Young Chang I was having a really...

Young Chang

I was having a really bad day recently when my editor tried to,

and succeeded in, consoling me by suggesting I write this week’s Life

& Leisure story on something I really love.

So we took a moment. We thought about the things I love, the

things I love writing about, the things that make people happy and,

of course, the things that make for happy stories.

“Write about desserts,” she said.

And my day was better.

Convincing myself that I owed it to my job, for the sake of an

accurate story, to eat way more desserts than I normally would, I’ve

let myself indulge this week in my mission to find Newport-Mesa’s

sweetest and finest. I’d say Newport-Mesa’s “best,” but how can

anyone really choose just a handful and relegate the rest to second

rank?

So I’ve come up with a list of eight desserts made locally that

I’m confident will lift the gloom off not only my bad day, but

possibly yours. I’ve also managed to get two places to part with a

recipe, if you decide to improve your outlook at home.

The double chocolate bundt cake at the Natural Sun Flour Bakery in

Costa Mesa is really good. It’s moist and speckled inside with

chocolate chips and tastes homemade. It’s also really chocolaty,

which, for me, is a good thing.

Their pumpkin cookie with cream cheese filling, appropriate now

with Halloween approaching, is also fun because you get the feeling

of a richer, thicker brownie when all you’re really eating is a

cookie.

My favorite at the Sun Flour Bakery, though, is the blueberry

scone. I don’t even like blueberries. That should say it all.

Another surprising favorite dessert of mine is the key lime

cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in Fashion Island. I don’t like

fruity things and find nothing exciting about sour things. But this

particular cheesecake, with the richness of the cheese and the

vanilla cookie crust, leaves me with a whiff of crisp tartness that,

in the end, isn’t so good actually because I end up eating more.

Plums Cafe and Catering on 17th Street has a good walnut espresso

brownie and this little piece of perfection called the harvest

chocolate hazelnut tartlet. This second is topped with caramelized

bananas.

And at Caffe Gelato in Costa Mesa, a scoop of coffee gelato will

give the feeling and taste and joy of eating ice cream, but without

the milk and eggs.

For those looking for more healthful alternatives, Mother’s Market

in Costa Mesa carries a really convincing tofu chocolate pie. The

tofu replaces eggs and dairy, but the pie doesn’t taste like soybean

curd.

The market also carries fruit pies sweetened with fruit juice from

concentrate instead of white sugar.

“We have a lot of desserts that are just as decadent as your

average ones, but there are no refined sugars or bleached items,”

said Mo George-Payette, vice president of food services at Mother’s

Market.

And for those of you needing that extra nudge before you let

yourself indulge, Dr. Christopher Ingalls, a Newport Beach

psychologist, insists that there are natural psychological reasons

why certain treats are comforting.

“Some of it is based on past experience,” he said. “Like certain

foods you grew up with or certain foods that were given to you. Or

some of it is associations from past reinforcements of pleasure, of

doing something well or something pleasurable.”

RECIPES

Plums Cafe & Catering

Walnut Espresso Brownie

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon espresso

1 scant cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

3/4 to 1 cup walnut halves or large pieces

Make sure your oven rack is on the level a third up from the

bottom of the oven.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter or line an 8-inch square cake

pan with parchment paper.

In a 2 1/2 to 3 quart double boiler, melt chocolate and butter.

Don’t let the water in the bottom of the double boiler touch the

upper pan. Gently simmer. Stir occasionally, whisk to smooth if

needed. Remove from heat, stir in salt, espresso, vanilla and sugar.

Add eggs one at a time, continuously stirring.

Add flour and stir for a minute or until the mix is smooth, shiny

and detaches from the side of the pan. Stir in nuts. Pour mixture

into baking pan and smooth.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out

clean.

Natural Sun Flour Bakery

Pumpkin Cookie

2 cups sugar

4 sticks butter

2 cups pumpkin

5 eggs

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add pumpkin. Blend to smoothness.

Add remaining ingredients. Batter will be soft. Scoop in large

spoonfuls on to cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cookies should

come out soft.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 sticks butter

2 cups cream cheese

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Blend everything until smooth.

Spread icing on cooled cookie.