sweets tour in NYC

Three weeks ago, I traveled to New York to visit a close friend. I knew that besides catching up with him, I would want to taste some desserts from establishments around the city.

 

I was there for only three full  days and carried my 8 month-old-old baby on me during  the trip so I couldn’t eat sweets all the time. I feel like I did accomplish a lot by going to some well recognized “institutions” and tasting some great stuff.

 

After this trip I felt like this would be my desirable vocation – going around the world, tasting pastries and reporting about them. Not food, no drinks, just desserts.

 

Grom

 

My tour started at Grom This amazing gelato place in Columbus Circle served some of the gelato places I ever tasted in the U.S.  With 31 shops in Italy (if you can stand out amongst competitors in Italy it means your product is superb), plus locations in Tokyo, Paris, New York and Malibu.  I tried the pistachio gelato and it was AMAZING! So smooth and creamy.

 

Bouchon

 

Next was Bouchon at Columbus Circle- the best patisserie experience ever in the U.S.!  What a variety, design, taste!!

I  tried a  few macarons: cranberry pomegrante, pumpkin and pistacchio. The macarons were big and perfect! Very soft and moist with the perfect amound of filling. The linzer cookies were very good too and the brioche was superb! The prices are high but again- worth every $. They have also a nice sitting area where they also offer food.

 

 

Levain

Next was Levain. A bakery that got her prestige from their ”most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan” as the New York Times says.  They have 4 varieties and I bought the walnut chocolate chip cookie for $4 and it was worth all the dough! The  cookies had just came out of the oven. The texture was so crumbly, soft but crunchy, buttery that melted in my mouth. Pure happiness! Apperantly their cookies inspired bakers to search for a similar recipe and

their website provided some link for Levain wanna-be cookies.  I’m sure their recipes are locked in a safe!

 

 

Magnolia

How can I not go to Magnolia? So much was said and written about this bakery. I tried the banana bread

pudding cupcake and it was delicious. I ended up ordering the red velvet cupcake-one of their staples.

Yes it was very good but you know that cupcakes never give me excitement.

I kind of like the way they frost their cupcakes:

Want to frost like that? check this video

 

Jaques Torres

 

I’m a big fan of teuscher chocolates. It’s really hard to make me excited over a chocolate candy if it’s not in the same league. Skeptical, but curious, we went to Jaques Torres  I was really surprised. These are really wonderful chocolate candies. I loved  everything we tasted including the chocolate genache and the earl grey flavors but I especially loved the port.

 

 

Cafe Lalo

Cafe Lalo is a great place that feels like Europe from the desgin, to the menu. It feels like  like you are sitting in Paris of the 30′s.  There’s a huge window case with a lot of  impressive cakes with different flavors and frostings (They offer 100 cakes!) We tried classic chocolate cake which was very rich and dense (on the good side). We also ate an amazing breakfast, “the  New York Breakfast,” carved nova,  Scotch salmon,  whipped cream cheese, everything bagel and fresh vegetables.It was delicious!

 

 

For closure, I tasted few things I didn’t love, but I didn’t want to write about them Overall, it was a great experience of tasting sweets in NYC and I know there are a lot more places to check next time.

 

Sweet like honey (and lavender)

 

 

Rosh means “head.”  Hashana means “year.”  There you go: The new year for the Jews.
This holiday marks the time when we can start from scratch, hoping for a good year and praying that G-d will help us fulfill our wishes.

The food on Rosh Hashana, offers symbolic meaning. For example, honey for a sweet year, round challa represents continuity.

I wanted to talk about my favorite holiday food – honey cake!
I love honey cake, and don’t quite understand why it never broke through to become a more prominent symbol of Rosh Hashana food.  I never saw a honey cake being sold in the bakeries, right?

Honey cake is one of the trademarks of the holiday. It has spices (like cinnamon, clove, ginger)  Tea, coffee or orange juice are added to enhance the aroma…plus of course the honey!
I tried this year  to play with a new flavor, adding some lavender to my honey cake and I love it! With some orange juice and zest, you get a moist cake with a twist on the classic holiday dessert. It’s not the classic honey cake that your mother or father (equal opportunity for this day in age) made but it’s awesome.
I made a very easy version of honey muffins to those of you who don’t like a dominant flavor of honey. All you need is 2 bowls and 5-10 minutes:       

Ingredients for 6 muffins:

240 gr flour

60 gr.  brown sugar (you can use white for more sweetness)

80 gr. honey.

pinch of salt

2 tsp of baking powder

120 gr.  heavy cream

1 orange juice +peel (you can use 2 oranges for juice if you like it moister)

2 eggs

120 gr. melted butter

2 tsp of lavender

half orange zest

Directions:

1.On a low heat warm the butter in a sauce pan and add the lavender. Let it  cook for a while, allowing it to turn dark brown (beurre noisette)- but don’t let it burn. You should smell the lavander aroma…

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl: flour, sugar, salt, b. powder.

3. mix the wet ingredients together: juice, honey, eggs, peel, cream.

4. When butter and lavender is ready, pour it through a strainer over the flour mix. Now add the rest of the wet

ingredients and mix well.

5. Pour the batter into muffins pan (fill 3/4 of a cup), warm for 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out dry.

Shana Tova! Happy new year!

Tags: holidays, honey, Jewish baking, Rosh Hashanah, Sweet Galit

Apron and The City

How did my cupcake apron became so trendy since I bought it a year ago?
 
It all started with the photoshooting for my website. Alice, a talanted photographer ,who took my picture here,  told me to go online to see some beautiful aprons at Anthropologie.  It was hard to choose one because they have so many cute aprons! but when I saw this beautiful apron , I fell in love though I’m not even a cupcake fan! I mean- I love the look of a cupcake, but I am not part of the cupcake craze at all.

A few weeks ago (yes i’m late), I noticed my apron from Anthropologie was on Sex and The City 2 worn by Charlotte. Respect!  Then Alice told me a week ago that  it was worn last week at The Gates.
 
Just from a marketing perspective I find it so fascinating how an item becomes hot!  Now I almost feel this apron became too “old” because I can see it everywhere.  But on the other hand, it’s still charming…

It seems like there are some aprons fans that take it to the next step.

 Check what you can do to be  an Apron Godess…

 Here are some cool aprons websites I wanted to share as I’ve been looking for my next apron:

Jessie Steele

 Carolyn’s kitchen 

  Esty 

 Esty

FlirtyAprons

heavenlyhostess

Eat a peach day

I happened to read today at foodimentary that it’s the National Eat a Peach Day. After double-checking the day’s authenticity, I was reassured this was not a joke. At that point, I ran to the store to  buy a box of  peaches.

I decided to create a relatively easy dessert that will be light and summery in order to honor the peach. I decided to make a few components for the dessert and assemble them in a glass wine.

The layer on the bottom was streusel made from cinnamon and rum.

On top of that I put  whipped mascarpone cheese with vanilla and lemon peel, plus a bit of confectionary Sugar.

On the final, top layer, I put cut peaches mixed with some brown sugar and lemon juice that  I cooked for 10 minutes.

I added some caramel tuiles and basil for garnish.(I didn’t have mint).

This is where it all started: Innocent, scrumpious peaches.

Started working on the tuiles:

Ready to go to the oven:

And here are the tuiles fresh out of the oven:

Just hanging there:

The peaches are working hard in the oven:

And all together:

And another view:

One more:

Good bye, even the tuiles are tired….

Winter pastries

Winter pastries….are there such things as  seasonal pastries?

In the last few years, we have been exposed more times than we want with the expression “comfort food”.

I don’t like that expression at all.  I mean, it’s snowing, it’s negative 25 and I’m not being comforted by a food that will soon disappear in my stomach and leave me full but still cold. Give me some sun and 80 F and then I will be in full comfort even when there is nothing sweet around me (well the last part is a lie)!

These snowy days in Chicago made me wonder if there are winter pastries.  Or let’s say, pastries that suit the winter better.

If UGGS, Chai Latte and down coats became essentials for many people, what do we choose in a cold snowy to provide sweet relief to the cold?

In Israel, there is not a really a winter but we always got some signs that the winter was upon us because the doughnuts came to the stores (Hanucka) and there were two sweets that appeared only once a year – like the greyhound sign: One is the “Krembo” the other one: “hot ice cream”.

The Krembo was not invented in Israel.  It was created 200 years ago in Denmark and imported by immigrant pastry chefs 40 years ago. It’s a cookie, topped with custard (a meringue) and covered with chocolate. It’s been an issue for years- from where do you start eating the crembo (like the oreo debate). The Crembo sells 50 million pieces a year – in a country of only 7 million people!

My niece Inbar eating a Krembo
The other sweet is kind which creates a cognitive dissonance – it’s name is “hot ice cream.”  It has a hard meringue in a cone covered with chocolate. It always had a feeling like it wasn’t fresh but that how it was suppose to taste. Something kind of rubbery that looked like ice cream but hard and room temp. Today It’s not popular as it was as the climate change affected the Israeli kitchen. People will eat ice cream or gelato even in the most cold 50F days…

Being here, made me wonder what would be suitable for the season.  I would put these hearty doughy pastries like in the winter pastry category: Danishes, Croissants, breads, rolls, hot chocolate cakes, all kind of yeast and east European cakes-  full of chocolate, poppy seeds or cinnamon and nuts….

What about baked tarts?  The ones with almond cream or Frangipane, covered withfruits, tossed with nuts….coming out of the oven so flaky, rich and full of texture….the warm fruits melt in your mouth..

I wouldn’t think that mousse cakes or any ice cream cakes will work that well. I always surprised how these ice cream-yogurt places stay in business over the winter. Give me something flaky, doughy, warm….

But dreaming is one thing and reality is another. How many bakeries do you know that will open at 6 AM, spreading the smell of fresh breads and Croissants? Unfortunately it’s pretty hard to find in America. Though there are some places that will offer it, you will have to trave to find them. They are not on every street corner.

In a city like Chicago I would think there will be more need for these hearty products. When I worked downtown, I always craved to have one of those amazing patisseries that will offer me coffee and pain de chocolat. Instead- many chains offer cookies, biscotti and some bars. There is nothing wrong with cookies, but I need something more substantial.

Can’t finish my blog without some of my “winter” pastries- hope they will make you warm….

The pastry gift baskets guide

So what do you do when you have two weeks to make more than 50 pastry baskets ?

Good problem to have!  I was strategizing how I would do this while googling to understand the market has to offer in this category.

If you google “gift baskets” you will find millions of results. Maybe even more than Britney Spears!

There are countless different baskets out there, waiting to be chosen by gift givers.  But pastry gift baskets?  Not really. You will find some baskets covered with piles of chocolate chips cookies, but I haven’t found something really ellegant and chic that is pastry only.

I had to come up with my own ideas and….fast!

Since I started my business this summer, this was my first holiday season as a pastry chef. I usually sell pastries, cakes, etc. but I didn’t have the chance to organize a holiday gift order. The challenge was on!

I was very excited for the operation and I knew that whatever it takes, these gift baskets were  going to be nothing less than creative and impressive!

For my baskets I decided to create a variety of pastries that will include different textures and flavors. I made:

Pistachio butter cookies- crunchy and not too sweet

Orange, almonds chocolate chip biscotti- crunchy, great shelf life and contains a citrus aroma.

Financier- chocolate and raspberry vanilla- soft, moist pastries that surprises many people.

White chocolate , walnuts and cranberry cookies- the ultimate combination!

Also- a few of the baskets I added Maple cake- very moist flavorful cake with carrot and spices and a fresh ginger and cinnamon aroma.

I also attached assortmented chocolates in beautiful boxes, confitures and home made nugats!

The results were delightful as you can see from these pictures!

Especially for those who are looking to create pastry baskets, I created the following guide that will help anybody  achieve their goal! I had to learn it myself but I’m very happy to share!

The guide for pastry gift baskets:

1. Be organized! Planning is the key here. I found out that I spent more time planning than anything  else.  But it makes life so much easier. After having a detailed plan you  just need to execute it!

2.Plan what you want to put in the baskets - What kind of products: only pastries?  chocolates? confitures? wine too? how many of each?

2. Think about shelf life – When are you shipping, will your pastries last in humidity, cold weather? What’s the consistency of your product? Soft pastries can break while being delivered!

3. Check your recipes- Carefully look at the ingredients for each item. I used for nuts in many recipes for example.  They’re expensive though.  Would it have been better to forgo nuts to increase my margins?  That’s a call each person has to make.

4.Wholesale- Try and buy only from wholesalers. This will worth you $$$$$

5. Wrapping- measure your pastries and try to create a basket to check the layout. You can’t guess it.

I want to recommend  Nashville Wraps.  They don’t give me a discount, but they are professional, have a live chat for questions and ship super fast!!!

Carefully measure the length, width and height of your pastries and baskets.  It can be exahusting but is much better to know your measurements and not later find out that your finished baskets don’t have bags that will cover them.

6. Think about all the details – From the cello bags (FDA proved!) to ribbons, wires, scissors that can cut ribbons, etc.  There are so many details to think about so make a list and order it fast! you can always re-order if you didn’t like what you got or if you need extras.

7. Build a schedule and a plan – How many pastries in which basket? How many recipes will you need? How many products do you need to buy?  How many items you will put in each box or basket? Try to be as accurate as you can!

8. Make a list of ingredients after finishing your pastries list – Calculate every ounce and gram! You don’t want to go to the store multiple times for the same ingredients. Again, it takes time, but being organized at the beginning will save you a lot of trouble later on.

9. Variety – Take some risks and include some different items. Have a goal of getting an “ooh and ahh” reaction.  You can do that better if your baskets contain different textures and flavors.

10. The eyes eat first- Make your baskets beautful! You want to “wow” people before they even taste it!

Please contact me with any questions!

Enjoy!

Galit Greenfield

Tags: Galit Greenfield, pastries chicago, pastry gift baskets, Sweet Galit

Hanukkah

Sufgania my love,
Hanucka, Chanucka, however you’re going to spell it …I love this holiday! In Israel this holiday is all around you- just replace the Christmas trees and the lights with some Chanuckiot (aka, menorahs), play some Chanuckah songs and you will get the same feeling. It’s a family holiday, full of joy, gatherings, parties and good food. As a kid I was always so excited to wait for this holiday. Just think about 8 days of vacation from school!!!! Plus, going to see shows, movies, a few family parties, and then the “Dmey Chanuckah” which means – Chanucka’s money!

It sounds pretty superficial at first but if we go deeper we find that one of the reasons for that is that the Greeks confiscated Jews’
money, forcing them to spend it on “non-pure” uses. Because of that – we are giving money so it will be used for spiritual causes and good deeds.

In Israel it’s a common thing to give money. Not books, cd’s or whatever the parents like (yey!). I got money from my grandparents and
my parents. It made me so happy! I had the chance to choose MY own gifts!

Talking about the culinary side of the holiday- I love SUFGANIOT (jelly donuts). They are very different than the ones here in the USA
and they are more similar to the Beignets – the French donuts or to the Berliner- German and central European doughnut.

(donuts in Innsbruck)

We eat them to symbolize the oil miracle when the Jews had one days’ worth of oil that lasted for eight.
Most of people are buying sufganiot and not making them at home because it takes time to make,proofing dough etc.

It’s not easy like the latke (potato pancake) let’s say. It’s fried, it’s around 300-800 calories for one – but when it gets
out of the fryer and filled with jam or other filling and topped with powdered sugar it’s so yummy!
When I was younger- I use to eat around 8 in a holiday! Not today though.

Back in the day in Israel, most donuts contained jam, typically raspberry jam. In the last decade change has come to the donut
market. Today, you can find donuts filled with so many creative and innovative fillings like: ricotta, confitures, vodka, pastry cream and wild
berries, white chocolate,cassis, espresso, pistachio etc. They can get very pricey too:

Photo of Roladin’s pastries, Israel.

One funny story published in the news lately explained that sufganiot filled with Vodka will be sold to 18+. So if the cop stopped you for speeding, it won’t help you to say: “I only had two donuts”- or knowing Israel, maybe it will….

For me, jelly donuts will always be the number one. It’s the classic donut, the item I was waiting for to arrive in our mini market store around November, and it’s the childhood taste. Since I couldn’t find the donuts I like here, I had to make them. This year- I made some donuts as you can see in the photos bellow. I used raspberry rubharb jelly but when the holiday will approach, I might give the pastry cream and the ganache a fair chance too:-)

Happy Chanuckah!

Galit

Check, Please!

Check me out…Please!

I had the pleasure of being a guest on Check Please on November 6, 2009. It was a real great experience and I’m so happy that I did it! I truly found out why people like being on T.V. There is something really exicting that raises your adrenaline to higer levels.

It all started 6 months ago when I heard about this show and thought it will be fun to be on it. I submitted my application online without any expectations.

A few months after, I got an email from the producer (her name is Gallit too! with 2 L’s . Ha! I made it through the cut! They have like 20,000 people waiting to be on the show, so of course I was so excited.

I chose Chickpea as my restaurant to review (and recommend) because it’s really a comforing place to eat. I love many restaurants in Chicago and

many styles, but Chickpea is a place I return when I want familliar food, warmth and dishes that remind me of home.

I had to go to two other restaurants – one Southern-style place and the other restaurant was Italian.

I’m pretty open to food, though I don’t eat unkosher meat, but I could not connect to these restaurants. The Southern restaurant in particular was hard to understand. I ordered several dishes with a friend. We both didn’t like the food. It was very dense, heavy and lacked sophiticated flavors. I couldn’t feel the different condiments or different textures. I only felt a mass of flavors together and huge portions that will make everyone happy and feel their money was spent right.

When I’m eating, I like to feel and sense the aroma, the spices, the touch and the creativity of the chef. In this case I couldn’t relate or enjoy any dish.

The Associate Producer of Check Please, Carmen Schmidt, raised the question whether or not I’m a foodie. Her impression was that I’m closed to different tastes than the ones I recommended. I totally disagree.

Supporting my restaurant doesn’t mean I don’t like other food. I love Thai, Indian, Italian, Yeminite, New American, French, Morrocan etc. I just can’t relate to Southern Food! It doesn’t make me closed minded. The evidence will be the 8-9 dishes that I tried!

Sorry, it’s not my taste!

Regarding the Italian restaurant – we just didn’t have a good experience with the dishes nor the service. My husband who joined me didn’t like the food either and he LOVES Italian food.

Back to the set…it was fun to get the hair done, the make-up, to meet the other guests of the panel (while we are baybysiat so we won’t talk about our experiences).

The set was very nicely done and the host, Alpana Singh was very professional. Overall, it was a great experience. It made me feel like hosting my little cooking/baking show…who knows, one day..?

Welcome!

Welcome to my new website and blog!
Summer has passed after working and selling my products at the Farmer’s Market in Chicago.  It was fun to see the regulars every week that came and supported my baking, talking about life, pastries and everything in between!

Now when the fall is here and almost winter is approaching, I’m working on new things in my kitchen!

Some good, comforting cakes and cookies to eat with a warm cup of tea (or coffee).

In the next blog posts, I will share some of my culinary adventures and my interests with you.

Hope you will follow me and feedback me at: sweetgalit@gmail.com

Have a sweet week,

Galit