Cooking with the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook

[rob1234]

I made the Confetti Cookies with the birthday cake crumbs not too long ago - they were so good!

Looks good, how did you get them not to spread too much? I made them in Dec and they spread out paper thin. Tried different temps/times and parchment paper and silpat. Nothing helped.

[Carlton]

I really love this book.

Cinnamon Bun Pie

Grasshopper Pie

I've also made the Cornflake Marshmallow Cookies, and the Bagel Bombs. I think the Banana Cream Pie is up next.

[DesertCulinary]

Looks good, how did you get them not to spread too much? I made them in Dec and they spread out paper thin. Tried different temps/times and parchment paper and silpat. Nothing helped.

Did you use bread flour? Did you weigh the flour?

I didn't do anything different - however, the dough did rest in the fridge for about 48 hours before I baked the cookies.

[rob1234]

Did you use bread flour? Did you weigh the flour?

I didn't do anything different - however, the dough did rest in the fridge for about 48 hours before I baked the cookies.

Thanks, I'm pretty sure I used bread flour and definitely used a scale. Only rested for 24 hours I think. Baked straight from the fridge. A few of them were puffed up like yours in the oven but flattened as soon as they cooled. I seem to have trouble with cookies flattening no matter the recipe.

[LT Wong]

I finally got around to doing the Apple Pie Cake, and it turned out quite nicely after the 2nd attempt. I tested the recipe almost as is (I almost always cut back the sugar amounts), but found it still too sweet so cut back even more the 2nd time round. I also made and used more of the apple filling, and topped up more of the pie crumb - those are addictive. This is definitely a keeper.

[Carlton]

So in the last week I made both the Banana Cream Pie and the Crack Pie. Brought both in to work and the general response was "best ever."

The banana cream was amazing, I'm wondering though if the custard can be made sous vide to avoid having to babysit it with a whisk. I've started making most of my custards that way.

The top of my crack pie burned a little bit because my oven flared up in the last 5 minutes and got too hot but it still tasted amazing. I'm curious to hear from anyone else who has made it. Mine stuck to the pie pan pretty bad but I'm not sure if that's normal or not. I don't think its from a lack of grease because there is a ton of butter in that thing.

[Tri2Cook]

I made the crack pie about a year and a half ago. I must prefer heroin pie 'cause the crack pie didn't do much for me. I didn't hate it but I haven't made it again.

[TheFrisley]

I made the Crack Pie and didn't like it. Everyone who sampled it (and my boyfriend forced it upon many people) said it was the most delicious dessert they'd ever tasted. I keep getting requests to make it again. Maybe I should try the Pecan Crack Pie variation in the Milk cookbook.

[elzool]

I only picked this book up at the end of February. I fell in love with Christinas straightforward style of writing and just telling it like it is. My favorite parts of the book are the ingredients, equipment and techniques pages. I read it cover to cover to start with and then started at the beginning. I've found most of the recipes time estimates to be quite high for proper doneness and thus have adjusted accordingly in my kitchen.

I had the chance to attend a class with her a month back and found her personality to be just as fantastic as I assumed it would be from the book. Just a really fun person to be around and a pleasure to learn from.

So far I've made the following; cereal milk(multiple flavors), cereal milk panna cotta, cereal milk ice cream, cereal milk white ruskies, cornflake crunch, cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies, milk crumb, malted milk crumb, chocolate crumb, blueberry & cream cookies, chocolate chocolate cookies, chocolate chip layer cake, brownie pie, grasshopper pie, chocolate malt layer cake, banana cake, crack pie, pecan crack pie and crack pie ice cream.

Grasshopper pie

Cornflake Crunch(3 batches)

Banana cake with fudge sauce, sliced bananas, banana crumb and further fudge sauce between the layers. The cakes(8 quarter sheets) were a hit and almost everyone notice the crumb and found the texture of it between the layers to be amazing.

Blueberry & cream cookies

Crack Pie

Chocolate malt layer cake

[rod rock]

@elzool this looks nice Congratulations!

[elzool]

Thanks! I love this book and her style. Next up, cashew brittle followed by crack pie ice cream with pulverized cashew brittle mixed in.

[Kerry Beal]

Silly question - when making the malted milk crumbs the book says to start with the milk crumb, add ovaltine powder and 90 grams of white chocolate.

So the question is this - are you starting with the completed milk crumb (ie already mixed with additional milk powder and 90 grams of white chocolate) and adding the ovaltine and more white chocolate - or are you taking just the initial crumb after baking and adding the 60 grams of ovaltine in place of the additional milk powder and then adding the 90 grams of white chocolate?

[LT Wong]

I am inspired, and resolve this weekend to make the banana cream....bought a bunch of bananas that are now waiting to turn black....

[Tri2Cook]

Silly question - when making the malted milk crumbs the book says to start with the milk crumb, add ovaltine powder and 90 grams of white chocolate.

So the question is this - are you starting with the completed milk crumb (ie already mixed with additional milk powder and 90 grams of white chocolate) and adding the ovaltine and more white chocolate - or are you taking just the initial crumb after baking and adding the 60 grams of ovaltine in place of the additional milk powder and then adding the 90 grams of white chocolate?

I would guess the latter. Add the ovaltine in place of the additional milk powder and then add the chocolate. I haven't made that one yet but that makes the most sense to me.with it being a variation of the milk crumb.

[elzool]

I

Silly question - when making the malted milk crumbs the book says to start with the milk crumb, add ovaltine powder and 90 grams of white chocolate.

So the question is this - are you starting with the completed milk crumb (ie already mixed with additional milk powder and 90 grams of white chocolate) and adding the ovaltine and more white chocolate - or are you taking just the initial crumb after baking and adding the 60 grams of ovaltine in place of the additional milk powder and then adding the 90 grams of white chocolate?

When I did it, I used the Milk Crumb recipe through step four. When it called for milk powder, I then used the malted milk as called for in step one of the malted milk crumb. My thinking was was if starting with a completed milk crumb, adding the malt and additional chocolate would make a rather unwieldy crumb. Mine, as I did it, was perfect.

[Marmish]

I don't know the answer and I returned the book to the library, but I do know that Tosi does "Tweet with Tosi" on Fridays. So if you tweet, you could ask her. But knowing you, you've probably already forged ahead.

[Kerry Beal]

I don't know the answer and I returned the book to the library, but I do know that Tosi does "Tweet with Tosi" on Fridays. So if you tweet, you could ask her. But knowing you, you've probably already forged ahead.

Did indeed forge ahead - went with the option where I took the stuff out of the oven and added the ovaltine in place of the milk powder. Used some milk chocolate instead of the white - then threw in some of the leftover milk crumbs too. Using them tonight to bake some cookies that don't require time in the fridge. You should smell my kitchen right now!

[LT Wong]

hi elzool,

One question about the banana cake. Does the hazelnut crunch soften eventually? Mine did after two days. I was saving slices of the cake for myself to savour after work. Still delicious, but missing that crunch in the bite.

[elzool]

I've not made the hazelnut for that cake, I used another crumb.

Of the four crumb types I've made for use between layers of cake, all have softened slightly after a few days from the moisture of the frosting above and below it. I would assume that overbaking and drying out the crumb further would allow a longer time to sit between layers allowing a crunchier texture.

I've found that for me, after freezing overnight and thawing several hours the next day, it is perfect, but leftovers the next day have started losing a bit of the snap they initially had and it loses more every day thereafter.

[pastrygirl]

Wow, it's been a minute since we talked about this ... my brother just inquired about me making the rainbow sprinkle vanilla birthday cake for his wife, but I sold my copy of that book ages ago.  Is anyone willing to PM me the recipe(s) for that cake? Thanks!

[donk79]

Bon Appetit has what appears to be the recipe.  https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/momofuku-milk-bars-birthday-layer-cake

 

I have the book on Kindle, which is not cut and paste friendly, but the only difference I see between the above link and the book itself is that the book provides all the measurements in grams as well as the measurements listed on BA.  The BA link also seems to have everything in one place instead of all the separate individual recipes.

 

[jimb0]

sent a PM.

 

i hadn't joined the forum for the original discussion, but i do like this book as it aligned a lot with my baking philosophy in many ways

 

the thing i have gotten the most use out of over the years are the crumbs, really, though i don't see the point of putting them into the cookies.

[pastrygirl]

Thank you @donk79 and @jimbo  My brother has been hoarding boxes of rainbow chip cake mix for his wife's birthdays, which horrifies the family pastry chef (me), we'll see if the milk bar cake is trashy enough for her 🤣

[cc.canuck]

5 hours ago, jimb0 said:

sent a PM.

 

i hadn't joined the forum for the original discussion, but i do like this book as it aligned a lot with my baking philosophy in many ways

 

the thing i have gotten the most use out of over the years are the crumbs, really, though i don't see the point of putting them into the cookies.

Absolutely. Why put them in cookies when you can use them in a sundae?

[jimb0]

11 minutes ago, cc.canuck said:

Absolutely. Why put them in cookies when you can use them in a sundae?

 

right?

 

i like to cover the sides of cakes in them