My sanity is held up by the existence of little treats 🍩
Strawberry mochi donuts, torta della nonna, and two types of banana bakes.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week we look forward to a little treat each day. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
Strawberry mochi donut at Mochi Dolci
222 W 79th St, New York, NY 10024
Sometimes I believe that my entire sanity is held up by the existence of “little treats.” What would a painful trip to the PT be without the sweet, sweet reward of a little tea with milk and sugar and something snacky to go with it? The motivation to get through a work day without that 4pm coffee break? The Little Treat has a Big Role in my life. I tried mochi donuts for the first (!) time this week and I’ve decided that they’re the perfect Little Treat. While regular donuts are yeasty and breadier and more filling, making them perfect for a Breakfast Treat (which shall not be confused with a Little Treat), mochi donuts are a bit smaller, and taste a lot lighter. But don’t worry, they’re still fried and topped with glaze. You don’t want to venture too far away from the categorization of “treat.” I really enjoyed the strawberry mochi donut at Mochi Dolci. It had a nice classic strawberry donut glaze, while the mochi donut itself was “not too sweet,” almost savory. Best of all, it’s shaped like a little ring composed of donut holes, so you can peel them off for one bite at a time.
Iced Americano at Da Capo
322 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023
To celebrate the Spring solstice, I decided to work in a coffee shop for an afternoon, just like the Before Times. Iced Americanos were all the rage in Korean for a while, as I have learned during my time watching Single’s Inferno, so I decided to order one. I can see why it was so trendy – it’s an excellent drink. I’m not a huge fan of cold brew – I think it tends to taste dull and one-note, and I love the taste of espresso, which makes the iced Americano pretty much perfect, especially with the addition of cream. I’ll never be European enough to like tiny gulps of caffeine – I prefer a little more sipping with my caffeine, so the addition of water in the iced espresso is really nice. In fact, I think sometimes pulling a shot of espresso over ice makes it even tastier than hot espresso, as the ice immediately preserves the coffee flavor.
Torta Della Nonna at Da Capo
322 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023
The first time I had torta della nonna was in Florence. Even though I have traveled since then, and most certainly taken days off, in my mind that always feels like the last time I took a vacation. Torta della nonna might be one of my favorite pastries, or pies, or tarts, or whatever you want to call it, of all time. The shortbread crust and lemon-y yet more on the side of cream than lemon curd filling is rich and refreshing at the same time. I like it so much I purchased a cookbook in its name, even though I haven’t made a single recipe from it yet. I’ve seen it in a few Italian spots in the city, and it’s always very good, and best leftover for breakfast with espresso the next day, but never as great as the first time I ever ate it.
Classic (vegan) banana bread at home
Here’s a matcha version of the recipe – just omit matcha.
A good banana bread is like a cappuccino: A simple classic that never goes out of a style. (Or perhaps, an iced Americano?) Before you ask, yes, I am drinking a cappuccino at a Very Overpriced Coffee Chain, and yes I did smuggle in some homemade banana bread to balance my $6.25 coffee tab. I love the bougie B**e B*ttle coffee shop near Canal Street because it’s part of a hotel lobby and has a very, very nice bathroom. But I also love my homemade banana bread, which tastes much better than dropping nearly $10 on an almond croissant. I have written about this banana bread a lot before but I shall keep writing about it because it yields the best banana bread I have ever eaten and I will continue writing about it as long asI keep baking it, which is the rest of my life and/or when bananas go extinct and/or overpriced, whichever comes first. For now, bananas are cheap and plentiful and eggs and milk are not, so this vegan recipe is just perfect. (See above for the un-paywalled matcha version.)
Old fashioned banana cake with salted honey buttercream at home
Ina Garten is the Queen and she never misses. Everyone already more or less knows that, but this recipe serves as a reminder. Not only is her tres leches cake (which I have Bimbo-fied here) one of the best recipes I’ve ever made, this banana cake is a lesson in simple magic. I stumbled upon it because I was looking for a banana cake (not to be confused with banana bread!!!) recipe that used up a lot of bananas (since I didn’t use them all up with the vegan bread) and used oil instead of butter (as I was down to my last stick). Even though the ingredients are almost identical to that of a simple banana bread (the recipe is made even simpler due to my modifications ), the result is definitely, absolutely a cake. Instead of the usual warm spices, there’s a good amount of orange zest and vanilla, which really brings out the floral fruitiness of ripe bananas. I used 1.5 cups or 4 large bananas instead of 3, sweetened whole fat greek yogurt over sour cream, and 1 cup of white sugar instead of white and brown. I topped it with a salted honey frosting: Simply 1 stick of salted butter, very soft, whipped with a big spoonful of raw honey, a pinch of salt, and 2 or so cups of powdered sugar, until you reach the desired stiffness. I brought it to a gathering and came home with an empty Tupperware — always a good sign.
Enjoy Spring,
Soph
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