Momofuku Milk Bar
Page 18
10. Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and filling. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
11. At least 3 hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull the sheet pan out of the freezer and, using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring. Gently peel off the acetate and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, the cake can be refrigerated for up to 5 days).
12. Slice the cake into wedges and serve.
banana cake
MAKES 1 QUARTER SHEET PAN
You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to make a good banana cake. I’m talking about a sheet cake that tastes like banana bread, but not too dry, not too tough, and not dense and fudgy, like the dead center of banana bread can be at times. For weeks, maybe even a month, we worked on a banana cake in the basement of Ko. It felt like a lifetime—and still we weren’t getting anywhere close. That is, until Emily, our extern, came in with her mother’s sacred banana cake recipe. We adapted it, but this recipe belongs to the heart of her family. Mrs. Kritemeyer, we love you!
85 g butter, at room temperature
[6 tablespoons]
200 g sugar
[1 cup]
1 egg
110 g buttermilk
[½ cup]
20 g grapeseed oil
[2 tablespoons]
2 g banana extract
[½ teaspoon]
225 g rrrrrripe bananas
[2]
225 g flour
[1⅓ cups]
3 g baking powder
[¾ teaspoon]
3 g baking soda
[½ teaspoon]
2 g kosher salt
[½ teaspoon]
Pam or other nonstick cooking spray (optional)
Just as with the Banana Cream, the riper and browner the banana, the tastier the cake.
1. Heat the oven to 325°F.
2. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, and mix on medium-high again for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
3. Stream in the buttermilk, oil, and banana extract while the paddle swirls on low speed. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 5 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture, and completely homogenous. You’re basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn’t want to make room for it, so if it doesn’t look right after 6 minutes, keep mixing. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. On very low speed, add the bananas and mix for 45 to 60 seconds to ensure all the bananas are broken apart.
5. Still on low speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Pam-spray a quarter sheet pan and line with parchment, or just line the pan with a Silpat. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan. Give the bottom of your sheet pan a tap on the countertop to even out the layer (this cake batter is very forgiving). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly buttery and dense. At 25 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if the cake doesn’t pass these tests.
7. Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer (don’t worry, it’s not cheating). The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
chocolate hazelnut ganache
MAKES ABOUT 215 G (¼ CUP)
55 g heavy cream
[¼ cup]
60 g gianduja chocolate, melted
[2 ounces]
65 g hazelnut paste
[¼ cup]
¼ recipe Fudge Sauce
[38 g (3 tablespoons)]
1 g kosher salt
[¼ teaspoon]
Gianduja is a sweet chocolate that contains hazelnut paste. It’s like a soft brick of Nutella—pick it up at a specialty grocery store or online. We use Cacao Barry gianduja.
1. Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Meanwhile, combine the melted gianduja, hazelnut paste, fudge sauce, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Pour the cream into the bowl and let sit undisturbed for 1 minute. With a hand blender or a whisk, slowly mix the contents of the bowl until the mixture is glossy and silky-smooth. This will take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your speed and strength. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; do not freeze.
hazelnut frosting
MAKES ABOUT 110 G (⅓ CUP)
25 g butter, at room temperature
[2 tablespoons]
65 g hazelnut paste
[¼ cup]
20 g confectioners’ sugar
[2 tablespoons]
0.5 g kosher salt
[⅛ teaspoon]
1. Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and paddle on medium-high speed until it is completely smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. This is a small amount of ingredients so use your granny mixer now or take on the task by hand in a medium bowl.
2. Add the hazelnut paste, confectioners’ sugar, and salt and mix on high speed until the frosting is fluffy and has no lumps in it, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds, just to be sure everything is nice and smooth. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature before using.
lemon meringue–pistachio pie
MAKES 1 (10-INCH) PIE; SERVES 8 TO 10
Nut crunch makes a great pie crust! I absolutely love this pie, but it doesn’t fit into the composed dessert realm of Ssäm Bar’s menu and it isn’t quick and easy to pack like Milk Bar pies need to be, so it never made it onto a menu. It’s a delicious recipe you’ll only find here.
1 recipe Pistachio Crunch
15 g white chocolate, melted
[½ ounce]
¼ recipe Lemon Curd
[305 g (1⅓ cups)]
200 g sugar
[1 cup]
100 g water
[½ cup]
3 egg whites
⅓ recipe Lemon Curd
[155 g (¼ cup)]
Painting a thin layer of white chocolate onto the pie crust protects it from getting soggy from the moisture in the lemon curd. This is a classic pastry trick when filling any crust with something that is moist or somewhat wet.
Note that you will need a full recipe of lemon curd here, but it’s broken up in the ingredients list because two-thirds is used in one spot and the remaining third in another.
1. Dump the pistachio crunch into a 10-inch pie tin. With your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the crunch firmly into the pie tin, making sure the bottom and sides are evenly covered. Set aside while you make the filling; wrapped in plastic, the crust can be refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.
2. Using a pastry brush, paint a thin layer of the white chocolate onto the bottom and up the sides of the crust. Put the crust in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the chocolate.
3. Put 305 g (1⅓ cups) lemon curd into a small bowl and stir to loosen it a bit. Scrape the lemon curd into a crust and use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread it in an even layer. Place the pie in the freezer for about 10 minutes to help set the lemon curd layer.
4. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently slush the sugar around in the water
until it feels like wet sand. Place the saucepan over medium heat and heat the mixture up to 115°C (239°F), keeping track of the temperature with an instant-read or candy thermometer.
5. While the sugar is heating up, put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and, with the whisk attachment, begin whipping them to medium-soft peaks. If the whites reach medium-soft peaks before the sugar hits 115°C (239°F), slow your mixer waaaaaay down and let the sugar catch up. Or, if you notice that the sugar is almost to 115°C (239°F) and the whites are still a bit off, turn the heat way down under the sugar and turn the speed way up on the mixer. Ideally, the whites will reach medium-soft peaks at exactly the same time as the sugar syrup hits the 115°C (239°F) mark. If you can achieve this on your first try, then we have a job waiting for you in our kitchen.
6. Once the sugar syrup reaches 115°C (239°F), remove it from the heat and very carefully pour it into the whipping egg whites, being sure to avoid the whisk: turn the mixer down to very low speed before you do this, unless you want some interesting burn marks on your face. Once all of the sugar is successfully added to the egg whites, turn the mixer speed back up and let the meringue whip until it has cooled to room temperature.
7. While the meringue is whipping, put the 155 g (¼ cup) lemon curd in a large bowl and stir, using a spatula, to loosen it up a bit.
8. When the meringue has cooled to room temperature, turn the mixer off, remove the bowl, and fold the meringue into the lemon curd with the spatula until no white streaks remain, being careful not to deflate the meringue.
9. Remove the pie from the freezer and scoop the lemon meringue on top of the lemon curd. Using a spoon, spread the meringue in an even layer, completely covering the lemon curd.
10. Serve, or store the pie in the freezer until ready to use. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap once frozen hard, it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. Let the pie defrost overnight in the fridge or for at least 3 hours at room temperature before serving.
thai tea parfait
lemon mascarpone, thai tea crunch
SERVES 4
We made this dessert because of our love for Thai tea sweetened just the way the Thai do, with sweetened condensed milk. We got so many compliments on it that we left it on the Ssäm Bar dessert menu for over a year, which we almost never do. To this day, we still get requests for it. While the ingredients here are off the beaten path of your average pantry, they can easily be found in Chinatown or a Latin market or at amazon.com.
100 g water
[½ cup]
10 g Thai tea leaves
[2 tablespoons]
1 gelatin sheet
75 g sweetened condensed milk
[¼ cup]
16 g store-bought dulce de leche
[1 tablespoon]
6 g tamarind paste
[1 teaspoon]
1 g kosher salt
[¼ teaspoon]
Pam or other nonstick cooking spray
75 g heavy cream
[⅓ cup]
35 g sour cream
[2 tablespoons]
1 recipe Lemon Mascarpone
1 recipe Thai Tea Crunch
4 mint sprigs
Powdered gelatin can be substituted for the sheet gelatin: use ½ teaspoon.
1. Combine the water and tea leaves in a blender and blend on high for 10 seconds. Let the mixture steep for 30 minutes.
2. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a small bowl and reserve. (If there is any grit left in the tea steep, pass it through a coffee filter to remove it.)
3. Bloom the gelatin.
4. Heat the Thai tea steep in a small saucepan until it is warm to the touch. Add the bloomed gelatin and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Pour into a medium bowl and whisk in the condensed milk, dulce de leche, tamarind paste, and salt until all the ingredients are dissolved and fully incorporated.
5. Put the bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes, whisking it every 5 minutes or so. Check the consistency of the base as you whisk it; you don’t want the parfait to set fully, but you want it to get thick enough to be able to fold in the whipped heavy cream mixture and have it hold its shape a bit. The best description for the consistency you are looking for is that of a really thick porridge. Pretend you are Goldilocks and that you are waiting for it to be just right. Pigtails are optional.
6. While the base is setting, lightly Pam-spray 4 (2-ounce) molds of your choice. We use silicone molds for ease of removal after the parfaits have set. Put the molds on a flat, transportable surface; set aside.
7. Whisk the heavy cream and sour cream (in a mixer with the whisk attachment, or by hand) until the mixture reaches medium-soft peaks. If the heavy cream mixture is ready before the parfait base has set, put it in the fridge until ready to use.
8. Once the consistency of the parfait base has reached perfection, pour it into a large bowl and, using a spatula, fold in the heavy cream mixture until the mixture is completely smooth and no white streaks remain. Pour the parfait into the prepared molds, and carefully tap the molds on the countertop a few times to remove excess air bubbles. Freeze for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
9. Unmold the frozen parfaits by gently popping them out of their molds or by plunging the base of the molds into warm water for 3 seconds, then tapping them upside down on the counter. Stored in an airtight container, the parfaits will keep in the freezer for 1 month. Thaw before serving, either overnight in the fridge or for 3 hours at room temperature.
10. To serve, use the back of a spoon to schmear a quarter of the lemon mascarpone across the center of each of 4 plates. Place a Thai tea parfait in the center of each schmear. Sprinkle one-quarter of the Thai tea crunch over the center and down the sides of each parfait and top the crunch with tiny torn pieces of mint. Serve immediately.
lemon mascarpone
MAKES ABOUT 230 G (1 CUP)
Mascarpone cheese is a little fussy. It breaks really easily, so it is important here to make sure that both the lemon curd and the mascarpone are cold. Don’t even think about overmixing this!
½ recipe Lemon Curd
50 g mascarpone cheese
[¼ cup]
1. Put the lemon curd in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed to smooth it out a bit, about 30 seconds; scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
2. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix on low speed until just combined. You may need to mix the mascarpone in with a spatula at the very end to make sure it is evenly distributed without overmixing it. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Fall was approaching, and I wanted to put pumpkin on the menu in something other than a pie or ice cream, which are delicious but too easy. I wanted to do something new that would showcase pumpkin in a different light.
One afternoon at Milk Bar, I was flipping through one of the old notebooks I kept as a cook when I came upon a recipe for a sweet but savory squash filling we’d used, back when I worked for Alex Grunert at Bouley, to sandwich together macaroons. Bingo.
But how to make it my own, with a new texture and viscosity—something that was thick and voluptuous enough to stand alone on a plated dessert? I decided to start with the path of least resistance, a standard white chocolate ganache (melted white chocolate and butter blended with heavy cream). Then I added Libby’s pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and some salt. It was so tasty, but I wanted it to have more texture, more body, and more pull, so I turned to my old friend, glucose.
Once the pumpkin ganache was a success, we ran with the technique and attempted a ganache with every root vegetable that could be roasted and pureed to mimic the consistency of pumpkin puree.
Because it’s tough to market a squash cookie or a beet cake to the masses, who want cornflake-chocolate-chip-marshmallow cookies (and how can I blame them?), we love using this mother recipe to infuse splashes of seasonality in our kitchen, which is packed with cornflakes and mini ch
ocolate chips year-round. The “ganache” gives us the opportunity to play with savory and sweet flavors deeper than just salt and sugar.
Though most of our ganaches are part of plated desserts for Ssäm Bar or Ko, there are plenty less fancy uses for any of these recipes. Pumpkin ganache is unbelievably tasty spread over the Oat Cookie, before it’s turned into the crust for the crack pie, and served with Cereal Milk Ice Cream. It’s also an amazing layer in the Carrot Layer Cake, replacing the graham frosting. (Or be a real hardbody, and make a carrot ganache using the mother recipe and layer it in the carrot cake in place of the graham frosting.)
Celery Root Ganache and Tristar Strawberry Sorbet make an amazing ice cream pie when layered into a Ritz Crunch crust. Or deconstruct the sorbet and celery root ganache dish and make it into a little dessert or snack, omitting the sorbet and lovage and using twice the amount of fresh berries; don’t leave out the Ritz Crunch, though!
My go-to use for ganache—and my favorite way to make a pie look totally VIP—is to pipe ganache around the edges. My favorite, favorite, favorite pie that we make is the Blondie Pie, finished with pumpkin ganache. It makes a great fall/holiday dessert or gift. To get ganache on your pies, all you need is a pastry bag and some imagination. Star tip, regular tip—there’s no limit to what you can do.