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The Cake and Cookie Spot, Squirrel Hill

October 8, 2012 By Chef Chuck 3 Comments

The Cake and Cookie Spot

If you’re a regular reader of Pittsburgh Hot Plate, you probably know by now that I have a fondness for baked goods. Luckily, there are quite a few bakeries in and around the city, all of whom seem to have their own specialties. That being said, all pastries are not created equally. Quality ingredients, along with sound and consistent technique determine true pastry-excellence.

I recently had the chance to try some pastries from a bakery in Squirrel Hill run by a Mother/Daughter team by the name of The Cake and Cookie Spot. The large cookies from The Cake and Cookie Spot are visually stunning. Glossy ribbons of beautifully tempered, silky-smooth chocolate enrobed many of my cookie-samples. Other pastries on my tray were loaded with roasted nuts, mini M&Ms, and colorful sprinkles… no skimping on the good stuff here!

Ultimate M&M Cookie

The cookies were deliciously moist, and flavorful. The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie was packed with chunks of delectable chocolate- at least 50 mini candy-coated bits adorned the Ultimate M&M cookie. The Ultimate Peanut Butter was one of my favorites, as was the Double Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin. Other choices include Classic Peanut Butter, Classic Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Sprinkle, Thumbprint, Turtle, Regular M&M, and Oatmeal Butterscotch. If you’re a cookie fan, chances are The Cookie and Cake Spot will have your favorite.

The Cake and Cookie Spot Cookies

Cookies with Sprinkles

One of the more interesting items for purchase at The Cake and Cookie Spot are Cake Shots. What are cake shots? Well, imagine your favorite center-cut piece of cake served in a small plastic vessel with plenty of gooey icing and scrumptious toppings. These cake shots fit perfectly in your hand, and can easily be eaten on-the-go with no napkins! A small spoon fits perfectly inside the cake-filled cylinders… just make sure to get EVERY bit of the moist, delicious cake. My favorite was the Red-Velvet; a hint of cocoa and sweet icing made my taste buds jump for joy. Other choices include Café Mocha, Reese’s, Boston Cream, and Double Chocolate.

Cake Shots

Peanut Butter and Red Velvet Cake Shots

Boston Cream and Double-Chocolate Cake Shots

Double-Chocolate and Boston Cream Cake Shots

In addition to delicious cookies, cake shots, and other assorted pastries, The Cookie and Cake Spot serves fresh-brewed coffee, homemade cinnamon rolls, and muffins. It’s a perfect breakfast destination if you’re in search of something new.

If you’re planning a wedding, give Katie a call. She’ll suggest beautifully-decorated cupcakes, or a custom-made wedding cake. If you have a request that’s not on the menu, the owners will happily accommodate you, and help bring your pastry desires to fruition. For more information, check out their website here.

The Cookie and Cake Spot is one of the best Pittsburgh bakeries you may not have heard of yet. The amazing, fresh-baked treats created by talented pastry chefs will have you coming back for more!

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

Filed Under: Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: baking, chef chuck kerber, cookie, cookie recipe, cookie recipes, cookies, cookies Pittsburgh, eggs, flour, pastry, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh cookies, Pittsburgh pastry, Pittsburgh restaurant, Pittsburgh restaurnat reviews, The Cake and Cookies Spot

Meet Allison Westfahl!

February 3, 2012 By Chef Chuck Leave a Comment

Gluten-free Allison!

Chef Chuck recently had some questions for me about eating gluten-free. As someone who has been happily living a life of gluten free-dom for over 7 years now, I was happy to give some helpful hints to Chef.

My first piece of advice is this: don’t give up! Whether you’re cutting gluten out of your diet because you have a gluten intolerance, are trying to cure some long-standing health issues, or simply want to drop a few of those stubborn pounds, remember to stay focused on the finish line. I remember when I first went gluten-free…..I made the mistake of thinking I could have gluten “on special occasions”, but ultimately this only led me down the road towards my old bad habits. Plus I never really experienced the true health and fitness benefits of being gluten-free until I had completely purged it from my diet.

So now on to the most pressing question: what the heck do you eat?! Because gluten is found in wheat, barley, and rye, you need to avoid all foods and food derivatives that contain those three grains. You can find an extensive list of foods that contain gluten on the celiac.org website. And don’t think that you will never be able to eat bread or pasta again! There are some fabulous gluten-free breads and pastas on the market today, and I swear you would never know the difference in a blind taste test. My favorite brand of gluten-free bread is Pamela’s, and my favorite pasta is made by Tinkyada. You can probably find these at your local grocer, but if they aren’t available you can always order them through glutenfreemall.com. Oh, and if you’re confused about whether or not oats are gluten-free, just look for a brand that is labeled “Gluten-free” and you’ll be safe. I like Bob’s Red Mill.

What? You don’t believe me that eating gluten-free can be good for you AND delicious? Ok, here are two recipes to prove it: Allison’s secret hummus, and Best-ever gluten free lasagna.

I don’t have a picture of the lasagna because every time I make this dish it gets inhaled before I can snap a photo. Chef Chuck, I challenge you to make this lasagna for people and wait until AFTER they have eaten it to tell them it’s not only gluten free, but vegan as well. Be prepared to see minds being blown.

Allison’s Secret Hummus

This variation on a traditional hummus has a bit of a kick to it. If you prefer your hummus with a more neutral taste, simply leave out the cayenne pepper.

humus and cucumber on gluten free bread

1 can (10 ounces) chick peas, drained and rinsed, reserving 1/2 C of the juice
1/2 C juice from chickpeas
1/3 C tahini
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves minced garlic

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until a creamy texture is reached. You can play with the ingredients a bit to suit your taste. For example, you may like more garlic and less tahini, or more cayenne (spicy!) and less cinnamon. Have fun and be creative! I like to serve the hummus on little finger sandwiches (using GF bread, of course) with some cucumbers and sprouts.

Makes approximately 30 servings, 2 Tbsp per serving
Per serving: 38 Calories, 3g Fat, 1.1g Protein, 2g Carb, 1g Fiber, 0g Sugar

Best-Ever Gluten Free Lasagna

One package Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice Pasta Lasagna noodles
One 20-ounce jar pre-made organic pasta sauce
1 package Daiya brand mozzarella flavor cheese

For the cheese sauce:

1/4 C brown rice flour
1/3 C nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
2 C unsweetened almond milk, vanilla flavor
1-1/2 tsp cider vinegar

For the dairy-free ricotta:

1.5 blocks extra-firm tofu
1 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook lasagna noodles in a large stock pot until they are al dente. Remove from heat, strain off water and rinse with cold water. They will continue to cook in the oven once the lasagna is assembled. While the lasagna is cooking, prepare the cheese sauce.

Off heat, combine the flour, nutritional yeast, and salt in a small saucepan. Slowly stir in 1/2 C of the almond milk with a wooden spoon. Place the saucepan on the stove on medium-low heat, and begin to slowly stir in the remainder of the almond milk and the vinegar. Stir mixture constantly until it begins to thicken and look like a cheesy sauce. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients for the dairy free ricotta. Crumble the mixture with your hands or a fork until it looks like cottage cheese.

It’s time to assemble the lasagna!

In a 9×13 inch glass baking dish, spread a small amount of the pre-made pizza sauce on the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles, then a layer of the cheese sauce, then more pizza sauce, then a layer of ricotta. Repeat this pattern until all the ingredients are used.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the mozzarella (and fresh basil leaves if desired) on top and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 servings, each serving approx. 3”x3” square
Per serving: 272 Calories, 9.2g Fat, 10.8g Protein, 36 g Carb, 2g Fiber, 1g Sugar

Allison Westfahl is a renowned trainer, exercise physiologist, and fitness personality. She holds an undergraduate degree from Yale, and a Masters degree in exercise science. An avid cook, runner, and yogi, Allison loves to share her secret keys to health and fitness with others. She is the author of “The Gluten Free Fat Loss Plan”, and the forthcoming “Tom Danielson’s Core Advantange” (Velopress, 2013). Her website is allisonwestfahl.com

Filed Under: Food News Tagged With: Allison Westfahl, celiac, celiac disease, chef, diet, diets, flour, gluten, gluten free, new year's resolutions, resolutions

Gluten Free

January 3, 2012 By Chef Chuck 5 Comments

wheat

Even though I don’t believe in resolutions, I am going to try and stop eating gluten in the New Year. My sister and niece have celiac, so chances are, I may have some predisposition to the stuff myself. There’s only one problem: I love all things flour. Some of my favorite gluten-filled treats are: homemade breads, and pasta… maybe cookies, too… and cake. Besides eradicating this toxin from my body, I’m also excited at the prospect of losing a few holiday pounds.

The downside

Apparently there are a few downsides to eliminating certain foods from your diet entirely. First, you can’t indulge in delicious, flour-filled foods anymore. Secondly, you have to endure the physical symptoms of the withdrawal. A few things one can look forward to are: dizziness, headache, frequent urination, and strange food cravings (all of which I seem to be enjoying recently).

The upside

After a few weeks of detoxing I’m hoping to be energized, and euphoric- I’m also hoping to become healthier in the process.

There you have it- an interesting food experiment that will hopefully yield some interesting data, all of which I will share.

I’m also toying with the idea of giving up sugar.

Maybe I do believe in resolutions.

Chef Chuck Kerber

Pittsburghhotplate.com

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

photo: goodwallpaper.com

Filed Under: Food News Tagged With: celiac, celiac disease, chef, diet, diets, flour, gluten, gluten free, new year's resolutions, resolutions

Sarah R., Guest Blogger

May 27, 2011 By Chef Chuck 10 Comments

I love Chef Chuck’s homemade mint chocolate chip cookies. I love these delicious, mouthwatering cookies because you can really taste the mint chocolate chips. The white chips are so good! Together those ingredients make Chef Chuck’s cookies the best!! I could live in a world of them, that’s how great, luscious, yummy, and awesome Chef Chuck’s cookies are.

Filed Under: Food News Tagged With: baking, baking cookies, baking powder, baking soda, butter, chocolate, cookie recipes, cookies, cooking, flour, honey roasted peanuts, peanuts, recipes, salt, silpat, silpats

Double Chocolate Honey Roasted Peanut Cookies

March 8, 2011 By Chef Chuck 4 Comments

These are some of the best cookies you can make. I mean look, there’s one pound of melted semi-sweet chocolate in the batter! Everyone I have made this recipe for loves it. Give it a try- you’ll love the combination of sweet, salty, and decadent chocolate.

Double Chocolate Honey Roasted Peanut Cookies

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 jumbo eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 pound of melted semi-sweet chocolate
2 ¾ cups of unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups honey roasted peanuts
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Using a mixer, combine the regular sugar, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Mix on low for three minutes until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until they are fully incorporated.

Place the chocolate in a glass bowl, and place in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and gently stir the chocolate. Keep doing this at 30 second increments until the chocolate is fully melted, approximately three minutes total. Remove the chocolate, and let cool to room temperature.

Slowly add the chocolate to the sugar-egg mixture and beat until blended fully. Add the flour mixture next until mixed.

Next, add the chocolate chips, and the honey roasted peanuts.

Drop on a greased cookie sheet by the tablespoonful, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy with a tall, cold glass of milk!