Honeycomb Faux-reos

Thrilled that Nordicware regrammed my cookies today!

Make sure you're sitting down as you read this. @backyardbee made homemade Oreos using our honeybee cookie stamps. Need. Now. ❤

A post shared by Nordic Ware (@nordicwareusa) on Apr 26, 2017 at 6:37am PDT

The recipe I used is Elizabeth LaBau's "Gourmet Homemade Oreos," and it works as-is at altitude. This recipe is about as perfect as it gets! @elabau is definitely my Sugar Hero!

Bee Stuff at Sur la Table and a Recipe

Why, oh WHY, didn't they sell this stuff while I was an employee and enjoyed a 40% discount?! My seasonal position at Sur la Table ended mid-January but I still found myself in the store last Friday, taking advantage of my last employee perk: one free cooking class per month. As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted by a full display of temptations.

Two items on display are hot items that I've been waiting for to come back into stock. I left the store $50 poorer.

OMG too cute! but I resisted. House rule is, if something comes in, something has to go out.

SCORE! Use NEWYEAR17 in-store or online through 2/27 for 20% off.

The recipe that comes with the pan makes enough batter for 4 pans, but at $36 a pop, one pan is all I splurged for. Instead of scaling down the recipe ('cuz it hurt my brain to quarter 2 3/4 c. flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, etc.) for you, dear readers, I developed one that not only yields just 6 cakelets, it proves that baking is not always a precise science experiment with strict rules. The following recipe produces six tender yellow cakelets in under an hour, start to finish.

Beehive Cakelets

High Altitude Baking? Use the lesser amount of sugar and salt. If you want.

Sift together into a medium bowl:
1 c. flour (See NOTE below.)
1/2-2/3 c. sugar
1/4-1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda 


Stir together in a separate bowl:
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. veg oil or 6 T. melted, still liquid butter
1 t. extract, whatever's your favorite

Add the wet to the dry ingredients along with 1 egg. Whisk until smooth. Divide among the wells of a greased and floured NordicWare beehive cakelet pan. Bake in a preheated 325°F oven until done (~18"). Cool in pan 5" then trim the cupcake domes. Cool completely before turning out, then decorating with royal icing.

BREAK THE RULES and make this a ONE-BOWL RECIPE. Put all the liquid ingredients into a bowl. Stir the dry ingredients in. A big cake might show unevenness but you'll never see the difference here.

Royal Icing
Stir together in a small ramekin:
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. liquid honey
1 t. lemon juice
Add drops of water/milk/more lemon juice (liquid of your choice) to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken. It needs to be thick but pourable. As soon as it's smooth, drizzle over the cooled cakes.

Serve with a nice cup of tea with lemon and honey.

Honeycomb stamped Faux-reos sound good to you? Check 'em out here!

BAKING TIPS: In case you didn't know, King Arthur Flour declared 2017 the #yearofthebundt. While not technically a bundt pan, the cakelet pan is made by NordicWare, which is famous for its bundt pans. They're my fave, and I have at least half a dozen. Customers at Sur la Table always asked about their cakes sticking or not being flat-bottomed like in the picture, so here's what I told them:

1. CAKE STICKING:
   • Prepare even nonstick pans with a smooth paste made of equal parts shortening, oil and flour.
   • Do not use butter and flour to prep the pan. The solids in melted butter can actually lead to sticking. Same with canned sprays.
   • Use a pastry brush to get the fine details. Rotate the pan 180° to ensure even coverage; pay extra attention to the central tube, if there is one.
   • If the cake seems like it won't release after cooling in the pan, cover the cake with foil and pop back in the still-warm oven for 10".
2. DOMING happens because the batter sets on the outside while the interior is still rising. To lessen the amount of doming:
   • After prepping the pan, pop it in the freezer while you make the batter. Expect a longer bake time.
   • After loading the batter in, use the back of a spoon to make a divot in it.
   • Use a sharp knife to cut the dome off while the cake is still in the pan. In cooking school, we called the trimmings Scooby Snacks.

NOTE> All-purpose is fine. For smoother details and a finer crumb, use cake flour.

Mile High Bakewell Cream Biscuits

Making Sunday biscuits? If you're following the classic Bakewell Cream recipe, here's a quick high altitude tip.

#ChefTip: when making #BakewellCream Biscuits in the #cityofDenver cut back on the
baking soda by 20%. No soapy taste! Serve w/fresh butter and #Honey.

Baking, like beekeeping, is a regional art. Sure you can practice it in another region; you just need to make adjustments. If you're a New England transplant living in the Mile High City, or just enjoy really tall, light biscuits, get your Bakewell Cream from King Arthur Flour. They're the best!

Honey Cake

Recipes for Honey Cakes abound every September, so I just had to try one out. This is an adaption of Marcy Goldman's Majestic and Moist New Year's Honey Cake. It's really a spice cake that has honey in it, and I can imagine it being fabulous with carrot pulp folded in and a luscious cream cheese frosting on top.

I've had this cake for breakfast, afternoon snack, and dessert... all in one day... that's how good this cake is.

Honey Cake (recipe has been adjusted for altitude)

Whisk together in a medium bowl:
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar (very lightly packed)
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. honey
2 T. cornstarch
2 eggs
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. warm coffee or strong tea
juice from 1 orange
1 oz. brandy (Calvados is ideal)

Sift over the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger/cloves
1/4 t. salt

Pour the thin batter into a prepared 9x5x3 loaf pan set on a sheet pan. [TIPS: Don't use silicon; your cake will collapse in the center a bit. You can use a classic Pyrex loaf pan but you'll need to bake a couple solo muffins as well.] Decorate with 1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds if desired.

Bake at 350°F for 40-45" or until the cake is lightly springy. Let cool at least 15" before turning out. Keeps at room temp for 2 days. On the third day, at mile high, it starts to go stale.

Goodwin Creek Lavender

Recipe: Fondant for Winter Feeding

This is a good workable amount for a 3-quart pot:
  4 lbs. granulated sugar (white)
  1 lb. water
  1 tsp. lemon juice or Apple Cider Vinegar (optional but the acid assists in keeping the sugar inverted)

Hopefully your hives aren't "light" and don't need to be fed, but if you had to feed heavy syrup in the Fall, then Winter feeding might be necessary as well. Syrup has moisture than can be a death sentence for the bees in Winter, so candy or fondant is a much wiser choice. A no-cook candy board is far easier to make but if you're inclined you might want to make fondant, which some say is easier for the bees to digest.

Certainly, you can buy fondant at Cake Crafts but it's got additives in it that can give bees dysentery. It's better to make your own. Making fondant involves inverting sugar, breaking the disaccharide sucrose into the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and then controlling the molecular alignment of those simple sugars. Inverted sugar is supposedly more easily digested by the bees, and in the Winter you want to keep things easy for them. There are lots of recipes on the Internet for winter bee feed. Really old ones call for cream of tartar but I'd avoid that additive. Other than than, forget about the ingredients and the measurements; it's the method that matters most when making fondant. And don't  worry about fancy equipment either; all you need is a little patience and a watchful eye.

fondant

Smoked Salt and Honey Caramels

This recipe is adjusted for altitude. It is a corn syrup- 
and walnut-free variation on Alice Medrich's Honey Caramels.

Heat (without stirring) to 290°F in a 3 qt. pot:
1/4 c. agave syrup
1/2 c. honey
2 c. granulated sugar (I highly recommend using brown sugar for more complex flavor)
1/4 t. salt

While the syrup is heating, scald:
2 c. heavy cream (want really complex flavor? add a chile pepper here) 

When the syrup reaches hardball*, chip in:
3 T. butter, r.t.

Combine all off-heat, adding the hot cream slowly (don't let the pepper fall in). Return to heat and cook – stirring as necessary – 'til 240°F (±2° is fine but 245° will yield firm caramels).

Off-heat, add 1 T. vanilla and pour into a prepared 8x8" pan. Sprinkle with large granules of Smoked Salt (King Soopers at Arapahoe Crossing has a good selection) before the caramel sets. Fleur de sel works just as nicely. Let cool until firm (few hours or overnight) before lifting from the pan and cutting into bite-sized pieces. Yields 5-6 dozen.

*NOTE: this is a critical stage, so go by the physical characteristics of hardball, not some temperature definition you saw in a cookbook or what's printed on your thermometer. Those weren't written for altitude; this one is. If you're not cooking at altitude, refer to the original recipe for temperature guidance.

COMFORTABLE WITH TEMPERING CHOCOLATE? Dip and coat the cut caramels with tempered dark chocolate before sprinkling with salt. Or bacon.