The Craft of Baking

This Sunday’s Times Magazine features a story by Pete Wells with a recipe for spicy caramel popcorn from Karen DeMasco’s first book, “The Craft of Baking.” I was eager to get my hands on it; DeMasco is one of New York City’s most celebrated and talented pastry chefs. She baked at Fore Street in Portland, Me., at Chanterelle in Manhattan and then under Claudia Fleming at Gramercy Tavern. In 2001, she relocated a block south, where she shaped her baking style as Tom Colicchio’s pastry chef at Craft, Craftbar and ‘wichcraft. After a brief hiatus from the restaurant grind, she is back in it, this time as the pastry chef at Andrew Carmellini’s Locanda Verde.

In her book, we see a combination of DeMasco the mom (she has two young daughters) and DeMasco the chef. Her recipes are the opposite of restaurant-y and include treats like yellow birthday cake with milk-chocolate buttercream, grandma’s cashew brittle, coconut marshmallows and Hostess-style cupcakes.

The recipes I followed worked perfectly and tasted delicious: brown-sugar cake (a favorite), peach and plum cobbler, pecan shortbread cookies (vanilla meets nutty butter), coffee-cake muffins with pecan streusel (not nearly as pretty as hers) and cacao-nib granita. The spicy popcorn, which has just the right kick of cayenne to mellow the sweet caramel, is so addictive that my colleagues cursed me for bringing all four quarts into the office.

One thing to note: DeMasco’s recipes call for kosher salt, but she doesn’t mention which brand she uses, Diamond Crystal or Morton. (Though they look similar, the brands vary quite a bit by weight.) She said in an e-mail message that she uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt exclusively. When using this book, either use Diamond Crystal kosher salt or adjust the quantity accordingly: 1/2 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt = 3/8 teaspoon of Morton kosher salt = 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea or iodized salt.

Pecan Shortbread Cookies
3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
Half of a vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out, seeds and bean reserved
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread the pecans out on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool completely. Keep the oven on.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, vanilla extract and salt on medium speed until no visible chunks of butter remain, about 3 minutes.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in three additions, mixing each well before adding the next. Stir in the pecans.
5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured wood surface. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve it for another use. Roll the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap it in parchment paper, making sure to cover the ends completely, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight. (The dough can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.)
6. Let the dough stand at room temperature until it is soft enough to slice, about 5 minutes.
7. Brush the log of dough with the egg yolk, roll it in the Demerara sugar to coat it evenly, and then slice it into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds about 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the cookies are lightly golden and fragrant, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Makes 24 to 30 cookies.

Cacao-Nib Granita
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cacao nibs
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

1. Whisk together the milk, sugar, cacao nibs, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
2. Strain the granita mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a shallow nonreactive baking pan. Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. Transfer the frozen granita to a food processor and purée. Transfer the purée to an airtight container and place plastic wrap directly over the surface of the granita to prevent ice crystals from forming. Cover the container and freeze until the granita is firm, about 1 hour, or up to 4 hours before serving. (The granita will keep for up to 5 days.) Makes about 1 quart.
Recipes adapted from “The Craft of Baking” by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox.