ROUSES_NovDec2021_Magazine-PAGES

NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2021

ARROW-CIRCLE-LEFT Rouses Towering Red Velvet Cake

t i l l y C a k e

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A ro w-c irc le- up R o u s

Ar ow- cir cle- up R o

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OLIO D’OLIVA ITALIANO!

Our cold extracted, 100% Italian Olive Oil is produced in West Central Sicily and made with Biancolilla, Cerasuola and Nocellara del Belice olives.

Our spirit shines bright this holiday season.

Despite a tough year, we have a lot to be thankful for.

The Gulf Coast continues to show up for each other and our communities like no one else. A food relief effort lead by chefs, cooks and volunteers helped us distribute thousands of free hot meals at Rouses Markets in the days and weeks following Hurricane Ida. It’s amazing how much a hot meal, a cold drink and a smile from one neighbor to the next can help. Our network of vendor partners also went above and beyond after Ida — as they always do in times of crisis. They donated essential supplies, and helped us deliver truckloads of food and water to food banks, food pantries, churches, charities and community care efforts. And our customers also helped us collect much-needed food items at our stores, which the food banks distributed. We started an Ida Disaster Relief Fund for our team members who suffered losses to their homes and personal belongings, just like we did after hurricanes Sally and Laura, and after the floods in Baton Rouge and Denham Springs. Our company seeded the fund with a $100,000 donation, and we received an outpouring of support from vendors and customers like you who also wanted to help. We have already doubled the money in our Disaster Relief Fund, which is helping our team members rebuild, and we continue to receive generous donations, for which we are grateful. There are more fundraising efforts in the works, too. We are also grateful, as we are every year, for the opportunity to share the holidays with you. Here’s to a brand new year – we’re looking forward to it! — Donny Rouse, CEO, 3 rd Generation Months after the storm, we continue to help each other get back on our feet.

PHOTO BY CHANNING CANDIES

IDA DISASTER RELIEF FUND

We set up our Disaster Relief Fund to help our Rouses team members who are victims of disasters like Hurricane Ida. If you would like to join us in supporting the fund, visit https://employees1st.org/rouses. Your donation is tax deductible, and 100% of it will go to our team members in need.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

IN EVERY ISSUE

BAKING 101 17 Flour Power 23 Cake Decorating 101 25 Butter Me Up 27 Stir Mix-A-Lot 29 Frosting the Snowman 43 Leaven Help Us WHATCHA BAKIN’? 15 Gentilly Cake 19 Crawfish Pies 20 Easy Turnover Dough for Crawfish Pies Chicken Pot Pie 21 Natchitoches Meat Pie 22 Olive Oil Cake Carrot Cake 23 Satsuma Rum Cake 24 Red Velvet Cake

25 Lane Cake 27 Sugar Cookies Royal Icing 28

1 Donny Rouse

Marketing & Advertising Director Tim Acosta

5 Letter from the Editor by Marcy Nathan 7 Cookin’ on Hwy 1 with Tim Acosta 9 Joyce to the World by Ali Rouse Royster BAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT 13 Top 20 Tips for Baking by Michelle Knight 17 A Recipe for Success by David W. Brown 19 Yippie Pie Yay! by Marcelle Bienvenu

Creative Director & Editor Marcy Nathan

Gingerbread Cookies Strawberry Frosting Classic Buttercream Frosting 29 Milk Chocolate Ganache 73 Whatcha Cookin’? Online Recipes IDA HITS HOME 49 Together We Rebuild by David W. Brown 53 This is Home by David W. Brown 54 Blues Bayou by Ken Wells 58 Right on ‘Que by David W. Brown 65 When Life Gives You Lemons, Throw ‘Em In The Pot by David W. Brown 69 Rouses Means Local

Art Director, Layout & Design Eliza Schulze

Illustrator Kacie Galtier

Creative Manager McNally Sislo

Copy Editors Patti Stallard Adrienne Crezo

Advertising & Marketing Amanda Kennedy Harley Breaux Stephanie Hopkins Nancy Besson Taryn Clement Mary Ann Florey

31 Prima Batterina

36 History in the Baking by Sarah Baird

mouse-pointer What Pie Am I? If you’ve ever been curious which pie reflects your personality best, visit the link below to take this quiz & reveal your baked-to-perfection doppelgänger. www.rouses.com/about/blog/what-pie-am-i/

COVER PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

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HOMEMADE, HANDMADE & BORROWED

$

I LOVE illustrating food. I love eating food — especially when that food happens to be cake. I had the pleasure of illustrating the cakes featured (along with a couple of sweeter-than-pie headlines) in this issue. I must admit, focusing on every layer and swirl had me opting for dessert before dinner a couple of nights. – Kacie Galtier, Designer & Illustrator

Preparing for photoshoot days involves a lot of planning and a LOT of props. One of the best parts is collecting well-loved items from friends and family members to use in our shoots. This issue features one of my grandmother’s classic white button-downs (page 10) and my mother- in-law’s vintage cookie cutters (page 28). – Eliza Schulze, Art Director

I had so much fun baking and decorating the gingerbread versions of Rouses team members for this issue. (page 30). I always decorate a gingerbread house for Christmas, but I had never made it from scratch before. So I won’t tell you how many heads I burned…let’s just say I ate a lot of gingerbread for the cause. – McNally Sislo, Creative Manager

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

which doubles as our magazine photo studio. You see the confer- ence room table in many of our photos. It belonged to a friend of mine, whose dad used it as a desk. There’s a small air vent in the conference room that goes directly down to the bakery. You hear bursts of laughter and pure joy through that vent — it’s clear just how much our bakers and decorators absolutely love what they do. And you smell those intoxicating smells. On days when I have to deal with numbers and spreadsheets, I will lock myself in that conference room so I can be more productive, and so I don’t bother everyone else in the office with my complaining. I worry the bakers can hear me grumbling to myself.... I have never been much of a cook, and I’m certainly not a baker. I never moved past the light-bulb-powered Easy Bake Oven my parents gave me for Christmas — so the inspiration for this holiday issue came directly through that vent. We took pictures of most of the cakes in our bakery case downstairs for this issue, including our wraparound cover. (Yes, we shot them on our conference room table.) When I was writing our baking and frosting and icing tidbits, I learned that a cake with ganache or buttercream can last three to four days in the refrigerator. But that is only true if you don’t leave the knife in the cake box; we polished off our cover cakes, plus a three-tiered Gentilly cake, in just two days. On the pages that follow we share a recipe for a homemade version of our berry Gentilly cake. Our berry Gentilly cake is the second-most-famous cake we sell (the first being Doberge). I would eat our Gentilly cake frosting from a bowl with a spoon if I could. (If I could? Who am I kidding — I would, and I have.) Now our bakers have started making a different seasonal Gentilly cake every month of the year. If you want to be one of the first to know what each flavor is when our bakers unveil it, follow us on social media.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR By Marcy Nathan, Creative Director M y office sits directly above the bakery at our market in Downtown New Orleans. You know when you walk past one of our bakeries and it smells just so amazingly good? Well, my entire office smells that way every day. It mostly smells like freshly baked bread — we bake our famous French bread throughout the day. It’s crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and my favorite for po-boys. But during king cake season, which is right around the corner, the office has that warm smell of gourmet cinnamon dough, and oh my God , some days that smell is so fragrant it makes me want to eat my chair. And it’s not enough that I smell sugar and cinnamon and yeasty breads when I’m upstairs in the office. I’m also in and out of the store downstairs on a daily basis. It always smells just so good, like fried-chicken-and-rotisserie-chicken so good. Like smoked-brisket- and-sausage-and-ribs so good. And whatever delicious thing Charles is making in the kitchen for the hot food line — so, so, so good. There’s that beautiful bakery, of course, and a boiling room for seafood. There is nothing else like the spicy smell of crawfish boiling. I’m not even surprised that someone actually made a candle with that scent. Every office has a sweet spot, where it’s not too hot, not too cold, and it’s the perfect place to work. Ours is our small conference room,

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COOKIN´ ON HWY 1

in heaps on top of the rows. I would drive a tractor hauling a wagon or two to help collect the cane and move it to the transfer loader. My parrain , Pookie, ran the front-end loader, which loaded the cane onto cane trucks. The farmers would then haul the cane to South Coast Sugar Mill, which was right there in Raceland, and is still there today. The mill would weigh and shred the sugarcane, and crush it to extract the juice. On hot days I would chew on stalks of raw sugarcane. It would quench my thirst while we worked. But the best stalks were cut in November and December. Cool weather and frost raise the sugar content in the cane, so it is sweeter then. November and December are deer hunting season, and we’d hunt in the field after the farmers shipped their limit on cane. My son, Nick, often meets my dad in the field weekends this time of year. Farming roots run deep in my family. The Acostas are descendants of the Canary Islands which is in the southernmost region of Spain, where sugarcane was once cultivated. I had cousins in New Iberia on my mom’s side, and we always went to the Louisiana Sugarcane Festival there. It seemed like it took forever to get there on old Hwy. 90. Hurricane Ida damaged over 118,000 acres of Louisiana sugarcane. Luckily, there was no serious damage to the sugar mills. But cane that’s knocked down can rise again — and so can people. Grinding season is in full swing right now, and will be even bigger next year.

By Tim Acosta, Advertising & Marketing Director A s I write this, I’m sitting in my backyard looking out at a field high with sugarcane. If you live in Lafourche, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Iberia, Iberville, Lafayette, St. Mary, Assumption, or any of the other Louisiana parishes where sugarcane is grown — there are 24 sugar parishes — you are surrounded by cane. Louisiana’s warm climate is perfect for growing sugarcane. Most years, Louisiana produces more than 15 million tons of sugarcane, which yields about 16 million tons of raw sugar. At Rouses Markets, we have our own brand of sugar. It is 100% Louisiana sugar, grown by Louisiana farmers. I grew up in the cane fields. My dad has been a sugarcane farmer all of his life. His dad was a sugarcane farmer. And when I wasn’t in school, my dad would put me to work in the cane field. In the spring, my job was to break the stubble, which is the below-ground portion of the stalk left in the field after harvest. You plant a new crop of cane in late summer, early fall. It was one my jobs to walk the rows of sugarcane after planting, to fill in any gaps that were missed. Grinding season, the annual harvest, starts in October when the temperatures begin to drop. It runs right up until Christmas — sometimes longer, depending on the weather. Weather is the biggest factor for farmers, no matter what they grow. Farming is more modern now, but when I was a young boy, they planted cane by hand, and there were a lot more steps to getting the crop out. During grinding season, my Uncle Bobby would run the cane cutter (now it’s called a harvester). He’d cut the cane and lay it

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JOYCE TO THE WORLD

not allergic to them, I just can’t stand them. But if any of my Rouse fam calls me to make cocoons, I will be there with (jingle) bells on, because the beauty of Christmas traditions is that baking cookies — like decorating the tree, like putting out cookies for Santa — is about so much more than baking cookies .

wrong they’d have to redo it! Cocoons are nothing complicated but they are a process — make, cool, shape just right , bake, cool, dip, and dip again. We reminisced about Granny’s cocoons for years. We knew there was a recipe somewhere, but no one could find it. My aunts tried a recipe they found online that looked about right, but it wasn’t it . A few summers ago, Aunt Jeaneen was packing to move, and it was like Christmas in July — the original cocoon recipe resur- faced! The news spread throughout the fam, and we made a plan to make them together that winter. When we did, the younger generation was mostly relegated to doing the dirty work. We were a mess, but it was a blast. (The prosecco we were sipping surely helped with both the sugar marks on our clothes and all the giggles.) Aunt Neen had containers ready — like Granny used to — for when the cocoons were done, so we could bring some home and drop some off to other family members and friends. Granny used to hide about half the containers in a secret spot so that they would last longer. Cocoons have a tendency to disappear quickly in the Rouse house. I’ll let you in on my little secret — I don’t even eat cocoons! I don’t eat pecans — I’m

By Ali Rouse Royster, 3rd Generation C hristmas baking is one of my absolute favorite parts of the holiday. There’s nothing as cozy and heartwarming to me than cuing up the Christmas jams, flicking on the lights of the tree, lighting a fire in the fireplace (if it’s not 80 degrees), and breaking out the mixer and the rolling pin to make a good old-fashioned mess. I must have inherited this from my lovely, always festive Granny, Joyce Rouse. She absolutely loved Christmas and sweets! So, it is perfectly on-brand that one of Granny’s favorite traditions was baking cocoons at Christ- mastime. She and her dear friend Mrs. Celina (who both of my dad’s sisters called “Nanny,” but I’m not sure whose Nanny she actually was) would pick a Sunday a few weeks before Christmas, turn up the Christmas music, take over every surface of the kitchen, cover it all with Rouses paper bags (as a substitute for wax paper) and make cocoons. Anyone who stopped by might help for a while, especially my aunts Cindy and Jeaneen, but if they did a step

mouse-pointer Make your own! Get Joyce Rouse’s Cocoon cookie recipe at www.rouses.com/cooking/recipes/cocoons

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

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PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

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A DIFFERENT GENTILLY CAKE FOR EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR Find a new seasonally inspired Gentilly Cake flavor in our Bakery every month.

baking spirits bright

TOP 20 TIPS FOR BAKING By Michelle Knight, Bakery Director at Rouses Markets

1 Always read the recipe from top to bottom before getting started, so you know exactly what to do. 2 Check the pantry and fridge to be sure you have all the ingredients you’ll need — you may have to make a Rouses run. 3 Take your eggs, milk, and butter out of the fridge ahead of time so they reach room tempera- ture before you need them. Some recipes, like pie crust, require very cold butter or other ingredients. Go back to step 1 and check! 4 If your recipe calls for separated eggs, use cold eggs; the yolks and eggs hold their shape better and separate more easily when chilled. 5 Choose the right pan. The size makes a difference when it comes to baking times and temperatures. Pan color also matters; dark-colored pans absorb more heat than light-colored or transparent materials, so your cake may cook more quickly than you expect in dark pans. 6 Prep your pan or mold before you start preparing the recipe. 7 If the recipe calls for you to grease and flour the pan, use a sifter. Dust a handful of flour over the pan, adding more if needed and shaking out any excess.

8 If you make a chocolate cake, instead of using flour to keep the batter from sticking, dust the pan with cocoa powder so it doesn’t have flour streaks. 9 Preheat the oven to the directed temperature for at least 20 minutes. 10 Organize and prep your ingredients before you mix anything. 11 Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients. Baking is more successful when measure- ments are precise. Flour could weigh more per cup, for example, if it is unsifted and packed. Using a scale eliminates the guesswork. 12 Sift your dry ingredients together to avoid lumps and evenly distribute the baking soda and salt through the flour. 13 Use a mixing bowl with a non-skid bottom, or wrap a damp kitchen towel around the bottom of a traditional mixing bowl to keep it from sliding on the countertop while you’re mixing. 14 Check the oven temperature with an oven thermom- eter to precisely measure your oven’s temperature, rather than relying on the oven presets. 15 Bake your cake on the middle rack of the oven. The middle rack allows hot air to circulate evenly around the pan, resulting in even baking.

16 Make sure your oven light bulb is working before you start, so you can check on the baking process without opening the door. 17 Set a timer to go off at the end of the recom- mended baking period. 18 Use a toothpick, cake tester, or knife blade to see if the cake is done. Insert it into the center of the cake; it should come away clean when you pull it out. 19 A freshly baked cake needs to cool and set in its pan before you attempt to remove it. 20 Remove the cake from the pan before it cools completely. A cool cake will stick.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT CONVERSION TABLE »

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon

4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup

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5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = ¹⁄ 3 cup

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8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup

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1 cup = 1/2 pint

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2 cups = 1 pint

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4 cups = 2 pints = 1 quart

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4 quarts = 1 gallon

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Dash or pinch = less than ¹⁄ 8 teaspoon

»

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PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

baking spirits bright

GENTILLY FROSTING WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 8-ounce container cream cheese 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon almond extract HOW TO PREP: Using a heavy-duty mixer, mix the cream cheese and mascarpone together. Add confectioners’ sugar and process until fully mixed. Add the whipping cream at low speed just until incorporated. Add almond extract. Whip at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.

GENTILLY CAKE While we sell a three-layer version of this cake, this two-layer version is easier to make at home. Makes 1 9-inch cake WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 (15.25-16.25 ounce) white cake mix ¼ teaspoon almond extract Eggs, oil and other ingredients as indicated on cake mix box Gentilly Frosting (recipe follows) Orange Simple Syrup (recipe follows) Apricot Glaze (recipe follows) ¼ cup sliced strawberries ¼ cup sliced raspberries ¼ cup sliced blueberries ¼ cup sliced blackberries Whole strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries for garnish HOW TO PREP: Prepare cake according to package directions. Add almond extract with water. Bake in 2 9-inch cake pans according to package directions. Prepare icing, syrup and glaze. To assemble: Transfer one cake layer to a plate or cake stand. Drizzle with orange syrup. Cover with a thick layer of frosting, and evenly distribute sliced fruit. Place the second layer on top of the first. Drizzle with orange syrup. Pipe or spread remaining frosting and garnish with whole strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Use a brush to lightly coat the berries with apricot glaze. Let dry. Refrigerate cake until serving.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Our Gentilly Cake is a three- layered showstopper, the foundation of which is our Rouses-exclusive almond cake piled high with fresh berries. The layers sandwich and are nestled within a mound of smooth, decadent and delicious frosting. You wouldn’t believe how much. The third layer of almond cake is positioned on top and the whole thing is draped in that frosting, with the smooth flourishes that only our bakers can make. Then yet another layer of frosting — this time piped from a bag with a leaf tip — goes around the sides to create our signature lacelike embellishment. Lastly, it is artfully garnished with berries, just so. That gives it some serious Instagram power. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s or any occasion.

ORANGE SIMPLE SYRUP WHAT YOU WILL NEED: ¼ cup warm water ¼ cup sugar 2 teaspoons orange extract

HOW TO PREP: In a small bowl, combine water, sugar and extract until completely mixed.

APRICOT GLAZE WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 3 tablespoons Rouses Apricot Jam Splash of water

HOW TO PREP: Heat jam in a small microwave-safe bowl or ramekin. Stir in water a few drops at a time, to make a thin glaze.

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Pull-Apart Crescent Christmas Tree

Ingredients 2 cans (8 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Original Crescent Rolls (8 Count) 2 packages (5.5 oz each) garlic & herbs Boursin® cheese 1 tablespoon butter, melted 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves Steps

1 Heat oven to 375°F. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Separate dough into 16 triangles. Use kitchen scissors or knife to cut each triangle in half lengthwise. 2 Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese on shortest side of each triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point. Using photo as a guide, place crescents next to each other in tree-shaped pattern on cookie sheet, starting with trunk and working up to top. 3 Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until deep golden brown. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with parsley. Find more Holiday recipes at Pillsbury.com

Elf Chex Mix

INGREDIENTS • 8 cups Rice Chex™ or Corn Chex™ cereal

• 2½ cups white vanilla baking chips • 2 tablespoons holiday candy sprinkles • 1½ cups mini vanilla wafer cookies • 1 cup tree-shaped pretzels • 2 tablespoons holiday nonpareils • 1 cup holiday almond or peanut chocolate candies PREPARATION 1. Line 2 large rimmed pans with waxed paper. In large bowl, add cereal. 2. In medium microwavable bowl, microwave 2 cups of the baking chips uncovered on High 45 to 60 seconds, stirring after 45 seconds, until chips are starting to melt. Continue heating in 15-second increments, until chips are melted and smooth. Pour over cereal; mix to thoroughly coat. Spread mixture in one of the pans; top with sprinkles. Cool 20 to 30 minutes or until set. 3. Meanwhile, spread cookies and pretzels in single layer, right side up, in remaining pan. In same microwavable bowl, microwave remain- ing 1/2 cup baking chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until

chips are melted and smooth. Transfer melted chips to small resealable food-storage plastic bag, and cut small corner off one end of bag. Drizzle onto cookies and pretzels; sprinkle with nonpareils. Cool 20 to 30 minutes or until set. 4. Break cereal mixture into bite-size pieces; transfer to large serving bowl. Carefully break apart pretzels and cookies, if necessary. Add to bowl; stir in candies.

Full of Possibilities From mixing up a bowl of your favorite homemade Chex™ Mix around the holidays to packing your kids’ lunches for school, you’ll find a world full of possibilities in these simple little squares. Visit Chex.com your one- stop destination for ideas and inspiration on creating fun, memorable family moments with Chex cereal.

baking spirits bright

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS By David W. Brown O ur Gentilly Cake was invented by our former bakery director, Chaya Conrad, who today is the owner of Bywater Bakery at the corner of Dauphine and Independence Streets in New Orleans, with her husband, Alton Osborne. The bakery couldn’t be busier. “We do a little bit of everything: We bake bread, we do breakfast pastries, we do a light lunch and breakfast, and we have a big — very big — cake business.” And yes, that includes king cakes. There are vegan and gluten-free menus, Bagel Fridays, Breakfast Gumbo(!), and many sweets and savories. They even have yaka mein for when you’ve had too much to drink the night before—but go easy on Tuesday evenings: The bakery is closed on Wednesdays. Since Bywater Bakery opened in 2017 it has become a community hub for the neigh- borhood, and to that end, it even hosts live music on weekends and sells paintings by local artists on its walls. “Everybody from the neighborhood comes,” Conrad said—and they bring their dogs with them. “You know, we see everybody! I know all the dogs—I know the dogs more than I know the people.” Her culinary skills extend even to four- legged friends: Visiting dogs get bacon.

FLOUR POWER

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Bread flour is a higher-protein flour. It’s called “bread flour” because most bread requires higher amounts of protein to produce lots of gluten — it helps make bread airy and chewy and gives it its unique texture. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Whole wheat flour is a bulkier flour made from the entire wheat kernel. If you substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour, use ² / ₃ cup whole wheat flour for every 1 cup of all- purpose, and expect a somewhat denser cake. purpose flour, but it can’t replace all-purpose flour cup-for-cup when baking. Use 3/4 cup almond flour for every 1 cup of all-purpose for non-yeast baked goods; and up to 1¹ / ₃ cup almond flour for every 1 cup of all-purpose for yeasted recipes, like pizza, bread, and rolls. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Coconut flour is another low- carb, gluten-free option, but it is a challenging ingredient to bake with; it’s high in fiber, so it absorbs a lot of liquid during baking. Swap about 1/4 to ¹ / ₃ cup coconut flour for 1 cup of regular flour, and increase the number of eggs. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Almond flour is a low-carb, gluten-free substitute for all-

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Gluten is a protein found in wheat products. The amount of protein in flour determines the structure and texture of a baked good, like a cake or cookie. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT When you see the word “flour” in a recipe, it usually refers to all- purpose flour . All-purpose flour is a blend of hard wheat (high- protein) and soft wheat (lower- protein) grains. It has a medium protein content of about 10 to 12%. All-purpose flour can be used in a variety of baking. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Self-rising flour is just all- purpose flour with baking powder and salt already added. You can easily make your own for any recipe that calls for self-rising flour by adding 11/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt to 1 cup all-purpose flour. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Softer, lighter cakes — like angel food cakes, for example — benefit from a soft wheat cake flour that is low in protein and gluten, like Swans Down Cake Flour. Pastry flour falls between all-purpose flour and cake flour, with an 8 to 9% protein content. It is perfect for pie crusts. You can also make your own: Combine 1¹ / ₃ cups all-purpose flour with ² / ₃ cup cake flour.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Confectioners’ sugar , or powdered sugar, is finely ground white sugar mixed with a bit of cornstarch; the ratio is about 1 cup sugar to 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Confectioners’ sugar dissolves quickly, and the texture makes it ideal for frostings and icings.

©2018 NOLA.COM | THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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18 ROUSES NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2021

baking spirits bright

YIPPIE PIE YAY! By Marcelle Bienvenue

CRAWFISH PIES When I was a youngster (in the 1950s), my father often boiled

was mostly caught in the Atchafa- laya Basin, and it was sometimes referred to as “the poor man’s meal.” A fisherman caught the freshwater crustaceans in big nets and brought home his catch, keeping enough to feed his family, then selling the rest out of the back of his pickup truck for as little as 10 cents a pound. Daddy, always a kidder, often teased us, saying that we were so poor we had to eat crawfish at least once a week during the spring season. Boy, we were so lucky to be poor! During the 1960s, Mama often ordered a crawfish pie from a friend of hers who made them in her home, then sold them to the locals. They were superb: juicy crawfish tails smothered down with the usual onions, bell pepper, celery and a handful of tomatoes, then poured into a pie crust and baked. But sadly, the lady became so overwhelmed with orders, she quit making them. Not to be deterred, Mama announced that she could make her own crawfish pies. Her method was simple and easy. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: ½ stick (4 tablespoons) butter 1 cup chopped onions ½ cup chopped bell peppers ¼ cup chopped celery 1½ teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon cayenne ½ cup chopped canned tomatoes 1 pound crawfish tails 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour ½ cup water 2 tablespoons chopped green onions 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 (9-inch) pie crust HOW TO PREP: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers and celery and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the salt, cayenne and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. She used a pre-made pie crust, and the filling was much like her étouffée (with the addition of tomatoes). THE RECIPE: CRAWFISH PIES Makes 6 servings

crawfish for supper on Friday nights during the spring. Back then, crawfish

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

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and place it on a lightly floured surface. With a knife, cut the dough into 8 equal portions. Lightly flour each piece. Using your fingers, flatten each piece into a 6-inch round, about ¼-inch thick. Fill the center of each one with a heaping ⅓ cup of the crawfish mixture (recipe above). Brush the edges with some of the beaten egg. Fold the rounds in half and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Brush the tops of the turnovers with the beaten egg. Place the turnovers on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot. CHICKEN POT PIE The winter winds will be blowing soon enough and, while gumbo seems to be the go-to dish for those cold winter nights, there are other cold-weather dishes I like to prepare to enjoy in a warm, cozy kitchen or in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. Fortunately for me, I had an aunt who married a Pennsylvania Dutchman. For years, she lived in Pittsburgh and learned how to make both savory and sweet pies from her in-laws. Whenever Aunt Claudia visited us in Acadiana, my mother would beg her to make her delicious pot pies. She had a grand repertoire that included a hearty beef pot pie with Yorkshire pudding that was chock-full of chunks of potatoes, rare roast beef and onions, jolted with horseradish mixed with heavy cream. It took the better part of an afternoon to put together, but oh, was it worth it. Her chicken pot pies were Papa’s favorites, and I must say I agreed with him. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Pastry: 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces ¼ cup ice water For the Filling: 4 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds) 1 cup heavy cream THE RECIPE: CHICKEN POT PIE Makes about 6 servings

4 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces 2 zucchini, unpeeled and cut into ½-inch pieces

5 tablespoons butter 1 cup chopped onions 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup chicken broth ¼ cup white wine 1 tablespoon dried tarragon 1½ teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Cayenne pepper, to taste 1 large egg 1 tablespoon water HOW TO PREP: To make the pastry, mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water and blend into the flour mixture. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press large chunks of the dough away from you with the heel of your hand. Gather the dough into a ball and repeat the process. Shape the dough into a thick circle, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a baking pan. Pour the cream over them and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan; reserve the cream and pan juices. Let the chicken cool, then cut into one-inch chunks. Blanch the carrots in boiling water for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for 1 minute more. Drain and cool under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Drain well. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes more. Add the broth and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture

Dissolve the flour in the water and

add the mixture to the pan. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Add the green onions and parsley, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 30 minutes. Pour the crawfish mixture into the pie crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and put it in the preheated oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the edges of the pie crust are golden. Cool for several minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Tip: You can make this same crawfish filling for mini pies. Look for small or mini tart shells in the frozen food section. The filling should be enough for 8 to 10 mini pies. Or, use the mixture to make turnovers. My friend Emeril showed me how to make an easy turnover dough (see below). EASY TURNOVER DOUGH FOR CRAWFISH PIES Makes 8 servings WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1½ cups solid vegetable shortening ¾ cup ice cold water 1 egg, beaten HOW TO PREP: Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the shortening and work it in with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Using the tines of a fork, stir in as much of the water as you need to bring the dough together, 1 tablespoon at a time. Work it with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough, but don’t overhandle the dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator

thickens. Stir in the reserved

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since the Civil War — or as early as the 1700s, when legend has it street vendors sold them along Front Street). The pies are served at just about every eatery in the area. However, it’s Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant that resurrected the local delicacy in 1967, and continues to crank out thousands of the handmade meat- filled crispy pastries. We happily feasted on a couple of dozen in the restaurant and purchased some to take home with us. According to the locals, there is some discussion regarding the amount of beef and pork that should go into the meat pies. Lasyone’s still use their original recipe with a 4-to-1 ratio of ground beef to ground pork, but most other outlets use equal parts beef and pork. I always say, make it to please your own palate! Just so you know how important the meat pies are to this town, the Louisiana legislature declared by unanimous vote in the summer of 2003, at the initiative of Representative Taylor Townsend (a native of Natchi- toches), “There shall be an official state meat pie. The official state meat pie shall be the Natchitoches meat pie.” I’ve tried several versions of the meat pie, and finally decided this is the one that tickles my taste buds.

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour Vegetable oil for deep-frying

cream mixture and the wine. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 5 minutes. Add the tarragon, salt, pepper and cayenne, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the chicken and vegetable mixture to the saucepan and mix gently into the cream sauce. Remove from heat. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Mix the egg and water together in a small bowl to make an egg wash; set aside. Pour the chicken filling into a deep two- quart casserole. Roll out the pastry and place it over the casserole dish. Trim the pastry, leaving a one-inch border. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash and press the overhanging dough onto the dish. Crimp the pastry all around and brush the top with more of the egg wash. With a knife, make a couple of slashes in the center of the pastry for steam to vent. Place the dish on a baking sheet and put it in the preheated oven. Bake until the crust is golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot. NATCHITOCHES MEAT PIE The town of Natchitoches became a household name when the hit movie Steel Magnolias was filmed there in 1989. Natchitoches predates the 1718 founding of New Orleans; according to the Natchitoches Historic Foundation, “Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, in an effort to establish trade with the Spanish in Mexico, commissioned the building of a small fort on the west bank of the Red River near a village of the Natchitoches Indians in 1714.” I was introduced to the local delicacy called Natchitoches meat pies in the late 1960s, when my parents took us to the quaint Central Louisiana town located on the Red River to attend the annual Christmas Festival of Lights, which began in 1927. Our visit would not have been complete without enjoying the famous Natchi- toches meat

HOW TO PREP: Heat the shortening in a heavy pot (preferably black cast-iron) over medium heat. Add the beef and pork, and cook, stirring, until all pink has disappeared, around 6 to 8 minutes. Add the green onions, garlic and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Season with the salt, cayenne and black pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour, mixing well. Remove from the heat and let cool. Make the dough by sifting the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening and incorporate into the mixture. In a small bowl, beat the egg and the milk together. Work the egg-milk mixture

gradually into the dry ingredients until a thick

dough is formed. Divide the dough

into 18 to 20 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough pieces into thin rounds. Using a saucer as a guide, trim the dough to make even rounds. Place a heaping

THE RECIPE: NATCHITOCHES MEAT PIE Makes 18 to 20 meat pies WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Dough: 4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ cup solid vegetable shortening 1 egg 1 cup milk

tablespoon of the meat mixture slightly off center of the round dough. Fold to make the edges meet and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately. Marcelle Bienvenu is a cookbook author and food writer. A native of St. Martinville, in the heart of Cajun country, Bienvenu wrote Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic and Can You Make a Roux? and Stir the Pot: The History of Cajun Cuisine with Eula Mae Dora, and other books and cookbooks. She also co- authored five cookbooks with Emeril Lagasse.

For the Filling: 1 teaspoon solid vegetable shortening 1½ pounds lean ground beef ½ pound lean ground pork 1 cup chopped green onions 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 1 cup chopped bell peppers 1½ teaspoons salt ¼ teaspoon cayenne ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

pies (believed to have been around

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PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

OLIVE OIL CAKE Makes 1 10-inch cake This is one of many traditional Italian desserts made with extra virgin olive oil. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Cake: ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 3 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature 4 large eggs, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

HOW TO PREP: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a 10- inch round cake pan with olive oil, making sure to coat the sides. Lightly dust the pan with flour and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk the melted butter with the olive oil and milk and set aside. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar and lemon zest until pale and thickened, about 3 minutes. Alternately beat in the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Tap or shake the pan to make sure there are no air bubbles in the batter. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and the sides pull away from the pan. Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a

small knife around edge of cake, then turn onto rack to let cool completely. To make glaze: Whisk confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Set cake and rack over a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Spread glaze on cooled cake, allowing it to drip over edges. Let glaze set for at least 20 minutes before serving.

CARROT CAKE Makes 1 9x13-inch cake

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Cake:

¾ cup vegetable oil or canola oil, or melted coconut oil, plus more for pan 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan 2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Glaze: 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar 3 tablespoons whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger

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1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup dark brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup buttermilk 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided 4 eggs 2 cups finely grated carrots 1 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained

CAKE DECORATING 101

your frosting as you decorate. Stick the cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes after adding the crumb coat to let it set. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT After the crumb coat, for a basic naked cake, use your offset spatula to spread a small amount of frosting all around the cake. For a rustic cake, begin by frosting the top of the cake, using the offset spatula to give it some natural- looking swirls and strokes. Use small C-shaped strokes to apply the frosting to the sides. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT For a perfectly smooth cake, use a warm metal spatula (or knife) to add frosting a bit at a time until you have a thick, even layer on all sides of the cake. The warm spatula will help smooth the frosting out by melting any butter or shortening in your recipe. Gently press the flat of the spatula against the side of the cake as you rotate the cake stand, cleaning it and dipping it in hot water as you go. Continue until the desired smoothness is achieved. Finish by using the hot spatula to smooth the entire top of the cake. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT To decorate a drip cake, start with a cold, perfectly smooth, frosted cake. Work with one teaspoon of warm ganache at a time, spooning it carefully over the edge of the cake. Finish by using an offset spatula to smooth the entire top of the cake with ganache.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Wait until the cake is cooled completely before starting.

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut ½ cup raisins

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT If you’re making a layer cake, use a bread knife or other long, serrated knife to level each layer before stacking. Position the knife right where the cake’s dome begins, and carefully slice off the top to create a flat surface. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT A rotating cake stand — or turntable —makes it easy to ice, frost, and decorate cakes, and get smooth sides on round cakes. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT If you are planning to move your cake after you decorate it, a cake board or baseboard will make transferring it much more manageable. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Put a small dollop of frosting on your cake stand, platter, or cake board before you set down the cake to decorate it. This will keep the cake from sliding around. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT If you’re stacking a cake, you want the frosting between layers to be 1-inch thick and barely hanging over the side of the cake.

For the Icing: 1 brick (8 ounces) full-fat cream cheese, softened 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted Pinch of salt, to taste HOW TO PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, buttermilk, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla and eggs until no brown sugar lumps remain; then whisk into flour mixture. Stir in carrots, pineapple, nuts, coconut and raisins. Pour or spoon the batter into prepared baking dish; smooth the surface with a spatula. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before icing. In a third bowl, using a handheld mixer, or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and remaining vanilla, and a pinch of salt; beat on low speed until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Spread icing over cake; refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Use an offset spatula to decorate.

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT After your cake has been filled and stacked, use your offset spatula to add a very thin layer of frosting all around it. A crumb coat helps keeps any loose cake crumbs from making their way into

SATSUMA RUM CAKE Makes 1 10-inch cake

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Cake: 1 cup butter or margarine, softened 1 cup sugar

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ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Satsumas , a type of mandarin citrus, are grown all over the Gulf Coast.

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. When the batter is well-blended, spoon it into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. When mixture boils and sugar is dissolved, pour evenly over the hot cake. Cake can be left in the pan for several days before serving.

2 eggs, lightly beaten Zest (grated rind) of 1 lemon Zest (grated rind) of 2 satsumas 21 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) red food coloring 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon butter For the Icing: 12 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted Pinch of salt, to taste HOW TO PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans with butter or baking spray. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa and salt into a mixing bowl. In another bowl, using a handheld mixer, or in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and apple cider vinegar until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the three prepared pans.

1 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk

For the Glaze: Juice of 2 large satsumas Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons rum

RED VELVET CAKE Makes 1 8-inch cake

HOW TO PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan well. In a mixing bowl, beat butter until light. Add sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs and zest of lemon and satsumas. Beat until the mixture is very light. In a medium mixing bowl, sift or mix together well the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Cake: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1½ cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cocoa powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1½ cups vegetable or canola oil 1 cup buttermilk

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Place cakes in preheated oven and bake, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes rest for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. Once removed, let cakes cool completely before decorating. In a bowl using a handheld mixer, or in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, sifted confectioners’ sugar and a pinch of salt; beat on low speed until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate; spread 1 of the frosting on top. Set another layer on top and repeat frosting. Set remaining layer on top and frost top and all sides with the remaining frosting.

BUTTER ME UP

ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Most recipes call for unsalted butter . The amount of salt in salted butter varies by brand, which can affect the flavor of your cake, cookies, or pie. With unsalted butter, you can control the amount of salt you add. If all you have on hand is salted butter, cut the instructed salt amount in the recipe in half. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Creaming refers to beating fat, usually butter, with sugar into a fluffy, smooth mixture. Creaming evenly disperses the sugar throughout the butter and adds air pockets, which helps the leavening process. Sometimes eggs are also added in the creaming method, most often for cookie recipes. Use softened butter. ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Working butter into a dry ingredient like flour is called cutting in . Use cold, cubed butter and a pastry cutter, fork, or two butter knives to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the butter stays in tiny clumps.

LANE CAKE Makes 1 9-inch cake

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: For the Cake: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans 33 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for pans 2 cups sugar

HOW TO PREP: Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour four round 9-inch cake pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, whisk 8 egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into cake batter. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cake batter springs back when touched but has no color on top, about 15 minutes. Transfer pans from oven to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and return to racks to cool completely. In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg yolks, whole eggs and sugar until thick and glossy, and sugar has dissolved. Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk until

mixture is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, whisking until thoroughly combined. Add bourbon and whisk until incorporated. If frosting starts to separate, continue beating until it comes back together, about 5 minutes. Cover raisins with warm water and soak until plumped, around 15 minutes. Drain. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Brush with about 2 tablespoons of bourbon to moisten. Spread with 3 cup frosting and top evenly with 1 cup soaked raisins and 1 cup unsweetened coconut. Sprinkle with ¹ / ₃ of the chopped pecans and ¹ / ₃ of the chopped kumquats. Repeat process with 2 more cake layers in the same order (frosting, raisins, coconut, pecans, kumquats). Top with remaining cake layer. Brush with remaining bourbon. Spread a thin coat of frosting over the top and sides of cake to cover. Chill for 20 minutes. After cake is chilled, use remaining frosting to fully cover top and sides of cake. Serve.

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 31 teaspoons baking powder 3 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup milk 8 large egg whites

For the Glaze: 8 large egg yolks 4 whole large eggs 11 cups sugar

21 cups (5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature. For ease of handling, cut into pieces while butter is cold, then allow pieces to come to room temperature. 1 cup bourbon For the Filling: 2 cups raisins, preferably large, such as muscat or monukka, finely chopped 1 cup bourbon 23 cups shredded unsweetened coconut 11 cups chopped pecans 1 cup candied kumquats, drained and chopped

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