SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

Cakes, Treats, and Everything Sweet

recent posts

    • New Orleans Style Beignets

      Years ago we vacationed in New Orleans and it took us all of one bite to become addicted to beignets. Sweet, fluffy fried dough showered with mountains of sugar. I think we ate beignets every day; or almost for a whole week when we were there. Soft pillowy dough fried to perfection. What’s not to love? Equally addictive is the coffee you drink with it; but that’s a story for another time. Today I’m going to walk you through the steps of how to make them and heads up; you need to let that sacred dough rest in the fridge overnight, but don’t let that deter you as the dough is super easy to pull together and then you cover it and let it go night night. In the morning, you just wake up, make some good strong coffee and then get down to serious beignet making. Yeah, it’s pretty much a weekend event. Make sure to invite some friends over [or not] as the dough makes quite a bit. Yep, let the good times roll….

      Beignets

      recipe adapted from Southern Living

      yield: ~ 3 dozen beignets

      1/2 pkg. active dry yeast ( 1  1/4 tsp. or 4 gms)

      3/4 Cup warm water

      1/4 Cup + 1 tsp. granulated sugar

      1/2 Cup evaporated milk

      1 Lg. egg, lightly beaten

      1/2 tsp. salt

      2 Tbsp. butter flavor shortening

      3-3 1/2 Cups bread flour

      vegetable oil

      sifted confectioners sugar

      • 1. Make the yeast mixture: Combine yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and 1 tsp. granulated sugar in bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer; let stand 5 minutes. Add milk, egg, salt, and remaining granulated sugar. Whisk to combine.
      • 2. Form a dough: Microwave remaining 1/2 cup water until hot (about 115°); stir in shortening until melted. Add to yeast mixture. Beat at low speed, gradually adding 2 cups flour, until smooth. Gradually add remaining 1  to 1  1/2 cups flour, beating until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl; turn to grease top. Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours.
      • 3. Roll and cut: Turn dough out onto a floured surface; roll to a generous ~ 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares.
      • 4. Fry until golden: Pour oil to depth of 2 to 3 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 360°. Fry dough, in batches, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack. Dust immediately with powdered sugar.

    • Honey~Cream Pine Nut Tarts

      In 1998 I  lived in New Mexico for only a short time; 4 months in the dead of summer. I’ll never forget that kind of heat. We are talkin’ 115-120 degree summer weather. The hot dry climate of New Mexico is perfect for pine nut trees as they are drought tolerant. I have a great fondness for New Mexico still, and one of my memories is remembering the pinon trees. There was a trail I used to ride my bike down and along the trail was a cluster of pinon trees. I used to wonder, what does one really do with pine nuts other than using them in pesto? Well, I can tell you they are really good tucked into a tiny tart with honey cream! The Italians have long loved their pine nuts and you will see them used a lot in baking there in cookies. In New Mexico they love their pine nuts and they even impart them into their coffee providing a nutty flavor to the coffee. I have to be honest, I never really got into pine nuts much when it comes to baking, but when I saw this recipe I thought it sounded really good and I was right. I have adapted the recipe slightly but toasting the pine nuts and making tiny tarts instead of a full muffin size which is called for in the originally recipe.

      Honey~Cream Pine Nut Tarts

      recipe adapted from “Mini Pies” cookbook

      yield: ~ 24 mini muffin size tarts

      1/4 Cup sugar

      1/4 Cup honey

      1 tsp. kosher salt

      6 Tbsp. unsalted butter chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

      1/4 Cup heavy whipping cream

      1 egg

      1 tsp. vanilla

      2  1/4 Cups roasted pine nuts

      1 recipe all butter pie dough; click HERE  for my “fearless pie crust” recipe

      1. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, honey and salt over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the butter gradually and stir until combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

      2. Whisk the cream and egg together in a bowl. Slowly whisk this into the honey sugar mixture until combined. Add the vanilla and stir.

      3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Roll out the pie crust to about 3/16 inch. Using a 2 1/2 inch fluted cutter cut out rounds and carefully shape into the mini muffin wells. Fill a heaping teaspoon of pine nuts into each pie well and top with about 1  1/2 tsp. of the honey cream mixture until almost full to the brim. Top with a small decorative pie shape if desired. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the crusts are done. Allow to cool in the muffin tins for about 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool.

    • Peach Financiers

      Financiers are little tiny cakes shaped like a miniature brick. Financiers are super moist inside from the almond flour and slightly crispy on the outside. They are the perfect treat with tea. The financiers are supposed to resemble a gold bar; thus the name financier. If you don’t have financier molds you can also make them in tiny muffin tins. I have a financier silicone mold but still brush them with melted butter to help the release even easier. I have come to love silicone baking molds and have many of them. You can find a good assortment of silicone baking molds on Amazon.com as well as many other online sources.  You will see many variations of financiers. Some are adorned with various fruits or without; almost any fresh fruit will do. Peaches are in season right now and a perfect pair with almond flavor. Small children really enjoy these tiny cakes as they are easy to hold and eat. Big kids like them too!

       

       

      Peach Financiers

      (recipe adapted from Epicurious)

      yield: ~ 12 financiers

      2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter

      1 Cup finely ground almonds (almond meal)

      1  2/3 Cup confectioners sugar

      1/2 Cup all-purpose flour

      pinch of salt

      3/4 Cup egg whites (~ 5-6 egg whites)

      1/2 tsp. pure almond extract

      3/4 Cup unsalted butter;  melted & turned to browned butter * (see below on how to make browned butter)

      slices of fresh peaches; skins removed

      * How to make browned butter: Using a small shallow pan; melt the butter over high heat until foamy; turn heat down to low and swirling the pan continue to swirl the pan until the butter becomes browned and nutty smelling. Let cool.

      1. Preheat the oven to 450° degrees F. Use the 2 Tbsp. melted butter to brush the insides of the financier molds.

      2. Combine the ground almonds, sugar, flour and salt; whisk to get rid of any lumps. Using the whisk, stir in the egg whites and almond extract until combined. Whisk in the cooled browned butter.

      3. Fill each of the molds almost to the top and top with a slice of fresh peach. Bake at 450° degrees for 7 minutes. Drop the oven temperature to 400° degrees and bake for another 7 minutes or until the cakes are almost firm. Turn off the oven and let the cakes cool in the oven for 7-10 minutes.

      4. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then remove. Cool completely and dust with confectioners sugar.

    • Fig and Honey Cakes

      Now that I am a grown up, I like figs. When I was a child, not so much. My neighbor lady would babysit me every now and then and she would try to feed me fig newtons for a snack. When you are a kid, fig newtons are not exactly your cookie of choice. When she was not looking, I would slip her dog those newtons.  She must have loved fig newtons because it was the only cookie she ever offered me. The dog and I became good friends fast. Now that I am a grown up I can appreciate a good fig. One of the things I like about figs is that they are so beautiful. When you cut into a fresh fig it is so vibrant in color and you cannot help but pause for a bit before you actually eat one. Figs have such a short season here and I love to buy figs when they are at the peak of ripeness. These cakes after baking are topped with a citrus and honey emulsion that makes these cakes really special. Do not skip that step.

      Fig and Honey Cakes

      yield: about 6-8 cakes

      1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

      1/2 Cup sugar

      2 eggs

      zest of one lemon

      1/2 tsp. almond extract

      1 Cup almond meal

      1/4 Cup all-purpose flour

      1/2  tsp. salt

      1/2  tsp. baking powder

      zest of one lemon

      2 Tablespoons clover honey

      1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

      1. Preheat the oven to 400° degrees F. Using non-stick baking spray; spray either a silicone baba au rhum molded pan or spray a non stick mini-popover mold pan. Cream the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Add the lemon zest and almond extract and stir to combine. Combine the almond meal, flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredient mixture all at once to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat to combine.

      2. Fill the molds equally about 2/3 full and submerge a fig quarter into the batter. Gently rest another fig quarter on top of the batter of each. Bake at 400° degrees F for about 20-23 minutes or until the cake is just firm. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes then invert the cake mold remove the cakes. While the cakes are cooling for the first 10 minutes stir together the honey and lemon juice until combined.  Spoon the honey and lemon mixture over each cake. Cakes can be served warm or at room temperature.

    • Blackberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

      I have a childhood confession. I used to steal blackberries from the neighbor’s yard; but it’s okay because my Mother made me do it. She doesn’t remember this, but I remember it vividly as if  it were  yesterday. We had an old man who lived behind us that had an amazing garden. He scared the living daylights out of me. His garden had wonderful plump blackberries. That garden of his was like something out of a Secret Garden. True story book material. It was somewhat magical and grand. He was always tinkering in his big garden so it was hard to find the time when he was not around. I think I had his nap time figured out though. Just when the moment was right, I would bring my little Tupperware container and seize a few of those berries.

      Then I would run like hell.

      Technically is it stealing if those berries are crossed over into your property by say a half an inch or two? :-) If I were in that house today I would simply make these bars and ask him for some berries. I’m sure he would have approved.

      Blackberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

      Crust:

      8 large cinnamon graham crackers; crushed to a fine meal to equal 1 generous Cup crumbs

      3 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

      pinch of salt

      6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

      Cheesecake Filling:

      2 (8 oz). bars (16 oz. total) of cream cheese; softened to room temp

      1 Cup granulated sugar

      1/4 cup sour cream at room temp

      3 Large eggs at room temp

      1  1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

      2 Tbsp. flour

      1/3 Cup Blackberry seedless jam

      1 Tbsp. water

      fresh blackberries

      Make the filling: Combine the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth. Stir in the vanilla bean paste. Add the eggs one at a time and combine until smooth. Stir in the flour. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the worker bowl to make sure all the cream cheese has been combined thoroughly.

      1. Prepare an 8 inch pan with a double sling (so each side is covered) of tinfoil. Spray the foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F.

      2. Pulse the graham crackers to a fine meal in either a food processor or blender; you should get about one generous Cup. Add the sugar and salt and melted butter and combine. Press into the bottom of your prepared pan and chill for 30 minutes. Bake the chilled crust for 10 minutes.

      3. Prepare the filling while the crust chills.

      4. Pour the filling into the pan and dot the filling with the blackberry jam by dropping teaspoons over the batter. Use a wooden skewer to swirl the jam. Lower the oven to 325 degrees.

      5. Bake the bars at 325° degrees for 30-40 minutes until the filling is set but slightly soft in the center. let the bars cool in the pan on a wire rack until set. Chill the bars for 2-3 hours until very cold and remove the entire pan of bars carefully using the sling. Peel away the foil. Cut into bars. Decorate the top with fresh blackberries is desired.

    • Microwave Brownie In A Mug For One

      I saw this on Pinterest.com and thought this was pretty nifty. Apparently I’m late to the party as this recipe is all over the web. Never heard of it myself.  If you are not addicted to Pinterest then you must be sleeping very well. Myself- I’m a Pinterest addict. Sometimes I have to cut myself off from that darn website or I would be up all night. I think this recipe/idea would be a great idea for an informal dinner date. Or conversely; maybe you’ve just been dumped Friday night and you need Chocolate Therapy STAT!

      We’ve all had a date where you’ve invited someone over for dinner and you want to make something easy where you are not stuck in the kitchen. It would be a genius way to involve your mate/date to be part of the experience. This is also a good late night brownie experience for one while watching Saturday Night Live.

      Brownie In A Mug

      Here are the components for what you need:

      One 10- 12 oz.  microwave safe mug (but you knew that)

      1 Tbsp. melted butter

      1 Tbsp. vegetable oil or grapeseed oil

      2 Tbsp. water

      1/4 tsp. vanilla

      pinch of salt

      1/4 Cup sugar

      2 Tbsp.  flour

      2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Hershey’s special dark but regular will do)

      Ice Cream of your choosing (vanilla, coffee etc.) personally I like salted caramel

      Instructions:

      1. In a microwaveable safe mug place the melted butter, oil, water, vanilla and salt. Whisk or stir well to combine.

      2. Add the sugar, stir well. Add the flour, stir well, add the cocoa, yep-stir well.

      3. Microwave on high for 40-50 seconds. I have a 1300 wat microwave and I experimented several times and found that I like 42 seconds which produced a slightly gooey soft fudgy brownies. But experiment and see what you like. Carefully remove the mug (careful- that Cup O’ Love is hot). Top with your favorite ice cream and enjoy.