Recipes from Bay Area’s Tastiest Bakeries

Photo courtesy of Slice of Sausalito

Slice of Sausalito’s Key Lime Pie

www.sliceofsausalito.com 

Ingredients

For the crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

½ cup sugar 

4 tablespoons salted butter, melted

 

For the filling:

4 egg yolks

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

½ cup fresh Key lime juice (If you can’t find
Key limes, regular limes work just as well)

Topping (optional):

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

8 to 10 thin lime slices

To Make

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture over the sides and bottom of a 9-inch pie pan (tip: do the sides first). Bake in the middle of oven for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

2. For the filling, whisk egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice until well combined. Pour into crust. Place pie on baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes until the filling is almost set; it should wobble a bit. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill, at least 3 hours.

3. If you are adding the topping, beat the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Top the pie with the whipped cream. Decorate with the lime zest and lime slices. Store pie in refrigerator until ready to serve.

 

Tartine’s Baked French Toast

(excerpted from Tartine Bread, Chronicle Books)
www.tartinebakery.com 

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the custard base:

3 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar 

zest of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 slices day-old country bread, each about 1½ inches thick

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the maple-glazed bacon:

4 thick-cut strips bacon

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 very ripe Hachiya persimmon

To Make
1. To make the custard base, stir together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and milk in a bowl. Place the bread slices in the custard base and let stand until the bread is saturated, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Melt the butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Lift each bread slice from the custard base and place in the pan. Cook the slices for about 3 minutes, occasionally pressing them against the bottom of the pan with a spatula so the bottoms cook evenly. This step seals the bottoms of the slices by cooking the outer layer of custard base. It also prepares the bread for receiving more custard base.
3. Spoon or ladle more custard base into the center of each bread slice. If the liquid leaks out of the bread and onto the skillet, the bread slices are not quite sealed; continue cooking for 1 minute, pressing the slices slightly to seal. When the slices are full of custard base, carefully transfer the skillet to the middle rack of the oven. Do not turn the toast.
4. Bake the slices for 12 to 15 minutes and then gently shake the pan. If the custard base is still liquid, continue baking and check again. Depending on the thickness of the slices, the custard may take up to 20 minutes to cook all the way through. The French toast is done when the custard seems solid and each slice appears inflated, as the custard soufflés when fully cooked.
5. Meanwhile, to cook the bacon, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the strips begin to get crispy around the edges, about 10 minutes. Pour the fat from the pan and add the maple syrup to coat the bacon. Transfer to the oven alongside the toast and bake until the bacon is glazed, about 5 minutes.
6. Using the spatula, remove the French toast slices from the skillet and place them, caramelized side up, onto plates. The skillet side should be caramelized and crisp. Spread the French toast with the persimmon and serve with the bacon.

 

Lucky Penny Bread’s
Cinnamon Roll Scones

www.luckypennybread.com 


Makes approximately 1 dozen

Ingredients

For the dough:

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons baking powder

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 5/8 cups butter

1 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

For the filling:

13/4 cups dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted

Extra granulated sugar for dipping the tops of the baked scones

To Make

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine all dry ingredients with cold cubed butter. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes until butter is pea-size. 

2. Slowly pour in milk and mix on low speed until incorporated and a homogeneous dough forms. 

3. Dump dough out onto your work surface and gently push it together until remaining dry bits are incorporated. Form into a rectangle shape of even thickness. Cover or wrap and let rest at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes to let the gluten relax.

4. While the dough is resting, make the filling. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan, then pour it over the sugar mixture. Use a spatula to mix all the ingredients together until all the sugar is moistened by the butter. It should have a wet sand consistency. 

5. After the dough rests, sprinkle a bit of all-purpose flour over the surface, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle of approximately ½- to ¾-inch thickness, measuring about 12 inches by 18 inches or about the size of a half sheet pan. 

6. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough. Then begin rolling up the dough from the longer edge until it forms a roll. 

7. Using a sharp knife, cut your roll into 12 even pieces. Take each roll and pull the last-rolled part a couple of inches away, and then tuck that under the end (or tail) of the roll to cover the bottoms. The rolls can be wrapped and refrigerated up to two days or frozen up to one month. 

8. Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a baking pan or sheet with nonstick spray. Allow about 1 to 1½ inches around each roll for them to expand while baking. 

9. Bake for about 15 minutes, then check and rotate your pan(s) if necessary. Bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the centers seem fully baked. 

10. Remove from the oven and let cool 15 to 20 minutes before carefully removing rolls from the pan and dipping the tops of each roll in additional cinnamon sugar, or, alternatively, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the tops of the rolls while still in the pan. 

These are best served warm straight away, but they can also be reheated the next day in a low-temperature oven for about 10 minutes.

Photo by Marin Family Photography