Alexander Roberts 5/4/19 Alexander Roberts 5/4/19

Berry Rhubarb Pie

Happy May everyone! Spring keeps getting better here in Los Angeles, where rhubarb is still readily available, even at crappy grocery stores. Some of my friends in NYC have complained they haven’t been able to find any yet, which breaks my heart... Fingers are crossed for all of the affected.

I’ve been wanting to publish a pie recipe for a while now, and nothing could be more fitting for early May than a tangy berry rhubarb pie. Fruit pies are my absolute favorite! I try to use what I consider to be a minimal amount of sugar in my pies, and usually don’t add too many fussy ingredients. I used to stress a lot about the appearance of my pies, spending way too much time fussing with the dough and actually overworking it in the process... As I get older I care less and less about this. I just want good flavor and a proper bake.

My main concern when baking a fruit pie is avoiding a soggy bottom, which used to plague almost all of my pies in the beginning of my baking career. Nothing is more disappointing than not being able to get a clean slice from your pies. As mentioned in my Rhubarb & Tahini Blondie recipe, rhubarb has a dramatically high water content around 95%. The soggy bottom that is attempting to destroy your pie will pull in all of that water if you don’t do something about it! To avoid pie heartbreak, we’re going to help the rhubarb shed some of that water by macerating it in part of the sugar and a pinch of salt for 15 minutes. Preferably 30 minutes if you can wait! Waiting is always worth it, y’all.

Recipe Notes: Tapioca starch is used in this recipe instead of cornstarch, something I learned while baking tons of pies at Bakeri. If you don’t have tapioca, you can substitute cornstarch, but I much prefer tapioca in this type of application. A filling with tapioca starch will look more glossy than one made with cornstarch, and also taste better (imho). Lastly, I’m including a pie crust recipe on this post, but I plan on going much more in depth in a future piece only about the magical pâte brisée.

Berry Rhubarb Pie
Makes 1 double-crusted 9-inch pie

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, cubed and chilled (170g)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp vodka (or 2 tbsp water)
Pinch salt

For the filling:
4 1/2 cups rhubarb (about 2 pounds before trimming)
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries
1 cup white sugar, divided (1/4 cup + 3/4 cup)
2 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch
Pinch salt

Egg wash: 1 egg +1 tbsp water + small pinch salt, mixed well

1. To make the crust: follow my pie crust recipe, listed here.
2. Remove both ends of the rhubarb stalks and slice into 1/2” pieces on a bias. Place in a large bowl with 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt. Allow to macerate for 15 to 30 minutes: the longer the better!
3. Drain the rhubarb liquid and add the rhubarb back to the bowl. Toss with the blueberries, strawberries, remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, and another small pinch of salt.
4. Evenly sprinkle the tapioca starch on all of the fruit and stir to coat.
5. Fill a lined pie pan and attach the top of the pie. Seal the two crusts together by pinching, then trim any excess and crimp the edges. Freeze the pie for at least 20 minutes before baking. While chilling, preheat the oven to 400º F and place a rack in the center of the oven. If you have a pizza/baking stone, place it in the oven now.
6. Remove the pie from the fridge and egg wash the center of the pie, but not the edges. Place the pie on a baking sheet and then in the oven directly on the stone. Bake for 40 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375º for the final 20-30 minutes. The pie is done when it is nicely browned and the filling is bubbling.
7. Cool the pie for at least 2 hours before slicing, or it will fall apart! Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Store at room temp for 1 - 2 days.

Be sure to tag #alexanderbakes or @alexanderbakes if you try this recipe! :)

Alexander Roberts 3/27/19 Alexander Roberts 3/27/19

Rhubarb & Tahini Blondies

The best sign of the arrival of spring is always a bright red handful of rhubarb. Tart and sassy, I love using it in all types of desserts: pies, ice cream, compotes and the like. Rhubarb can be difficult to bake with due to the very high amount of water content. For this reason, it’s good to give it a par cook depending on what way you’re using it. For these blondies, we’re going to roast them for a bit in the oven to concentrate their flavor and color, directly on a sheet pan, to push some of that extra liquid out. The blondies come together in one bowl! The recipe is super easy, and I opted to use a muffin pan to make every blondie a “corner” piece. If you don’t have a muffin pan, this will work in a square pan. For 8 x 8” I’d multiply the below quantities by 1.5. For a large rectangular pan, I would double the recipe and rhubarb.

There’s also a step by step tutorial of this available on my Instagram story - if you make these, please tag me @alexanderbakes or #alexanderbakes. It’s awesome to see your bakes!

Rhubarb & Tahini Blondies

For the roasted rhubarb:
3 to 4 stalks of rhubarb
Handful of white sugar

For the blondies:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour (sifted if clumpy)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 yolk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & mostly cooled
2 tbsp tahini (or almond butter / peanut butter)
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, optional

1. To roast the rhubarb: preheat the oven to 350° F. Slice the rhubarb on a bias into 1/2” pieces. Grab an old sheet tray or pan that you don’t mind (maybe) damaging. Toss the rhubarb with a handful of sugar and roast for 20 minutes, then cool completely.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, honey, and melted butter with a whisk. Add the vanilla extract.
3. Whisk in the yolk and egg until fully combined. Add the tahini and whisk a few more times.
4. Add the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and fold the ingredients together with a spatula just until no flour streaks remain. Do not over mix!
5. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin pan with baking spray. Distribute the blondie batter between the cups evenly, about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons each.
6. Next, evenly distribute the roasted (and cooled) rhubarb. Press it into the dough, and avoid the edges of the cups because the rhubarb may burn there. Top with sesame seeds at this point if you desire.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating halfway through the cook time. Cool in the pan before eating. These will last a few days and get softer each day if stored in an airtight container!

Alexander Roberts 3/20/19 Alexander Roberts 3/20/19

French Crullers

The crullers will be piped onto a square piece of parchment paper for easy transfer into the hot oil.

Like a good old friend, doughnuts have always been there for me. From visiting my favorite childhood doughnut chain (that I wouldn’t dare step into now), to the time I started a doughnut business in Paris, to the summer I ran a doughnut shop in Provincetown, the delicious ring-shaped pastries have quite literally been the center of my life at times. After all this, I still love eating them, but let me get one thing straight… NOT CAKE DOUGHNUTS. I do not like cake doughnuts! They’re just round muffins...!

Back in 2017 while working in Provincetown at The Canteen, the menu was mainly doughnuts and ice cream. It was my first “seasonal” pastry chef job, in a big happy fun gay town whose busy season ran from May to September. It was a fun season, and besides a few summer flings, new friends, and tons of time kayaking, the best thing that came out of it was this cruller recipe that I’m about to share. Like all good recipes, I’ve worked on this one many many times, always trying to push it to the next level of where I want my perfect cruller to be. I’ve tried using different flours, adding a leavening agent like baking powder, using egg whites only, using olive oil instead of butter, freezing vs. not freezing, and many other alternatives. I love recipe testing. It makes my brain buzz. After a week of further tweaks, I think I’m finally ready to release this baby into the world!

Recipe notes: Please, please, be careful when around hot oil. Wear shoes, even if you’re at home. While this is pate a choux, I make it on the dry side to promote a fluffy, fully cooked interior. If your dough is too dense, it won’t cook in time, leaving you with a mushy doughnut. Finally, I really think it would be great if you bought a bag of bread flour for this! The high protein content really helps in this application. However, if you really don’t have it or want to get it… you can attempt with all purpose, for a slightly different result. With some practice, you’ll start turning out amazing crullers! A brown butter glaze will be included at the very end of this recipe as an extra for anyone who’s interested :)

I dipped mine in a brown butter and rosemary glaze!

French Crullers
Makes 6 large crullers

1 stick butter (unsalted)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons bread flour, sifted
2 whole eggs
1 egg white
~ 4 quarts of frying oil (grapeseed, canola, peanut)

Piping bag and large star tip
Frying/candy thermometer

1. Have a whisk, heatproof spatula, and all of your ingredients ready nearby. In a large pot over medium heat, melt together the butter, water, a big pinch of salt, and sugar until it starts to simmer.

2. Add all of your sifted bread flour to the simmering mixture and immediately whisk it for 30 seconds, making sure to break up all clumps of flour. Switch to the spatula and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for about 3-5 minutes. A good sign to tell it’s done cooking: a film will gather on the bottom of the pan and start making a light “hissing” sound. Your dough should also form into a ball and stay together.

3. Move your dough from the pot to a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment. Beat the dough for 1 to 2 minutes to allow some cooling, then, on medium high speed, add an egg. Allow the egg to fully incorporate before adding more. Scrape the entire bowl with a spatula between additions. When all of the eggs have been added, the final dough should stretch about an inch when pinched/pulled between your thumb and pointer finger. If too dry to stretch, you may need to add another egg. (To do this part of the recipe by hand, beat the eggs into the dough one by one with a spatula. I believe you’ll get much better results with a stand mixer, though)

4. Now move your finished dough to a piping bag fixed with a large star piping tip. Onto a square piece of parchment (not wax paper), pipe a 2 to 3-inch circle, connecting both ends. If you mess up, just add it back to the bag and pipe it again! Try to pipe them kinda flat rather than super thicc, because they will expand a lot when frying.

5. Add about 4 quarts of frying oil to a large pot or dutch oven with a thermometer attached or nearby. Heat the oil to 375° F.

6. Carefully slip two crullers into the frying oil at a time (they should slide right off of their parchment squares) while monitoring the temperature to keep it consistent. You may need to adjust heat if it gets too hot or too cold after adding the crullers! Fry for about 6 minutes, flipping halfway with tongs or a frying spider. The dough will look almost done, but then suddenly expand to almost twice its size. Once nicely browned and feels lighter when lifted from the oil, they’re done! Note: if your crullers collapse after removing from the oil, the cook time was not long enough and should be increased.

7. At this point you can toss them in cinnamon sugar (1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons cinnamon) or a simple vanilla glaze (2 cups powdered sugar + 2-3 tablespoons milk or water) or scroll down below for my brown butter and rosemary glaze recipe. It’s best to drop hot doughnuts directly into the glaze so they dry with a shiny coating! These are also best eaten within a few hours. Enjoy!

A properly cooked cruller will have an almost hollow interior, similar to a cream puff or eclair. Best eaten warm!

Brown Butter & Rosemary Glaze
6 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
1 2/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 to 2 stems fresh rosemary

1. In a small pot, place the butter and rosemary stem. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the butter begins to brown and smell toasty. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add butter, milk, and powdered sugar. Whisk until a smooth glaze forms. Add more milk or powdered sugar if consistency needs adjusting: the glaze should be on the thicker side; it will loosen up considerably when hot doughnuts are dropped in. You can save this glaze for other uses as well!

Alexander Roberts 3/15/19 Alexander Roberts 3/15/19

Citrus Buttermilk Loaf

I’m not a big cake person. I never have been, besides the box mix chocolate yellow cakes my mom would make for me when I was a child, but I’d have taken any form of sugar I could get in my younger years. I also adore cheesecake. But when it comes to classic, American layer cakes with buttercream and all the fixings… Not my favorite. (Sorry, Cakeboy, still love you xo). They’re just too sweet for me! I constantly seek balance in my baked goods: if “sugar” is the only flavor I’m getting, I’ve failed. For that reason, and from past chefs’ constant instruction, I also use a lot more salt than most people. When I do go for cake, it’s usually a loaf of some sort. Probably with citrus... If I’m lucky, perhaps buttermilk and a handful of cornmeal as well. Basically, this loaf cake recipe I’m sharing right now. Hehe.

I avoid powdered sugar glazes if I can, because they’re super sugary. For this cake, I opted for a whipped cream with a few tablespoons of mascarpone, which help it hold longer. If you’re serving immediately, I’d slice it warm and top it with a dollop of the whipped cream. If you want extra credit and/or want to learn to candy citrus, follow the short recipe at the end of this post for a delicious, jewel-like garnish.

A few tips for success: Proper creaming of the butter and sugar will ensure the cake is fluffy. This loaf is on the denser side and doesn’t rise too much, which is good since we’re going to invert it from the pan for decorating. To get the perfect butter consistency, slice it up and lay it flat on a piece of parchment for 5 to 10 minutes (it shouldn’t be melting, but more softened). Room temperature ingredients will help for smooth mixing and no broken batters, so take out the eggs and buttermilk first! Also, lining the loaf pan both ways will ensure your beautiful cake doesn’t get stuck.

For cake:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened (170 grams)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For whipped cream:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
3 tablespoons mascarpone
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Vanilla extract, 1/8 scraped vanilla bean, or 1/8 teaspoon vanilla paste

1. Preheat oven to 325° F and line a standard sized loaf pan (8.5” x 4.5”) with parchment paper and baking spray. Set aside.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and cornmeal (remove any leftover large particles). Set aside.

3. In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Rub the zest in with your fingertips to distribute evenly. Add softened butter to the bowl and fix the paddle attachment to your stand mixer. Cream for 3 to 5 minutes on medium speed, until the mixture is fluffy and pale.

4. Continue mixing on medium high speed and gradually add eggs one by one. Once you’ve added two of the eggs, stop the mixer, scrape the bottom of the bowl very well, and continue. Add the final egg and the yolk and continue mixing until well combined.

5. In a measuring cup, combine lemon juice and buttermilk. With mixer turned off, add half of the flour and cornmeal mixture to the bowl. Mix on low speed while also pouring in half of the buttermilk. Stop before fully combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed again while pouring in the rest of buttermilk. Keep mixing just until no more flour streaks remain — do not over mix!

6. Add the batter to the lined loaf pan and bake for 25 minutes. When the time is up, carefully rotate the pan and continue baking another 25 minutes. To check for doneness, carefully poke the surface of the cake. If it rises back slowly, your cake is done! Cool completely and flip over before decorating. If you have some on hand, now is a good time to brush the cake with simple syrup! (Quick syrup soak: boil 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and juice of one lemon until sugar is melted).

7. To make the whipped cream, add the mascarpone to the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the whisk attachment. Turn on low speed and add a small amount of the whipping cream (and vanilla bean/paste if using). Allow this to break up and smoothen out the mascarpone. Once it’s no longer in large chunks, add the remaining cream and turn the speed up a notch every minute or so until your cream is stiffened to your liking. At this point, add powdered sugar and vanilla extract (if using) and fold together with a spatula.

8. To decorate, fill a piping bag with the whipped cream. Try piping swirls, stars, and bubbles — or just spread it on top with a spoon! I topped mine with candied kumquats and fresh lavender. You could use a combination herbs, citrus zest, berries, and more to personalize yours. This cake is best served day of, but an unfrosted loaf will keep for 5 days if wrapped airtight, and longer in the freezer! The decorated cake will hold in the fridge for a few hours.

Candied Kumquats

1 lb kumquats
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups water

Notes: This recipe takes a little patience and watchful eye, but it’s sooo worth it! If your syrup starts to reduce too much during the process, add a 1/2 cup of water or so.

1. Cut any woody ends of the kumquats off, then slice all of them in half (through the middle, not from end to end) and remove all of the seeds. I use culinary tweezers to get them out.

2. In a medium sized pot, add the kumquat halves and cover with an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil on the stove, and immediately turn off the heat. Strain the kumquats, add back to the same pot, and cover with cold water again. Repeat the blanching process until you’ve done it 3 times. This helps soften up the citrus rind and make them a little more palatable.

3. Strain the kumquats a final time and set aside. In the pot, add 2 1/2 cups of water plus 1 1/2 cups sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the kumquats back to the pot. Simmer on the lowest heat possible, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. To test, remove a kumquat from the pot with a fork and run under cold water until cooled enough to eat. If it is softened enough for you, you’re good to remove from heat and cool completely in the pot. If it needs a bit longer, let it keep cooking and check every 10 minutes or so. Store the candied kumquats in the simple syrup they were cooked in.

Alexander Roberts 9/2/18 Alexander Roberts 9/2/18

Madeleines

Hi guys! It's been a while since I've written and published recipes online, and I'm happy to announce I've decided to get back to it! I'll try to vary the skill levels and equipment requirements for the recipes so everyone can utilize them. This week we'll be making French madeleines! This recipe requires no mixer. We're looking for a characteristic madeleine "bump" paired with a light crumb.

Believed to have originated around the 18th century in Commercy, France, there are conflicting stories of their creation: in one version, nuns supposedly sold the pastries to support their convents, and in another a young girl named Madeleine baked them for an exiled Polish king in Lorraine. One thing is always agreed on: they came from France. You'll find a lot of my recipes and tastes have a heavy French influence; I've always admired French pastry, and I was lucky enough to relish in it for an entire year living abroad in Paris.

These fluffy little cakes are not difficult to make, but you will need a madeleine pan if you wish to achieve their typical seashell shape. Silicon or steel pans will both do the trick (I recommend the latter). Comprised of the simplest of ingredients, you can mix these up in about 30 minutes and bake them the same day. The most important factor for the madeleines to be successful is a proper rest. Once liquid and wheat flour are mixed, they begin to develop a gluten network which continues growing while resting, regardless of whether or not it's actually being physically mixed. This rest should also take place in the fridge to give it a good chill. The longer the rest, the stronger the gluten network becomes, helping the bump reach it's full potential. The pan shape also promotes the bump because the batter is pooled in the center of each mold, making it deepest in the center, which means there's more batter to push through when the butter evaporates during baking.

Notes From Testing
Leavening: Baking powder is a non-traditional addition, but helps the madeleines rise, especially with this recipe since we aren't using an electric mixer to incorporate extra air.
Flours: While not required, a mix of cake and all purpose flour ensured a light, fluffy interior.
Pan temperature: while both a hot pan and a cold pan produced fine results, a cold pan was favored for safety purposes.
Flavorings: Minor additions such as matcha (2 tsp), cocoa powder (2 tbsp, minus 1 tbsp flour from recipe), lemon zest (1-2 tsp) and other flavors gave the madeleines more "oomph" and didn't change results too noticeably.
Rest time: A one hour rest was found to be the minimum requirement for any sort of bump formation, although this one wouldn't win any awards. Two and three hours of resting didn't show much improvement. Six hours showed a drastic jump, more than double the height of the first test, and an overnight rest showed the largest bump.

Base recipe adapted from The Guardian.

Makes 12-16 madeleines in a 3" pan

1 stick butter, unsalted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour (or sub with more all purpose flour)
2 eggs (room temp)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Brown the butter in a small pot over medium heat for 5-7ish minutes. Stir often and keep an eye on it; once it starts browning it will continue heating rapidly. Set aside to cool.

2. Add eggs, granulated sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk heavily for 2 minutes. The mixture should become visibly paler.

3. Whisk in honey, vanilla, and any other flavorings at this point.

4. Rest a large sieve directly over the mixing bowl and sift in the flours and baking powder. Fold in the ingredients with a spatula, just until no more flour streaks are visible. Empty into a container with a lid and refrigerate until cold throughout, 4 - 24 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush the madeleine pans with butter and sift flour over each mold. Shake excess over the trash and pop the pan in the freezer until the oven is ready (at least 5 minutes).

6. Scoop about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each mold (if smaller pan, just fill each shell about 3/4 full). Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, for 10 minutes. If needed, rotate and bake another 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.

7. Remove from oven and carefully loosen from hot pan with a butterknife before it cools too much. Serve with coffee or tea!