It’s Cake Week at the Great Brooklyn Bake Off
… And temperatures are rising inside the kitchen. If you’re new, check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate for a photo of an adorable Totoro macaron.
Tahini sheet cake with cinnamon tahini buttercream at my apartment
My kitchen, but you should definitely make this over the weekend
This week one of my coworkers won a Pulitzer prize and the other brought in some vanilla halva of dubious origin from Brighton Beach. I love them both equally and would never play favorites, but I will just say that one inspired me to work a little harder and the other inspired me to bake a cake with a dreamy tahini cinnamon buttercream instead of going to sleep.* Seriously, this frosting (and cake) knocks my socks off: It’s salty and sweet and a little spicy and so so fluffy. Somehow adding tahini to the buttercream makes it taste even more buttery. The concept is from this Molly Yeh blog post, but for the base I actually used her peanut butter snack cake recipe, substituting tahini for the peanut butter and adding a spoonful of cinnamon, because it’s a smaller recipe I’ve made before and wanted to test the versatility of. The frosting I made from this recipe, but cut it down to a fourth of the batch. I baked it in two loaf pans, and it all turned out fine and dandy and perfect for Friday morning breakfast.
*I jest, but all of you should read this story. The first paragraph will always and forever send chills down my spine.
Cara cara orange, rum and olive oil pound cake at my apartment
Make this dreamy cake a reality at your place
I was inspired to make this because I read a Tweet on the Internet by a popular baker and cookbook author that said olive oil cake was bad. Because I am human, and am proof of the familiarity backfire effect* all I took away from that tweet was a hankering to make an olive oil cake. I am a huge fan of dense, moist cakes you can bake in a rectangular shape because I believe that anything you can slice from a loaf qualifies as breakfast. This recipe for orange olive oil pound cake from Epicurious doesn’t disappoint — it’s citrusy, fragrant, and absolutely perfect for breakfast with a strong cup of tea. I skipped the glaze because I’d just watched an episode of Great British Bake Off where a contestant lost due to a soggy cake, substituted soy milk for whole milk, rum for the liquers, and used cara cara oranges (which are pink-fleshed, tangy, and sweet) and yes I am that person. I had enough batter to fill two Pyrex glass loaf pans, and both were consumed within 48 hours.
*Which, ironically, has since been questioned as a false phenomenon.
“Biggie” macaron at Bibble & Sip
174 Hester Street, New York, NY 10013
Is a Totoro a Totoro by any other name? Inquiring minds want to know, because the “biggie” macaron at super kawaii bakeshop and boba stand Bibble & Sip is definitely shaped like one, even if it’s not explicitly named. Everything in Bibble & Sip is Extremely Instagrammable (seriously, take a look) and I am embarrassed to say made me squeal and drop 20 dollars on the spot. Actually, I’m not embarrassed at all because tiny woodland creature shaped baked goods are a joy I will defend to the grave. The store was filled with Instagram husbands crouching to take a better shot, and you betcha I took over a whole table by my damn self and took a selfie. Thankfully, it wasn’t only about looks: The biggie macaron was extremely delicious. It’s a bit larger than a normal french mac, and was filled with a thick layer of black sesame ganache. Turns out, a Totoro of any other name is just as sweet.
Grilled tofu with egg at Woorijip
12 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001
Woorijip! Before I met you, I did not know it was possible to have such tender feelings towards a cafeteria outside of IKEA. Your trays may be plastic and your plates cardboard, but 30 minutes before my train arrives at Penn Station, and at 3am after losing my voice at karaoke, you are my home sweet home. One day I will write a proper love letter to you. But for now, I will just talk about my favorite thing of the many things you offer, which are these little nuggets of grilled tofu with an eggy overcoat. Tofu is one of my favorite things, and I love egg, but I’ve rarely combined the two — a grave oversight on my part. I’m not sure how the layer of egg, which is speckled with scallion and bits of red pepper, covers the block of tofu so perfectly so that each bite tastes like a very thin omelette filled with firm tofu. But I am a willing student, and I want to learn your secrets.
Garlic smashed cucumbers at my apartment
Have cleaver, will travel
As soon as the AC shuts off and the windows come down, I transition from an adult with a reasonably balanced diet into a creature composed of 90% garlic smashed cucumbers. Growing up, salad was rarely lettuce. Instead, it meant cucumbers and tomatoes, doused in vinegar and sesame oil and so much white pepper that it’d make you sneeze. As a Single Working Woman I cannot handle more than one vegetable at a time so I’ve taken to just dousing cucumbers in garlic and salt and vinegar instead. For maximum tastiness and satisfaction, take a large cucumber and smash it with the flat side of your mom’s cleaver*, and smash the garlic cloves with that too. Then sprinkle a big pinch of salt and sugar over it and let it sit for a few minutes, before you douse it with black vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Don’t forget plenty of white pepper.
*If you know, you know
Till next week,
Soph