My sister Jen is arguably one of the best bakers in Dallas. I’m biased, but I’m also the boss of this blog so that ruling stands. We were really happy and excited when she agreed to do a guest post, mostly because we got to eat what she baked: S’mores Pie…

Some people claim that the first day of Summer is the “Summer Solstice,” a day in June with the longest period of daylight and shortest period of night. This year it’s June 21, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern H.? Who even knows. Regardless, this all sounds like a load of celestial frippery. Summer is clearly rolling hard by June 21. Right now kids are out of school, grills are being put to service, temperatures are almost hitting the 100s. It’s on!

To celebrate the (unofficial) beginning of the season, I recently made a wonderful desert that reworks one of the most treasured summer foods, s’mores, into a pie. Pie! I’m pretty sure most people have good memories associated with this classic camp-side staple. I personally remember many vacations to California when a day full of swimming and grilling at the beach would be topped off by several rounds of s’mores by the fire pit. Deeeelicious.

Unfortunately, the magic of s’mores seems to fade in any type of indoor setting. Like cotton candy from the grocery store or Project Runway on Lifetime, somethin’ ain’t right. Microwaves or those little gel flame burners just don’t cut it. I thought I would just wait, as usual, until the right outdoor event to enjoy some of the gooey marshmallow madness. But when my friend Deirdre sent me a link to this recipe, via the ever lovely Smitten Kitchen, I was jazzed! All the elements of a s’more but remixed, in a distinctively indoor-friendly creation.

I followed the recipe exactly (unusual for me!) and used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips for some quality chocolate action. The marshmallow topping is fun, I’ve made homemade marshmallows before so I knew the drill, but even if you haven’t it’s super easy. The whole process took a while because there are many steps where the pie needs to chill or rest or something, but everything was pretty simple. The result – ridiculous. Rich and creamy, the decadent chocolate layer balancing perfectly with the sweet and toasty (and slightly crispy – just like camp-side!) marshmallow top. The whole thing disappeared in a flash. Will definitely make again, any season, and I highly encourage you to do the same.

One note of caution: watch out when this thing is in the oven for the final broil. Like a marshmallow dangling over flame on its coat-hanger spit, this baby can get toasty very fast. In fact, I think using a torch would be advisable if you are nervous and want a little more control over the toastiness of the topping.

S’more Pie

(Adapted from Gourmet, November 2006)

[Alternately: Brown the topping with a creme brulee torch, or preferably a decent propane torch.]
Note: Pie (before browning topping) can be chilled up to 1 day.

This week the top ten American Idol finalists (including this season’s kinda dreamy winner, Lee Dewyze) performed in New York… inside of a giant pretzel M&M. 

Yeah. That’s right. One big corporate love fest wrapped in a polycarbonate candy shell. While I felt a little embarrassed for everyone involved, I joined the guilty party when I went out and actually bought the new M&M flavor. For $.89 I got some overly crunchy, dry pretzel chunks with not enough chocolate coating. I also got a reminder about the persuasive power of corporate shenanigans. After all, they wouldn’t do it unless it worked. And these M&Ms are going to need all the help they can get.
   

Hailing from Brooklyn, it’s the world’s prettiest bar of chocolate made by Mast Brothers Chocolate. Brothers Rick & Michael Mast personally handcraft the artisan chocolate in small batches using cacao sourced from family farms in Ecuador, Madagascar, and Venezuela. I bought my bar on a whim at Williams Sonoma, partly because I loved the packing so much. However, you can also purchase their chocolate online. My choice was Dark Chocolate + Fleur de Sel—a rich flavor with a the snap of a perfectly tempered chocolate. Almost equally as savory as it was sweet!

Bonus video of an interview with the Mast Brothers (who are pretty adorable):

Yesterday I read that the average pina colada has over 600 calories—and that’s a conservative estimate. So while I’m scratching that off the “Summer-Treats-Worth-The-Splurge” list, I’m adding a new one: Coconut M&Ms. They’ve been out for a while, but were limited in supply and a little tougher to find. Now I’m seeing them everywhere and decided to give them a try. No funky filling or white coconut center, just the classic milk chocolate M&M imbued with coconut. It’s a polarizing flavor; you either love or hate coconut. I’m a fan though, so these are a new favorite. It’s no pina colada, but I can eat half a bag for just over 100 calories. Refreshing!

Pro: Tastes like a slice of red velvet cake

Con: High-fructose corn syrup.

Pro: 100 calories.

Con: Aspartame

Pro: 0 g of fat.

Con: Non-organic dairy.

Pro: It is infinitely better & healthier than any of my other Friday-afternoon-at-work snack options.

Conclusion: Yoplait Light, you’re a winner!

If you want to dine at The Zodiac downtown, you’ll to have to wait until January rolls around to get a reservation. However, that doesn’t mean you have to rule out a lovely lunch at Neiman Marcus. Across the street there’s the NM Fashion Cafe, which definitely deserves your consideration next time you’re downtown.

I lunched there today with some friends before checking out the store’s windows as a sort of kickoff to the Christmas weekend. While my entree was tasty but unremarkable (Southwest Caesar Salad), what came before & after made lunch really delightful.

To start, the Queso Tortilla Soup is a must. Non-negotiable. If you like traditional tortilla soup, you’ll love this updated version. Instead of the classic red broth with chunks of chicken & veggies, this soup is a cheesy, velvety, yellow cream. Next time, skip the cup; I’m getting a bowl.

After the meal, my friend Eric & I split a slice of the Strawberry Dream Cake, which was so cute it inspired the picture above. Strawberry cake with fluffy white frosting… it was delicious. Half is all you need, because it’s really sweet.

Stop by the Fashion Cafe if you’re downtown for lunch or shopping at Neiman’s or just looking for some cake.

Word to the wise: Get there early. We lunched a little later in the afternoon & by that time they were out of the daily special, as well as the angus burger. How exclusive.

NM Fashion Cafe
1525 Commerce St. | Dallas, TX 75201
214.573.8250

Once upon a time there was a Celebrity Café in Las Colinas. It was pretty much ignored by me because on the three occasions I visited there, I was underwhelmed with a too-sweet cake, a dry cookie, and a sandwich that was just ok. Nothing there was bad per se, but nothing was worth coming back for.

Fast forward to a week ago when a friend at work, Matt, surprised us with cupcakes from a bakery called Outta the Oven. The cupcakes were delicious and Matt had really nice things to say about the ladies working there (and a certain panini he had for lunch).

The cupcake I had that day was delicious: banana (if you can believe that) with a cream cheese frosting. When I went to look up Outta the Oven, I found that the Celebrity Café I had forgotten about is now under a new name. The scoop is that this Celebrity Café franchise (along with another in Addison) has gone rogue, renamed itself, and is now working independently. I’m not sure exactly how different their menu is from what it used to be or if the recipes vary that much from what they were before. What I do know is that the almost magical banana cupcake made me give them another look. Yesterday on the last day of National Cupcake Week, I went back to try a German chocolate cupcake that was equally lovely. Nice cupcakes minutes away from my office and they’re only $2.25 a piece, which is a steal compared to Sprinkles. This could be a very bad thing…

Outta The Oven
7979 N. MacArthur Blvd., Ste. 130,
Las Colinas, 75063
972.869.0015

Tickle Me Pink – The Cupcakery’s signature flavor. It’s pink for cuteness, not because it’s strawberry, so don’t be misled. Vanilla buttercream frosting on either chocolate or vanilla cake. (I went chocolate.) It’s a straightforward cupcake, so I thought it’d be one of the best to really judge their merit. Delicious! Creamy frosting, moist cake, rich chocolate. It’s a killer cupcake.

Boston Dream – Take an awesome vanilla cupcake, fill it with a light Bavarian cream, and top it with ganache. Go straight to cupcake heaven. This one was my favorite.

Southern Belle – A classic red velvet. Nothing innovative about it, but that’s ok. I like the original version and this was a good execution of it.

Kir Royal – Sad times. This was the only unfortunate one in the group. Raspberry cupcake with champagne frosting. Sounds like a clever idea. Tastes like old alcohol and perfume. Couldn’t finish even my small tasting slice.

Damn I Forgot the Name – I wish I could remember the name of the cupcake. It was vanilla cake with tons of chocolate frosting and coconut on top. Amazing.

It might be a little too early to just let them runaway with the crown, but I have to say that The Cupcakery is my favorite cupcake in Dallas. Their frosting isn’t as sugary-gritty as Sprinkles and their cake isn’t as dry. They’re actually better priced ($3.00 a cupcake) and their flavors are really fun. If the little dish gave grades, they would get an A+, but since we don’t I’ll just say 5 stars.

The Cupcakery
2222 McKinney Ave. Suite 230
Dallas 75201
214.855.0003

Chocolate + Macha Green Tea = ?

After the first Vosges chocolate bar I reviewed generated such dubious responses, I thought it would be nice to pick one of their less-controversial flavors to try. I decided to go with the Macha Exotic Candy Bar because well, you’ve already seen that I like mixing tea with all kinds of things. According to its official description, “grassy and bamboo undertones of Japanese macha green tea gently rise around deep milk chocolate.”

On the plus side, the milk chocolate (41% cacao) was delicious—very smooth, aromatic, and rich. I am definitely more of a dark chocolate kind of girl, however this milk chocolate was perfect for me because it wasn’t too sweet. On the negative side, where is the macha?!? They weren’t joking when they said the flavor “gently” rises to the chocolate. The green tea was very subtle, elegantly present, but very, very faint. It left me wanting more! Now I know that sometimes it’s a good thing to leave someone wanting more. However, in this case my longing turned to a slight feeling of disappointment. It’s a lovely bar of chocolate, but sadly there wasn’t enough of what could have really set it apart.

Price: $7.50

Vosges Haut Chocolate

I’m just not a big fan of the cake. I do enjoy the cupcake, probably because it’s so compact and efficient in delivering its deliciousness. I also enjoy ice cream cakes too, but when presented with the options for desert, cake just doesn’t sit very high on my priority list. Despite all this, there are a few kinds of cake I do like. Lemon or Chocolate would probably be my birthday choices. Who doesn’t love a big glass of ice cold milk and a rich, dense slice of chocolate cake–maybe with a little fudge drizzled all over for good measure? Right? So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I like certain cakes, but they aren’t really my go-to desert.

Well, the other day while I was talking about how much I loved pineapples, I started thinking about cake and how perfect a fusion of pineapple and cake would be. I had known there was such a thing as pineapple upside-down cake, but had never tried it due to all the maraschino cherries they usually contain. Intrigued by the idea anyway, we decided to put one together because I had a feeling this could quite possibly be my favorite cake ever. So we set out on the interweb to find an appropriate recipe to try.

We decided to replicate the recipe from one of our favorite food sites, Smitten Kitchen. The site is fantastic and was actually a big inspiration for our own beginnings. So we gathered the ingredients and dove right in.

From the pictures on SK, I immediately knew this cake was a winner. Who can resist a warm, thick layer of caramel? I know I can’t. The cake is a cinch to make too. A simple cake batter is mixed up (it definitely helps if you have a nice spacious mixer). Then you heat up a little brown sugar and butter caramel topping. Finally, you butter a pan and place some pineapples in the pattern of your choice neatly into its bottom. There’s really nothing to it. It’s simple and it’s perfect.

After all is said and done, the cake should look something like this. Let me tell you, my inclination was so right. This is my favorite cake of not only the moment, but most likely the next few years to come. The beauty is that the cake layer is pretty small and all that beautiful brown sugar melts into the top of cake and fuses with the pineapple juice, creating the perfect flavor. Definitely try this. It’s so simple, yet so delicious. A little dish recommended plate. Also go thank Smitten Kitchen too while you are at it.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Borrowed from Smitten Kitchen and adapted from Gourmet, February 2000

The original recipe for this cake had three teaspoons of cardamom in it, alternately loved and loathed by recipe reviewers. Having no interest in a chai-flavored cake, I took it out and was left with the most flawless and easy go-to upside down cake, something I look forward to making every summer.

Cake may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.