Wedding Girl (38 page)

You can also make this in muffin tins for attractive individual portions; if doing so, reduce the cooking time by about half and then start checking for doneness.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Adapted from the
New York Times

SERVES 6

Sophie's dad is a man of simple tastes and pleasures, and this classic chocolate pudding is nostalgia at its finest.

2¼ cups half-and-half, divided

6 tablespoons sugar, divided

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and still warm

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 4 pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring 2 cups of the half-and-half and 3 tablespoons of the sugar to a boil in a saucepan. While the half-and-half is heating, toss the cocoa, cornstarch, and salt into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend; turn the ingredients out onto a sheet of wax paper. Place the egg, egg yolks, and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in the work bowl and process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining ¼ cup half-and-half. Process for a few seconds. Return the dry ingredients to the bowl and pulse just until blended.

With the machine running, slowly pour in the hot half-and-half, processing to blend. The mixture will be foamy, but the bubbles will disappear when the pudding is cooked. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, for about 2 minutes, or until the pudding thickens. (The pudding should not boil.) Scrape the pudding into the processor, add the chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract, and pulse until they are evenly blended.

Pour the pudding into 6 4-ounce bowls or 1 large bowl. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve plain or topped with heavy cream, whipped or not.

FIG TARTS WITH PISTACHIO CREAM

MAKES 6 TARTS

Sophie helps Herman expand the bakery's offerings, and this tart is one new recipe he absolutely approves of! It's actually really easy to make, and a showstopper for dinner parties.

FOR THE PASTRY:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons ice water

FOR THE FILLING:

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

3 dozen small mission figs, stemmed and quartered

¼ cup honey

Blend all pastry ingredients except water in food processor and pulse to form coarse meal. Add in ice water until the dough comes together. Divide dough in half and wrap halves in plastic. Chill 1 hour. Divide each piece of dough into thirds and roll into rough 7-inch circles. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the filling: stir together flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of mixture onto dough rounds, leaving 1-inch border. Arrange fig pieces, cut-side up, in concentric circles. Fold in borders over figs. Transfer to greased baking sheets.

Bake until crust is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Drizzle honey over figs and bake 5 more minutes. Serve with pistachio cream.

PISTACHIO CREAM

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ cup pistachio paste (homemade or canned)

Whip the cream to soft peaks with the sugar. Then mix in the pistachio paste and taste for sweetness and flavor. It shouldn't be too sweet, but should have nice pistachio flavor. Add more pistachio paste or sugar to taste.

MILK BREAD

MAKES 6 ROLLS, 1 (9X5) LOAF, OR 12 SPLIT-TOP BUNS

This recipe is being reprinted gratefully with permission from Kindred Restaurant in Davidson, North Carolina. And while you should absolutely make it yourself, especially for holidays, if you ever find yourself in the greater Charlotte area, go eat at the restaurant. Because,
delicious
. It's no wonder that when Sophie needs to find the perfect thing to try to save Langer's, she calls Stephanie for this recipe.

5⅓ cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface

1 cup plus 1 teaspoon water

1 cup heavy cream

⅓ cup mild honey (such as wildflower or alfalfa)

3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder

2 tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

3 large eggs, divided

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces

nonstick vegetable oil spray

flaky sea salt (optional)

Cook ⅓ cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey, and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.

Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don't need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side by side in each muffin cup.

If making a loaf, lightly coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Nestle pieces side by side to create 2 rows down length of the pan.

If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 13 x 9-inch baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and
shape each into a 4-inch-long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.

Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25 to 35 minutes for rolls, 50 to 60 minutes for loaf, or 30 to 40 minutes for buns. If making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.

WALNUT CAKE WITH POPPY SEED FILLING AND HONEY-ROASTED APRICOTS

SERVES 12

For the cake competition, Sophie needs one of her tiers to nod to the history of the neighborhood. This moist walnut cake, with a bit of poppy seed filling and roasted apricot halves, pulls inspiration from Herman's classic rugelach fillings.

1 cup cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons canola oil

4 tablespoons maple syrup

½ cup milk

8 ounces walnuts, lightly toasted

8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1 vanilla bean

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned poppy seed filling

honey-roasted apricots (recipe follows)

vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the canola oil, maple syrup, and milk, and set aside.

Place the toasted walnuts in a food processor and grind until they are the size of bread crumbs. Be careful not to grind them into a paste!

Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them and the pod to the bowl of the stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the mixture on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Once all the eggs are added, beat for another minute. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low, and add the ground walnuts. Mix to combine.

With the mixer running on low, add ⅓ of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined and then add ½ of the milk mixture. Repeat with another ⅓ of the flour, then with the rest of the milk mixture, ending with the last of the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake until done, about 25 to 30 minutes. The baked surface
will spring back slightly when touched in the center, the sides will begin to contract from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely before removing from the pan.

To assemble, spread the poppy seed filling thinly over the bottom layer of the cake. Pipe a ½-inch ring of frosting around the edge of the cake, on top of the poppy seed. Place this in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes, so that the piped frosting is firm. You just want to be able to put the apricots in and top the cake without everything squirting out the sides.

Arrange enough apricot halves inside the ring of frosting to cover the poppy seed filling in one layer, and then put the top cake layer on. Frost the rest of the cake.

HONEY-ROASTED APRICOTS

1 pound fresh apricots, halved and pitted

1 tablespoon honey (warmed slightly so that it is liquid)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place apricots cut-side up on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with honey. Roast 30 minutes and let cool completely.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar, divided

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

½ cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla