NEW SOUTHERN BAKERS
Recipes: Where coconut cake meets sweet tea piePublished on: 11/09/06
Throughout the South, creative bakers are finding new ways to celebrate the region's best dessert traditions while adding some innovative twists of their own. And some were generous enough to share their secrets with us, just in time for the holidays. Any of the examples presented here would be well worth making room for on a buffet table this holiday season.
— Susan Puckett and Jeanne Besser
 LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC Staff |
| 'Sweet tea pie' in the Mockingbird Bakery, |
 LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC Staff |
| Two bags of shredded coconut go into the coconut cake at the Blue-Eyed Daisy Bakeshop.
|
 LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC Staff |
| Chef Sonya's famous Sweet Potato Cheesecake, |
Mockingbird Bakery's Sweet Tea Pie With Lemon
8-10 servings
Hands on: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes, plus several hours to cool
What could be more Southern than a chess pie made with tea? The top of the pie will darken during baking; don't be alarmed. Pat the dough in evenly and in a thin layer for more even browning, building up a top crust to hold the filling and discarding excess. Don't overfill the pie, and if in doubt, place a tray underneath it during baking to catch any spills.
For the crust:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For the filling:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup warm, strong orange pekoe tea (standard tea bags)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornmeal
To prepare the crust: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until well-combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until dough forms a ball. Pat dough evenly and thinly into a 9-inch pie pan, building up a thicker top edge. Place pie shell in freezer while preparing filling.
To prepare the filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
With an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar. Add lemon zest and egg yolks a little at a time, allowing each addition to incorporate, scraping the bowl often. Slowly add the tea, vanilla, vinegar and lemon juice. Add flour and cornmeal. Don't be alarmed if the mixture looks slightly curdled. Scrape the bowl and mix to combine.
Remove crust from the freezer and fill. Bake for 50 minutes, or until just a quarter-size area in the center jiggles slightly. Cool on a wire rack. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
Per serving (based on 8): 682 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 6 grams protein, 68 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 44 grams fat (25 grams saturated), 317 milligrams cholesterol, 275 milligrams sodium.
Hazelnut Tart Shells
Crust for 2 (8-inch) tarts, 6-8 servings each
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 3 1/2-4 hours (includes chilling)
Hazelnuts are hardly Southern, but they pair beautifully with pecans and other Southern ingredients, as baker Rhonda Ruckman of Doughmonkey in Dallas has discovered. This makes a wonderful and different crust for any number of fillings. Star Provisions (1198 Howell Mill Road, 404-365-0410) carries hazelnut flour, and you can order it online from a variety of sources, such as www.holmquisthazelnuts.com. Extra dough can be wrapped well in plastic wrap and frozen for future use.
Butter and flour for the pan
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 cup hazelnut flour (see note above)
2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
Pinch of salt
Butter the bottoms of two 8-inch tart pans and dust lightly with flour.
In a 5-quart bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar. While mixing, add the egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to completely incorporate the mixture. After the egg is completely mixed, add the flours, graham cracker crumbs and salt and mix until incorporated. Scrape the dough onto a sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and roll half the dough into a circle 1/8 inch thick. Line tart pans with an even layer of dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake tart dough 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and let cool before adding filling.
Per serving (based on 6): 240 calories (percent of calories from fat, 59), 3 grams protein, 22 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 16 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 47 milligrams cholesterol, 23 milligrams sodium.
Doughmonkey's Bourbon-spiked Pecan Tarts
2 (8-inch) tarts, 6-8 servings each
Hands on: 15 minutes (excluding crust)
Total time: 1 1/2 hours (includes cooling time)
Rhonda Ruckman of Doughmonkey bakery in Dallas hails from Louisiana, and she pays homage to her present and former homes with this wondrous take on pecan pie, using Texas pecans and the distinctively flavored Steen's cane syrup from Louisiana (available locally at Wal-Mart and other stores). It's very adaptable; we tried it with Georgia pecans and sorghum syrup and got great results.
2 Hazelnut Tart Shells (see recipe below)
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups chopped Texas pecans (Georgia or any other pecan works just fine)
6 eggs
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup Karo light corn syrup
1/3 cup Steen's cane syrup, or other dark syrup (see note above)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide pecans between cooled tart shells. In a large bowl with a whisk, beat together the eggs and brown sugar until thoroughly mixed. Add syrups, salt, vanilla, bourbon and melted butter; mix well. Pour over pecans in tart shells and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until center has set.
Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan while warm and let cool completely. Refrigerate. Cut tarts when cold, straight out of the refrigerator, using a serrated knife dipped in hot water and lightly dried. Plate slices and allow them to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before serving.
Per serving (based on 6): 523 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 7 grams protein, 57 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 31 grams fat (11 grams saturated), 150 milligrams cholesterol, 90 milligrams sodium.
Sweet Auburn Bread Co.'s Sweet Potato Cheesecake
12 servings
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time: 5 hours (includes cooling and chilling)
Sonya Jones, a member of our Saving Southern Food chefs panel and chef-owner of Sweet Auburn Bread Co. (see accessAtlanta.com for more about this bakery), shared with us the recipe that then-President Bill Clinton raved about during a visit to Atlanta in 1999. Or, we should say, one version of it; Jones admits to changing the recipe now and then. This one is baked in a springform pan to make it easier to remove, even though Jones uses regular cake pans. Take your pick.
6 or 7 slices of poundcake, 1/4 inch thick
2 (8-ounce packages) cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup cooked and pureed sweet potato
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch round springform pan. Line bottom of pan with poundcake slices, pressing firmly to cover bottom.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, blending well. Stir in the cream and sweet potato. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add nutmeg and cinnamon and mix with a hand-held mixer for 2 to 3 minutes on low. Stir in the vanilla. Pour batter into cake-lined pan.
Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until center is almost set. Remove from oven and cool for about 45 minutes. When cool, remove from pan and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
Per serving: 376 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 5 grams protein, 36 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 24 grams fat (15 grams saturated), 133 milligrams cholesterol, 189 milligrams sodium.
Cheerwine Cake
10-12 servings
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time (for tube pan): 65-75 minutes
North Carolina baker Phoebe Lawless received her extensive Southern culinary education during a seven-year stint at the famed Magnolia Grill in Durham, N.C. Now as a freelance baker, she continues to draw inspiration from classic Southern ingredients and techniques, as this delightful, not-too-sweet quick cake illustrates. It gets its distinction from the much-loved cherry soda for which her state is famous. Lawless heightens the flavor with cherry oil (see note below), which we left out, but we were still pleased with the results. Don't think this comes close to resembling the ultrasweet Coca-Cola cake that longtime Atlantans know and love. Lawless's creation is more like a breakfast bread; it would be wonderful on a buffet table alongside a baked ham. You could, in fact, serve the icing on the side, like a flavored butter. Lawless makes it in an 8-inch tube pan. We tested it in a loaf pan, which takes slightly longer to bake.
For the cake:
Butter and flour for preparing the pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup Cheerwine (see note)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon cherry oil, optional (Boyajian brand; see note)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
Pinch of salt
For the icing:
1 (12-ounce) can Cheerwine (or a little more if needed)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cherry oil, optional
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch tube pan or 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the Cheerwine, buttermilk, cherry oil (if using) and vanilla; set aside.
In medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, oil and salt until smooth. Alternate adding the flour mixture and liquid mixture to the egg mixture, stirring until just combined (be careful not to overmix or the cake will come out gummy).
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack; remove from pan.
Meanwhile, prepare the icing: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce Cheerwine to about 1/2 cup, or until syrupy. (Be careful not to let it bubble and harden; if this happens, add a little more Cheerwine to the pan and reheat just until it re-melts.) Let cool.
In an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and butter and beat until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cherry oil (if using) and salt. Add Cheerwine reduction, a tablespoon at a time, until desired flavor (or color) is reached. Unmold the cake and frost when it is cool.
Note: Cheerwine soda is available sporadically outside North Carolina. We found it at Dusty's Barbecue in the Emory University area; you can also order it at www.Cheerwine.com. Cherry oil can be found at some specialty markets, such as Whole Foods, or online at www.boyajianinc.com/citrus.html.
Per serving (based on 10): 321 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 4 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 16 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 89 milligrams cholesterol, 171 milligrams sodium.
Blue-Eyed Daisy Coconut Cake
14-16 servings
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
For years, baker Angie Mosier has been trying to reproduce the coconut cake she remembers from her childhood visits to Rich's bakeshop. This is the result, and it is a featured attraction at the Blue-Eyed Daisy Bakeshop, which she runs with her husband, Johnny, at Serenbe in south Fulton County. A butter lover's delight, it's satisfying but not too rich.
For the cake:
6 large egg yolks
1 cup milk, divided
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups Easy Buttercream Icing (see recipe at right)
For the filling:
2 (14-ounce) bags shredded coconut, divided
1 cup heavy cream
To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. In a small mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the milk and the vanilla. In a large electric mixing bowl, preferably with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt and mix for 30 seconds on low speed. Add the softened butter and remaining milk. Mix on low until moist, and increase to medium (high speed for hand-held mixers) for 1 1/2 minutes.
Scrape down the sides and begin adding the egg mixture gradually, in small batches, beating after each addition for 15 to 20 seconds. Pour the batter into the greased and floured pans until each is half full. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes or until firm.
Make the icing (recipe at right).
To make the coconut filling: In a medium mixing bowl, combine one of the bags of coconut with the heavy cream. Let sit and soak for about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of the icing and mix well. Ice the bottom layer of cake with this mixture, then place the second layer on top. Spread the outside of the stacked cake with the remaining icing and coconut filling until completely coated. Place the iced cake on top of a sheet of plastic wrap.
With the remaining bag of coconut, cover the top and sides of the cake until completely coated. Use the plastic wrap to catch the excess coconut flakes and continue to press the remaining flakes into the sides and top.
Per serving (based on 14, including icing): 714 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 6 grams protein, 72 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 47 grams fat (33 grams saturated), 166 milligrams cholesterol, 375 milligrams sodium.
Easy Buttercream Icing
14-16 servings
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 to 3 tablespoons milk, half-and-half or cream
In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and vanilla together until smooth.
Start adding the sugar gradually, allowing the butter and sugar to become emulsified before adding more, scraping down the sides as you go. The mixture should look a little dry at this point. Start adding the cream, a tablespoon at a time, and beating on high speed until you get the right texture. The mixture should be smooth but not too creamy, or it won't hold on to the cake.
Per serving: 244 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), trace protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 13 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 36 milligrams cholesterol, 135 milligrams sodium.
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