Desserts »Payne’s Donuts and Aldo’s Bakery

on Block Island

Our recent visit to Block Island was a blast (more info coming soon). I expected a great time with the family, the ocean, and seafood but was surprised to come home raving about donuts and pies.

Aldo’s Bakery supplies the pies – we had an excellent blueberry one with a buttery crust that was heaven a la mode with their homemade ice cream.

The true gem though, are the fresh “killer” donuts from Payne’s in the New Harbor. Now, I have had many a great donut in my time, but these warm, sugar dusted treats rank among the top five at least.

I had three(!) in one sitting, truly living it up when on vacation.

These are so addictive that they could make anyone fat within a few months, so it’s a mixed blessing that they aren’t available closer to home.

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Posted on July 13, 2011

Desserts »Baskin Robbins Icecream Cake

643 Manhattan Ave,and a Million Other Locations

Father’s Day afternoon: Van is sacked out in my arms, so (best daddy ever) Jim has to go down to the land of I-forgot-to-get-a-cake, the Baskin Robbins attanched to the Dunkin Donuts for his own Father’s Day Cake.

As someone familiar with Carvel and Hersheys cakes in the past, I expected that strange sugary plastic icing and ultra sweetness. To my surprise, Baskin does things a little classier. The icing is more like whipped cream and doesn’t even coat your mouth with oddness.

It does, of course, still end up looking like some crazy clown nightmare by the time you’re nearly done though (see photo), as all ice cream cakes should.

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Posted on June 19, 2011

Desserts »Robicelli’s Cupcakes

Cupcakes in Cool Flavors

Robicelli’s adorable cupcakes in are popping up all over our neighborhood. We’ve found them at Radish and Eastern District and can never say no to their interesting daily flavors.

This pictured McFadden (Victorian lemonade cake and buttercream made with a splash of Pimm’s, hand candied lemon peel) was perfect for these warmer days.

The buttercream lemon frosting was truly amazing, so light and fluffy and buttery!

Their tumblr has the flavors of the day and the many places you can pick one up.

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Posted on June 13, 2011

Desserts »Eton Mess

A Classic British Dessert, Guest Written by Dana

Eton Mess is a very simple English dessert made with strawberries, meringue and whipped cream which is served on the last Wednesday in may at Eton college at the “Fourth of June” picnic/cricket match with Winchester University.

This recipe is what I fed my 3 year old daughter but you can also add port or balsamic vinegar or pomegranate juice. Some people add sugar, Heston Blumenthal makes his with bananas.

The story behind the recipe is that a dog crashed into (or sat on) a picnic basket on the way to the picnic and it made a “mess”. My neighbor says its because of the way the dish looks. A third option in Wikipedia describes it as “a quantity of food”, particularly “a prepared dish of soft food” or “a mixture of ingredients cooked or eaten together”.

Once you make the delicate meringues (which is not a good project with toddlers) the dish is really easy to assemble even with a toddler. I whipped my own cream, my daughter crumbled the meringues, big pieces are better (dyed in pastel colors and decorated with dinosaur sprinkles) and those were mixed. and strawberries plopped on top.

Forgot to take pics of ours, the photo is from My Best Days Ever.

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Posted on June 8, 2011

Desserts »Coolhaus

70 North 7th Street, Brooklyn

An ice cream sandwich is a delicious concept but I often find them disappointing. Usually either the cookie or the ice cream (or both) are sub par.

Not so with the Coolhaus truck that simply combines delicious Ovenly cookies with creamy, exotic flavored ice creams.

You pick and choose your sandwich combo, a feature that drew us in, but the fact that our rosemary butterscotch on chocolate chip was so overstuffed, sloppy, and scrumptious is what will have me coming back for more.

After all, wouldn’t you be curious about pistachio with black truffles and olive oil gelato?

If you live in LA or Austin you can indulge your curiosity at one of their trucks. Locally, it hangs out in front of the Artists and Fleas market on North 7th every other Saturday this Summer.

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Posted on June 4, 2011

Desserts »Sea Salt Caramel Gelato

Talenti

A tub of gelato that reads “sea salt caramel” may just as well say “buy me!” This Talenti brand gelato is rich, creamy, and doesn’t shy away from the sea salt part of the equation.

Really delicious stuff, and some I’ve only just noticed on store shelves. I look forward to trying some of their other flavors like Peach Champagne and White Chocolate Raspberry.

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Posted on May 27, 2011

Desserts »Birthday Cake Truffles

at Momofuku Milk, 251 E 13th st

On one hand, there’s a very alarming Times article about the dangers of sugar but on the other, Momofuku Milk is now offering Birthday Cake Truffles!

And Birthday Cake is one of my favorite things on the planet. When it was knocked out of the Jezebel Cake vs. Pie Tournament I was much more upset than was reasonable.

One great thing about getting older is that our peers are now in charge of things. Whether it’s media or food, most everything is made in new and inventive ways, usually reflecting what we loved growing up. Momofuku pastry chef Christina Tosi is a perfect example.

I am willing to bet she also had sleep overs that involved a shared messy bowl of raw cake batter (or were my friends and I particularly indulgent?). Well, at least I assume she got to lick the spoon in the kitchen.

These truffles are a delicious way to relive those days and economical compared to the pricey but awesome whole cakes on offer.

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Posted on April 29, 2011

Desserts,Recipes »Banana Pudding

from Allrecipes

We had lots of bananas in the house after learning they gave our little one gas (one night between was spent gently rubbing his tummy for about an hour). Now, we could do banana bread (and did with a few using that excellent Simply Recipes recipe I recommended) but once our friend Shaun mentioned Banana Cream Pies my mind wandered to less usual treats.

This easy no cook Banana Pudding recipe is classic Americana with it’s Jello pudding mix, Kool Whip, condensed milk and Nilla wafers – and, I imagine, not terribly good for us. But it tastes like the sweetness of carefree youth. I’m just glad we were able to share with friends because the recipe makes a small tub full!

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Posted on April 4, 2011

Desserts »Nonpareils

aka Sno Caps

There aren’t many Kosher products whose availability I look forward to (well, I do enjoy a matzo ball soup now and then) but come Passover time, Fresh Direct always offers these over sized dark chocolate Nonpareils.

Meaning “hundreds and thousands” the name refers to the white sugar sprinkles that match so perfectly with rich chocolate but in the world of confections are enjoyed on cookies, bread, and ice cream too.

The chocolate variety is of course, widely available in movie theaters nation wide as Sno-Caps, which I also love. But these, which come from the generically named 21st Century Snack Foods Company in Ronkonkoma are a superior version. Pick up a box if you have the chance.

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Posted on March 31, 2011

Desserts »Steve’s Vanilla Bourbon Ice Cream

A Flavor Revolution Starts in Small Batches

Steve’s Ice Cream began the gourmet ice cream revolution back in 1973. And now they are back!

Truth be told, I had no idea of the company’s history when I indulged in a scoop of their Vanilla Bourbon. All I knew was that I was experiencing something quite exceptionally awesome.

Made in small batches and popping up all over Brooklyn, it is a great idea to seek these pints out if you count yourself an ice cream fan (and the Vanilla Bourbon flavor would also appeal to boozers – with a candied orange peel this is like an Old Fashioned in dessert form yummmmm).

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Posted on March 15, 2011