Ice Cream Stop - The Odeon Ice Cream Cart

The Odeon Restaurant

145 West Broadway

Tribeca, NYC

theodeonrestaurant.com

Time for a quick, sweet, ICE COLD bite!  If you're downtown take a stroll past The Odeon on West Broadway in Tribeca and try out their Ice Cream Cart.

They have hands down the best Butter Pecan Ice Cream I have ever tasted!  I grew up on Breyer's Butter Pecan Ice Cream and was always extremely satisfied but this was a HUGE flavor burst compared to the brand we all know and love so much.  The ice cream had a deep caramelly-nutty flavor and was packed with buttery-toasted pecans.  It took my sister and I only five minutes to finish off a decently large cone!

Do yourself a favor and tackle the Summer heat with an Odeon Ice Cream Cone!  But pass on the Mint Chocolate Chip, one of my favorite flavors but sadly a disappointment.

Burger Stop - Shake Shack

This picture makes me wish
I had one right now!

Shake Shack
www.shakeshack.com

Here's a quick food stop for those of you who are looking for a good savory bite!  I finally stopped at Shake Shack with my sister and got myself a ShackBurger with American Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, and their signature Shack Sauce.  Sounds like a typical burger but trust me it's delishhh! I recommend going for the double because I could've eaten two singles and another helping of those crispy french fries!

Give it a try at one of their multiple locations in the city or stop at CitiField for a Mets game, although I know a Yankees game would be much more enjoyable ;)

"Berry Gooey" Granola Squares

Growing up I loved granola bars; vanilla yogurt, chocolate chip, apple filling, you name it I ate it!  I decided to come up with a more sophisticated granola bar and ended up with pecan-brown sugar granola sandwiched with home-made mixed berry preserves, making for a delicious sweet and salty combination.  Only problem is, they're quite addicting so make sure you have plenty of people to share them with!

Gooey Granola Squares

Granola:

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and cubed (plus extra for the pan)
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (lightly toast them for extra flavor!)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (or light if you don't have brown)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus 1/8 teaspoon, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mixed Berry Preserves:

• 3 cups mixed blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• Half a lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 once-used cinnamon sticks, or 1 1/2 fresh cinnamon sticks
• 1 vanilla bean, or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 tablespoon powdered pectin

To Prepare the Preserves:

Have an ice bath prepared: Large bowl filled with 50% ice 50% water

1. Place the berries, sugar, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean (scraped and pod) or paste, in a deep saucepan and place over medium heat.  Bring the berry mixture to a boil, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon and mashing large pieces of fruit with a fork, reduce to a simmer.
2. Stirring frequently, after about 2 minutes take out 1/3 of the berry mixture and strain through a fine-mesh sieve reserving the liquid and add it back to the pan, continuing to stir.
3. When the mixture has thickened some more (another minute), sprinkle in the pectin and stir to cook until the jam has thickened.  To test for proper thickness, I like to make sure the mixture coats the back of the spoon, or scrape the pan with my spoon and look to see that the trench formed slowly fills back in.
4. When mixture has thickened, place over the ice bath stirring frequently until cooled.  It should now have the proper thickness like that of jarred preserves.  Set aside for use.

To Prepare the Granola:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment and butter the parchment.
2. Toss the chopped pecans with the 1/8 teaspoon and toast until fragrant and lightly browned, set aside to cool.
3. Whisk together the flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, remaining salt, and pecans.
4. Add the cold cubed butter into the flour mixture and using a bench scraper (or two knives if you don't have), cut the butter into the flour mixture until it forms a rough, sandy consistency.  *The mixture should have small clumps throughout.  You do not want it to be too sandy because it will not hold together when baking.  
5. Add in the vanilla extract until well combined.
6. Press gently 2/3 of the granola mixture into the bottom of the pan then spread the mixed berry preserves to cover.  Place the rest of granola mixture on top of the preserves and gently press into the pan.  
7. Bake the granola for 40-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway (top to bottom, front to back)
8. When done, the granola should look toasted and lightly browned.  Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
9. When completely cool, loosen the sides of the pan carefully by running a knife along the sides, then cut desired size squares while still in the pan. You can use a spatula or knife to remove the squares from the pan, they should stay very intact.

Taking Chocolate to a New Level: Disney Style

It's finally that time in Chocolate to make our CANDY STANDS!  The theme we used to pick what kind of candy stand we wanted to make was "Literature."  About 10 different books came to mind, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pinnochio, Jungle Book, and more (mostly Disney books of course).  In the end I came up with the idea of doing "The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh."  I thought it would be perfect to create Pooh Bear's treehouse and add a little bit extra to show Pooh's personality, like having Pooh sneaking in the tree hole for some "hunny." I was really happy with how it came out and proud I made it through without melting in the classroom during this crazy heat! 

Hope you like it!

Fluffy Lemon-Glazed Doughnuts

It's finally my turn to tackle some doughnuts.  I've tried multiple recipes, had some successes, some "maybes," some failures, but in the end I came out with something great.  Every great recipe takes a lot time and practice so I'll admit it's not perfect but it sure had me glued to the kitchen table tasting doughnut after doughnut just to "make sure" it tasted good (such a great excuse).

I got my inspiration from Joanne Chang's recipe in Flour.  Having tested some recipes before this I knew how important it was to love the dough.  The mixing process takes education and experience and the rising process takes patience, a lot of it.  Most doughnut doughs have two rises; the first in the fridge from a couple hours to overnight, and the second in a warm, draft-free spot to double in size.  I knew from experience how important this was because of course I got too eager and fried up the doughnuts before they were ready making my end product dense and leaving me in regret.  Doughnuts take a lot of time and self-restraint, but when you put all of that into the dough you are left with a great end product and a full stomach.  So, I put my twist on Chang's recipe and got to work getting inspiration from the great doughnuts I've tasted.  For the taste of the dough I thought of the subtle sweetness of Peter Pan's yeast-raised doughnuts, and for the glaze the perfectly tart and citrus glazes of Dough.  I still have plenty of doughnut recipes I want to try and experiment with but for now this is one great indulgence.  


Lemon-Glazed Doughnuts

Dough:

• 1 package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast, or 2/3 oz (18 g) fresh yeast
• 2/3 cup (160 g) milk, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (440 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• About 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 eggs
• 7 tablespoons (100 grams) butter, room temperature, cubed
• Canola Oil, for frying
• Vanilla Sugar, Cinnamon Sugar, Superfine Sugar (optional)

Glaze:

• Zest of one lemon
• Juice of two lemons
• Confectioners sugar, sifted

To Prepare the Dough:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment stir together the yeast and warm milk until the yeast had dissolved and bubbles start to form.
2. Add the flour, sugar, and eggs, and mix on low speed for about a minute or until the dough comes together, adding the salt about 15 seconds in.
3. Continue to mix until the dough is fully developed, about 2-3 minutes.  I like to look for a "window," meaning when you grab the dough you can spread it apart with your fingers keeping the dough intact forming a nearly see-through sheet of dough. The dough will be sticky and tacky.
4. Add the butter and continue to mix until the butter is fully combined and the dough is cohesive.
5. Tightly wrap the dough is plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 15 hours.  I like to do my dough the night before and get right to work in the morning.

To Roll the Dough:

1. Roll chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12-in. square, 1/2-in. thick.
2. Cut out desired sized doughnuts with a doughnut cutter or a floured glass rim (which is what I used), and a smaller circle cutter for the doughnut hole.  You can play around with the shapes if you'd like, I also made some twists! *scraps can be rerolled once!
3. Arrange the cut doughnuts on a lightly floured baking sheet(s) spaced 2-in. apart, cover in plastic wrap sprayed with pan spray, and let them rise until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free spot, 2-3 hours.  The doughnuts will be puffy and pillowy.

*Use pictures below for reference

Rolled Dough

Cut Doughnuts

Prepare the Glaze/Prep Oil:

1. When the doughnuts are almost at the peak point in rising start to prepare the glaze.
2. Combine the lemon juice and zest in a small bowl.  
3. Place sifted powdered sugar, about a cup, in a separate bowl.  
4. Slowly at the lemon juice mixture to the powdered sugar about a tablespoon at a time using a fork to combine into a paste.  
5. Add more of the lemon juice mixture until your desired thickness is reached.  The glaze is quite tart so I liked to make mine the consistency of a thick soup.
6. Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large, heavy saucepan about 3-in. deep to 350 degrees.  To test if you oil is ready you can throw in a pinch of flour and if it sizzles on contact, the oil is ready.

Time to Fry:

Raised, Ready
Doughnuts

1. Once the doughnuts have reached their rise.  You can test the rise by gently pressing you finger into the dough, if the imprint slowly disappears, the dough is ready. I like to go by the size of the doughnut (pictured right).
2. Fry the doughnuts in batches of three, frying about 1-2 minutes on both side depending on the size, or until browned (pictured below). * Make sure to check your temperature while frying.  If the temperature is too high it will burn the doughnuts without cooking the inside and if the temperature is too low the doughnuts will soak up the oil making for a dense dough instead of light and fluffy.
3. Place on paper towels to drain and cool.
4. To glaze, allow the doughnuts to cool a bit and while still warm dip the top of the doughnuts in the lemon glaze letting the excess roll off to form a thin coat and let set.
5. For something simpler, you can simply roll warm doughnuts in vanilla sugar, superfine sugar, or cinnamon sugar.  

Frying Doughnuts

Browned, Fried Doughnuts

Hope you enjoy your doughnuts..

Have any questions? Leave a comment or e-mail me!

Donuts to Doughnuts: The Winner is...

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop 

Alas the doughnut competition has come to an end with Peter Pan beating Dough and Bomboloni with a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.   Dough coming in an extremely close second was overcome with Peter Pan's light, melt-in-your-mouth dough and traditional flavors. See all three posts for a more detailed review of each:

Bomboloni

Dough

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop

And stay tuned for my OWN stab at doughnuts coming soon!

DONUTS TO DOUGHNUTS -- Stop #3: Peter Pan's

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop
727 Manhattan Avenue
Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Finally down to the last contender.  This donut shop came to me as a young, sugar-hungry child in Brooklyn, NY.  As far back as I can remember, Peter Pan's donuts were a staple at every family get-together, birthdays, holidays, and plain old Sunday dinner.  From the first bite of their Sugar-Raised Donut, I was hooked.  Let's face it as a kid anything with sugar on it was going to wind up in your mouth, but there was something about these donuts.  I could eat butter cookies and Italian pastries without force don't get me wrong, but I would always find myself along with my twin sister waiting for the plate of donuts to hit the kitchen table to make sure we grabbed our favorite donuts.  So without question, I had to include one of my favorite childhood memories in the competition.

My sister and I (who would not let me do this competition without her) made our way to Peter Pan's one morning to get our generous box of donuts for a "proper tasting" (well that's how we put it).  We hadn't been inside the bakery in a while and almost forgot how long the line always is especially in the morning.  The bakery offers tons of different donuts from the traditional yeast-raised donuts like Blueberry Jelly, Chocolate Glazed, and Sugar Twist, to cake donuts like Red Velvet, Old-Fashioned, and Whole-Wheat Glazed, all reasonably priced around $1.00.  Aside from the donuts a vast selection of breakfast breads and pastries is also offered consisting of Danishes, Black-and-White Cookies (the best one I've had in my lifetime), and other must-tries such as the Pistachio Muffin (also one of my favorites).  So naturally, the donut shop was packed with fellow dough-hungry fanatics, but we didn't grow the least bit impatient because we knew the wait was going to be worth it.

Tables during the morning rush!

Stepping inside you walk into a retro, old-fashioned donut shop with the bakery selections on one side and high-top table seating on the other.  Already at 9 AM, each table was filled with what looked like the bakery regulars (which includes my grandmother, to whom I thank for the introduction to this bakery).  The girls behind the counter have the same uniform as that from my childhood; a 1960's diner-esque green and pink dress.  I happen to think that they are adorable.  A great quality this donut shop has is that they have not changed throughout the years.  It's a good feeling going back to somewhere you grew up loving and seeing that like your love for their food, they haven't changed.

After waiting a bit, we put in our order for a small box of our favorites mixing it up to get a proper taste of everything they had to offer.  We had no complaints about the service, it was quick and painless.  We decided on the Sugar-Raised Donut, French Crueller (my sister's favorite), Whole Wheat Glazed, and although we never sprang for them as kids a Whipped-Cream topped yeast-raised doughnut.  The smell of the doughnuts made us nearly run to the car to get home quicker.  Then, along with our usual apple with breakfast, we sat to savor our doughnuts and relived our childhood, with more of a sophisticated palate of course.

The donuts were fresh as the shelves are regularly filled throughout the day and let off an intoxicating scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cream.  We started with the never disappointing Sugar-Raised (pictured left).  The texture of the fried dough was perfectly light and airy, one of the most gentle donuts I've ever bit into.  However, I think what sets these yeast-raised donuts apart from others is the taste of the dough.  Looking at the dough you can see the little specks of spice and flavor, to me what tastes like a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon and possibly a bit of lemon zest.  The combination of the texture and taste of the dough which is vaguely sweet with the crunch of the sugar on the outside makes for an absolutely satisfying bite, and a quick one at that; it should take at least three minutes give or take to finish this donut and I did it in less than 60 seconds.  You wouldn't blame me.

Interior of French Crueller

Moving on to the French Crueller I let my sister have the first bite as I could see it in her face she couldn't wait much longer as I took it out of the box.  The French Crueller  is made with Pate a Choux which I had experience with making in pastry class; an eggy dough which has great height when baked or fried.  The donut is fried then simply topped with a sugar glaze.  This donut makes for more of a "bite" as the exterior of the dough is thicker and although wonderfully airy inside, it is wetter and denser in consistency (refer to picture right).  This dough as well had a "nutmegy" taste but much less noticeable than the other.  I think what makes this donut so likable is the texture of the Pate a Choux dough with the delicate sugar glaze.  The dough is the least bit sweet making it impossible to overload on sugar but also making it impossible not to want another one as it jump-starts your sugar craving.  Although delicious, it can seem a bit collapsed at times and taste like it has been sitting for a while, and still has not surpassed the Sugar-Raised for me.

Whole-Wheat Glazed

The Whole-Wheat Glazed (pictured left) came out of the box next and tasted better than I remembered. It happens to be my Aunt Jenny's favorite and I would always see her slowly eating it with her coffee after dinner.  OKAY, first of all I don't know how she could eat it so slow, and second of all I applaud her for making such a good choice.  I can imagine people choose this donut because they think it's the healthier choice, and yes that went through my mind as well, but let's face it a donut is a donut and it's going to get fried so my picking was solely based on taste.  The dough is what attracts me to this doughnut the most.  As a cake doughnut of course it does not have that fluffy quality the yeast-raised has and is much more like a coffee cake but it packs so much flavor.  With this donut you get a bigger kick of cinnamon and nutmeg but you also get kind of a gentle "burnt" flavor from the exterior of the donut which makes for a great combination.  The sugar glaze on top adds a perfect balance to the donut making it one of my new favorites.

The last lonely donut in the box was the Whipped Cream*.  We left it for last because I'm not going to lie it kinda of intimidated us a bit.  It is a much more obnoxious donut than the rest as it is topped with a generous mound of fluffy cream.  Although this has always been my mom's absolute favorite, we were always afraid it would be too sweet and would tell her she was crazy as she would sit down to enjoy her donut and roll her eyes at the two of us.  Nevertheless, we decided "Hey, why not?" and went for it.  Bracing ourselves for the first bite we were pleasantly surprised that the cream was not overpoweringly sweet at all.  It was actually very tasty.  It is a thicker whipped cream verging on the consistency of a frosting, but is very delicately sweetened so you don't get half-way through the donut and get sick of it.  Yes, it is a lot of cream and maybe too much for my liking as I am more attracted to the simplicity in the donut, but it proved me wrong and is still one worth trying if you are a cream-lover.  I give my mom credit for this one, but shh! let's keep that between us.

As we finished our tasting we were overly stuffed but completely satisfied.  Although we loved the donuts for bringing us back to our childhood, we judged the taste of the doughnuts solely on the present.  Going into the tasting I told myself that these donuts were going to be hard to beat and after I was proven correctly bringing my rating of Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop to:

4.5 out of 5 STARS, and a command to go try it!


*I apologize for lack of pic for the Whipped Cream donut, we finished it off before we could stop for a picture!  But don't worry let your imagination run with it, it will only be better in person =)

Half-Way There

I'm already HALF-WAY through pastry school! I just had my mid-term exam and had to make a 6-inch cake with a mousseline filling and marzipan;  I went with a Passionfruit Mousseline (sooo delicious).  It was a lot of work and of course it's not perfect I'm still improving, but I'm happy with it.  Plus I got to do my favorite: Disney!  Cakes are definitely stressful for me but I'm excited to get to work on becoming better, especially since our final exam is a wedding cake (yikes!).  
Up next is Chocolate I can't wait!

My First Try At Party Favors!

To celebrate my graduating from college, my sisters and I had a conjoined Graduation Party  for the three of us; my twin and I from college and my younger sister from high school.  Already having a lot on my plate as my Petit Fours exam was that same week, my mom asked if I would like to make the favors.  She thought making some chocolate truffles and candies for our over 70 guests would be a great idea.  Of course I agreed and got to thinking what the best candies and chocolates would be. It was my first time showing everyone from friends and family what I could really do so I wanted to make a good impression.  I came up with a few ideas and got to work:

From top left clockwise:
Almond-Praline Truffle, "Jelly Ring" Bon Bon,
Soft Chocolate Caramel, Lavender-Honey Caramel

Almond-Praline Truffle 

my favorite of the truffles

I've made so far

Soft-Chocolate Caramel 

w. Fleur de Sel

which I had made in pastry class and

absolutely L-O-V-E-D

(as did my sisters)

Dark Chocolate Strawberry-

Kiwi "Jelly Ring" Bon Bon

started as a mistake and ended 

up being delicious!

Lavender-Honey Caramel

this was last minute but I was 

dying to use lavender  

Although it was really hard work I really liked making all these favors and got some great feedback on them, everyone loved them!  It made me extremely happy to hear that from everyone and made it all worth it. And for the extra cherry on top I did well on my Petit Fours test!

Lemon-Pistachio Biscotti

My Lemon-Pistachio Biscotti were also a hit (see pic left) as were a batch of Raspberry Pate de Fruit and Coconut Macaroons (sorry for the lack of picture but don't worry I'll surely be making them again!)

*****************

Have a party coming up and need some ideas for favors?? I would love to help! E-mail me at dmprevete@aol.com or leave a comment.

DONUTS TO DOUGHNUTS -- Stop #2: Bomboloni

BOMBOLONI
187 Colombus Ave.
New York, New York
www.bomboloni.com

This next doughnut shop I heard about from the chef at Trois Pommes Patisserie during my internship.  She didn't speak too much of it but I was interested in their concept.  Bomboloni (Italian for doughnut) features round shaped doughnuts with a variety of fillings, such as Blood Orange, and Espresso.  It also offers other Italian specialties and gelato.  I was mostly intrigued by this doughnut shop because of the Italian influence hoping it would satisfy my taste even more.  So, one Saturday afternoon I took a trip to the city with my boyfriend to try a few of their doughnuts.

The storefront is located uptown just a block away from Central Park.  It features indoor and outdoor seating and unlike Dough has a very retro feel to the decor.  There was a short line when we arrived and some tables were already filled with people enjoying some Italian treats.  We arrived up to the glass case filled with over 15 types of doughnuts for $1.50 each of 6 for $7.  We decided to go for it and got 6 doughnuts for $7.  The variety of fillings would satisfy any type of taste buds.  There was some for the simple palette and some for the more sophisticated palette.  We went with a little bit of both.  Six doughnuts is a lot to choose, especially from over 15 different types, but surprisingly we did it pretty quick.  I already had a few ideas in my head while waiting online until we were greeted by one of the helpful Italian staff behind the counter.  I knew right away I wanted to try the Raspberry and the White Chocolate Pistachio bomboloni; raspberry being one of my favorite fruit flavors and pistachio due to the fact that I've been in a "nut" kick lately.  For the last four bomboloni we wanted to try different flavor profiles so we chose, Baci, Caffe, Peanut Butter, and Orange & Dark Chocolate. 

Yes, I know that is A LOT of bomboloni.  We thought about it for a little bit and trust me this was the better decision, we wanted to get a good taste of everything Bomboloni had to offer.  So we took a walk to Central Park and sat down to enjoy the doughnuts on a table by the usual Central Park food trucks overlooking the Great Lawn.  We opened the box (pictured below right) and took a good look at each other trying not to laugh at the fact that we were really going to try all of these doughnuts.  Without much wait, we dug in.  The texture of the doughnut is much different from that I've had before.  The consistency is much more like brioche than a typical yeast-raised fluffy doughnut.  I was happy to taste something different from the usual doughnut and actually liked the texture very much.  Although biting into a cloud-like fluffy yeast-raised doughnut never disappoints, it was nice to have a doughnut with a denser bite and crunchier exterior.

Pistachio & White
Chocolate

Although my boyfriend and I both loved the doughnut itself, the fillings were disappointing.  Generally, the fillings either lacked flavor or had too much flavor.  Starting off with the Baci flavored bomboloni, it was one of the better tasting doughnuts out of the bunch.  The chocolate cream filling had a nice chocolate flavor however, it lacked the nutty hazelnut flavor you would usually get from a Baci chocolate.  I'm a huge fan of the dark chocolate and nut filled chocolate so I was a bit disappointed, as was my boyfriend.  The Pistachio & White Chocolate Bomboloni was up next (pictured left).  This was one other better doughnut out of the six.  It was glazed with white chocolate, filled with a bright green pistachio cream filling, and topped with crushed pistachios.  Again, this doughnut didn't completely upset but it lacked flavor.  If I closed my eyes, took a bite, and had to tell you the flavor of the doughnut I would probably have to take more than one bite and think about it for a while. Although I am a firm believer in simplicity in desserts, I do like a punch from those simple flavors.  I would have liked to have tasted more pistachio from the cream, but it wasn't a complete disappointment.

From top left clockwise: Caffe,
Raspberry, Pistachio & White
Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Orange
& Dark Chocolate, and Baci

Moving on to the Caffe Bomboloni, the cream-filling was too dull once again.  My boyfriend and I are huge fans of coffee, cappuccino, and espresso-like flavored ice creams, glazes, and other types of desserts so we were excited for this doughnut.  It ended up being good not great.  The espresso-flavored cream was too mild for our taste buds and we were starting to see a trend.  Then, we moved on to the Peanut Butter and Orange & Dark Chocolate Bomboloni.  I'll cut to the chase, both doughnuts I spit out.  There was something amuck about the peanut butter filling.  It tasted like a peanut butter vanilla pastry cream, which to me just doesn't seem right.  The combination of the cream and peanut butter did not go very well together, perhaps too sweet.  Similarly, the orange filling in the Orange & Dark Chocolate bomboloni was probably the worst out of all the fillings.  It oozed out like an orange jam and tasted as if I were biting into an orange lollipop, way too sweet.  I don't spit out sweets too often, I like to give everything the benefit of the doubt by giving it a good chew and maybe a second bite, but it was not happening with these doughnuts.  Lastly was the Raspberry bomboloni, which was just a simple raspberry jam filling and dusted with powdered sugar.  I was happy to see that it was not as sweet as the orange filling, but it's hard to mess up raspberry jam.

In the end, we didn't finish one single doughnut between the both of us (see picture left).  I think that was a good enough sign that we weren't too satisfied.  There was something strange about the cream fillings and didn't make our taste buds too happy.  As I previously mentioned in the Dough post, I do a lot of my judging on whether of not I want another helping, and in this case I didn't want another of any of the doughnuts.  Although I loved the concept and decor of the doughnut shop and had no complaints about the service, overall I was disappointed bringing my rating of Bomboloni to:


 2 out of 5 STARS and sadly a recommendation to skip it.

DONUTS TO DOUGHNUTS -- Stop #1: DOUGH

DOUGH

305 Franklin Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205

As previously mentioned on my Favorite Food Stops page, I've had my fair share of doughnuts from Dough at the Brooklyn Flea Market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  There was no denying that at first bite I fell in love with their unique flavors, from Passionfruit & Cacao Nibs to Cafe Au Lait.  I became a fan instantly and wanted the full effect of what they had to offer.  So I decided to take a ride with my twin sister Debra for a taste of their doughnuts from their shop in Clifton Park, Brooklyn. 

Only a short ride form my grandmother's house, we found the shop very easily and purposely parked a few blocks away to enjoy a nice walk on the sunny spring day before guzzling down a few doughnuts.  Arriving at the shop it was fairly small, laced with wood trimmings and a rustic decor.  The smell of fresh doughnuts immediately grabs you as you walk in a take the few steps toward the large case full of doughnuts.  With over 10 different type ranging from $2 -$2.50 each, we noticed some we had already been introduced to and some new and intriguing flavors like Nutella, Dulce de Leche, and Chocolate Cream.

Going in the shop my sister and I already had an idea of which doughnut we definitely wanted to try.  Being huge lemon fans we were dying to try the Lemon Meringue doughnut, filled with lemon curd and topped with gooey meringue.  To our dismay, they were all out!  Naturally taken off guard, it took us a little while to decide which doughnuts we wanted to try.  Sticking with the lemon, we opted for the Lemon Poppy Seed, and the Toasted Coconut doughnuts and decided to take a seat on two of the few stools overlooking the kitchen.

Toasted Coconut

Lemon Poppy Seed

We started with the Lemon Poppy Seed doughnut (pictured left) and loved it; the simple lemon glaze and crunch of the poppy seed complemented the dough very nicely with just a hint of sweetness and not too much bitterness from the lemon, making it a doughnut that even non-lemon fanatics can enjoy.  Next we tried the Toasted Coconut doughnut (pictured lower right).   Unfortunately we both felt the doughnut was lacking a bit.  We were expecting a bigger burst of coconut flavor.  It you're lucky enough to get a great deal of toasted coconut shreds on your glaze then you were able to taste some coconut, however we did not get so lucky.  We wanted more coconut! Sadly, we were disappointed.

Lemon Meringue

As we were finishing up the last doughnut, we were pleasantly surprised to see them pull out a rack filled with Lemon Meringue doughnuts (pictured left).  Although we had no complaints about the service the woman working the counter told us there were none coming out soon so we were not expecting any (hmm?).  To no ones surprise especially not our  own, we bought yet another doughnut to try to make up for the lack of flavor in our last one.  We sliced open the fluffy meringue-topped doughnut and out oozed the bittersweet lemon curd.  We were both excited yet hesitant as we knew this doughnut was going to be messy, seeing that the curd was just a bit too loose to handle neatly.  We bit into the doughnut starting with the fluffy meringue, then the dense dough, and then the lemon curd.  All three make for a nice bite, but it was tough to eat!  If I had an entire doughnut I don't think I could have stomached the whole thing and trust me I could eat.  The meringue and curd both had a nice sweet flavor but to me, the doughnut lacked that addictive quality and "oozed" more excess to me.  I prefer a bit more subtlety in my sweets and less of a "punch" of sweetness.  I base a lot of my judging of sweets on whether or not iI want more after I have finished my first helping.  If I don't give it a thought then I know that it was not my favorite.  Maybe the Lemon Meringue doughnut would be a great treat for someone with a sweeter tooth but my sister and I agreed that we would have preferred something a little less "in your face," and a little more sweet and simple.

On our way out we took a box of some doughnuts we thought our family would like and some we may want to try as well, including the Dulce de Leche doughnut and the Cafe Au Lait, we we loved at the flea market.  Taking a quick bite, I was happy to see that I still liked it as much as I did the first time.  However, the Dulce de Leche I was disappointed with.  It tasted more like a brown sugar glaze than it did a "dulce de leche" glaze.  I was expecting more of a milky-caramel flavor and didn't get it!  

After trying the doughnuts multiple times I found myself asking the question "Why do they have to be so big?"  I feel like I would love the doughnuts more if it were about three-quarters of its size.  I want to be able to take home a box of doughnuts and eat more than one of them.  Of course I have eaten my fair share of "Dough" doughnuts in one sitting but I don't thinkI will find myself doing that too often and that to me is a huge factor.  Overall, I have tasted some great doughnuts at "Dough" and from time-to-time I will probably be craving one of those large masses of doughy deliciousness.  However along with these great qualities came some disappointments and questions bringing my rating of Dough to:

 4 out of 5 STARS and a recommendation to go try it!

DONUTS TO DOUGHNUTS

Which Doughnut Takes the Cake?

Food has always been an important subject in my family; from figs and tomatoes, to the large italian dinners, and all the way through to the delicious pastries, cakes, and candies.  It's always been hard to compare all the great food I had growing up to any other pastries, pasta, or even fruit out there.  I have yet to have any that compare to the sweet perfectly plum figs from my grandfather's garden.

Aside from the usual Italian pastries and cakes that my grandmother would bake for the family, she made us all fall in love with doughnuts.  Every family get together would consist of the usual desserts and two boxes of doughnuts from Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  The doughnuts ranged from a simple vanilla glaze to an over-the-top cream-filled doughnut.  For the twenty years (give or take) that I've been eating these doughnuts I have always opted from the classic sugar-raised doughnut, and the occasional jelly-filled or marble doughnut here and there.  I love to try everything so naturally I've tried just about every kind of doughnut my grandmother has brought to the dessert table, but nothing compared to the subtle yet sweet taste of the classic sugar doughnut.

Having now a greater taste for food and the desire to venture out to find the next greatest fare, I wanted to compare the new, hip, and modern doughnut shops to that of which I grew up with.  That being said, I did my research and found a couple of doughnut shops from my own knowledge and from that of my friends and mentors.  With two shops in mind I went to work and tested out these doughnuts for myself using a rating system of  one to five stars (going from bad to great).

The competition is going to consist of three more posts.  I'm going to compare three doughnut shops: Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, Dough, and Bomboloni, and pick a winner!  Keep checking back in for the next posts, these doughnuts are worth it!

New Page -- Questions & Comments

Have any questions to ask, need an idea for a recipe or food stop?
Leave a comment on my new Questions & Comments page and I'll help you out!

Food Stop Update - Arepas At Last

Check out Caracas Arepa Bar on my Favorite Food Stops page!

Easter Orders

Want something for Easter?? Email me by Thursday 4/21 @ 3 pm =)

My Favorite Sweets

Go to my My Favorite Sweets page and check out some of my favorites! Let me know if you like anything =)

A Second Dash of Cinnamon

Here's my second cinnamon truffle recipe.  It's a simpler version but just as delicious! I made these with my twin sister during Christmas time and we loved them.  If I remember correctly we ate at least two each while making them.  We used the excuse that we wanted to make sure it tasted good; we use that QUITE often =)


Like the Cinnamon Streusel Truffles, the ganache is best started the night before to make sure you infuse as much cinnamon flavor into the cream as possible.  So take the extra time, it's worth it!


Cinnamon Truffles


Ganache:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 6-8 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped or chips (if using chips, measure between 1 and 1 1/4 cups)

Coating:

• 11-12 ounces of white chocolate, chopped or chips
• Graham cracker crumbs, optional

To Prepare the Ganache:

(Prepared the night before)

1. Combine heavy cream and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan.  Place over medium heat and bring to boil.  Remove from heat, transfer to a heat proof bowl and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Ganache Continued:

(Prepared  the next day)

1. After completely chilled, remove from the refrigerator and strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
2. Place semi-sweet/milk chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
3. Bring infused cream to a boil, then remove from heat and pour over chocolate.
4. Allow to set for 2 minutes, then whisk to combine.
5. Set the ganache aside at room temperature for 2 hours, then cover with plastic wrap and chill until set, about one hour (It is okay for ganache to sit overnight and covered next day).
6. After ganache has set, using a small scoop or a teaspoon measurer, scoop out balls from the ganache and set on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Chill until ready to use.

For Chocolate Coating:

1. To Temper -- Bring 2-inches of water to a boil, take off heat and melt 2/3 of the chocolate over a double-boiler in a heat-proof bowl until it has reached 118-122 degrees fahrenheit.  Remove from heat and add the remaining chocolate by handfuls, stirring to melt, until the temperature has reached 85 degrees for milk chocolate OR 89-90 degrees for dark chocolate (this is called the "seeding" method).  If chocolate becomes too cool as you add the rest of your chocolate, you can set it back over the double boiler for 5-second intervals to get it to the desired temperature.  (You can test the temper by using the edge of parchment paper or knife to dip in chocolate, set aside to cool for about 2 minutes until dry and shiny).
2. As you are finishing the temper, remove the ganache from the refrigerator, put on tight rubber gloves and place a small pool of the melted chocolate in your palm and quickly rub the balls of ganache in the chocolate to put apply a thin first coat, then place each on parchment to part-dry. 
3. Do only a few more with the remaining ganache to ensure that the first coat only partly dries in preparation for the next coating.  This will be your first batch.**
4. Take the freshly coated truffles and add a second coat by using a fork to drop in the tempered chocolate to coat and tapping the fork on the edge of the bowl to take off excess chocolate and carefully roll onto parchment to dry.  *If the chocolate becomes too cool, reheat to the right temperature mentioned earlier.
5. If desired you can melt extra milk chocolate to pipe decorations on the outside, or sprinkle with some graham cracker crumbs!

**Optional: After first coat, roll wet truffles in graham cracker crumbs to coat.  Then place on parchment to dry.

These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

A Dash of Cinnamon

I promised you another truffle recipe and here it is!  I was lucky enough that my chef stayed after class with me to show me how to properly temper chocolate and dip truffles, so I couldn't wait to try out a new truffle.  I wanted to make a cinnamon ganache but I wanted to add another texture to the truffle.  The first thing that came to mind was a streusel.  I thought the buttery and crispy texture of the streusel would be perfect for texture contrast in the truffle, so I got to work on developing this recipe.

I started out with a basic cinnamon ganache using white chocolate and folded in nice chunks of streusel with cinnamon and almonds.  I covered the truffles in semi-sweet chocolate and topped it with a sprinkle of more streusel, and rolled the truffles in a thin layer of semi-sweet chocolate then covered in streusel crumbs.  Both ways are great!  Below is the recipe for these yummy truffles and check out the next post for a simpler cinnamon chocolate truffle.

Hope you enjoy them!

Cinnamon Streusel Truffles

 Ganache:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 5 Cinnamon Sticks
• 6-8 oz. of white chocolate, chopped (I love Ghirardelli Baking Chocolate; if using chips measure between 1 and 1 1/4 cups)
• 11-12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped, for coating

Streusel:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped into small pieces (you can use any type of nut you like)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

To Prepare the Ganache:

(Prepared the night before)

1. Combine heavy cream and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan.  Place over medium heat and bring to boil.  Remove from heat, transfer to a heat proof bowl and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight. 

To Prepare the Streusel:

(Prepared the day of)

Baked Streusel

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix to just to combine.
2. Add the melted butter and mix just until the streusel comes together.
3. Spread the streusel onto a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 15 min, or until firm.
4. Remove from refrigerator and crumble with your fingers and chill until ready to bake.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, until browned, rotating the pan halfway.
6. Set aside to cool at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a quart container or shallow bowl.

To Finish Ganache:

Ganache (after step 5)

Ganache (after step 4)

(Prepared the day of)

1. After completely chilled, remove from the refrigerator and strain through a fine-mesh sieve, set aside.








2. Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler, stirring.  Once melted, remove from heat and gently whisk in the infused heavy cream.
3. Fold in 3/4 cup of streusel (big chunks are the best!) and reserve the rest of the streusel for use later in an airtight container.
4. Set the ganache aside at room temperature for 2 hours, then cover with plastic wrap and chill until set, about one hour (It is okay for ganache to sit overnight and covered next day).
5. After ganache has set, using a small scoop or a teaspoon measurer, scoop out balls from the ganache and set on a parchment covered baking sheet.  Chill until ready to use.

For Chocolate Coating:

1. To Temper -- Bring 2-inches of water to a boil, take off heat and melt 2/3 of the chocolate over a double-boiler in a heat-proof bowl until it has reached 118-122 degrees fahrenheit.  Remove from heat and add the remaining chocolate by handfuls, stirring to melt, until the temperature has reached 85 degrees for milk chocolate OR 89-90 degrees for dark chocolate (this is called the "seeding" method).  If chocolate becomes too cool as you add the rest of your chocolate, you can set it back over the double boiler for 5-second intervals to get it to the desired temperature.  (You can test the temper by using the edge of parchment paper or knife to dip in chocolate, set aside to cool for about 2 minutes until dry and shiny).
2. As you are finishing the temper, remove the ganache from the refrigerator, put on tight rubber gloves and place a small pool of the melted chocolate in your palm and quickly rub the balls of ganache in the chocolate to put apply a thin first coat, then place each on parchment to part-dry. 
3. Do only a few more with the remaining ganache to ensure that the first coat only partly dries in preparation for the next coating (continue with one of the options below). This will be your first batch.

Option 1

First Option:

1. Take the freshly coated truffles and add a second coat by using a fork to drop in the tempered chocolate to coat and tapping the fork on the edge of the bowl to take off excess chocolate and carefully roll onto parchment.  
2. When still wet, sprinkle with remaining streusel and let sit to dry completely. Repeat with the remaining ganache, in batches. *If the chocolate becomes too cool, reheat to the right temperature mentioned earlier.

Second Option:

Option 2

1. Simply dredge the thinly coated still wet truffles in the streusel crumbs and set on parchment to dry completely. 

These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.