Elle Simone Scott Makes Food Gifting an Art

Make these chocolate babka buns for someone you love

Photo courtesy of Elle Simone Scott

Gifts — giving and receiving — are an integral part of our lives. And, oftentimes food and drink play a major role in what we give — a bottle of wine for a dinner party, a favorite bourbon for Father’s Day, cookies for Christmas, some soup to soothe the soul.

Author, stylist, and America’s Test Kitchen cast member, Elle Simone Scott is taking the concept of gifting with food up a notch with her new book, Food Gifts: 150+ Irresistible Recipes for Crafting Personalized Presents (America’s Test Kitchen, $30), set to be released April 16, with more than 150 recipes, hundreds of packing and gift basket ideas, and more.

The Detroit native shares with Broken Palate that she grew up with the idea of sharing food, starting with her memories of after-church Sumday meals where the entire family would bring a potluck dish. Scott, who now resides in Boston, has meshed her culinary career with her love of giving to create this book. Broken Palate caught up with Scott to learn how to give gifts that feed the body and soul.

Broken Palate: I know everyone loves getting food gifts. Can you tell me how your connection between food and sharing started?

Elle Simone Scott: My love for food gifting started as a child. I came from a potluck family. We went to church on Sundays and we would have a potluck meal after. My favorite thing was my Aunt Loretta’s amazing pound cake. She didn’t make it every week, but when she did, I knew it was just for me. That was my first experience with receiving food as a gift.

The experience solidified when I was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. I was receiving treatment and my family came to support me and my coworkers all cooked food for us. Not a single thing was bought from the store. It made all the difference to me. After that, food gifts resonate with me in such a deep way.

BP: How do we start to create a food gift for someone? Do we start at a store?

ESS: It’s all about thinking: How do we show the people we love that we love them?

I think sometimes when people think of gifts, they think of something that people can have for a lifetime. But I do know when you walk into a home with a bottle of limoncello that you made, people will remember that! Bringing that gift would rock my boat!

We came up with many ideas. If someone loves cocktails, maybe make them a bloody mary mix. There are recipes for Mediterranean candies and babka buns.

BP: So does that mean making everything from scratch? Does food gifting need to take hours?

ESS: In this book, the only thing that is required is intentionality. I think this book encourages home cooks to think specifically about the person that they’re giving the gift to. I also think that a food gift should add value to the receiver’s life in some way.

If I’m going to give a gift to someone who has just moved into a new home I don’t want to give something that would require someone to pull out all their pots and pans.

I like to ask, “How will this gift make the receiver’s life a little sweeter? It makes you think about what’s the end game, which is making someone happy.

BP: So it’s all about the intention.

ESS: Yes. I think because the world is so busy and go go go there’s not anything that a person couldn’t buy for themselves. So I encourage people to give something that someone can’t buy or give for themselves. This is an opportunity to do something that they wouldn’t do for themselves. They wouldn’t make a bloody mary mix or babka buns. Do something special, it’s a rise to the occasion. Step up to the challenge of making yourself a better cook or making yourself an exclusive gift giver. It’s very much all about the personal. We share a lot of great ideas. We have a stuffed shells situation that we send in a reusable pan, which is perfect for someone in a new home. But that dish could be anything.

BP: That’s so lovely. Back in the day, people would bring over a meal or a casserole to someone’s home. We should bring that back.

ESS: I hope we do. If someone’s family member passed away we would take a whole meal. That was how you did it. I think this book will ask people to revisit the way we have relationships. We should step outside of an email or a facebook. You can only be truly there if you’re there. It’s about time and intention.

BP: Easter is coming up - how would you make an Easter basket?

ESS: I come from a family of elaborate Easter basket makers.

I would say not to feel rigid about what an Easter basket looks like. It can be wicker, it can be metal. Go metallic. Get funky with it.

From a food side, I treat children like adults. Mini bundt cakes are super cute, or maybe even challenge yourself to make some chocolates. Get some cute mold shapes and do your thing.

To start your gifting, try this Babka Bun recipe:

Chocolate Babka Buns

Makes: 8 buns   

Total time: 2½ hours, plus 4½ hours rising, chilling, and cooling

How I Gift This

Packaging: A windowed bakery box or boxes will show off these beauties.

Storage: The buns can be stored at room temperature for about 2 days.

Make it a duo: Give with vanilla ice cream for ice cream sandwiches!

Dough

2¼ cups (12⅓ ounces) bread flour

1½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup (1¾ ounces) granulated sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and softened

Filling

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon table salt

Syrup

½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar

¼ cup water

1. For the dough: Whisk flour and yeast together in bowl of stand mixer. Add milk, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Fit mixer with dough hook and mix on medium­low speed until cohesive dough comes together and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Turn off mixer, cover bowl, and let dough sit for 15 minutes. 

2. Add granulated sugar and salt to dough and knead on medium speed until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and, with mixer running, add butter 1 piece at a time, allowing each piece to incorporate before adding next, about 3 minutes total, scraping down bowl and dough hook as needed. Continue to knead on medium-high speed until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl, 7 to 10 minutes longer. 

3. Transfer dough to greased large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until slightly puffy, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. 

4. For the filling: Just before removing dough from refrigerator, combine chocolate and butter in medium bowl. Microwave at 50 percent power, stirring often, until chocolate is fully melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and salt until combined; set aside. 

5. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and turn out onto lightly floured counter. Pat dough into rough rectangle and divide into 8 equal pieces (about 3 ounces each). Cover loosely with plastic. 

6. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll into 10 by 5‑inch rectangle on lightly floured counter using a floured rolling pin, with short side parallel to counter edge. Spread 1 tablespoon reserved filling evenly over dough, leaving 1‑inch border along one long side of rectangle. (If filling becomes too stiff to spread, microwave for no longer than 30 seconds at a time.) Starting on long side opposite 1‑inch border, roll dough tightly into cylinder, pinching seam to seal. 

7. Place cylinder seam side down. Starting ½ inch from top of cylinder, cut in half lengthwise (leaving top ½ inch intact). Forming tight twist, cross left strand over right strand. Continue to twist until you reach bottom of cylinder, about 8 twists total; pinch end to seal. Gently form strand into knot, tucking ends underneath. Place buns on prepared sheets and cover loosely with plastic. Let sit for 30 minutes.

8. Bake buns until golden brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. 

9. For the syrup: Meanwhile, combine granulated sugar and water in small saucepan and heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves; set aside. Remove babka buns from oven. Brush reserved syrup evenly over entire surface of hot babka (you may not need all of syrup). Let cool for at least 1 hour.