Chocolate is Good for You (the Scientists Said So)

It seems like the evidence keeps stacking up for the health benefits of chocolate.  The latest is featured on NPR's food blog The Salt.  Research shows that modest amounts of chocolate daily correlate with a modest drop in blood pressure. 

"The new review on blood pressure included 20 studies varying in length from two to 18 weeks. Volunteers in the studies consumed dark chocolate or cocoa powder each day ranging from 3 to 100 grams (a regular sized 1.5 oz Hershey bar is about 43 grams). And the results? Overall, there were small reductions in blood pressure, averaging 2-3 mm Hg."

Hooray!  Sadly, consuming a major amount of chocolate does not seem to amplify the effect.  That's okay.  Moderation is good.  No, really.  I know, it's hard.  Say it with me: Moderation is good.

Minimalist.

Modest.

Perfectly moderate.  (Plus, my favorite number is 4.)

Yeah, not so much.

Another good thing is meditation.  As noted in the NPR story and elsewhere, it has an even better reputation for lowering blood pressure.

I've tried to meditate with minimal success.  The Literate Baker is not so good and calming and quieting her mind.  Perhaps I should put the two together.  Savoring chocolate with my eyes closed while taking slow deep breaths sounds entirely doable.  I'm going to go try it right now.

Keep it sweet.  Om. Pin It

Happy Birthday, Julia Child!

Julia Child would be 100 years old today.  Although she isn't with us any longer, her verve and her joie de vivre still are, as is her passion for making incredible food accessible to all.

I remember watching Julia as a child.  Way before Food Network, she lit up PBS with kitchen know-how and French dishes that seemed wonderfully exotic to a small-town girl.  She was fun and fearless, not to mention unabashedly tall.  I loved her.

The tributes to Julia are bountiful, but my favorite by far was featured on NPR's The Salt.  It's a mash-up.  With Guns N Roses.  Need I say more?

Watch Julia Child's 100th birthday on PBS. See more from WGBH Specials.

Do you have fond memories of Julia? 

Bon Appetit!


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Not Quite Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie

Sometimes, I forget about lemon meringue pie.  It's so old school, so unassuming.  A pie I've loved since childhood, but haven't made in at least ten years.  That changed a couple of weeks ago when I made good on an old promise to a dear friend.

Elizabeth and I worked together for nearly eight years.  We talked about everything from problem students to, well, very different sorts of problems.  We also talked about cooking and baking, and traded lots of secrets.  I learned that one of her most favorite desserts is lemon meringue pie and I promised to make her one.  That was years ago and, like so many things, I never got around to it.

And then... And then she and her husband decided to move.  To Atlanta.  When I went to her house to help her pack up the kitchen, I knew it was my last chance.

I consulted my main man Alton Brown and didn't change a thing.  I did use a refrigerated pie crust.  Judge me if you must.

Alton Brown's Lemon Meringue Pie

4 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 (9-inch) pre-baked pie shell
1 recipe Meringue, recipe follows

Directions

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Whisk egg yolks in medium size mixing bowl and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, water, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Turn heat on medium and, stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually, 1 whisk-full at a time, add hot mixture to egg yolks and stir until you have added at least half of the mixture.
4. Return egg mixture to saucepan, turn heat down to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and gently stir in butter, lemon juice, and zest until well combined. Pour mixture into pie shell and top with meringue while filling is still hot. Make sure meringue completely covers filling and that it goes right up to the edge of the crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is golden. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Make sure pie is cooled completely before slicing.

Meringue Topping:

4 egg whites
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.

Seriously didn't change a thing.  Alton is the man.  Thanks, Food Network.

Here are the visuals:

Stir the curd.

Fill the crust.

Whip the whites.

Dump the fluff.

Bake 'til brown.

 As you can see from the plastic plate, we got the kitchen packed before we tried a piece.  The pie was great, as was the conversation.  The office isn't the same, but the friendship will be.  And now I have a place to stay in Atlanta.  'Til then, EK...

Keep it sweet.  


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Literate Bakes Giveaway!

*UPDATE! Everybody wins!*

Can you judge a cupcake by its cover? Indeed you can.

Last week, my friend posted this picture on Facebook.  I've been obsessed with it ever since.

These adorable treats hail from Victoria's Kitchen in West London.  So clever.  So literary.  So perfect.  Turns out, a lot of her work is.  Check out her website, complete with a picture-perfect gallery.  You can also like her on Facebook to keep up with her latest creations.

So I can't get these sweet books out of my head.  What does that look like?  Like this...

1. Could they be any more Literate Baker?
2. Why didn't I think of that?
3. These are definitely going on the Much Ado About Cake menu.
4. Literate Baker readers would love these.
5. I should make some for practice and a photo op.
6. Literate Baker readers would love to have some of these.
7. Time for a give away!

So, dear readers, what books would you like to see in sugar form?  Let me know in the comment section below.  I'll pick two winners at random and send you I'll be a nut and send everyone who enters six little sugar books for your next batch of cupcakes!

Fine print: Entries must be submitted in the comments section of this post, including at least one book title, by 11 p.m. EST on Saturday, August 25th.  Winners must have a U.S. mailing address.  Winners must follow The Literate Baker on Google, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

I can't wait to see how you...

Read it sweet.


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Happy National S'more Day!

Did you know it's National S'more Day?  If you didn't, it's okay, because you do now.  Now what?  Now we celebrate.  How does one celebrate National S'more Day?

Follow The Literate Baker's 3 Easy Steps to Celebrate National S'more Day:

1.  Read up on S'mores and S'more Day celebrations, such as:

• Smoked Chocolate, For National S'More Day And More at NPR's The Salt blog (I have got to get me some of this.)
• The National S'more Day Facebook page
• CakeSpy's insanely delicious (I know because I made them) S'moreos

2.  Read the Literate Baker's takes one s'morey goodness:

S'more-gasbord

Double chocolate goodness.

  

Happy Pi Day

It's a s'more AND a pie!

3.  Make and eat at least one s'more.  I try to eat at least one s'more per week.  No lie.

4.  Share your favorite s'more version or memory (with me, in the comments section, so I can revel in more s'more love).

5.  Live happily ever after.  Or, at the very least...

Keep it sweet.


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It's Fro-Yo, Yo

This summer, I promised myself I'd play with my ice cream maker.  So far, so good.  This week, I raided the blueberry stash in the freezer and tried my hand at frozen yogurt.  Greek frozen yogurt.  Vanilla Greek frozen yogurt with blueberry swirl and graham crackers.

Sound familiar?  Perhaps you've seen it.  It is, after all, the hot new flavor from Ben & Jerry's.  Oh, yeah.

Ben & Jerry's awesomeness.

As the Literate Baker is wont to do, I trolled around for recipes, then cobbled together my own.  I wanted it to be healthy, but not tooooo healthy.  Blueberry-y, but not just blueberry-y.  Here's what I came up with:

Vanilla Blueberry Frozen Greek Yogurt with Graham Cracker Swirl

1 c. heavy cream
2/3 c. sugar
2 c. nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4. c. sugar
1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1. Heat cream and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved and cream is almost simmering.  Remove from heat.  Stir in yogurt and vanilla.  Refrigerate at least two hours.  
2. Meanwhile, combine blueberries and additional 1/4 cup sugar in another small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until berries pop and mixture boils.  Refrigerate.  
3. Freeze yogurt according to the directions of your ice cream machine.  When it is the consistency of soft serve, transfer to a freezer-safe bowl.  
4. Add blueberries and graham crackers, stirring very gently to swirl.  Enjoy soft or freeze until firm.

My awesomeness.

If you want to make this healthier, I'm thinking you could use a little more yogurt and a little less cream.  If you want to make this more indulgent, mix the graham cracker crumbs with sugar and butter a la graham cracker pie crust; bake loose.  (I'm going to try both.  I'll let you know how they are.)

As is, this stuff is amazing.  The awesome tang of yogurt, but still rich and creamy.  I'm a big fan of swirling the blueberry at the end.  It allows the vanilla to maintain its own identity or, as a foodie would say, its own flavor profile.  Hold onto your bowl folks, I think you'll be seeing a lot more frozen yogurt around these parts.  Even if it isn't baked, it's a delightful summer way to...

Keep it Sweet.


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Peach Cobbler Redux

Summer in a bowl.

One of my very fist blog posts was about peach cobbler.  It remains one of my favoritist summer treats.  When I walk into the produce department and I am treated to the aroma of fresh, ripe peaches, I know it is time.  That happened last week.  I bought them, I baked them, and the entire pan was gone in under 24 hours.  As it should be.

If you read that post, you'll recall that, for me, peach cobbler is unlike any other fruit cobbler or crisp or crumble.  I didn't include the recipe then, and I've had some requests for it.  Here you go:

Peach Cobbler

4 c. peeled and sliced fresh peaches (5-6 medium)
1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 stick (8 T) butter

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine peaches and 1/2 cup sugar.  Set aside.  Combine remaining cup of sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, combine milk and vanilla.  Add the wet to the dry and whisk to combine.

Place butter in a shallow 3-quart or 9x13 glass baking dish.  (Do not use a smaller dish.  The ingredients will fit, the final product will fit, but the bubbling half-baked goo will not.  It will leave you with a kitchen full of smoke and a heart full of regret.) Place in oven until butter is melted.

Carefully remove dish from oven and pour in batter.

Spoon peaches over batter. Do not be alarmed by how unappealing it looks.

Bake 60-70 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.

 
It's like magic.  Buttery, sweet, crispy-yet-soft-yet-gooey magic.  Magic that goes so well with vanilla bean ice cream.  Magic that you want to eat for breakfast.  Magic that you should eat for breakfast. (The leftovers warm nicely in the microwave.  It's better for you than a donut, right?)  Day or night, it will most definitely...

Keep it sweet.





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