All posts filed under: Amazing Sweets

slice of apple-applesauce cake

Apple-Applesauce Cake

Published by Kathy Hunt

Apple-Applesauce Cake is one of those quintessential quarantine recipes. I had an extra Granny Smith apple, a jar of applesauce, carton of expiring eggs, butter and flour in my kitchen. Add to those ingredients too much free time in my schedule. So, I baked a moist and aromatic apple-applesauce cake. Since all of this spare time allows me to write and test recipes at a much greater pace, I’ll share this easy, tasty cake. Originally, I made the cake with only one apple. If you have two on hand, I would slip in the additional fruit. This result is an even more luscious dessert. As for the applesauce, I’d suggest unsweetened. Whether it’s smooth or chunky is your call. If you want a less sweet treat, something you could eat, guilt-free, at breakfast, omit the glaze on the cake. Apple-Applesauce Cake Serves 8 to 10 for the cake: 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon …

Better than black and white cookies? Black and White Cake!

Published by Kathy Hunt

Think of Black and White Cake as a giant black and white cookie but so much better. Before moving to New York City, I had thought that the B&W cookie would become my guilty indulgence, my go-to sweet. A cake-like cookie with both vanilla and chocolate topping. How could I not love this New York speciality? And, yet, I don’t. For 20 years I’ve tried countless bakeries’ takes on this cookie. Unimpressed, I’ve even baked my own. Each time I’ve had the same thought—it could be great as a cake but, as a cookie, it lacks the crispness, crunchiness or gooeyness that I enjoy. Rather than give up on this treat altogether, I tinkered around in the kitchen and came up with a luscious Black and White cake recipe. The Black and White Cake differs from its inspiration in several ways. The most obvious is that it’s a moist layer cake and not a cookie. The second is the icing. The cookie is decorated with fondant, a stiff, glossy topping made from sugar, gelatin, glycerine, …

big stack of Anzac cookies

Crunchy & Sweet Anzac Biscuits

Published by Kathy Hunt

Traveling through Australia and New Zealand’s South Island, I learned that Anzac biscuits are about as prevalent and popular as chocolate chip cookies are in the U.S. They’ve been around a bit longer, though. While chocolate chip cookies originated in the late 1930s, Anzac biscuits date back to World War I, when Australia and New Zealand established the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZAC. Sent to Egypt for training, the ANZAC soldiers took along tins of sturdy and wholesome oatmeal biscuits. Hence the name “Anzac biscuits.” Created without eggs, Anzac biscuits traveled well and possessed a long shelf life. These traits came in quite handy, because loved ones often mailed these cookies to the troops. The baked goods then spent two months on a ship without refrigeration before reaching the soldiers. ANZAC Day Had it not been for the ANZAC troops’ efforts and sacrifices at Gallipoli, Turkey, their eponymous treats may have drifted into obscurity. However, as a result of the corps’ bravery during eight months of fighting, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa …

Swedish spice cookies

Swedish Spice Cookies

Published by Kathy Hunt

In a season filled with rich, heavy foods and cloying sweets I like to take a page from my stack of European cookbooks and bake a few dozen spice cookies. These fragrant cookies date back to the Middle Ages when ingredients such as pepper, cinnamon and cloves were rare and expensive commodities. As a result, they were used sparingly and for special occasions such as Christmas. All sorts of spice cookies Most Europeans countries have some type of spice cookie. In Germany it’s the bite-sized pfeffernüsse while in Russia it’s clove- and black pepper-seasoned pryaniky. The Netherlands has crisp, windmill-shaped, spice-laden speculaas while Spain offers an anise-flavored, cinnamon-dusted, cut-out known as biscochito or “little biscuit.” What I usually bake, though, are ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove and nutmeg-laced Swedish pepparkakor. Cutting cookies Featured in Astrid Lindgren’s “Pippi Longstocking” tales, Swedish spice cookies are cut into the shapes of pigs, horned goats, reindeer, bells, stars, hearts and a bearded, gnome-like man known as Tomte; I think of Tomte as the Scandinavian version of Santa Claus. Since my …

slice of mince pice

Mince Pie Like Mom Didn’t Make

Published by Kathy Hunt

Until my late 20s, I was a seasonal binger of mince pies. Every November the warm scents of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice would fill my parents’ kitchen, reminding me that mince pie time had arrived. My mother, who generally despised cooking, had a longstanding tradition of baking this British treat at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Like her annual walnut stollen, this pie was something that she both enjoyed and excelled at making. Also like her stollen, it’s a baked good with which I’ve tinkered, updating it for the 21st century. History of mince pie In England mince or mincemeat pie, as my mother and scores of others called it, is a Christmas speciality. Featuring a mixture of chopped apples, raisins, sultanas, currants, spices, lemon juice and brandy, this pie is moist, aromatic and filling. Historically, its heartiness came, in part, from the presence of minced beef or liver. Hence the name “mincemeat.” By the 19th century the meat had been replaced by the hard fat known as suet. This gave the pie a rich flavor …

Eton Mess

Go ahead. Make a mess, an Eton Mess!

Published by Kathy Hunt

When I first heard the term Eton Mess, I imagined a scandal or fiasco, something, well, messy. What I didn’t think of was a luscious British dessert that you neatly eat with a spoon. Yet, that is exactly what a mess is. Funny name. Funnier origins. How this sweet got its unusual name is the stuff of legends. It all began in the 19th century, at a boys’ boarding school in Southeast England, with a clumsy cook who had questionable views about sanitation . . .. Watch the video below to learn more. Eating local Because I have this obsession with consuming signature foods in their native lands–remember last month’s post about Russian herring under a fur coat?– I have to eat at least one Eton Mess while in England. Sure, I could make this simple dessert at home. In fact, I often do. Yet, there is something special about trying a dish in its country of origin where it’s steeped in local ingredients and folklore. England’s spectacular Eton Mess is no different. Ingredients for …

What Would Tea Be without Scones?

Published by Kathy Hunt

Scones. They’re one of the most British of all British dishes and something I’ve been baking for years. What can I say? I’m an Anglophile who spent her childhood immersed in the British punk and new wave scene, BBC television and the works of every 19th and 20th century British writer that the New Castle Public Library carried. When asked what I wanted as a high school graduation gift, I didn’t beg for a car or a trip to the beach with friends. I wanted a ticket to London and a pair of black Dr. Martens. (I instead got luggage, which I never once used.) Ten years later I finally made it to England, bought my black, 1461 Docs and had my first English tea with scones and clotted cream. That initial tea hooked me on those luscious, little biscuits, and I’ve been making variations of them ever since. Origin of Scones The word “scone” has been around since the 16th century and reputedly comes from the Scottish “sconbrot.” It refers to a soft, flat, …

chocolate cake

Chocolate Cake for One or a Ton

Published by Kathy Hunt

I know it’s not a terribly seasonal offering but sometimes you just need a little, or a lot of, chocolate cake. Aren’t brimming with holiday joy? Bake yourself a chocolate cake, frost that beauty and then grab a fork and dig in! Feeling jolly but also a bit freaked out by the crowd coming over for Christmas dinner? Make a chocolate cake for your crew. There is no mood that can’t be improved by sweet, velvety, cocoa-laced cake. As someone who lost loved ones during the holiday season, I understand all too well how dreary this period of traditions and family-focused festivities can seem. I also know how much cheerier you can feel once you’ve created a new holiday ritual and indulged in a decadent, smile-inducing, chocolate treat. After all, scientific studies indicate that cocoa and dark chocolate can improve mood and boost your memory, cognition and immune system. That’s great news! Snowflake Chocolate Cake contains both cocoa and dark chocolate. Think of how fabulous you and your guests will feel after noshing on the …

cat and mouse cookies

Let’s Bake Maple Sugar Cookies!

Published by Kathy Hunt

As promised in the previous post, I have the perfect treat in which to feature your homemade maple sugar, maple sugar cookies! Inspired by a recent visit to Montreal, where I spied a wide range of maple-themed sweets and saw that, as rumored, Canadians adore pure maple syrup-infused foods, Canadian Maple Sugar Cookies are a delicious way to bring that sweet, earthy taste to your baking. For this recipe don’t skimp on the maple sugar or syrup. Stay away from those mass-marketed mixtures of corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and ingredients. Don’t get fooled by tiny bottles of “maple extract” or “maple essence,” either. Thinking that I could punch up a traditional poundcake, I tried one of these flavorings once. Consisting of alcohol, water and “natural flavors,” the so-called extract smelled like soy sauce and tasted nothing like maple. It did not end up in my cake. If you own a maple leaf-shaped cutter, you can make your cookies even more “maple-licious” by using that. Since I have a surplus of …

maple leaf lollipops

Canadian Pure Maple Sugar for Maple Sugar Cookies

Published by Kathy Hunt

After a recent trip to Montreal I walked away thinking that Canadians couldn’t get enough of maple. Whether at a market, bakery, cafe or restaurant I saw such treats as maple lollipops, cookies, doughnuts, pies and cakes. At one coffee shop I even added maple sugar to my maple latte. Maple’s popularity and prevalence should surprise no one. Canada produces over 70% of the world’s pure maple syrup. Over 90% comes from the province of Quebec, where Montreal is located. Back at home pure maple sugar and syrup aren’t as easy and inexpensive to obtain. At my local farmer’s market I will pay $9 for five ounces of maple sugar. At my neighborhood grocery store I’ll fork over $12 for eight ounces of this sugar. Online it’s still fairly pricey. Plus, I have to wait for it to be delivered. Since I’ve had a sinus infection and felt unmotivated to grocery shop, I decided to make my own maple sugar and maple sugar cookies. Yeah, I felt too lousy to go out but I didn’t …