Christina Tosi is hot, hot, hot right now. The chef, owner and founder of Momofuku Milk Bar recently received the James Beard Rising Chef Award for 2012. Her innovative and whimsical snacks like ‘crack pie’ and ‘cereal milk ice cream’ have garnered an obsessive following. Scott Sternberg from Band of Outsiders is a fan. At his show during New York Fashion Week, each guest had a Milk Bar cookie saving their seat. Her newest venture is with supermodel Karlie Kloss on a fashionably wholesome cookie line.

Here she reveals her mother’s pumpkin gooey butter cake and two other holiday favorites. To purchase her cookbook or order online head to http://www.milkbarstore.com.

“Pumpkin gooey butter cake is a staple recipe in my mother’s kitchen and we’ve been baking variations of it together my entire life. This is the cake that made me who I am as a baker and an eater! It is part of the inspiration behind Milk Bar’s crack pie. Even though it’s in a 9×13″ pan, it will magically disappear at even the smallest dinner party or holiday dessert swap.”

PUMPKIN GOOEY BUTTER CAKE

Makes: one 13×9 inch pan

Ingredients:

1 (18 ¼ oz) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tbsp butter, melted
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
8 tbsp butter, softened
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
½ (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt

Method:

Heat oven to 350F.

In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. Put ¼ cup of the mixture to the side.

Pat the remaining mixture into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9-inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes ONLY (crust will not be fully set or golden brown). Remove from oven.

While crust is baking, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the butter, and confectioners sugar and paddle until smooth. Add the ¼ cup reserved mixture from above. Paddle until smooth. Add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Pour gooey pumpkin mixture over lightly baked warm crust and throw back in the oven for 25-35 minutes. The top layer will be a crusty, crunchy golden brown, but the center should still be gooey and giggly!

Cool at room temp and refrigerate before serving (we serve it cold at my mom’s house)!

“The Stollen, our version of a holiday brioche, celebrates the holiday season so well with its candied fruit spiked with bourbon and a nutty pistachio filling. It’s perfect with a warm cup of tea or cappuccino. I, of course, eat it at all times of day with whatever I am drinking!”

STOLLEN

Makes: 2 large loaves

1 egg yolk
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp glucose
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ packet of active dry yeast (3.5g)
5 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¼ cup water
3 sticks butter, cubed
35g bourbon
2 ½ cups mixed dried fruit (try candied lemon, ginger, raisins, currants and cranberries!)
Grapeseed oil
3 tablespoons flour, for dusting
1 stick butter, melted
1 16oz box powdered sugar

PISTACHIO FILLING

400g pistachio paste
10g pistachio oil
10g elderflower oil
2g kosher salt

Method:

In a bowl, combine all the pistachio filling ingredients with a spoon or spatula until homogenous. Set to the side.

In a medium sized bowl with a whisk egg yolk, sugar, glucose, vanilla and cinnamon until fluffy and voluminous – about 3-5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, flour and salt. Add warm water. Engage the hook attachment and mix dough on the lowest speed for 1 minute. Add the yolk mixture to the dough and knead approximately 5 – 8 minutes on a medium low speed. Dough will be smooth to the touch and lump free.

With the mixer still on a medium low speed, slowly add butter cubes, until all butter has been added and all butter is fully kneaded into the dough. Add in dried fruit & booze on same medium low speed. Knead for 1 minute until fruit is fully incorporated.

Brush a large bowl with oil and dump the dough into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350F

After 45 minutes, punch down and flatten the stollen dough, then divide it in half. Toss a pinch of flour on a dry countertop to lightly coat it. Take another pinch of flour and lightly dust a rolling pin. Use the rolling pin to flatten each half of dough, then roll each out with the rolling pin or stretch the dough out by hand as if you were making a pizza from scratch. Your end goal is to create two rectangles approximately 16 x 12 inches.

Divide the pistachio filling over the two rectangles of stolen dough and spread/coat the dough evenly. Roll the dough up the 16” length like a cinnamon bun and tuck the ends under the dough ever so slightly then transfer each “roll” to a clean baking sheet. Let the loaves proof on the baking sheets covered with plastic for 90 minutes.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until internal temperature of the stollen reaches 200F.

Once cool, brush or dunk the loaves with melted butter, then coat well in confectioner’s sugar. This help locks in the flavor and seals in freshness!

“The cinnamon bun pie is our ode to cinnamon buns. It doubles as a seasonal dessert and a soothing breakfast the morning before or after your holiday meal. Yes, you’ll want it twice in 12 hours!”

CINNAMON BUN PIE

Makes: 1(10-inch) pie

3 tbsp flour, for dusting
½ cup brown butter
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
See below for:
1 recipe mother dough
1 recipe liquid cheesecake
1 recipe cinnamon streusel

Method for the pie:

Heat the oven to 350F.

Punch down and flatten the mother dough. Take a pinch of flour and throw it across the surface of a smooth dry countertop to lightly coat the counter. Take another pinch of flour and lightly dust a rolling pin. Use the rolling pin to flatten the punched-down circle of dough Then roll out the dough with the rolling pin or stretch the dough out by hand as if you were making a pizza from scratch. Your end goal is to create a large circle that is approximately 11 inches in diameter. Keep your 10-inch pie tin nearby tor reference.

Gently place the dough in the pie tin. Alternate between using your fingers and palms of your hands to press the dough firmly into place. Put the pie tin on a sheet pan.

Use the back of a spoon to spread halt of the brown butter in an even layer over the dough. Then spread half the liquid cheesecake in an even layer over the brown butter. Spread the remaining brown butter in an even layer over the liquid cheesecake.

Scatter the brown sugar on top of the brown butter. Tamp it down with the back of your hand to help keep it in place. Then sprinkle evenly with the salt and cinnamon.

Now tor the trickiest layer: the remaining liquid cheesecake. Stay cool, and spread it as gently as you can to achieve the most even layer possible.Sprinkle the streusel evenly on top of the cheesecake layer.

Bake the pie tor 40 minutes. The crust will puff and brown, the liquid cheesecake will set firm, and the streusel topping will crunch up and brown. After 40 minutes, gently shake the pan. The center of the pie should be slightly jiggly. The filling should be set toward the outer boundaries of the pie tin. If necessary, bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the pie meets the description above.

When you are ready to serve the pie, know that it’s best served warm. Slice and microwave each slice on high for 30 seconds, or warm the whole pie in a 250F oven for 10 to 20 minutes, then slice and serve.

MOTHER DOUGH

3 ½ cups flour
1 tbsp kosher salt
½ packet active dry yeast (3.5g)
1 ¾ cups warm water
Grapeseed oil

Method for dough:

Stir together the flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer—do it by hand, using the dough hook as if you were channeling your inner “captain hook”. Continue stirring “by hand/hook” as you add the water, mixing for 1 minute, until the mixture has come together into a shaggy mass.

Engage the bowl and hook and have the machine mix the dough on the lowest speed for 3 minutes, or until the ball of dough is smoother and more cohesive. Then knead for 4 more minutes on the lowest speed. The dough should look like a wet ball and should bounce back softly when prodded.

Brush a large bowl with oil and dump the dough into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof at room temperature for 45 minutes.

LIQUID CHEESECAKE

8 oz cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tbsp milk
1 egg

Method for liquid cheesecake:

Heat the oven to 300F.

Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the sugar and mix for 2 minutes until the sugar has been completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk in a slow, steady stream. Then whisk in the egg until the slurry is homogenous. With the mixer on medium-low speed, stream in the egg slurry and paddle for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is smooth and loose. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Line the bottom and sides of a 6 x 6-inch baking pan with plastic wrap. Pour the batter into the pan. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Gently shake the pan. The cheesecake should be firmer and more set toward the outer boundaries of the pan but still be jiggly and loose in the dead center.

Cool the liquid cheesecake at room temp, then refrigerate before using in the cinnamon bun pie!

CINNAMON STREUSEL

¼ cup flour
¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Method for cinnamon streusel:

In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon salt and brown sugar with a spoon or spatula. Pour in the melted butter and vanilla and toss until almond-size dark oat clusters form.