Sharlotka

This Russian apple "pie" is so simple in its ingredients (and assembly), that it allows the main ingredient of apples to be the deliciously sweet and tart show stopper. There is no butter in this recipe, and the batter is whipped to be super fluffy so that when baked, it becomes a cake with a light and crispy exterior (almost meringue-like), and a soft and spongy filling with tons of apples floating within it.

Sharlotka
Ingredients
Butter or nonstick spray, for greasing pan
6 granny smith apples
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground cinnamon, to finish
Powdered sugar, to finish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9" springform pan (you may also line the bottom with parchment to be extra careful). Peel, core, and halve apples. Lay each half flat and cut into quarters. Turn quarters 90 degrees and cut 1/4 slices. Whip eggs and sugar on high in stand mixer with whisk attachment until super aerated (about 3-5 mins) and until batter is able to hold ribbons on itself. Add cinnamon and vanilla and whisk until incorporated. Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in salt and flour by hand until just combined. Toss all the apples in and fold to evenly coat. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for about an hour, or until top is golden and skewer comes out clean. Sprinkle with cinnamon and allow to cool in pan on cooling rack. Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar.

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

Sparkle Donuts

I fried up some mini donuts and dipped them in a vanilla glaze for a party at our place last night...and a party obviously calls for sparkle sprinkles!

Sparkle Donuts
Ingredients
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
A few gratings of nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions
Proof yeast in warm water. Warm shortening in warmed milk. Whisk sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour together in bowl of stand mixer. Pour eggs, milk, and yeast into dry ingredients and mix with dough hook for about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer, cover with saran wrap, and place in warm place to let the dough proof (to double in size) for 45 minutes to 1 hour (I like to preheat the oven and place the bowl on stove top). Begin heating oil to 365-370F. Also, cover sheet pans with parchment and heavily flour. Once the dough has risen, heavily flour a work surface and scrape all the dough out. Roll the dough out until it's about an inch thick. Cut your donuts in any shape and size you'd like, place on floured sheet trays, and allow to proof for another 10-15 minutes, or until dough bounces back to the touch. Drop a few donuts into the oil at a time and fry for about 45 seconds to a minute on each size, ensuring a strong golden color. Place hot donuts on cooling racks on top of sheet pans. Once fully cool, dip in glaze and decorate!

Glaze
Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Directions
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding more milk if too thick.

Adapted from: All Recipes

Teeny Tiny Apple Pies

These are ADORABLE, fun to make, and absolutely delicious! As to not confuse you, that is indeed a teeny tiny rolling pin in the picture above.

The apple disc in the center is heavily coated with winter spices which packs just the right amount of punch and is perfectly offset by the buttery and flaky pie crust it's encased in.

I sent Doug off to work with a couple of these this morning, as they are just perfect with a cup of coffee. The best thing about these, though, is the fact that you can make a ton, freeze them, and then bake them off as needed (which happens to be every day). The only thing you need to do before baking is a quick egg wash and demerara sugar sprinkle coating if you'd like. Freshly baked baby pies in 25 minutes!


Teeny Tiny Apple Pies

Crust
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, very cold & cubed
1/2 cup water, ice cold

Directions
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Toss butter pieces in and coat. Take hand pastry blender and cut butter in until pea sized. Add water little by little and mix with rubber spatula until a shaggy mass forms. Form ball and split in two. Flatten each ball into a disc, wrap tightly in saran wrap, and chill in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, and up to 2 days. Roll dough out to about 1/8 thickness and with round cutter cut (under 3") cut 24 rounds (or as many as you can). Place on parchment lined sheet tray, and place back in fridge. Roll out second dough disk and cut in same way as first.

Filling
Ingredients
3 medium granny smith apples (24 apple slices)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Peel apples and slice from top of apple to bottom (4 slices on either side of core). Take small round cutter (at least 3/4 smaller than one used for dough discs) and press onto apple slices. Remove dough discs from fridge, completely dredge apple slices in spice mix, and place 1 apple round on each of the discs from the fridge. Sandwich with second half of dough discs, pick up and seal all the way around with your fingers. Place back on table and use fork to seal all around the edges. Freeze what you're not baking, and then go ahead and egg wash (1 egg + splash of water) each pie, sprinkle with demerara sugar, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

Cranberry Raisin Cakes

I apologize for the long gap in posts yet again, but with the holidays coinciding with finals and graduation from pastry school, there hasn't been much spare time for anything else!
ANYWAY. I had a bunch of cranberries left over after making a cranberry apple pie for Christmas at Doug's family's house in Pittsburgh, so these cakes were born. These are delicious little treats that even make the breakfast cut. They're sweet, tart, and warmed with some cinnamon, but the best part is their texture. They're cakes by definition so they're soft on the inside, but a little crisp and chewy on the outside, and nicely complimented by chewy raisins. Also, super easy and fast to make!

Cranberry Raisin Cake
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened and cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
demerara sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12 cup square muffin pan. In stand mixer using whisk attachment, whip eggs and sugar together until it is thick and airy enough that when whisk is lifted, ribbons are formed on top of mixture before settling. Add vanilla and then slowly add butter pieces while whisk is going. Once incorporated, add milk to smooth out mixture and remove bowl from mixer. In separate bowl, mix dries, and gently fold into wet. While still streaky, fold in cranberries and raisins. Drop 4 tablespoons of the mixture into each square and top with three cranberries and a sprinkling of demerara sugar. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean and cakes have pulled away from sides of pan.