Executive Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell - Montage Beverly Hills

Sweet Tart Dough

1 cup  powdered confectioners’ sugar

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour

Salt, pinch

9 Tbsp. unsalted butter, soft, but not room temperature

1 egg

Stir the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, about 15-20 seconds.  Scatter the dry ingredients and the egg over the butter.  Process until the dough forms a single mass.  Do not overmix.   Wrap the dough I plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours.  Overnight is preferential.

When ready to make the tart, preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly butter a 9 inch tart shell.

Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a circle.  It should be a little less than 1/8 inch thick.  Keep the dough moving or it might get stuck to the countertop.  Roll the dough up onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the ring.  Gently push and press the sides down so the corners are square, not sloping.  When the shell is completed trim the sides, prick the bottom with a fork and chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes

Lightly spray a piece of aluminum foil with pan spray.  Fit it into the shell and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights.  Bake the shells for about 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue cooking until the shells are golden brown.  Cool down and continue with the filling.

Brown Butter Filling

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

Salt, pinch

¼ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange zest

½ stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Jam, preserves

Assorted fresh fruit

Whisk the sugar, eggs, and salt together in a medium bowl to blend.  Add the flour, zest and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.  Cook the butter in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown, but not burnt.  Remove from the heat and begin pouring the butter into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. 

When the mixture is completely smooth pour into the tart shell, about ¾ of the way up.  Bake at 350 until golden brown and set.  Remove from the oven and cool completely before putting the fruit on.

When the tart has cooled, spread with a thin layer of jam.  Arrange the fruit on the top and serve.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

12 oz. all purpose flour

2 ½ tsp ginger

 2 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. clove

 ½ tsp nutmeg

2 Tbs. brut cocoa powder

 ½ lb. butter

2 TB. Fresh ginger

 8 oz. brown sugar

 1 cup molasses

2 tsp. soda in 1 TB hot h2o

Cream the butter, fresh ginger and brown sugar.  Add molasses.  Stir together the dry ingredients.  Add half to bowl, mix, add soda and h2o, mix  and then the rest of dry. 

Executive Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell - Montage Beverly Hills

This incredible cake gets its moistness from the addition of oil and buttermilk.  The coffee in the recipe adds body and perhaps a hint of flavor.  If you’d like to remove the coffee you can use water or even tea.  This is my most favorite chocolate cake.  Just make sure to completely bake it or the texture will be very dense.

Yield: 2 10 inch round cake pans

2 cups All-purpose flour

2 cups Granulated sugar

1 cup Cocoa powder, Dutch processed

2 ½ teaspoons Baking soda

½ teaspoon Baking Powder

2 eggs, large, room temperature

2 cups coffee

2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

½ cup canola oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare the pans.  Coat the bottom and sides of two 10 inch round cake pans with non-stick spray.  Put a round of parchment in the bottom to make removing the cake that much easier.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl, if you are using a hand-held mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. 

In another bowl, or a large pitcher, mix the remaining ingredients (all the liquids).  Stir these together so the yolks break up.  It is not important to beat this, just stir it all up.

Slowly begin adding the liquid to the dry ingredients as you beat the mixture with the mixer.  Always scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently and make sure there aren’t any lumps. 

You will notice this is a very liquid batter.  When all of the ingredients have been combined divide it between the two baking pans.  Place the pans in the oven, on one rack if you can fit them.  Otherwise, you will have to arrange the pans above and below each other.  If you do this make sure you switch the pans around half way between baking.  Check the cakes after 20 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center of each cake must come out clean.  However, do not overbake.

When baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Remove from the pan and wrap tightly.  The cakes can be frozen, refrigerated or just EATEN!!!  Icing is also an option (but that’s another recipe).

I particularly like this cookie for kids because it is a good introduction to chocolate and it is not very sweet.  By using the sugar in the chocolate and brown sugar, as opposed to all granulated white sugar it not only cuts down on the overall sweetness but makes for a terrific cookie.  The final cookie is very much like the cookie part of an Oreo, without the mysterious white filling.

1 cups All Purpose flour

1 cups cocoa powder (Dutch processed)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½  pound bittersweet chocolate, in chunks

1 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2  tsp. vanilla extract

1 stick  (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

First, turn the oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly coat with pan spray.

Stir the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

In a microwavable bowl melt the chocolate and keep it warm.  It is easy to melt chocolate in the microwave.  Place the bowl in the microwave and turn the oven on in 30 second bursts.  Between each burst you will have to stir the chocolate so that it does not burn.  After a couple of minutes the chocolate should be melted.  Set this aside but keep warm.

In the work bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the brown sugar and the butter until light.  Scrape the bowl down as needed.  Add the eggs and vanilla  and mix until thoroughly combined.

Now add all of the chocolate.  At first the mixture will seize but it will eventually smooth itself out.  Scrape the bowl.

With the mixer on low speed begin spooning in the dry ingredients until it is completely combined.

Once is all together stop the mixer.

You can drop the cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let them cool a few minutes before removing them to the counter.

The cookie dough refrigerates very well, and can even be frozen.  It will last in the fridge for three days and in the freezer for about a month.  It is best to roll into logs before refrigeration as the dough becomes very hard.

Store the baked cookies in a covered air-tight container.