Last night, I left Pure Food and Wine mildly satiated and was in search of a filling desert joint.  I was craving cake to be more exact.  Plugging in the word “dessert” into the Yelp search bar, Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar popped up and it was just two blocks away.  Seeing that Angela and I had never been there, there was no better time to go and get a sugar fix.

Upon entering, the senses are filled with scents of butter and sugar, it’s exactly how a bakery should smell.  There are no stools to sit at, just long wooden tables.  The place looks to be designed for quick eating, get in and get out.  The place offers soft serve, milks, shakes, cookies, cakes, pies, breads, pork buns, and even spreads such as kimchi butter, miso butter, and burnt honey.  Looking at the paper menu, the Crack Pie and Pistachio Cake looked to be the winners, but then after a quick glance at the chalkboard menu hanging above the counter and cake display case, we saw the words Dulce de Leche.  Well, so much for the Pistachio cake.

The Delicious Crack Pie – I didn’t want it to end.

The slice of Crack Pie was small, but don’t let the size fool you.  It’s a concentrated slab of sugary and buttery goodness.  Appropriately named, the sweetness alone will drive you into a sugar rush, and the smooth, gooey and buttery filling just tops everything off.  You’ll probably want more after the one slice.  I’m disappointed that I just discovered this place.  I’m moving to Chicago soon and I’m going to miss New York City even more now.

Dulce de Leche

The Dulce de Leche cake isn’t as memorable as the Crack Pie but it’s still good.  It’s nowhere as sweet as the Crack Pie, but it’s just right.  I’ve had better Dulce de Leche cakes at other places, but Momofuku’s version still holds up rather venerably.  What threw me off were the milk crumbs in the filling.  They are these milky and hard clusters that worked against the soft and moist texture of the cake.  Imagine driving down a newly paved road and then running over a pothole.  It’s not a good transition.  I like it when the cake slowly dissolves and melts in the mouth, and having to bite down on something that’s rock hard just takes away from the cake eating experience.

Literally 5 minutes later…

While the Crack Pie and Dulce de Leche might have given me the quickest sugar rush in a long time, it’s good to be cake whore from time to time.  Recommended, especially for those with a sweet tooth.

Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar
207 2nd Ave
(between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003

Food: 4 out of 5

Service: 3 out of 5

Ambiance: 3 out of 5

So, a good number of people are asking for the recipe for the Japanese cheesecake I made.  It’s not my recipe, but the instructions are mine.  The original instructions were far too vague and confusing, so I did some research online to find a clearer way in making it.

This recipe takes some time and patience, but the best things come to those who wait.

So, here is what you need.
2 large mixing bowls
Small bowls for holding the ingredients
Hand Mixer
Kitchen Scale (digital – grams or ounces)
8 or 9 inch baking pan
Large baking pan for the water bath

Ingredients
140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar (regular sugar)
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks (make sure no egg yolk makes it into the whites, not even a little bit)  Set aside for about 20 minutes to warm up. `
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh whole milk (6 Tablespoons)
1 tbsp. lemon juice (use fresh lemons)
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. corn flour (cornstarch)
1/4 tsp. salt

I separated the instructions into 3 parts to make things easier.

Part 1:  The Cake Batter

• Step 1.  Melt the cream cheese, butter, and milk together in a double boiler.  A double boiler can be made by placing metal mixing bowl on top of a pot of low boiling water.   Make sure the boiling water doesn’t touch the bottom of the mixing bowl and that the bowl is larger than the pot.  Also, use an oven mitt as the mixing bowl can get pretty hot.  Stir until all the ingredients are melted together.  Set aside to cool down.  15 minutes should do.
• Step 2.  Once the batter is cooled, fold in the egg yolks, salt, cake flour, corn flour, and lemon juice.  Mix well, the batter should be smooth with no lumps.  A whisk is particularly useful for this.  Set aside.
• Step 3.  Prepare the water bath.  Details on preparing a water bath can be found here.

Part 2:  The Meringue

• Step 1.  Whisk the egg whites with the hand mixer on low for about 15 seconds.  It should get bubbly.
• Step 2.  Continue mixing and add in the cream of tartar.  Increase the power two levels.  5 seconds.
• Step 3.  Slowly add in the sugar.  Increase the power another level.  Add in the first half of the sugar one tablespoon at a time while mixing.  Slowly pour in the remaining half while mixing.
• Step 4.  Increase the speed one more time if available and keep mixing.  Eventually, it will thicken up.  Mix until soft peaks form.  Meaning when you remove the mixer, the meringue will peak up and the tips will slowly curl back down.  It should also be light and airy.

Part 3.  Combine the Batter and Meringue, Baking

• Step 1.  Mix the batter into the meringue and fold (not whisk) until the 2 mixtures turn into one
• Step 2.  Pour the combined mixture in a greased or cooking sprayed baking pan.
• Step 3.  Place the baking pan into the water bath.
• Step 4.  Bake in the oven in a water bath at 325 degrees for 1 hour, 10 minutes.   Don’t forget to preheat the oven.
• Step 5.  After baking, carefully remove the pan from the water bath and let it settle for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Step 6.  Top with your favorite topping.

Yeah, it takes some work. It’s a good recipe to try if you’re stuck at home with nothing to do on a rainy day.

The cake states the following:

“Dear Mr. Bowers – During the past three years, my tenure at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard has been nothing short of pure excitement, joy and whim.

“However, I have decided to spend more time with my family and attend to health issues that have recently arisen. I am proud to have been part of such an outstanding team and I wish this organization only the
finest in future endeavors.

“Please accept this cake as notification that I am leaving my position with NWT on March 27. Sincerely, W. Neil Berrett”.

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard might have lost a great employee, but at least the employees can drown their sorrows in cake.

Source

Sometimes, stories are so bizarre that you can’t make that sort of stuff up.

A Shop Rite refused to inscribe a personal message onto a birthday cake for a 3-year old, because the child’s name is Adolf Hitler Campbell.  Yep, you read correctly.  I don’t have any animosity towards the parents of Adolf, they can name their son whatever they like.  But don’t they foresee that the name might make their child the brunt of jokes and maybe an awkward social life?  Here’s a statement from Shop Rite regarding the cake:

“We believe the request … to inscribe a birthday wish to Adolf Hitler is inappropriate,” said Karen Meleta, a ShopRite spokeswoman.

I’m sort of torn in two, while I understand why Shop Rite would be uncomfortable in scribing Adolf Hitler on a cake, that little 3-year old still deserves a cake no matter what his name is.  He’s a 3 year old!

Source

The first time I had rum cake was aboard the Norwegian Dawn Cruise to the Bahamas.  I liked it so much that I purchased a couple of boxes for the trip home.  That was four years ago, and I have not had any since.  Well, my good friend just came back from a Caribbean cruise and he brought back a box of Tortuga Rum Cake for me.  This stuff is amazing.  If you ever come across it, pick up a box.  If you can’t find it anywhere, you should try looking through this thing called the Internet.  I hear it’s pretty amazing.

~ Kin

A surprise birthday party was thrown for a friend of mine on Saturday night. I think he had a minor heart attack when we all yelled surprise right after he turned on the lights. The birthday cake was the three-layer 9-inch Red Velvet cake from the well-known Magnolia Bakery in New York City. I thought it was a little dry, but the frosting balanced it out very well. While I was cutting the cake for everyone, some person asked me what it was made of. I told him it was some sort of chocolate/cocoa base w/ red food coloring. He didn’t believe me because it was so red. I should have told him it was made out of cow blood or something.

~ Kin