Category Archives: Dessert

Cider Cake

Thoughts:

Cider, for me, is the epitome of Autumn.

Dense, moist, and characterized by that distinctive spiced cider flavor, this cake is an easy new favorite. I initially wondered if the cake would need icing, since it calls for so few ingredients, but after tasting it, I love it as is. It’s delightfully simple, and while frosting would only add, I enjoy a simpler baked good next to my afternoon tea. If frosted, it would be pigeonholed into the dessert category, while unfrosted, it can be enjoyed equally well as breakfast, snack, dessert, or with tea. I’ve tweaked the recipe just a bit, but it is every bit as delicious as the original.

Also, one of the best parts of the recipe is the note afterward, which states that despite the recipe coming from a Young Lady, it “will make a nice cake, better than some old ladies make.” 

I’m inclined to agree. 

cider cake
Cider Cake Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes       Baking: 35-40 minutes

Makes one 9″x9″ cake

Cook’s Note: The batter is much, much thicker than what we are used to with cake recipes. Also, you may wish to trim off the edges of the cake if they are a tad too crispy.

from Dr. Chase’s Receipt Book, 1887

Ingredients:

  • 1 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/3 cup sweet (unfermented) apple cider, room temperature
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. each cinnamon and ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • 4 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8″ square pan, or a 9″ round one.

Cream together the sugar, butter, and egg. Add the cider, and beat until it’s all the same consistency. Add the soda and spices, followed by the flour, which should give you an unusually thick batter. Smooth this evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the middle comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool in the pan for around 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. 

Delicious served with a little whipped cream, or vanilla or ginger ice cream.

Concord Grape Crumble

Thoughts:

This is a near perfect simple autumnal dish.

I grew up near the Finger Lakes region of NY, and there we had an exquisite seasonal treat:

Concord Grape Pie. 

However, some of my family members have developed a gluten intolerance. So, with a few small tweaks, I’ve made a spin on that childhood delight: a great gluten-free recipe perfect for the thanksgiving table, or breakfast, or a weeknight dessert. 

The topping is warm, crispy, and crunchy thanks to the walnuts and toasted oats. The filling, as always, is divine. I could eat it every day, and during autumn, frequently do. That combination of sweet gooey inside combined with crunchy topping just can’t be beat, and is well worth the funny blue teeth you and your happy guests will be sporting. :)


Concord Grape Crumble Recipe

Cook’s Notes: Although Concord Grapes are best, there are a few other varieties that can work, such as Muscadine. Any grape that has a tough outer skin, and insides that can be popped out, could feasibly work for this recipe. Let me know what you try, and if it works!

Filling Ingredients:

  • 4 cups Concord grapes (a little over 2 quarts)
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 lemon-worth zest

Topping Ingredients:

  • 6 Tbs. oat flour
  • 3 Tbs. brown sugar
  • 4 Tbs. cold butter
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup  rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup crushed candied walnut pieces

Squeeze the pulp out of the skins into a saucepan, saving the skins in a bowl. Cook the pulp in a saucepan over medium heat for around 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the guts break down and the seeds separate from the grape.

Press the cooked grapes through a sieve and add to the skins. Discard the seeds. Add sugar, rice flour and lemon juice to the grapes, stir vigorously to combine, and pour mixture into a pie pan or a casserole dish.

Mix the ingredients for the topping until it’s the consistency of breadcrumbs. Spread over the top of the pie filling and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes.

Apple Custard Pie

Thoughts:

I love this recipe. It’s versatile enough to be made into a pie, or into smaller tarts, or even into a crustless custard, in ramekins. I was a smidge distracted the first time I made this, so was surprised that the filling is really enough for two pies. 

The filling thickens to a nice smooth consistency, appley in flavor along with the more familiar elements of custard. It’s mildly sweet, not overpoweringly so, which lets all the natural flavor of the apple and the bite of the nutmeg shine. All in all, it’s a simple dish that’s easy to prepare, and easy to appreciate. Plus, it’s a great use for some of those autumn apples you might have lying around!


Apple Custard Pie Recipe

 Prep: 10 minutes       Baking: 45 minutes to an hour

Makes: 2 pies      

Cook’s Note: I use applesauce in the recipe below to simplify things, but if you have proper orchard apples, stewing them down for this custard is a wonderful use for them. Also, although not listed in the original, I added a splash of brandy  and a dash of vanilla. Feel free to play, and make the recipe your own!

Crust Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 stick butter (4 Tbs.)
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • ice water, just enough

Custard Ingredients:

  • 3 cups applesauce
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 6 eggs, divided
  • 1 quart milk (4 cups)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbs. brandy
  • nutmeg to taste

Make the crust by cutting the butter and shortening into the flour, then add the sugar and salt. Pour in just enough water to bring the dough together, and try not to overwork it. Roll out to about 1/4″ thickness, then line two pie pans with it. Crimp the edges decoratively, and prick the bottoms of the pies all over with a fork (this keeps the dough from bubbling up). 

Pour the applesauce into a fine sieve, and allow any extra water and juices to drain out; this will help the custard filling set up nicely. Place the drained applesauce in a large bowl, and add the sugar, yolks, and nutmeg. Beat thoroughly, and add the milk, followed by the whites, beating all the while. 

Pour the custard into the prepared pie pans; any extra can be poured into ramekins or other oven-safe dishes. Bake for around 45 minutes, or until the center of the pies are set. Remove from the oven, let cool, sprinkle with a little decorative nutmeg, and enjoy!

Spice Cake – Beauty

“That wonderful table would never have offered me the same dish twice; but while I reveled in the variety, I also sometimes demanded a repetition. There was a dark treacly spice cake that I like very much, and asked for several times. Sometimes it burst into being like a small exploding star, several feet above my head, and settled magnificently to my plate; sometimes a small silver tray with a leg at each of five or six corners would leap up and hurry towards me from a point far down the table.”

–Beauty, by Robin McKinley

The cake is reminiscent of proper gingerbread: light and airy, with a distinctive ginger bite. However, the treacle gives it an earthy density that can only be achieved with treacle or molasses, and is somehow inherently autumnal. I tried it plain, and while it was good, it really benefits from a touch of icing.

As in the book, I recommend that you enjoy this cake followed by tea sweetened with orange peel, and spiced with fresh ginger.


Treacle Spice Cake Recipe

Cook’s Notes: Although quite nice plain, as an accompaniment to tea, the spice cakes are also wonderful iced. I drizzled a little apple cider glaze over half of mine, then topped with a red cinnamon candy. Wonderful!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks) 
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup black treacle (molasses can also work, in a pinch)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • pinch of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325F; grease an 8″ square baking pan, cover with parchment paper, and grease again.

Cream together the butter, sugar, treacle, eggs, milk, and ginger in a large bowl. Sift in the dry ingredients into this and mix thoroughly. Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for 35 minutes. When it’s done, a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean.

Pull the cake out by the parchment paper, and allow to cool. Cut into squares, and if you like, dust with powdered sugar, or glaze with icing. Enjoy!

 *For an apple cider glaze, start with 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add, in tiny increments, just enough apple cider to get a nice runny consistency. Drizzle this over the cake, and serve.*

Pumpkin Pasties – Harry Potter

“Anything from the cart, dearies?” 

–Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling

Thoughts:

I had a pretty clear idea of what my version of Pumpkin Pasties should be. And now that it’s autumn, there was simply no resisting the tug of pumpkin-based recipes. More on those to come…

These pasties are delicious. Portable, yet moist, they can be easily enjoyed on a train, late summer picnic, lunchbox, or my favorite: slightly toasted for breakfast. With the cinnamon icing, it’s like a giant pumpkiny pop-tart, and I mean that in the very best way (like your 12 year old brain remembers them). It’s also a more straightforward recipe than some, which require double baking the filling. 

Pair them with some cider, hot or cold, and they’re a must not only for your HP viewing parties, but also for all your autumnal gatherings. 


Pumpkin Pasties Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes       Baking: 10-15 minutes       Cooling/icing: 30 minutes

Makes about 10-12 Pasties

Cook’s Notes: Although I wrote these directions for the pie mold I own, it’s easily adapted to suit what you have. See the notes at the very bottom of the post for details. 

Ingredients for Crust:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg yolk (save the white!)
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1 lb. can pumpkin
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup dried currants

Icing:

  • 1 egg white
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • water, if needed

Preheat your oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Make your pastry dough: Mix together the dry ingredients. Rub in your butter, then add the egg yolk and enough cold water to bring the dough together. Set aside.

Mix the filling: Combine all ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

Divide the pastry dough in half. Roll one half out to a thickness of about 1/4″. Use your cutter to cut out the desired shape. Fill with just enough filling that it won’t eek out the seams. Wet the edges with egg white, and cover with the top piece of pastry. Crimp the edges shut, and transfer the pit to the prepared baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the pasties with a bit of egg white, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the pasties are golden. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely!

Make the icing: Beat what is left of your egg white until it’s frothy. Add the cinnamon and the confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until the consistency is thick but drizzleable. If it becomes too thick, thin with a splash of water. Drizzle the icing over the cooled pasties, and serve!

Note: I used a pumpkin shaped hand pie mold from William-Sonoma. I looked and looked online, but for the life of me couldn’t find them for sale anywhere anymore. Instead, I’d suggest this half circle style press from Amazon, which I also have. If you’d like to just fake it, you can use large circles of dough, and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork.

Are these still sold anywhere?

Marzipan Dragonflies – Gentlemen Bastards series

“Jean’s dinner, smoked rock eel in caramel brandy sauce, lay chopped into fragments and scattered like debris from a battle. He was making his way slowly through dessert, a cluster of marzipan dragonflies with crystallized sugar wings that glimmered by the steady glow of the booth’s candles.”

–Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch

Marzipan Dragonflies with sugar wings

Thoughts:

I will confess that I didn’t think I liked marzipan before this dish. However, it turns out that I really love this recipe! 

The marzipan is just the right amount of sweet, with just a touch of crunchy texture from the sugar and almonds. The vanilla, I think, is what helps make it wonderful. Combine a bite of the marzipan with a bite of the sugar wings, and it’s a crunchy, almond-y experience. My wings had a slight lemon flavor, but I’d love to try making them with a variety of other flavors, such as orange, or ginger. 

There is also something wonderfully decadent about casually devouring these exquisite deserts. It gives one the feel of an ancient Roman emperor, or a queen of legend. It was all I could do to keep from reclining as I munched my way through half the bowl. 


Recipe for Marzipan Dragonflies

Wings: ~1 hour           Marzipan: 20 minutes to make, 1 hour to chill          Assembly: 1 hour plus

Cook’s Note: I have faith in you, brave adventurer!

Ingredients for Wings:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • a candy thermometer
  • a silpat silicone baking sheet liner

Ingredients for Marzipan:

  • 1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds
  • 1 1/2- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Coloring and Decoration:

  • food coloring
  • confectioner’s sugar
  • water
  • dragees for eyes
  • edible gold dust or paint

Make the Wings:

Prepare your work surface by covering a baking sheet with the silpat- you’ll be pouring sugar onto it, so place it near the stove. 

Combine the water, sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Clip in the candy thermometer and cook until the temperature reaches 300 F, which is the hard-crack stage. Remove from heat. Using a spoon, gently pour about 1/2 Tbs of the sugar onto the silpat in a wing shape; you can also pour the sugar into a little puddle, then drag the spoon through one side to elongate the shape. Repeat until all the sugar has been used, taking care to make both left and right side wings. It’s also important to taper the inside of the wings, so they can be attached to the marzipan. Allow the wings to cool, then dip in powdered sugar. Rub the powdered sugar into the wings to keep them from becoming sticky. 

Make the Bodies:

Using a food processor, grind the almonds into a fine powder. Add in the confectioners sugar and blend well. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Using a wooden spoon blend in the egg whites and vanilla (if using) until the whole has taken on a smooth texture. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.

To form the dragonflies, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a chestnut. Roll this into a short rope about 2-3″ long. Pinch off another two pieces, each about the size of a hazelnut. Form one into a chunky diamond shape, and the other into a rough triangle. Smush these three shapes together, as in the diagram. Combine a bit of confectioner’s sugar with food coloring and water until you have a nice liquid consistency. Paint the bodies whatever colors you like with this color mixture, but leave any gold highlights until last.

Select two pairs of matching wings and lay them on top of the center of the marzipan body (the piece that used to be the diamond). Pinch off one last piece of marzipan, shape it into a flat diamond/disc, and place it over the assembled wings. Press gently, taking care not to break the sugar, but being sure to press the marzipan all around the wings to help hold them in place. Paint this top piece of marzipan to match the rest of the body.

To decorate, firmly press two dragees into the marzipan head where the eyes should go. Paint on highlights with edible gold dust (mixed with alcohol) or gold paint. Serve, and wow your friends!

Like this recipe? Check out the other recipes from the Gentlemen Bastards series!

Hot Pie's Cherry Crumble

Never, in all my excitement over HBO’s version of Game of Thrones, did I imagine that I would get enough detail from the show from which to make food. However, nestled in among all the intrigue, in episode 2.8, Hot Pie mutters enough details to construct one amazing cherry crumble.

“You need sour cherries to make it right. The secret is you dry the stones and break ’em with a mallet; that’s where the real flavor is. Then you crush ’em up real fine, and when you’re finished, sprinkle ’em over the pie crust… Sour cherries is all crushed up and ready. Probably in the pie crust by now. In the oven, the nice, warm oven…” -Hot Pie

Thoughts:

The flavor is rich, while not overly sweet. Slightly spiced, flavorful, and authentically old world feeling, this crumble is ideal for a simple summer dessert, or a more luxurious breakfast. I made it without any sugar added to the filling, which really allows the cherry to shine underneath that layer of delicate crunchy crumble. There is enough sugar on top of the cherry, and in the crust, to satisfy a sweet tooth , balanced, before sugar became popular, true cherry flavor.

The mahleb, crucial ingredient, has tones of vanilla, anise, green tea, and something between cinnamon and nutmeg, all of which gives the crumble a nice subtle depth.

Nicely done, Hot Pie! Continue reading →

Coraline – Button Cookies

“The other mother had followed her in. Now she stood in the center of the room, between Coraline and the mantelpiece, and looked down at Coraline with black button eyes. It was funny, Coraline thought. The other mother did not look anything at all like her own mother.” –Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

Thoughts:

Although a simple sugar cookie recipe, the somewhat sinister connection to the “Other Mother” in Coraline lends them a creepiness similar to the bright facade of the 1950s. Available in a wide array of colors, the buttons appear purely festive, while still hinting at the curious world Coraline finds on the other side of the door.

Button Cookie Recipe

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Prep: 20 minutes           Chilling: 1 hour plus           Baking: 10 minutes           Icing: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
Icing:
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • water
  • food coloring

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix until thoroughly combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, putting in the flour a bit at a time, until the dough is all mixed.  Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least an hour.  Preheat oven to 325 F. Roll out dough to 1/4″ thick, and cut into rounds. Using a straw or the tip of an icing bag, punch holes where the buttonholes would be. Bake for around 10 minutes, or until the edges are just turning golden. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet, and allow to cool completely, else the icing will run off.  Mix the icing by beating into the powdered sugar the egg white, and just enough water to make a runny, pourable consistency- you may need to experiment a bit with this to get a great, workable batch. Tint to desired colors with food coloring. ‘To ice the cookies, place one or two cookies at a time on a long, flat knife. Hold the cookies over the bowl of icing, and spoon icing over, making sure to get the sides covered. Allow the excess icing to drip off, then transfer the cookies to a rack over paper to catch the drips. Repeat until all the cookies are covered.  Let cookies dry for several hours (if you can wait!), and serve with a glass of ice cold milk.

Honeycakes

Elizabethan Honeycakes

“She still remembered the innkeep, a fat woman named Masha Heddle who chewed sourleaf night and day and seemed to have an endless supply of smiles and sweet cakes for the children. The sweet cakes had been soaked with honey, rich and heavy on the tongue…” -A Game of Thrones

Modern Honey-ginger cakes

Our Thoughts:

We had initially intended to make two versions of this dessert, but after some trouble tracking down a suitable old one, and after tasting the modern version, we couldn’t wait to share.

While the Elizabethan version is very light, fluffy, and ohsotasty, it is more of a bun than a cake. As such, it didn’t respond well to my initial attempts to soak it in honey. It would accept a honey glaze once it had cooled down, but still lacked that really over the top sweet honey kick. So I went a step further, and filled them with honey. YES.

The modern cakes are also wonderful. They make these dense, doughy little cakes bursting with honey flavor and the subtlest of spices. We finished ours with lavender icing, and can’t imagine a better pairing. We thought they couldn’t get any better until we tried soaking a few in about 1/4″ of honey overnight. Result? Sheer decadence. The honey hits the tongue, the lavender hits the palate, and the whole thing is amazing. Our batch lasted about 5 whole minutes…

If anyone has a solid recipe for an older honeycake, we’d love to see it. In the meantime, we’ll be in the kitchen, eating these cakes until we run out, or can’t fit through the door.

Elizabethan Honeycake Recipe

Elizabethan Almond Cakes- Take one peck of flower, one pound of sugar, one pound of almons, beaten & strained with as much ale as will stiffen your paste, put theirto three spoonfulls of barme, & a few annisseds, then woork it well together, then make it in little cakes, prick them thick for rising & bake them. Elinor Fettiplace’s Receipt Book, 1604

Makes about 12 buns

Prep: 10 minutes           Rising: 1.5 hour, minimum            Baking: 15 minutes

Our changes: No aniseseeds, don’t like ’em. You are more than welcome to include them if you do, however.  We basically used the original recipe, but added honey to the batter, as well as soaking the cakes in honey for a while.

Ingredients:

  • up to 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 Tbs. honey
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 3 Tbs. ground almonds
  • 1 packet yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp.
  • 1/2 pint ale (1 bottle)
  • pinch of salt
  • honey for soaking, probably around 1/2 cup at least
Dissolve the yeast in the warmed ale, and leave to froth up.  Grind the almonds and sugar in a food processor, then combine with the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a small well in the mixture, and pour in the yeasty ale. Adding the flour a bit at a time, work everything all together until it is a nice smooth, pliable consistency  leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size. After it has risen, knock it down and knead it for a few minutes before shaping it into around 10 small buns.
Allow the buns to rise again for at least 15 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven for 10-20 minutes at 375 degrees F. The buns should be just slightly golden.
Using a small paring knife, cut a small hole (about 1/2″) in the tops of the buns, poking well down into the cake, but taking care to not poke all the way through. Take a small spoon and carefully fill each hole with honey. You may need to do this several times as the honey soaks into the cake. Put in at least 1 Tbs. honey per cake.

Modern Honeycake Recipe

Makes: never enough

Prep: 15 minutes           Bake: ~30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 cup buttermilk

Sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg and beat thoroughly, followed by the honey. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in alternating turns, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour into paper lined cupcake tins, or a greased muffin pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until the cakes are a golden brown.

Martha Stewart’s lavender icing recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/340910/lavender-icing

 

 

Hotel McAlpin Cream Puffs

This recipe requires a small amount of back story, but will be well worth it, I promise you!

In the old family cookbook –For the full story on the book, go here— amidst other random bits of papers and miscellany, I found this envelope, marked with a crest. Naturally curious, I followed the paper trail, and discovered not only what might be the only surviving copy of the hotel’s Cream Puffs, but also fascinating details about the hotel and dessert. 

The Hotel McAlpin was built in 1912 on the corner of 34th and Broadway in Manhattan. At the time it opened, it was the largest hotel in the world, had a veritable fleet of staff that numbered more than half the total guests, and even boasted a Turkish Bath on the top floor. 

Hotel McAlpin,1914

In the 1950s the hotel was lumped into the Sheraton hotel conglomerate, and in the 70s was converted to rentals. Today, sadly, it is full of condos, but in its prime was one of the striking hotels in NYC, housing guests during both World Wars and the 1939 World’s Fair. 

The hotel was also famous for its Marine Grill, whose walls and ceiling were lined with custom tile mosaics depicting scenes from New York Harbor, designed by Fred Dana Marsh. Just barely saved when the hotel was renovated in the 80s, the tiles are now reconstructed in the Fulton/Broadway/Nassau subway stop. The original tiles are visible in this postcard:

Of especial interest here, though, is what was served in said restaurant, including the hotel’s recipe for Cream Puffs. Written on a sliced-open envelope of hotel stationary, the recipe is loosely scrawled in pencil. Presumably, one of my more enterprising ancestors wheedled the recipe out of the hotel chef.

As if it couldn’t get any cooler, I am keenly hoping that this cream puff recipe can be traced back to the period between the 1920s and the 1950s, when Champion Cream Puff Maker Forrest Glen worked there. As you can see from this photo, at over 7′ tall, Chef Glen was also rather tall.

Forrest Glen, Hotel McAlpin’s Champion Cream Puff Maker
photo taken 1925

Based on this reconstructed recipe, the man was indeed a Champion. A giant, if you will, among dessert designers, and a connoisseur of cream filling.  Behold, his delicious Cream Puffs:

 Thoughts:

Perhaps the best part about this recipe is that it is so easy to make; in well under an hour, you can have a platter filled with these decadent Creme Puffs. The pâte à choux is straightforward process from beginning to end, resulting in tender, hollow little globes of pastry that are the ideal vessel for the filling.

Very light, but sublimely rich, the filling is the star of this dessert. The smell of vanilla curls up from the mixing bowl, enticing one to dip a finger and taste. The secret knowledge of the decadent creme lying in wait within the pastry is a promise more than fulfilled with the first bite. The pastry gives way with little resistance as the filling shifts, always seeming to overflow its bounds in the least expected direction. 

A shockingly simple recipe, with stellar results, this one has made it to my permanent cookbook.

Hotel McAlpin Cream Puff Recipe

Makes about 18 Cream Puffs

Prep: 15 minutes           Baking: 20 minutes           Filling: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 eggs

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 400F.

Melt butter in boiling water on stove. Add cup of flour, stirring vigorously until the mixture has become a sort of thick paste. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular kitchen bowl, for use with hand mixer). Break the eggs one at a time into the dough while mixing, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. The final batter should be smooth.

Transfer the batter into a pastry bag or a ziploc with one corner cut off. Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper, making large blobs about the size of golf balls, set at least 1 1/2″ apart. You should get about 18 puffs total.

Bake the puffs for about 20 minutes, or until they are a rich golden color. 

French Cream Filling:

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 4 Tbs. milk 
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix heavy cream with the milk and beat until stiff. In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it too is stiff. Add the sugar and vanilla to the beaten egg white, beat for a few more seconds to mix. Fold the stiff egg mixture into the whipped cream. Immediately transfer to a piping bag, or set to chill in the fridge.

When the pastry puffs have cooled, the cream can be piped into them. Give each puff a good squeeze of the filling, but make sure you have enough to go around. You may also split the puffs and simply spoon the filling in, but I found that this made for messier eating, with more places for the filling to go. If you like, drizzle with a little chocolate. 

The finished Cream Puffs should be enjoyed shortly after making them, but can be chilled for a few hours. 

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