07. april faves round-up

it's gonna be... may... sorry, had to do it, but as a reward for this shitty joke- theres 1 and a half recipes in here for ya.

My my my how the time flies when you’re having fun, right? We’re all having fun? Raise your hand if you’re having fun!!

Another month of 2023 come and gone at an alarmingly quick rate. I read an article somewhere (it was most definitely a tik tok) that time is in fact speeding up as the Earth starts to spin faster?? I’m not fact checking that and you probably shouldn’t quote me on it. Actually, here’s a brief article on the subject: https://weatherboy.com/earth-is-speeding-up-length-of-day-needs-to-change/

Before we get into it- little reminder that cake orders for May are currently live: If you need a graduation cake, birthday cake, cake for no reason- I got you!! And with code SUBSTACK10 ya save a lil $$ just for being here ♡ Click here to see the May menu!

Existential questions and crises aside, April was chill. It’s a transitional time for produce and strawberries are starting to taste like strawberries again. You know what I’m saying.

April was busy to say the least; made tons of cakes, worked on a few collaboration recipes, started working on new recipes for this newsletter, worked on a few other freelance projects, had meetings with a literary agent or two , and still found time to doom scroll through watertok and cake gate, iykyk.

I started testing out a bacon fat cake- I know so so 2010 of me to put bacon in a pastry. But, stick with me now- I’ve been making tons of bacon for breakfast BLTs which accumulates, you guessed it, a ton of bacon grease. I’m not one to waste this liquid gold but I’m also not one to use it elsewhere. At first, I thought bacon fat brioche donut with maple glaze- the ultimate early 2010’s flavor combo. While this is isn’t out of the question, it’s on the back burner for now. To diversify my breakfast game I want to add some savory muffins to the line up. Which is where bacon fat cake comes in. Right, now I’m working on the base batter. I like to test in this way where I nail the base of the recipe before I start fucking around with add-ins or alt baking vessels. I don’t want to add cheese to thing thing up until I got it right, ya know. It could take 13 times to get it perfect, and I don’t wanna waste cheese like that.

Anyways, this first test was.. something alright. Bacon heavy flavor, not too sweet- or even sweet at all actually, light and spongy with an open crumb- I’ll be working on a tighter more tender crumb for this. All in all, a solid jumping off point. Can’t wait to accumulate more bacon fat for further testing.

It’s still very much in the works but I cannot wait to share the final iteration with y’all! I think sharing brief glimpses at recipes as I work on them could be fun. IMO there’s not a ton of resources that teach you how to develop your own recipes online. It’s something that I’ve mostly had to learn on my own and through opportunities at work. And maybe if people saw all the work that went into perfecting one recipe they’d be a little more considerate about how they ask for them LOL.

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Last night, I restocked my freezer stash of cookie dough. I made my standard choc chip cookie recipe- with a few modifications. Let’s take a look at them together shall we. Here is the base recipe, for which I use the creaming method:

BROWN BUTTER CHOC CHIP DOUGH:

• 55 grams brown butter- for depth of flavor

• 55 grams butter

• 150 grams brown sugar- a higher ratio than the orig recipe to give the cookie a softer texture

• 75 grams granulated sugar

• 1 large egg- which is approx 50 grams

• 1 Tablespoon of milk- to account for some of the moisture loss that happens when you brown butter

• 210 grams AP flour- a teensy bit less flour to get a little more spread and a fudgier center

• 1 Tablespoon toasted milk powder- to amplify the brown butter notes

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda- which is approx 6 grams

• 1 teaspoon salt- more salt always, honestly have to up it in the original write-up of this recipe

• 1 Tony’s Chocoloney Bar, hacked to bits- which is 180 grams but more chocolate never hurts. I also bought this bar and left it in my car so it melted and reset into a giant lump. So, I deemed it no long fit for casual consumption.

Directions:

1. Melt both butters and add to the sugars. Whisk to combine. Melting the butter vs creaming it gives the cookies a chewier texture, with barely crisp edges. yuuuum

2. Add the egg and whisk it together for about a minute.

3. Combine everything else in a bowl and whisk together to evenly disperse.

4. Add the dries to the wets and use a spatula to finish off the dough.

5. Stick the dough in a fridge for about 10 minutes. This allows the dough to set up a little- making it muuuch easier to scoop/portion.

6. Scoop the dough (or weigh it out if you don’t have a scoop) into 2 oz balls. Placing the dough babies on tho a parchment lined tray.

7. Tightly wrap the tray in plastic and place in the freezer, for a minimum of an hour, preferably overnight, and up to 3 months.

8. When you have the urge for a cookie or two- preheat the oven to 345F.

9. For what I think if the best texture, bake from frozen for 12 minutes before rotating and baking for another 4 minutes.

10. Let cool, until they’re just set enough to pick-up and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The great part is- you can use any chocolate you have on hand and these will be great! Or toss in a handful or toasted nuts. Maybe some dried fruit pieces? A tablespoon of sprinkles just for funsies. Or no chocolate, no other mix-ins just an incredibly flavorful sugar cookie dough. Because my ideal choc chip cookie has no choc chips at all- or maybe like one.

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Now, for the main event my monthly obsessions:

♡ Toasted Milk Powder!!- I used it in the recipe outlined above. It’s a real game changer. Just sprinkle dry milk powder on a parchment lined tray and toast at 330F for about 15 minutes, making sure to stir it up every 5 minutes. The result is a beautifully golden powder that give brown butter flavor without brown butter work. Since, when you brown butter- it’s the milk solids that are toasting up and giving you that flavor.

♡Date Better Choc Covered Figs- especially the peanut butter crunch ones. It gives snickers vibes with the caramel texture of the date, the dark choc coating and a nice little crunch from the cocoa nibs. They’re my perfect 3PM sweet treat

♡ Fairlife Chocolate Protein Drinks- my morning choccie milk ya know. I was skeptical that they were gonna have that protein drink texture that I HATE or the subtle after taste of artificial sweeteners that I also HATE. To my surprise though- they’re delicious and protein packed? Not in a gym rat way though, but in a I don’t get enough protein in my diet because I eat like a victorian child kind of way. 10/10

♡San Diego Taco Shop Burritos- I mean, not a new obsession, this one is life long but boy way I on one this month with burritos. I went to the Meat Market in Jamul (East County, San Diego) for the first time since in maybe 8 years and I’m thankful after all these years nothing has changed. A laughably massive burrito. Flavorful meat, crisp fries, no rice or beans in sight uggghhhhh perfect. LA just doesn’t have a burrito to compete with San Diego!!

♡ Breakfast Carbonara from Morning Glory- oof, first a free meal since I’m dining with my parents will always be my favorite. This dish is ultra creamy and rich, as any carbonara should be!! Get it with a side of sourdough toast to sop up the left over sauce and you’re in for a wild ride.

♡Matching inset buttercream squiggles- Speaks for itself.

♡Spotify Enhanced Playlist Shuffle- Y’all know me and my love of music. I love discovering new artists and this new feature Spotify rolled out helps with that! It works in a way similar to “songs based on ____ radio” but it integrates songs similar to the vibe of the playlist into the listening experience. Which as much as I love the songs I curate- this keeps it fresh and introduces me to new music at the same time!

Can’t wait to see what May brings- besides flowers. What were some of your favorite things during April? What are you looking forward to in May?

xx, kassie