ZoëBakes | eat dessert first | eat dessert first

Cherry Semifreddo

April 22, 2019 zoe Leave a comment

The inspiration of a Cherry Semifreddo goes like this…I recently spent time in New York City and had the great fortune of meeting some of the wonderful people I otherwise only knew on social media. It still seems incredible to me that I can befriend people online, while working alone in my midwestern kitchen. These folks have been my inspiration, my support and my friends. However, it is even better to spend time with friends in person and that’s just what I did. One of the events I attended in NY gathered several of these folks and I had the opportunity to meet so many more, including Hetty Mckinnon, who writes about family, gatherings and delicious food. It just so happened that her newest book, FAMILY, was about to launch and she invited me to an intimate gathering at her Brooklyn photo studio to celebrate. Her food was EXACTLY how I choose to eat! Although I am not vegetarian, I go for clean, bright, bold flavors, in simple, but exciting preparation that don’t take me all day to make. Since I am baking all day and don’t often have time to cook. At her party she made an olive oil cake that blew my mind, which is in the book and I’d buy a copy just for that recipe.

I made this cherry semifreddo based on her recipe, because I LOVE a semifreddo and it is one of those under appreciated desserts and because we met at the Cherry Bombe Jubilee, so it just felt fitting to celebrate that with a special treat. A semifreddo is a cross between ice cream and mousse, but doesn’t require any special equipment to prepare. The texture is smooth and luxurious when allowed to sit at room temperature until it just on the verge of melting, but still partially cold, hence the name.

You can watch me make this semifreddo in my instagram video, recipe below.

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Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake

April 7, 2019April 11, 2019 zoe Leave a comment

I purposely waited until after April 1st to post this little Disco Party of a Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake, because I didn’t think you’d take it seriously enough. It’s very serious! 😉 The recipe comes from one of the most celebrated pastry chefs of our time, Christina Tosi. Her new Milk Bar book, all about cake, is full of playful, but delicious cakes. This molten chocolate microwave mug cake is in the same chapter as crock-pot cakes and there are 50 pages dedicated to cake pops, sans the stick.

Cake truffles are a catering trick we used to do in professional kitchens to use up the cake scraps and make truffles that were quick and delicious. Christina has lots of fun flavors. I generally go for a recipe in a new book that introduces a technique I’ve not tried before, so baking in a microwave seemed like a good challenge. I was late to buying a microwave, but my boys begged me for it. Now, I am the only one in the house that uses it, mostly to melt butter, but that keeps it pretty busy. Well, as you’ll see from my instagram video, I mastered it.

It’s a cheeky recipe, but I promise, it is one of those cakes you’ll rely on when you need to indulge at midnight. Just you, Donna Summer and a crazy satisfying mug of chocolate cake. I added Caramel-Peanut ice cream to the top, because who eats chocolate cake at midnight without ice cream? Watch me make this cake and disco my hair in my instagram video.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake

March 31, 2019April 11, 2019 zoe 1 Comment

Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake | ZoëBakes photo by Zoë François

This Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake was a happy mistake. You know how they say you learn from your failures? Well, I was going for a tourteau fromage and it went wrong in a big way.

I wanted to make the classic French cheesecake that is baked in a rounded pan, is lightened with whipped egg whites and has a top crust that is burnt, black as night, and is domed. Mine came out a lovely caramel color and sank like a bowl. So, instead of feeling defeated, I used it as a bowl. I was going to just make a traditional strawberry New York cheesecake topping, but it’s almost spring and the rhubarb is popping up all over instagram, so I added a rhubarb fool as well. What started out as a mistake turned into a family favorite. There was lots of joy and praise leveled at this delicious weeble of a dessert.

The tourteau fromage I was trying for is made with a young goat cheese, but my family preferred the version I made with a combination of cream cheese and mascarpone. I figured since I’d failed at the traditional one, it wouldn’t matter if I really took it off the rails and just developed my very own thing. It has a subtle flavor that is the perfect vessel for the tart fool and sweet strawberries.

The rhubarb fool is nothing more than roasted rhubarb folded into barely sweetened whipped cream. This simple preparation of the fruit (we all know rhubarb is a vegetable that passes as a fruit) is very British and there are many ways to make a fool, but this is the simplest and most fool proof. Oh, come on, you knew that pun was coming. The strawberry sauce is just the berries, a bit of sugar and a touch of starch to hold the juices together.

I decorated it to look like a jester’s hat, because the whole fool theme. Actually, I realized what I had done after I took the photo, it was just a happy accident.

Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake | ZoëBakes photo by Zoë François

You can watch me make this Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake in my instagram video and the recipe is below.

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Simple Chocolate Cake

March 24, 2019March 27, 2019 zoe 7 Comments

Oh, you know me, I love a flourish. Sometimes it’s a rose crown on a bundt cake or a ruffle of gossamer apples topping a tart or maybe, just maybe a crazy swirl of toasted meringue on anything! But, sometimes simple is best. A summer snack at the lake, a slice of cake in a lunchbox or a midnight treat with a glass of milk. Those are the cakes we’ll make at the last minute, after a long day of work, just because we want a treat and cake makes everything good. Odette Williams wrote Simple Cake, a book about those cakes; the simple ones that are pure joy. Her book is filled with lots of delicious cakes and simple toppings that are great for a special occasion, but just as good if nothing in particular is going on. This simple chocolate cake is elegant and warm and makes me want to eat all the cake.

I baked Odette’s Simple Chocolate Cake in a pullman pan, because I like the clean shape of the slices. I combined two of the whipped cream flavors she suggested for the cake to create a Vietnamese coffee cream, which was just the right balance of sweet and bitter. I went at the cake with a giant star tipped piping bag and then backed away and realized it needed something quiet and sleek. I just spread the whipped cream over the cake and smoothed the edges. I’m in love with this cake, it calms me. The dusting of cocoa was for drama (I just can’t help myself) and more contrast of flavor.

I’m very excited about this book and Odette has generously partnered with me to do a GIVEAWAY of Simple Cake. You will find the giveaway details on my instagram post. Recipe below. (more…)

Chocolate Macarons

March 22, 2019March 25, 2019 zoe 4 Comments

These chocolate macarons are bit of a contradiction. They are both light, as a macaron should be and fudge-y, like a brownie. The chocolate macaron shells are made with cocoa powder and then they’re filled with a chocolate ganache, so they’re super deep chocolate fantastic flavor. The technique is the same as my other macaron recipe, so you can follow those instructions and watch my the instagram video, but the baking times can be a bit tricky, so see my suggestions for baking in the recipe. I like to finish the macarons with a dusting of really nice cocoa powder, for both the velvety look and the extra intense chocolate hit.

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Funfetti Birthday Cake with Chocolate Feathers

March 17, 2019March 17, 2019 zoe 201 Comments

Last week my youngest son turned 18. It hit me that he’s a man and about to head out into the world to make his mark. I am so excited for him and looking forward to watching him and his brother become their own men, but it’s a touch bittersweet to watch them take off into the world. This birthday will be marked by several cakes and desserts, as we do around here. For his actual birthday, I was traveling and left him a flan, a long time favorite birthday request. The next day, when I returned from my trip I was met by the latest Bake From Scratch cookbook and immediately flipped to the Birthday Cake chapter. Sometimes we just want the classics, and there is nothing better than a really good white cake with vanilla buttercream. It’s probably the most popular cake combination, for good reason. I am perhaps the last baker on the internet to make a Funfetti Birthday Cake, but this occasion called for a bit of celebratory color!! I simply added sprinkles to the Bake From Scratch White Cake.

In the spirit of my son’s birthday, I have partnered with Brian Hart Hoffman and the excellent folks at Hoffman Publishing to Give Away a Copy of the Bake from Scratch (Vol 3): Artisan Recipes for the Home Baker cookbook, just leave a comment below about your perfect birthday cake. You can DOUBLE YOUR CHANCES TO WIN, by heading to my instagram page and signing up there too! Oh, and I have a few holiday cookie recipes in this cookbook, so I hope you’ll bake those as well!

People ask me where I find inspiration and the truth is, EVERYWHERE! The decorations for this funfetti birthday cake were inspired by a Netflix special and a place card. I was watching a documentary about the fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, and I told my husband his dresses would make incredible cakes, especially a dress covered in feathers that already looked like a cake. The place cards from my friends at The Punctilious Mr. P’s Place Card Company arrived and they were pictures of gorgeous birds that looked like cake toppers. It wasn’t inspiration as much as fate! The feathers are easy to make with white chocolate, which you can watch me make in my instagram video. Funfetti Birthday Cake recipe and chance to win the book are below! (more…)