Book You Must Buy: New York a la Cart

Let's take a few moments to discuss the next book you're going to buy, New York a la Cart: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks. I'm not just telling you that you must buy it because there's a pun in the title, or because I love New York City, or because the book is written by my bloggy BFFs Blondie & Brownie. Or because one of the authors, Alexandra Penfold, is now my literary agent. Although, technically, all of things are true.

But truthfully, the reason I am telling you to buy the book now is that there is practically a metric ton worth of dessert recipes nestled in its delectable pages! And better yet, sweet stories from cart owners and tasty pictures to accompany the recipes. It's truly a delightful book, and a love letter to New York City street food culture. Even if you've never been to New York City, it's a fantastic piece of sweet armchair travel.

Here are some of the sweets that you'll see featured in the book:

The Treats Truck: Spiced Zucchini Cake, Coffee Ice Box Cake

Dessert Truck: Brioche Doughnuts, Goat Cheesecake with Rosemary Caramel Tuille

Miss Softee: Make Your Mark Coffee Cake Ice Cream Sundae, Apple Crumble Pie

Coolhaus: Dirty Mint Ice Cream sandwiches with Double Chocolate Cookies, Browned Butter Bacon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Butterscotch Potato Chip Cookies

Otto Gelato: Banana Tartufo

Big Gay Ice Cream: Salty Pimp Sundae, Wooly's Ice Strawberry Ice, Green Tea Ice, Sea Salt Leche Syrup

Wafels & Dinges: Brussels Waffles Belgian Chocolate Sauce

Van Leeuwen:  Ice Cream base with variations

Om nom nom! Go buy the book now: New York a la Cart: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Peeps S'more Pie. Yes yes yes!

Leftover Easter Candy cookies!

Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict

Carrot Cake Truffles

The sweetest tricolor cake you've ever seen!

Peeps S'mores

Look at this flourless roulade cake for Passover, by Freeport Bakery!

Easter Candy Dessert Tacos. Believe it.

Chick-a-dee sugar cookie bars. Yeah!

Cadbury Creme Egg Salad Sandwiches!

Peeps Pizza (Peepza)

Peeps Fluffernutter

Cadbury Creme Deviled Eggs

Homemade Easter Corn

Springtime Cutout Cookie Sandwiches

...or any of these Peeps ideas.

...or at least some Peeps-inspired art like this. 

...but then again, if you want to get to know your Easter Candy a little better, you can always check out this interview with a Cadbury Creme Egg. (more Creme Egg sweetness here)

An Introduction to Cactus Candy

YEAH! That is the coolest kind of parcel to receive, let me tell you. How did it happen that I was on the receiving end of such a treasure? Well, let me tell you, I did the best thing ever: I put two children on the job for me! Seriously, it was like having my own personal Oompa Loompas. Two very cool kids that I know were headed to Arizona for vacation. I told them to keep an eye out for cactus candy for me. A couple weeks later I received a parcel containing the above. AWESOME! 

But seriously. We need to address something more serious than your jealousy about my awesome mail. It's possible not only that you've never heard of Cactus Candy, but that you've never even considered its existence. It's possible that the possibility of it has never even entered your mind.

And that pains me, sweet friends, because I really think you should know about this stuff. So...for your continuing life learning...

Photo: Flickr user Branflakez

Cactus Candy: A Primer

What is cactus candy? Quite simply, it is candied cactus: pieces of cactus which have been coated and treated with a simple syrup mixture to make it immortal. It sort of resembles pate de fruit or gumdrops (but flat) in texture and look. However, keep an eye on the ingredients. As one candy blogger noted, in a sea of a Cactus Candy flavor assortment, only one flavor (Prickly Pear) actually contained cactus. 

Where can I get cactus candy? In Phoenix, there is a cactus candy company. They have a store. They also sell cactus jelly and salsa and the like. But you don't have to visit the store to buy--they also wholesale to a lot of tourist type operations, so you'll see it in the greater Phoenix area. If nowhere else, you'll find it in the airport gift shop. 

When is it in season? Well, prickly pear season is late Spring and summer, but really, in candy form, you can enjoy it just about any time. 

Why is cactus candy a thing? Cactus is a pretty big deal in Arizona. Prickly pear, as it is called, is in frequent rotation regionally as an ingredient. It is used as a syrup, stand-alone ingredient, beverage component (prickly pear margarita, anyone?). It stands that the candy made from this local ingredient would feature prominently in local cuisine. 

Photo: Flickr user Seldo

How is Cactus Candy Made? I'm not sure how the commercial candy is made, but I have seen recipes for DIY Cactus candy online. It basically goes like this: chop down a cactus, remove thorns and simmer in simple syrup for several days. You weren't busy, were you?

How does it taste? This is a fruit-ish flavor that isn't strongly recognizeable. It almost tastes like a few different fruits you can't quite put your finger on. It's not overwhelming or as signature as, say, lemon. But it's pleasant.

Curious to learn more? Check out cactuscandy.com. 

A Fine Breakfast: Easter Candy Toast

Let's be straight: you're going to need some serious energy if you're going to win the Easter egg hunt. And by "win" I mean hustle past all those nimble little kids for all of the best candy and plastic eggs filled with tasty prizes. 

So let's supercharge with a supersweet breakfast for all the power and energy you need, ok? 

That perfect dish is, of course, a little something I call Easter Candy Toast. It basically goes like this: you gently toast thick slices of pound cake in the toaster oven. Then, you melt down some Mom Blakeman's pull candy (it's a Kentucky thing, you'll have to order online; if you're in a rush, you can use vanilla taffy or vanilla tootsie rolls, but it won't be quite the same).

Once it's nice and melty, you pour a generous amount right on top of that toasty poundcake. And since it's Eastertime, you'll want to garnish it with some sprinkles and maybe a Cadbury Mini Egg or two. 

This, my friends, is what sweet victory tastes like. Because no matter what you are facing on any given day, this will give you such a powerful surge of pure sugar-energy that you will not only be able to perform with flying colors, but you might just stop fearing death. 

Just don't come crying to me when the inevitable sugar crash hits. Because I will just tell you to keep the sweetness going by having an Easter Candy taco plate for lunch.

Here's your recipe for destruction--er, perfection.

Easter Candy Toast (printable version here)

"breakfast of champions"

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 thick slices of pound cake
• about 1 cup Mom Blakeman's pull candy
• a nice amount of cadbury mini eggs and sprinkles, for garnish

1. Toast your pound cake in the toaster oven until it's slightly crispy around the edges. You can do this in the oven too, by setting the oven to 300 and toasting for just a cople minutes, but please don't do it in the toaster. It will stick.
2. Set the toasty pound cake to the side by putting two slices on each plate (then it will be ready to eat later) while you melt down your candy. Simply place the pull candy in a medium saucepan and heat on low-medium, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. It won't seem like it wants to melt, but it eventually will.
3. Pour the melty candy over the "toast" and garnish immediately with candy and sprinkles. Enjoy while still warm.

Easter Candy Pie Recipe

It's hard to choose a favorite Easter candy. They're all just so festive and sweet! Bunnies made of chocolate, rainbow arrays of jelly beans, adorably speckled robin's eggs, pretty pastel Easter corn, and of course, Cadbury treats, both small (mini eggs!) and large (Cadbury Creme Eggs!).

But instead of trying to pick a favorite, I decided this year that they're all good enough to share real estate in my mouth. I did this, of course, by putting them ALL into an Easter Candy Pie.

This may beg a simple question: What happens when you put all of your Easter candy in a pie shell and bake it up?

I won't beat around the bush. Here's what happens.

It's surprising that it took me so long to do this, what with the success I had doing something similar with Halloween candy. But seriously--Easter candy is so much more fun! So many more textures, flavors, and colors.

Plus (this is an aside) did you know that Russell Stover makes a Red Velvet chocolate covered Easter Egg candy?

So monstrous when it all melts together. So fascinating to watch the festive candies melt and become gnarled and scary. So gratifying to eat the gooey mound of what was once Easter candy. Together in your mouth, there is a beautiful fusion of sweet textures and tastes: jelly texture from the 'beans, toastiness from the scorched marhmallow chocolates. Is that a bit of coconut you taste, or shrapnel from the shell of a candy egg? Probably both, fused together with melty fondant from the nearby Cadbury creme egg.

Friends, I realize that you might not want to take my word for it and might desire--nay, need--to try this for yourself. And in that case, I am happy to share my recipe with you.

Easter Candy Pie

Serves between 1 and 8, depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients

• One unbaked pie shell


• Three generous handfuls of Easter Candy (I used a melange of jelly beans, robin's eggs, Russell Stover Easter egg chocolates, and a few other treats)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


2. Take your unbaked pie shell and look at it for a moment. Are you sure you want to do this? Yes, you are.


3. Fill the mofo with that Easter candy. You want it to be full, but level (don't get greedy and mound it above the top height of the pie crust. It will get messy).


4. Bake at 400 degrees for oh, 20 to 30 minutes. (Note: I did the Halloween candy pie at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You could do that too, but I was hungry, so I did it this way this time. Don't judge me).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs for Peanut Butter and Co.

Easter Candy has come a long way. When I was young, it seemed as if it was a matter of chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and your choice of creme eggs or mini eggs in terms of treats. Then…along came the peanut butter egg. A delectable nugget of sweetened peanut butter coated in rich chocolate, it rocked my Easter basket and my world. Here’s a homemade version of a store-bought treat, made yet awesomer by incorporating peanut butter in the filling and the topping.

A word of advice? If you’re creating these confections for a crowd, please make a double batch. They’re seriously that simple, that addictive, and that good.

For the recipe, visit Peanut Butter and Company!

Cadbury Creme Scotch Eggs

Let's take a moment to discuss what constitutes a "proper" Scotch Egg. This decidedly non heart-healthy delicacy starts with a hard-boiled egg, which is then wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried.

But around Easter-time, I prefer to make mine sweet rather than savory, with Cadbury Creme Eggs.

The Cadbury Creme Scotch Egg is coated with a thick cocoa-kissed batter, then coated in cookie crumbs and deep-fried. When eaten warm, the taste calls to mind that of a deep-fried candy bars that one can find at state fairs. Though in my opinion, these have slightly more complex flavor thanks to the cocoa in the batter and the vanilla cookie crumbs. Speaking of the crumbs, they also give the treat a pleasing crunch, which acts as a nice texture contrast to the cakey batter and soft, gooey chocolate and sugar-filled interior.

It's the perfect dessert counterpart to the classic Scotch Egg: similar visually, and every bit as decadent. Happy Easter indeed.

For the full entry, visit Serious Eats! And possibly also of interest: Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict (from my book, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life), Cadbury Creme Egg Salad Sandwiches, Cadbury Creme Egg Foo Young, and Cadbury Creme Deviled Eggs.

CakeSpy's Favorite Buttercream Frosting

Dear SpyReaders,

A gift, from me to you. This is a very basic American style buttercream. It's simple--I won't say it's impossible to mess up, but you'd really have to try hard to do so with this recipe. I know this recipe has been posted as part of several cake recipes, but really, I'd like to keep it as a separate recipe so it can be easily referred to and shared as a basic building block of deliciousness. 

Keep this one on hand, and use whenever necessary. 

Love, CakeSpy

CakeSpy's Favorite Buttercream Frosting (Printable version here)

For use on birthday cakes, cakes for any other day of the year, sugar cookies, or quite tasty by the spoonful, too. This will frost about 24 cupcakes or one 2-layer 8 or 9-inch cake. Technically, you can tint it any color (or not tint it at all), but I firmly believe that pink tastes best. This frosting will also take well to different flavorings--peppermint extract or almond extract, for instance, could be substituted for the vanilla.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• several drops of food coloring (I favor red, for pink frosting)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until light, about 3 minutes on medium speed. 
2. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. 
3. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the frosting is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not add all of the sugar.
5. Add a few drops of red food coloring and mix thoroughly til it's a desired shade of pink. Keep at room temperature til you frost, ok? It will set if you chill it.

Easter Baking Experiment: Chick-A-Dee Sugar Cookie Bars

While recently wandering aimlessly in the candy aisle in the drug store, I noticed an item that was on extreme sale: the Palmer Chick-a-Dee chocolate crispie candy. Like seriously--they were 39 cents each or something.

Needless to say, I bought a bushel of these sweet chicks, and maybe one or two more items.

On the way home, I pondered how they might taste all melted on top of a layer of sugar cookie bars. Would the faces melt off of the chicks? Would it all melt into a layer of chocolatey goo on top? Either way, it sounded tasty, so I set myself to this delicious task.

To hasten the process, I used Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. I mixed it according to the instructions, adding a stick of butter and an egg to the mix, and stirring it until it was a soft, sticky dough.

Then I pressed it into a well greased pie plate (because I couldn't find a square pan). 

And then on top of that, I placed several of the Chick-A-Dee candies. And, for fun and visual appeal, I dotted the negative space areas (can you tell I went to art school?) with Robin's Egg candies. Why not?

Then I put it in the oven. Goodnight, sweet chicks.

Now, to bake the cookies according to the package instructions, you bake them 5-7 minutes. But since I was baking bars, I set the timer for 12 minutes. At 12 minutes here's what I saw:

So I kept 'em in for 20 minutes or so. At that point I felt confident that they'd baked through, and the edges were golden. 

Weirdly, the chocolate candies never actually...melted. They just kind of got melt-y. I guess that's not so different from what happens to chocolate chips while baking in cookies. But still--the baking process altered them just enough to be sort of strange and pockmarked looking. 

But they were still highly delicious. Those little crispies tasted great against the melty chocolate and sugar cookie mixture. I went ahead and ate it with a spoon because let's be honest, this wasn't what I'd call a high-class baking experiment. 

And oh, how satisfying it was. 

Hoppy Easter, friends. If you want to do this at home, it's easy: just prepare a batch of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix per the instructions on the bag, press it into a greased pan, top with the chocolate Easter candies of your choice, and bake at 375 til nice and toasty around the edges and set in the middle (20 minutes or so). 

Enjoy!

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

I'm intrigued: Sugar Cookie Pretzels!

Where can I find tasty vegan sweets in Boston?

OMG: Easter Krispie Cones!

Rainbow white chocolate brownies. A winning idea!

Easter Candy Dessert Taco Plate. Do it!

I like this idea for beating those "it still doesn't feel like Spring" blues: a bouquet of cookie pops!

For kids: how to steal easter candy without your parents noticing.

Happy happy joy joy: a rainbow cake on its side!

Tasty: Easter Candy Cookies!

Adorable robot onesies by CakeSpy! On sale!

Rice cookies? I'm intrigued.

An interview with me, on the Dry Soda blog.

Americandy: a chronicle of regional American candies.