Wednesday, January 14

Shamefully unscientific...


These cupcakes (coconut with chocolate chip frosting) were made for a friend of mine, and former partner for a project in a past class.  I owed him cupcakes for about a month and a half and finally delivered.  He ate all five in one day so I think he must've liked them a little...

In any case, my method for these was shamefully unscientific.  I used a coconut cake recipe as the base and went freeform after that.  Note that I neither recorded which recipe I used, where it came from, or what I added to it.  It did involve a lot of coconut milk and shredded coconut added to the batter though.  Maybe a little more salt next time to bring out the flavor?  

For the frosting, I used my old standby - "enough" milk, confectioner's sugar, butter, and vanilla to make a spreadable frosting.  This time, though, I ground chocolate chips (in my lovely pink blender) to mix in.  The idea was that it would turn out smooth but speckled, like those Neiman Marcus cookies whose recipe turns up in your inbox every now and then (usually from your aunt or your mom or your secretary)...I think the overall result was a little messy, even if it was pure deliciousness (a word I've been using quite often).  

I think tonight I make coconut macaroons, given that I have a lot of coconut left.  My fellow grad students will devour anything left out for them in the office...(I'm not free of blame either - I'm responsible for the rabid consumption of the candied almonds that were in there last week). 

Sunday, January 11

Cream Puffs

Since starting this blog, I've been incredibly lax about posting...while I can't promise that the general posting laziness is at an end (it actually probably isn't, given that this is my thesis-writing quarter), here's something new.  


After being woken up by my upstairs neighbor this morning around 8 (she seems to think that continually moving furniture around by sliding across the hardwood floor is an acceptable morning pastime - I disagree), I was faced with the choice of starting my research or making something delicious.  How could deliciousness ever lose to productivity?

This being my very first foray into cream puffery, I decided to forgo any flavor twists and to go straight for the classic - pâte à choux with a vanilla pastry cream filling.  I used Martha Stewart's cream puff recipe but altered it to make about a third as many.  Looking back, I wish I would've documented every step (and really, every misstep) with photos, but as it stands I only have a photo of the shells cooling - I'll take pictures of the filling tonight...

I started by preparing the pâte à choux , which seemed to go off without a hitch, until I baked them and nearly half of the shells had deflated not long after I took them out of the oven.  my first thought was that the shells had gone too quickly from the hot air of the oven to the cool air of the kitchen (one of the windows was open from an earlier grilled cheese accident...).  My theory seems to be confirmed by notes from Jacques Pépin's recipe on Chef's Story but other people's discussions of the problem led me to believe that the shells that collapsed hadn't been browned enough in the oven.  

In any case, as the shells set in the freezer and then baked, I made the pastry cream.  Another first.  It was a little lumpy, I think from not being whisked enough while it cooked.  After straining it twice, it's acceptable, but I've learned another lesson: never stop stirring.  

In all, only about four of the total six shells were worth filling, which is perfect, as I plan to take them to a friend's house tonight.  No one I know is having a very good week and I think my girl friends will appreciate a little extra dessert tonight.