Sweet Smarts
Bon Appetit writer and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan shares the secrets of baking like a pro.
If you regularly flip through Bon Appetit, you've probably baked something from Dorie Greenspan, who is a special correspondent for the magazine. The effervescent Greenspan came to Boston University recently to give a baking demonstration and offer lots of advice: "I'm on a campaign to get people to bake crusts longer. A pale crust has no flavor." And: "Play with salt. You need salt. Just keep adding a little bit more. It picks up the other flavors." The cookbook author - most recently of Baking: From My Home to Yours - divides her time between New York and Paris, where she has worked with some of the best pastry chefs in the city. Yet her confections are surprisingly accessible, uncomplicated, and as the book title suggests, homespun. We flipped through the pages, raced to the kitchen to pull out the mixer, and smiled as we baked.
ESPRESSO-CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD
MAKES 36
1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, or 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling)
Have on hand a 1-gallon zipper plastic bag.
In a small bowl, mix the espresso and water; set aside to cool.
With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium for 3 minutes or until quite smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso mixture. Lower the speed and beat in the fl our, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate. The dough should be soft and sticky.
Use the spatula to transfer the dough to the plastic bag. Put the bag on a fl at surface, leaving the top open. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 9-by-10-inch rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag and lift the plastic so it doesn't crease the dough.
Seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Set the bag on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Set the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
With scissors, cut open the bag and turn the dough out onto a board. Use a ruler and sharp knife to cut the dough 5 cuts one way, 5 cuts the other.
Set the squares about 1-inch apart on the baking sheets. Prick each square with a fork. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until they are pale but firm. Let them settle on the sheets for a few minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar while they are still hot. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
SWEDISH VISITING CAKE
MAKES ONE 9-INCH CAKE
1 cup sugar Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs, beaten to mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Extra sugar (for sprinkling)
Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a well-seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet or round cake pan.
In a bowl, blend the sugar and lemon rind with your fingers until the sugar is moist. Use a whisk to beat in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the salt and vanilla.
With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour, then the butter.
Transfer the batter to the skillet or pan. Scatter the sliced almonds on top. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake is golden and a little crisp on the outside. The inside will be moist. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and turn the cake out. Set it right side up on a platter. If using a skillet, serve directly from the pan.
SABLES
MAKES ABOUT 50
DOUGH
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
In an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the granulated and confectioners' sugars and salt, and beat 1 minute or until blended.
Turn the mixer to low and beat in the yolks only until the mixture is thoroughly blended. Turn off the mixer. Add the fl our and drape a kitchen towel over the mixer because the fl our will fl y out. Pulse the mixer just until the fl our disappears into the dough. Use a rubber spatula to incorporate fl our from the bottom of the bowl. Work the dough as little as possible.
Turn the dough onto a counter. Divide it in half. Set each piece on a long sheet of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to shape logs 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in fresh plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least several hours or for up to 3 days.
GLAZE
1 egg yolk
Coarse sugar (for sprinkling)
Set the oven at 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove a log from the plastic wrap and set it on another sheet of parchment paper. Whisk the yolk until smooth and brush all over the outside of the log. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Trim any ragged edges. Cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Transfer to the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between rounds.
Bake 1 sheet at a time for 17 to 20 minutes or until the sables are light brown on the bottom, lightly golden around the edges, and pale on top. Let rest for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Brush, cut, and bake the remaining log.
KITCHEN AIDE
Dorie's baking tips
* For more even baking, set your pan (except Bundt or tube pans) on a baking sheet (don't preheat) before slipping it into the oven.
* When you're making cookies, let the baking sheets cool between batches so the batter doesn't melt when it hits the surface.
* Instead of chocolate chips, use a bar of chocolate and chop, chop, chop. To make something really chocolaty, use a chocolate you would eat. Don't substitute milk chocolate for bittersweet.
* You can't get the texture you need for baking from natural peanut butter. You need those hideous stabilizers.
* Never use imitation vanilla. Play with cinnamon. Use some from Ceylon or Vietnam.
Recipes adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). 