Black-and-White Cookie
Chapter 5 — Sides, Sweets & Drinks: The Peripheral Experience
If the malt-boiled bagel is the savory soul of the New York deli, the Black-and-White is its undisputed sweet titan. Let's clear up a historical misconception right now: this monolithic staple staring out from behind the glass of every respectable Jewish bakery in the five boroughs is not actually a cookie. It is a Dutch drop cake, engineered specifically to hold a thick, snappy layer of poured fondant. To recreate the exact texture of a genuine New York heavyweight, we ditch the standard dough and employ cake flour for a velvet crumb, a heavy dose of sour cream for tang, and a microscopic hit of almond extract to honor its Bavarian roots. We frost the flat bottom, we demand a glossy snap from our icing, and we assemble it with absolute precision.
Before you start
Prepare your canvas.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two heavy-duty half-sheet pans with parchment paper, strictly avoiding silicone mats which insulate the bottom and prevent necessary browning.
Combine the wet dairy.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, whole milk, two teaspoons of vanilla extract, and the almond extract until smooth.
Sift the dry foundation.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sifted cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and half teaspoon of salt.
Ingredients
- cake flour1 1/4 cup
- all-purpose flour3/4 cup
- baking powder1 tsp
- baking soda1/4 tsp
- fine sea salt1/2 tsp
- unsalted butter1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1 cup
- eggs2 large
- sour cream1/3 cup
- whole milk1/3 cup
- pure vanilla extract2 tsp
- lemon zest1 tsp
- almond extract1/4 tsp
- confectioners sugar3 1/2 cup
- boiling water6 tbsp
- light corn syrup2 tbsp
- pure vanilla extract1 tsp
- fine sea salt1 pinch
- unsweetened chocolate1 1/2 oz
- Dutch-process cocoa powder2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Cream the butter to build the base.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed for four to five minutes until aerated and pale, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
- 02
Incorporate the dry and wet mixtures gently.
Reduce the mixer to its lowest setting and add the dry ingredients in three distinct parts, alternating with the sour cream mixture and mixing just until streaks of flour disappear.
- 03
Fold the batter by hand.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and give the dense batter three final gentle folds with a rubber spatula to ensure no pockets of unmixed butter lurk at the bottom.
- 04
Portion the drop cakes.
Using a mechanical ice cream scoop, drop generous two-ounce mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets spaced three inches apart, leaving them as domed mounds without flattening them.
- 05
Bake until perfectly set.
Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for 12 to 14 minutes until pale and matte on top with a faint whisper of golden brown at the edges, then cool completely on a wire rack.
- 06
Engineer the poured vanilla fondant.
In a heat-proof bowl, vigorously whisk the confectioners sugar, light corn syrup, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and three tablespoons of boiling water, gradually adding more hot water until it mimics the consistency of hot fudge.
- 07
Paint the white meridian.
Turn all the cooled cookies upside down, dollop the bright white icing in the center of the flat bottom, and use an offset spatula to draw a sharp line down the exact middle, covering one half entirely before letting it set for thirty minutes.
- 08
Execute the black eclipse.
Melt the chopped unsweetened chocolate and whisk it directly into the remaining white icing along with the Dutch-process cocoa powder, adding a few drops of hot water to restore its glossy, spreadable texture.
- 09
Complete the assembly.
Spread the chocolate icing onto the naked half of each cookie, bringing it right up to the set vanilla line for a razor-sharp division, and allow them to cure undisturbed at room temperature for at least two hours.
Notes
Do not skip the corn syrup.
It acts as an interfering agent to prevent the sucrose molecules from rapidly crystallizing, which is the only way to ensure the final glaze has that iconic, snappy bakery shine.
Respect the temperature of the cake base.
If you attempt to apply the hot fondant before the cakes have cooled completely to room temperature, the icing will weep and you will ruin the sharp visual contrast.