First Day at the Bakery- Check!

I'm back at J. Maddy, settled in and so happy to be back. Today was a pretty major day- first day of classes AND first day of work at the bakery! Work was so great! Since I'm the newbie obviously I had to do some of the work nobody wants to do like washing dishes and packaging ingredients into manageable volumes. But... by halfway through my sift, I had graduated to the real deal. I was entrusted with the task of filling cannoli and then later the entire process of making quiche! All of my co-workers are super nice and my bosses are great. Hopefully soon I will be able to bring my own ideas and recipes to the store!

Red Velvet Cupcakes... Need I say more???

The summer is in its last days and I have been cooking pretty much nonstop. I finally had the chance to bake my favorite dessert: Red Velvet Cupcakes. In my opinion, Red Velvet cupcakes take the cake (literally!). Don't get me wrong, I love the full layer cake, but for some reason Red Velvet just tastes BETTER as a cupcake. The flavor is rich, yet subtle and the presentation is exotic, yet elegant. The cake itself is so delicate but pairs perfectly with the richness of the cream cheese icing. It doesn't get much better than this.



Absolutely, hands down, my favorite recipe of all time. They are just as fun to make as they are to eat. The mixing of the food coloring and cocoa and then creating fizz of vinegar and baking soda is enough to make any baker feel like a mad scientist!

I made these for a dinner with family friends and brought some to my ever-eager taste testers next door and everyone gave stellar reviews. Ironically a few days later, the little girl I was babysitting wanted to bake cupcakes. When I asked her what her favorite flavor was she immediately shouted "Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing!" and so we made them again, although they were a bit more difficult to make with the help of a six year old!

Before we begin... some tips!


R.I.P. Red Food Coloring

-Don't be afraid of the amount of food coloring! To get the deep color you will need to use all of it.
-Take care not to over mix the batter, because this recipe yields only 12 cupcakes, it is quite easy to do so!
-Bring all ingredients to room temperature for better incorporation and an even rise. Don't microwave butter but cut it into smaller pieces if you don't have the time to let it warm.
-Patience is a virtue... its hard, but so worth it. Let the cupcakes cool completely (at least 15-20 minutes) before frosting them
-Store in the refrigerator for safety (cream cheese) and to help the cupcake and icing keep their shape

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour - measure after sifting for accuracy
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used natural but dutch process will work fine too)
1- 1 oz bottle red food coloring (or 1/2 tsp gel)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter- softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg at room temperature (if you don't have enough time, putting the egg in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 5-10 minutes will do the trick!)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature

1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Preheat: 350° and line 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate small bowl, mix the food coloring and cocoa until completely incorporated and lump-free.
In a stand mixer (or larger bowl with hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar at a moderate speed until light and fluffy- about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.
Beat in the egg, followed by vanilla and red cocoa mixture.
At a low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk, then another third of the flour, the other half of the milk and finally the rest of the flour. Increase speed to incorporate completely. Make sure you are scraping down the bowl often!
In a separate small bowl, mix the vinegar and baking soda. Fold the solution into the batter with a wooden spoon or spatula- not mixer.
Fill the muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full. I scooped the batter into a larger cookie portioner and put about a scoop and a half in each.

Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in tins for about 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack until completely cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar

Cream the butter and cream cheese on a moderate speed for about three minutes. Mix in vanilla then, on a low speed, the sugar. Beat to desired consistency.

If you want to go the fancy route, scoop the icing into a pastry bag and pipe onto the cupcakes. If not, simply spread the icing on the cupcakes with an inverted or rubber spatula.

Optional: Red and clear sugar sprinkles for garnishing.

To.Die.For.

I know you will love them!

A new name

After only three posts, I decided to change the name of the blog. I loved the name La Dolce Vita, but there are several other food blogs out there with the same name. So I decided to go for an original name. I don't think there's anyone else out there with this name. La jeune gourmande means The Young Gourmet in French. This name, of course, was inspired by the one and only Julia Child whose cooking school was called L'École des Trois Gourmandes and my love for the French language and culture.
So just a new name, same idea! :)



(photo credit: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2556/3870896130_80dd69ae5f.jpg)

Holy C-O-W! Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies.

Summer is coming to an end. In nine days I will be heading back to school. Living in a dorm, it will be very hard to find time to cook! But I will be able to do plenty of baking! I was very lucky to get a job at a local bakery where I will be trained to do everything and I couldn't be more excited. Shank's Bakery in Harrisonburg, VA started as a booth in the Farmer's Market and finally expanded to a permanent spot 5 years ago. Last year, an upperclassman got a birthday cake from Shank's and introduced me to the bakery. This summer, I decided that I didn't want to go another whole year (almost) entirely without baking and so I contacted the bakery. A couple weeks later, I was hired! I am so excited to get a taste of a baker's life.
Since the countdown to move-in is on, my family had some final baked goods requests. My mom is a super health nut and is always searching for healthy treats. This was the perfect cookie for her. Dark Chocolate, Oatmeal, and toasted Walnuts come together to create an amazing cookie that you wouldn't believe is healthy.



Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut (C-O-W) Cookies
adapted from the Superfood recipe in Health Magazine

Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup pastry or all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or just regular whole wheat flour or substitute 2/3 c AP instead of a whole wheat variety)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a double boiler, melt butter in a large stainless bowl. Remove from heat and mix in brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, oats and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix well.
Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Fold in walnuts and chocolate.



Spoon dough onto a cookie sheet by tablespoon-fulls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.
If you want to save some cookies for later, place the tablespoon fulls of dough on wax paper and freeze until dry. Remove to ziploc bag and store in freezer. When you're ready to bake don't thaw but bake for a few more minutes if needed.

Enjoy!

i cantucci

Lets get the ball rolling with an Italian recipe.

For me, not much can beat an espresso drink. I love coffee anytime of the year and these little treats make the ultimate accompaniment. Not too sweet and not too filling, these cookies are packed with flavor and are the perfect consistency for dunking.

Cantucci is the word for biscotti in Italian. Biscotti literally means twice baked and was the original name for the cookie, but over the years, the word biscotti came to represent all kinds of cookies not just the twice baked ones. Whatever you call them, they are delicious.

My family LOVES biscotti. We pretty much always have a batch on hand and they don't last long!
I have three different recipes that I use on a pretty regular basis, although often making slight variations. The first is the classic Almond Biscotti. It turns out great but the whole process with this one is kind of a pain considering it takes about two hours and the dough is hard to work with, not much freedom in the shaping. Second is Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti. This one is a favorite among most everyone because of its deep chocolate flavor and softer bite. Third is an adaption from dessert master Maida Heatter, Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti. The duo of almond and chocolate combines the best of both previous cookies to create a superior recipe.


Classic Almond Biscotti



2 cups all –purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons Amaretto (or 2 tbs rum with 1 tsp almond extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds
(optional: dark and white chocolate almond bark, or if your up to it, chocolate for tempering)

I like to toast and chop the almonds first then have all the ingredients ready to go.
Preheat the oven to 300° F
Line a baking sheet with parchment or use a silicone baking sheet like Silpat

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and almonds and set aside.
Whisk the wet ingredients with a mixer until well blended.

With the mixer on a very low speed (so as not to cover yourself with flour!) add the dry ingredients. Once it is fairly incorporated, increase the speed until well mixed.
The dough will be sticky.
Dump the dough onto the baking sheet and with floured hands shape the dough into a loaf about 10 by 5 inches, this will be messy and gooey but it is right!

Bake for about 50 minutes until firm and dry.
Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes.
With a long serrated knife cut the biscotti at a slight diagonal into about ½ inch wide slices.
Lay the cookies cut side down on the baking sheet and bake another 20 minutes.
Turn them over and bake yet another 20 minutes. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!

Cool the biscotti completely and if desired (I personally prefer it) melt a block of each white chocolate and dark chocolate almond bark (separately) and use a fork to drizzle onto the biscotti. You probably want to put a piece of parchment paper under the cooling rack so you don’t have to scrape up chocolate later. Melt one of the chocolates completely (I use the microwave) dip the fork in it and then with a rapid back and forth motion, drizzle onto the cookies- repeat with second chocolate.
Of course you may also temper chocolate for drizzling.


Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti



2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder- high quality makes a big difference here
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (this is why these biscotti aren’t as crunchy as the others)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
¾ cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
White chocolate almond bark (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F
Line a baking sheet with parchment or use a silpat

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt/
In a large bowl beat together the buter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well mixed.
Add the dry ingredients on a low speed. Once mixed, increase speed to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chips.

Form the dough into two flattened logs about 12 x 2 inches. (I like to make these biscotti smaller so I usually make longer, skinnier logs)
Bake for 35 minutes.
Cool biscotti for 10-15 minutes.
Slice on a diagonal into ½ inch slices.
Bake again for about 10 minutes.

Once cool, drizzle with white chocolate.

For a variation in this recipe, substitute hazelnuts for the walnuts and add a tablespoon or two of Nutella or Frangelico.


Buon Appetito!

My first post!

For this very first post I would like to tell you about this blog and why I decided to start writing it.

I welcome anyone to this blog. I am flattered that you stuck around long enough to read this. I hope you will join me throughout my experiments in the kitchen and my experiences with food.

I'm a college student. I study foreign languages at James Madison University. You're probably thinking "What the heck is she going to do with that major??" Yeah... I'm not quite sure yet. I'm studying to be a teacher but my passion is food, namely of the baked variety. Hobbies and fads have come and gone throughout my life but my love of cooking has only grown. I have gone through so many ideas of what I want to be when I grow up and it just recently hit me that I will always want to bake, why not call it a career? Of course the salary and exhausting hours are big turn offs but I would give just about anything to see a smile on a customer's face at my own bakery. I would much rather be able to say "I did it" rather than "I wish I had done it" years too late.

So, why "La Dolce Vita"?
Nothing too deep. I thought "The Sweet Life" was a fitting title for my belief that sweets can only make life sweeter :) I'm a foreign language major... but not Italian. I taught myself Italian this summer and I think it is hands-down the most beautiful language out there so I was looking for an excuse to put a little bit of it to use.

The ultimate favorite meal:
Arugula and goat cheese salad
The perfect roast chicken with Rosemary, butter, and lemon
Mashed potatoes
Fresh green beans
Red Velvet Cake