Let Tempting Treats Truck Drive Your Holiday Baking Ideas

Lisa Messinger
Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:42:54 -0800
Lifestyle

"The Treats Truck Baking Book" by Kim Ima (William Morrow, $21.99).

Some holiday home bakers claim goodies with recipes with a lineage going back to great-grandma. Conversely, some of my favorite holiday baked treats of the past years have come from a truck.

With all the high-tech developments in the culinary world, like apps, websites, souped-up gadgets and appliances, it's ironic that one of the biggest advances is gourmet food trucks.
Updated: Thu Nov 06, 2014

"The Treats Truck Baking Book" by Kim Ima (William Morrow, $21.99).

Some holiday home bakers claim goodies with recipes with a lineage going back to great-grandma. Conversely, some of my favorite holiday baked treats of the past years have come from a truck.

With all the high-tech developments in the culinary world, like apps, websites, souped-up gadgets and appliances, it's ironic that one of the biggest advances is gourmet food trucks.

Like the old-fashioned creaky vehicles, often affectionately known as "roach coaches," these look-alikes also bring the food to the people and often cook on the spot. However, today's trucks are gourmet temples and have inspired lines of devotees tracking their whereabouts online and then waiting in line for the goodies.

Baker Kim Ima and her popular The Treats Truck in New York City was one of the first to make it into cookbook form. Originally, Ima baked in her The Treats Truck Stop cafe/bakery in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, and then jetted all over the other boroughs with her wares. Some of the devoted have claimed to be addicted.

Like food truck culture itself, which has sparked many multi-truck festivals all over the country, the book is fun and vibrant. It almost looks like a colorful scrapbook. Cookies, brownies, bars, squares, cakes, cupcakes and pies are all paid homage in its pages.

And they should be. Ima's take is a wonderful mix of the beloved and the unique. Cream cheese brownies are moist and delightful. Almost all of the recipes are inspiring and easy — the perfect blend for homemade holiday inspiration for busy cooks.

Raspberry brownies get an infusion of jam. "Kitchen sink" crispy squares incorporate mini-marshmallows, peanut butter, pretzel sticks, chocolate candy and other goodies with the puffed rice cereal.

Just as if you were standing at the ordering window of the truck, though, it is also wise to inquire about the specials. That chapter stands out with choices like dessert nachos (layers of various bars with sprinkles, nuts and toppings) and cake sandwiches (a combination of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a traditional cake).

Tips and easy techniques that build again and again on the same batters abound, but if you happen to be in New York City, the best tip may be to check the truck's website (www.treatstruck.com) to see whether it will be parking anywhere near you.

SUPER-DUPER LAYER BARS

1 / 2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 1 / 2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips and other add-ins, such as toffee chips, dried cherries or chopped dried apricots (to equal a total of about 2 to 3 cups)

1 cup chopped nuts of your choice

1 1 / 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Yields 9 to 12 bars.

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9-by-9-inch pan (double the recipe and use a 9-by-13-inch pan if you want a bigger batch).

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave.

Mix the melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs and press the crust mixture down to cover the bottom of the pan (or you can melt the butter in the pan itself and press the crumbs into place on top of the melted butter).

Layer each of your chosen ingredients (including all chips, nuts and coconut), except one, on top of the graham cracker crust. Pour the condensed milk on top of the ingredients (it doesn't need to be a solid layer), then sprinkle the top with your last ingredient.

Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

COCONUT CAKE

1 1 / 2 cups (2 1 / 2 sticks) butter

2 cups sugar

5 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk (see Note)

1 1 / 4 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Frosting of your choice

Yields 1 double-layer 9-inch round cake, one 9-by-13-inch cake or 24 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and dust with flour 2 (9-inch) round pans or place cupcake papers in a 24-cup cupcake pan.

In a mixer of a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternate mixing the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the batter, taking care not to over-mix. Fold in the coconut.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Frost. (Good with coconut-infused vanilla frosting, cream cheese frosting, lemon-infused cream cheese frosting or chocolate frosting.)