Baking with Less Sugar (17 page)

I first made
pain d'épices
—a classic French honey cake—when I was the pastry chef at Rialto in Cambridge, MA, teaching myself pastry by going through
The International Dictionary of Desserts, Pastries, and Confections
, by Carole Bloom. The cake gets its flavor from the mellow honey and panoply of spices. I'll admit that it took some time before the blend of anise, nutmeg, and cloves appealed to me. Not having grown up with many of these flavors, I wasn't used to their licorice-y sharp bite. In this cake they meld beautifully, and it's a lovely treat to have on hand for snacking during the colder winter months. You'll make it over and over—a loaf never lasts as long as I think it will because it's hard to resist stealing small tastes throughout the day.

MAKES
ONE
9-IN [23-CM] LOAF

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus softened butter for serving
  
• 170 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup honey
  
• 120 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup whole milk, at room temperature
  
• 1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
  
• 1 large egg plus egg yolk
  
• 165 g/1 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp ground anise seed
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp freshly ground pepper
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp ground cinnamon
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp ground ginger
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp ground cloves
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp kosher salt
  

1.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C]. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-in [23-by-13-cm] loaf pan, or butter and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.

2.
In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, honey, milk, and orange zest. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until well combined. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, anise, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, with a rubber spatula, fold to combine well.

3.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you press it in the center with your finger. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 to 40 minutes until you can pop it out of the pan. Serve warm with a little bit of softened butter.
Pain d'épices
may be stored for up to 3 days at room temperature, well wrapped, or up to a month in the freezer. Remove from the freezer and thaw overnight at room temperature. Slice and toast lightly before serving.

When you become a pastry chef you spend so much time baking at work that often you don't bake that much at home. My pastry chef Sarah is an exception: after a full day of making cake batters, rolling tart shells, and piping buttercream, she goes home and bakes another set of desserts for her family and friends. She brought a scrumptious baked ricotta tart into work one day, and I adapted it here using only honey to sweeten the tart. The fresh peaches meld marvelously with the ricotta, making an excellent, beautiful dessert.

MAKES
ONE
10-IN [25-CM] TART

• Pâte Brisée
  (see page 88)
  
• 3 ripe medium peaches
  
• 225 g/8 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese
  
• 60 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  cup crème fraîche
  (see page 24)
  or whole-milk plain yogurt
  
• 85 g/4 Tbsp honey
  
• 1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• ¹
  /
  ₈
  tsp kosher salt
  
• 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
  
• 1 Tbsp water
  

1.
First, make the tart shell using a 10-in [25-cm] tart ring or a fluted tart pan. Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and knead it slightly to make it malleable if it feels stiff. Using a rolling pin, press the dough to flatten it into a disk about
¹
/
₂
in [1 cm] thick. Generously flour your work surface and the dough disk. Carefully roll out the disk into a circle about 12 in [30 cm] in diameter. Make sure the table you are rolling on is well floured so that the dough does not stick to it; likewise, make sure the disk itself is floured well enough to keep your rolling pin from sticking to it. Roll from the center of the disk outward and gently rotate the disk a quarter turn after each roll to ensure that the disk gets stretched out evenly into a nice circle. Don't worry if the dough breaks a bit, especially towards the edges. You can easily patch these tears once you've lined your shell.

2.
Once the dough circle is about 12 in [30 cm] in diameter, roll it gently around the rolling pin and then unfurl it on top of the tart ring. Press the dough to the bottom and sides of the tart ring, taking care to press the dough into the bottom edge of the pan, and use any scraps or odd pieces to patch any tears or missing bits. Make sure that the entire tart ring is well covered with dough, and press one last time all the way around to ensure that any holes have been patched. Using a small paring knife or scissors, trim the dough a little higher than the ring as it will shrink a bit when it bakes.

3.
Refrigerate the tart shell for at least 30 minutes. (The gluten needs a little time to relax so it doesn't shrink as much in the oven.) The unbaked pie shell can be stored, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 weeks. If frozen, the pie shell can be baked directly from the freezer.

4.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C].

5.
Blind-bake (that is, prebake) the shell so it doesn't get soggy when you eventually fill it: Line the tart shell with parchment paper or a large coffee filter and then fill it with pie weights, uncooked beans, uncooked rice, or even well-washed marble-size rocks. Press down slightly on the weights to make sure the shell is entirely filled and place in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the entire shell is matte and no longer looks like raw dough. (If the edges brown too quickly, cover the shell loosely with foil.) It doesn't need to fully color at this point; we are just trying to give the shell a head start in baking before we fill it with ricotta. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack until you can gently remove the weights and parchment from the shell.

6.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

7.
Meanwhile, put a pot of water on the stove to boil over medium-high heat. With a paring knife, lightly score an X on the bottom of each peach and plunge the peaches into the boiling water for about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peaches and plunge immediately into the ice water bath; remove from the ice water and slip off the skins. Halve the peeled peaches and remove the pits. Thinly slice the peach halves into 6 to 8 slices per half (for a total of 36 to 48 peach slices from the 3 peaches).

8.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, crème fraîche, 3 Tbsp of the honey, the egg, egg yolks, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Pour the ricotta mixture in an even layer in the tart shell. Carefully shingle the peaches (that is, arrange them in overlapping concentric circles) on top of the ricotta, doubling up layers if needed. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 Tbsp honey and the water. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the peaches with the mixture.

9.
Bake the tart for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the ricotta just sets and the peaches are soft. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours. Serve cold. The tart can be stored, well wrapped with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Flour isn't a restaurant, but we are incredibly lucky to have chefs who would fit in seamlessly in a top restaurant kitchen. To celebrate their talents, we decided to host pop-up charity dinners at each of our locations. Each chef has a chance to show off a little, and we get a chance to give back a little to the communities that have embraced us so fully. Each dinner has its own theme, and each chef selects the nonprofit that is to be the recipient of the dinner proceeds. It's completely win-win!

One aspect of the dinner that remains constant is our dedication to our motto, “Make life sweeter, eat dessert first!” We start off each dinner with a little amuse-bouche (a welcome treat), and it's always something sweet. For the very first pop-up dinner we hosted, I was in the middle of testing recipes for this book, and I knew I wanted to do a little showing off myself. The inaugural guests of this dinner were thus treated to a mini lemon cupcake with a creamy lemon frosting. Would our guests guess that these cakes had no sugar in them? We didn't share that with them until the end, and the reaction was staggering. Some people literally wouldn't take “no sugar” as an answer. It was truly gratifying, and I loved knowing that people were as excited about baking with less sugar as I was. Or at least they were excited about eating the results!

MAKES
12
CUPCAKES

FLUFFY LEMON FROSTING

• 225 g/8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  
• 85 g/6 Tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
  
• 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
  
• 115 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₃
  cup honey
  
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• ¹
  /
  ₈
  tsp kosher salt
  

• 130 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
  
• 100 g/
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup vegetable oil, such as canola
  
• 225 g/
  ²
  /
  ₃
  cup honey
  
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
  
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
  
• 180 g/
  ³
  /
  ₄
  cup crème fraîche
  (see page 24)
  
• 280 g/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• ¹
  /
  ₄
  tsp baking soda
  
• ¹
  /
  ₂
  tsp kosher salt
  
• 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
  

1. At least 4 hours in advance, make the frosting:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with an electric hand mixer), beat the cream cheese on medium speed for at least 3 to 4 minutes, or until perfectly smooth. (Cream cheese has a tendency to lump up easily, so don't skip this step.) Using a rubber spatula, scrape the bowl and add the butter and 1 Tbsp lemon zest. Add the honey, vanilla, and salt and beat well on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate the frosting for at least 4 hours before using to firm it up. The frosting can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

2.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C]. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin tin, spray with nonstick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.

3.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, oil, honey, vanilla, and lemon zest until well mixed. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolk until well combined. Whisk in the crème fraîche. In a separate medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is homogenous. Be careful not to over-mix.

4.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups of the muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cupcakes are pale golden brown and spring back when you press them in the center with your finger. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

5.
Don't attempt to frost the cupcakes while the least bit warm, or the frosting will slide off. Remove the frosting from the refrigerator and, using an offset spatula or a piping bag, spread or pipe the cupcakes with frosting, garnish with the remaining lemon zest, and serve. The frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remove at least 1 hour before serving so the cupcakes are not cold. Garnish with the remaining lemon zest.

When I was a kid, I daydreamed that I'd come home from school and, magically, my mom would turn into one of those mothers who would be lavishly frosting a cake for me and my brother to snack on while we did our homework. Instead, there was usually a plate of diced melon, sliced apples, and peeled oranges. Now that I know what goes into most cakes—loads of sugar and, if it's from a box, likely a number of preservatives as well—I understand better why she refused to listen to my wishes. (Mom was magical in other ways.)