Happy Birthday, Coconut!

Cat person vs. crazy cat lady?  You decide.  Coconut (my first born, if you will) is turning 2 today, and I am baking coconut cream pie in celebration!

Joe and I had no intention of getting a cat that soon.  It was the day after we got back to Portland after driving Ruby (my awesome red Civic) cross country and we were running errands when we stumbled upon a pet adoption event.  Coconut (then Artemis) had literally wedged half of her body out of the cage in attempt to get close to us, and when I asked to hold her, she fell asleep in my arms!  How could we say no? I had to fight off a five year old, but we became a family of 3 that day.

Happy Birthday to my bob-tailed, catnip-loving Queen!

PS - all of our cats are named after food.  You can expect appropriately themed posts when Curry and Cashew's birthdays roll around.

 Coconut Cream Pie

 

Back in the day, I hated custards (ridiculous, I know.) This was one of the first pies we learned in pastry school and it changed my mind completely.  Today I used a gluten free pie crust and adapted the filling recipe from here, and voila!-- Coconut Cream Pie for Coconut's birthday.

 Ingredients

1 blind-baked 9-inch pie shell (for gluten-free, I used the pie crust recipe on Pamela's GF bread mix)

2 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 tablespoon butter

1 cup heavy cream
powdered sugar to taste
pure vanilla extract to taste

 Directions

In a saucepan, whisk  2 cups of the milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar together. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the liquid up to a simmer.

Whisk the cornstarch and 1/4 cup remaining sugar together until no clumps remain.  Whisk in egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup milk until smooth. Temper the hot milk into the egg yolks. Whisk the egg mixture into the hot milk mixture.  Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the filling is thick, about 4 to 6 minutes. (Optional: strain your mixture at this point.  The egg has a tendency to cook unevenly and this will eliminate any chunks.) Fold in the vanilla, coconut, and butter. Mix well. Pour the filling into the prepared crust, press plastic wrap directly on filling (this will prevent the cornstarch from forming a "skin"), and cool the pie completely.

Flavor the heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla (or other extract) to taste. Using an electric mixer with a whip attachment, whip the cream to stiff peaks, being careful not to over-whip.  Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the top of the pie.

Dear Martha... (classic yellow cake batter/Swiss meringue buttercream)

Are you there, Martha?  It's me, Emily.  I know we don't have a mutually beneficial relationship.  In fact, you'd probably hate me seeing as I let my cat drink milk from my cereal bowl and I often leave the dishes for the next morning.  But you know what?  I don't like you trash talkin' my girl Rachael Ray, so maybe we'll call it even?

Thanks for the delish yellow cake recipe you recently published in Everyday Food and the Swiss meringue buttercream from your cupcake cookbook.  Work birthday parties wouldn't be the same without them.

XOXO,

Emily

Classic Yellow Cake Batter

You could actually turn this into a cake, but I'm going the cupcake route.  If you'd prefer a layer cake, use 2, 9-inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper and buttered.  Divide the batter among the two pans and bake about 30 minutes. 

I've recently discovered powdered buttermilk.  I know, I know, it's not 1950, but I'm sick of buying a quart whenever I make scones and pouring the leftovers down the drain a few weeks later.  Try it!

Remember that we're making meringue buttercream after, so don't throw away your extra egg whites.*

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs plus two large egg yolks*
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour (I've been using my GF mix), spooned and leveled
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Bring cold ingredients to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line 24 standard muffin cups with paper liners. 

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes.  Beat in whole eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, until combined.  Beat in vanilla extract.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture, beating to combine.  Beat in 3/4 cup buttermilk, another 1/3 the flour mixture, another 3/4 cup buttermilk, and the remaining flour mixture until just combined.  Scrape down bowl as needed. 

Divide batter among muffin cups.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20-25 minutes.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

It's easier than Italian meringue and approximately a million steps up from the powdered sugar and shortening buttercream we grew up on.

5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 Tbs sugar
pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water.  Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips.)

Oregon Duckcakes

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form.  Continue mixing until the mixture if fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Once all the butter has been added, whisk in the vanilla.  Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes.  Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth.  Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.  Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Flower Basket Cupcakes

Toffee Crunch Cookie Brittle

When I was little (and adorable), I thought Heath Bars were "Health" Bars.  Once I figured out how to read and discovered that Heath Bars were in fact not Health Bars and that toffee was not coffee, I came to fully appreciate the delicious candy bar.

PS - what's not to love? They share a name with:

1.  Heath Ledger (muah!) I'll always love a man with curly hair. 
2. Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch Ice Cream.  Oh, you didn't realize they made more than Coffee Heath Bar Crunch? I would like to thank my summer scooping overpriced ice cream at minor league baseball games for that discovery. 
3. My sister's new boyfriend (!) who will have to listen to me reference Mr. Ledger and Heath Bars every time I say his name for the rest of his life. I apologize.

This recipe is from a cookbook called "Big Fat Cookies" by Elinor Klivans.  And yes, sometimes I read it in bed instead of an actual book.  Normally I'm skeptical of cookies without eggs, but my friend Dan wanted to make these for his mom when we were in college, and I couldn't get enough.

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (gluten free flour mix works here, too)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (about 7 oz) crushed chocolate-covered toffee, such as Heath Bars or Skor *
1 cup (about 4 oz) walnuts, broken into large pieces

* You can also buy packages of Heath Toffee Bits in the baking aisle.  They come in 8 oz bags and I figure a little extra toffee never hurt anyone, right? (Diabetics excluded.)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

The dough will look crumbly.

In a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together; set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Use a large spoon to stir in the flour mixture.  The dough should look smooth.  Stir in the crushed toffee and walnuts.  The dough will look crumbly.

Leaving a 1 to 1 1/2-inch border empty on all sides, spoon the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.  Press the dough into a rectangle that measures about 9x13 inches and is about 1/2 inch thick, then use the palms of your hands to pat it into an even layer.

Bake until the top feels firm and looks dark golden and the edges look light brown, about 19 minutes.  Let the cookie brittle cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then use a large metal spatula to slide the cookie onto a wire rack to cool.  (Don't worry if the cookie breaks; it will be broken into pieces when cool.)  The cookie will become crisp as it cools.

Break the cooled cookie into 4- to 5-inch pieces.  The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days (but they won't last!)

Makes about twelve 4- to 5-inch long irregularly shaped cookies.