baked goods

Apple Pumpkin Upside Down Cake

September 21, 2021 By marketeditor

Recipe by Trish Aser of Brown Hound Downtown, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table, and originally printed for Edible Capital District
Yield: 1 cake

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● ⅔ packed brown sugar
● ½ cup butter*
● 2 Tablespoons apple cider*
● 1 teaspoon molasses
● 6 or more apples*
● 2 cups all purpose flour
● 2 teaspoons baking soda
● 2 teaspoons baking powder
● 1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
● ¾ teaspoons ground ginger or 3 tsp fresh grated ginger*
● ½ teaspoon salt
● 1 cup sugar
● ½ cup melted butter*
● 2 large eggs*
● ½ cup molasses
● ½ cup pumpkin* puree
● ½ cup boiling water

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10 inch round cake pan.
2. Combine the brown sugar, butter, apple cider, and molasses in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves and syrup is smooth. Boil 1 minute. Pour evenly into prepared pan.
3. Core, peel, and cut apples into ½ inch slices and arrange in caramel in a decorative pattern.
4. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and sugar) together in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients (melted butter, eggs, molasses, pumpkin and water) until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just blended. Do not over mix.
5. Dollop batter over patterned apples so as not to disturb your design and smooth batter to cover to the edges.
6. Place cake pan on a cookie sheet to catch spills and bake about 35 to 40 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Place serving platter face down over cake pan and flip to unmold the cake. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Notes:
The original recipe calls for 2 to 3 apples. You may need as much or more than 6 apples for cover top of cake.
The original recipe has the baking time 25 to 30 minutes. You may need more, as much as 40 minutes.

Building community with bread

August 17, 2021 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

In February 2021, Leigh Rathner and his wife Cindy Rosenberg moved from Los Angeles to Saratoga Springs, where Rathner had lived earlier in life and raised his children. They had a dream: to feed people and build community. At the center was bread.

Seven months later, their dream has grown into NightWork Bread. NightWork is derived from Rathner’s previous work of logging difficult late-night hours in the film business. Now, those late hours mean care and passion. Rathner makes slow-rising, naturally fermented sourdough bread, often working late at night.

Rosenberg brings the bread to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings, where it sells fast. In seven months, Rathner has gone from making 25 loaves a week to 325.

Their feat is remarkable. Besides learning the basics of business and the many factors that influence the making of artisan bread, they have had to figure out how to build customer support as newcomers to a place where old loyalties run deep.

Leigh Rathner of NightWork Bread, photo provided

The secret is bread.

“I’ve always been a community builder,” Rosenberg says. “Bread is a community builder, too.”

The connection got clear in 2020.

Rathner and Rosenberg lived in Los Angeles in a 145-unit condominium, where they knew three other people. Everyone was working or commuting. The COVID-19 pandemic brought people home, including Rathner who saw making bread as a means of calming the mind after his work dried up. As the loaves piled up, Rosenberg began distributing them. They met more people and in the once-lifeless building, a sense of community formed.

People began stopping in open-air hallways and other spaces to chat. Chats became meetups with food and drink. Neighbors began offering Rathner money to cover his bread-making costs. Then came preorders, and ultimately a product Rathner felt comfortable selling to others.

“That’s how we lived through the pandemic,” Rathner says. “Bread was a part of it.”

He and Rosenberg yearned to move to a smaller town with a strong farm-to-table ethos. Saratoga seemed like a good fit.

Cindy Rosenberg and NightWork Bread at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, photo by Pattie Garrett

Rosenberg, an acupuncturist, learned how to use Instagram from one of her clients in her last days in Los Angeles. En route to Saratoga, she posted reports via Facebook and began friending people and businesses locally, including me after a mutual friend put us in touch.

Rathner’s past ties to Saratoga also helped. His children had attended the Waldorf School, and even after he left, his friendships with some Waldorf parents had remained strong.

NightWork Bread is now available at three farmers’ markets, including Saratoga, and Rathner and Rosenberg hope eventually to open a store.

This week’s recipe: Panzanella

Seasonal ingredients inspire fresher baked goods

June 8, 2021 By marketeditor

By Madison Jackson

The Chocolate Spoon, photo by Pattie Garrett

If you’re a regular customer at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, you will likely recognize vendor Marcie Place standing behind her tables of neatly packaged white bakery boxes sporting mouthwatering labels like “Vanilla Ricotta Tea Biscuits” and “Pineapple Almond Teacake”.

Place, owner of The Chocolate Spoon and long-time vendor of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, brings her array of fresh baked goods every week to the Wednesday and Saturday markets. The secret to her success in baking? Using fresh, local ingredients from her fellow vendors at the farmers’ market.

“I use eggs from Elihu Farm, jam from Kokinda Farm, herbs from Burger’s Market Garden, vegetables from Owl Wood Farm and Gomez Veggie Ville, berries from Scotch Ridge Berry Farm, apples from Saratoga Apple… Even the backyard herbs of Mister Edge, our knife sharpener, I use in my cocktail cookies!”

Place says she finds the quality of local products superior and elevates the taste of her baked goods. She’s even put it to the test in front of a live audience. “I did a demonstration at an elementary school where I baked two sets of butter cookies: one using store-bought eggs versus one using eggs from Elihu Farm,” says Place. She explained that the cookies came out a beautiful golden color when using the fresh eggs from Mary and Bob Pratt of Elihu Farm. “Truly a difference you can both see and taste, and the kids agreed!” Place notes.

When she first started selling at the farmers’ market, Place admits her baked goods were pretty traditional. However, the seasonal products at the market inspired her to start experimenting more with her recipes and incorporate fresh ingredients for unique flavor combinations. She says farmers’ market customers are very helpful in recommending new recipes, and she is always open to suggestions. For example, she recently stumbled upon pineapple sage at the market and decided to pair it with coconut for a new shortbread cookie.

When asked what customers will have to look forward to this month, Place reveals: “Rhubarb and berries are coming back in season right now, so expect lots of strawberry rhubarb pies and blueberry and strawberry muffins!”

This week’s recipe: Kentucky Kiss Cocktail

Local bakers continue to offer quality goods

March 22, 2021 By marketeditor

By Madison Jackson

Chocolate croissants, cinnamon rolls, coconut rum cakes, and blueberry scones are just a handful of the freshly made baked goods you can find at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market every Saturday. With choices like these, you can’t go wrong picking a treat to enjoy throughout the week, if it even lasts that long.

The farmers’ market has many talented bakers that bring their ‘from scratch’ goods to sell you each week. There is something for everyone’s taste and necessity, from decadent desserts like triple chocolate teacake from The Chocolate Spoon to wholesome bread like fresh honey oat bread from Kokinda Farm.

Mrs. London’s bakery offers fresh croissants, pastries, bread, and scones at the farmers’ market. Their recipes are rooted in the French culinary tradition and have been perfected over decades to bring you authentic and traditional baked creations from scratch using high-quality ingredients.

The Chocolate Spoon has irresistible baked goods with distinct flavors and unique combinations. Owner Marcie Place has spent years perfecting her classic recipes like banana chocolate chip muffins and chocolate chip cookies, but she never stops experimenting with her baking. Try something new like a sour cream coffee cake with maple glaze or chocolate-orange chocolate chip cookies.

Goodway Gourmet is famous for its Caribbean rum cakes but has other baked options like cinnamon rolls, cookies, macaroons, and pound cakes. The best part about buying their sweet treats is that each purchase contributes to teens’ educational opportunities.

The Food Florist is well known for their prepared frozen meals like pot pie and lasagna, but they also make various traditional sweet pies. Pie varieties include classic apple, cherry, blueberry crumb, and quadberry (a mix of blueberry, cherry, strawberry, and red raspberry).

You may be surprised to find baked goods from vendors like the Argyle Cheese Farmer and Kokinda Farm. Argyle Cheese Farmer, known for their prize-winning yogurts and cheese, also makes fresh cinnamon rolls, donuts, finger rolls, and bread. And Kokinda Farm sells a variety of baked bread like honey oat, cinnamon raisin, and honey wheat with pumpkin seeds. The next time you need fresh bread, sweet rolls, cookies, cakes, or something fresh from the oven, stop by the farmers’ market or preorder online for pickup on Saturdays.

This week’s recipe: Apple Kuchen

Apple Kuchen

March 22, 2021 By marketeditor

Adapted from the recipe by Chocolatechocolateandmore.com,
shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 12

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
Cake:
● ½ cup butter, room temperature
● ⅔ cup sugar
● 2 eggs*
● 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
● 1½ cup all-purpose flour
● 1½ teaspoons baking powder
● ¼ teaspoons salt
● 1 teaspoon apple pie seasoning*
● ½ cup Greek yogurt*
● 4-5 medium apples*

Topping:
● 3 Tablespoons sugar
● ½ teaspoon apple pie seasoning*

Glaze:
● 1 cup powdered sugar
● 1½ Tablespoons milk*
● ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
1. For Cake: Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
3. Alternating, add flour mixture and sour cream, starting and ending with flour. Mixing just until each addition is incorporated into the batter.
4. Lightly grease a 9 X 13 baking pan. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
5. Peel, core, and slice apples into thin slices. Place apples in a single layer across the top of the batter.
6. For Topping: Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over top of apple layer.
7. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Remove cake from oven and let cool for 30 minutes.
9. For Glaze: Combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over top of the cake. Serve cake still warm or can be served cooled.

Pumpkin Muffins with Honey Butter

November 12, 2020 By marketeditor

Recipe by Tieghan Gerhard, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 16

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

For the muffins:
● 12 Tablespoons (3/4 cup) salted butter, melted
● ¾ cup packed brown sugar
● 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
● 2 eggs*
● 1 cup pumpkin puree*
● ¼ cup milk*
● 2½ cups all-purpose flour
● 2 teaspoons baking powder
● ½ teaspoon baking soda
● 1 teaspoon cinnamon
● 1 teaspoon nutmeg

For the streusel:
● ¾ cup all-purpose flour
● ½ cup packed brown sugar
● 1 teaspoon cinnamon
● 6 Tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
● 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 16 cubes

Cinnamon honey butter:
● 4 Tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
● 2 Tablespoons honey*
● ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
1. For the muffins: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 muffin tins with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add the pumpkin and milk. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix on low speed until just combined, being sure the batter is completely mixed.
2. To make the streusel: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and use your fingers to mix the butter into the flour until crumble forms.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared pan. Push 1 cube of cream cheese into each muffin. Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the batter. Transfer to the oven, bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon butter. In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey, and cinnamon.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature smeared with cinnamon butter.

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