Brigham Young Donuts (Cake Donuts)

These delicious cake donuts are a favorite tradition for Brenda and her family. During The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s semi-annual General Conference Sessions the first weekend of April and October, Brenda’s mom would makes these as a special General Conference breakfast. Brenda has carried the tradition with her to the different places she has lived, and hopes you make them part of your family traditions too!

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Brigham Young Donuts (Cake Donuts)

To your favorite mixing bowl, add in order:

1 cup milk, warmed to about 80F

1/4 cup potato flakes

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

5 tsp oil

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Whisk together, then stir in:

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 1/4 cup flour

Knead 30 times (similar to biscuit dough).

While kneading, add: 

1 Tbsp flour increments, up to 1/2 cup

Let rest 10 minutes.

While resting…

Heat oil:

• Use an electric fryer, set to 360-375F

• Or, fill a medium pot with 2-3" of oil, turn heat to medium

Prepare a cookie sheet covered with a clean dish towel.

Prepare a cake pan covered with paper towels or clean paper sacks.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured silicone mat or countertop, roll to about 3/4" thick. Using a donut cutter, cut donut rounds and set on the towel covered cookie sheet.

Fry in small batches:

• Carefully drop donut into hot oil

• Let cook until the area just above the oils surface begins to brown, then flip

• Cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side.

• Carefully remove from the hot oil, placing on the paper lined pan

 Cool enough to frost and then enjoy.

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 Brenda’s Tips:

• Serving size: 12 donuts, standard size. Recipe can be multiplied.

• Brenda recommends slicing the donut like a bun and putting the frosting in the middle to make a delicious donut sandwich! Her favorite combinations:

  • Ma’s Fudge Frosting with sprinkles

  • Vanilla frosting with coconut

• No donut cutter? Use a biscuit cutter for the outer circle and a small medicine bottle to punch out the center.

Popovers

Popovers are one of those obscure breakfast delicacies that tend to be overlooked . . . They are very similar to German Pancakes aka Dutch Babies aka Hootenanny Pancakes. The difference? They’re cooked in ramekins, making them individual portions. Translation: perfectly crisp and tender. {Kinda perfect when social distancing is required??}

Some things you must know before you begin the recipe.

Popovers reportedly have a low success rate. Increase the odds by doing the following:

• Grease ramekins with butter or shortening (a muffin tin can be substituted)

• Warm the milk: 25 seconds in the microwave will bring the milk to ~80F

• When pouring batter, only pour once into each receptacle

• Do not open oven while baking - truth is it might not make them crash . . . but why risk it??

• Once baked, pierce each popover with a butter knife while still in the oven

• Bonus: not quite ready to serve? Keep in hot oven for a few more minutes and they’ll stay perfect

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Popovers

Using butter (or shortening), grease entire inner surface of 8 ramekins

Place ramekins on a cookie sheet, slip into oven. Set oven to 400F.

While preheating, mix batter:

Into a medium mixing bowl, crack & then beat:

3 eggs

Add, whisking together well:

1/2 cup milk (warmed to ~80F)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup flour

Batter will be thick, but smooth. Continue whisking while adding:

1 cup milk (warmed to ~80F)

Remove tray of hot ramekins from the oven, immediately distributing the thin batter equally among them:

• 8 ramekins: use a 1/2 cup measuring cup, fill it just less than full (1/2 cup minus 1 Tbsp)

• Pour only once into each (don't go back and top off to even out)

• Immediately return tray of filled ramekins to the hot oven

Bake at 400F for 40 min (muffin tin 30)

• Don’t open the oven until done (use the light and look through the glass doorway)

• Pierce each with a knife immediately upon opening the oven

• Once pierced they can continue to crisp in a hot oven but will burn after ~8 min

Serve hot.

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Brenda’s Tips:

• Recipe makes 8 (8 oz) ramekins or 12 regular muffin sized popovers.

• You can use a wire whisk, hand-mixer or stand mixer.

• Both butter and shortening work equally well to grease the pans, while non-stick pan spray often results in a lower "pop" rate.

• Popovers rely on the steam created by the liquid to cause the "pop," while the gluten + protein prevents the steam from escaping. Once cooked, piercing each to release the hot steam will prevent steam having a negative reaction to room-temp air, causing an imbalance of pressure . . . aka collapse. 

• Delicious with homemade jam = Strawberry Freezer Jam.

• This is a deep-dive into various methods to improve the pop in a popover - Serious Eats: the Best Yorkshire Pudding

Overnight Caramel French Toast

Overnight Caramel French Toast

In a small pot, melt together:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 Tbsp corn syrup 

Bring to low boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour into 13”x9” baking dish. Set aside.

To a medium mixing bowl, add:

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together. Set aside.

To a large mixing bowl, add:

1 loaf bread, cut into cubes

Pour the egg mixture over the cubed bread, carefully tossing for even distribution. Spread the coated cubes over the caramel in the baking dish.

Stir together in a small bowl:

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle over bread in baking dish. Cover.

Refrigerate overnight. Place in cold oven, set to 350F. Bake 20 minutes covered. Remove aluminum foil. Bake 20 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven and immediately invert over a sheet pan, scraping any remaining caramel. 

Note: caramel will be on the top. 

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Brendas tips:

• Serving Size: 4-6 servings

• There isn’t a great way to test done. Brenda generally observes that the caramel on the bottom is bubbling at the rate of a rolling boil. She prefers to use a glass baking dish for visibility and enhanced caramelization. 

• Brenda makes this whenever there’s an extra loaf of bread needing to be used. She’ll generally make it using this French bread.

• Great for Saturday brunch.

Crepes

During the 10 years Brenda lived in NYC she quickly gained the reputation as “The Baker.” Any get together, party, church function, or work potluck she’d show up with an incredible dessert. She also has the sweetest sweet-tooth known to man. She once ate over half of an 8“ round chocolate-chocolate cake in one sitting (it was a competition, yes she won). And, she’s eaten an entire pan of brownies in one day multiple times.

Since leaving NYC, marrying John (who doesn’t have a sweet-tooth), and starting a family in Victor, ID she’s begun cooking more savory dishes. She’s also keen to create dishes like Crepes. That way, her and her family can make them any way they’d like. Sweet. Savory. And everything in between.

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Crepes

Set non-stick skillet to medium heat. 

While heating, add to the pitcher of a blender:

2 eggs

1/2 cup cold water

2/3 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Blend until smooth. Grease skillet with butter. Pour about 1/4 cup batter in, swirling the pan to thin out the crepe, cook 30-60 seconds, flip over and cook an additional 30 seconds. Repeat. Serve hot.

Delicious additions....

• Cheddar cheese, ham & poached egg

• Sautéed zucchini with pepperoni & cheese

• Chopped chocolate & salted caramel sauce

• Berries & whipped cream

• Bananas, whipped cream & caramel drizzle

• Butter & syrup

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Brenda's Tips:

• Serving Size: 6-8, 9” crepes

• Refrigerate crepe batter for up to 48 hours.

Pumpkin Brownies (or Bread)

Happy Halloween, friends!

If you’ve ever lived in/visited New York City during Halloween you know it’s a treat. From the Village Halloween Parade to endless parties, this is when New Yorkers truly play. Brenda even dressed up every year! One would think that Brenda’s fashion design bachelors degree, and experience working in the University’s costume department would mean her Halloween costumes were always incredible. The reality? Every year she dressed up as a witch (a costume she purchased at a Halloween store) because all of her time went into making delicious Halloween treats for parities.

Pumpkin Brownies (or Bread)

In a small mixing bowl, sift together:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

Set aside.

To a medium mixing bowl, add:

3 eggs

3/4 cups oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

Beat together until smooth, then stir in:

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin purée 

Fold in:

Dry ingredient mixture 

Stir together until smooth.

Pour into greased 13”x9” baking dish. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until tests done with a toothpick. Cool. Frost. Serve.

Recommended Frosting: Cream Cheese Frosting

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Brenda’s Tips:

• Serving Size: 12-24 slices

• If you live more than 3k above sea level, review Brenda’s High Elevation Adjustment chart to adjust for altitude impacts.

• Brenda uses this recipe for pumpkin bread - makes two 12”x4” loaves. And obviously add chocolate chips. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.

• Technically this can be made in one bowl, but Brenda prefers the two-bowl method.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Brenda didn’t like to explore unfamiliar places in NYC … unless … it was part of a running route or involved food.

My first brunch experience in NYC is also the earliest memory I have of Brenda venturing outside of her Wall Street bubble. She invited me to a girls’ brunch at Clinton Street Baking Company. I was told they served the best pancakes in the city and we had to arrive an hour before they opened their doors to beat the rush.

Once seated, each of us ordered a different flavored stack of pancakes. We rotated the plates between the four of us. Each stack was heaven. It was then that I understood why Brenda would go out of her way for delicious food.

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Buttermilk Pancakes

Set non-stick skillet or griddle to medium heat. 

While heating, add the following to a mixing bowl:

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

Sift dry ingredients together.

Note, little lumps add to the final pancake's texture. 

Stir in:

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

2 Tbsp oil

Grease heated skillet or griddle, spoon batter onto the cooking surface. As it cooks, bubbles will form on the pancake's surface. Turn the pancake after the first bubbles burst. Cook about 2 minutes on the other side and then remove from the cooking surface. Serve hot.

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Brenda’s Tips:

• Serving Size: 18-20, 4” pancakes.

• No buttermilk? Make a good substitute by first adding 2 Tbsp of lemon juice to a container and then add enough milk to make two cups. Let stand for 5 minutes and use in place of buttermilk.

• Brenda likes to set cooked pancakes on a cooling rack as she cooks the batch. This keeps the surface from getting steamed from stacking on a plate.

• For fluffy pancakes: separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the batter in place of the whole eggs. Whip the whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into finished batter.

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Window to B’s Kitchen…

When to flip a pancake: