Heirloom Summer Popsicles

By Whitney Pipkin, Photography by Hannah Hudson. From our Summer 2016 Issue: The Last Bite.

Popcicles

They say cherry tomatoes are summer’s best candy, so why shouldn’t they—and their heirloom cousins—be dessert, too? Tomatoes are a fruit, after all, and heirloom varieties like Brandywine and Aunt Ruby’s German Green, prized for their uniqueness, come in as many shapes, sizes and flavors as, well, a popsicle. Add a splash of watermelon and you have yet another way to savor the orbs that are the essence of the season.

And, while you’re at it, why not make a popsicle out of another quintessential summer ingredient that rarely gets star billing for its sweet side? We asked the folks at Pleasant Pops to fork over this recipe for their version of sweet creamed corn on a stick. And why wait for dessert to serve these on a sultry night? Serve them as starters with a glass of chilled fino sherry for a cool twist on a first course.

Because your summer could use a little extra produce—and dessert.

Tomato Watermelon Pops

Recipe by Hannah Hudson

3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped 2 pounds watermelon, cubed 2 limes, juiced 1 tablespoon sugar Thinly sliced jalapeños (to taste) 1 pinch sea salt

Blend tomatoes in a food processor or blender; let drain through a sieve until completely drained. Reserve the strained juice. Repeat with the watermelon.

Combine the tomato, watermelon and lime juice. Wearing gloves, seed the jalapeños and thinly slice them. Add as much jalepeño as desired for spice and let steep in the combined juice for an hour. For extra spice, leave sliced jalapeño inside the popsicles. Freeze overnight. Makes about 12 6-ounce pops.

Pleasant Pops Sweet Cream and Corn

Pleasant Pops, a frozen pops maker and retailer, was founded by friends Roger Horowitz and Brian Sykora, while in college. They started selling their frozen pops, made with the freshest ingredients from local farmers when ever seasonal and possible, and premiered their pops at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market. They now have two retail locations in Adams Morgan and downtown DC, where they serve up craft coffee, a menu of pop flavors and café food including soup and sandwiches. They also sell locally made food products, and strongly support local producers in the DC area and love working with other small food startups that have similar stories to theirs. They shared this recipe with us, and much of the sweet corn found at area farm markets now are heirloom or varieties that grow uniquely well in the DMV farm area. For more information, go to http://www.pleasantpops.com/

4 ears corn (Use the sweetest corn from your local farmers market.) ½ gallon milk (We use Trickling Spring Whole milk, available from our shop or many other purveyors.) 2 cups organic cane sugar (Or substitute honey, agave or maple syrup.)

Shuck the corn and, using a knife, take off all of the kernels. Save the cobs! Add the 4 corn cobs, all of the kernels, all of the milk and sugar to stockpot and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat (be careful that it doesn’t boil or reach a scalding temp (180°).

Remove cobs and make sure that all of the other ingredients are completely mixed together. Cool your mixture in an ice bath in your sink or in a bigger pot or bowl. Once cool, pour your pops in any ice pop molds or even little paper cups in a pinch. Remember to put your sticks in the middle (this can be done an hour after the pops have been in a freezer so the mixture is beginning to harden.)

Pops should be frozen in 2 or 3 hours in your freezer, as long as they have been cooled down before going in.

Yield about 12 (6-ounce) pops. www.pleasantpops.com

A Classic French Holiday Dessert: Bûche de Noël

A Bûche de Noël, interpreted by Caitlin Dysart, Pastry Chef of 2941.

By Caitlin Dysart, Pastry Chef of 2941. Photography by Reema Desai. From The Last Bite in our Winter Holiday Issue 2015.

A native of Springfield, VA, Caitlin Dysart is the award-winning Pastry Chef at reknowned French restaurant, 2941. Dysart won the RAMMY Award for Pastry Chef of the Year in 2014.

Bringing the Whimsy of France to Your Holiday Table

The holiday season can be rough when you work in the restaurant industry, but my child-like love for all things Christmas really helps me get through it. I get excited for the music, the decorations, the family traditions and—most importantly—the baking. As a pastry chef, I have to plan ahead for the holidays, I’m drafting menus and sketching desserts as soon as Labor Day hits.

One of my favorite holiday desserts is the classic Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log Cake. We serve this traditional French treat for Christmas Eve every year at 2941. It’s a simple roulade made of sponge cake rolled with cream and covered in icing and it’s made to resemble a literal version of a yule log.

The real joy of making a bûche de noël is in the decorating. Variations range from the traditional and rustic to sleek and modern. Every year the great patisseries of France release their version of the bûche and I’m always taken aback by their stunning and playful takes on the classic.

I decided here to really exaggerate my favorite feature of a traditional bûche de noël: the meringue mushrooms! These little crunchy cookies take me back to my childhood, when my mother would make them for our annual Christmas party. They’re fairly easy to make, add a great texture to the dessert and, when clustered together in various sizes and colors, create a really stunning look that’s sure to wow your holiday guests.

Feel free to experiment with different decorations: You can use marzipan to make holly leaves, coconut to mimic snow, or chocolate shavings to create a bark texture. I have selected a simple flavor profile for this cake, with a cocoa sponge, whipped crème fraîche and dark chocolate frosting. I also incorporated some marmalade to add a tart counterpoint to the rich chocolate. Just as with the decorations, add your own twist to the flavors with different spices or fillings. The possibilities are really endless, so once you’ve mastered the technique, you can look forward to create a new bûche de noël each holiday season.

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Bûche de Noël

Yield: 1 cake, serves 8

Cocoa Sponge

2 egg yolks

2 egg whites

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Confectioner’s sugar, as needed

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Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 16- by 12-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the yolks with ⅓ of the sugar. Whisk until the yolks are pale yellow.

Prepare a meringue with the egg whites and remaining sugar: In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and whip, on high speed, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the whipped egg yolks and fold gently to combine. Fold half of the meringue into the batter. Fold in the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the meringue.

Spread the cake batter evenly in the prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 5–7 minutes. The cake will be just dry in the center.

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Remove the cake from the oven and immediately remove it from the baking tray. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the hot cake. Carefully flip the cake over, so that the bottom of the cake is facing up. Gently peel the parchment paper off of the cake. With the long side of the cake in front of you, carefully roll the cake with the parchment paper away from you into a log shape. Allow the rolled cake to cool to room temperature. (If the edges of the cake are crispy and won’t roll, trim them off before rolling.)

Rich Chocolate Frosting

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons warm water

6 tablespoons butter (room temperature)

3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

6 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature

Stir the cocoa powder into the warm water to dissolve. With an electric or standing mixer, beat the butter with the confectioner’s sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the melted chocolate, followed by the cocoa mixture. If preparing the frosting ahead of time, store in the refrigerator until needed. When you are ready to use it, bring the frosting to room temperature and beat until smooth.

Whipped Crème Fraîche

If crème fraîche is not available or you desire another flavor, substitute in equal parts with yogurt, sour cream, ricotta or mascarpone.

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup crème fraîche

¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Either by hand or using a standing mixer, whisk together all ingredients until stiff peaks form. Keep cool.

Meringue Mushrooms

The meringues can be prepared up to 2 days in advance; store in an airtight container.

3 egg whites

¾ cup sugar

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

3½ tablespoons cornstarch

Melted chocolate, as needed

Preheat oven to 200°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch. In the bowl of a standing mixer, begin whisking the egg whites on medium speed. Once the egg whites are foaming, gradually add the sugar. Whip on high speed until the meringue forms stiff peaks.

Gently fold the cornstarch mixture into the meringue.

Place the meringue into a piping bag with a medium plain pastry tip. On 1 baking sheet, pipe the stems: pipe straight lines of various lengths, from 1 to 3 inches, making the end of each line a fine point (you will later use this point the attach the stem to the cap of the mushroom.)

On the other baking sheet, pipe the mushroom caps: pipe mounds of meringue ¼ inch thick in various diameters, from ½ to 1 inch wide. If you would like to create red caps, as pictured, set aside ⅓ of the meringue and color with powdered food coloring.

Place the piped meringues into the oven and bake until dry, approximately 2 hours.

To assemble the mushrooms, “drill” a hole into the bottom of each cap using the tip of a small paring knife. Dip the tip of a stem into melted chocolate and insert into the hole in the cap. Place on a plate and allow the chocolate to set before placing on the bûche.

The Assembly

Unroll the cake. Spread an even layer (about ¼ inch thick) of the whipped crème fraîche over the cake. Along the long edge of the cake, spread a line of marmalade or jam.

Carefully re-roll the cake, pushing it away from you, using the parchment paper underneath the cake to facilitate rolling the cake and filling into a roulade. Trim the ends of the roulade to create clean edges.

Spread the chocolate icing evenly over the cake, creating a rustic texture. If preparing the bûche ahead of time, store in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to serve the bûche, remove from the refrigerator and place the meringue mushrooms on top.

Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

 by AJ Dronkers, Associate Publisher EdibleDC

I was enjoying my weekly tradition of watching Whine About It video series - the topic this week, "The Worst Things About Fall".

Between laughing and listening to an internet rant about fake pumpkin favors a la Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, I realized I've seen far too many basic pumpkin recipes being spread across the internet. These pumpkin popups sometimes even just use pumpkin spice as a stand-in for the real thing, too many of these things are really just lazy cooking where brands pay online sites to gin up recipes so that they too can hop on the pumpkin spice train in the hope they go viral.

To restore my faith in cooking I reached out to our baking muse, Meredith Tomason, of RareSweets, and asked her for an inspired pumpkin recipe. What she gave me defied my expectations - mini pumpkin bundt cakes with bourbon cinnamon glaze. Also the spiced pumpkin seeds were a crunchy surprise and are now my go-to fall snack.

PumpkinBundt

Pumpkin Bundt Cake (enough for 4 mini bundts)

• 7 oz. butter
• 6.5 oz. sugar
• 6 oz. light brown sugar

Cream together in mixer with paddle attachment.

• 4 eggs
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Add and combine well to butter mixture.

11 oz. pumpkin puree

(We prefer to roast our own pumpkins to create the puree, but canned can work fine too.)

Add to mixture, it may look broken but it is fine. Just make sure the puree is evenly distributed

• 9 oz all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 oz buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together, and alternate adding to butter mixture with the buttermilk.

Preheat oven to 350, spray mini bundt pans and dust with flour. Pour batter evenly into each pan and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes, until cake springs back.

Let cakes cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on wire rack.

Bourbon Cinnamon Glaze

• 6 oz butter
• 6 oz confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbs bourbon
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 ½ Tbs milk

Melt butter, set aside until room temperature. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the butter, followed by the bourbon and milk. Whisk together and pour over bundt cakes while on a wire rack. Top with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds when set.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

• 2 cups pumpkin seeds
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tbs dark brown sugar
• 1 egg white

Set oven to 300.

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk into the egg whites. Add the pumpkin seeds, toss until well coated and spread evenly onto a silpat, baking mat or parchment paper.

Bake 5-7 minutes until dry and lightly golden.

*Can be stored up to 10 days in an air-tight container

Meredith Tomason is Pastry Chef and Founder of her bakery, Rare Sweets, located in DC's City Center. After stints at Tribeca Treats and Magnolia Bakery, she joined the pastry department of Craft Restaurant and ultimately became Pastry Chef of Craft Restaurant.