Roulade Cake

Our take on the traditional Bûche de Noël: Chocolate Mousse with Walnut Tuile rolled up in an Espresso Infused Vanilla Cake and voila!

For the recipe:

Roulade cake

• 4 egg whites
• 125 grams (1/2 cup & 2 tablespoons) sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 125 gram (1 cup) cake flour, sifted
• 60 grams (4 tablespoons) butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
• simple syrup with a shot of espresso added

Set oven at 350F

Using butter, draw an x on a sheet pan and place a piece of parchment on top.
Make a meringue with egg whites and sugar, adding the sugar in stages until you've reached stiff peaks.
Fold egg yolks into the meringue, then add the cake flour, making sure not to deflate the batter.
Add the melted (but not hot) butter carefully, you don't want the batter to deflate.
Spread the batter on your sheet pan and bake until the center springs back to the touch.
Remove from the oven and cool.

Chocolate Mousse

• 150 grams (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 pack of gelatin
• 375 grams (1 1/2 cup) of heavy cream
• 75 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg yolk

Melt the chocolate over simmering water. Remove it from the heat once 3/4 of the chocolate has melted, it'll finish melting slowly.
Sprinkle gelatin over a few tablespoons of cold water and set aside.
Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and chill.
Place eggs and yolks in a mixer fitted with whisk attachment and whip until light and creamy.
In the meantime, place sugar with water in a pot. You should add just enough water to make it sandy in texture. Clean the sides of the pot with water and cook to softball stage on a candy thermometer.
Once sugar is ready, quickly drop the gelatin into it to melt and pour the liquid over the whipping eggs, making sure to let it run down the side of the bowl and not anywhere near the whisk.
Once the whipping eggs are cooled but slightly warm, add the melted chocolate, then fold in the whipped cream. Chill.

Walnut Tuiles

• 300 grams (1 1/2 cups) sugar
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) flour
• 16 grams (1 tablespoon) milk
• 210 grams (15 tablespoons) butter, melted
• 44 grams (1/2 cup) walnut powder
• 150 grams (1 1/2 cups) walnuts, chopped

Mix all the dry ingredients (except for the chopped walnuts) together first, then add the melted butter and milk. Add the chopped walnuts last.
Place small circular and flat mounds of the batter on a silicone mat and bake at 350F until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool.

To assemble the cake:

Soak the roulade cake with espresso simple syrup.
Spread a layer of chocolate mousse over the entire surface of the cake.
Add a nice layer of walnut tuile crumbles (that you've previously crumbled up with your hands) on top of the layer of mousse.
Roll up the cake tightly using the parchment to help you guide the cake then chill it for a good hour. It'll be easier to handle that way.
Cover the cake with the remaining chocolate mousse and when you're close to serving, decorate the sides and top with walnut tuiles.

Shortbread Cookies

 Here's another holiday treat idea. Shortbread is so simple but so good, who can resist that sweet and savory buttery taste! Using a quality butter (like Kate's homemade) is key since butter is the star in this recipe. Wrap a few of them up and you have yourself a gift! 

For the recipe:

• 225 grams (16 tablespoons) butter
• 2 grams (1 teaspoon) sea salt
• 70 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
• 225 grams (1 3/4 cup) all purpose flour
• 75 grams (3/4 cup) corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Cream butter, sugar, zest and salt. 
Sift the flour and corn starch together, then add to the butter and mix until just combined.
Bake in a bar shape (loaf pan works great) at 325F until skewer comes out clean.  Let cool a bit, then cut into bar shapes with serrated knife. 

Whip + Click Holiday Gift Guide

We've picked out some of our recipes that make wonderful DIY gifts:

Rumtopf

Maple Flavored Butter

Infused Vodka

Sea Salted Caramels 

 And here are some more holiday gift ideas:

Crosstown Sweets' Jams

Food 52's Holiday Cookies

Sweet Paul's Chocolate Bark 

Sea Salted Caramels

You'll make some friends if you carry these around with you.  Wrapped caramels make a great DIY gift!!

For the recipe: 

• 480 grams (2 cup) heavy cream 
• 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped
• 480 grams (2 cup) sugar
• 250 grams (1 cup) lavender or wildflower honey
• 60 grams (4 tablespoons) butter (preferably Kate's homemade butter from Maine)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

You'll need a candy thermometer and an 8 " ring mold or baking dish. 

Boil heavy cream and vanilla bean, set aside to steep.
Combine sugar and honey and cook until it reaches 310F on a candy thermometer. 
Add heavy cream, butter and salt and cook to 250F on a candy thermometer, then pour into your mold (greased with parchment added to the bottom for easy unmolding. If using a ring mold, place it on top of a silicone mat before pouring caramel).  
Once the caramel has cooled, unmold and cut into desired shape (grease the knife for easier cutting). 

December Ingredients

Butter+Chocolate!

Lexington Brass

Evi recently photographed Lexington Brass, a bistro in Midtown Manhattan. Here are a few images from the shoot:

Pairings for Pears and Sweet Potatoes

Pears go well with:

• caramel
• lemon
• honey
• cardamon

Sweet Potatoes go well with: 

• cream cheese
• brown sugar
• nutmeg
• custard

Sweet Potato Chutney

Spice up your left-overs with this sweet potato chutney!

For the recipe:

• 500 grams of sweet potato
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
• 2 tablespoons of maple
• 120 grams (1/2 cup) water
• 1/2 lime, zest and juice
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of cinnamon

Combine sugar, maple syrup, water, lime, and spices in a pot and bring to a boil.
Peel, and dice the sweet potato, then add to pot once the contents are boiling.
Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until the sweet potato is caramelized and juices have thickened.

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Pie

Here's our take on the traditional thanksgiving dessert, a sweet potato pie you can eat by hand! This also means less dishes, which we love!!

For the recipe:

Set oven set at 350F. 

Dough:

• 250 grams (2 cups) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 125 grams (9 tablespoons) cold butter, cut in cubes
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) cold water

Place dry ingredients in a bowl.  
Add the cubed butter and work into flour with your fingers until the butter pieces are lentil size.  
Add the water and form into a dough being careful not to over mix.  If the dough doesn't come together, you may need a little more water.  
Place in plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.
Cut the dough in half and roll out both halves into a rectangular shape to the length of your sheet pan and to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Refrigerate.   

Filling: 

• 250 grams (1 cup) sweet potato, cooked and pureed 
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened
• 50 grams (1/4) cup sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
• pinch of salt
• egg wash (1 egg and pinch of salt)

Combine sweet potato puree, cream cheese, maple syrup and spices.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and light in color, then add to the sweet potato and combine. 
Place the filling in the middle of rolled out rectangle of dough, in the center and to a height of about 1 1/2 inch. Brush some egg wash around the edges.  Cover the filling with the other rolled out dough. 
Trim the pie with a knife and press the outer edges together using a fork. Keep any leftover dough in the freezer for future use.  
Make a few vent holes on top of the pie, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes.   

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crosstown Sweets' Jams at Harlem Shambles

Albane's line of artisanal jams is now available at Harlem Shambles. We're very excited to see Crosstown Sweets on the shelves of one of our favorite Harlem stores! The jams are made in small batches using the highest quality seasonal fruit grown in the Hudson Valley without the use of pesticides.  Limited quantities of the following flavors are available now:

Black Currant
Concord Grape and Honey
Plum and Star Anise
Rhubarb, Strawberry and Basil
Two Currant
Yellow Peach and Red Currant