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Sweet Spot Archives Fall 2002 Summer 2002 Spring 2002 Winter 2002 Holiday 2001 |
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Sugar Here, Sugar There, Sugar Everywhere! C&H in Chicago Did you know C&H is now available in Chicago? C&H Granulated, Golden Brown, Washed Raw, Confectioners and Baker’s are on now the shelves in leading retail stores. C&H on TV Sugar was the focus recently of the popular Television Food Network program, “Top Five.” On “Top 5 Things to Do with Sugar,” host Bobby Rivers counted down the top five things you can do with our most popular sweetener, from creating elaborate sugar sculptures to spinning cotton candy to caramelizing apple treats. The program repeats throughout the year, so check local listings for date and time. See if you can catch the shot of C&H Baker’s Sugar! C&H in Chef magazine Pick up the latest issue of Chef magazine to see pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner’s Baker’s Sugar-inspired desserts grace the cover and inside pages. For the recipes featured, click here. Sugar at COPIA Sugar features prominently in “Sweet Tooth,” the newest exhibition at COPIA (American Center for Food, Wine & the Arts) in Napa, California. Visitors can taste sugar in several of its myriad forms and learn how the tropical reed is processed into sweet additions to breakfast cereal, afternoon tea, and more. At the “Taste of COPIA Luncheon Series: Caramelize This,” sugar lovers can explore the important role sugar plays in food and learn caramelizing techniques. Click here for more information. |
What’s on your list of New Year’s resolutions? If you’re like many of us, “eat healthier” and “lose a few pounds” are near the top. Here’s some sweet news: You don’t have to sacrifice deliciousness when you’re keeping an eye on your diet.
In fact, sugar—in moderation, of course—can be part of a sensible, nutritious eating plan. The occasional sweet treat will keep you from feeling deprived. And preparing your own meals (including dessert!) allows you to choose your portion size and create a tempting presentation that turns mealtime into a pleasure instead of a duty. Follow us into the C&H kitchen to discover how to load up on flavor without tipping the scales!
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| Apple Strudel Phyllo Purses | |
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A nourishing breakfast can keep hunger pangs at bay all morning long. Why not whip up a batch of fruit-filled muffins—easy to freeze and reheat—and enjoy them throughout the week? For a treat that will wake up your tastebuds and satisfy cravings, try Orange-Ginger Muffins, made with a whole orange, orange juice, and sweet-hot crystallized ginger; a dusting of C&H Washed Raw Sugar creates a crunchy topping. Good in the morning or any other time of day: Low-Fat Banana Bran Muffins, packed with fiber and topped with brown sugar, walnuts, and oats that caramelize during baking.
A bit of sugar added to vegetables creates an appetizing glaze—much more appealing than bland steamed preparations. Our easy Glazed Ginger Broccoli and Carrots are so tasty, they may even convert kids who claim to “hate” vegetables! For a different flavor profile, try citrus-y Lemon Glazed Carrots, made with C&H Golden Brown Sugar and tangy lemon zest.
When your plate looks beautiful you’ll feel satisfied before you take a single bite, so don’t shortchange yourself on presentation. An attractive plate, a pretty napkin, and flowers on the table will make you feel like you’re indulging, not scrimping. For dessert, give yourself a beautiful present: one of our Apple Strudel Phyllo Purses. Luscious yet low in fat, they turn a meal into a celebration. And our Fat-Free Caramel Sauce makes a grand topping—yummy on gingerbread or frozen yogurt, too!
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| Ultra Chocolate Cups | |
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Whether your Valentine’s Day means a romantic dinner for two or cookies for your child’s classroom, February 14 is always an occasion for indulgence. Give your loved ones your best with sweet treats in the spirit of the occasion.
Start the day with breakfast in bed featuring Valentine’s Caramel-Nut Waffles, made in a heart-shaped waffle iron for the best effect. Top them with the Hot Caramel Sauce described in the recipe or substitute Fat-Free Caramel Sauce or fresh fruit.
Chocolate goes with Valentine’s Day like…well, love and marriage! Warm the heart of a chocolate lover with our Ultra Chocolate Cups—rich and decadent, with puffy tops and creamy, pudding-like interiors. They look especially dramatic when baked in red ceramic ramekins. Chocolate Crackles, coated in C&H Powdered Sugar that “cracks” open during baking, are a beautiful addition to a cookie plate. And Chocolate Layer Cake, frosted with chocolate buttercream, is everyone’s “old favorite.” To bake it in a heart shape, use one 9-inch square pan and one 9-inch round pan; cut the round cake in half to turn the square into a heart.
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| Cut-Out Cookies | |
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Finally, kids love getting into the spirit of Valentine’s Day. For a classroom treat they’ll enjoy baking with you, try delicious Cut-Out Cookies or Fancy Sugar Cookies. Use a cookie cutter to create hearts and other shapes, and decorate with colored sugar crystals or frosting.
Have a favorite “from-the-heart” recipe you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!
| Decorating Tip Chocolate curls are a pretty garnish for cakes, puddings, and pies. Use a vegetable parer to make long, thin slices along the length of a bar of sweet chocolate. |
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Baker’s Profile: Fran Gage  Dessert just wouldn’t be dessert without sugar, and we’re glad baker and author Fran Gage agrees. Cane sugar features prominently in Fran’s newest book, Sweet Quartet (North Point Press). Foodies will enjoy reading about the origins of sugar, the history of sugarcane, sugar processing, and the important role of C&H in the sugar industry. Fran also explores the preference for cane sugar over beet by bakers and the various uses for different granulations of sugar. Fran calls sugar one of the four “DNA of desserts” (along with almonds, eggs and butter), and her book is filled with quintessential sweet recipes and food travels and remembrances. Fran mastered dessert during her years running the acclaimed San Francisco bakery, Patisserie Française. A former nurse, Fran caught the foodie bug while touring the French countryside on motorcycle more than 30 years ago. She watched restaurant chefs in France and Brussels and spent two weeks at the La Varenne cooking school in Paris. She studied Julia Child cookbooks, and upon returning to the United States, traded in her stethoscope for an oven mitt and started baking professionally. She baked from her home, filling restaurant pastry orders until 1984, when she opened the Patisserie Française, the successful and award-winning bakery which she ran until 1995. A bakery fire ended her retail baking career, but she turned her energy into writing, and her author skills recently made her one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s “100 Reasons Why We Love the Bay Area.” Fran is also the author of Bread and Chocolate, a contributor to The Baker’s Dozen Cookbook and writer for Saveur and Fine Cooking. For more information or to purchase Fran’s book, please visit Amazon.com. |
