no. 125: persimmon, peanut, & honey crinkle cake!

Plus, a fruit you've probably never heard of!

I finally got around to watching the Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix after many people told me to watch it, and I’m so glad I did. What a boss. She really was the first to do it. Turning her at-home kitchen catering operation into a million dollar business? Feeling INSPIRED. Speaking of, did I mention I do dinner parties, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, etc. and I’m still taking bookings through the end of the year?

Well, it’s been a busy month of events (yay! cooking is FUN!), so let’s get straight into some things I'm loving right now!

Angel Bakeries Pita

Ok, I’m going to let you in on a little private cheffing secret. Since I usually do some sort of grazing board for events and dinner parties, and I always buy this specific pita for the boards. When I get to the client’s home, the first thing I’ll do is cut the pita into triangles, spread it on a baking sheet and toss it with a little oil, then toast them in the oven at a nice 350F.

It immediately perfumes the entire home, and usually, the client will say something along the lines of “wow, it already smells so good,” as though I’m doing something extremely skilled and profound, when in fact, all I’m doing is warming up bread in their oven. 95% of store-bought pita is a true crime against humanity, but this seems to be the only brand that’s figured it out. I get it at Whole Foods.

Oranges

My Instacart shopper did me dirty last week and instead of purchasing the 2 oranges that I requested, they purchased two 4-POUND BAGS of oranges. This surplus has forced me to get creative with them since I don’t like eating them straight up, and I need that space back in my fridge ASAP.

I’ve been using them in vinaigrettes, sauces, and marinades, which has made me realize that any occasion where it’s appropriate to zest and juice a lemon, doing the same with an orange adds a nice floral, subtly sweet dimension. Why incorporate one citrus, when you can use TWO?! I even used some orange peel in the honey syrup for my crinkle cake (more below).

What has really put a dent in these huge bags is that I’ve also been using them to make what I like to call my 3 pm Serotonin Spritz™, which consists of a couple juiced oranges, a few spoonfuls of some passion fruit pulp that I’ve been slowly working through in my fridge, seltzer, and ice. It is so refreshing and it gives me something to look forward to.

So, you heard it here first. Highly recommend you head to your nearest grocery store and check them out! ORANGES!

Persimmon, Peanut, and Honey Crinkle Cake

Makes 1 cake

Active time: 45 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

My friend, Cath, and I recently found ourselves DM’ing each other a bunch of phyllo dough-centric recipes. It started with this cake and then it just seemed like phyllo dough was everywhere. I’ve only used phyllo dough to make the obvious classics, baklava and spanakopita, but seeing what other people online have been doing with their phyllo dough really got me thinking about just how many ways you can use this frozen ingredient.

So, we did what frankly appeared to be the only option and hold an official Phyllo Dough Day of Discovery, where we both developed an earth-bending phyllo dough recipe in my apartment. We were particularly inspired by Crowded Kitchen’s crinkle apple cake, so we decided to make both a sweet and savory version of it.

For my creation, I decided to do a persimmon, peanut, and honey cake because it’s persimmon season and I thought it could be a bit of a PB&J moment. I brushed the phyllo with butter and sprinkled it with a spiced peanut and brown sugar mixture before accordion-ing it up. Next, I tucked in thin slices of persimmons, and then the cake baked with a simple cinnamon custard and was finished off with an orange-honey syrup.

Cath went the savory route and baked hers with a sage-thyme custard, then sprinkled in sliced delicata squash, gruyere, and Parmesan. I don’t have that recipe written down but maybe if you ask her nicely she will share it! I have to say, both cakes came out really, really good. Both somehow tasted like Christmas brunch to me.

Happy baking! In phyllo dough we trust!