that served the most amazing hot fudge sundaes.

      This recipe had been squirreled out by someone who passed it along to my Mother. The recipe made its way around our small town.  Back then I’m sure they did not make employees sign non-disclosure agreements and recipes had a way of catching fire like a burning bush. The ingredients are so simple that most likely someone on the inside memorized it, wrote it down, and there you have it.  I learned at an early age how to make this hot fudge sauce under the tutelage of my Mother.  Like any good tried and true recipe the ingredients are simple and straight forward and just cause for spontaneous diet breaking as you know you already have all the ingredients. You can start your diet tomorrow….

      Hot Fudge Sauce (Occidental Hotel)

      1 Cup Sugar

      1/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

      2 Tbsp flour

      1 Cup milk

      1 Tbsp. butter

      1 tsp. vanilla

      Combine sugar, cocoa, flour and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Lower the heat and continue to cook until thick. Add butter and vanilla and stir. Remove from heat serve while warm. Store cooled sauce in refrigerator.

    • Hot Fudge Sauce

      When you think of breaking your diet, do you think of hot fudge?  This hot fudge sauce is legendary; or so I’m told by my Mother. All I know is it’s darned good and perhaps worth breaking your diet over, but don’t blame me…..I’m just providing the recipe. The rest is your decision.

      Growing up in Muskegon, Michigan there was an old hotel in my home town called the Occidental Hotel. The hotel was an icon in our small town and in April of 1975 it came down in a well planned implosion to make way for a shopping mall. It was a bittersweet time as people were excited about a new mall but at the same time this iconic hotel was being destroyed. Fast forward now present day and that same mall was demolished 3 years ago to make way for a new culinary school. Funny the circle of life, no? definitely food for thought.

      I still remember getting up that morning in 1975 to make our pilgrimage downtown to stand with many other folks behind roped off areas to watch it come down. I was told by my Mother many times during my childhood about this hotel having a famous candy shop that served the most amazing hot fudge sundaes.

      This recipe had been squirreled out by someone who passed it along to my Mother. The recipe made its way around our small town.  Back then I’m sure they did not make employees sign non-disclosure agreements and recipes had a way of catching fire like a burning bush. The ingredients are so simple that most likely someone on the inside memorized it, wrote it down, and there you have it.  I learned at an early age how to make this hot fudge sauce under the tutelage of my Mother.  Like any good tried and true recipe the ingredients are simple and straight forward and just cause for spontaneous diet breaking as you know you already have all the ingredients. You can start your diet tomorrow….

      Hot Fudge Sauce (Occidental Hotel)

      1 Cup Sugar

      1/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

      2 Tbsp flour

      1 Cup milk

      1 Tbsp. butter

      1 tsp. vanilla

      Combine sugar, cocoa, flour and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Lower the heat and continue to cook until thick. Add butter and vanilla and stir. Remove from heat serve while warm. Store cooled sauce in refrigerator.

    • Apple Fritters

      Fall is my favorite baking season. Quite frankly Fall is my favorite everything when it comes to living in San Francisco. I love San Francisco and where I live; I can walk to the bank, the library, the park, and if I don’t feel like driving, all I have to do is walk 3 blocks and the street car will take me downtown.  Some days though it’s a bit hard to put up with the dense thick fog that blankets my neighborhood during summertime, and I do mean blanket. When you look out the window and everything is white and cold, it’s hard to get motivated. The temperature gauge reads 52 more than it does 72. During the entire month of July and August I sleep in flannel pajamas and the heating blanket is on almost every night. If you’ve never experienced the San Francisco fog you probably think I’m talking crazy talk but for reals this is the truth. Ever since I moved to San Francisco 14 years ago; I now worship Fall as it means a serious change in weather. Fall in San Francisco means no more marine layer. It is actually our Summer in terms of normal weather. The biggest secret I can share is that October is THE BEST month to visit San Francisco, but September holds promise as well. The ever-present fog lifts and the sun breaks through. Apples of every type start filling the market and this means the precursor of serious baking season. Welcome the apples. Bring on the apple fritters. I might even eat one while sitting in the sun in my summer pajamas in the backyard….

      Apple Fritters

      recipe: adapted from Cook’s Country

      FRITTERS

      • 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
      • 2 cups all purpose flour
      • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
      • 1 tablespoon baking powder
      • 1 teaspoon  salt
      • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
      • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
      • 3/4 cup apple cider
      • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
      • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
      • 3 cups vegetable peanut oil

      GLAZE

      • 2 cups confectioners sugar
      • 1/4 cup apple cider
      • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
      • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

      Directions:

      1.  Spread prepared apples in single layer on paper towel–lined baking sheet and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in large bowl. Whisk cider, eggs, and melted butter in medium bowl until combined. Stir apples into flour mixture. Stir in cider mixture until incorporated.

      2.  Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F. Scoop one tablespoon size of batter into the oil. Fry, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 325 and 350 degrees, until deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer fritters to wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bring oil back to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining batter. Let fritters cool 5 minutes

      3.  Meanwhile, whisk confectioners’ sugar, cider, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl until smooth. Dunk each fritter in glaze. Let glaze set 10 minutes. Serve.

    • Grape and Rosemary Focaccia

      I saw these beautiful concord grapes in the market the other day and I stopped dead in my tracks. I never see concord grapes.  I love the contrast in flavor of concord grapes. The skin is tart but the inside flesh  is super sweet.  I have been hanging onto the thought of making this grape and rosemary focaccia  for some time. The rosemary, no problem as I have an enormous rosemary plant growing in my backyard that is out of control. I should say it’s really a rosemary bush.  In a weird way I’m kind of proud of that rosemary plant as it started out as a tiny plant, and now it has aggressively taken over major real estate in my backyard. Everyone knows I cannot grow anything worth a darn, :-(  but the exception is my rosemary plant. Quite frankly I don’t even try; it has taken on a life-force of its own. With all the fog here I don’t even water it. That’s why I love it, it’s like the big green monster that self feeds. When you enter the garden it makes a statement. As soon as you get 3 feet from it you can smell the piney fresh scent. This bread is a lovely contrast between sweet and savory. If you can’t find concord grapes you could use black grapes also.

      My beloved Rosemary bush-note the white dense sky- San Francisco fog in the background….

      concord beauties- once they bake they turn an amazing deep purple color

      Concord Grape and Rosemary Focaccia

      recipe adapted from Epicurious

      3/4 Cup very warm water

      1 pkg. active dry yeast

      3 tsp. sugar

      1 tsp. kosher salt

      2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil + more for brushing dough

      2 1/4 Cup bread flour

      one large bunch concord grapes

      fresh rosemary

      1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

      kosher salt or coarse sea salt

      1. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar and whisk to combine with a hand whisk. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, olive oil and bread flour and mix with a spatula by hand. Attach the dough hook and on medium high speed knead the dough for about 2 minutes. Oil a large bowl with extra virgin olive oil and turn out the dough into the bowl, turning the dough so it coats all sides with the oil. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.

      2. Spread olive oil over a large sheet pan. Take the dough and press it into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick. Conversely you can spread the dough into 2 round loaves; cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled about one hour. Brush the dough with olive oil and dimple the dough using your fingertips. Scatter the grapes and rosemary leaves over the dough. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar.

      3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let bread cool about 15 minutes then sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve warm.

    • Snickers Cupcakes

      Who doesn’t love a good Snickers. Chocolate, creamy peanut nougat, and caramel. What’s not to love?? Who doesn’t love a good chocolate cupcake. If a Snickers and cupcake had a baby this would be it. A perfect marriage. Talk about a bun in the oven. Is there anything else to say? This recipe is wordy enough, so I’ll just stop right there. Enjoy.

      Suzie

      Snickers Cupcakes

      Peanut Praline

      1/2 Cup granulated sugar

      2 Tbsp. water

      1/4 Cup salted “party” peanuts

      1. Prepare a rimmed sheet pan with either a Silpat silicone liner or grease lightly. In a small saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil over high heat until medium-dark amber in color. Turn off the heat, remove from burner and stir in peanuts, pour out onto prepared sheet pan, let cool completely and place in a plastic ziplock bag and bash with a meat mallet to grind into fine powder. Set aside for peanut praline buttercream filling.

      Swiss Meringue Buttercream

      8 egg whites

      2 Cups granulated sugar

      6 sticks (3 Cups) unsalted butter

      2 tsp. vanilla

      *Peanut Praline (from above)

      * 4 oz. Bittersweet chocolate bar, chopped fine, melted and cooled

      1. In the mixer bowl of a stand mixer place the egg whites and sugar and place over a saucepan of simmering water.

      2. Heat the egg white mixture while whisking until the temperature is about 160 degrees and/or the mixture is very warm to finger touch and can no longer feel any sugar crystals between your fingers.

      3. With the whisk attachment; place the bowl on the stand mixer and whip until you have a stiff meringue and the bottom of the bowl is barely warm. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time until all of the butter is incorporated; mix on high speed. Add the vanilla and whip until smooth.

      4. Divide buttercream–

      To make Peanut Praline Buttercream Filling: Take about 2 Cups of buttercream and stir in 1/2 Cup of the * peanut praline. Set aside for filling cupcakes.

      To make Chocolate Buttercream: Take the rest of the buttercream and beat in the cooled, melted bittersweet chocolate until smooth. Use this to frost cupcakes.

      Devils Food Cupcakes

      makes ~ 24 cupcakes

      3/4 Cup unsalted butter, room temp

      2  1/4 Cup Sugar

      3 eggs, room temp

      1  1/2 tsp. vanilla

      2  1/4 all-purpose flour

      3/4 Cup Extra dark cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s special dark, or regular cocoa powder)

      1  1/2 tsp. baking soda

      1/2 tsp. salt

      3/4 Cup buttermilk, room temp

      3/4 Cup  coffee, room temp

      1/3 Cup Purchased caramel sauce, mixed with pinch of salt (For drizzling cupcakes)

      1. Preheat oven to 375° degrees.

      2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light &  fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined; stopping to scrape down bowl in between each addition. Add vanilla, stir to combine. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk to combine; set aside. Combine buttermilk and coffee together in a liquid measuring cup; set aside. Add dry ingredients alternatively with buttermilk coffee mixture ending with flour mixture, beating after each addition.

      3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 375° degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Don’t be tempted to overfill as they rise quite a bit! Let cakes cool on a wire rack in pans for 10 minutes then remove to wire rack to let cool the rest of the way completely.

      Cupcake Assembly-

      Make a hole in the cupcake using apple corer, fill with Peanut Praline Buttercream. Frost with swirl of Chocolate Buttercream. Drizzle with salted caramel topping. Top with small slice of snickers candy bar.