RASPBERRY VODKA TRUFFLES from The Russian Tea Room Cookbook for National Vodka Day!

I lament the demise of the magical Russian Tea Room in New York City. I've posted before about this fun spot and their wonderful cookbook, but I thought I would revisit it for National Vodka Day!

I grew up in Philadelphia, and one of our favorite family outings was to take the train to New York. We'd visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MOMA or take in a matinee. Whatever we did, The Russian Tea Room was a 'must stop.' My memory: two little girls in white gloves in their Spring 'toppers' dining in the elegant tea room. Even then it was a bit of a throwback. The Russian Tea Room had the most wonderful exotic food, well at least to me as an inexperienced diner at that time. And the celebrities! You could always spot a famous actor or writer.

If you follow my blog, you know I collect cookbooks, many of which are theme cookbooks, but also cookbooks of famous places and restaurants. So here's a chocolate recipe from The Russian Tea Room Cookbook (by Faith Stewart-Gordon with Starla Smith; illustrations by Paul Cox) for Raspberry Vodka Truffles. Since there's vodka in the recipe, a disclaimer -- my sister and I never had them at the Russian Tea Room. We were too young. We usually had blinis... my favorites! But, since this is a Chocolate Blog, I thought I'd share this recipe. I've made them, and they're really fabulous.. and easy!

 

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CUSTARD: Caramel Custard Day!

Who says Caramel Custard can't be chocolate? Here's a great recipe from Williams Sonona for Chocolate Caramel Custard to celebrate Caramel Custard Day! Everything's better with Chocolate!

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL CUSTARD

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar 
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 cups milk 
• 4 eggs 
• 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder 
• 12 amaretti, finely crushed (about 3/4 cup) 
• 1 Tbsp rum 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 
  

• Directions

  Have ready an 8-inch round ceramic or glass baking dish. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup of the sugar and the water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. As soon as the sugar dissolves, stop stirring and wash down any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Continue to cook until the mixture boils and begins to turn brown around the edges, then gently swirl the pan over the heat until the syrup is an even golden brown. This will take about 5 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel into the reserved dish and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside; the caramel will cool and harden. 
  
  Position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. 
  
  In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat. 
  
  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining 1 cup sugar until blended. Stir in the cocoa, crushed amaretti, rum and vanilla until combined. Gradually pour in the hot milk while whisking constantly. 
  
  Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the caramel-lined dish. Place the dish in the center of a large shallow baking pan, and carefully pour very hot water into the pan to reach about halfway up the sides of the dish. 
  
  Bake the custard until the top is set but the center is still soft and jiggly when the dish is shaken, about 50 minutes. Carefully transfer the dish to a rack and let cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to overnight. 
  
  To serve, run a small knife around the inside edge of the dish. Invert a flat serving plate on top of the dish, and then invert them together. Lift off the dish and serve the custard immediately, cut into wedges. Serves 8. 
  
  Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Italian by Michele Scicolone (Oxmoor House, 2007).

 

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH: Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana starts tonight, so I'm posting this recipe for Chocolate Rugelach to usher in the Jewish New Year. I adore Rugelach, and I must admit, I usually buy them at the bakery, but sometimes you just want to make your own. Rugelach are made with a cream-cheese dough that is wrapped around a filling. Sometimes the filling is nuts or jam, but of course for me it's always chocolate!

This recipe for Chocolate Rugelach is adapted from Giora Shimoni on Kosherfood.com. She calls them Israeli Chocolate Rugelach, because she says Americans tend to fill their chocolate rugelach with mini-chocolate chips, while Israelis make their own filling. Since I always have chocolate around, I make my own filling. This is a go-to recipe. It's easy -- 25 minutes to make and 25 minutes to bake! Be sure to scroll down for Giora's tips on rugelach making. Even if you're not celebrating Rosh Hashana, you'll love these pastries for breakfast or brunch or with morning coffee. Yum!

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH 

DOUGH
7 ounces unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

CHOCOLATE FILLING
1 tablespoon DARK cocoa
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup grated bittersweet chocolate  (65-75% cacoa)
butter, melted

TOPPING
1 egg
1/8 cup sugar  (if you don't add cinnamon, use 1/4 cup sugar)
1/8 cup cinnamon (optional)

PREPARATION
In mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add flour and mix lightly. Refrigerate dough for an hour or more.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Divide  dough into four balls. On floured surface, using floured rolling pin, roll one ball out into circle until about 1/8 inch thick.
In small bowl, mix first four filling ingredients together (cocoa, cinnamon, sugar, grated chocolate). Spread some melted butter on the center of the circle. Sprinkle the chocolate mixture on top.
Cut pastry into pie-shaped wedges. For bite-size and nice looking rugelach, thick end of wedge should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inch wide.
Start at wide edge of wedge and roll dough up toward point.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place each pastry, seam side down, on  paper.
Brush each pastry with the egg and sugar/cinnamon.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
  
And here are some great tips from Gloria for making perfect rugelach

TIPS
1. Using too much filling leads to messy looking rugelach.
2. A pizza cutter makes it easier to cut the dough into pie-shaped wedges.
3. If you don't want to use parchment paper, you can spray the cookie sheets with non-stick spray.
4. After rolling dough up and placing on parchment paper, you can stick them in your freezer. When you need fresh rugelach, take them right from the freezer into the oven and add a few minutes to the baking time.

DIY PUMPKIN SPICE: National Pumpkin Spice Day

Today is Pumpkin Spice Day. Unless you've had your head in a basket for the past 10+ years, you'll have seen the proliferation of pumpkin spice in just about every food product! Since the Fall Baking Season seems to mean Pumpkin Spice,  we have a holiday to celebrate. Over the next month, I'll be posting several Pumpkin Spice baking recipes, but I thought I would post a recipe for DIY Pumpkin Spice. Here's an easy recipe from BuzzFeed. Remember to use fresh ground spices for the best results. If your spices have been in the pantry for over a year, it's time to toss them and buy new. FYI: Pumpkin Spice is sometimes called Pumpkin Pie Spice in recipes.

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

PUMPKIN SPICE CHOCOLATE CHIP QUICK BREAD

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BAKED IN A CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST