Made with Love

WPA Bakery shares recipes for a sweet Valentine's Day

by

For years, Shola Walker was stuck in a love triangle between the performing and culinary arts. “A few years ago, I decided that one of them had to take the lead, and food won,” says Walker, who has been a baking assistant at WPA Bakery in Church Hill since it opened two years ago. 

Walker is enamored with baking, “because I like the completion of the creativity,” she says. “I get to go through the process of making a dessert and then I get to give it to somebody. I get to see the person smile when I give them this thing I have worked so hard making.”

For Valentine’s Day, WPA Bakery hands over a whole lotta love. Its sweetheart boxes, filled with a canelé, house-made candy and a small dessert, are a customer favorite. Walker says the bakery starts taking Valentine’s Day orders at the start of the new year. “We always make extra sweetheart boxes and sell out,” she says, “usually to men who have forgotten to buy something.” For those who think to plan ahead, WPA was sweet enough to share some of its favorite recipes for Valentine’s Day candies and desserts you can make for your loved ones.

Min Conversation Hearts

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon of peppermint extract
  • 1/2 cup of carbonated lemon-lime soft drink

Directions

1. In a double boiler, dissolve the gelatin in the soft drink.

2. Pour the gelatin mixture into a bowl and beat it with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.

3. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the mixture, 1 cup at a time. The mixture will form a sticky ball.

4. Sprinkle some extra powdered sugar onto a countertop. Remove the mixture from the bowl and knead it on the powdered-sugar-covered countertop.

5. Make a well in the mixture and add the vanilla and peppermint extracts. Knead until the extracts are well incorporated. Divide the dough in half and roll it out with a rolling pin until each round is ¼-inch thick.

6. Cover a small, heart-shaped cookie cutter with powdered sugar and use it to cut out hearts from the dough. Put the hearts on the cookie sheets and allow them to dry overnight.

7. You can find food-writing pens in craft stores and use them to write messages on your hearts if you like. You can also add food coloring to the dough.

Black Walnut Caramels

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups of sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups of cream
  • 1 1/4 cups of light corn syrup
  • 1 cup of black walnuts, chopped
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Grease or spray a 9-by-13 inch pan and line it with wax paper. Set it aside.

2. Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a saucepan and cook it until it reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. This usually takes about 15 minutes.

3. Once it has reached the desired temperature, remove the mixture from the stove and add the salt and vanilla.

4. Add the chopped walnuts to the mixture and stir to incorporate. Pour the mixture into the pan and allow the caramels to cool overnight, uncovered.

5. The next day, cut the caramels into the desired size and wrap them in wax paper.

Sweetheart Cake

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups of flour
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup of vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups of hot water (added at the end)
  • 3 tablespoons of red food coloring (add to a portion of the batter)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray the inside of the pans with cooking spray. Set the pans aside.

2. Pour the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt) into a bowl and whisk them together.

3. Combine all of the wet ingredients, except the hot water and red food coloring, and add them to the dry ingredients. Whisk the mixture vigorously. The batter will be thick and still a little dry. Add the hot water and whisk the batter again.

4. Remove 2 cups of the cake batter and pour it into a separate bowl. Add the 3 tablespoons of red food coloring to the mixture. Pour the red cake batter into a round cake pan, then divide the remaining vanilla batter between two round cake pans.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Once the cakes are done, remove them from the baking pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.

6. When the cakes have cooled completely, place them on a serving dish, starting with the vanilla layer. Put the vanilla layer down and spread it with a layer of chocolate buttercream icing (recipe on p.63). Place the red layer on top of it and spread it with more chocolate buttercream. Finish with the last layer of vanilla cake then ice the cake completely with the chocolate buttercream.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 pound of unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 tablespoons of shortening
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup of Dutch-processed
  • cocoa powder

Directions

1. Combine the butter, salt and vanilla in a stand mixer and beat until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

2. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat on low or medium speed until each cup is well incorporated.

3. Once all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Beat the icing again on high speed until it becomes pale and fluffy.

5. Add the cocoa powder last. Beat the mixture again until the cocoa powder is evenly incorporated.

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Covered Hazelnut Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of all-purpose
  • gluten-free or white flour
  • 1 1/2 cups of toasted
  • hazelnuts, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon of
  • baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup of butter
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Chocolate coating:

  • 1 cup of chocolate chips, melted

Directions

1. Spray two baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the butter and brown sugar in the stand mixer and mix together until fluffy. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides. Turn the mixer back on and add the egg yolks and then the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) and then add the hazelnuts. The dough should pull away from the sides of the stand mixer. Roll the dough into a thick log, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for an hour and a half.

3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice it into 1/8-inch thick rounds.  

4. Place the cookie slices on the pans and bake them for 16 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges. Once they are done, cool them slightly.

5. While the cookies are baking, put the cup of chocolate chips into a small saucepan and melt them over low heat until they are smooth. Set the melted chocolate aside.

6. Dip half of each cookie into the melted chocolate, then place them back on the cookie sheet to cool completely. You can serve them once the cookie and chocolate are completely cooled and the chocolate has returned to solid form.

Almond Meringues

Ingredients

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of toasted almonds, ground

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray them with cooking spray. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the egg whites in a stand mixer and whip them until frothy. Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites. The egg whites should become glossy. Add the vanilla extract and continue whipping. The whites are ready when the whisk can be removed and the peaks hold and are glossy.

3. Fold the toasted ground almonds into the egg whites.

4. Drop the meringues onto the baking sheets and bake them at 300 degrees for an hour and a half.

5. Once the baking is complete, allow the meringues to cool completely before serving them. They can be stored in an airtight container for about a week.

Sweet Tip: Package your goodies in clear cellophane tied with a ribbon or stack an assortment of sweets in a plain white bakery box, available at craft stores. Instead of a valentine, include the recipe printed on a pretty card.

Styling by Elliot Shaffner