Joy the Baker » entertaining

Pickle Fries

joythebaker — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:30:43 +0000

I think maybe I can see into my future. Well, I can see into my future if my future involves me being pregnant.

If I’m ever a pregnant Joy the Baker… oh sweet lordy… God help us all.

I’ll totally be one of those pickles and ice cream women. I’ll also be a marshmallow and peanut butter woman. …and maybe a pizza and taffy kind of lady.

It’s the future. I can feel it.

I hope and pray that pregnant Joy the Baker is also still into kale and quinoa.

Thank goodness that’s all a long way away.

In the meantime… I’ll just turn pickles into fries and pretend the yogurt dipping sauce is actually vanilla bean ice cream.

This is what a typical pickle shoot looks like. Totally normal. Nothing to see here.

I should tell you now that this is a double battered, fried pickle situation.

First the cornichons are bathed in a beaten egg with mustard and hot sauce.

mmm hmm.

A dusting of seasoned flour… then back to the egg bath!

The extra egg bath makes the panko bread crumbs stick like glue.Well… delicious glue.

These darlings are ready for the fryer (and ready for a hot date with an ice cream cone).

Hot from the fryer! These fried pickles are warm with a hint of spice. They’re salty, crunchy, and unreasonably comforting. It’s weird magic.

I paired these pickle fries with a super simple cumin yogurt dip. Cumin, yogurt, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I dunno… why not fake your way into some health with yogurt dip for your fried indulgence. mm hmm. Divine.

I know we’re supposed to be eating cranberries and slice and bake sugar cookies… but I just couldn’t help myself with these fries.

If you’re feeling the spirit, you might consider this Honey Cranberry Cornmeal Quick Bread.

If you’re feeling more pickled, you might consider this amazing Potato Chip and Pickle Sandwich.

Pickle Fries

serves 2

Print this Recipe!

For the Fries:

18-24 small cornichon pickles

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 dashes of hot sauce

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

pinch of salt

1 cup panko bread crumbs

pinch of salt

coarse ground black pepper

canola oil for frying

For the Dipping Sauce:

3/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

pinch of salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (or more to taste)

a splash of water

First prepare the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, mix together yogurt, mustard, salt, pepper, cumin and a splash of water. Set in the fridge until ready to use.

To make the fries, you’ll need three small bowls. In one bowl beat the egg with Dijon mustard and hot sauce. In a second small bowl combine flour , pinch of salt, and red pepper flakes. In a third small bowl, combine panko bread crumbs pinch of salt, and black pepper.

Heat about 1/2-inch oil in a frying pan. Heat over medium-low flame. Test the oil heat by tossing in a few bread crumbs to make sure they brown well. If oil is too hot it will smoke. You shouldn’t have this problem over a medium/medium-low flame, but if you do, just turn off the heat.

Dip pickles in the egg mixture. Transfer to the flour mixture to lightly coat. Transfer back to the egg mixture, then finally to the panko mixture to coat thoroughly. Transfer coated fries to the fryer, cooking until golden brown on all sides.

Transfer fries to a paper towel to drain and cool slightly before serving with dipping sauce. Fries are best served warm.

Root Beer Float Cake

joythebaker — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:34:19 +0000

Before I made this cake on Sunday afternoon, I sat down with a nice, tall root beer float. Sure, it was 10:30 in the morning. I suppose that technically that means I had a root beer float for breakfast. That’s one of the great thing about being an adult, you can have a float for breakfast with no resistance.

Something about a root beet float puts me on a conveyor belt back to some really random childhood memories. The taste, the bubbles, the increasingly creamy soda… it take me back to constantly skinned knees, playing in a beat-up old red wagon with my sister, and sitting in front of an old black and white television watching baseball with my grandfather. Funny what a little ice cream and soda can do in your brain, right?

But cake!? Root Beet Float Cake? I have so many questions. Will it have the same memory inducing effects as the real deal? Is that asking too much? Wait, is this cake chocolate or root beer? Can I eat it for breakfast? Will it change my life for the better?

Answers and cake, just a click away.

Here’s what you should know about the Root Beer Float Cake. It’s a wonderfully moist, super chocolate Bundt Cake. It’s the kind of cake that’s great to take to a outdoor summer party because it has the “hmmm” factor. People will wonder what’s in it besides the chocolate.

The cake doesn’t have the same memory inducing effects as a real root beer float. I blame that on all the chocolate. The root beer flavor does intensify in the cake the next day. I suggest making the cake a day ahead, wrapping it well, then frosting it and serving the next day. And yes… cake for breakfast is always encouraged around these parts. Cake for breakfast usually makes my life better.

Try this cake. Maybe for Memorial Day. Maybe put it on your summer baking list. I’d love to hear what you think!

Root Beer Float Cake

Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Print this Recipe!

2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Preheat even to 325 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten. Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy. You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough. Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.

Chocolate Root Beer Frosting

2 ounces 60% cocoa, melted

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt (you may want to use less… maybe just 1/2 teaspoon)

1/4 cup root beer

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter and cocoa powder. Once combined add the melted chocolate, salt, powdered sugar and root beer. Beat together until smooth. Spread on top of cooled cake. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.