It was gorgeous, goth and moody. It was grand, with color you could taste — burgundy, raspberry, chocolate — hues well suited for the crushed velvet drapes of a vampire’s Victorian parlor. And you Freddy Krueger fans will appreciate this: It gave me serious “chest of souls” vibes.

I had to make it. The power of pumpkins compelled me. So much so, that I made it almost immediately. Even though it was only August.

If you’re going to season creep, creep big.

The pignoli cookie is a sweet, simple way to time travel

Ghoul at Heart is a second home and handle for cooking blogger Laurie Castellon, whose love of Halloween eventually prompted her to branch out from her Castellon’s Kitchen site with year-round recipe posts featuring creations campy, cute, gory and great. I mean really great. Just check out this near-literal crime scene of a cheese course, the Amputated Appetizer, (instagram.com/p/CwfsM1Sp-Ry)  if you need further proof. Her Instagram account is a frighteningly fun rabbit hole in which to descend, but I digress…

Because it was the galette that grabbed me at the outset.

This terrifying tart features the flavor trifecta of pear, raspberry and chocolate. One can go all-in and make the jam from scratch or cheat a little with something from a jar, but the fun is undeniable. It’s an artsy-craftsy creation you can eat, and really, based on how I felt when I saw it, it’s all but guaranteed that if you’re throwing some sort of Halloween bash, your guests are going to go ga-ga when they see it.

To be upfront, the Grim Reaper Galette is a two-day project.

That’s because of the “boos.”(See what I did there?) For those of you who love cooking with wine — and sometimes even put it in the food — the dramatic color on these pear skulls comes from a mixture of dry red vino and Chambord, a divine black raspberry liqueur that’s as enjoyable by the spoonful over good vanilla ice cream as it is by the splash in good vodka or bubbly.

But first, you’ll have to carve them.

Castellon’s recipe calls for various tools to get the job done, but I had neither a corer nor a cookie cutter, so I did it all by hand. Are the skulls pastry-pro perfect? Perhaps not, but I think they look cute enough. So, if you don’t have these items in your kitchen drawer already, don’t feel like they’re must-haves you need to spend money on.

Once peeled and carved, the pears will require an overnight soak to get that beautiful red color. I flipped them a few times throughout the process to ensure an even red. And since they need the overnight, I suggest making the jam and dough the day before, too, which will make your second day’s work an easier cleanup.

Making the dough was far more straightforward than I expected. To a layperson like me, pastries are high-level baking. And though I probably could have done a better job in rolling it out into a thinner sheet, the flavor — a buttery-rich chocolate that’s not at all sweet — balanced very nicely with the sugary-tart combo of jam and fruit. Almond slivers, along with the seeds in the jam, add some crunch, though you avid bakers out there might have an additional suggestion for more.

One thing I can say is that those privy to my pastry ahead of time were duly impressed with this thing, in both looks and taste. You’ll probably want something a little less sophisticated on hand for your table, as well, whether for the kids or those who aren’t fans of a fruity finish.

For those of you who are, however, the scratch-made raspberry jam is a nice bonus. The recipe made far more than the tart required and so even now, months later, the spirit of my dearly departed dessert lives on in a jar in my fridge, destined to haunt dozens of toasted bagels in the months to come.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Grim Reaper Galette

Recipe Courtesy Ghoul at Heart; (ghoulatheart.com/grim-reaper-galette)

Equipment*

• 1 pastry blender
• 1 apple corer
• 1 mini heart cookie cutter

*I carved the pears and made the pastry by hand; equipment not mandatory. 

Ingredients

Chocolate Galette Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into ¼-inch slices
• 6-8 tablespoons ice water

Macerated Pears

• 3-4 pears, cored, peeled and halved
• 2 cups Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
• 1 cup dry red wine (for color)

Raspberry Jam Filling

• 2½ cups raspberries
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions

Pear Skulls

1. Pour Chambord  and wine into medium-sized bowl. Working one at a time so pears don’t brown, core and peel pears, then cut it in half lengthwise. With the larger end of the pear on top, use the apple corer to cut out two holes for the eyes and then cut out the nose with the heart-shaped cookie cutter. Use a paring knife to score the smaller end to create teeth, and then add a skull crack if desired. Place pears in Chambord/wine mixture and allow to soak overnight.
2. When ready to assemble tart, remove pears from macerating liquid and place on plate. Reduce macerating liquid over medium-high heat until syrupy, 8-10 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Galette Dough

1. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugars and salt into large bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. Add cold butter slices and, using pastry blender or fork, work in butter until it looks like pea-sized crumbles.
3. Stir in ice water, two tablespoons at a time, until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a round disc and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

Raspberry Jam

1. Combine raspberries, sugar, water and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Mash with potato masher and over medium heat as you bring to a boil. Stir frequently until mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside or refrigerate until ready to assemble.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thickness. Transfer dough to parchment-lined baking sheet. Fill center of dough with jam leaving about 3 inch border. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
3. Place macerated pears on jam. Fold dough over to encase  jam and pears. Brush dough with egg wash and bake for 35-45 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the Chambord syrup, and enjoy!

Individual grim reaper tartlets: Divide dough evenly into 6 or 8 rounds and assemble as instructed above. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

I agreed. So much so that I’d have had it as a shot in my honey-vanilla chamomile as I wrote this. I’m not, though. Because there’s no amaretto in the house. With the holiday season fast approaching, that’s about to be remedied, but even so, I now have two notes to write to myself this morning.

Always have amaretto, Amy Drew.

And, since the years have clearly done a number on your priorities, always have pignoli cookies.

I just finished baking a batch, and these sweet, chewy-delicious pine nut cookies — with that beautiful lacquer of toasty pine nuts on top — are the stuff of nonna’s kitchen, which may be tied to the holidays (they’re so festive!) or just baking with her on a Sunday while the sauce is going. Maybe it’s your uncle they remind you of. Or mom. Doesn’t matter. The point is pignoli cookies are evocative of family.

And can you think of a better way to celebrate National Nut Day (Oct. 22) than with a salute to your family?!

The rainbow connection: an Orlando search for a northeastern favorite

I kid, I kid, but when I heard this food holiday was upon us, my first thought was pignoli cookies. It had been forever since I’d had them, so I made a batch. And while doing so, I wondered whether other people had similarly strong feelings.

“OMG! That is literally my favorite cookie!” Denny Tornatore wrote after I sent him a pic. “I don’t care how much they cost when I am in N.Y.C. I pay the price. Pignoli cookies are the best!”

He agreed to discuss them with me for the price of two cookies. Which, if I were selling them, would be a lot.

Pine nuts are expensive. There are a multitude of reasons why. The types of trees that produce them (a limited number of pine species actually produce edible nuts) don’t do so until they are quite mature. The harvesting process is laborious. Most pine nuts are imported, and because they can spoil, extra prep and care go into their transport. They’re also in very high demand.

“I think the cookies were $24 a pound last time I went to Ferrara in New York,” Tornatore tells me. (They’re currently clocking in at $42.95 a pound via Goldbelly.)

As the chef/owner of Tornatore’s Restaurant in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood, he’s also a regular consumer. Pine nuts are the prime ingredient in pesto, after all, which he has on the menu. “They’ve gone up consistently since COVID,” he says. “Lots of things have started to come back down since then, but not pine nuts.”

It was around the holidays that Tornatore remembers the cookies showing up.

“My nonna would make them and put a little powdered sugar on them, and we’d just eat them warm, oh my god…” he trails off, lost in food memory. I get it. As I type, mine are just about cool. I’ve already had three.

“Pignoli cookies!” Patrick Tramontana replies when I send him the same pic. Again, there’s a similar time warp.

“They make me think of my childhood on Long Island. Going to pick up my mom after school with my dad when she worked at the bakery. She was the cookie lady.”

Erga Italian Bakery was a neighborhood staple in Bethpage, New York, for decades. (It’s since become another bakery, Moscato‘s.) Little did the cookie lady know that one day, her son would be heading up the kitchen at Antonio’s of Maitland before taking the helm at The Mayflower at Winter Park.

Local chef finds work-life balance among the retired

Every time he went, Salvo, the baker, would come out and let him pick whatever he wanted.

“I’d always pick the strawberry eclair because it was the biggest thing they had!” he says, laughing. “My mom would come home with loaves of semolina bread all the time. And every once in a while, and always during Christmas time, she’d come home with pignoli cookies. They’re so delicious! They have this wonderful chewy thing, but they’re also crisp at the same time.”

Yep. It’s a texture thing, courtesy of its prime ingredient — almond paste — that’s at least equal to the rich almond flavor it imparts. There’s a balance of crisp and gooey in these flourless cookies that’s matchless.

“I’m a big almond fan. I go crazy for almond desserts,” says Kevin Fonzo, whose La Tavola dinners at the Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Kitchen House in College Park sell out as fast as he posts them. “But for me, this is a history thing. It’s the feeling of warmth and comfort and love.”

Growing up in upstate New York, Fonzo would regularly visit his grandparents in the Bronx. And though his great aunts made pignoli cookies all the time, they still remind him mostly of the bakery behind their apartment building.

“When we’d spend the weekend with my grandparents, it was a daily stop for us. We’d walk around the corner to this bakery, and there were all these amazing cookies that weren’t chocolate chip or Oreo or things you’d see at the supermarket.”

To date, Fonzo still orders many of his cookies from his favorite places in New York, like Ferrara in Little Italy.

“Every year, I order like for my sister, who is crazy about the pine nut cookies, too, and for the holidays, I’ll get an assorted cookie tray. And I always get pissed off because there’s never enough pignoli cookies.”

That’s why you have to make your own.

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

Pignoli Cookies

Recipe by Angela Allison courtesy of This Italian Kitchen (thisitaliankitchen.com/pignoli-cookies)

Some notes: This recipe made 24 cookies. I baked them at 350 degrees instead of 325, and they browned beautifully. Try out a couple of testers and see if the higher setting suits your oven as it did mine. And if you want to stretch your pine nuts farther, which you might when three ounces go for about $13 at Publix, press them into one side of the dough ball instead of rolling the whole thing.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces pine nuts
• 14 ounces almond paste (two 7-ounce tubes)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.* Line two baking sheets with parchment; set aside. Place pine nuts in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Open tubes of almond paste and break into one-inch chunks using your fingers. Place paste into food processor and pulse until the it has broken apart.
3. Add granulated sugar, powdered sugar and salt to the food processor. Pulse until well combined and mixture forms a crumb. Add in the egg whites and process until a dough forms. (Dough will be slightly sticky).
4. Use a cookie scoop to measure out equal amounts of dough. Form dough into balls using your hands (wet hands slightly if dough begins to stick). Place the dough ball in the bowl of pine nuts and gently press in the nuts so they stick to the ball.
5. Place cookies on lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch and half between each (you should be able to fit a dozen cookies on each baking sheet.) Bake on center rack in oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the cookies start to spread and lightly brown.
6. Remove the cookies from oven and cool on the baking sheet completely before moving. If you move the cookie while warm, you risk it falling apart. Dust cookie with powdered sugar before serving (optional).

How to celebrate the two?

Enter the Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches Cake.

Instagram’s Domestic Rebel, Hayley Parker just featured the recipe, featuring a tantalizing photo of a squishy-wet square of autumnal color with literal cream on top.

I knew I had to make it. And I did. But first, a little about this cake that’s popular in myriad nations from Nicaragua to Puerto Rico, Cuba to the Canary Islands. The Caribbean is no stranger to soaked cakes, the rum cake being the most obvious. Nor is the American South where poke cake, which is literally poked full of holes into which sweet, syrupy and even gelatinous things can be poured, is a varied and popular dessert option

Tres leches translates to “three milks.” In the case of this recipe, that’s evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy whipping cream. The loveliness of this sweet concoction cannot be underestimated, and when it sets into what is a beautifully spiced and not-overly-sweet cake, it becomes something greater than the sum of its parts.

Texturally, the creamy soak gives the lower part of the cake a density that balances with its airier top half — as well as the light, homemade whipped cream. As its author notes, the most difficult part is waiting overnight (or a minimum of eight hours) for the soaked cake to set and allow the flavors to meld.

Offset your impatience with the knowledge that you’ll have batter beaters to lick on Day One with whipped cream to follow on Day Two.

TAG GOES HERE

Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches Cake

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake:

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar

15 ounces (1 can) pure pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

For the Tres Leches filling

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

12 ounces evaporated milk (one can)

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (one can)

For the Whipped Cream frosting:

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Ground cinnamon, for dusting the top, optional

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Liberally grease a 13-by-9-inch light metal rectangular baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, eggs and vanilla extract with the paddle attachment on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture until fully combined and batter is smooth and cohesive. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes. While cake is cooling, in a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy whipping cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk until combined. Set aside.

Poke holes all over the warm cake using a skewer or dowel, or if you don’t have either, the handle of a wooden spoon or a knife’s tip.  Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake, using all of the milk mixture. It will seem like a LOT of milk, but bear in mind that the cake will gradually soak up the mixture overnight in the fridge. Cover the cake and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, make the whipped cream frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the heavy whipping cream and confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Dust with ground cinnamon, if using. Store the cake in the fridge, covered.

Recipe courtesy The Domestic Rebel

Tribune News Service

AUG. 6! It’s downright extreme.

Now, the most sensible of the food-holiday folk dumped all the pumpkin-related days of honor in October, which makes sense, but even my cravings start to activate earlier than that.

Come mid-September, by which time Michael’s has the 40%-off signs out beneath all the Halloween wreaths, lights and craft kits, I am more than ready for that handful of candy corn that reminds me why it only takes one handful of candy corn to decide I can wait a year to have it again. I’m ready to light the Halloween tree and plan the costume. I’m ready to bake pumpkin stuff.

I’m also ready to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Now, imagine if there was one super-recipe that would allow me to scratch both itches simultaneously?

Enter my Instagram heroine, Domestic Rebel, Hayley Parker, whose incredible concoctions are as addictive as the other kind. But in a much healthier way.

I had bookmarked her pumpkin snickerdoodles as a possible contender for this year’s pumpkinpalooza, but then, just days ago, came a charming, rambling post about fall sweaters and wearing too many layers and how hot it can get in Sacramento that culminated in pumpkin spice tres leches cake, featuring a tantalizing photo of a squishy-wet square of autumnal color with literal cream on top.

I knew I had to make it. And I did. But first, a little about this cake that’s popular in myriad nations from Nicaragua to Puerto Rico, Cuba to the Canary Islands. The Caribbean is no stranger to soaked cakes, the rum cake being the most obvious. Nor is the American South where poke cake, which is literally poked full of holes into which sweet, syrupy and even gelatinous things can be poured, is a varied and popular dessert option

Tres leches translates to “three milks.” In the case of this recipe, that’s evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy whipping cream. The loveliness of this sweet concoction cannot be underestimated, and when it sets into what is a beautifully spiced and not-overly-sweet cake, it becomes something greater than the sum of its parts.

Texturally, the creamy soak gives the lower part of the cake a density that balances with its airier top half — as well as the light, homemade whipped cream. As its author notes, the most difficult part is waiting overnight (or a minimum of eight hours) for the soaked cake to set and allow the flavors to meld.

Offset your impatience with the knowledge that you’ll have batter beaters to lick on Day One with whipped cream to follow on Day Two.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, which means there’s still plenty of kitchen time for things like celebrity chef Roberto Treviño’s Tortilla Española or Orlando’s own chef Wendy Lopez’s stunning Veracruz-style fish if you’re feeling more than mere fall fondness, but after this two-holiday knockout, you’d do worse than pairing your PSL with a square of what I’ll call a PSLLL.

Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches Cake

Recipe courtesy The Domestic Rebel (thedomesticrebel.com/2021/11/05/pumpkin-spice-tres-leches-cake)

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
• 15 ounces (1 can) pure pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling)
• 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

For the Tres Leches filling

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 12 ounces evaporated milk (one can)
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (one can)

For the Whipped Cream frosting:

• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• Ground cinnamon, for dusting the top, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Liberally grease a 13×9 light metal rectangular baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, eggs and vanilla extract with the paddle attachment on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture until fully combined and batter is smooth and cohesive. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes. While cake is cooling, in a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy whipping cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk until combined. Set aside.
4. Poke holes all over the warm cake using a skewer or dowel, or if you don’t have either, the handle of a wooden spoon or a knife’s tip (ADT note: I used a chopstick. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake, using all of the milk mixture. It will seem like a LOT of milk, but bear in mind that the cake will gradually soak up the mixture overnight in the fridge. Cover the cake and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, make the whipped cream frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the heavy whipping cream and confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Dust with ground cinnamon, if using. Store the cake in the fridge, covered.

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Actually, it’s probably more like a photographer forty-second.

But I’m trying.

Recipes like this one make it easier, though occasionally, I need help, and for this cheesecake’s close-up, that came in the form of my neighbor, Valerie, who occasionally dog sits but had never before been enlisted in any job-related ridiculousness until I asked her to light up this Red, White & Blue Cheesecake recipe from Food Network Kitchen.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2021/06/30/trifling-with-the-holiday-do-it-right-with-a-patriotic-delight/

Why I chose it was simple: Look at it! It’s like creamy, patriotic fireworks for your long-weekend holiday table. It’s only a small step up in difficulty from the last Independence Day delight I made (a fruity, creamy Fourth of July trifle). And its use of whipped cream cheese makes it a much lighter offering than the typical cheesecake and, therefore, better suited to Orlando’s summer weather.

Fruity add-ons, in this case, blueberries and strawberries, only serve to up the refreshment factor with their tart juiciness.

The recipe went according to plan — mostly.

First, I used regular, liquid food coloring because I couldn’t find a gel version. While I found that I had to use more than the recipe suggested to achieve the deep color I was looking for (less could perhaps work for a gender-reveal party cheesecake now that I think about it!), the additional color didn’t do anything to alter the flavor of the cake. It was lovely and light and vanilla-tinged.

The temps? Well, I think it is a typical home baker’s concern that’s covered by the old “know your oven” adage. My cake browned a little more than I might have wanted (and split in one spot). Had I watched it closely, I’d have gotten some foil over the top sooner. It set up nicely, though, and still looked mighty pretty on the plate.

It was the rainy-day natural lighting that lacked when it had cooled enough to photograph, and so Valerie came to the rescue, illuminating not only with her presence but her iPhone. We might celebrate independence on July 4, but it sure is nice to have good neighbors to lean on when you need them.

Also Amazon. For portable light-source shopping on the fly. I’ll be doing that as soon as this piece is filed.

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Red, White & Blue Cheesecake

Recipe courtesy Food Network Kitchen (foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/red-white-and-blue-cheesecake-3672694)

You’ll need a 10-inch springform pan, as well as a wooden skewer or chopstick, for this recipe.

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 18 whole crackers)
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt

Filling

• Three 11.5-ounce containers whipped cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• One 16-ounce container sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring (or to desired color)
• 1/2 teaspoon blue gel food coloring (or to desired color)

Instructions

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
2. For the crust, toss together graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Press into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap up bottom and sides of pan with a large piece of foil and place in large roasting pan.
3. For the filling, beat together cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add sour cream. Beat until just combined. Add heavy cream. Beat until just combined. Mix in the eggs by hand, one at a time. Mix in vanilla and lemon juice by hand, until just combined. (Take care not to overmix, or the cheesecake will become a soufflé!).Ladle out 2 cups of cheesecake batter and divide between two bowls. Color one bowl with red food coloring and one with blue food coloring. Leave the remaining batter white.
4. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, drop scoopfuls of the batter onto the crust, alternating between the different colors until all the batter is gone. Use a long wooden skewer and drag it through the batter, making sure the skewer reaches down to the bottom of the pan, in 4 swipes, to marble the colors for a tie-dye effect. Transfer the springform pan to the roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan.
5. Bake until outside of the cake is set, but center is still slightly loose, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Turn off oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from roasting pan to cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
6. Unmold cheesecake. Transfer to a serving plate or cake stand.

14-year-old (telling me she’s 14 without telling me she’s 14): It’s not a coffee thing.

Okay, fine. It wasn’t a coffee thing.

But man, does this thing go beautifully with coffee.

And the cinnamon filling — sweet, spice-laden perfection with just the right amount of custard-imbued moisture — was reminiscent of a delight the Publix bakery used to call a “coffee ring.” It wasn’t the same as the prevalent pecan ring, which I still see, but I’m getting off-topic here.

The point is the thing was freaking delicious. And so is this. And I’m not hinging my enjoyment of it on the odds of a teenager simply saying “thanks” upon receiving a compliment. And nor should you.

You should just make it, as she/we did.

The craving came to her based on the same Ole & Steen pastry you’ll read about where she found the recipe — at ScottCanEat.com. She and her sister enjoyed it immensely on a trip to New York and like Scott, she got the bug to recreate the magic.

I haven’t partaken of this Danish bakery’s danish, so I can’t say how close this is to the mark, but when two extremely amateur bakers can execute something like the kanelstang and make it this delicious on the first try, I can certainly endorse this website as one I’d trust with wild recipe stabs on the Internet.

Regarding ingredients, we made two subs, using conventional granulated sugar instead of the slightly finer and harder-to-find caster sugar, and replacing custard powder with corn starch. For the latter, we followed the ratio 1:1 of cornstarch to what the recipe required. You will want to additionally include one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt in the mix.

The custard came together creamy-perfect, but we left it in the fridge to cool a tad longer than we should have. Hence, it jelled up a bit. My baking partner was skeptical and so used it far more sparingly than the recipe called for. The pastry turned out beautifully, anyway, so I’d be curious to try it again — this time allowing the custard to cool in the fridge for perhaps 10 minutes, then just leaving it out on the counter while prepping the rest of the recipe, looking in on it from time to time.

We also rushed the glaze a bit, drizzling when the cake was still too warm. The end result was scrumptious, but it didn’t create the solid white streaks it would have had we let it cool sufficiently. I dressed it with a light blast of cinnamon. It still looked pretty.

If you watch Scott’s YouTube video — which you’ll find embedded into the recipe — you’ll see that his didn’t turn out flawless, either. His eggwash attempt was a failure. And yet, still scrumptious. The recipe might be magic.

(Having watched the video beforehand, always a great idea when you’ve got one, we simply skipped the egg wash altogether.)

What’s more, this butter-laden thing can be wrapped in foil and left out on the counter for days — I am not exaggerating — and remain moist and delicious. You will tear off a piece each time you return to the kitchen. Which you’ll do repeatedly. Until you realize it also will freeze beautifully.

At this point, you can break it up into a few packages with the confidence of someone who won’t have to write a story about it sometime later and remember there’s kanelstang in the damn freezer on Day Two of her journey back to bathing suit season.

Just remember, it’s not a coffee thing. It’s a Cinnamon Social, which I just noted on the Ole & Steen menu is trademarked, so I’m changing the name just in case.

Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

CINNAMON FAUX-SHUL (KANELSTANG)

Based on Ole & Steen’s recipe

Recipe courtesy of ScottCanEat.com

Makes two “loaves” (scottcaneat.com/ole-steen-cinnamon-social-recipe)

Ingredients

• Dough
• 150 milliliters whole milk
• 18 grams yeast
• 200 grams butter (melted and cooled)
• 2 eggs
• 75 grams caster sugar
• 500 grams plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg beaten (for wash)

Cinnamon Filling

• 200 grams butter
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons cinnamon
• Pinch of sea salt

Cheat Pastry Cream 

• 70 grams Birds Custard Powder
• 75 grams caster sugar
• 500 milliliters whole milk (corrected quantity)

Sugar Syrup

• 150 grams caster sugar
• 75 milliliters water

Glaze

• 300 grams icing sugar
• 40 milliliters milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cheat’s Pastry Cream

1. Put custard powder and sugar in microwave-safe bowl.
2. Mix into smooth paste with a little (approx. 2 tablespoons) milk taken from 1000ml.
3. Add remaining milk and cook on full power for 6 minutes, stirring halfway through.
4. Pop in the fridge until ready to assemble

The Dough

1. Warm milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. (We are looking for bath temp warm milk.  Any warmer and it will kill the yeast.)
2. Add yeast. Stir to dissolve. Let yeast sit for about 10 minutes to come alive. You will be looking for a thick foam on top of your milk.
3. Once you see action in yeast, add cooled, melted butter, 2 eggs and caster sugar. Mix and set aside.
4. Place flour in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. With machine running on low, slowly stream in the yeast/milk/egg mixture to combine.
5. Once all liquid has combined, turn up power to low-medium and let dough knead about 6-7 minutes until smooth and elastic. (Add salt at 6-minute mark and mix to combine.)
6. Remove dough, place in a buttered bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in warm place till doubled in size.

Cinnamon Filling

• Combine softened butter, sugar and cinnamon with a pinch or two of sea salt.  Set aside.

Glaze

• Mix all ingredients to make glaze. You may need to add a touch more sugar or milk. You want a double cream consistency.

Sugar Syrup

• Dissolve caster sugar in water over low heat. Allow to cool.

To assemble and bake

1. Divide risen dough in half.  Using rolling pin, roll out dough pieces into two rectangles (35×45 cm – 14×18 inch) on lightly floured surface.
2. Equally distribute the half the cinnamon filling on top of dough pieces. Repeat this with pastry cream over the cinnamon filling.
3. Roll the dough pieces into two tight logs. Place on parchment-lined baking trays.
4. Using sharp knife, cut through the logs — but not all the way. Repeat cuts, about an inch apart, over length of logs. Now take each section and pull it into the opposite direction. This is where the video comes in handy.
5. Cover dough with cling film and let proof again for 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F at about 25-30-minute mark.
6. Beat an egg and brush logs with it. Bake about 20 minutes. Once out of the oven, brush with sugar syrup. Add glaze when cool.