Mini Nutella Pavlovas with Whipped Cream and Berries

Have you ever had a meringue cookie? They are a strange, delicious wonder of the dessert world. Light and airy, crispy but chewy, full of flavor and utterly delightful. An extra large version of a meringue cookie is a pavlova – essentially just a baked meringue cake, usually topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fruit of some variety. A pavlova maintains a chewy, marshmallowy interior – which is a wonderful contrast to the ultra crispy exterior. Whether you decide to go small (cookies), or large (pavlova), this light and airy dessert is absolutely perfect for a hot summer night!

Mini Nutella Pavlovas with Whipped Cream and Berries
makes 10, 5-inch mini pavlovas

4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup nutella
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
berries of your choice, washed and cut into bite-size pieces

1.) Preheat your oven to 300°. Start by placing your nutella into a microwave-safe bowl, and microwaving it in 20 second intervals (stirring after each interval) to smooth it out and loosen it up. This should take 2 or 3 intervals at most – set the nutella aside to cool.

2.) Place your (room temp! This is important!) egg whites into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, turn the mixer on to medium low, and beat the egg whites until they become nice and frothy, about a minute. Add the salt and cream of tartar, and continue beating.

3.) Turn the speed up to medium, and keep beating the egg white mixture until soft peaks form. Once you’ve reached that point, begin adding the sugar a couple tablespoons at a time (until you’ve added 2/3 cup), continuing to beat on medium speed.

4.) Once all the sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high, and continue beating until the egg whites are super glossy and thick, and hold stiff peaks when you remove the whisk.

5.) Make sure your nutella has cooled to the point of being barely warm. Drizzle it over the top of the meringue in the mixing bowl, and use a rubber spatula to fold it into the egg whites – only fold it a couple times, so you don’t deflate the meringue, and your meringues maintain a swirled look (I over-mixed a bit, so mine are just… pale brown. Not as beautiful as I was hoping).

6.) Load your meringue into a large pastry bag fitted with an extra large closed star tip (you can absolutely skip this step and either use a large ziploc with a corner snipped off, or just spoon mounds of the meringue on to your baking sheet). Pipe 4-5″ rounds onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.

7.) Bake for 10 minutes at 300°. After ten minutes, rotate your baking sheets in the oven, and turn the temp down to 200°. Continue to bake for another 45 minutes, and then turn the oven off. Leave the meringues in the oven and allow them to cool in there for about an hour.

8.) Remove the meringues from the oven, and allow them to continue cooling, if needed. If you serve them the day they’re made, they’ll be super crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. If you serve them the next day (stored in an airtight container overnight), they will lose a lot of the crispiness in their outer shell, but they’ll still be chewy and delicious.

9.) Top with whipped cream (3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped with 1/3 cup sugar, until firm peaks form), and fresh berries. Enjoy!

These mini pavlovas are a little quirky, and really tasty! The combination of crispy and chewy and light-as-air is a nice break from a lot of heavier, richer desserts that you usually see, and absolutely perfect as a light, refreshing summer dessert. (And it certainly doesn’t hurt that they’re EASY to make!)

I swear, Nutella was sent straight from heaven,
Tina

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Now that summer is FINALLY here (I don’t know about wherever you live, but winter hung around FAR TOO LONG here in the Mitten), berries are back in season! There are few things in this world more delicious than a perfectly ripe berry… except for possibly buttercream frosting made from those perfect berries!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
cupcake recipe from here
makes about 2 dozen

For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 T baking powder
3/4 t salt
2 sticks butter, room temp, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 tsp vanilla

For the buttercream:
3 sticks salted butter
3 – 4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup strawberry puree

1.) Preheat your oven to 325°. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2.) Add the cubed, softened butter, and continue to mix until the butter is completely coated in the flour mixture and broken up into smaller pieces.

3.) In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Add the liquids to the flour/butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition (and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary). Be careful not to overmix!

4.) Line a muffin tin with paper liners, and fill each cup 2/3 of the way with batter.

5.) Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. These cupcakes really don’t brown, and the tops stay a bit shiny and wet-looking, so go ahead and start testing with a toothpick at 18 minutes, even if they really don’t look done.

6.) While the cupcakes bake, you can work on your frosting! Start by making your strawberry puree; clean, hull, and halve about 8 medium strawberries. Add them to a food processor (or blender), and process until you have a relatively smooth liquid.

7.) Press the puree through a fine mesh sieve and into a small bowl, to get rid of any lumps and the strawberry seeds.

8.) Use a stand mixer (or hand mixer) to cream together the butter, powdered sugar (start with 3 cups, and add more if needed), and 1/2 cup of the strawberry puree. Scrape down the bowl and continue mixing until everything is well-combined.

9.) When the cupcakes have fully cooled, pipe or spread the frosting on to them. These cupcakes are best served the same day they’re made.

I served these cupcakes at a baby shower for a dear friend of mine, and aside from being tasty (the cupcakes have just enough vanilla flavor, and the strawberries add a wonderful freshness to the buttercream), the frosting is a perfectly beautiful shade of pink – just right for celebrating the impending arrival of a baby girl!

So glad to put my boots away for a few months,
Tina

Roasted Garlic, Sausage, and Tomato Pizza

Pizza is basically the perfect food, right? There are a million and one ways to change it up; you can add any crazy combination of ingredients that pops into your head!

A great pizza joint recently opened up in our area, and they make these ridiculous wood-fired, thin crust pizzas. One of the topping options they offer is roasted garlic, which I love, but have never had on a pizza before. Some friends and I were ordering up some dinner one night, and after about 20 minutes of tossing topping ideas back and forth, we landed on this: sausage, roasted garlic, and tomato. And it might just be my favorite pizza topping combination ever!

Roasted Garlic, Sausage, and Tomato Pizza
makes one medium, thinner-crust pie

one batch pizza dough
pizza or marinara sauce of choice
1 head garlic, with the top 1/2″ cut off
olive oil
1/4 lb hot italian sausage (pork or turkey), cooked and crumbled
1 large tomato, sliced thin
8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

1.) First, you need to roast your garlic. While your pizza dough rises, heat your oven to 400°. Place your head of garlic in the center of a square of foil, and drizzle it with a bit of olive oil. Close the foil tightly around the garlic, place it into a small baking dish, and roast for about 40 minutes until golden brown and soft. Allow the garlic to cool until you can handle it easily, and then gently squeeze the cloves out of their skins. Slice each clove into about 4 pieces.

2.) Preheat your oven to 475°. Lay your sliced tomatoes out on a paper towel to draw a bit of their moisture out; lightly season them with kosher salt. Mist your baking sheet with olive oil, and stretch your pizza dough out. Spread a thin layer of your sauce onto the dough.

3.) Evenly sprinkle the sausage and sliced, roasted garlic over the sauce. Cover the pizza with the grated cheese, and then lay the sliced tomatoes on top. Brush the exposed edges of the dough with a bit of olive oil.

4.) Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese has browned nicely. Allow to cool and set for approximately 5 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.

Sweet, nutty garlic, spicy and salty sausage, and juicy, slightly acidic tomatoes. YES, PLEASE.

You’re going to want to make this REAL soon,
Tina

Sugar Dusted Donuts with Vanilla Custard Filling

I’ve been promising to post this recipe for months… and honestly, the thought of typing it all out kind of exhausted me! But it needs to be shared with the world, so I finally forced myself to sit down and do it. And now I want a donut, dammit.

These donuts are UNREAL. Seriously insane. I truly think I could eat a whole batch of them in one sitting – they are so light, and fluffy, and perfectly sweet. Probably the best donuts I’ve ever had, and I’ve had my share of donuts! I know this recipe will look like it’s a lot of ingredients, and a lot of steps, and I’m not going to say they’re simple to make – but they’re not hard, and they are 100% worth it.

Sugar Dusted Donuts with Vanilla Custard Filling
makes about 18 donuts, and another dozen donut holes

For the vanilla custard filling:
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 T heavy cream

1.) Begin by scalding the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. This simply means heating the milk until bubbles have formed around the edges of the pan, but not allowing it to come to a boil.

2.) While the milk heats, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks well; then, add the flour mixture to the egg yolks, and whisk until you have a thick, paste-like mixture.

3.) When the milk is scalded, remove it from the heat, and slowly begin tempering the egg yolk mixture with the hot milk. To do this, simply add a very small amount of the hot milk to the yolk mixture, whisking continually as you add it. The idea is to gradually bring up the temperature of the yolk mixture; if you simply add the hot milk to the eggs, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs! Keep adding the milk, a small bit at a time, whisking all the while, until the two mixtures are fully combined.

4.) Once the yolk mixture and the milk are fully combined, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place the pan over medium heat. Whisk the mixture continually as it heats. It will be very liquid and frothy at first, and will slowly thicken up.

5.) After a few minutes, when the custard has thickened up a bit, stop whisking occasionally (about every 20 seconds) to see if the mixture has come to a boil (if it has, you’ll just see a couple large bubbles coming to the surface and popping). Once it’s begun to boil, whisk for 5 more seconds (no more!), and then remove it from the heat.

6.) Pour the mixture through a strainer and into a heatproof bowl to remove any lumps, and mix in the vanilla. Place plastic wrap over the custard, pressing it down to make sure it is in contact with the surface of the custard (to prevent a skin from forming), and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours, until it is well-chilled.

7.) Once the custard is chilled through, take your (very cold) heavy cream and beat it with a whisk/hand mixer/stand mixer until you have whipped cream with firm peaks. Slowly fold the whipped cream into the custard mixture, and refrigerate until you’re ready to stuff the donuts!

For the donuts:
(donut recipe from here)
2 1/2 t active dry yeast
2 T warm water
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 cup whole milk, at room temp
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
2 T granulated sugar, plus more for coating the outside of the donuts
1 1/2 t salt
vegetable oil, for frying

1.) In a small bowl, combine the warm water and yeast, and allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes, until it’s nice and foamy.

2.) In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, milk, butter, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Once the yeast mixture is ready, add it to the work bowl, and use the dough hook (on low speed) to combine all the ingredients.

3.) Once everything comes together and a soft dough forms, turn the mixer speed up to medium-low, and knead for about another 3 minutes. The dough should be soft and a little bit sticky, but not too sticky to handle. If it still feels overly sticky, knead in additional flour (2 tablespoons at a time) until it is no longer overly tacky.

4.) Scrape all the dough into the center of the bowl, and sprinkle it with a bit of flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel, and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until the dough has doubled.

5.) Once the dough has doubled in bulk, turn it out on to a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour a rolling pin, and roll the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Use a round, 2.5″ cutter (or a drinking glass, if you don’t have a round cutter) to cut as many donuts out as possible. From the scraps, you can use a 1″ or 1.5″ cutter to cut out some donut holes (or simply cut the scraps into somewhat equal-sized, irregularly-shaped pieces with a knife).

6.) Lay all the donuts on a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet, and cover the sheet with a clean kitchen towel. Allow the donuts to rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes or so, until they’ve puffed up.

Un-puffed donuts on the left; puffed and ready to fry, on the right!

7.) While the donuts finish their final rise, place a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, and fill it with about 3″ of vegetable oil. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pot, and allow the oil to slowly heat up to 350°. While the oil heats, fill a shallow bowl with granulated sugar. When the oil is up to temp, you’re ready to fry!

8.) Gently add the donuts to the pot, 2 or 3 at a time. Allow them to fry for about a minute per side, flipping them with a large wire spider/skimmer. Once they’re golden brown on both sides, use the spider to move them to a wire rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet so that the last bit of oil drains off. After they’ve dried for just a few seconds, place them in the granulated sugar, and toss to coat. Move them back to the wire rack once they’re coated in sugar.

9.) Continue frying in batches (keeping a close eye on the oil temp and adjusting as necessary) until all the donuts are fried (including the donut holes).

10.) Once the donuts are completely cool, load your vanilla custard into a piping bag or a large ziploc bag. Cut an opening at the bottom of the piping bag (or in the bottom corner of the ziploc bag) about 1/2″ wide.

11.) Use a small paring knife to create a hole in the side of each donut. Insert the end of the piping bag into the hole, and pipe a small amount of custard (until you feel a bit of resistance) into the donut.

Now, sit back, relax, and eat a dozen donuts! Honestly, if you can get away with eating less than that, I commend your willpower.

These donuts are definitely best served the same day they are made – that way, they maintain a slightly crisp exterior, and a light fluffy interior. Now, don’t get me wrong, they are still absolutely delicious on day 2, but the texture is less perfect, and the sugar will get a little melty. (For the record, I do not typically like filled donuts, so I only filled about half of them – and they were all equally delicious!)

These things are heaven, seriously. I can’t wait to make them again!

Homemade donuts: totally worth it.
Tina