Tag: Sweet

Canelés de Bordeaux

On By lukephillaryhIn Luke's Dishes, Uncategorized4 Comments
Cannelés de Bordeaux Mimi Thorisson Trader Joes
Powder sugar perfection

Canelés are the perfect treat. They’re bite-sized, super sweet, crunchy and custardy. You can enjoy with a morning coffee, as an afternoon snack, or have a couple after dinner for a little sweetness. And when sprinkled with powdered sugar, they’re très photogenic – perfect for Instagram.  We discovered this recipe via Luke’s mother, who mastered making canelés by following a recipe in Mimi Thorisson’s A Kitchen in France. Proper French pastry chefs use copper molds, but a silicone mold (recommended by Mimi) makes life a lot easier. The only qualm we have with canelés is that they require some serious patience! You must make the batter at least 24 hours in advance. We suggest making the batter Saturday morning so that you can enjoy these little gems with Sunday brunch…and lunch, dinner, and midnight dessert!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups + 2 TBS whole milk
  • 1-2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 TBS unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup dark rum (tip: we bought two mini bottles of Kraken Black Spiced Rum)

Directions:

  1. Note! Batter must be prepared at least 24 hours before baking, so plan ahead.
  2. In a medium saucepan set at medium-low temp, whisk together milk and vanilla seeds. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let it rest for 5 minutes then transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Whisk in the sugar and flour slowly, avoiding any lumps. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix until incorporated. Stir in the melted butter. Pour in the rum and whisk the batter until smooth. The batter should have the same consistency as palachinkes (aka crepes).
  4. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (can be up to 48 hours).
  5. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  6. If using silicone canelés molds, you do not need to brush with butter. Copper/metal molds are trickier to use. Consult more professional canelés-makers for suggestions.
  7. Fill molds about to 2/3, be very careful to not fill too much. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes then turn down the oven to 350°F and bake for additional 50 minutes.
  8. Let canelés cool in their molds for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar when you’re ready to enjoy!

Details: Most silicon molds hold 15 or 16 canelés, we had a bit of batter leftover once our mold was filled.

Sweeeeeeet Cornbread

On By lukephillaryhIn Classico2 Comments
Cast iron cornbread sweet
A cast iron must

In the everlasting battle of North vs. South, we’re fighting for the Union when it comes to cornbread. After a few tries, we have finally mastered this sweet, crispy, comforting Northern-style cornbread. All it took was a simple switch from cake pan to cast iron (duh). While our cornbread does come from north of the Mason-Dixon line, it’s still the perfect side to our favorite southern dishes like Brunswick Stew and Texas Chili.

True southerners may call us soft, but we’re sure this sweeeeeet cornbread will make a Yankee out of anyone.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly + 1 TBS butter (or even better: bacon fat) for the cast iron
  • 2 TBS canola oil
  • 1 cup sweet corn (we use frozen, a bit defrosted)
  • 1 TBS sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F and place a 10″ cast iron in the oven.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, butter, and canola oil.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until combined.  Add corn and mix in just until incorporated.
  4. Remove the cast iron from the oven (use pot holders!).  Place 1 TBS of butter (or lard) into the cast iron and swirl around to melt and coat the pan. Pour in cornbread batter, sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly on the top, and place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting in to enjoy!

To print the recipe, click here: Sweet Cornbread