Heather Baird's Blog, page 70

Homemade Ugly Apple Fritters

If there's one recipe that is quintessentially fall - correction, early fall, then this must be it. You'll find these fritters dense with apples yet light and pillowy, tart yet sweet. Both ugly and beautiful, they are a contradiction of the best sort: fried and smothered in cinnamon-spiced glaze. They bring to mind a dozen clichés, but especially the one about not judging a book by its cover.
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Zodiac Constellation Cake

The Autumnal Equinox is on the horizon and if you're a fellow sky gazer, then you may have noticed signs of the season's change. Here in my corner of the world (Northern Hemisphere), daytime brings a shade of brilliant blue that is only visible in fall. Indoors the shadows move across the windowsills differently. Crisp nights make it easy to examine a new (old) set of constellations that have moved across the sky and have different orientation.

The whole thing makes me wax philosophical. I suppose looking at the night sky will do that. It made me consider the zodiac, which I've never put much stock into, but have on occasion nodded my head when someone explains the behavior of a Scorpio or Cancer. Each sign supposedly describes characteristics of each and every human being on earth. I've decided it's not such a stretch. My baker's brain chalked it up to this: We're all different slices from the same cake - why not? Sound overly poetic? Yet another side effect of star-gazing. As is this cake.
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Life Lately Behind the Scenes

Hello friends, bakers, and fellow dessert-makers! I thought it might be fun for you to see what I've been up to lately. Namely, there's a book trailer in the works for Sea Salt Sweet!

In the picture above I'm trying to look like a normal not-nervous person, but we all know that pictures can be deceiving. The thing you can't see is that hours before this snap, I'd broken a dozen eggs on my kitchen floor and then accidentally stepped in the mess, which made me slide across the room and end up on the floor. Hello giant upper arm bruise! Hello Martha Stewart-esque button-down shirt to hide said bruise. I was still feeling shaken and camera shy to boot, but absolutely without question I had best production team who made me feel safe and special and yes - maybe even a little normal (smile).
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Peachy Orange Marmalade Cupcakes

I don't know how to feel about September. It's here too soon. The past two weeks have been especially full of sound and fury in my kitchen (the best kind of both) and many baked goods that you have yet to see. Most of those treats were for a book trailer (more on that in a future post), and others were for special projects that I'm just dying to share. Definitely stay tuned - this fall season promises to be quite full!

September is prime time for apple-picking, but before I dive head-first into all things pomme, I wanted to have one last peachy hoorah. These orange-zested cupcakes are filled with the most delicious fragrant cooked peaches. They're topped with peach schnapps-infused buttercream, which is all kinds of awesome, if you ask me. They taste like a peachy-orange creamsicle.
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Triple Stack Donut Cake

This past week has been filled with the deliberate business of comparing flooring samples, cabinet colors and countertops for the kitchen remodel. The whole thing feels foreign to me; too serious, too adult. To balance out all of that grown-up stuff, I decided to create a cake that would bring genuine childlike joy to my face - extra sprinkles, please!

Behold the Triple Stack Donut Cake. It's big on fun and it's too easy to make! It's basically three giant butter cake donuts with the usual donut glaze and rainbow sprinkles. I've been mulling over the idea of a giant donut cake ever since I purchased a Savarin pan. I've yet to use the pan for its intended purpose, but I'll get around to it eventually.
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Lime Soufflé with Toasted Meringue

I'm getting back into the swing of things after a mini hiatus from blogging. We're in the beginning stages of a kitchen remodel (!!!) which makes me all kinds of excited and nervous. The 'excited' part is easy to explain. I'm eager for my small kitchen to grow and become more user-friendly. I'm not really sure what all that entails right now. The only real direction I've given the kitchen designer is that whatever goes in - cabinets, appliances, flooring - must be able to take a beating. I'm awfully rough on everything in the kitchen. The current state of my cabinetry and appliances tells the tale.

I am also anxious. I can't remember a time when I've had so many decisions to make! As far as putting all the components together - I'm lost. At this point, I wish I had two options and I could just point at one and say - 'that'. I'm not even sure I deserve so many options. Luckily our kitchen designer is good at hand-holding. I'll definitely be documenting the process here on the blog in case any of you are planning on a kitchen update.

Now, this dessert! I'm a cool weather-loving gal, so I'm doing my best to enjoy these hot days of late summer as much as possible. That means lots of ice cream and other chilly treats like this luscious lime soufflé. It's all at once light and rich. It's something that deserves to be eaten under a sun umbrella or on the back patio.
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Malted Nutella & Biscoff Brownie Torte

This cake started out innocently enough with three brownie layers and a jar of Biscoff spread, but something happened along the way; namely the discovery of an unopened jar of Nutella in the back of the pantry. At first I felt like using these two European spreads in the same cake would be crazy (like the Ghostbusters crossing streams? Mass hysteria? Dogs and cats living together?!) but ultimately, curiosity got the best of me. I tasted both spreads together on a graham cracker and decided the combo was a good idea.

I do my best to make sure my taste buds and brain are intellectually connected when I test recipes. I mean, just because you can put two flavors together doesn't always mean they will harmonize, and I worried about this rich-on-rich pairing. After a good ponder and many taste-tests I decided the Nutella filling was a touch too dominant and needed to be tempered with something. But what? After staring blankly into the open refrigerator - for who knows how long - unbelievably, the answer appeared. Peeking out just behind the orange juice was a stash of malted milk powder. It was just the thing to round out the richness of the chocolate hazelnut spread. Don't get me wrong, the finished cake is rich indeed, but with a covering of salted Biscoff frosting, it is balanced in spite of itself.

Speaking of salted desserts! My new book Sea Salt Sweet has a newly added "Look Inside" preview on Amazon, so you can have a peek right now! There's a healthy preview of the front matter, and a couple of recipe previews, too. I almost wish there were more recipe previews because that's the true heart and soul of the book, but if you'd like to have a more complete idea of what's inside, the index is also viewable.
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Frozen Strawberry Sensation

Today I'm sharing one of my mom's recipes. I'm not kidding when I tell you that whatever I make seems to pale in comparison to whatever she's got going on in the kitchen. But isn't that a cosmic rule? Mom's cooking always tastes best? I asked her if I could share this recipe (already knowing the answer) because it is so fresh tasting and easy. The word 'perfect' is so overused in food writing (guilty!) but a slice of this when summer days are sweltering - yes, perfect.
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Pecan Joy Candy Bars

Most of the time I try to avoid making candy in the summertime, but this recipe has completely changed my mind. There's no standing over a bubbling pot of sugar and no candy thermometer involved. In fact, the only cooking required can be done in the microwave.

I call these candy bars Pecan Joys. Consider them the southern cousin of that other ubiquitous almond variety. (smile)


Below you'll find a short video of the candy-making process to give you an idea of the work involved. It's pretty simple and straight-forward. I was thisclose to adding some caramel bits to the coconut candy, but I decided to keep the recipe basic. But wouldn't that be awesome? I imagine it would be like a cross between a caramel-pecan turtle and a Mounds chocolate bar... mmmmm!

Honestly, I can't wait to make these at Christmastime.  I know. Who thinks about Christmas in July? Confession: me to the 900th power. There is never a time when I'm not thinking about holiday baking and confectionery. I live for it.


See? Simple ingredients, uncomplicated instructions. You can do this!
The dipping part is the messiest. Whenever there's melted chocolate involved, I will somehow walk away with a smear on both elbows. How does that always happen? (Is it just me?)


Store these in the refrigerator in an air-tight container and they'll keep for 7 to 10 days. I like to eat them cold sometimes, but the flavors are more developed if you let the candy bars come to room temperature before eating them.

[click to print] Pecan Joy Candy Bars
Yields about 26 pieces

1 pound sweetened flake coconut
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
3 ounces pecan pieces
1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
78 pecan halves (about 6 ounces)
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (two 12-ounce bags)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, divided

Combine the coconut and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Stir well with a rubber spatula. If you see clumps of coconut sticking together as you stir, break them apart with your fingers or will the edge of a spatula. Stir in the 3 ounces pecan pieces until evenly dispersed.

Add the sweetened condensed milk and stir with a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon. The mixture will be very thick. Use your hands to incorporate all the ingredients when it gets too difficult to stir together using a utensil. When all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, gather the candy in to a ball and place it on a sheet of parchment. Divide the ball in two pieces. Working with one piece at a time, shape the dough by rolling it under your palms and squeezing it into a 13-inch long tube/log shape. Roll each log in a piece of waxed paper and twist the ends; freeze until firm, about 40 minutes.

Work with one piece of frozen dough at a time. Unroll it from the waxed paper and flatten it gently. Cut each piece into 1x3-inch pieces using a bench scraper or pizza cutter. Arrange the pieces on large baking sheet covered in waxed paper. Repeat the cutting/arranging process with remaining candy log.

Place 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a large microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening. Heat in the microwave at 100% power at 30 second increments until the candy and shortening can be stirred smooth. Let cool slightly. Dip cut pieces of candy, one at a time, into the chocolate using two forks to turn the candy. Place the dipped candy back onto the waxed paper. While the chocolate is unset, add 3 pecan halves on top. Repeat until 13 candy bars are dipped and decorated with the pecan halves. Let the candy bars set, about 3 hours, or speed setting time by refrigerating them.

Repeat the process with the second 12 ounces and 2 tablespoons of shortening, and the remaining 13 pieces of coconut candy.

Store the candy bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Note: In the instructional video I place the candy bars on a grid cooling rack over a baking sheet. This works well for catching excess/run-off chocolate, but after the candy bars set they are difficult to remove from the rack. I suggest placing dipped candy on waxed paper – they peel right off!

Lemon Meltaway Cake

This cake was inspired by a cookie!

Have you ever tried Lemon Meltaways? I suspect many of you have since it's a familiar sight on holiday cookie trays (though I love making them in spring and summer). For those unfamiliar, they are powdered sugar-coated cookies with a huge lemony kick! When I first tasted this cake, I found the burst of lemon flavor so similar to those cookies that I immediately dubbed this confection "Lemon Meltaway Cake". It's a fitting moniker in more than one way, too. The cake layers are drenched in lemon glaze that makes the texture melt-in-your-mouth tender.
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