baking with friend(s) is BEST

RER 1.19.15

To make up for a dinner cut short, my friend decided we would have a baking date. She deffo knows the key to my heart. Of course I wasn’t bothered by our truncated burger binge, but I am always up for whipping up some baked goods, taking photos and devouring the finished product.

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So we started off with this recipe for chewy fudgy homemade brownies from Sally’s Baking Addiction and got a little bit experimental. We added a dash of pretty pink Himalayan salt in lieu of the normal variety, because we’re fancy like that. 

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RER 1.19.15

Instead of making some of that thick buttery frosting following the recipe or even some salted caramel frosting from a different recipe on the blog, we opted to be a little inventive.  To top our brownies, my friend created a caramel glaze with a hit of heat and savory. 

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RER 1.19.15

Our brownies were fun to make, but in the end something may have gone amiss. Maybe we added too much flour, resulting in fluffier cake-like brownies, not the gooey fudgy bars we were expecting. Maybe we cranked a tad too much of the pretty salt, leaving the treats a smidgen more savory than sweet. Maybe we mixed two different kinds of chocolate with two chocolate and sugar contents. Maybe we got caught up listening to Robyn and Oh Land and let the bad boys cook a little longer than necessary (I guess, “better safe than sorry” is not a phrase apt for brownie baking).

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RER 1.19.15

This was not about the maybes and things that could have been. It was about hang-time, gossip, and catching up. It was about bonding in a kitchen, playing with a pup, and inhaling the sweet smells of chocolate, sugar and butter.

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Breaking into that crust of firmed glaze and getting that perfect bite where the chocolate outshines the salt, and the heat and burned sugar come through, is pretty darn good. But baking with friends is best!

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1.19.15

RER 1.19.15

BEST of both worlds: Sugar Couture Opens in East Williamsburg

RER 12.15.14

It’s perhaps the most pleasant sugar high ever, devoid of the jagged ups and downs, shaking hands and elevated heart rate. A visit to East Williamsburg’s new boutique café, Sugar Couture, brings just the right amount of sweet and savory to the daily grind, from breakfast options to afternoon snacks.  

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Café founder and owner, Penny Stankiewicz, is no stranger to the sweeter side of food. Formerly a documentary director, Stankiewicz went to school to explore the creative outlet of food, pastry and cake decorating. Since then she has established a reputation as cake decorator to the stars with her Sugar Couture special occasion cakes.

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Creating a delicious concept where the sweet is mixed with the savory was a natural next step for Stankiewicz. "I was feeling strongly like it was time for a new challenge, “ says the café owner. “And it had always been a dream of mine to have a retail shop, so when all of the pieces began to fall together, I took the leap!”

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 Dessert favorites come alive in an elevated way in the expert hands of Stankiewicz. Sizeable flakes of sea salt make sweet things sweeter and more dynamic, from studded pecan raisin brownies to seductive caramel candies. Meaty pistachios, crunchy and sticky, are savory jewels paired with delicate pear in tasty tarts and earthy pumpkin and the hum of dulcet mature fig combine to create perfect cheesecake. And luxurious chocolate roasted sandwich cookies blend the unexpected.

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Select savories like seasonal soups, salads, warm pressed sandwiches, and hearty vegetable dishes, add yet another layer to Sugar Couture. These rich melodies with eggy accents, flaky pastry, and doughy breads do not forget the sweet roots of the owner. Sultry bacon jam croissants and decadent creamy baked eggs in puff pastry, both crusty, salty, and textured—perfect breakfasts. Even bready focaccia selections have inherent sweetness from the pretty base to caramelized onion, tangy tomato, tender short rib or butternut squash.

Mustn’t forget about the cakes, the sweet treat Stankiewicz is known for. Daily specials like spicy lemon ginger cake layered thick with smooth tropical passion fruit butter cream, or fall flavored slices laced with caramel, browned butter and apple are a staple at the new café.

Along with the handcrafted bites, Sugar Couture offers Toby’s Estate Coffee, specialty drinks and drink infusions to round out the delectable experience. The intimate space complete with fresh details allows for delightful indulgence and a harmony of flavors.

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WHERE:

Sugar Couture

386 Graham Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

Ph. 718.349.1440

www.sugar-couture.com

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12.22.14  

MangiaMore: SALTED caramel cheesecake pie

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RER 11.28.13

Well this seems to have been my lucky year. I was able to make a new dessert and present it at our timeless Thanksgiving table. Usually we make a pecan pie and something (that something had been the Minimalist’s Sweet Potato Pie or pumpkin pudding or pound cake). But this year pound cake was decided as one of our two contributions and the pecan pie was being brought, which made room for a little creativity. I was thrilled, my wishin’and hopin’ paid off (and so did my relentless Thanksgiving meal research). It was time to try something new, and I knew exactly what I wanted— Joy the Baker’s Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pie. Sweet, savory, salt, and cheesecake, yes please!

 

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The recipe was not severely difficult (unless you mess up like I did, which could result in double the cheesecake pies), it is just a little time consuming. The crust has to bake and cool before the cheesecake filling can go in the shell. The cheesecake pie has to bake for 50 minutes to an hour, and then cool for 45 minutes in the oven (timing is important if you are planning on making a big, festive meal, because this recipe dominates the oven for a bit). And on top of that the salted caramel and the cake have to be completely cool before assembly. There is just a lot of waiting in between delicious parts.

 

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But in the end, it turned out beautiful ( and sticky). Oddly enough, the cheesecake got better with time, allowing all the layers from the spicy gingersnap crust, to the creamy filly, to the salty sweet caramel, to firm up and assert their presence. The salt helped to balance out the sweetness in the filling, and the spicy crust added another dimension to the other flavors. Even the textures gave an interesting twist to cheesecake; there was more crunchy crust, as it rode up the edges of the pie plate; a thinner layer of smooth and luscious cheesecake, skating in the middle of the pie; and a pronounced layer of the tacky, sticky and fun salted caramel topped with the faintest crunch of sea salt.

 

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It was a definitely a delicious addition. What changes did you make to your Thanksgiving table this year? Any revived sides or new desserts? Any newbies worth keeping?

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12.1.13

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