300 g ground nuts (almond meal, ground walnuts or ground hazelnuts)
Ingredients for chocolate buttercream topping
4 egg yolks
1 egg
3 tbsp (18 g) cocoa powder
3 tbsp (37.5 g) sugar
250 g butter (room temperature)
150 g powdered sugar
Ingredients for chocolate glaze
50 g coconut butter
200 g dark chocolate
Preheat oven to 325°F.
To make the base, beat 2 eggs with 250 g powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in nuts. Pipe dough onto two prepared baking sheets into 1 ½-inch rounds. You should get about 40 – 50 rounds. Bake at 325°F for about 15 – 20 minutes.
To make the chocolate buttercream, combine the egg yolks, the egg, the cocoa, and the sugar. Stir until well combined over a water bath. Cool. Meanwhile, In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the cooled cocoa mixture.
Pipe the buttercream onto the nut bases and let them cool.
Melt the chocolate and coconut fat and dip cooled cookies to glaze.
¼ cup/60 milliliters buttermilk, milk or water, plus more as needed
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes or chopped nuts, such as pecans, pistachios or hazelnuts, cardamom, whatever you like on your doughnut
Heat milk to 100°F. Whisk in the yeast and 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Combine the flour, yeast mixture, remaining sugar, salt, milk, butter, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until smooth (about 8 minutes).
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Brush a thin layer of vegetable oil on the paper. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into 16 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a round and then flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Place the rounds seam side down on the oiled paper. Let stand uncovered at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. If you want to make doughnuts with a hole in the middle, use a 1 ¼-inch ring cutter, punch out the center of each circle. Those will be your doughnut holes.
Add 3 inches of oil to a deep pot. Attach Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F. Line a large platter or baking sheet with several layers of paper towels.
Working in batches, gently lower doughnuts into the oil. Fry on one side until deeply golden brown, about 1 – 2 minutes. Flip with tongs or a skimmer and continue to fry until golden brown and cooked through, another two minutes or so. Drain doughnuts on a wire rack lined with paper towels and proceed with remaining doughnuts, making sure the oil returns to temperature between batches.
To fill the doughnuts, place the jam in a bowl and stir it thoroughly so that there are no lumps. Scrape it into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Insert the tip into the soft spot of each doughnut and squeeze about 1 tsp. of the jam into the center. Serve immediately.
To make the vanilla glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and salt until no lumps remain. Add additional buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the glaze.
Dip each doughnut into the glaze on one side, letting excess drip back into the bowl, and return it to the wire rack. Sprinkle immediately with sprinkles, chopped nuts or toasted coconut.
2 cups bread flour plus extra for flouring work surface
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vegetable oil spray for greasing bowl
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar for dusting
Heat milk to 110°F. Whisk in the yeast and 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, whisk together remaining sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Switch to the dough hook and add yeast mixture and slightly warmed buttermilk and vanilla while mixing on low speed to moisten ingredients. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix until dough comes together in a ball. Dough will still be wet and tacky.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and transfer the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 2 hours.
Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface, sprinkle the top with flour and roll out into a large rectangle that’s approximately 1/3-inch. Use a sharp knife or pizza wheel to cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares.
Fill a Dutch oven or deep fryer with 2 inches of oil. Heat oil over medium heat to 350°F. Using a heat-resistant spatula or shallow, heat resistant strainer, carefully drop beignets in the oil. Be careful not to crowd the beignets in the pan (no more than 2 to 3 beignets at a time). After about a minute the dough will begin to puff up, turn the beignets and fry until deep golden brown on both sides (about 1-2 minutes per side, use the color as your guide keeping a close eye on keeping the oil temperature as constant as possible). Remove doughnuts immediately from the pan using a heat resistant strainer or tongs. Set on paper towel lined baking racks to cool. Once cooled slightly, heavily dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately.
Optional first step: If you want to infuse your creme brulee with flavorings like citrus zest or lavender, combine heavy cream and the flavoring in a small saucepan, and let it sit in the fridge for 2 hours. Skip this step if you’re not doing any infusion.
Heat the oven to 300°F and bring water to a boil. Place 4 – 6 ramekins in a roasting pan.
Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. If you are using a vanilla bean, split it lengthwise with a knife and scrape out its seeds into the bowl. Whisk the egg yolks, powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, until well mixed. Slowly add cream and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher. If using vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean, add it now, to the strained custard.
Pour the custard into the prepared ramekins. Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven and pour the boiling water into the pan around the ramekins, being careful not to let any water splash into the ramekins.
Bake for 35 – 40 minutes if you have 1 inch deep ramekins, 50 – 55 min. if they are 2 inches deep. It will be barely set, but not liquid. The custard will firm up considerably in the refrigerator.
Take the ramekins out of the water batch and let them cool to room temperature. Then cover the tops with plastic wrap and chill completely in the fridge. This will take 4-6 hours.
When you’re ready to brûlée, add a thin layer of granulated sugar to the top of each one and brown the top with a blow torch.
You can store untorched creme brûlée in the fridge for up to 3 days before serving.
4 cups peeled, pitted and thinly sliced fresh peaches (5 to 6 medium peaches)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Several dashes ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Pour the melted butter into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, the baking powder, and the salt and mix well. Stir in the milk, mixing until just combined. Pour this batter over the butter but do not stir them together.
In a small saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour the peaches over the batter but do not stir them together. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden-brown. Serve warm or cold.
5 medium-size peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (about 5 cups)
1 cup blueberries
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling the dough
1 egg
1 tsp. heavy cream or whole milk
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. plus 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
Kosher salt
1 Tbs. plus 1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. turbinado sugar
2 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and finely chopped
Heat oven to 400°F.
Place first 5 ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Then add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Open the processor and drizzle the vanilla extract over the mixture. Pulse until the dough just comes together. Gather into a ball, press into a disk, wrap and refrigerate until firm – at least 30 minutes.
Press dough onto bottom and up sides of ungreased 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Prick bottom and sides of crust with fork. Bake 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove crust from oven.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp. of the cardamom, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Add the peaches, 1 Tbs. of the lemon juice, and the vanilla; toss gently to combine.
Assemble filling mixture in tart crust. Bake 32-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is set.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the honey, the remaining 1/4 tsp. lemon juice, the remaining 1/4 tsp. cardamom, and 1/8 tsp. salt to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute, and then remove from the heat. Let stand 1 minute. Sprinkle the warm tart with the hazelnuts, and drizzle with the warm honey.
Serve warm or at room temperature with the whipping cream.
Line jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust thin layer of flower on butter. Set rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering. Whisk the eggs, yolks, salt, and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm. Attach the bowl to the mixer and with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled and tripled in volume. While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour, cornstarch, and cocoa. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake the genoise for about 9 to 10 minutes, or until well risen, deep and firm to the touch. (Make sure the cake doesn’t over-bake as it will make it hard to roll.) If necessary, use a small paring knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Spread kitchen cloth on working surface and sprinkle with sugar. Invert the cake onto the kitchen cloth and let the cake cool right side up for a minute. Remove the paper and immediately roll into a log.
Chocolate Ganache Icing
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium bowl. Heat cream on stove until bubbles begin to appear around the edges (don’t boil) and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes and stir until smooth. Refridgerate until coldbut not solid, stirring occasionally.
Cream Filling
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon Cognac
sugar or vanilla sugar to taste
some of the chocolate ganache from the icing
Decorations Marzipan Mushrooms: Roll half of the marzipan into balls for the caps and half into cylindrical lengths for the stems.
Holly leaves: Knead greed color into marzipan and use cutter to cut out leaves.
Holly berries: Knead red color into a tiny piece of marzipan. Roll into tiny balls.
Pine cones: Knead chocolate into marzipan. Form cone shape and use scissors to slash sides of the cones.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F.
Coat a 13×18-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Put the chocolate and cocoa in a medium heatproof bowl, add the boiling water, and whisk to combine and melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat the sugar and butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly add the buttermilk and vanilla—the batter will look curdled at this point. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Alternate adding the flour mixture (in 3 additions) with the chocolate mixture (in 2 additions), ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan on the counter to level the batter.
Bake until the cake springs back when poked in the center with a finger, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. (Well-wrapped, the cake will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator, or up to 1 month in the freezer.)
2.) Making the Chocolate Mousse:
Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl set in a skillet of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir with a spatula to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.
Whip the egg whites in a clean stand mixer fitted with a clean whisk attachment on medium-high speed to soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and continue to whip to stiff peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. In a medium bowl, whip the cream with a whisk or electric hand mixer to medium-stiff peaks.
In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Mix the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture with a spatula. Fold in the whipped egg whites, then fold in the whipped cream—there shouldn’t be any visible streaks.
3.) Assemble the bombs:
Set two silicone bomb molds that 6 bombs each (3-1/4-inch diameter and 1/2-cup capacity) on a 13×18-inch rimmed baking sheet.
Turn the cake out onto a cutting board. Use a 3-1/8-inch round cutter to cut 12 circles from the chocolate cake. Reserve the remaining cake for another use.
Scoop about 1/4 cup of the mousse into each mold and smear it evenly all over the insides of the molds with the back of a small spoon. Refrigerate or freeze until set, 10 to 20 minutes. Gently press a cake circle into each mold. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 5 hours or overnight. Unmold the frozen bombes one at a time onto a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Let sit until nearly room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.
4.) Glaze the bombs:
Put the chopped chocolate and corn syrup in a medium stainless-steel bowl.
In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-high heat until just boiling, then pour it over the chocolate mixture and let sit for 3 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth.
Transfer to a liquid measuring cup for easy pouring. Pour the glaze evenly over the bombs to coat them completely. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. (Glaze the bombs no more than 8 hours in advance.) Let the bombs sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, place ground almonds, flour, sugar and lemon zest.
Mix until combined.
Add butter and continue beating for two minutes.
Stir rum and vanilla into egg whites, then add the flour mixture in two additions.
Beat for 2 minutes after each addition, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
Fill each pan with 2 ounces of batter, then add one berry.
Melt chocolate, Amaretto and coffee until smooth, whisk in butter one tablespoon at a time. Then add vanilla, and finally beat in the pulverized cookies.
Set over ice bath and stir until chilled and fairly firm.
Form into truffle shape and roll in the cocoa powder.
