dessert

Promenade Artisan Foods

Trenton, Michigan is a great town along the Detroit River with historic charm and a thriving trendy vibe. It contains downriver Detroit’s best kept secret of Elizabeth Park (unless you’ve been to Jazz on the River or had your wedding pictures taken over the bridge). It also just happens to be the home of the cutest café to ever open in southeast Michigan, Promenade Artisan Foods. If you are from the area you might have sampled their cookies, brownies, and pies etc., carried by many local markets, or maybe even placed a personal order yourself for a pie during the holidays. Of course, now if you are in the area you can visit the coffee shop/café/dessert place in person!

 

IMG_5891

 

IMG_5861

Promenade Artisan Foods is celebrating their Grand Opening to the public this week! The owners Jonathan and Chelsie Brymer are a husband and wife team that have a love of family and passion for serving their community. They put that same love and care into every baked good they make from scratch and cup of coffee they pour -over (that’s a coffee joke). And speaking of coffee you are certain to enjoy another Michigan favorite as they are serving Chazzano Coffee of Ferndale to ensure you get excellence.

IMG_5864

I have had the pleasure of sampling a few of their menu items and delicious creations. The strawberry tartine is a lovely light treat, an open-face style multigrain toast with a Mascarpone cheese, fresh strawberry slices and a drizzle of a balsamic reduction- really fantastic. Of course the kids loved the chocolate chip cookies, and a Nutella “pop tart” inspired pastry. But the biggest surprise was an Espresso Soaked Amaretti topped with pistachios, uh, genius! I think we should all have one every night after dinner.

IMG_5887

Also in all seriousness, don’t leave without a slice of tomato, feta, and bacon quiche. Because even if you’ve filled up on pastries and don’t have room for it when you are there, you are going to be so happy to warm it up for yourself for breakfast the next day. (And I know this to be true from experience.) For more information, store hours, and to see their seasonal offerings visit the Promenade Artisan Foods Facebook Page.

IMG_5857

Thank you Jonathan and Chelsie for sharing your culinary gifts and love of life with the metro Detroit area… And God bless you and your family with your new endeavor!

Love,

Sadie’s Nest

The Richmond Avenue’s Black Bean Brownies

I love how Jasmine at The Richmond Avenue can take something that usually holds very little nutritional value and turn it into health food. (That’s what I call it, with complete justification.) In this case incorporating the black beans added protein and fiber. I can honestly say the brownies were moist and tasted like chocolate. So much so that my chocolate lover approved of them, and I felt guilt-free saying he could have them for an after school snack.

As organic as possible (from me as usual)

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp instant coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup coconut or olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips
Optional toppings: Chocolate Chips, Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients (except for toppings and chocolate chips) in a food processor and blend until smooth. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

*Jasmine left this “1/4” chocolate chips up to personal interpretation and some might have opted for a 1/4 cup, but I knew it meant a 1/4 of the bag 😉

*As you can see I used walnuts on half, for the non-nut loving members of my family

Banoffee Pie

I love trying new things. Especially when they turn out to be awesome! Banoffee Pie, short for Banana-Toffee Pie, is a recipe that caught my attention a while back for my must try list. I mean come on, what’s not to like, right? Then along came Lina of Lin’s Recipes. She hosts recipe challenges for bloggers who’d like to participate in creating a themed list of dishes. This time around it was for “Cakes we have to try this Feb,” a collection of unusually named cakes/desserts that she gathered. Well, that struck a chord with me too. (The combined excitement was almost too much to contain.) This pie is sweet and creamy, luscious with an almost candy like crust. And if I may suggest: you should put this on your list.

As found in PIES delicious recipes for perfect pies:

Serves 4

Filling

generous 3 1/2 cups canned sweetened condensed milk (I used 2 – 14 oz cans)

4 ripe bananas

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream, whipped

2 3/4 oz/75 g semisweet chocolate, grated

 

Cookie Crust

3 oz/85 g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

5 1/2 oz/150 g graham crackers, crushed into crumbs

scant 1/3 cup shelled almonds, toasted and ground

scant 1/3 cup shelled hazelnuts, toasted and ground

Place the unopened cans of milk in a large pan and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 2 hours, topping up the water level to keep the cans covered. Carefully lift out the hot cans from the pan and let cool.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9 inch/23-cm tart pan with butter. Place the remaining butter in a bowl and add the crushed graham crackers and ground nuts. Mix together well, then press the mixture evenly into the base and side of the tart pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool.

Peel and slice the bananas and place in a bowl. Squeeze over the juice from the lemon, add the vanilla extract, and mix together. Spread the banana mixture over the cookie crust in the pan, then spoon the contents of the cooled cans of condensed milk over the bananas. Sprinkle over 1 3/4 oz/50 g of the chocolate then top with a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle over the remaining grated chocolate and serve the pie at room temperature.

 

A Valentine’s Day Gift – Almost Nigella Lawson’s Everyday Brownies

It’s Valentine’s Day! Which is practically synonymous with chocolate and love. And I can’t think of a better way to highlight both than to make a batch of homemade brownies. As Nigella says in her book, “It’s not as if I were short of a brownie recipe or two.” I understand that the brownie (chocolatey, gooey, warm…) is highly subjective to personal taste. But I’m going to come right out and say it: This is the best from scratch brownie I’ve ever had.

Makes 16

1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbsp) unsalted Butter

1 3/4 cups (packed) light Brown Sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa powder, sifted

1 cup all-purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

4 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar, to dust (optional)

1 x aluminum foil-lined baking pan approx 13x9x2 (I used parchment paper)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a medium-sized saucepan.

When it’s melted, add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon (still over a low heat) to help it blend with the melted butter.

Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt, and then stir into the pan; when mixed (this will be a very dry mixture, and not wholly blended at this stage), remove from the heat.

In a bowl or pitcher, whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract and then mix into the brownie mixture in the pan.

Quickly pour and scrape mixture into a foil-lined baking pan or disposable foil pan, spreading the mixture with a spatula, and cook in the preheated oven for approx. 20-25 minutes. It will look set, dark and dry on top, but when you feel the surface, you will sense it is still wibbly underneath and a cake tester will come out gungy. This is desirable.

Transfer the pan to a rack to cool a little before cutting into 16 pieces and dusting with confectioner’s sugar. I love these gorgeously warm. But then again, I love them cold, too. Actually, when cold they are properly speaking more brownie-like; gooily tender within and chewy on top.

I agree with Nigella completely about the texture… mine were perfectly done in 20 minutes. If you’d like, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter before dusting with powdered sugar and serving. Have a great day full of love (and chocolate)!

img_0194

Sadie’s Fruitcake

I can’t tell you why fruitcake gets a bad rap. Maybe I haven’t eaten a bad one. I can tell you that I could eat this one every day. I’m really proud of it. A blogger friend of mine, Natascha of Natascha’s Palace, made a fruitcake challenge and I accepted. I’ve tweaked this cake to perfection, if I do say so myself. It’s a little sugar, spice and everything nice (with less emphasis on spice or heavy on the everything). This fruitcake is dense and moist and outright delicious. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

As organic as possible:

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/3 cup chopped dates, pitted

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10 cup tube or angel food pan. (Do yourself a favor and do not choose a decorative bundt cake pan, trust me on this one.) Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a large a bowl. Gently toss the pecans and walnuts in the flour mixture. Next add the dates. I like to toss these carefully (a few at a time) in the flour nut mixture because they are the stickiest. Once the chopped dates are coated with the flour mixture, add the cherries, cranberries, regular and golden raisins, and coconut. Gently toss until all fruit is lightly coated with flour mixture.

In a separate bowl or in a stand mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and beat with the butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add vanilla, almond extract and lemon juice. Mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, a scoop full at a time to creamed butter mixture, until all is combined. (I like to mix this part by hand, to not over-mix.) The batter will be very thick (like the consistency of  a thick drop cookie). Spoon the batter in the prepared pan, and gently even out the top with the back of the spoon or spatula.

Bake the cake for 1 1/2  hours. Remove cake from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes. Using a knife, loosen the edges of the cake and place onto cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

 

Chorizo & Thyme’s Quick Chocolate Bundt Cake

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate chocolate on some level. Some of us appreciate it more than others. I’ve really learned the importance of a good piece of chocolate. If laughter is the best medicine, chocolate has to be the next best thing. My friend Roberta of Chorizo & Thyme has come up with a lovely and quick chocolate cake recipe. It’s just right for a delightful indulgence… with a little more to share.

Now because my friend Roberta lives across the pond on the island of Malta, her measurements are in grams. I felt quite precise getting out my scale (thank you Owen, for my gift several years ago now). I will tell you that preheating the oven to 355° is about right in translation. Because the cake called for natural “yoghurt” I think it’s considered health food, and I really think it helped keep the cake moist. Lastly, the only addition I would make is a pinch of salt, but that’s how I like it. I’ll leave that up to you. Okay, for one more addition, I wish Roberta were here to share a slice over some coffee.

As originally posted at Chorizo & Thyme

For the cake:

250g caster sugar
215g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
85g good quality cocoa powder
60ml vegetable oil
185g natural yoghurt
170ml water
2 large eggs
For the chocolate topping:

100g dark chocolate
small knob of butter
Preheat the oven to 180°C and brush a deep bundt tin or ring tin with melted butter or flavourless oil.

Put all the ingredients for the cake in a food processor or mixer, or in a simple mixing bowl and mix until all the ingredients are just combined.

Pour the cake batter into your greased cake tin and bake for around 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted somewhere near the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. Remove from the tin onto a cake stand or serving plate.

In the meantime melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmer water, adding a knob of butter for extra shine. When completely melted, remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.

Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and you’re done.

Enjoy!

Thanks again Roberta for sharing this quick cake recipe. We really enjoyed it, and I loved sharing it with my guests!

Crockpot Toffee Nut Clusters

When I think about what I like in a candy, it usually involves chocolate and nuts, chewy and crunchy, sweet and salty. I also really love toffee. Lucky for me there is really not much I don’t like. And even luckier for me, these little clusters of goodness have it all! Recently I shared with you about my cousin Charlotte. Thankfully she shared this recipe with me! It really couldn’t get much easier either. It makes a lot of these chocolatey and nutty packages, so it’s great for giving as gifts or sharing at the office. And not to worry, if there are still leftovers… they freeze well too. Enjoy!

2 small jars (16 oz each) dry roasted peanuts (1 salted, 1 unsalted)

3 lbs or blocks of white almond bark, vanilla Candiquick or vanilla candy coating, chopped into small pieces

1/2 lb Bakers semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces

1 bag Heath chips

1 bag Milk chocolate chips

1 bag Semi sweet chocolate chips

*Also a full size crockpot, a sturdy spoon and a strong arm 😉

Put everything in the crockpot on low. Stir often. When all is melted and no more dashes of white or dark spots of chocolate can be seen (about an hour), spoon in globs on wax or parchment paper until it hardens (a couple more hours).

image

And you get to feel like a chocolatier, so that’s cool.

It makes a vat full, so be prepared to share or freeze the clusters and bring them out in batches. They will last a few months in the freezer.

Sweet Potato Pie

I love this simplicity of this dessert. Ok, I love the simplicity and the taste. It’s like an anytime pie, but it’s seasonal so it’s unique. And not to toot my own horn, but I really think I’ve cracked the code on graham cracker crusts. The word candy comes to mind. (I really shouldn’t write blog posts when I’ve had so little sleep… However, my soon to be one year old has yet to sleep through the night. So I’m surprised I have any posts at all.) The original recipe has been adapted from one by Tyler Florence; which is to say, that in spite of exhaustion, the recipe is solid. 😉

As organic as possible:

Filling:

2 Sweet potatoes (orange)

1/2 cup Brown sugar

2 Eggs, lightly beaten.

3 tsp Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

Crust:

9 whole sheets Graham crackers

1/2 cup Cinnamon Crunch cereal (I like Cascadian Farms)

1 stick Butter

1/4 cup Brown sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

 

Preheat oven to 375°. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes, pierce all over with a fork and double wrap (2 times) with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour.

For the crust: Crush graham crackers and cereal in a sealed plastic bag with a rolling pin. (At least thats how I do it, you can turn them into crumbs any way you”d like. I like them to have some texture for this recipe.) By the way, I just have to tell you that the little bit of crunchy cinnamon-sugary cereal does a really great thing for the world of graham crackers. You are going to be happy. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add crumbs, salt and sugar. Stir until all is coated. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of crumb mixture (optional for topping). Press evenly and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate.

When potatoes come out of the oven, turn heat down to 350° and bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside. Turn oven back up to 375°.

For the filling: Carefully (using a towel or something to hold the potatoes, because they will be very hot!) slice the skin of the sweet potato and scoop out the insides into a bowl. (Discard the skins.) If the insides are tender enough, mash with a fork. If necessary use a masher, until they are soft and pliable. Stir in 1/2 cup of brown sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon and salt. (Tyler Florence adds a pinch of nutmeg too, but I don’t prefer it here because it ends up tasting more like a pumpkin pie to me. However, I will leave that up to your discretion.) Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, top with remaining crust mixture and bake 15 to 20 minutes more (until crust is browned).

Then enjoy your life because sweet potato pie is delicious.

 

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I really wish I could take credit for this recipe. I’ve been making it for so many years that it feels like mine. I mean when you’ve had something be a part of your holiday traditions longer than your children, that’s got to be something. And as often as I like to put my own twist on things, this recipe remains untouched – because it’s perfect every time, just the way it is. It’s creamy and luscious and sweet and seasonal with the pumpkin… so without further ado: From Better Homes and Gardens’ Test Kitchen Favorites:

As organic as possible: (ok, there’s my twist)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 20 squares)

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melter

2 – 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup half-and-half or light cream

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 – 8 oz carton dairy sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

  1. For crust, combine crumbs, the 1/3 cup sugar, and melter butter. Press onto bottom and about 2 inches up sides of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake in a 325°F oven for 5 minutes; set aside.
  2. For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, half-and-half, pumpkin, the 3/4 cup sugar, flour, the 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, beating on low speed just until combined.
  3. Spoon filling into crust-lined pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 325°F oven for 1 hour or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken.
  4. Combine the sour cream, the 2 tablespoons sugar, and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; spread over cheesecake. Bake 5 minutes more.
  5. Cool in springform pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan with a thin-bladed knife or narrow spatula and cool 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool 1 hour. Cover and chill at least 4 hours up to 24 hours. Makes 16 servings.

To store cheese cake: Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Or seal a whole cheesecake or individual pieces in a freezer bag, in an airtight container, or wrapped in heavy foil. Freeze a whole cheesecake for up to a month and pieces for up to 2 weeks. To serve, loosen the covering slightly. Thaw a whole cheesecake in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Thaw individual pieces at room temperature 30 minutes.

You’re welcome! Have a great weekend!

Mom’s Apple Pie

When I was in Dublin, Ireland there was one place I wanted to go. Ok like two. I wanted to see the world renown Guinness Brewery and Queen of Tarts. When we made it to the latter the line was outside the door. The place was full of satisfied customers and I wanted to be one of them! They sold several different pastries, but like Owen says “You don’t go to a pie shop and order a cake.” So we ordered a berry tart. It was perfect. It had a good flaky crust, an awesome crumble topping and a flawless sweet fruity center. It was love at first bite and immediately I said “this is just like mom’s apple pie.” (Except the obvious fruit difference).

As organic as possible:

5 large or 7 medium Granny Smith apples

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon

3 Tbsp Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

1 pie crust (I like Martha Stewart paté brisée)

Crumble Topping:

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Flour

1 stick cold salted Butter, cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 375°. Put the unbaked pie crust in a pie dish and pinch the edges. Set aside. Peel and cut apples into fork full size pieces. Toss apples in sugar and cinnamon and let sit. In the mean time make crumble topping.

To make crumble topping; whisk together sugar and flour, add butter cubes. You must use two butter knives and cross-cut butter into flour/sugar mixture until butter is in pea size pieces. (Do not over cut, because pockets of butter are essential.) Set aside.

Side note: I did not follow the rules this time, and used a pastry cutter, and my pieces were not light and fluffy and my top crumble (pictured) was more of a solid piece and not my mother’s usual look or texture. So don’t be a renegade like me; follow the instructions for a perfect pie.

Back to the pie: Add flour and salt to apple mixture, gently toss. Pour filling into prepared pie dish. Now lovingly spoon crumble topping over apples, making sure all are covered and butter pieces are evenly distributed. Once you run out of visible butter pieces you can leave behind the extra flour (maybe a 1/2 to whole tablespoon full). Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until golden brown.