the return of the lazy blogger

if anybody cares, i want to talk about the organic cake and ice cream clare and i made in the fall.

over the summer when i was a frequent client at pilates houston, instructor/friend clare and i often talked about going to pick blueberries and make a wonderful pie full of them. well, summer ended and the blueberry farms closed. then clare moved into a charming apartment in the museum district on a quaint, tree-lined street. i was thrilled when she proposed making desserts together for a housewarming/birthday party at her new place! she insisted on all organic products for the cake and ice cream we decided to make, and i couldn't believe the results. i'm not a cake expert... they are big and heavy, and i have trouble with the layers.. cake to frosting ratio... transporting... slicing... they scare me.

but with the help of magnolia bakery, clare and i whipped up a beautiful organic two-layer birthday cake with chocolate buttercream. we also made a batch of vanilla bean ice cream, and a dynomite cinnamon ice cream that was the hit of the party.

i learned that using all organic products, although terribly expensive, results in incredibly delicious dishes. as i keep baking, i certainly can't buy all organic... i'm not a millionaire, you see. but i have continued to buy organic eggs, cream, and flour with my friend clare in the back of my head reminding me how good it tastes and feels to go organic.

don't mind the terrible presentation, i'm telling you that i dont really know what to do with a cake! we were hoping the raspberry candles would distract from the wax paper-covered baking sheet, which to me is the most sturdy way to get a cake from my house to the party place. as always, i'm open to suggestions!

i die

freshly churned chocolate ice cream

after the success of the peach ice cream, i decided to tackle chocolate. the recipe i used called for chopped dark chocolate (i used half 70% and half 60% cocoa solids because that's what i had) to be melted in milk on the stove. in another saucepan, i was directed to boil cream, but i actually used a combination of cream and my favorite chocolate milk.

the most interesting step to me was to beat the six egg yolks and sugar for 10 minutes! could that be a typo? i'll say it again--where is my stand mixer!? well, actually when you beat egg yolks for that long, their properties stabilize and prevent them from curdling when heated. cooking the egg mixture and cream together is the final step, and the scariest part of making ice cream--there's that risk of curdling. whipping the eggs for so long eliminates the need to be so cautious (nervous!), and also made the custard incredibly thick and creamy, almost pudding consistency. after chilling in the freezer, i churned it. because that's the rule. towards the end, i embellished with some toffee bits. what a delightfully rewarding afternoon in the kitchen that was!

i know what'll be waiting for me when i get home from work tonight... besides that stinky dog. anyone want to join me?

thanks, bobby!

a few weeks ago i tried to recreate this fancy dessert we had as a part of a 9 course meal in spain. the most challenging part of this particular dessert was a thyme honey ice cream, which i failed miserably at. i hadn't planned right and didn't have time for the ice cream to actually freeze before it was time to eat it. my new ice cream machine and i were in a fight. well, last night we made up.

i got home from an exhausting trip to that fancy new buffalo market (heb-central market love child) with general ice cream making supplies: milk and cream and lots of random potential ingredients. i was uninspired by my cook books and quickly turned to the trusty internet, where bobby flay called out to me... peach-maple ice cream, of course!

with rachel zoe in the background (i wouldn't say guiding me... i have a feeling she doesn't often enjoy ice cream), it was pretty easy to throw the custard together. after my tragic first run with the ice cream maker, i was extra careful to make sure everything was very cold. and it turned out to be fantastic! i left the peaches a little bit chunky. next time i might add a bit more maple, which was very subtle, but that machine is kindof my new best friend.

before

after

next up: chocolate ice cream!

cookies

i already admitted i can't make a macaroon. i'm even more shameful to admit i don't have a signature chocolate chip cookie. it seems like every baker worth mentioning (obviously my momma, ash, jordan) has their own special recipe, whereas i only have special places i go to buy one. maybe i could steal tiny's recipe?

what i do have is a stellar sugar cookie! i like sugar cookies because, aside from being so melt in your mouth good, you get to be super creative with them. the shortbread recipe i use comes from my tartine cookbook, and i actually ran into it first when i was making a tart (big surprise). it's not a flaky tart dough, and is really easy to work with through all the rolling and cutting that sugar cookies require. the icing is what i grew up eating, a simple mixture of powdered sugar, egg whites, and almond extract. sometimes i make plain cookies with pretty icing and stripes or dots. i've also made all kinds of animals, sparkly tutus, bright apples, and even plaid cookies.

sadly i lost a lot of pictures in the great computer crash of '08. here are a few from more recently.

mixing up the dough

rolling it out

frog cookies

pam loves a frog prince. when she got engaged, i couldn't resist getting this frog cutter to make her treats with. turns out i got myself my first job: pam wanted me to make these cookies (frog prince and princess) for the welcome bags she was putting together for the out-of-towners' hotel rooms on wedding weekend. if i recall correctly, that was close to 70 frogs.

baby shower cookies (i see these in my future...)

i've even made cookies for a pay check! after the success of the frog cookies at the wedding, tyann hired me to make and package 80 cookies for her sister's baby shower last winter. it was a lot for my little kitchen to handle, but i had a great time designing carriages and rattles. it was interesting to have to stick to the shapes and colors that ty's sister specified, but everything turned out really well. dog ollie supervised the project.

note to self: next time i make this many cookies, get a kitchen aid mixer!

my only competition in this city:

tart cafe's sissie cookies

paulie's seasonal cookies