Archives for March 2018

Carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting

March 29, 2018 by ari | well seasoned 2 Comments

Stop everything and get yourself to the store because this epic carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting (obvious choice, but necessary) deserves a spot on your table today. Like, right now.

I meant to share this recipe while we were in Paris, but somehow it never crossed my mind that carting 3 young kids around a large city for hours on end would leave me utterly exhausted. I was useless and unable to do much more in the evenings than drink a glass of wine and reminisce on the day’s excursions.

Parents everywhere are rolling their eyes and laughing at me. I know, duh. This is so obvious in retrospect. Who gets work done while on vacation with children?! Hindsight, 20-20, or so the saying goes.

Regardless, the timing of this recipe feels fortuitous given that Easter is on Sunday. Anyone in need of an easy-to-pull-off family breakfast? Easy enough that your kids can help alongside? I got you. And carrots are a vegetable so added bonus it’s healthy.

Again with the eye rolling!

Fact: there are a million different carrot cake and loaf recipes, but this is the best one I’ve ever made. A bold statement, but one I firmly stand behind. I was first served something similar for breakfast probably 6 or 7 years ago at a B&B in Cape Cod. Between the carrot loaf and the coffee laced with cinnamon, I was in breakfast heaven. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to develop a similar recipe. This is the first attempt that has blown me away. I’m not changing a thing.

Two words: crushed walnuts. Carrots and walnuts are a well known match, but when you turn the walnuts into a powder and treat them like flour, it’s a game changer. The whole loaf has a warm, nutty flavor without the texture of biting into whole nuts. And the way it affects the crust? It’s got an intense texture all it’s own. I want to say it’s crunchy, but not like biting into a piece of toast. More that it keeps the inside extremely moist. And confession, the crust is my favorite part.

So apologies to all my family members celebrating Passover beginning this evening — obviously this is not gonna be the star of your Pesach seder — but to everyone else MAKE THIS IMMEDIATELY and live your best life.

homemade carrot loaf sliced into pieces on a board with black and white linen

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5 from 1 vote

Carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting

The secret to the incredible texture in this carrot loaf is ground walnuts! They give the exterior a crisp crust while keeping the center of the cake moist and nutty. The best carrot loaf ever, especially with homemade cream cheese frosting!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 5 mins

Cooling Time10 mins

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baking with carrots, carrot loaf, cream cheese frosting, how to make cream cheese frosting, spring desserts

Servings: servings

Calories: 505kcal

Author: ari | well seasoned

Equipment

A standard loaf pan

Ingredients

For the carrot loaf

1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour + 1 Tbsp
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp kosher salt
½ heaping cup walnuts finely ground (see instructions)
⅓ cup raisins
¾ cup brown sugar
3 extra large eggs room temperature
1 ¼ cup canola oil
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups carrots grated

For the cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese regular or reduced fat
8 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
generous pinch of kosher salt
1 cup confectioner's sugar SIFTED (very important!)

Instructions

To make the carrot loaf

Preheat oven to 375 F and place rack in the middle of the oven. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.
Sift together 1 ⅓ cups flour, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, then set aside.
To grind walnuts, either place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a fine powder or place in a sealed Ziplock bag and smash with a rolling pin. Place crushed walnuts in a small bowl with raisins, then toss with 1 Tbsp of flour and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat the brown sugar and eggs together on medium speed until very shiny and smooth, about 5 minutes. With the mixer still running, slowly drizzle in canola oil and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.
Carefully fold in the flour mixture until just combined. Add nuts, raisins, and carrots, then fold once more until evenly distributed.
Pour into prepared loaf pan, then bake for 60-70 minutes, or until evenly browned and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean with few crumbs.
Place pan on a cooling rack and let sit for 10 minutes, then remove loaf from pan (it should release easily when turned over) and place on the rack to cool completely.

To make the cream cheese frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) beat cream cheese and butter on high until very smooth and completely blended, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and salt, then reduce speed to low and SLOWLY add sifted sugar. Continue to beat until sugar is incorporated and frosting is creamy, about 2 minutes.
Spread frosting on top of cooled carrot loaf, then slice and enjoy!

Nutrition

Pear tartlets with pancetta and blue cheese

March 14, 2018 by ari | well seasoned Leave a Comment

Are you there spring? It’s me, Ari.

I come in peace. Or rather, with a peace offering. If I leave these pear tartlets (pancetta! blue cheese! honey!) on your door step, will you kindly kick winter out? Perhaps I’m looking for an excuse to declutter and purge the house because SPRING CLEANING IS A REAL THING, but beyond that I need warmer weather. Like, stat. And you’re the only one who can help.

Have I told you about this amazing food photography course I completed in the fall? It’s taught by Sarah Fennel of Broma Bakery, and it definitely helped provide focus in terms of branding myself, growing as a photographer, and pushed me to network with likeminded professionals in my field. I am by no means where I want to be, but I’ve got this kick ass check list with personal and professional goals, and I have a plan for moving forward.

The most valuable take away from the course, however, has been the friendships I’ve formed. I know — totally cliché. But these are my people! I’ve got friends rooting me on in Florida, California, Ohio, Canada, England, Austria, the list goes on. And it’s not one way. We lift each other up when recipes fail. We cheer each other on when landing new clients or gigs. And we celebrate each other’s growth. I feel like I’ve found my place in this completely oversaturated field and it’s giving me the confidence to believe in myself. That’s everything. And it’s priceless.

Yes, hi, concision is not my strong point.

After completing our course, the tribe decided to work together on a chain of recipes once every couple of months. The only rule is that we stick to a single theme. Our first challenge is #springdreaming

Pears don’t exactly scream spring. They pop up mostly in late fall and winter. But here’s the thing, we’re still in this. Just yesterday we got slammed with another 5″ of snow. It’s been hit after hit, and guys, wasn’t February supposed to be our coldest, snowiest month?

So this is my peace offering. We’re moving away from winter and slowly dipping our toes into the sand with this one, just waiting for the water to warm up. And if this is any indication of how spring is shaping up, I ain’t mad about it.

Light, crispy, salty, a little sweet, and adored by 2 out of 3 children in the Well Seasoned house! That’s a glowing seal of approval (trust me on that one). Pear tartlets, you get to stay.

pear tartlets with pancetta and blue cheese

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0 from 0 votes

Pear tartlets with pancetta and blue cheese

Store-bought puff pastry makes these pear tartlets a breeze to assemble. Top with blue cheese and crispy pancetta for a quick appetizer for dinner parties or holiday entertaining!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: French

Keyword: pear, puff pastry, puff pastry tart, simple appetizer

Servings: servings

Calories: 449kcal

Author: ari | well seasoned

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 oz pancetta cubed
14 oz puff pastry thawed
all-purpose flour for dusting
2 pears thinly sliced into ½ moon wedges
¼ lb blue cheese or gorgonzola
2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
Malden sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Thyme
Honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until almost crispy, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Do not overcook, the pancetta will continue to crisp up in the oven. Remove from heat and place in a paper towel lined bowl to drain excess fat.
When puff pastry is completely thawed, dust a work surface with a little flour. Unfold the puff pastry and roll out into a 12” x 14” rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the puff pastry into 8 equal rectangles, 6” x 3 ½” each. Transfer puff pastry to baking sheets, placing four on each tray.
Use a knife to score a smaller rectangle around the perimeter of the pastry, leaving about ¼” of dough on the outside. Use a fork to gently poke the center rectangle of each pastry.
Fan out a few pear slices and layer on top of pastry, trying not to go outside the scored line. Sprinkle on about 1 Tbsp cooked pancetta and 1 Tbsp of blue cheese. Repeat with remaining pastries.
Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate pans and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then top each tartlet with a sprinkle of malden sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper, fresh thyme leaves, and a drizzle of honey. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Bakery style black and white cookies

March 13, 2018 by ari | well seasoned 3 Comments

WHAT A WEEK. Actually, two weeks. We traveled down to the middle-of-nowhere Georgia (no offense to the locals) for a family wedding, spent more hours traveling to and from our home in Connecticut than we did with family while visiting, oh and I got peed on by my 2.5 year old minutes before photos were set to begin. But you know what? It’s all good. Because cookies. Bakery style black and whites, I owe you a thank you.

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Sure, there was a huge snowstorm while we were in Georgia and we lost power for 3 days. Didn’t affect us too mush as we weren’t here, but we did end up losing everything from our fridge.

Guys, I’m a food photographer. My fridge is literally always overflowing with food from various shoots. That is a lot of wasted ingredients.

And the minute we got back, more bad news: there were multiple days where the kids stayed home due to power outages at their school. Anyone who manages to be productive while in the presence of 3 screaming maniacs, kudos to you. I haven’t figured that one out yet.

All of that I could handle. I mean I was obviously very moody, but I was taking it in strides. But then. THEN we got hit with another nor’easter. We lost power on Wednesday and didn’t get it back until Saturday late afternoon. I realize how fortunate we are to have a roof over our heads, clean water, warm beds, and clothes on our back the other 362 days of the year. I know that this sounds spoiled and entitled. But have you ever gone multiple days without power with little kids?! Or tried to cram 5 people into a hotel room the size of a walnut. Unpleasant is the most mild, safe-for-work term that comes to mind. To be honest, I can think of a few select 4 letter words that I’d like to yell instead, but we’ll leave it at that.

Anyway, the good news is that the day before the big storm I had the foresight to do a little baking! And so when we begrudgingly packed our bags and left to find a warm place to stay, I was armed with a giant container of black and white cookies.

I credit these bad boys for helping us get through it all. Bite after bite, my anxiety diminished. Actually that’s not true at all. I wasn’t feeling like myself until after we settled in at home again, but I swear these cookies made everyone else around me forget that we were homeless and displaced.

Black and whites are almost more cake than cookie. They’re soft, chewy, airy, and only slightly sweet. The flavor really comes from the frosting. If you’re indecisive like me and struggle to choose between desserts, this is kind of the best possible option — a little chocolatey, a little vanilla, and cake in the form of a cookie. I’d say it’s the perfect little package.

So here’s to many more black and whites, and their extreme power to relieve stress. I’m not sure we would have made it without you.

homemade black and white cookies on a cooling rack with frosting on top

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Bakery style black and white cookies

Homemade black and white cookies, just like you get from your favorite bakery! The cookies are cakey in texture and have both chocolate and vanilla icing on top. A classic!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time17 mins

Total Time37 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American / Jewish

Keyword: bakery-style cookies, black and white cookies, cookies, jewish bakery

Servings: cookies

Calories: 137kcal

Author: ari | well seasoned

Ingredients

For the dough

1 ½ cups white pastry or all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry or whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
⅔ cup buttermilk cold

For the frosting

3 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
3 Tbsp heavy cream
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

Instructions

Preheat ove to 350 and place racks on the upper third and lower third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure they are completely mixed in. Add vanilla.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then with the mixer on low, alternate between adding dry ingredients and buttermilk, until both are gone, ending with the dry ingredients. The dough will be sticky.
Use a ¼ cup cookie scoop to transfer dough to prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies. You should be able to fit about 6 cookies per standard ¼ sheet tray.
Bake for 9 minutes, rotate the pans, then bake an additional 8 minutes. Do not over bake. Allow cookie to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.

For the frosting

While cookies are cooling, make the frosting. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cream, milk, and vanilla. Transfer half of the frosting to another bowl and whisk in cocoa powder. If either frosting is too thick (it needs to be easily spreadable) add milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, whisking until fully incorporated, until desired consistency is reached. You want it thin enough to spread, but not so thin that it won't set up and become firm on the cookies.
Use a small rubber or offset spatula to spread white frosting on one half of each cookie. These need to set for about 15-20 minutes. If you're slow (like me!) you'll be ready to start on the chocolate frosting by the time you finish with the vanilla. Carefully spread chocolate frosting on the opposite side, being careful not to overlap. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Double dark chocolate chunk scones

March 6, 2018 by ari | well seasoned 2 Comments

Double dark chocolate chunk scones. Are these breakfast or dessert? I say YOU DO YOU.

We are not ones to judge here in the Well Seasoned household, as we eat second breakfast almost daily.

If you follow me on Instagram (and if not, you should), you know that I am all about honesty regarding my baking fails, which are many.

My first batch of scones came out overall too large — they were tall, heavy, and oversized. So I made them again with a few tweaks and, lo and behold, apparently practice makes… damn near close to perfect.

The problem is that I was jotting down notes on a loose piece of paper (so unlike me, I am usually attached to my recipe notebook!) and then either lost it or threw it away. Total eye roll, but I ended up baking a third batch the same day because, hello, I’m a tired mom who forgets literally everything unless I write it down.

That’s a lot of scones.

On the plus side, I was able to experiment with two different flours. I recently received some products from Bob’s Red Mill and was blown away by their pastry flours, in particular. Both the unbleached white and whole wheat are leagues above everything else I’ve used. Like, there was a very noticeable difference in texture. While they provided the product, they did not pay me to say this — I just really love their brand. Definitely check out the rest of their product line (Whole Foods, Target, Amazon, Walmart).

Yeah. These double dark chocolate chunk scones were totally worth 3 batches in one day.

Mini chocolate scones on a cooling rack with vanilla glaze on most of the scones and chocolate chunks on the side

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Double Chocolate Scones

These double chocolate scones are tender, cake-y and drizzled with a vanilla bean glaze. For when you absolutely must have chocolate for breakfast!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Resting Time15 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate scones, double chocolate scones, how long to bake scones, how to make scones, mini scones

Servings: mini scones

Calories: 167kcal

Author: ari | well seasoned

Ingredients

For the scones

2 cups pastry or all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter frozen, grated (see note below)
½ cup + 1 Tbsp heavy cream divided
1 large egg room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ - ¾ cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

For the icing

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Instructions

To make the scones

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add grated butter, then stir to evenly coat.
In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into flour mixture and stir until a dough begins to form (it will be very crumbly and look dry). Knead with your hands for about 1 minute until the dough becomes a little more smooth. Add chocolate chunks and knead until combined and the liquid has been absorbed into the flour.
Gently press or roll dough out into a 6” x 10” rectangle. Using a knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough once horizontally and once vertically to create 4 equal rectangles. Make 2 more vertical cuts (one on each side of the center) to create 8 equal squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles — you should have 16 equal wedges.
Transfer scones to baking sheet leaving about 1 inch in between. Refrigerate formed scones for 15 minutes or place in a freezer for 5 minutes. You want the butter and scone dough as COLD as possible. Just before baking, brush a small bit of reserved heavy creamy on top of each scone.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick placed in the center of the scone comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake! Scones will firm up as they sit. Let scones cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make icing

While scones are cooling, make icing. Place confectioner’s sugar and vanilla in a small bowl, then milk 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking to combine, until desired consistency is reached. Less is more — the less liquid you use, the better the icing will firm up once it sets.

Notes

Frozen grated butter: Place 1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter in a freezer at least 30 minutes prior to beginning. Use a box grated to grate the frozen butter. Place in a large bowl and use immediately or store in freezer until needed.
To freeze unbaked scones: Place shaped scone dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then freezer for 1 hour. Transfer frozen scones to a freezer-safe airtight container or bag. When ready, bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to bake time.
To freeze baked scones: Allow baked scones to cool completely, then drizzle with homemade vanilla bean glaze. Freeze baked scones on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then wrap individually or transfer to a freezer-safe airtight container or bag.
To thaw: Leave scones out overnight in a refrigerator. Fully baked frozen scones can be heated in a microwave in 30 second increments until fully defrosted.

For more chocolate recipes, check out the following:

Nutrition

*The products in this post were provided by Bob’s Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Well Seasoned possible!

Carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting