A Childhood Classic: Pop Tarts

Walking into Joanne Chang’s Flour Bakery in the Seaport District is a little like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Doughnuts glistening with sugar and oozing with cream filling are placed decoratively in a display case arranged next to fans of cookies the size of a toddlers face. When it comes to food, many people say the most important pleasure sense is smell, and Ms. Chang surpasses that standard with ease. You can smell the fresh baked desserts, the chocolate tempering on the stove and the spices fusing together in the stand mixers. It is a surreal experience not only for an avid baker, but for anyone who enjoys food.

As my mom and I waited patiently in what felt like a mile-long line, trailing out the door, down the ramp and nearly onto Farnsworth Street, I began to contemplate what I wanted. I had been baking Ms. Chang’s recipes for months now and this was my chance to finally try the original masterpieces. Upon reaching the display case, I started examining the array of goods, cookies on cookies, cakes on cakes, tarts on tarts. There were so many options; sweet, savory, breakfast or late night dessert. I just couldn’t decide. Only one dessert was not an option. So, we settled on a sampler. One of the desserts we chose caught my eye immediately; pop tarts. They were stacked in such a way; one could have mistaken the arrangement for a food photo shoot. They looked irresistible. 

You might be thinking, pop tarts really? Yes, really. Now these aren’t just any pop tarts. And no they are not like the processed kind you find in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. I would actually compare these more to individual sized strudels. They are light and flakey with a smooth, warm filling adorned with a glossy glaze. I made two different kinds; strawberry balsamic and apple brown sugar cinnamon.

The recipe starts with the flakey, buttery tart itself, which a Pâte Brisée. I recommend you keep this recipe in your files, its great for pie tarts also!

Pâte Brisée


(Adapted from Joanne Chang)

Yields about 18 ounces dough, enough for 8 pop-tarts





1 3/4 cups (245 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour


1 tablespoon sugar


1 teaspoon kosher salt


1 cup (2 sticks / 228 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces


2 egg yolks


3 tablespoons cold milk



Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), mix together the flour, sugar, and salt for 10 to 15 seconds, or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top. Mix on low speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or just until the flour is no longer bright white and holds together when you clump it.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk until blended. Add to the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the dough just barely comes together. It will look really shaggy and more like a mess than a dough.

Dump the dough out onto an un-floured work surface, gather it together into a tight mound. Using your palm and starting on one side of the mound, smear the dough bit by bit, starting at the top of the mound and then sliding your palm down the side and along the work surface (in the Flour cook book this is called “going down the mountain”), until most of the butter chunks are smeared into the dough and the dough comes together. Do this once or twice on each part of the dough, moving through the mound until the whole mess has been smeared into a cohesive dough with streaks of butter.



Gather up the dough into a ball, press down to flatten into about a 1-inch thick disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

While the dough is refrigerating you must make/prepare the fillings. The strawberry-balsamic recipe is a little simpler, as the filling is simply a dollop of strawberry-balsamic jam from Stonewall Kitchen; it's just as refreshing as regular strawberry jam with a slightly sour tang that dilutes the over the top sweetness (any jam will work, it’s preference). The apple cinnamon filling unfortunately has a few more steps, that are totally worth it. The key is using Granny Smith apples; the bite of these apples is so unique that it really adds another layer of flavor to the pop tarts. (If you don’t have them IT'S OK, any apple will suffice).

Apple Cinnamon Filling

(Adapted from Joanne Chang)

Yields enough filling for 8 pop tarts

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup all purpose flour

In a medium saucepan melt the butter over high heat. Add the apples and toss for 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and toss for another 3-4 minutes until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and let cool for at least a half hour until its not longer hot to the touch. Add the egg, cinnamon, salt and flour to the apple mixture with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are completely incorporated. 

Now its time for the fun part, assembling the pop tart.

Pop tarts

(Adapted from Joanne Chang)

Yields 8 pop tarts

Pâte Brisée (recipe above)

1 egg, lightly beaten


1 cup (340 grams) strawberry balsamic jam

Apple Cinnamon Filling

After at least 4 hours have lapsed, remove the dough from the refrigerator and position a rack in the center of the oven, set to 350 degrees F.


Remove the plastic wrap and divide the dough in half. Press each half into a rectangle. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, lightly score 1 rectangle into eight 3 1/2-by-5 1/2-inch rectangles (about the size of an index card).

Brush the top surface of the entire scored rectangle with the egg; spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the jam, or the apple-cinnamon filling, in a mound in the center of each scored rectangle. Lay the second large dough rectangle directly on top of the first. Using fingertips, carefully press down all around each jam mound, so the pastry sheets adhere to each other.

Using a pizza roller (or a knife if you don’t have one) following the scored lines, cut the layered dough into 8 rectangles. Place the rectangles, well spaced, on a baking sheet.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops of the pastries are evenly golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

Finishing touch, the glaze! A glaze is probably the easiest thing to make, especially after you’ve already mastered the rest of this recipe.

Simple Vanilla Glaze for Strawberry Balsamic Pop Tarts

(Adapted from Joanne Chang)

Yields enough glaze for 8 pop tarts

1 cup (140 grams) confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


2 to 3 tablespoons water


While the pastries are cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and enough of the water to make a smooth, pourable glaze. You should have about 1/2 cup. (The glaze can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)



Cinnamon Glaze for Apple Cinnamon Pop Tarts

(Adapted from Joanne Chang)

Yields enough glaze for 8 pop tarts

1 cup (140 grams) confectioners’ sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons water

1/4 tablespoon cinnamon

Whisk together the three ingredients until everything is well incorporated and the glaze is pourable but not overly watery. If it is too watery, it will not adhere to the pop tart and will just slip off the sides. To avoid this, add the water in increments rather than adding 2-3 tablespoons all at once. Also, don’t hesitate to add more sugar, if you think it needs more sugar, it probably does. J

When the pastries have cooled for about 15 minutes, brush the tops evenly with the glaze. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the glaze to set before serving.

The pastries can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

I hope you enjoy this fun, reinvented childhood favorite! 

It's Spring!

Happy Spring! The birds are chirping, flowers are in bloom and the suns out (most of the time at least). You can finally wear those open toed shoes you bought last fall on sale. Show off your pale legs Boston it’s Spring!

Last weekend was a rare occasion, as both Easter and Passover fell one day after another. While some indulged in their flourless, yeastless meals; I was busy baking Easter themed desserts. With flour smeared under my eyes I was ready to go. No matter what religion you practice just about everyone knows the Easter mascot is the infamous bunny. He bounces around to the homes of all the little Christian boys and girls leaving candy filled woven baskets, carrot shavings and of course the trademark pastel eggs. In an ode to the Easter bunny and his number one food group, I made carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting decorated as a bunny face.

The carrot cupcake I adapted was actually featured in a Cupcake Wars episode on the Food Network. The cupcake was entitled the “24 Karrot Gold Cupcake” inspired by the fame and wealth at the Grammy’s, the event of the episode. I remember watching Florian Bellanger, the “Simon” of the judges, describe how deliciously moist and decadent this cupcake was. I knew from his review alone, this cupcake was superb and must be tested.

Carrot cake is similar to bread, in its texture and moistness. For this reason, many carrot cake recipes use oil instead of butter, and this recipe is no different. This somewhat alleviates the inherent density of cake, allowing it to be both fluffy and light.

24 Karrot Gold Cupcakes

(Recipe adapted from Alyssa Magliato, owner of Perfect Circle Cupcakery)

Yields 12 Cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots (about 5)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and canola oil on medium speed until light and thick. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in 1/3 increments, beating just until blended. Add in the vanilla and beat for about 10 seconds. Remove from stand mixer, using a rubber spatula fold the carrots and walnuts until well incorporated.

Fill each cupcake tin (I use a 1 ½ inch ice cream scoop) 2/3-full with batter. Bake until the cupcakes are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely before icing.

For the delectable cream cheese frosting I decided to adapt the recipe from my inspiration, Joanne Chang. She is the owner of Flour Bakery as well as the co-owner of Myers and Chang, an Asian fusion restaurant in Boston. I’ve made her Carrot Cake Recipe many times before and I distinctly remember the icing being absolutely divine. She describes it as “a sweet-but-not-too-sweet” cream cheese frosting. I couldn’t have said it any better.

Since this recipe is for a whole cake, you should expect to have extra frosting, but extra isn’t always a bad thing especially when it’s frosting J

Cream Cheese Frosting

(Recipe adapted from Joanne Chang)

(Yields 1 8-inch, 2-layer cake)

12 ounces (340 grams) cream cheese, left at room temperature for at least 4 hours

1/2 cup (1 stick/114 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 2/3 cups (230 grams) confectioners' sugar

While the cupcakes are baking, put the cream cheese in the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed for about 1 minute, or until smooth. If you have forgotten to take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator 4 hours in advance, you can soften it in a microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Add the butter and continue to beat for another 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the confectioners' sugar. Beat for 1 more minute, or until well mixed. You should have about 3 1/2 cups.

Cover the frosting and refrigerate for 2–3 hours before using to allow it firm up enough to spread (or pipe if you’re feeling ambitious). Remove from the refrigerator; spread the frosting on the cupcakes with an icing spatula.

To add a little Easter flare, I decorated the cupcakes with a bunny face. Using chocolate chips for the eyes, ½ of a pink jelly bean for the nose and dark-grey dyed cream cheese frosting for the mouth and whiskers; a little homemade treat to end the festivities, in style.

Speaking of style, to continue on the Easter theme I decided to make a peep featured cupcake. My brothers being the adventurous people they are, like the simple, classic (and boring) desserts. The typical chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake and of course vanilla-vanilla cupcakes are a few of their favorites. For my next cupcake variation, I dressed up the somewhat ordinary vanilla-vanilla cupcake and made it, for lack of a better word, extraordinary. I can hardly say that without my decorations Candace Nelson’s cupcake recipe is boring, being the founder of Sprinkles cupcakes and basically the founder of the cupcake fad, her cupcakes are hardly dull. Her recipe embodies the fluffiest vanilla cake with the creamiest vanilla buttercream it is truly amazing.  

Vanilla Cupcakes

(Recipe Adapted from Candace Nelson)

Yields 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg , room temperature

2 large egg whites , room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake until the tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream

(Recipe Adapted from Candace Nelson)

Yields 12 Cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold

1/8 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. milk

Blue and green food coloring

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the extract and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air; it should be creamy and dense, like ice cream. Add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.

Decorations

Fondant Eggs (see recipe below)

12 peeps (any color)

To decorate the cupcakes, divide the frosting in half. Add blue food coloring to one half and green to the other. Fold in the dye until it is incorporated. Fill a ½ inch circle-tip piping bag with the blue frosting. Pipe the frosting in a circular movement starting at the outside going towards the inside. Once each cupcake is frosted, fill another piping bag with the green frosting fitted with a grass-piping tip. Pipe the frosting in the middle of the blue frosting making a “pile of grass”. Place a peep and a fondant shell to illustrate a hatching chick.

Fondant

(Recipe Adapted from Jacques Torres)

Yields enough for ½ a cake or many, many egg shells

1/2 tablespoon gelatin

1/8 cup water

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoons shortening

4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Cornstarch, for dusting

Place gelatin and water in a small saucepan over low heat and melt it. Combine the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the melted gelatin to the mixer and beat at low speed until combined. This will form a paste or dough. Place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to let harden slightly.

Use a rolling pin and roll the fondant to a thickness of about 1/4-inch thick. Use cornstarch to "flour" the work surface and the rolling pin. Use a cookie cutter (about 1-1/2 inch diameter) to cut out the “egg shells”. To make the cracked egg look, take a sharp knife and cut a sharp-edge zigzag across the upper 1/3 of the circle.

I hope you enjoy the recipes, I know I did.

Happy (Belated) Easter Everyone!

Brownies: The Triple Threat

Deciding what dessert to feature as my first blog entry was a lot more difficult than I thought. As I scanned cookbook after cookbook, webpage after webpage, I just couldn’t come to a conclusion. There were too many options. It was like opening a menu that could be mistaken for a novel; it was a long and grueling process. Should the dessert be simple or complex? Classic or innovative? I was indecisive to say the least. But when all else fails, ask a friend. As I was describing my new blog to my good friend Andrew, who just so happens to be the pickiest person I know, I asked him what his all-time favorite dessert was. He proudly replied “a brownie sundae”. You might think, “oh that’s so boring” or “typical”, but I viewed it from a very different perspective. A brownie, although it is fairly simple, is a blank canvas. It is one of the few desserts that one could describe as malleable; it can always be adapted and changed. You could add nuts, chocolate chips, peppermint, frosting, caramel the list goes on. Thus, a brownie was the perfect dessert.

There are three main categories for brownies: chewy, fudgy or cakey. Due to personal preference, I decided to make a chewy brownie. It’s soft and moist but not overly chocolaty, an ideal combination. My mom, being an avid cook, found an old Fine Cooking magazine that she had bought at the airport a few months ago (part of the usual routine). The issue was solely based on Chocolate. As I flipped through the mouth-watering pages, I came across a section devoted to brownies. There were recipes for all types of brownies, including chewy. The comparison format, as well as the irresistible picture, swayed me to use this recipe for my blog. 

You will see in the recipe below, as compared to both fudgy and cakey brownie recipes, there is more flour. The additional flour is the “secret ingredient” that helps the brownies have that irresistible chewy texture.

I decided to make three different versions, all with the same chewy brownie base.

•  The basic, classic plain
• With Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips
• Drizzled with smooth, luscious caramel

Chewy Brownies
(Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking)
Yields 1 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan

4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more for the pan

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1-1/2 cups sugar

Scant 1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) flour

2 Tbs. natural cocoa (not Dutch-processed)

Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square pan, line the pan with parchment paper (be sure to leave a little extra on two sides so the brownies can be easily lifted out of the pan), and then butter the parchment.

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat; cool slightly (3-5 minutes). Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, stirring each time until blended. Add the flour and cocoa; beat until incorporated and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan (if you want chocolate chips on your brownies, this is the point when you sprinkle them on top. Just to make sure the brownie had the chocolatly flavor from the chips in every bite, I push them into the batter to incorporate them better) and bake until the top is uniformly colored and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 45 minutes.

Set the pan on a rack until cool enough to handle (if your using a glass pan take out the brownies as soon as possible or they will continue to bake). Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan and then using the parchment paper flaps lift the brownies out of the pan, peel off the parchment paper and continue to cool them on the rack. Cut into bite size squares (1-inch by 1-inch) with a sharp knife.

To make the brownies a little more unique and innovative I decided to add a layer of caramel on top of some of the brownies. The caramel is adapted from two famous New Yorkers, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, owners of Baked. Their Sweet and Salty Brownie is deliciously decadent. It incorporates this amazing caramel sauce that is not only drizzled on top but also mixed inside the brownie itself. This adds a sweet yet salty kick in every bite. I used their caramel recipe, a slight deviation from the original, as an icing on top of the chewy brownies.  

Caramel Sauce

(Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations)

Yields enough caramel for 1 pan of 8-inch by 8-inch brownies

1 cup sugar


2 tablespoons light corn syrup


1/4 cup water


1/2 cup heavy cream


1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel
(I omitted this from inside the caramel and used it as a garnish instead)

1/4 cup sour cream

Combine the sugar and corn syrup with 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Be sure to stir carefully to avoid splashing up the sides of the pan. Cook until the mixture is deep golden brown in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, and slowly add the heavy cream. (At this point, you would also as the Fleur de Sel if you wanted to incorporate it into the caramel.) Whisk in the sour cream and set aside to cool.

To assemble the brownie: lighting ice the brownie with the caramel (before you cut the brownies). Cut them into bit size pieces (approximately 1-inch by 1-inch), carefully sprinkle each one with a little Fleur de Sel, only about 3-5 flakes on each piece.

Enjoy!

The Beginning

          Dear Reader, although I’m sure there aren’t many of you yet, this is the beginning. Let me commence by explaining what I am doing. Why am I writing this blog. Well, my mission statement, (sounds a little formal), my hope, when all’s said and done is to share my passion for baking. Attending a prep school as a boarding student, I was never able to take a “Home Economics” class like most high school students. Thus, when I was presented with the chance to “design a project of my own choosing that provides a positive, and meaningful, worthwhile experience that contributes to the participant’s total development” I knew I had to take advantage of this rare but once in a lifetime opportunity.

          From what I have come to learn, many people “hate” baking. They think it is tedious, overly concise and complicated. For all those reasons and more, baking is extremely enjoyable to me. I cannot turn down the challenge. The more complicated and unusual the dessert the more passionate and relaxed I become as I bake it. Baking takes me to another place, it allows me to forget all the stresses in life and focus on something I truly enjoy.

My mom and me taking a cooking class in Rome, Italy.

            I cannot say my love of baking just unexpectedly came to be, my Mom is the main reason I became so captivated by food. Although she is too humble and modest to admit it, my Mom is an astounding cook. She is constantly creating and experimenting with recipes both savory and sweet. I know I will always come home to a delicious and innovative meal. I am truly spoiled and for much of my life, I confess, I took her talent for granted. Better late than never, I always say. That said, I would like to dedicate this blog to my Mom, through the transitive property, without her this blog and my passion for food would not exist. So Mom, thank you for everything! 

About Me

Hi Everyone!

            My name is Natalie Azarela and I am writing to you from a small boarding school just outside of Boston. I am a senior in high school who has a somewhat over the top obsession with food; specifically dessert. While most people my age watch MTV, CWTV and Sports Center, I find myself mesmerized by the Food Network. I read cookbooks in my past time and love to compare and adapt recipes.

            One might ask, why desserts? Although they tend to rack up an insane amount of calories (thus, I find many people try to deny themselves; note the boldfaced try), desserts embody a supernatural power, an irresistible force; they make people happy. Yes, this might sound cliché and corny, but that reaction when someone takes the first bite of a decadent, indulgent dessert that you made; is absolutely priceless. It’s as if I have “the magic touch” that turns their day around. It’s truly amazing.

            To end this little “About Me” blurb, I would just like to cordially invite you to dive into my blog; experiment and enjoy all that it has to offer.

Welcome to the Food Natwork!