desserts

Dominique Ansel’s Dreamy Caneles

May 20, 2013 By fritosfg 2 Comments

I’m going to Paris this summer and I can’t wait. The sights, the streets, the shopping…and the food. Oh the food. There is nothing like eating in France. You can cook the same recipes here in the US, but the ingredients just aren’t the same. Sometimes, though, when I am lucky, I taste something that really reminds me of Paris.

Like every single thing that I ate at Dominique Ansel Bakery. This tiny bakery, with a few tables and backyard garden, is the namesake of the baker who made his name with Daniel Boulud. He is known for his rich, authentic Parisian pastries and delicious desserts. He is also known for his croissant-doughnut mashup called the cronut, but I didn’t wake up early enough to snag one of those.

In fact, lots of his pastries run out early in the day, so set the alarm clock if you have your heart set on something particular. Don’t worry, the bakery sells made to order madeleines throughout the day.

Blackberry Pavlova

Frankly, this is wonderful. Airy meringue sandwiching rich pastry cream, tart blackberries, and some concentrated syrup so sweet and jammy that it is a pure burst of summer. This is light but very sweet. Elegant and fulfilling, ideal after a rich lunch.

Flourless chocolate cookie

This is just an excuse to eat a personal sized cake. Dense and fudgy with gooey chocolate chips melting even at room temperature. It’s sweet, but not overly so. It has a warm, deep flavor that only comes from truly high quality chocolate. It’s decadent but not too much to handle on your own.

Canele

Do you like bread pudding? If you do, then you will love this canele. The thickly burnished crust is sugary but not just sweet – it also has a slightly bitter edge that makes it really complex and interesting.

The interior is eggy and soft, almost melting in the mouth in contrast to the stiff outer crust. It is heady with vanilla and the faint backnote of rum. It isn’t overtly alcoholic tasting or heavy - it’s light and custardy, a wonderful blend of different tastes and textures. This is better than many caneles I have had in Paris and was the hit of my visit.

Dominique Ansel is a slice of Paris right in Soho. It is fairly priced (though not cheap) and the pastries are just perfect. I would absolutely go back, and plan to.

It might just hold me over till summer vacation.

Filed Under: review, SoHo Tagged With: bakery, desserts, french

Wafles and Dinges Will Turn You Waffle Crazy

May 13, 2013 By fritosfg 1 Comment

Did you know that I love waffles? Well, I do. Everything from crappy Eggos to decadent Belgian waffles at a hotel brunch, I love them all. I crave the crisp edges with the fluffy innards – and, of course, the toppings. Syrup, ice cream, fried chicken, and everything in between. Yep, waffles are pretty amazing.

So, naturally, I love the Wafels and Dinges cart.

Wafles and Dinges means waffles and toppings in Flemish, Belgian’s national language. They specialize in the Belgian waffles known as liege waffles. Liege waffles are special because they are incredibly light, a little chewy, and filled with large, crunchy grains of vanilla-scented sugar.

Each waffle is made to order and topped with everything from pulled pork to whipped cream to…

Spekuloos

Spekuloos (often known as cookie butter or Biscoff spread) may be the most addictive substance since reality tv. It tastes like gingerbread and graham crackers with the consistency of peanut butter. It is sweet, gently spicy, fragrant, indulgent, and nutty all at once – just fantastic stuff!

The waffle itself is outstanding. Yeasty, fluffy, just barely chewy, with those big hunks of caramelized sugar pearls. Lacquered with that sweet spread, it is an absolutely perfect snack.

Head here post haste. Wafles and Dinges is well priced, unique, and delicious. And by the way…you can by a jar of the spekuloos to take home – that isn’t particularly cheap but it is TOTALLY worth it.

This truck will turn you into a waffle fanatic, too.

Filed Under: NYC Tagged With: Belgian, desserts, inexpensive

The Pioneer Woman’s Peanut Butter Pie

March 15, 2013 By fritosfg 1 Comment

There was a period of this blog that I refer to as: The Dark Days.

The first six months was a little…experimental, let’s say.

Another way to say it is that it looks like a toddler wearing a blindfold took the photographs and a person for whom English was her 12th language wrote the copy.

When I switched this blog over from blogger to wordpress, a lot of my posts got lost, which was mostly okay. There were, however, a few posts that really did deserve to get rewritten and dragged out of the vault.

This was one of them. No revisions, no alterations. A straight out demonstration of a fantastic recipe by one of the OG food bloggers. It’s easy, it’s very fast to make, and it’s incredibly tasty.

The Pioneer Woman’s Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tub whipped topping

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

25 Oreos (or 1 box of Oreo cookie crumbs)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grind the Oreos in a food processor until the crumb is very fine.

2. Combine the Oreos with the melted butter, then press the moistened crumbs into a pie dish. Pat the crumbs down to make a densely packed crust, then bake for 5 minutes, or until the crust is fragrant.

3. Combine the peanut butter, the powdered sugar, and the cream cheese, and the whipped topping and whip with egg beaters or stand mixer for about 5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy.

4. Now, load the filling into the pie crust, refrigerate for 15 – 20 minutes, or until solid, and…

5. Serve.

This pie is outstanding. Its crunchy, darkly chocolate crust contrasts with the sweet and savory peanut butter filling, both airy and rich at the same time. It is perfect for a casual dinner party, an evening potluck, or as an offering to a lovesick friend. It is familiar, it is delicious, it is INSANELY easy to make.

I mean, it was so good, I had to repost it. From, you know…the dark days.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: desserts

Buttercup Bake Shop’s Wickedly Delicious Cupcakes

March 7, 2013 By fritosfg 2 Comments

I know that the cupcake craze has come and gone. I know that it’s much cooler now to be into gelato or homemade pies or single origin chocolate bars with cacao nibs and organic coconut.

But when have I ever claimed to be cool?

Buttercup Bake Shop has some of my favorite cupcakes in the city. It’s one of the few places for which I will travel to the east side – crosstown is not my favorite way to travel, but it’s worth it for these classic American sweets like banana pudding, chocolate cake, and brownies. It’s run by one of the women who started Magnolia Bakery, but unlike Magnolia, this place hasn’t jumped the shark by opening shops all over the city (sorry, Magnoilia, but only the original location seems to cut the mustard.)

The shop is long and narrow, with only a few small tables and stools at a counter. Be prepared to take your cupcakes home or fight for a seat on a Sunday afternoon, but during the week you can almost always find an empty chair.

The pastry case is full of the kind of treats you would want at Grandma’s house – rainbow frosted cupcakes, towering layer cakes, puddings, trifles…the list of classic goodies goes on and on.

The hummingbird cake is moist and cinnamon-y, with juicy pineapple and tangy cream cheese frosting. The chocolate cupcakes are rich and sweet, like the best milk chocolate bar on the planet. The rice krispy treats are at least 3 inches high and the banana pudding is nothing less than classic – creamy and sweet. But when you come here, this is what you get:

Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting

The best vanilla cupcake in town – I’ll say it. The cake is fine crumbed and moist but not falling apart – it holds up well and has a clean, vanilla-y scent. It’s more buttery than sweet so that it acts as a backbone for the frosting.

That frosting. It’s the Samson to my Delilah…it WILL be my undoing.

It’s so sugary that it makes those little hard sugar cracks when you firs bite into it. Underneath it’s thin, hard sugar topping, it is sweet and light within, like whipped butter. It isn’t greasy and it isn’t applied sparingly. This is really the most outrageous frosting…ever. I could eat a gallon of it,and if they offered it by shot glasses, I would eat it all on its own. It really is sweet, so if you aren’t in the mood for a little sugar coma, this isn’t the treat for you. The vanilla on vanilla is just the best thing in the shop, and possibly on the entire east side.

Oh, and THIS is how you eat a cupcake. I saw it on Buzzfeed, so I know it’s how the cool kids do it.

Though we all know that I’m still not cool.

Filed Under: Midtown Tagged With: bakery, desserts

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 22, 2013 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Even though I talk a big game about loving foie and eating beef and blah blah blah…

The truth is, there are some vegan foods I actually quite like.

I know, I know, I’m a disgrace to all those who build shrines to bacon.

I love this slaw. I’m a big fan of gazpacho.

And this cookie recipe, taught to me by my formerly vegan (now vegetarian, full-on cheese fan) friend Shawna, is one of the best I have ever tried.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (from this website)

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup flour
¾ cup non-dairy margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup vanilla soy yogurt
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Blend the salt, flour, sugar, and margarine together with a hand mixer until the mixture is fluffy (about 3 minutes). Also, preheat oven to 350F.

2. Add the yogurt and the vanilla. The mixture will get a little soupy but don’t worry about that.

3. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine. The mixture should stiffen right back up.

4. Dollop on the cookie sheet in small rounds (about a tablespoon or so) and bake for about 12 minutes, or until they are light golden and smell too tasty to ignore.

These are really great, classic chocolate chip cookies. Crispy on the outside, moist and sweet on the inside, and…dare I say…buttery? They are really so tasty that you won’t miss the eggs or butter at all - I have not found a standard chocolate chip cookie that I like better than this one, to be honest. They are ideal with a glass of milk or next to a scoop of (vegan?) ice cream.

One of the best parts of this recipe is that you can eat the dough raw with no worry of salmonella – not that I worry about that, but you might.

Of course, these are an especially great dessert after a huge steak.

It’s all about balance.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: desserts, Vegetarian

Doughnuttery – Outrageous Doughnuts in Chelsea Market

January 22, 2013 By fritosfg 3 Comments

Chelsea Market has done it again. The old-fashioned Nabisco factory in the heart of the Meatpacking district has a plethora of interesting restaurants and food shops, ever-changing and always interesting. None can be more interesting than the brand new Doughnuttery.

Why, you may ask? Because not only does this small cart make handmade doughnuts on the spot, it makes them in insanely cool flavors.

The doughnuts are continuously made right in front of you, then when they are piping hot they are plucked from the oil…

rolled in flavored sugars or glazes, and…

delivered into your gluttonous little hands. The doughnuts aren’t just special because they are fresh and well made, with an airy texture and light, yeasty taste. It’s because of the glazes and sugars on hand.

How about sugars like PBCP (Peanut Butter, cayenne, pretzel), The Purple Pig (Maple, purple potatoes, bacon), and Mistletoe (Ginger, cranberry, and sage)? Or perhaps you would like your doughnuts covered in a sugary icing, like the Raspberry balsamic sauce or the Pumpkin beer caramel sauce? Look, you can of course get a plain old cinnamon sugar doughnuts here but why would you? This place doesn’t just exist to give you a quick sugar high, it strives to challenge your tastebuds and expand the way that you think about this classic fried treat.

Cacaoboy with Sea salt, cacao nibs, and black sugar

This is one of the more tame offerings, but even it is so head and tails above your average sugared doughnut that it’s almost laughable. This doughnut is intensely flavored – salty, bitter, vibrant with chocolate, and of course, pleasantly sweet.

The different grains in the sugar provide interesting textural contrasts – a large cacao nib cracks pleasingly next to a melting grain of sea salt upon a fluffy, pliant tuft of doughnut. This is every bit as complex and well crafted as a $15 dessert in a fine dining restaurant.

The Doughnuttery is a welcome addition to Chelsea Market. Grab a half-dozen for a few very reasonable dollars, find a seat in the main thoroughfare and watch the world pass by.

Scratch that…get the full dozen. They go that fast.

Filed Under: Chelsea, review Tagged With: desserts

Sundaes and Cones – Far Out Ice Cream

November 28, 2012 By fritosfg 1 Comment

Here’s a little secret – I am a pretty sub-standard food blogger.

That IS a shock to you, whether you like it or not!

I say this because I don’t always blog where I eat. Sometimes I go out simply to enjoy myself, with no plans to photograph or specifically remember any of the goodies I consume. That really lets me live in the moment without wondering if I captured the burger’s juiciness in photos or if it is cinnamon or ginger that I taste in a cocktail.

However…occasionally something I eat is so extraordinary that it stops me in my tracks and I start taking pictures mid bite, because I simply know that I have to share it with my readers (all 12 of you).

That happened to me this weekend at Sundaes and Cones.

This east village ice cream shop is small but well designed, with a few small tables and a large floor area to gawk at the ice cream flavors. On this cold night it was easy to grab some of the few seats, but on a summer weekend, I could imagine that it would be a take-out or nothing situation. This would be a very cute spot for a first date or a solo indulgence.

Now a word on the ice cream…you can get butter pecan or chocolate ice cream here. But why would you? Why when you can get flavors the likes of which you have likely never tried. Let’s go in order from most conventional to least:

Pistachio Almond

This is undoubtedly the most nut forward ice cream I have ever had. The flavor is so concentrated that it is more like gelato than ice cream. It has that pure, totally sharp flavor that usually only gelato has, but with the light, clean taste of the cream in the background. This is almost savory, but then has a touch of sugar that balances it into an ice cream. This is actually TOO nutty and rich for me, but the person who ordered it was a huge fan. Topping it with some of the shop’s freshly whipped cream might be a way to break up the almost aggressive nuttiness.

Taro

If you have had poi and hated it, welcome to the club. To me, it tastes like mud flavored glue. Thus, I had no desire to try this taro ice cream. Them someone ordered it, and I figured “what the hell? One bite won’t kill me.” And indeed it didn’t. In fact, it downright bowled me over. This purple hued ice cream, dense and clinging to the plastic spoon in purple streaks, tastes for all the world like a frozen brick of halvah! It is peanut buttery, Butterfinger-y, sesame-sugar tinged…nothing at ALL like poi! This is fantastic for anyone who loves peanut butter. And, by the way, anyone who doesn’t love peanut butter, needs a visit to the head doctor. This is highly recommended.

Corn

Sweet and fresh as cream with the simple, earthy taste of corn in there. It at first tastes like vanilla ice cream but then the taste of corn reverberates in the mouth, filing the entire palate and even nostrils with the buttery taste of popcorn. There are even kernels in there, miraculously soft and even juicy in the frozen cream. This is fantastic on its own and could be improved by only some of that aforementioned homemade whipped cream.

Now you see why I had to take pictures mid bite. You see why I needed to tell you about it. It’s enough to get me down to the east village on a freezing night and it’s enough to get me to try taro.

It deserves a blog post.

Filed Under: East Village Tagged With: desserts

Rice to Riches – Rice Pudding Masters

November 14, 2012 By fritosfg 3 Comments

Is it better to do a lot of things sorta well or just one thing really, really well?

If you don’t know the answer to this, you really need to read some Aesop’s fables.

Rice to Riches takes this old adage “Jack of all trades, master of none” to heart and is truly a master of rice pudding.

Around since the early 2000s, Rice to Riches does rice pudding. Plain rice pudding – sure, if yu are a boring old fart. But what you really want is one of their famous flavored rice puddings, mixed with everything from roasted nuts to cheesecake bites to Nutella. Also, get it topped with whipped cream, candy, or anything else under the sun.

Honestly, if you eat the plain rice pudding, don’t even talk to me.

Order at the long counter, then go to one of the 3 booths or stand at the tall table to enjoy your dish. I always get at least a medium sized portion so I can try 2 flavors at once. While you order, enjoy signs like these:

The vibe here is sassy. No wonder I feel at home.

Pecan Pie and Rocky Road

Sugary pecans, toasted and rich, floating in a cinnamon laced rice pudding. The pudding itself is creamy and thick, studded with soft grains of rice, appearing tender/firm next to the pecans. This is an elegant, subtle rice pudding. In contrast, the rocky road version is a harlot – gaudy, out there, and too much…and, also, totally delicious. Dark chocolate pudding , with sweet and bitter notes, tossed with fluffy, sticky marshmallows and crunchy peanuts.

This is good rice pudding.

It isn’t cheap, and it’s a schlep to get here from the west side, but it is a very fun eatery and a tasty one.

If you are dairy free, you won’t like it here, but if you like rice pudding, you actually can’t do any better than this pudding palace.

Filed Under: Lower East Side Tagged With: desserts

Nuchas Empanadas and Sweetery NYC

October 3, 2012 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Though New York has many restaurants where you can sit and have a leisurely lunch, sometimes you don’t have that long. Sometimes you want to eat on the run, and that’s the time to choose food carts. The days of dirty water dogs are long over – now you can get lobster rolls, fusion burritos, Vietnamese food, and almost anything else you can think of from gourmet food trucks all over the city. How to know which are great and which are duds? Ya just gotta give them a try.

Recently I tried Nuchas. This Argentinian food truck specializes in all sort of empanadas meat filled ones, veggie ones, even caramel apple dessert ones! I am used to seeing empanadas at a street fair, but these ones, made with Pat LaFreida beef and baked, seemed to be delicious upscale take.

Shortrib Empanada with Creekstone Farms Shortribs, Onions, Spices, and Rosemary Dough

This sounded so up my alley, and it was indeed tasty. Tender beef, subtle spicing, greaseless dough…it was warm and comforting. And yet…this didn’t do it for me. Why not? Well, I’m just too trashy. I like the street fair empanadas! Oily little half moons of dough, fried to a crisp, exploding neon orange grease when the ground beef spills from their shells. I don’t want subtlety, I want salt! And spice! And for the love of all that is holy, OIL!

That’s what I want. If you don’t want it, you will probably love the well priced and undoubtedly higher quality Nuchas empanadas.

Sweetery NYC is Grandma’s kitchen gone mobile. Nothing haute here, just homemade goodies baked daily and serve with an extra touch of whimsy.

Fudgy brownies, chewy cookies, and buttery bars are all at your disposal. Of course, if you know what to order, you will go for the macarella.

Macarella

Crunchy, flat, coconutty cookies. Thick ribbons of rich, choolatey Nutella. The taste is simple and satisfying. Chocolate, hazelnuts, coconut, and sugar. It is crunchy, gooey, and delightfully buttery. It is just what you want, as long as you have enough napkins to make sure you clean up before heading back to the office after lunch.

Highbrow or lowbrow, American or Argentinian, savory or sweet – the NYC food cart scene has you covered!

Filed Under: NYC Tagged With: desserts, inexpensive, Latin American

DeKalb Market – Hidden Treasure in Brooklyn

September 11, 2012 By fritosfg Leave a Comment

Friendship has to be mutually beneficial. You add something to the relationship and the other person adds something. Otherwise…what’s the point? If that’s the rule of a good friendship, Justin and I have a great one. I send him crazy British potato chips from when I go abroad, and he shows me one of the coolest markets in the NYC area.

DeKalb Market, ongoing 7 days a week through September 30, is an outdoor market with artisanal clothing, tchotchkes, and food. The weekends are supposedly packed, but on a weekday afternoon, the place was pretty empty. Perfect for either a quick lunch or a delightful afternoon sampling treats from many different establishments.

Mahrlinka Longganisa with Spicy Chiles, Pickled Vegetables, and Mayo

Hello, garlic breath. The first bite of this is extremely garlicky – that spicy, punchy hit of raw garlic that some people love and some hate. I love it. It avoids being overwheming here because the next taste is that of sticky, sweet, pork. The chunks are big and moist, more of a loosely packed sausage than a hot dog. There is a very umami, salty hit that has to be fish sauce. This sausage is funky, powerful, and definitely not for those who are shy about strong garlicky flavors. The tangy pickled vegetables, creamy mayo, and the heat of green chiles finishes what is one incredible sandwich.

I let Justin have a bite because he led me to this wonderful place. But just one.

Dubpies Curry Chicken Pie

This was one of Justin’s picks. A flaky, crisp curst surrounds a lightly curry flavored filling with moist chicken and tender vegetables. It was incredibly humid out, so I didn’t have more than one bite, but the one I had was quite good, if rather subtle.

I like a curry that kicks me in the face.

Cheeky Sandwiches Shortrib Sandwich with Horseradish

This place also has a location on Manhattan’s LES, and is known for its New Orleans style sandwiches. Though Justin swears by the chicken biscuit, we both decided to branch out this time.

Soft, savory beef layered with wilted arugula, sweet tomatoes, and an almost unholy amount of horseradish. The horseradish is nasal clearing, counteracting with the fruity tomatoes and buttery toasted challah. The sandwich is fantastic in every way – run, don’t walk, to get one.

Cuzin’s Duzin Donuts

These handmade mini donuts, made to order, were good, but not great. Justin and his girlfriend loved them, but I prefer a lighter, yeastier doughnut. These are cake donuts, and thus heartier with a denser texture. They were quite good, just not to my taste.

I still ate them, of course…

Get yourself to DeKalb Market before it closes! The food is delicious and varied, the weekdays are not crowded, and there are so many more food stalls to try that I didn’t even cover here.

Thanks, Justin, for bringing me here!

Sausage sandwiches – improving friendship, one link at a time.

Filed Under: Brooklyn, Miscellaneous, review Tagged With: American, Asian, British, desserts, sandwiches