The Cronut and Its Imitators

I have a confession.... I have become "slightly" addicted to Cronuts. I put the "slightly" in quotation marks because its only a monthly indulgence.

      Invented by Dominique Ansel pastry chef & bakery owner, the Cronut was named as the biggest food invention/story of 2013. This creation has garnered worldwide media attention and had foodies in a frenzy. Now there are plenty of articles about this creation of Dominique Ansel, the origin and what gave him the idea to come up with this in the first place. I am not going to delve into that. I want to discuss my thoughts on why, almost a year after its debut, there is still a desire for people to wait for hours just to purchase this. 
     I have expertise on this subject because I am one of the "crazies" who go to the bakery monthly and wait just to get my hands on it. For the past eight months I have tried each flavor and have been successful in getting on line at the right time before it gets sold out. 

The infamous line around the block for Cronuts

Freshly baked Madelines for people waiting on line 

   There are a couple of reasons why I return monthly. The Cronut itself satisfies my need for a dessert. The outside is crisp and sweet because it fried and tossed with sugar after leaving the hot oil. This makes a crunchy crust that is the opposite of the interior. The croissant like interior is layered with butter pastry which has the flavor of the month cream nestled between the layers. When you take a bite of the Cronut you have an experience of different textures. The crunchiness of the outside with the crystallized sugar then the chewy butteriness of the inside with bursts of flavored cream. I like to go and try the inventive flavors of the month. The cronut serves as a delicate canvas that allows the fruit & cream combinations to shine. From coconut cream, fig mascarpone to caramelized apple creme fraiche just hearing the new upcoming flavor gets me salivating.  

Salted Dulce de Leche- Novembers flavor

                                               

Whole Foods Doughssant

Crumbs Crumbnut

You know you have something great when there are countless duplications. Dominique Ansel copy-wrote Cronut so there is only one. However, many bakeries & restaurants have tried to re-create this using a different moniker. Doughssants, Crumbnut, Doussants are all creative names that are used for a Cronut copycat. I have tried a couple of these copycats just to compare. Whole Foods has a chocolate covered Doughssant which is filled with vanilla cream. It was extremely dry, no layers, not fried on the outside and the icing & cream tasted artificial. I have also tried Crumbs version called the Crumbnut. Though better than the Whole Foods version, the Crumbnut reminded me of a week old croissant with a dusting of powdered sugar. It had the layers like a Cronut, it was just really dry and had an after taste. All copy-cats have not been just pastry. I have also tried the Cragel from The Bagel Store in Williamsburg Brooklyn. A cragel is a bagel that has croissant dough rolled into it and baked. The cragel was more of a sweet bagel to me. It was not cohesive because the croissant dough pieces did not expand due to the weight of the heavier bagel dough. 

The Bagel Store's Cragel

      Now if you want to snag a Cronut there are a couple of things you need to know to be successful. You can pre-order them from the bakery (if you can get through) or wait on line. If you are going to go, here are some quick tips:1) Go Monday-Wednesday because they are the slowest days. 2) Arrive at the bakery by 7 am to wait on line. This arrive time will need to be earlier during the warmer months. ( In July I arrived at 6:00 am) 3) If the weather looks gloomy, better chances of a shorter line = you getting one. If you arrive to the bakery and the line is around the corner, count the people. The bakery makes roughly 300 cronuts/day and being that there is a 2 per person limit, count the people in front of you to avoid wasting time in waiting. If you are within the first 120 people your golden. Good Luck! 

My happy face about to eat Decembers flavor- Chocolate Valrohna Champagne

PieCaken- From The What, Why, How to Yum!

     Every now and then I browse the internet searching for new and unique recipes. I was in a mode where all I could think of is baking pies. While searching for new pie ideas I came across something that I never heard or seen before. Piecaken- a genius idea and kudos to whomever thought of it.  Piecaken is when a pie is baked within a cake. The outside it looks like a typical cake but when you slice a piece you get pie within it.

     There were all sorts of pie/cake combinations that I immediately thought of. In my search the most popular ones were lemon blueberry piecaken, chocolate cherry piecaken and vanilla apple piecaken. I thought of many other combinations and the time was perfect because I had to make my best friends birthday cake. Being that it was late fall I thought it would be fitting to bake something seasonal. So I made a pumpkin pie baked into a spice cake with a maple buttercream frosting, coated in pecans. (Spice Cake Recipe I used http://southernfood.about.com/od/spicecakerecipes/r/bl31221g.htm)

Beginning to assemble

Half of the cake batter followed by the pie 

Cake flipped upside down

Decorated cake

                                                        

Cross section view

     Reading the blogs I was already aware of the process of making a piecaken. First you have to make the pie. Like the recommendations said I baked the pie the day before I was to bake the entire cake because the pie has to be completely cool. The next day I made a spice cake batter and was ready for assembly. In a greased 9 inch springform pan I poured half of the batter. Carefully, I placed the pie on top of the batter- upside down. You need to put the pie in upside down because once the cake is done you flip it over to frost & serve. On top of the pie, pour remaining batter making sure it is fully covered. Now its time to bake. I baked my piecaken at 350 degrees for about 1 hour & 20 minutes. Baking times vary so I recommend testing the cake after 50 minutes in 15 minute increments. Also, the perimeter of the cake cooks faster so halfway through I wrapped it with foil to protect it from over cooking while the middle finishes. Once it was completely cool, I frosted and decorated it. 

Chocolate Cherry PieCaken ready to be baked

Foil to protect outside from over-cooking

Finished product in half the time

      Now if you don't have the time here are some tips to make a piecaken within a couple of hours. For thanksgiving this year I had many dishes to make so my time was limited. I still wanted to make a piecaken but didn't want to go through the whole process. I bought a box chocolate cake mix, a ready to bake cherry pie and chocolate frosting. I know I cheated being that I usually bake from scratch but time was of the essence. I followed the same steps as above and had a baked and frosted piecaken within hours. So if you want to wow your family and friends, this is a great dessert thats intricate but can take minimal effort. Now go ahead and try to make one!! Let me know your results. Its as easy as pie...cake.. :) 

Cross Section View

The Red Velvet Waffle Challenge

     Last week I went out to dinner with a couple of friends celebrating a birthday. We decided to go to the popular southern fusion restaurant Soco in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. I have heard of Soco and was eager to try their Red Velvet Waffles which I have seen posted on instagram. As a person who has made numerous red velvet cakes I was interested to see if their waffles have the same flavors of the cake.

     I ordered the lobster shrimp & grits which was delicious, highly recommended. The birthday girl ordered the waffles and fried chicken and I asked for a taste of the waffle. Sadly, the waffle had no notes of a traditional red velvet cake. No hints of cocoa powder or buttermilk. I was underwhelmed. It tasted like a typical waffle- which i think that is what batter they used with the addition of red food coloring. 

Soco's Red Velvet Waffles & Chicken

Soco's Lobster & Shrimp Grits

  Being that I am a mad scientist in the kitchen, before I left the restaurant I already knew that I would come up with a red velvet waffle recipe once I got home. I first did the research, looking up buttermilk waffle recipes to use as my base and add the typical red velvet ingredients. Then came the testing/eating. I tested the recipe, changed a few things and tasted the end result along with my guinea pig (my boyfriend) lol. We found a winner!!!

My Red Velvet Waffles

Red Velvet Waffles- Makes 4 Belgian Waffles

2 Cups - All purpose flour

1 teaspoon- baking powder

1/2 teaspoon- baking soda

1/2 teaspoon- salt

3 Tablespoons- cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons- sugar

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar

4 Tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons- red food coloring

2 eggs- separated

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients together. Whisk until combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar, melted butter, food coloring and egg yolks. (i usually combine all of the wet ingredients in the measuring pitcher to save on my bowl) In a third bowl, with a clean whisk- whip egg whites until they form medium peaks. 

Combine wet ingredients (not egg whites) and dry ingredients until mixed. With a rubber spatula fold in whipped egg whites being careful not to deflate all of the air bubbles. 

Pour into heated and greased waffle iron. Once cooked serve with maple syrup or cream cheese glaze. 

Note*- you do not have to whip egg whites separately. I like to do this to make for a lighter waffle. If you are short on time just combine the whole eggs with the wet ingredients. 

Cream Cheese Glaze

4 ounces- cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup- powdered sugar

1 teaspoon- vanilla extract

1/4 cup- milk

In a mixing bowl whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Drizzle on top of warm waffles

Try it out, and let me know what you think!!!

Practicing What I Preach....

Ooh Spring!! This happens to be my favorite and least favorite season at the same time. My favorite because we get out of winters chill, the earth is green and the plants are in bloom. My least favorite because I am a sufferer of allergies so this is the season I feel the worst. The warming temps are a constant reminder that summer is on its way really soon and like most I am in a frenzy of trying to get my summer body.

Few know or I make it known that I have a degree in Nutrition. In the past I have written menus, exercise and diet tips for people who are trying to get into better shape. I figured its about time that I practice what I preach. I have a great disdain for exercising and an immense pleasure for food! Don’t get me wrong I don’t go out on food binges in fact it’s the opposite. I don’t eat enough. I can have breakfast and go for the entire day without eating another meal. A horrible eating habit that makes your body go into starvation mode, slows the metabolism and stores whatever you do eat as fat. 

I finally had a lil talk with myself and decided that now is the time to change my ways. I know better therefore I can do better for myself. Its not about getting skinny, its just about being a healthier me. The joy I will have to not suck in my stomach or to actively want to take a ton of pictures because I know I wont look chubby in them. Its time to practice what I preach. To use this expensive Culinary Nutrition Degree I have along with exercise to become a better me. 

Since starting on my fit journey I have come up with a couple of tricks to help me along the way. The most challenging thing for me thus far is eating. I have to go through great lengths to make sure I am eating something every 2-3 hours. My go to items have been whole fruit, oat-bran muffins and smoothies. The oat-bran muffins are a recipe that I came up with one day. I wanted something that was easy to whip up, filling, healthy but low in calories. They are gluten free and the different dried fruits/ nuts can be substituted out for what you prefer.

Oat Bran Muffins aka Everything but the Kitchen Sink Muffins 13 servings, approx. 195 cal.
Vegetable Oil                  1 Tablespoon
Apple Sauce                   1/2 Cup
Greek Yogurt-plain           6 ounces 
Banana- ripe                   2-each
Eggs                              2 each
Agave Nectar                  3 Tablespoons
Oatmeal- plain uncooked   1 cup
Oat bran- plain uncooked   1 cup
Baking Powder                 1 teaspoon
Wheat Germ                   1/2 cup
Almonds, sliced               1/2 cup
Cranberries- dried           1/2 cup
Coconut- shredded           1/2 cup

Preheat oven for 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, mash ripe bananas with a fork. Once mashed, add vegetable oil, apple sauce, greek yogurt, agave nectar and eggs.

In another mixing bowl combine the rest of dry ingredients making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix. 
With a muffin tin- either spray muffin tin or use paper liners. 
Using a 1/3 cup measure, scoop out batter and fill.
Sprinkle tops of muffins with oats (optional) and bake for 25 minutes or until top is firm to touch

Now usually I don't do this however, being that this is a personal blog I am going to post a picture of my starting point and progress thus far. I will post an updated blog in June sometime so you guys can see if I am actually practicing what I preach. Don't fear this will not turn into a fitness rant. I will remain true to food. A lil change sometimes is good though. 

CRINGE !!!

The glasses are day one, without the glasses are 3 weeks later, 11 pounds lighter

Now time to go work out! 

Madrid... A Food Lovers Paradise

Flat of Figs in Spain

         It all began with a fig....... I was at work doing my usual task of recieving food orders to check in and I saw a flat of figs. Staring at the small figs, squished into the plastic mesh containers with bruises my mind began to wonder. I reminisced back to over a month before when I was in Madrid, Spain and stopped dead in my tracks staring at a flat of large, gorgeous figs. Thats when all of the wonderful food memories came back.

               There have been very few times in my life where I was speechless when it came to terms food. This was a time where it was the case. Never have I ever been to a place where I felt so inspired and happy to see what was going on around me. Now, I have been to Spain before and was well aware about the special care they take into their food. However this time was different. Unlike my past time in the country, I actually cooked meals. I had to go to the shops and grocery stores to purchase food and that was the difference.

Cherries stacked neatly....blew my mind

Even the meat looked great!

Presentation is key!

                                       








              Walking into the grocery stores, fruit stands and supermarkets, I was amazed by the presentation of the produce, fish, meat and cheese stands. No customer was allowed to pick up any item. There were workers for every station which picked up (with gloved hands) the item that you want and placed into a bag for you. They took pride in their work and nobody was going to mess it up. All of the produce were neatly arranged- by color and food group. The seafood section was a sight to see. First of all, there were fish, mollusks and shellfish that I have never seen before. All of the items were arranged going the same way and grouped by species. The colors and overall freshness of it made me so excited that I would be cooking.

Pan con Tomate & Pan con
Serrano

Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese & Balsamic
Reduction

Mussels in White Wine, Butter
Sauce

  

 I came to Madrid with the Nomad•ness Travel Tribe and that was our home base in Spain before we went up to Pamplona to run with the Bulls. Before we embarked on our trip it was known that we were going to have a group dinner in which members Blue, Kyla and myself would do the cooking. On the day of our special group dinner, the three of us ventured off to one of the many food markets in Madrid to shop. We had a long list of ingredients to buy and was happy and excited about the food we were going to prepare. Our theme was traditional Spanish food. The menu that we came up with was: pan con tomate y jamon (toasted bread with tomatoes and serrano ham), figs with goat cheese & balsamic reduction, mussels with white wine herb sauce, potato salad with tuna, white asparagus salad, seafood paella, braised chicken with fennel, caramelized peach tart and passion fruit flan. 

Seafood Paella 

          The meal that fed fifteen people took us about 4 hours to complete. Of course there were tons of talking, laughter and sips of wine in between but we made it happen. It was such a joy to be in a country unlike our own when it come to food culture and actually prepare food. 

Potato Salad with Tuna

Passion Fruit Fl 

    
       

Braised Chicken with Fennel

Caramelized Peach Tart

           Upon returning back home to NYC, I was a little saddened. Going food shopping wasn't the same, supermarkets did not have the standard for products like the ones in Madrid. Here, you can go to places like Whole Foods, farmers markets other and specialty markets where the upkeep of food is priority. In Spain that was the normal everywhere. From the local fruit stands to the supermarkets there was a sense of pride in all products that was showcased. I have since come to the realization that it will never be the same so I should stop comparing. Whenever I get into a food funk..... I just think that I will always have the memories of Madrid.


*photos of the dinner courtesy of Antoine Kinch*

Recipe Testing.... Doughnuts and such :)

       Whenever I have a moment I like to surf the web and go to food sites. I often search websites recipe archives and stop until something catches my attention. I feel that nothing is ever "original". There is always someone out there who has cooked the same thing. What I like to do is if I find a recipe that looks good, I think of someway to change it to make it my own. Hence- the experimentation comes in. Whenever you alter a recipe (especially for baking), the dish coming out perfect is always left up to chance. You have to make sure that you substitute correct ingredients for each other. For example- if you take out butter, you have to make sure you sub for another fat so that you get the same result for your finished product.  

       One day I stumbled upon Yahoo's Shine website where they have a special cooks section. There, Chef Fabio Viviani (from Top Chef) has a segment called Chow Ciao where there are videos making his favorite dishes. I came across his perfect doughnut recipe. Reading through the recipe, i was surprised to see that the base was white potatoes. I thought how delicious would it be if I substituted the white potatoes for sweet potatoes. Should come out the same or even better, right. So I gave it a try. 

        I followed the recipe http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/perfect-homemade-doughnuts-194600827.html exactly. When the dough was mixed i noticed that it was still very wet and I could not form it in any shape without adding more flour. That is when I remembered that sweet potatoes contain more water than white ones- reason why my dough came out wet. I added about an additional cup and a half of flour to the dough so I could manage it. Also knowing at that point the recipe was extremely altered and kept me guessing how it would come out.

        I let the dough sit out and rise for 20 minutes just like the recipe said but it barely rose. 

     

        I cooked them anyway, knowing the error in my ways just to see how the would come out. The doughnuts fried up well. Once fully cooked I tossed them in a mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Then it was taste time. The doughnuts were dense and had a faint taste of sweet potato. The next time I make them I know what to do differently. For one- after roasting & mashing the sweet potatoes I will cook down the mash so water can evaporate making a paste. That will aid in having a more pronounced sweet potato taste and less flour to be added. I will also up the yeast a bit to get the light and airiness to the finished product. They were good however now I know what to do to make them amazing.

***If you have more leftover potatoes I also recommend this recipe by Chef Fabio for his gnocchi. Below I posted a picture during the process of making it but it was soo good that they were all gone before I could take a picture of the finished product. http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/potatoes-101-perfect-gnocchi-214300981.html

Culinary Nirvana- My Dinner at WD-50

     Well, where do I begin. WD-50 is herald as one of the most ground-breaking restaurants in the country as far as molecular gastronomy is concerned. Molecular gastronomy is "is a sub-discipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general."-wikipedia……Taking cues from the famous Spanish Chef Ferran Adria- the chef who put the use of gastronomy with food on the map, Chef Wylie Dufrense has brought that ideal stateside being one of the first forward thinking chefs with this idea.

   Of course, WD-50 was on my wish list of restaurants to dine at. I had just never gotten the chance to, until now. Like usual one of my college buddies was in town with her friends and we decided to go. I was extremely excited to go because just to witness how far someones imagination can go with food and to what extent ingredients can manipulated and changed but still taste delicious. 
    I think we were lucky because we are some of the few diners that had the pleasure of eating off the menu that made him know. Chef Wylie has decided to shake things up and change his entire menu starting the 2nd week of May. In a recent New York Times article-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/dining/at-wd-50-wylie-dufresne-is-shaking-up-the-entire-menu.htm he goes into detail about the reason for the change and what diners can expect from the new menu.
  So usually I go into great detail of critiquing the food that I eat however, this was a totally different experience. The entire course of the night I was in sheer awe of all the dishes that were presented to us. This blog entry will be an exception…. i will let the pictures speak for itself.

Peekytoe Crab Roll with Celeriac Noodles and Salt & Vinegar Chips

Duck Pastrami- tasted like a pastrami on rye sandwich.

Aerated Foie Gras with Brioche Crisp
"..i think this is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth." Rachel

Cold Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Ricotta, Tabasco & Caviar

Eggs Benedict Florentine- Spinach "paper",  congealed egg yolks, fried hollandaise sauce nuggets. Delicious

Scallop Ravioli- the "pasta" was actually scallop along with the filling

Sesame Flatbread- "Its amazing how they got it paper thin yet so flavorful.."Natalia

Fried Skate, Sunchokes, Sunflower Seed Puree and Giardeneria Vegetables 

Duck Breast, Mushroom Dumplings, Consommé 

Liquid Churro, Spicy Dark Chocolate Sauce, Gelato
On appearance the churro looked like it was crisp, freshly fried. However, with the swipe of a spoon it had a creamy texture

Chocolate Ganache, Beet Powder, Chocolate Pebbles

Rootbeer Float- it was like an airy vanilla rootbeer foam.

Chef Wylie let us take a peak into his kitchen

This is where they store all of the powders, gels & gums that help manipulated food into different textures & forms

He even took a picture with us :)