Blood Orange and Rosemary Snack Cake

January in Florida is simply the best. Yes, Florida has it’s drawbacks. We have to suffer through 100% humidity and 90°F weather most of the year. We have to deal with hurricanes. We don’t get anything that remotely resembles “fall”. We spend an inordinate amount of time unsticking our thighs from leather seats. But when late winter rolls around, there is no where else I would rather be. The months of January and February are just perfect. While the rest of the country is hunkered down against snow and biting winds, we are sipping our iced beverages on a patio in a perfectly mild, always sunny 75°F. But the real highlight is that Florida citrus. Farmers market stands and grocery stores shelves are lined with citrus of every shape and size and if you drive through an orange grove with your windows down, wafts of that bright, freshly peeled aroma chase you down the highway. It’s a wonderful time to be in the Sunshine State.

[Side note: I wrote this first paragraph a little over a week ago in an effort to be proactive and work ahead a bit. Since I’ve written this, our perfect Florida temperatures dropped into the 30s and frozen iguanas began to fall from the sky. Such is life in Florida. At least our citrus is still really great.]

The fruit bowl on my counter is overflowing with satsumas, grapefruits, and Florida honeybelles, but my absolute favorite is the blood orange. Their deep, vibrant reds are startling when you first slice into them, staining your hands a luscious fuchsia color. They also impart a sharp citrus flavor, without overwhelming your taste buds with tartness and making your lips pucker. Each year, at the first sight of blood oranges, my mind starts racing at all of the possibilities and bag after bag come home for recipe development. This year’s blood orange haul made it into this simple and unassuming snack cake. I love a good snack cake. There is no worry about layering or filling, you don’t have to deal with an enormous birthday cake sized monstrosity taking up space in your fridge, and the cake to frosting ratio is always spot on. This snack cake uses semolina flour for added texture, and subs out some of the sugar for honey, complementing the citrus and rosemary nicely and dialing down the sweetness a bit so you can get away with eating a slice in the morning and calling it breakfast. You’re welcome.

I’ve used blood oranges because they are my favorite, but feel free to substitute another citrus if that is what is fresh where you live. Grapefruit or navel oranges would work really in this cake as well.

Blood Orange and Rosemary Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

Yield: 1 9” round cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

2 cups (265 g) cake flour 

1 cup (160 g) semolina flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Zest of 3 blood oranges 

1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped (from about 2 sprigs)

1 cup (225 g) granulated sugar 

1/2 cup (160 g) honey

11 T (160 g) butter, at room temperature 

3 eggs, at room temperature 

1/4 cup blood orange juice (from about 3 blood oranges)

3/4 cup (165 g) plain whole milk yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract 

for the syrup soak: 

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup water

1 sprig fresh rosemary 

3 blood orange halves 

for the cream cheese whipped cream: 

2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

pinch of salt

splash of vanilla extract

Procedure:

to make the cake: 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9” springform pan and line the bottom with a parchment paper round. Set aside. 

2. In a medium bowl, combine cake flour, semolina flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, and honey. Cream together until thoroughly combined and mixture has the consistency of wet sand. Add orange zest, rosemary, and vanilla and beat for another 20-30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

4. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. 

5. Meanwhile, juice the oranges into a glass measuring cup. Add yogurt to orange juice mixture and whisk to combine. (Place 3 halves of your zested, juiced oranges in a small saucepan for your syrup.)

6. With the mixture on low speed, add one-third of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Then add half of the yogurt/orange juice mixture, followed by another third of the dry ingredients. Continue to mix on low speed, adding the remaining yogurt mixture and ending with the last third of the dry ingredients. Mix for another 30 seconds or so, until no flour streaks remain. 

7. Remove from mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold the batter a few times to ensure that everything is well mixed and then transfer to your prepared pan. 

8. Bake for 35-45 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the top of the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Remove from oven and let cake cool in the pan for at least 30-45 minutes. 

to make the syrup: 

1. While the cake is baking, combine sugar, water, orange peels, and rosemary in a small saucepan. 

2. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer about 10 minutes. 

3. Remove from heat and let mixture cool before straining out orange peels and rosemary spring. 

4. Brush syrup over the top of the cake immediately after removing the cake from the oven. 

*Note: You will not use all of the syrup. I like to brush it once or twice, let the syrup absorb and then brush once or twice more. I was left with about 1/4 cup of syrup which conveniently makes a great cocktail base when mixed with sparkling water and gin. Cheers!

to make the cream cheese whipped cream: 

1. Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-speed for 30 seconds or so, until cream cheese is soft and broken up. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add heavy cream to the cream cheese and continue to mix on medium-low speed until the mixture begins to thicken slightly. (Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl regularly to ensure that all the cream cheese gets combined and isn’t clumpy. If you notice small clumps of cream cheese before the cream begins to thicken, you can transfer to the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for a minute to help break up the cream cheese. Then switch back to the whisk to continue whipping.)

3. When the cream begins to thicken slightly, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and increase mixer speed to medium-high. Whip until soft peaks form.

Roasted Squash Pie with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bavarian Cream and Candied Pecans

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite meals of the year. Some people really love Christmas. Their stockings were hung by the chimney with care before they finished eating all of their Halloween candy. This is not me. I have never been able to jump into Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I love the creative opportunities that Thanksgiving provides and the dinner party fan-girl that I am really loves hosting Thanksgiving dinner. I am not a Thanksgiving traditionalist. I have made Cornish hens and roasted chickens, added squash to almost any dish on the table, and I would be 100% okay with skipping stuffing completely. My father, however, makes the term “traditionalist” feel like an understatement. He would love nothing more than for every single Thanksgiving dinner to look exactly like the ones he remembers from his childhood, and if I’m being honest, it does not mesh well with my unconventional Thanksgiving mentality. The last few years I’ve hosted Thanksgiving at my house and I’ve had to get a little creative and I’ve learned a few lessons in compromise so I figured this year, I would put together a little guide to help navigate the treacherous world of the turkey day table.

Today, I’m sharing a pumpkin pie inspired recipe that allows for endless modifications, to give the creative culinarians among us some opportunities to try something new while still appeasing the more traditionally-minded guests at the table. Without further ado, let’s break it down piece by piece.

the crust- For this pie crust, I used blend of all purpose flour and spelt flour. The addition of spelt flour gives a slightly nuttier, more complex flavor to your regular pie crust. You can play around with any alternative flours you’re interested in (I would love to try buckwheat or einkorn), just remember to keep alternative flours to 20% or less of the total weight so that you’re still able to achieve appropriate gluten structure.

the filling- In place of the traditional canned pumpkin, I used a large roasted butternut squash. Pumpkin is a little bit sweeter than butternut squash, but I really like the more vegetal flavor butternut gives. Pumpkin and butternut squash have very similar consistencies, so they are interchangeable when it comes to pies.

the topping- In my opinion, the very best part of a pumpkin pie is whipped cream. There needs to be enough whipped cream on the pie that you get some in each bite, but not so much that you end up eating cool whip by the spoonful at the end. I decided to make a brown sugar Bavarian cream and top this pie with a big thick layer, like a chocolate cream pie or a lemon meringue. The fun thing about a Bavarian cream is that it is simply a creme anglaise sauce, cooled and folded into whipped cream. If you wanted to serve this pie warm, you could make the brown sugar cinnamon anglaise and stop there, spooning the warm sauce over the warm pie to serve. That would be very delicious. Or you could follow the recipe exactly as written below and pile that Bavarian cream on top of the pie until you get lost in it’s fluffy layers. Or you could leave half the sauce as a creme anglaise, and make Bavarian cream with the other half, and let everyone at the table choose their own adventure. See what I mean, this is a very versatile pie.

the candied pecans- If you remember my post about all the things I learned from working in a restaurant pastry kitchen, one of my biggest takeaways was that one of the easiest ways to elevate your dessert is to add some texture. Pumpkin pie is traditionally very creamy. I wanted to give it a little crunch without changing the pie base itself so I simply added some candied pecans. I included some step by step photos in the recipe because working with caramel can be a little daunting. You can use walnuts or almonds, add a splash of bourbon at the end…it’s your dessert so really anything goes.

Roasted Squash Pie with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bavarian Cream and Candied Pecans

Yield: 1 9” pie

Ingredients: 

for the pie crust (adapted from Yossy Arefi): 

10 oz all purpose flour 

2 oz spelt flour

9 oz butter, cold and cubed 

2 tsp apple cider vinegar 

4 oz ice water *see note in recipe*

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

for the roasted squash filling (adapted from Bon Appetit): 

1 large butternut squash, roasted (about 15 oz)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 whole eggs

1 egg yolk 

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

pinch of cloves

1/4 tsp salt 

for the creme anglaise/bavarian cream: 

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup half and half

3 cinnamon sticks 

1 tsp vanilla

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup brown sugar

Pinch of salt 

1 cup heavy cream #2

for the candied pecans:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 tbsp butter, softened

Pinch of salt 

Procedure: 

for the pie crust: 

1. Toss together flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add in cubed butter and use your hands to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a very coarse sand, with a few chunks of butter the size of large peas left. I like to pinch each cube of butter between my fingers, flattening it out into the flour mixture.

2. In a glass measuring cup filled with ice, add 4 oz of cold water and the 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. *You will probably not use all of this water!*

3. Drizzle ice water into the flour mixture a little at a time, tossing to combine. You want to add just enough water that the dough is able to hold together when you squeeze it in your first. Remember, you can always add more water to your dough, but you can’t take it away. Be conservative with your water!

4. Turn the pie dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to press the dough into a rectangle. Fold the left third of the dough into the center, and then fold the right third of the dough on top of it, like you are folding a letter. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about an 1” thick, divide it in half, and wrap each smaller square in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and preferably overnight.

5. When you’re ready to bake, remove one disc from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough out into a large rectangle/circle. Make sure that it is large enough to cover your pie plate, with quite a bit leftover. Carefully drape the dough into your pie plate, pressing it gently into the corners. Trim the edges and crimp as you like.

6. Use a fork to poke holes in bottom of the pie dough and then set the whole thing in the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling.

for the roasted squash filling: 

To roast a butternut squash: Preheat the oven to 400° F and line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Trim the top and bottom from squash so that it sets flat against the cutting board. Carefully, slice downwards from the top, dividing the squash in half vertically. Scoop the seeds out of the squash, drizzle each side with a little olive oil, and then place cut side down on your prepared pan. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until you can easily pierce the squash with a fork. Let cool completely and then scoop the flesh out from the squash and set aside. (Alternatively, you can buy butternut squash puree in a can at Trader Joe’s or substitute in canned pumpkin if you want to make a classic pumpkin pie.)

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Place butternut squash and all other filling ingredients in a blender and blend until combined and homogenous. Set aside.

3. Remove your pie crust from the refrigerator and line with parchment paper or foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Remove beans/weights and parchment from the crust and return to oven. Decrease oven temperature to 350° F and return crust to bake another 15-20 minutes until golden.

4. Pour filling into crust and bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes until filling is set and there is just a slight wobble. Remove from oven and cool completely then cover and transfer to the refrigerator to chill overnight.

for the creme anglaise/Bavarian cream: 

1. Combine 3/4 cup heavy cream, half and half, and cinnamon sticks in a medium saucepan. Set over medium heat, stirring occasionally until simmering around the edges (between 180-190° F). Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10-15 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks.

2. Return the milk mixture to heat and bring back to a simmer.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.

4. When the milk is hot, pour some of it (about half) into the egg mixture, whisking continually. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk and return to heat. Heat, stirring continually, until thickened and sauce coats the back of a spoon. You don’t want this to boil, but you want it get up to about 180° F.

5. Strain through a mesh strainer and set aside to cool completely.

6. To make the Bavarian cream, whip 1 cup cold heavy cream to medium peaks. Gently fold in chilled anglaise sauce and then spread cream topping on chilled pie. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

for the candied pecans: 

1. In a large skillet set over medium heat, make a dry caramel by sprinkling sugar in a single layer on the bottom of the skillet. Cook, without stirring until little liquid puddles appear on the surface. Use a wooden spoon to gently push the sugar around the outsides of the pan into the center and then sprinkle in another layer of sugar, repeating the process until all of your sugar is in the skillet. Cook, stirring only when at the liquid stage, until the caramel turns a medium amber color.

2. Quickly add the chopped pecans, tossing quickly to coat and continue cooking until caramel turns a deep amber color.

3. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, and salt. Pour caramelized pecans onto a silat-lined sheet pan and spread out. Let cool completely and then break apart and store in a cool, dry place.

4. Sprinkle as generously or as conservatively as you like on your finished pie.

Classic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Milk Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I spent this past weekend in Knoxville drinking wine on front porches (and huddled around fires) and soaking up all the fall weather that I could. The official purpose of my trip was to help out with a Side by Side wine dinner some friends were hosting. It was a private dinner perched atop an East Tennessee hillside, with sprawling views of the city, a picturesque backdrop for one of the most beautiful dinners I’ve ever been a part of. I spent the weekend hand rolling agnolottis, singing karaoke, having drinks with one of the most prolific food writers around, and drinking 1995 vouvray. It’s been a long time since I’ve had friends that felt more like family and every time I leave Knoxville I start thinking about my next excuse to return.

Recently, I’ve been trying to shift my mindset from apprehension to gratitude. There has been a lot of transition in leaving a full-time career to pursue a future in food writing and my day-to-day has taken some getting used to. Having to manage my time and discipline myself to put in the work, whether in the kitchen or at the computer, has challenged me in ways I didn’t anticipate. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been working all day and still don’t have anything to show for it and I often find myself holding a tight grasp to the “someday”, looking forward to the day when I see a paycheck, my name on a byline, or my own book in my hands. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that I have a goal to push towards on the days when I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m realizing that I also don’t want to miss the time I have right now. I’m trying to view my days as flexible instead of empty, grateful that I am able to take a weekend in Knoxville or that I have the time to make a birthday cake, like this one, for a sweet friend. These are the times I want to make the most of.

All of that being said, let’s be grateful for whatever season we’re in and let’s chat about Swiss meringue buttercream. I have never been a fan of traditional American buttercream, it’s a little too sweet for me and I don’t like its gritty texture. During culinary school, however, I discovered an entire world of buttercreams. Swiss buttercream is one of the easier buttercreams to execute and its silky smooth texture makes it one of the best for frosting layer cakes. You begin by heating egg whites and sugar over a double boiler, stirring frequently to make sure that you don’t end up with chunks of cooked egg whites because that’s gross. You’re going to heat the mixture to about 160 degrees F (feel free to use a candy thermometer if that floats your boat), but I find it’s easiest to just watch for the sugar to dissolved. The mixture should be warm to the touch and you should be able to rub a little between your fingers without feeling any sugar crystals. You will then transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and beat it until it is stiff and glossy and room temperature. This is really important because your meringue and your butter need to be the same temperature or you will either have a chunky mess or a liquid mess-either way, a mess. With the mixer on medium high speed, add the butter piece by piece. As soon as the butter is completely added, switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. At one point, your buttercream may look a little curdled and you may think it’s about to break. This is okay, as you continue to beat it, it will thicken up and start to take on that voluptuous buttercream shape. If it looks a little liquidy after you’ve added all the butter, pop the entire bowl into the fridge for a few minutes to cool it off and then try mixing it again. Because of all the butter in this recipe, when you add the melted chocolate, this buttercream tastes like a big glass of Ovaltine and takes on an ultra smooth consistency, perfect for cake swooping.

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake 

Yield: 1-1/2 sheet pan or 3-8” cake layers or 6-5” cake layers

Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt 

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1/2 cup olive oil 

1 T vanilla extract

2 eggs, room temperature 

1 cup brewed coffee, warm 

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until no lumps or flour streaks remain. Whisk in warm coffee until homogenized.

4. Divide and/or pour batter into your prepared cake pans. Baking times will vary depending on the size of your pans. For a 1/2 sheet pan, I baked the cake for 7 minutes, rotated it, and baked for another 10-12 minutes. For 8” cake pans, I would recommend baking for 12 minutes, rotating, and then another 12 minutes, adding more time if needed. You will know that the cake is done when the top springs back when touched and the edges begin to pull slightly away from the sides of the pan.

5. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Slice and layer as desired!

Chocolate Milk Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients: 

115 g egg whites

230 g sugar

345 g unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

4 oz bittersweet chocolate

Procedure: 

1. Create a double boiler, using a heat-proof bowl and a medium saucepan. Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl and heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 160 degrees or mixture is hot to the touch. Make sure that all of the sugar crystals are dissolved.

2. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium-high speed until completely cool. You should have a stiff, glossy meringue that forms peaks when the whisk is lifted out of it.

3. With the mixer on medium-high speed, add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure each piece is incorporated before adding the next. It is very important at this point that the butter and the meringue are the same temperature before adding the butter. As soon as you add the last of the butter, switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and beat on high speed until mixture is smooth, light, and fluffy. It should look like a familiar buttercream at this point.

4. Melt chocolate over a double boiler and then cool to room temperature.

5. With the mixer on low speed, add melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and use a rubber spatula to fold buttercream, ensuring that everything is evenly mixed.

*Note: Measuring egg whites without a kitchen scale is a pain in the butt, so you will notice that this recipe is written using metric measurements. If you’re interested in why I think all baking should be done using a kitchen scale, you can read more here. If you don’t have a kitchen scale and have your heart set on making this Swiss buttercream, there is a bit a of a workaround. An average large egg weighs about 50 grams and each white weighs about 30 grams. You can do a little mental math to divide 30 into 115 and then use the number of egg whites that will get you closest. Also, one stick of butter weights about 113 grams and a cup of sugar weighs about 200 grams. If you are feeling like a real arithmetic whiz, you can scale this recipe up or down fairly easily. Swiss Meringue buttercream always uses 1 part egg whites, 2 parts sugar, and 3 parts butter. Feel free to get a little wild!