The stories (and recipes) behind classic desserts
Find some ways to improve your old favorites
What do Key lime pie, pineapple-upside-down cake and mint chocolate cookies have in common? They are all classic American desserts, but not in the way you might think. Each was invented by the food industry as a way to hawk more stuff.
The Key lime pie? It was originally a lemon-cream pie dreamt up by the folks at Borden, who wanted to sell more sweetened condensed milk. The upside-down cake was an invention of the Association of Hawaiian Pineapple Packers, which wanted American consumers to use the fruit for more than just special occasions. The mint chocolate cookie was created in the 1930s, a response to the summer slump in cookie sales.
These facts and other fascinating insights are in "BraveTart," one of the most engaging baking books to be published in years. Stella Parks, a pastry chef in Lexington, Ky., and a senior editor at SeriousEats.com, is a gumshoe, a vivid storyteller and a damn clever cook. The book upends what we think we know about our nation's most popular desserts, and in the case of packaged treats, such as Oreos and Thin Mints, improves on them.
A case in point is that Key lime pie. Legend has it that the cook of one William Curry, a millionaire who lived in Key West, created it in the 1860s. In fact, there is not a shred of evidence to support the story. The inventor was less likely a home cook than a food scientist, who would have known that the milk protein casein would thicken when combined with a heavy dose of acid (the limes.) Parks credits Jane Ellison, an imaginary homemaker — Borden's answer to Betty Crocker — who published a Magic Lemon Cream Pie recipe in 1931, and reasons that Key lime was a regional variation that caught on.
Parks also uncovers the story of my favorite cookie, the snickerdoodle. (Haven't you always wondered how it got its name?) Dusted with cinnamon and sugar, it descends from the snip doodle, a thin cinnamon-dusted cake that was cut into squares for serving (and, as a result, went stale quickly). The "snip" comes from shnipla, or "to snip," in old Pennsylvania Dutch. Doodle derives from hoodle or doomel, which translates as "in a hurry." The snickerdoodle cookie is an evolution of that cake.
Parks spent five long years developing her recipes, and the smart tricks sprinkled throughout the book show it was time well spent. For her yellow layer cake, she recommends adding a tablespoon of super-absorbent potato flour to keep it moist. And though I grumbled about making a special trip to the store and paying $8 for a bag, she's right. It works.
Instead of the vegetable shortening typically found in a snickerdoodle recipe, Parks lands on coconut oil, which creams up in the same way and results in a light, crunchyedged sugar cookie. Her OneBowl Devil's Food Layer Cake, a moist, three-layer stunner that all but demands a cold glass of milk, uses rich and slightly acidic ingredients such as coffee and cocoa powder to spur the baking soda to work its magic. This has the added benefit of allowing you to basically dump everything in a pot and stir, skipping the step of beating the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Another plus: Almost every one of the book's 100plus recipes offers variations on the original. With a few substitutions, you can turn that devil's food cake into a chocolate cherry, German chocolate, grasshopper or toasted marshmallow cake. Most recipes also include gluten-free variations.
Much of "BraveTart" is dedicated to homemade versions of the packaged desserts of our childhoods, including the Hostess Cupcake, Fudge Stripes and Magic Middles. Full disclosure: I've never been a fan of re-creating processed foods. I remember rolling my eyes 10 years ago at the awed descriptions of New York chef Wylie Dufresne's attempt to re-create Funyuns, those industrial onion-flavored corn rings. I've had to stifle this reaction again and again — to the $5 homemade Pop-Tarts found in hipster coffee shops and the "healthy" homemade Twinkies proposed by cooking magazines.
Parks has convinced me that there is merit to the idea, if done right. (To be clear, this does not include any version of Funyuns, which I hope most sober people can agree have no culinary merit.)
I took a stab at the Thin Mints, a favorite cookie of mine, and was happy to discover that Parks uses the same dough to make them as she does for an Oreo, my other favorite commercial cookie. (Coincidence? I don't think so.) The dough was a cinch to make and easy to roll out.
The cookies' chocolate coating required more courage. Judge me if you must, but I had to give myself a pep talk before beginning to temper the chocolate. (For the uninitiated, tempering is a process that protects melted chocolate from overheating so it snaps and stays glossy when it cools.) One-Bowl Devil's Food Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
16 servings (makes one 8-inch, 3-layer cake)
If you crave the kind of moist, rich chocolate cake that all but requires a cold glass of milk, this is it. Even better, it's basically dump and stir. Covered, the cake will keep for 24 hours before serving. After cutting, wrap leftover slices individually and store at room temperature for up to 4 days more.
MAKE AHEAD: The frosting needs to be well chilled, either for 1 hour in a sink of cold water or in the refrigerator, for 6 hours. The frosted cake can be covered and kept at room temperature for 24 hours. Individual, wrapped leftover slices can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Adapted from "BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts," by Stella Parks (W.W. Norton, August, 2017).
Ingredients For the cake
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) black coffee or black tea, such as assam 1 cup (3 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa powder 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces) finely chopped dark chocolate, about 72 percent 2 cups loosely packed (16 ounces) light brown sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon kosher salt 6 large eggs, straight from the refrigerator, plus 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) egg yolks (from about 3 large eggs) 2 cups (9 ounces) flour 1 tablespoon baking soda
For the frosting
3 3/4 cups (20 ounces) finely chopped 35 percent milk chocolate (see headnote) 3 cups (24 ounces) heavy cream 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Steps
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line three 8-by-3-inch anodized aluminum cake pans with parchment and grease with cooking oil spray; if you don't have three pans, the remaining batter can be held at room temperature for 90 minutes. (The cakes won't rise as high in 2-inch pans.)
Combine the butter and coffee or tea in a 5-quart stainless steel pot over low heat. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa and chocolate, followed by the brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Mix in the whole eggs and yolks. Sift in the flour (if using a cup measure, spoon into the cup and level with a knife before sifting) and baking soda. Whisk thoroughly to combine, then divide among the prepared cake pans (20 to 23 ounces each).
Bake (lower-middle position for the rack) until the cakes are firm, though your finger will leave an impression in the puffy crust, about 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will emerge with a few crumbs still attached. Cool until no trace of warmth remains, about 90 minutes.
For the frosting: Place the chocolate in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Heat the cream in a 3-quart stainless-steel saute pan over medium heat. Once it's bubbling hard around the edges, pour over the chocolate; whisk by hand until smooth and stir in the salt. Let cool until the mixture is no longer steaming. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or until thick and cold, around 45 degrees. (Alternatively, cool in a sink full of ice water, stirring and scraping from time to time with a flexible spatula, about 1 hour.) Use the balloon-whisk attachment to beat the mixture on medium-high until thick and silky. This can take from 75 to 120 seconds, so watch it closely. It's best to use the frosting right away; the yield is about 5 1/2 cups, all of which will be used for this cake.
When you're ready to assemble the cake, loosen the layers with a knife, invert onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment and then flip over to the original top. Trim the top crusts from the cakes with a serrated knife. Place one layer, cut side up, on a serving plate. Cover with a cup of the frosting, spreading it into an even layer with the back of a spoon. Repeat with the second and third layers, cut side down. Finish the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Nutrition | Per serving: 800 calories, 10 g protein, 75 g carbohydrates, 55 g fat, 33 g saturated fat, 215 mg cholesterol, 390 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber, 55 g sugar
Magic Key Lime Pie 8 to 12 servings (makes one 9-inch pie)
Key limes take a lot of time to prep (when you can find them); by making your own sweetened condensed milk for this recipe, though, you can use regular limes and still achieve that perfect balance of flavors for the pie.
Homemade sweetened condensed milk traditionally requires ultra-low heat and up to 6 hours of constant stirring. Pastry chef Stella Parks adds a splash of heavy cream to prevent scorching and cranks up the heat so it's done in about 45 minutes.
MAKE AHEAD: The sweetened condensed milk can be refrigerated for up to 1 month. The pie, minus its topping, needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
Adapted from "BraveTart."
Ingredients For the sweetened condensed milk
4 cups milk (any fat percentage will do) 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 cup sugar 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt For the pie 1/2 cup (5 ounces) egg yolks (from about 8 large eggs) 2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest (no pith), plus 3/4 cup (6 ounces) juice (from 6 to 9 limes; see headnote) 1 homemade or store-bought graham cracker crust (9 inches)
For the topping
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sugar Pinch kosher salt 3/4 cup (6 ounces) heavy cream
Steps
For the sweetened condensed milk: Combine the milk, heavy cream, sugar and salt in a 5-quart pot over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally with a heatresistant spatula to help the sugar dissolve, about 12 minutes.
Continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes, scraping continuously to prevent a milky buildup from forming around the sides. Once the thickened milk-syrup suddenly begins to foam, it's almost done. Keep cooking until the foam subsides and the dairy has condensed to exactly 2 cups. Pour into an airtight container, seal to prevent evaporation and refrigerate up to 1 month. To mimic the consistency of canned milk, bring to room temperature before using. You'll need all of it for this recipe.
For the pie: Whisk together the egg yolks, lime zest, juice and the 2 cups of sweetened condensed milk in a 3quart pot. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking gently to form a custard that is steaming hot, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium; cook until the custard begins to bubble, about 5 minutes more. (It won't seem terribly thick.)
Pour into the prepared crust and refrigerate uncovered until cold and firm, at least 4 hours. (Covered loosely in plastic at this point, the pie can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
For the topping: Combine the sugar, salt and cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the balloon-whisk attachment. Beat on mediumlow speed for a minute to dissolve the sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high; beat until the cream is thick and forms stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip; pipe decoratively on the pie.
Wipe the serving knife clean between cuts.
Nutrition | Per serving (based on 12, without the topping): 270 calories, 6 g protein, 30 g carbohydrates, 14 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 21 g sugar