SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

Cakes, Treats, and Everything Sweet

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    • Thai Style Limeade (Limeade with Lemongrass & Mint)

      If I had to pick an ethnic food as my favorite it would probably be Thai food. I love spicy, and I love the layers of flavor that Thai food has; spicy, sweet, and tangy. Near my workplace there is a Thai food restaurant; called Sweet Lime that has the MOST AMAZING Thai limeade. Ever. That limeade haunts me. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a little tart, but mostly sweet with an undertone of something herbal. I will be at my desk at work and suddenly I start craving it. The only problem is that it’s about 5 blocks from work and other than lunch time it’s not like I can zip out to get some. The first time I had it, I tried to get the secret from the woman on what was in it that made it so good. She coyly responded by saying “Oh, we make it fresh everyday”. Yes, I could tell it was fresh but that was not what I was after. I just KNEW there was some secret ingredient in that darned limeade but she was not going to tell me. I was picking up lemongrass or something herbal. I was not getting mint right away but later after some gentle probing from the waiter he admitted it was mint. I had already tried to whip up a batch at home using just lemongrass and it was pretty good on it’s own, but the mint definitely makes this refresher zing. I’m happy to say it tastes just like the limeade at my favorite restaurant. Here it is. Lemongrass minty limeade.

      Limeade with Lemongrass & Mint

      yield: about 1.8 quarts

      6 cups water divided

      2 cups sugar

      2 stalks lemongrass

      1 Cup fresh mint leaves

      1  1/2 Cup fresh lime juice (about 12 limes)

      crushed ice for serving

      lime slices for serving (optional)

      mint leaves for serving (optional)

      1. Prepare the lemongrass by washing and removing the outer tough 1-2 leaves only. Chop off the fanned like top portion. Take the back of a chefs knife and “bash” the lemongrass with the back of your knife to breakdown the grass a bit, then chop it into one inch pieces. Combine 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar in a pot. Add in the chopped lemongrass and mint. Bring to a boil and then decrease to a simmer and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring the lemongrass and mint. Turn off the heat and let the syrup steep for 7 minutes.  Strain out the lemongrass and mint. Chill the syrup in the refrigerator while you juice the limes.

      2. In a pitcher combine the remaining 4 cups of water, lime juice and about 3/4 of the cooled syrup. Stir well. Taste and add any remaining syrup to taste. I ended up using all except 1/3 Cup of the syrup. Serve limeade over crushed ice and garnish with lime slices and fresh mint if desired.

      3. Take that glass of limeade and sit on the porch and put on some smooth jazz and start sippin…

    • Butter Pecan Mini Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream

      Have you ever been to Montreal? It’s such a beautiful city. Quite a few years ago I went to a conference there for work. I have to admit; I ditched one of my classes about a quarter way into the lecture after my head was bobbing up and down and I could barely stand myself. I headed out into the street and started zipping into as many shops as I could before I had to be back for my next lecture. One of the things I noticed rather quickly was there are a lot of shops displaying maple syrup. Canadians are really proud of their maple syrup and they should be. It’s top quality. They like to use their maple syrup in a lot of things; not just over pancakes. I came across a store that had maple syrup tastings. What, stop, whoa…maple syrup tastings? that’s right. There is light, darker, darkest; whatever you like. I learned a lot that day about maple syrup. I learned you should never settle for anything but the real thing. These cute little mini cupcakes are topped with maple buttercream. Make sure to use the best you can find.

      Butter Pecan Mini Cupcakes

      yield: 24 mini cupcakes

      recipe: adapted from 200 mini cakes & bakes

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

      1/2 Cup sugar

      1  1/2 tsp. vanilla

      2 eggs

      1/4 Cup milk

      1 Cup cake flour

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1  1/2 tsp.  baking powder

      1/2 Cup finely chopped pecans

      whole pecans, toasted, to decorate

      Maple Buttercream

      1 Cup unsalted butter, room temp

      1/2 Cup confectioners sugar, sifted + more if needed

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1 tsp. vanilla bean paste

      6 Tbsp. real maple syrup

      1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a 24 well silicone mini muffin cup liner on a baking sheet. Conversely if you don’t have a silicone muffin pan you can use regular mini muffin pan with paper liners.

      2. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla and stir. Combine the rest of the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat to combine. Stir in the chopped pecans.

      3. Fill the wells of the mini muffin cups with one Tablespoon of batter. Bake for about 11-12 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for about 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling until completely cool.

      4. Frost cupcakes [use a start tip if you have one] with Maple butter once cakes are completely cool and top with a whole toasted pecan.

      Buttercream:

      Cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add in the salt and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the maple syrup, beat until smooth. Add any additional confectioners sugar if needed one Tbsp. at a time if buttercream is too soft.

    • Cherry Chocolate Macarons

      When I was growing up my Grandmother had a designated “candy cupboard”. She had many kinds of candy in that cupboard. My Mother was not fond of that cupboard.-but that’s what Grandmothers do- give anxious little children all the naughty pleasures our hearts desire. {Just in case you needed reminding}.  It took my sister and I all of  about 2.5 seconds at mach speed to launch head first into that cupboard once inside the door.  One of the things she always had was a box of chocolate covered cherries. I thought all Grandmothers had chocolate covered cherries in their cupboard. No, seriously.  I cannot remember a time when my Grandmother did not have those cherries. Yes, there were all sorts of goodies and other candies in that  naughty cupboard but the cherries is what always called my name. To this very day whenever I bite into a chocolate covered cherry I think of my Grandma.  Let’s face it, chocolate and cherry are a winning combo in anything.

      Chocolate Ganache:

      8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chopped fine

      8 oz. heavy cream

      In a medium bowl place the chopped chocolate. Bring heavy cream to a boil; pour over the chocolate and let sit for about 1 minute and then slowly whisk gently to combine being careful not incorporate too much air. Let ganache chill in refrigerator until set.

      Cherry Macarons:

      200 gms almond flour, sifted

      200 gms confectioners sugar, sifted

      1/2 cup freeze-dried cherries

      75 gms egg whites

      1 dram of cherry flavoring (I used Lorann oil Cherry)

      red food coloring as desired

      200 gms granulated sugar

      50 gms water

      75 gms egg whites (room temp)

      pinch of cream of tartar

      1. In a food processor combine the confectioners sugar and freeze-dried cherries until the cherries have been pulverized. In a large bowl combine the almond flour, and confectioners sugar/chery mixture. Add the 75 gms of egg whites, and cherry flavoring  and stir to combine. Stir in gel red food coloring until batter is a deep red hue.  Set aside.

      2. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment combine 75 gms of egg whites and the cream of tartar and begin whipping them on medium-high speed.

      At the same time combine the 200 gms of  granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan on high heat; bring to 240° without stirring while whipping the egg whites on your mixer simultaneously. You want the cooking sugar syrup to reach 240 degrees at the same time your whites reach stiff peaks. To time this; keep the stand mixer next to the stove so you can peek at the whites while still watching your cooking syrup. If you notice the whites starting to get too stiff before the sugar is done; slow down the mixer to low speed.

      3. Once the syrup is at 240 degrees, stop/take off the heat and start pouring the syrup down the side of the mixer bowl slowly with the mixer running on slow-medium at the same time; careful not to let the syrup hit the whisk to prevent hard syrup forming. Once all the syrup is in, crank up the mixer and whip the whites until very glossy and stiff.

      4. Take the whipped meringue and place on top of the almond mixture and start to  fold gently until all of the meringue is incorporated; careful not to deflate the mixture. You are looking for a thick consistency like lava. Fill a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip and pipe the cookies on parchment lined sheet trays; leaving at least an inch space between cookies. Take the trays and rap them hard on the counter to release any air bubbles. Let the trays sit out anywhere from 30-60 minutes; as long as it takes until when you touch the top of the cookies they are dry and no longer tacky to the touch.

      5. Bake the cookies double panned (placing one empty tray underneath the piped cookies) one tray at a time in a 325° oven for about 16-18 minutes until the cookies are no longer wet on the bottom and appear dry. Sacrifice one if you have to test. Let the cookies cool. Sandwich with the chocolate ganache. Store the cookies in the fridge covered loosely for 8 hours or overnight; this helps the cookies become even more chewy as the moisture from the filling helps the texture of the cookie.

    • Mini Raspberry Pies / Mini Pie Pops

      What do you do when you have leftover pie dough? You can make mini pie tartelettes or mini pie pops. You can use store-bought jam or preserves or make your own. I had some leftover raspberry filling from a couple of weeks ago that I made for my mini cheesecakes and it worked out well. Here are two options for mini pies. Each method uses the same size cutter. Happy Baking and Happy Fourth of July! xoxo, Suzie.

      Mini Raspberry Pies /Pie Pops

      Raspberry Filling (from cheese cake recipe) or your favorite Raspberry Jam

      My Fearless Pie Crust or your favorite Pie dough

      1. Roll out the pie dough to an even thin thickness. Using a 2  1/2 inch fluted cutter cut out rounds.

      2. For mini pies: Press rounds into mini muffin pan, fill about 2/3 – 3/4 with filling, brush top edges of dough with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.  For mini pie pops:  Place a lollipop stick and press onto pie round, fill with about 1 tsp. filling, brush edges with heavy cream, place another round over top, brush with cream and sprinkle sugar.

      3. For mini pie tartelettes bake at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. For mini pie pops bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Let sheet pan sit on wire rack for pies to cool. Mini tartelettes would also be good topped with a small dollop of whipped cream. Serve at room temperature.

      Oscar says “Happy Independence Day” 

    • Triple Orange Scones With Orange Glaze

      These scones are packed with orange flavor. There is triple flavor from orange zest, orange extract and candied orange peel. I had some candied orange peel that I wanted to use up so I got inspired to make scones with a true assertive flavor. If that were not enough I glazed them with orange icing. I really like how these turned out. I hope you will too! Happy Baking, Suzie.

      Triple Orange Scones With Orange Glaze

      2 C all-purpose flour

      1/4 C sugar

      1 tsp. baking powder

      1 tsp. baking soda

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1 stick unsalted butter; cubed

      zest of 2  large oranges

      1/2 C chopped candied orange peel

      1 heaping Cup vanilla low-fat yogurt (I like to use Greek)

      1 Lg. egg

      1 tsp. orange extract

      1-2 Tbsp. cream or half-n-half for brushing top of scones.

      1. In a medium bowl; whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

      2. Cut up the butter in small cubes and add it to the flour mixture and blend by hand with a pastry blender; mix in the butter until all of the butter is mixed in but resembles the size of small peas.  Add in the candied orange peel and mix with a fork.

      3. In a separate bowl; whisk the yogurt, egg, orange extract and orange zest.

      4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add in the wet ingredients; mix gently to combine but don’t over mix.

      5. Turn out the dough onto a floured board and pat the dough into a 1 inch circle. Cut into 8 equal portions. Brush the top of the scones with half-n-half or cream.

      6. Bake at 350º F for about 20 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool. Make the orange glaze. Spoon the orange glaze over the scones. Let cool to set the glaze.

      Orange Glaze

      1  Cup Icing (confectioners) sugar

      2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

      In a small bowl combine the sugar and orange juice and whisk to combine until smooth.

    • Yum Yum Cake (Streusel Swirl Coffee Cake)

      When I was a little girl my Mom used to make this cake. Busy Moms listen up. This is your saving grace when someone tells you need to bring something to a potluck. You can whip this thing out in no time. Two main things are key to this cake; sour cream and an angel food cake pan. Your posse won’t even blink twice over the fact it has no frosting. I’m sure there is probably another name for this cake, but I swear this is what it was always called. I’m not even messin’ with you. For reals. This was my favorite cake growing up. I mean, seriously how bad do you think it could be with a name like that? I’m here to tell you, it is amazing. To this day I am still scratching my head over this cake- how could something so simple be so good? This cake is like a surprise joy ride. It appears as if it were a plain old Chevy but one taste and you know it’s really like a brand new Cadillac. The beauty and wonder of this cake is that it is super moist and has texture. If I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again-I love texture. You know how you dive into the top of a good coffee cake because all the elements of naughty goodness coalesce into one sugar nut mass of love? Yeah, this cake has that same sugar-cinnamon nut flavor but swirls of it fused into a rich yellow moist cake. Go ahead, take it for a spin. You’ll be glad you did.

      I found these really pretty paper baking pans in Michael’s by “Celebrate It”  and thought they were really pretty. The recipe makes enough for 2 of these 6 inch baking molds or one standard large angel food cake pan.

       

      Yum Yum Cake

       

      Topping/Swirl:

      1 Cup Finely chopped walnuts

      1/4 Cup granulated sugar

      1/3 Cup light brown sugar

      1 tsp. cinnamon

      (Mix together in a small bowl; set aside).

      Cake:

      1  1/2 sticks (3/4 Cup) unsalted butter, room temp

      1  1/2 Cup granulated sugar

      3 Lg. eggs, room temp

      1 tsp. vanilla

      3 Cups sifted flour

      1  1/2 tsp. baking powder

      1  1/2 tsp. baking soda

      1 tsp. salt

      16 oz. sour cream, room temp

      1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an angel food cake pan well or spray with baking spray. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat to combine. Beat in vanilla to combine.

      2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine; set aside.

      3. Mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the sugar/butter egg mixture and combine.  Continue to alternate mixing with 1/2 of sour cream and dry ingredients making sure to end with dry ingredients.

      4. Pour 1/3 of cake batter into the pan, then add a layer of topping and pat down gently. Continue alternating batter and topping mixture like this for 3 times; ending with topping on top of cake. Bake for about 1 hour. Let cool. Do not turn cake upside down to cool.