1.9.09: Baked Good of the Day: Caramel Turtle Brownie from Macrina Bakery, Seattle

I don't know about you, but I don't care for light, cakey brownies--for me, the denser, fudgier, and heavier, the better.

Macrina's Caramel turtle brownies are my kind of brownie. Weighing roughly the same amount as a brick, they're so dense, moist, and fudgy that it's almost impossible to finish the entire thing in one sitting. Almost.

While I generally don't think that toppings or flavorings are necessary with brownies, the caramel-nut combo is a nice complement: the caramel is smooth and slightly salty, providing a nice subtle counter-flavor to the chocolate; the pecans give it a nice added texture.

Of course, after eating one of these brownies you might have to just sit down and rest for a while, but oh, are they worth it.

The Caramel Turtle Brownie is $3.50 at Macrina Bakery.

1.8.09: Baked Good of the Day: Galette des Rois at Le Panier, Seattle

Christmas may be over, but the Epiphany brought on a whole new season of cakes and goodies, starting with the tres-Frenchie galette des rois. After several attempts to locate one in Seattle (no luck at Belle Epicurean or Le Fournil), I finally found it at Le Panier in the Pike Place Market; and this one was certainly worth the wait.

The galette des rois, while part of the same family tree as the New Orleans King Cake, is not the same--as baking expert Dorie Greenspan so eloquently put it,

"The galette is really very simple, if a little time-consuming to make--it's an almond and pastry-cream filling sandwiched by two rounds of (all-butter) puff pastry dough--but so, so good."

Like the King Cake, one of the most important aspects of the galette des rois is the prized porcelain figurine to be found hidden in one of the slices. Luckily enough, I arrived at Le Panier to receive the piece with the little "feve".


But prizes aside, this cake is definitely a treat--while it doesn't have the same visual appeal as a frosted cake, it's buttery, flaky, and rich enough to more than make up for it. Or as they say in French, le yum.

Galette des rois, available for a limited time only at Le Panier.

Going Dutch: Say Hallo to the Jan Hagel

What can we say about our love affair with Jan Hagel? It just sort of...happened. OK, truth be told, we'd just poured 2 cups of flour into a bowl to make banana bread and realized we had no bananas. After scouring our recipe books for another recipe that might start out with the same amount of flour, we decided to try the Jan Hagel from our beloved Betty Crocker's Cooky Book.

As Betty informs us, the Jan Hagel is a cooky of Dutch origin; as the internet informs us, they are also sometimes known as Hollanders, Janhagels, Dutch Almond Cookies, Dutch Hail or Sugar Hail Cookies.

But what may have started out as a fluke has blossomed into an obsession: these cookies, which are thin, crunchy, and very buttery, are also really, really good. But what gives with the name?

As we found out through one site, A Cookie for Every Country, Jan Hagel (yan HAH-ghle) "is Dutch for ‘an unruly mob’ or ‘rabble,’ with hagel in the sense of ‘multitude’ or ‘swarm.’ In the cookie, the rock sugar resembles hail." Another site backs up the hail theory, citing that Jan Hagel is merely translated "John Hail". The recipe we used didn't call for rock sugar, but maybe those little bits of nut could stand in for the "hail"? Also, though we can't find a reason behind it, there is another legend which was interesting, which is that "Jan Hagels are fed to homesick little children in heaven upon their arrival at St. Peter's Gate".

Who could blame the little lost souls--we wouldn't want to leave these cookies behind, either.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup butter or margarine
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 egg, separated
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1 tbsp water
  
• 1/2 cup very finely chopped walnuts (we used a mix of walnuts, almonds and cashews--it was delicious)
  

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a jelly roll pan, 15 x 10 x 1 or so. Mix butter, sugar and egg yolk. Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Blend flour and cinnamon; stir into butter mixture. Pat into pan. Beat water and egg white until frothy; brush over dough; sprinkle with nuts. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Cut immediately into finger-like strips. Makes 50 3 x 1 inch strips.

1.7.09: Baked Good of the Day: Chocolate Tart from Le Fournil

Initially, I headed over to Le Fournil hoping for a galette des rois, the traditional French cake served on the Epiphany and for several days after. Alas, not a galette was to be found at this traditional French bakery, but it wasn't a complete wash--I picked up one of their gorgeous-looking chocolate tarts.

The chocolate tart (or, if you're feeling Frenchy, the tarte au chocolat) is comprised of a brebaked sweet pastry shell filled with the most divinely rich chocolate ganache--this stuff is so dense and decadent that it will leave teeth-or-tine marks when broken apart--just like the inside of a decidedly rich truffle. I'd like to say it's suitable for sharing, but I know that personally, I'd rather not, instead opting to eat this in lieu of dinner. How could it be wrong when it feels so right?

The Tarte au chocolat is available at Le Fournil.

Cakespy Undercover: Mr. Cupcakes in Clifton, NJ

Recently, Cake Gumshoe Steph made a delicious new bakery discovery: Mr. Cupcakes of Clifton, NJ. In a world overrun by cupcake bakeries, what sets Mr. Cupcake apart? After sampling a variety of their flavors, here's what she had to say about their cupcakes:

The french toast was my favorite....like a light cinnamony coffee cake with vanilla icing in flavor. I also loved the hot chocolate, red velvet, peanut butterful chocolate, apple krisp & snowball fight. I didn't try the oreo cheesecake or triple chocolate but others said they were insanely good. All of the cakes & were so moist & not heavy at all-some had "tall" fluffy frosting & others had icing that hardens a bit. If you have not been yet, you absolutely have to go next time you are in NJ.....it was crazy good.

Crazy good sounds like high praise to us--looks like New Jersey just got a little bit tastier! 

Mr. Cupcakes is located at 1216 Van Houten Ave., Clifton, NJ; you can find them online at mrcupcakes.com.