Category Archives: Sweets

Galactic Pie

Posted on by
Reply

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

One of the destinations on my “Flavors of Little Levant in Bay Ridge” ethnojunket is Bay Ridge Bakery at 7805 5th Avenue, a fixture in that Brooklyn neighborhood that has been creating first-class cakes, cookies, and pastries since 1972. They feature superb French, Italian, and American baked goods like those shown here…

…but this post is about their exceptional galaktoboureko (γαλακτομπούρεκο), a Greek pastry featuring sweet semolina custard encased in phyllo dough. Its name literally means “milk pie” and the English word “galaxy” is derived from the Greek root: think Milky Way.

The bakery is the creation of John Nikolopoulos, a pastry chef who hails from Greece – so you know you’re getting the real deal. Head inside and walk straight to the back where traditional Greek pastries are hiding in plain sight and buy a piece (or more!) of their quintessentially definitive galaktoboureko – truly one of the best versions I’ve ever tasted.

And needless to say, we always stop by for a piece on my Little Levant ethnojunket!

ώπα!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Día de los Muertos

Posted on by
Reply

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

You’ve heard it before: “Oh, Día de los Muertos is Mexican Halloween, right?”

Wrong. Día de los Muertos is decidedly not Mexican Halloween any more than Chanukah is Jewish Christmas – and if any unenlightened soul tries to tell you that, please disabuse them of that fallacious notion inmediatamente!

The Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, is celebrated from October 31 through November 2 (dates may vary depending upon the locality) – and “celebrated” is the proper word: families congregate to memorialize loved ones who have passed away, but it is seen as a time when the departed temporarily revivify and join in the revelry rather than as a sorrowful occasion. Additionally, these days Día de Muertos, as it is also known, serves as a paean to the indigenous people with whom it originated in pre-Hispanic times.

So I headed out to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to get myself into the Día de los Muertos spirit; sequin-eyed, neon icing-coiffed calaveras (sugar skulls) are relatively easy to find in the neighborhood. Although spirits don’t eat, this one seemed particularly interested in the pan de muerto I picked up.

This bread of the dead is customarily embossed with bone shapes, sometimes crossbones, sometimes in a circle, and other traditional embellishments such as skulls and a single teardrop. It’s a barely sweet, simple bun (like so many Mexican panes dulces), light and airy with a tight crumb, and topped with sesame seeds or sugar (like this one) with hints of cinnamon, anise, and orange flower water.


Above: A view of the inner sanctum.
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Pinklady Cheese Tart

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

I’m old enough to remember “Pink Lady and Jeff,” the ill-fated 80s television show that co-starred comic Jeff Altman and the Japanese singing duo Mie Nemoto and Kei Masuda known as Pink Lady. That and the gin and grenadine cocktail are what come to mind when I hear the evocative phrase, “Pink Lady.” So when I passed Pinklady Cheese Tart on Mott St in Manhattan’s Chinatown, logic dictated that the reference was to neither.


Based on sweet Japanese cheese tarts, these handmade delights are overflowing with a creamy, cheesy filling nestled in a crispy shortbread crust and sometimes crowned with an eye-catching topping.

Available in a multitude of flavors including original, ube, Japanese matcha, lemon, chocolate, strawberry, black sesame and blueberry, they can be enjoyed warm and oozy or cold like cheesecake; shown here are ube and chocolate at mousse-like room temperature. I also tried the original because that’s where I always start but I can assure you I haven’t finished: we’ll be tasting them on my Not Your Ordinary Chinatown Tour of course.

Their motto is Fluffy, Rich, Creamy, Cute.

Nailed it.
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Alpha Bakery

Posted on by

If your native language was Italian or Spanish and you aspired to start up a top-line, first-class bakery and food shop, you might consider naming it “Numero Uno” – but if your native language was Greek, you might opt for “Alpha.” And Alpha Bakery & Mediterranean Marketplace has succeeded in achieving that status.

Backstory: It’s the inception of food tour season and I always return for multiple visits to each neighborhood we cover to see what’s new and what’s departed. I was on the hunt for some seriously needed newcomers for my Flavors of Little Levant ethnojunket in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and I spotted Alpha at 7717 5th Ave.

Predominantly Greek products lined the shelves, but it was the ample array of freshly prepared dishes and baked goods that caught my eye. The Tolis family opened Alpha Bakery last October, but they’re hardly newcomers to the kitchen: they had been professional pastry chefs in Greece 25 years ago before they emigrated to America.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Shown here is their Fried Codfish and Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Mπακαλιάρος και Σκορδαλιά – or Bakaliaros and Skordalia if the alphabet is Greek to you). Crispy exterior, substantial interior paired with the classic accompaniment.


The highlight that day was their Bougatsa (Mπουγάτσα) – flaky phyllo dough filled sweet semolina custard and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Never had semolina custard? Definitely give this version a try.


Inside view revealing the delectable filling – and despite any expectation, it’s not excessively sweet. Worth a trip.

Alpha is truly a welcome addition to the neighborhood and yes, of course we’ll stop by on my Little Levant ethnojunket. See you soon!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

In Just –

Posted on by

– the proverbial blink of an eye, the weather changed from dark, bleak, frigid Winter to glorious, mud-luscious, puddle-wonderful Spring. And with it, the advent of food tour season!

I usually share photos of savory treats we enjoy on our ethnojunkets but pix of sweets less frequently. On an “Eastern European Food in Little Odessa” tour last year, one of my favorite guests was on a quest for a certain type of honey cake that she hoped we’d find at Tashkent Market. It was a wakeup call for me that I needed to delve into their selection of Russian and Eastern European cakes more thoroughly – hey, it’s tough work but somebody’s gotta do it 😉. So over subsequent visits, I decided to familiarize myself with just a few (ha!) of the dozens of varieties they offer. Some photos of my research:

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Spartak Cake – Layered with sour cream icing, topped with chocolate ganache.


Napoleon – Layers of thin, flaky puff pastry and pastry cream highlighted with sweet raspberries.


Éclair – Chocolate coated, topped with pistachios, loaded with a rich cream filling.


Vatrushka – A yeast dough disk filled with sweet cheese, often topped with cherries.


Chocolate Kartoshka – The Russian word for potato! Made from cake or cookie crumbs mixed with cocoa, sweetened condensed milk, and butter.


Sochniki – Crumbly shortbread cookies two ways: cheese and cherries.


Syrniki – From the Russian word for cheese, syr. Puck-shaped disks made from tvorog (similar to pot cheese). Inside perspective: raisin, sweetened condensed milk, and Nutella flavors.


Honey Cake – The inspiration for this post. Layered with honey infused cream.

But since a picture isn’t worth a thousand calories, please join me on one of my ethnojunkets! Visit my Ethnojunkets page to check out the comings and goings of my food tours!
 
 
Stay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! ❤
 
 

Homemade Christmas Cookies, Day 5 – Linzer Cookies

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Linzer Stars

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Finely ground almonds figure into in the sweet, tender dough; the filling is made from red currants that I bought when they were in season and preserved in anticipation of this maniacal operation. Why maniacal? Look closely and you’ll see that the powdered sugar blankets only the outer section of the star, yet the inner red star shines snow-free.
🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

Follow along to see how I do it:

Start with solid backs.

Add preserves around the perimeter but not in the center. (Neatness doesn’t count.)

Match tops to bottoms.

Let it snow, let it snow, etc.


Squirt a blob of preserves into the cutout.

Now here comes the maniacal part: For each cookie, use a toothpick to draw out the five points of the star.

Et voilà!

The cookies are complete and packed up. Here’s the negative space that was left behind!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
🎅🎄☃️❄️
 
 

Homemade Christmas Cookies, Day 2 – Biscotti

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Biscotti

🍪🍪
These twice-cooked treats (aka cantuccini) are laden with toasted almonds and dried cherries that I simmered in Amaretto. Delicious dunked in coffee for breakfast, wine for dessert (as they do in Italy), or cocoa for snowstorms.
🍪🍪

Stay tuned: more cookies to come!
 
 

Homemade Christmas Cookies, Day 1 – Identity Crisis Cookies

Posted on by

When I bake Christmas cookies, it’s the same cast of characters every year. Not that this old dog can’t learn new tricks, it’s just that after I’ve made my signature treats, I usually don’t have enough energy left to take pictures of them. (Although somehow I do manage to muster the energy to consume them!)

So here are some past photos of those goodies. Enjoy!

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Identity Crisis Cookies

🍪
So named because I couldn’t decide whether to make chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin or toasted coconut pecan and since I had all of those on hand…well, you get the picture.
🍪

More to come….