Coconut doughnuts

Thanks to my mother-in-law, I used a gift certificate for the Baker's catalog from the King Arthur Flour company a couple of years back, and got myself a doughnut baking pan. I was excited to make healthier versions of doughnuts at home but their standard recipe for baked doughnuts was a bit meh.  Into the cabinet the doughnut baking pan went until I decided to give it another go and perused other recipes on the King Arthur site.

I discovered a winner--Baked Coconut Doughnuts:

It calls for a few atypical ingredients (coconut milk powder, potato flour) that I had to order from King Arthur, but they seemed worth it because these doughnuts were delish. Half I tossed in a paper bag with equal parts confectioner's sugar and coconut milk powder. The other half I drizzled with a glaze made with confectioner's sugar, a trickle of milk, and some heavy drops of coconut extract.  I think I gave the slight edge to the powdered version.  But both are so good.

Though they're baked, they're still a treat, calorie-wise, and unfortunately, with the few unique ingredients, it's not exactly a cheap treat, either.  But, I enjoyed them so much, they're worth the luxury every once in a while.

I've seen the doughnut baking pans in stores like Target now, so if you're interested in an indulgent change up from pancakes or waffles, you could give these baked Coconut Doughnuts a try!

Baked Coconut Doughnuts

* 3/4 cup King Arthur Flour Mellow Pastry Blend
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1/2 cup coconut milk powder
* 2 tablespoons potato flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 large egg
* 6 tablespoons water
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/8 teaspoon coconut flavor

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter or grease your standard doughnut pan.

2) To make the doughnuts: Whisk together the dry ingredients.

3) In a separate bowl, beat the egg, water, oil, and flavor until frothy.

4) Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir until well combined.

5) Fill each doughnut form about half full, using ¼ cup batter.

6) Bake the doughnuts for 12 to 14 minutes, until they spring back when touched lightly and are very light brown on top.

7) Cool for a few minutes, then spread with glaze, or dust with powdered sugar.

Pattern Bar

I am a sucker for a good cocktail, especially one with a catchy names like the ones at Pattern Bar where they're named after designers:

Come meet The Jacobs (Jack Daniel's honey, muddled strawberries, agave, apricot liquor, ginger ale):

I can't remember if this was the D Von Furstenberg (Overholt Rye, honey liquor, mint, and orange) or The Chanel (Hornitos Reposado, Grand Marnier, fresh cilantro, agave, serrano pepper, and lime)--but it was snappy:

The McQueen (Hendricks Gin, elderflower, fresh passion fruit):

The tapas here were quite enjoyable too.  I recommend La Pomme (slice fuji apple with blue cheese, candied walnuts, fruit, and honey):

And by the end of the night, I asked the bartender to come up with a Tom Ford:

It was a bourbon drink--strong, assertive, and would probably hate my clothes--sooo Tom Ford, amirite?

It's a nice friendly bar, with wonderful cocktails and tapas--I recommend it if you're in downtown LA.

Umami

Last night, I had an amazing meal at Umamicatessen with some friends up in LA. Where to start? How about some cocktails?

I can't remember the beer on the right, but that's a Velvet Mule (Beluga vodka, Velvet Falernum, lime juice, ginger beer, Angostura bitters) on the left, and my Red Sapphire (Bombay Sapphire gin, St. Vincent raspberry syrup, Earl Grey tea syrup, maraschino, lemon juice, egg white) front and center. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

I had the Earth Burger: mushroom and edamame patty, white soy aioli, truffled ricotta cheese, cipollini onions, butter lettuce, and slow roasted tomato.  Gorgeous.

And by far, the BEST vegetarian burger I have ever had.  So, so satisfying, so hearty, kind of how I remembered what eating a good burger was like.

We shared the truffle cheese fries, which were excellent.  One of my friends even managed to get a side of Brainnaise (a mayo featuring pig brain) to dip into as well:

This Truffle Beet Salad.  Featuring truffled ricotta, smoked almonds, wild baby arugula, truffle dressing, and golden beets.  To die for.  What an incredible mix of flavors.

And for dessert--donuts!  Totally loved this one featuring tres leches, cajeta, and ceylon cinnamon:

And this one featuring meyer lemon curd, yogurt glaze, and freeze-dried blueberries:

I HIGHLY recommend eating at Umamicatessen if you're near downtown Los Angeles.  I cannot wait to eat here again!

Also, around the corner is a parking lot that Banksy improved with some of his art:

And this is me photobombing when a friend was trying to take a picture of it:

Brodards

My friend, Sweet P, took me to Brodard's for some tasty Vietnamese takeout--notably their famous spring rolls.  I didn't even know what kind I'm eating but I LOVED the crunchy goodness inside and their killer sauce.  Honestly, I could have eaten a dozen of these:

I also enjoyed their Banh Khot--these crispy little rice cakes that are wrapped in lettuce and dipped in a light sauce. So tasty and savory. Again, bummed that I only got one order.

Another treat Brodard's are known for--macarons!

And I had to get one of each flavor of the macarons they had: chocolate, coffee, pistachio, mango-passion fruit, raspberry, coconut, hazelnut, salted caramel, orange, taro, green tea, lemon, strawberry, and durian:

They were all tasty, but my favorites were mango-passion fruit, salted caramel, and orange. I will confess that the durian may be an acquired taste if you're not used to it. A slight digression: I remember a long, long time ago, a co-worker told me that I had to try durian fruit--how it was once of the best tasting fruits BUT, she warned me that the smell of the fruit when you cut it open can be off-putting. Her description? Cat litter, she whispered. So yeah, I guess it's an acquired taste, for sure.

Next time I think I'll want to eat here so I can keep stuffing my face with various tasty rolls. I definitely recommend stopping here if making a visit to Orange County.

Rice Krispies Treats

While visiting California, I was fortunate to meet with two friends for lunch who both were celebrating a birthday. For one, I made a clutch. For another, I wanted to also give something homemade and went with good ol' Rice Krispies treats that I wrapped individually in waxed paper:

Two stacks of Rice Krispies treats all prettified in baker's twine that Linda had:

Holy cow, has anyone had Rice Krispies treats in a while? I hadn't eaten one in a long time, and yeesh, it was sooo good straight out of the pot! Kind of want to make a batch when I get home...

Linda's bread

I'm visiting California for my friend's baby shower and I got to stay with my friend Linda, who baked this delicious cheese bread:

I remember she posted about a no-knead bread recipe that came out perfect because it was baked in a Dutch Oven.

And it WAS. The crust was perfectly crispy, and well, crusty. And then on top of that, the inside was perfectly holey and chewy. The recipe is for a plain loaf, but she added asiago and other hard cheeses, inside and out. So good.

I have GOT to get a dutch oven!

BabyCakes

Yesterday I took Augie to check out another famous New York bakery, BabyCakes, a vegan bakery where a lot of the baked goods are also gluten-free, soy-free, and refined sugar-free. Currently Augie is allergic to wheat and eggs so I was excited to try a place where he could enjoy a little baked goodness.

We picked out a healthy assortment--mini donuts, chocolate chip cookies, a red velvet cupcake, a banana cinnamon cupcake, and a slice of corn bread:

Side note:  around the corner from the bakery, they were shooting scenes from an upcoming film, Now You See Me.

But this guy just wanted to head home and check out the treats.

Sigh. We are so related.

Augie loved it all.  It was all pretty tasty and you certainly don't miss the gluten, eggs, and dairy.  It wasn't as sweet as typical cupcake fare which, frankly, was actually pleasant.  I highly recommend the banana cinnamon cupcake and mini donuts.

I hope to take Augie back there next time I'm in New York and make it "our place" where his auntie gets him sweet treats!