hygge bakery

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to Solvang, but I still remember the Danish pastries at Mortensen’s… The cream cheese danish, the macarons, the cookies….

Drooooool.

How I miss it. It’s only a couple of hours away from where I am, but I still haven’t been there since I started college. I think I’ll head on up to Santa Barbara County when all my friends are finally 21 and go wine-tasting, eating steak at the Hitching Post, and of course, hitting up Mortensen’s&Olsen’s. A little Sideways-inspired trip, maybe?

But since that won’t be happening for at least a year, guess I and my fellow Angelinos will have to settle for Danish pastries somewhere else?

Lynn making her selections.

One of my sister’s college friends works at Hygge Bakery (Apparently it’s pronounced Huug? Or something…) in Downtown LA but today was her last day at work because she’s leaving for Japan for a year on Thursday. So, we dropped by to get some delicious treats!

choco croissants!

AMA-JING. I swear.

adorable delicious petit fours!

Amazing prices, amazing petit fours, amazing breads, pastries, strawberry tart, and meringues! I don’t know if the bakery can be called traditional Danish, but it was incredible. They had specials like 3 Danish cream puffs for $2, sandwich and a drink for $5.75, Italian sandwich rolls for 75 cents a piece, I bought four petit fours for only $3, and a box of four huge meringues for a mere $1!!!!!

If you live in LA, I suggest you go find it right now. It’s a bit of a pain trying to find parking around there, but on a Sunday afternoon, street parking shouldn’t be a problem. And free. In economies like these, good cheap eats like these are a must!

Especially on my student’s income. (Read: $0 + occasional pity money from my parents)

hazelnut, raspberry, white chocolate&baked marzipan

The white chocolate mousse-filled was the best one…. They’re all marzipan-based so they have that slight gooey almond flavor. Loved it! The only one I didn’t get to try was the raspberry one though (the yellow one in the front) because I sent it along with my sister.

Lovely.
Now, back to studying after filling my belly with sweet treats!

mmmmm... pizza!

The pizza here is the secret killer.
Incredible bread and crust with ALOT of sauce….. Surprising, no?
Very.

Hygge Bakery
1106 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-995-5022

banana crumb muffins

The first thing I remember learning to bake when I was in high school was banana bread. And now, the first thing I’m baking as an upperclassman, the first thing I’ve baked in my new kitchen&oven is banana bread.

back with streusel.

School starts in two days. I’m absolutely not ready……. NOT READY!!!! The muffins took some of the edge off though. :) (But I’m still not ready.) I just had an accounting orientation yesterday and I just about died from stress. It wasn’t particularly stressful, but it was like I saw parallel visions of my future flashing before my eyes.

Have you seen (500) Days of Summer? The scene where Joseph Gordon-Levitt visits Zooey Deschanel after they’ve broken up at her party. The split screen between Fantasy and Reality. Fulfillment vs. stability.

Banana bread is a comfort zone for me. I was too stressed to try anything wild or new, so I stuck with the basics. Something familiar and old and home in lieu of starting anew. A new major, apartment, year, roommate, life.

the best part of the muffin is the TOP! muffintop~~~~

Can’t be scared forever though!
I need to try baking something adventurous soon. Something daring! And difficult! And crazy! With a bajillion steps!

Banana Crumb Muffins
adapted from allrecipes.com

Yield: 11 muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten slightly
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon until mixture resembles wet sand. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

baked mac&cheese

I love cheese.
I love macaroni&cheese. My sister loves macaroni&cheese.
When we were kids, she would eat boxes of the Kraft stuff.

extra-sharp cheddar

I am not a cook.
And technically, this is baked in an oven….

tri-cheese blend of monterey jack, cheddar, etc

I think I underestimated the difficulty of making mac&cheese.

ooey-gooey cheese

But its not THAT hard.

mac&cheese

So, don’t ever buy instant Kraft mac&cheese ever again.
Not worth it.
I will make you some and bring it to you instead. :)

pair it with broccoli! bbq! anything!

Something to feed me this new school year. Well, I guess I won’t be starving!
I’ll be getting some calcium and carbs.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Yield: 4-6 servings

Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cups milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 pound (250 grams) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 pound (250 grams) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Red hot-pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Brin a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the boiling water, add the macaroni, stir well, and cook for about 6 minutes. The macaroni will still be quite al dente; it will cook further in the oven. Do not overcook. Drain thoroughly.

While the pasta is draining, in a saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. In another saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Whisk in the flour, and reduce the heat to low. Let the flour mixture bubble, whisking occasionally and without browning, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add the cheeses, and stir until the cheeses are melted. Return the macaroni to the pot and stir well. Season to taste with salt and hot pepper sauce.

In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Spread the macaroni evenly in the prepared baking dish, sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, and drizzle the melted butter evenly over the crumbs. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the top is browned, about 40 minutes. Serve hot, directly from baking dish.

glazed old school donuts!

After years of looking at Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’ Donuts, Yum Yum, Spudnuts, WHATEVER sprout up all around me, I really miss good old mom-and-pop donut shops.
Had one from Dunkin’ the other day. Can I say GROSS?
Don’t get me wrong, a melt-in-your-mouth hot donut from Krispy Kreme still hits the spot… for about three seconds. And I’m always left wanting more.

More donut.
Something fluffy.
Very soft.
Still a bit of a chew though, I don’t want it to just melt away in my mouth too quickly.
With a glaze that’s not too sugary sweet that I feel like I’m going to have a diabetic attack from eating it.

I was whining to my mom that I wanted some good old-fashioned donuts, and she looked at me like the answer was obvious.

“Why don’t we make some then?”

OF COURSE.

cutting out donuts.

“But I’ve never made a donut before!”

twist!

“So?”

voila!

That is true. Good point, Mom.

the next morning

And these donuts were perfect.

fry me!

I love the little donut holes!

careful! the oil is hot.

If you have time to make your own, I would suggest you do so! No grease, no extra lard butter whatever nastys are in franchise donuts, and they taste so much better! Love it. It’s really not all that difficult if you make the dough the night before and let them rise for an hour before frying in the morning.

glazed & unglazed

And who doesn’t love donuts? Fried dough? C’mon. Whoever thought of that was GENIUS.

fry faster! mmmmm

People will be amazed at these.
Trust me.
You will be revered.
Honored.

sugar? glaze? cinnamon sugar? powdered sugar?

Statues will be erected in your name.
Poems written for you.
Legends about your good deeds will live on in progeny.

donut heaven <3

And how can they not? LOOK AT THESE DONUTS.

perfect glazed twist donuts.

I love it when my mom has great ideas.

Glazed Old-fashioned Donuts
Yield: 8 ring donuts & 4 twist donuts (you can do any variation you like)

1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 teaspoons yeast
3/4 cup warm milk
1/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups + all purpose flour

Whisk together the water, yeast, milk, sugar, butter, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour until combined. Then, add the eggs and beat until incorporated into the dough.

Add the rest of the flour, and using the dough hook, beat for about eight minutes until the sides completely pull away from the insides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and soft. If the dough looks too sticky, add more flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough is the right consistency.

When finished, cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.

After the dough has risen, roll it out onto a floured surface at a thickness about 1/2 inch thick and cut out into desired shapes. Feel free to make rings, only donut holes, or twist them into whatever shape you desire. (Personally, I like twist donuts best)

After cutting out the shapes, place them on a greased pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for one more hour.
If you are making them in advance, say the night before, you can wrap them (but make sure the covering is airtight) the same way and put them in the fridge overnight. Then, one hour before you want to fry them, leave them out with the wrap still on and let rise for one hour.

After they’ve risen to about double their size, heat up oil in a frying pan on simmer to medium heat. Be careful not to be impatient and heat the oil on too high a heat! You want your oil to be about 180 – 190 degrees F. If it’s too high, they’ll burn! (We burned a few so I know… Trust me. Haha)

When your oil is the right temperature, place the dough in the oil and fry for about 60-90 seconds on each side. You only want to flip the donut once! So, check the bottom and see if its a nice golden color before flipping it.
Remove them from the oil and place them on a pan lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.
Then, you can glaze them while they’re hot, roll them in powdered sugar, granulated sugar, whatever you like!
And EAT EAT EAT!
10 donuts disappeared between the four of us like it was nothing. :)

Vanilla Glaze Recipe
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk all the ingredients together very quickly until smooth and combined. Brush over donuts while still hot!

a new home

carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

I’m moving today!
Packing up all my things and moving into a new apartment next to school.

Every new home contains so many promises… So many new resolutions, new starts, new relationships, new memories to be made…
It’s a new year, and I’m an upperclassman now. I guess with this new apartment, it’s time for me to grow up a little, be responsible, and actually be a student, playing hard but working hard, too.

with walnuts!

The last year of my life was so tumultuous, I couldn’t be more ready for a fresh start. I fought with almost every friend I had, I went on dates with some real jerks, I had falling outs, I made up with some people and cut a few completely out of my life. All in all, I realized that all the petty drama seemed so very high school, and I’m ready to move on and learn to be a gracious, Godly, mature, loving, HAPPY human being.

It hit me that even though I still feel like a baby (maybe it’s a younger sibling thing), I’m starting to feel a little older. This year with all of its ups and downs, fights and make-ups, screaming, crying, baking, sweating, suffering, working, and laughing has matured me in a way that I didn’t realize until recently.
Yes, I know that’s laughable because I’m only twenty, but I don’t feel like my mommy’s baby anymore. Am I ready?????????? I don’t know if I’m ready!!! I WANT TO BE A PRINCESS FOREVER!

Ahem.

Composure.

Well, I’m psyched about this new year!
This almost seems like a January 1 post and not something you should write in August… But my life rolls on an academic calendar, so I say bring it on 2009-2010! Give me all you’ve got. :)

ignore the ugly frosting...

As for the carrot cake. I enlisted some help in the form of my hulking twin cousins because I can’t move all my furniture by my weak little self. So, as a little thank you, I decided to bake some carrot cake for them to take back and eat.

MUCH <3 from LA.

mmm.. frosting...

Jean’s Carrot Cake

Yield: two 9-inch round cakes

4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.

Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and creamy. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Stir in the carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until brown on top and a cake tester comes out of the center clean. Cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.

Voila~ My carrot cake recipe. :)

Cream cheese frosting recipe found here at the bottom of the page.