Elixir Bakery

Daring Bakers - Macaroons

2009-10-28T17:42:00.002-05:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I've made macarons before, so I thought I would try out my new food processor this time to see how it goes. It ground the almonds and confectioners sugar perfectly, and with the egg whip blade the eggs were at stiff peaks. Here is where the problem lies. I though, hmm, I'll just add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and pulse to combine, that will be like folding... Wrong! Totally deflated the batter. I decided to bake them anyway, and they are like almond wafers. Good, but not macarons. Lesson learned :) Here are some pics from last time I made them. I would use the food processor again, just fold in the dry ingredients by hand next time.

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Daring Bakers September Challenge - Vols-au-Vent

2009-10-01T20:54:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the late post, things have been crazy busy lately (but that's good, right?)

I like making laminated dough. I've made danishes many times, and although it is time consuming, the results are much better than the store bought versions. I have never made these before, the are basically the same as the puff pastry shells you can buy in the frozen section for appetizers and desserts.

I liked these, mmm buttery goodness. I filled them with my version of a tandoori chicken curry and it went very well together. They didn't rise as much as I would have hoped, maybe a bit hotter oven next time would do the trick.

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Steph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Daring Bakers August Challenge - Dobos Torte

2009-08-27T11:00:00.003-05:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

This was a fun challenge, I like all the pieces so it fits that I like them all together as well. There was suppose to be a caramel layer on top, but as I was trying to make that I had to take care of my 5 month old, so the caramel didn't turn out :) But, the torte was great without it. The buttercream is fluffy and shiny, with a great chocolate flavor that goes well with the hazelnuts.

Overall, a bit time consuming with the layers, but I would make it again.

Equipment

2 baking sheets
9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
a sieve
a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
a small saucepan
a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
metal offset spatula
sharp knife
a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
piping bag and tip, optional

Prep times

Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes

Sponge cake layers

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping

1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches

a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

Storage

I (Angela) am quite happy to store this cake at room temperature under a glass dome, but your mileage may vary. If you do decide to chill it, then I would advise also using a glass dome if you have done. I should also note that the cake will cut more cleanly when chilled.

July Daring Bakers Challenge - Cookies!

2009-07-27T12:24:00.002-05:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This month we got to choose to do both cookies or just one. I was going to make them both, but then I got an order for some cupcakes so I had to just make one. I had been wanting to try homemade marshmallows for a while, so I made the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies.

I had fun with this challenge. The cookie base was easy, no surprises there. The marshmallows weren't difficult either, just sticky :) I left them out overnight to set up, maybe that was too long, as they are a bit more solid than I would like. The chocolate coating went on easily, but never set up at room temperature. After an hour in the refrigerator they were fine. Too much vegetable oil maybe?

Overall, good cookies! I would like to make the base cookie a bit more like a graham cracker next time for a more s'more like taste.

In the picture are the cupcakes I had an order for, French Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache frosting and the cookies around the edge. I had a very chocolate Saturday :)

June Daring Baker's Challenge - Bakewell Tarts

2009-06-27T02:44:00.001-05:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

This challenge was interesting. I had never heard of a Bakewell Tart before, so this was totally new to me. The pieces of the tart were familiar though, just never put them all together before.

The pastry base was easy to work with and tasty, very similar to a normal tart shell but a bit sweeter. I made some jam myself with some blueberries and strawberries, very tasty, and a good topper for ice cream :) . The frangipane was the weird part of the tart. I wouldn't expect to have a cakelike topping on a fruit tart, but it works.

I made 2 smaller tarts with this recipe. It took about 35 minutes for the top to set up, I had to put some foil around the edges as the pastry was getting a bit dark. Overall, a good recipe that is not too overwhelming, but I like a fruit pie or cobbler better.

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Daring Bakers May Challenge - Apple Strudel

2009-05-27T17:01:00.004-05:00

Wow, it is hard to believe it's been almost 2 months since I posted on here. Well, I have a good excuse... I had a baby! He is great, but definitely buts a cramp in my baking style. But, I am getting more used to working around him, and his schedule is a bit more predictable now so I can get some baking in.

And on to the Challenge...

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

This challenge was fun, not too time consuming that I couldn't fit it in, but unique enough that I had never made it before. My husband loves fruity desserts, so I had to make this one.

I only made 1/2 of the recipe (I am trying to lose those last few baby pounds, so I don't need a big dessert tempting me) and I didn't have a large enough counter to roll out the full recipe. Overall it was good, I think I may have had the dough too thin? The apples poked their way out in a few places when I was rolling it up. It crisped up nicely in oven, and the apples were good, not overcooked into mush. The recipe was easy enough and not hard to do, I would make it again, but it's not my favorite challenge.

Daring Bakers March Challenge - Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

2009-03-29T05:52:00.000-05:00

This didn't seem like a daring baker's challenge to me, but I love lasagne and I did bake it, so I guess it worked out. I think my lasagne noodles were a bit too thick, but the thinner ones I did make didn't survive the drying in one piece. All in all, a good recipe. I'm not sure I would make the noodles from scratch again, but the bechemel and ragu were very good.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)

Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours

Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:
Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

Daring Bakers - February Challenge (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

2009-02-28T14:10:00.004-06:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted on here. I have been baking a lot, tweaking recipes and whatnot, but I guess I forgot to document it here for posterity :) I missed the January Daring Bakers Challenges, Tuiles, so I made them and included them here.

I loved this recipe! It was so simple, but the results were decadent. I made six mini-cakes in a mega muffin pan. For the homemade ice cream, I used a recipe for vanilla frozen yogurt from David Lebovitz, included below. Both are definitely keepers!

From Elixir Bakery

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.

8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C

9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

3 cups drained plain yogurt (6 cups to start)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Drain the yogurt overnight in cheesecloth in the refrigerator to get the excess moisture out.

2. Mix the ingredients together and let cool for an hour.

3. Place the mixture in your ice cream machine and let it churn according to it's instructions.

Giant Cupcake

2009-01-01T19:59:00.000-06:00

For Christmas this year, my parents got me a cake pan in the shape of a huge cupcake. So we had to try it out for Christmas dinner (yes, I am a little behind on posting). We made a white cake with chocolate frosting. I had been looking for a go-to white cake recipe, and this could be it. It was very moist, with a light crumb and not too sweet. The chocolate frosting was good as well, I would just like it to come out darker without having to use food coloring. Any suggestions?

White Cake (from Baking Bites)

1 cup milk, room temperature
6 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter (6 oz), softened

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease two 9 inch cake pans with vegetable shortening, line the bottom with parchment paper, grease the parchment paper and flour the pans.

Combine milk, eggs whites and extracts in a small bowl with a fork. Set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in an electric mixer and mix at slow speed with a paddle attachment. Add butter. Continue beating at slow speed until mixture looks like wet sand (If you’re doing this by hand, sift the dry ingredients together and rub in butter).

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining milk mixture and beat for an additional 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and gently shake to smooth batter. Bake 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (I baked the large cupcake for about 25 minutes, with the bottom piece for about 6 minutes more than the top)

Let cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes then invert onto racks to cool completely before frosting. Unfrosted cakes can be frozen for 1-2 weeks.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups Confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp meringue powder

Mix the sugar and cocoa powder together (making sure there are no lumps). Add the butter and milk, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so. Add meringue powder and mix for 30 seconds more.

Light as Air Focaccia

2009-01-01T19:42:00.003-06:00

For New Years, I had to make some black eyed peas to make sure we had some good luck in the new year. To go with it, I wanted a light, crusty bread and only had a few hours. So, I made this recipe form King Arthur flour with their Italian-style Flour. It was good, I added some garlic for a bit of flavor, and some wheat germ and flax seed to healthy it up a bit. The texture was light, with a nice crunch to the crust. I would make it again, and it was very quick to put together.

Light as Air Focaccia

Dough
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Italian-Style Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground flax seed
2 tsp wheat germ

Topping
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
coarse salt

Mix together all of the dough ingredients and knead briefly; 5 to 6 minutes, by hand or machine, is all this dough needs.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove it from the bowl, and fold it over a few times, to redistribute the yeast.

Place the dough onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined half-sheet pan (or similar-size pan, about 18 x 13 inches), and pat it out into a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches in size. The dough is very tender and easy to work with. Brush it with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Cover the focaccia, and set it in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.

Just before baking the focaccia, use your fingers to gently dimple the dough every 2 inches or so. Bake it in a preheated 425°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool slightly before cutting it into squares.

Yield: about a dozen 4-inch squares.

Daring Bakers December Challenge - French Yule Log

2008-12-30T21:00:00.006-06:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

This recipe took a bit of time to make. The individual components were simple and relatively easy (I only burned the carmel once), but the layering and freezing took a few days. I made mine pretty simple, with the following layered flavors:

1) Dacquoise Biscuit - Almond of course
2) Mousse - Chocolate
3) Ganache Insert - Chocolate
4) Praline (Crisp) Insert
5) Creme Brulee Insert - Vanilla
6) Icing - Chocolate

I did not have a mold, so I made 2 mini logs in mini loaf pans. They came out pretty cute, but I almost ran out of the mousee at the end. My ganache layer is just barely visible, it looks like it blended into the mousee a bit. I also used 2 layers of the dacquoise biscuit since I had a bunch of it.

Overall, it was good, but not worth all the effort to me. I like the genoise and ice cream type yule log better.

Here is the long recipe if you would like to try it yourself...

Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)

Preparation time: 10 mn + 15 mn for baking

Equipment: 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper

Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

Ingredients:
2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) almond meal
1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) confectioner’s sugar
2Tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about 3 medium egg whites
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

1. Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc...) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden.
8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Variations on the Almond Dacquoise listed above:

Hazelnut Dacquoise
Substitute the same amount of hazelnut meal for the almond meal.

Chocolate Dacquoise
Add 3 tablespoons of sifted unsweetened cocoa powder into the almond meal/caster sugar mix in Step #1 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Lemon Dacquoise
Add the zest of 1 Lemon after the flour in Step #2 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Coconut Dacquoise
Substitute ¼ cup of almond meal and add 2/3 cup shredded coconut in Step #1 of the Almond Dacquoise.

Element #2 Dark Chocolate Mousse

Preparation time: 20mn

Equipment: stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment, thermometer, double boiler or equivalent, spatula

Note: You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with a sugar syrup, then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulee insert.
In the Vanilla Mousse variation, pastry cream is made to the same effect.
In the Mango Mousse variation, Italian meringue is made to the same effect. Italian meringue is a simple syrup added to egg whites as they are beaten until stiff. It has the same consistency as Swiss meringue (thick and glossy) which we have used before in challenge recipes as a base for buttercream.
The Whipped Cream option contains no gelatin, so beware of how fast it may melt.
Gelatin is the gelifying agent in all of the following recipes, but if you would like to use agar-agar, here are the equivalencies: 8g powdered gelatin = 1 (0.25 oz) envelope powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp Agar-Agar.
1 Tbsp. of agar-agar flakes is equal to 1 tsp. of agar-agar powder.

Ingredients:
2.5 sheets gelatin or 5g / 1 + 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
1.5 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp (10g) glucose or thick corn syrup
0.5 oz (15g) water
50g egg yolks (about 3 medium)
6.2 oz (175g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups (350g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package.)
2. Make a Pate a Bombe: Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).
2a. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.
2b. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer.
2c. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.
3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons (30g) of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
4. Whip the remainder of the cream until stiff.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup (100g) of WHIPPED cream to temper. Add the Pate a Bombe.
6. Add in the rest of the WHIPPED cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Mousse listed above:

White Chocolate Mousse
Substitute the same quantity of white chocolate for the dark chocolate in the mousse recipe listed above.

Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream (Chantilly):
(Can be made the day before and kept in the fridge overnight)
2/3 cup (160g) heavy cream 35% fat
7.8 oz (220g) milk chocolate
2 1/3 tsp (15g) glucose or thick corn syrup
1 1/3 cup (320g) heavy cream 35% fat

1. Chop the chocolate coarsely.
2. Heat the 160g of cream to boiling and pour over the chocolate and glucose syrup.
3. Wait 30 seconds then stir the mix until smooth. Add the remaining cream.
4. Refrigerate to cool, then whip up.

Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert

Preparation time: 10mn

Equipment: pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

Ingredients:
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert listed above:

White Chocolate Ganache Insert
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
5 oz (135g) white chocolate, finely chopped
4.5 oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small sauce pan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.

Dark-Milk Ganache Insert
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
2.7 oz (75g) milk chocolate
3.2 oz (90g) dark chocolate
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Cinammon-Milk Ganache Insert
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp / 135g) heavy cream
A pinch of cinnamon
2.7 oz (75g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
3.2 oz (90g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. Heat the cream with the cinnamon (use the quantity of cinnamon you want to infuse the cream, a pinch is the smallest amount suggested) until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the milk and dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert

Preparation time: 10 mn (+ optional 15mn if you make lace crepes)

Equipment: Small saucepan, baking sheet (if you make lace crepes).
Double boiler (or one small saucepan in another), wax paper, rolling pin (or I use an empty bottle of olive oil).

Note: Feuillete means layered (as in with leaves) so a Praline Feuillete is a Praline version of a delicate crisp. There are non-praline variations below. The crunch in this crisp comes from an ingredient which is called gavottes in French. Gavottes are lace-thin crepes. To our knowledge they are not available outside of France, so you have the option of making your own using the recipe below or you can simply substitute rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K for them. Special note: If you use one of the substitutes for the gavottes, you should halve the quantity stated, as in use 1oz of any of these cereals instead of 2.1oz.
If you want to make your own praline, please refer back to the Daring Baker Challenge Recipe from July 2008.

To make 2.1oz / 60g of gavottes (lace crepes - recipe by Ferich Mounia):
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
2/3 Tbsp (8g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup – 2tsp (35g) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp / 0.5 oz (15g) beaten egg
1 tsp (3.5g) granulated sugar
½ tsp vegetable oil
1. Heat the milk and butter together until butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat.
2. Sift flour into milk-butter mixture while beating, add egg and granulated sugar. Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Grease a baking sheet and spread batter thinly over it.
4. Bake at 430°F (220°C) for a few minutes until the crepe is golden and crispy. Let cool.

Ingredients for the Praline Feuillete:
3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) butter
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline
2.1oz (60g) lace crepes(gavottes) or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Variations on the Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert listed above:

Chocolate Crisp Insert
3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline
1 oz. (25g) lace crepes or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Coconut Crisp Insert
3.5 oz (100g) white chocolate
1 oz (1/3 cup/25g) shredded coconut
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) unsalted butter
2.1 oz (60g) lace crepes or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Spread the coconut on a baking tray and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375°F (190°C) to toast (a different temperature might work better for you with your own oven).
2. Melt the white chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Stir until smooth and add the toasted coconut.
3. Add the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Element #5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert

Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking

Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper

Note: The vanilla crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the vanilla with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (115g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
½ cup (115g) whole milk
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

1. Heat the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.
Tartelette says: You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log (the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things)....BUT I would recommend a water bath for the following reasons:
- you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done
- you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better
- it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bath
Now...since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help.
5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Variations on the Vanilla Crème Brulée insert listed above:

Chocolate Creme Brulée Insert
½ cup + 1 2/3 Tbsp (140g) whole milk
2/3 cup + 1tsp (140g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
1/3 cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
1.4 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar

1. Heat the milk and cream to just boiling. Add the cocoa powder.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the cocoa milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.
Tartelette says: You can bake it without a water bath since it is going to go inside the log (the aesthetics of it won't matter as much since it will be covered with other things)....BUT I would recommend a water bath for the following reasons:
- you will get a much nicer mouth feel when it is done
- you will be able to control its baking point and desired consistency much better
- it bakes for such a long time that I fear it will get overdone without a water bath
Now...since it is baked in a pan and it is sometimes difficult to find another large pan to set it in for a water bath, even a small amount of water in your water bath will help the heat be distributed evenly in the baking process. Even as little as 1 inch will help.
5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.

Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing

Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don’t count softening the gelatin)

Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan

Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.
For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

Ingredients:
4g / ½ Tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50g) water
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

Variations on the Dark Chocolate Icing listed above:

Milk Chocolate Icing
1.5 gelatin sheets or 3g / 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatin
4.2 oz (120g) milk chocolate
2 Tbsp (30g) butter
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
1 2/3 Tbsp (30g) glucose or thick corn syrup

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together.
3. Bring the cream and glucose syrup to a boil.
4. Add the gelatin.
5. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth.
6. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

White Chocolate Icing
1.5 gelatin sheets or 3g / 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatin
3.5 oz (100g) white chocolate
2 Tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (90 g) whole milk
1 2/3 Tbsp (30g) glucose or thick corn syrup

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Coarsely chop the chocolate and butter together.
3. Bring the milk and glucose syrup to a boil.
4. Add the gelatin.
5. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until smooth.
6. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

How To Assemble your French Yule Log

Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.
THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP.
You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.

1) Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with rhodoid (clear hard plastic, I usually use transparencies cut to the desired shape, it’s easier to find than cellulose acetate which is what rhodoid translates to in English) OR plastic film. Rhodoid will give you a smoother shape but you may have a hard time using it depending on the kind of mold you’re using.

You have two choices for Step 2, you can either have Dacquoise on the top and bottom of your log as in version A or you can have Dacquoise simply on the bottom of your log as in version B:

2A) Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.
3A) Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.
4A) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
5A) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
6A) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
7A) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
8A) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
9A) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight eidge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
10A) Close with the last strip of Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

OR

2B) Pipe one third of the Mousse component into the mold.
3B) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
4B) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
5B) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
6B) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
7B) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
8B) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
9B) Close with the Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

THE NEXT DAY...
Unmold the cake/log/whatever and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan.
Cover the cake with the icing.
Let set. Return to the freezer.
You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc...
Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose

Angel Biscuits

2008-12-10T20:39:00.002-06:00

This recipe is another on my trek through The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The biscuits were excellent, very light and flaky without the dryness that can sometimes accompany that. They take a few hours to make to let the yeast do its thing, but they are good if you can plan ahead.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

2008-12-10T17:38:00.006-06:00

Wow, I am really behind on this...

So, I made this pie twice, once as a normal 9 inch pie, and once as 9 mini-pies. I sent the large pie to my parents for Thanksgiving, and they said it arrived in one piece and tasted very good. The smaller ones I served for Thanksgiving, and I thought they were very good as well. I'm usually not a fan of pumpkin pie, but I love pecan pie, so this was a good mix. I'm sure it was healthier than pecan pie too :)

Tuesdays with Dorie - Kugelhopf

2008-11-11T20:51:00.004-06:00

I started a bit late on this recipe, so the post is a little late, but hey, it's still Tuesday :)

I liked this recipe (except for the raisins). I substituted some chocolate carmel chips I had, and I like it. The dough is very close to a brioche, just missing a bit of butter (though there is no shortage in this recipe). Next time, I think some cinnamon and some nuts would be a good addition.

I made them into individual servings in a heart shaped muffin tin. I thought filling up the tins about half-way before the rise would be about right, but I was wrong. These definitely overflowed, though they still taste good. I would say to fill the tins no more than 1/3 the next time. You would get about 18 that way (I had 12 monsters). I also shortened the baking time, 10 minutes at first, then 8 minutes with the foil.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Rugelach

2008-11-04T06:56:00.001-06:00

I have made rugelach quite a few times with different recipes. For me, the trick is to only work with enough dough that it stays cold until I have put it on the pan. So I usually work with small amounts, like Dorie recommends in this recipe.

I made one batch with the filling that Dorie recommends, and one with Nutella and almonds (I saw some of the other TWD bloggers recommend this filling so I had to try it, anything with Nutella is good). Both the raspberry and nutella cookies were good, but they were a bit dry. Next time I will cook them a bit less, this time I had them in for 22 minutes.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

2008-11-03T19:49:00.003-06:00

I made these a bit late as I wanted to make them for Halloween for my husband to take to some meetings. The recipe was good, some others thought it was a bit dry, so I sub'd in some oil for some of the butter. They came out perfect! Nice and moist, with just a hint of a crust on the top to hold the frosting. I used a double chocolate buttercream instead of the ganache so I could do some decorating with it.

Also in the picture are some vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. They were good, but not great. I am still looking for that knockout, go to vanilla cupcake recipe. If you have one you recommend, please send it on :)

Sticky Buns

2008-11-03T19:36:00.002-06:00

I was craving some sticky buns last weekend, so I decided to plan a little bit ahead and made the Sticky Buns from Dorie's book, Baking: From my home to yours. This was a Tuesday's with Dorie recipe a while ago that I missed, and it got good reviews so I decided to try it.

There is a lot of butter in this dough, since it is a brioche dough I expected it to be rich, but... Anywhos, I made them in a silicone muffin pan to see how they would turn out. I think the larger size muffin pan would have been the perfect size, as these rose out of the tins a bit. The recipe was good and I would make it again, after I eat the frozen one's I've got saved away :)

Daring Bakers - Pizza

2008-10-29T06:34:00.001-05:00

Wow, usually I expect a few days of baking for a challenge, but this recipe was a welcome relief. 20 minutes to make the dough, stick it in the fridge, and a little pre-planning and you are ready to eat! I make pizza dough quite a bit, so this process is something I'm used to.

Having said that, I was not impressed with this dough. I like the Alton Brown recipe a lot, and it calls for lots of working the dough to get the baker's window (it usually takes about 15 minutes or so). This recipe only calls for 5-7 minutes of kneading. I was a bit leery, but I followed the recipe to the letter. To me, this dough doesn't have the structure that my recipe has. The stretching only took 2 tosses, as the dough was so relaxed it basically tossed itself.

I made 3 so far, the first was a BLT pizza. I added some ranch dressing as the sauce, then bacon, tomatoes, and mozzarella and baked for 7 minutes on a pizza stone. When it came out, I added some basil and lettuce to the top and served (the picture is before the lettuce). It was good, but the crust was bland. I think some more salt or some olive oil would have been a good addition.
The second pizza was for dessert, it was an apple pizza. I mixed some very thin apple slices, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, lime juice, and some ginger together and fanned it out on the pizza. I sprinkled the dough with some sugar, and baked it a little slower, at 400º for 15 minutes. This was very good, but the dough was still a bit bland.
Then, I branched out and made some cheesy breadsticks with some of the dough. I sprinkled parmigiana cheese and rosemary on the dough, and grilled it with some ribs on the bbq. They took about 10 minutes to cook. They were ok, still bland.
So, my opinion is that Alton Brown's recipe is much better. Check out my other post for my incarnation. Here is the recipe we used:

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~

Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:

4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled

1 3/4 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Instant yeast

1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)

1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)

1 Tb sugar

Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.

The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.

During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.

In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.

You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Pumpkin Muffins

2008-10-21T06:18:00.000-05:00

I'm not usually a huge pumpkin fan, but I decided to give these a try. The pumpkin flavor is very subtle, and keeps the muffins very moist. I made half with raisins and half without, and I am glad I did that. I did not like the raisins, but my husband did, so who knows...

I would definitely make these again (no raisins), and they make me think of fall (even though it's still 85º here in Texas).

Tuesdays With Dorie - Rewind

2008-10-07T14:06:00.002-05:00

Everyone on the TWD blogs always raves about the Snickery Squares, so when last week was a rewind, I decided to try them out. And all the TWDers are correct, they are awesome!

They are a shortbread base, with duche de leche and candied peanuts in the center, and bittersweet chocolate and candied peanuts on the top. Very good, especially cold. The only issue I had was finding the duche de leche, but I'm stocked up now :)

I'm back! Butter Popovers and Blueberry Muffins

2008-10-07T13:57:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I posted on here! Over the past few weeks, I got the opportunity to go to Italy and sample some great food. But, now I'm back and will try to catch up on some recipes.

I made a few recipes from the Bread Bible, I'll post them both here.

First, I made the Butter Popovers. They were good, but really buttery. Usually I'm a fan of butter, but I think these were just over the top. They had a good texture though.

I also made the Blueberry Muffins for breakfast this weekend. They were very good. I used organic, frozen blueberries (they are usually smaller and work better for this recipe). The muffins are not as sugary as normal muffin recipes, and I like that as it lets the blueberry taste really come through. I would definitely make these again.

Touch of Grace Biscuits

2008-09-08T18:02:00.002-05:00

This will be my last post for a while as I will be traveling a bit for the next few weeks. So, if you're bored, read some of my older recipes for a refresher :)

I made these biscuits from The Bread Bible. I was looking for a light, fluffy biscuit to go with a curry chicken salad. From the recipe, I thought these should fit. But, they are really liquid, like pancake batter. There is a procedure to dip them in flour and then form the biscuits, but that is a mess and you get lots of uncooked flour on the biscuits. I made the first 4 this way, and for the rest I mixed the flour in and formed them by hand. The last 4 turned out much better.

I don't think I would make these again, they are too difficult for a biscuit recipe, but they were good.

Daring Bakers - Chocolate Eclairs

2008-09-03T13:39:00.002-05:00

Sorry, this is a bit late, but the eclairs were great! I made them while visiting my parents, my mom and I had a good time making them, and I think my dad enjoyed eating them :)

I used the dough and chocolate glaze from the recipe, but made a vanilla pastry cream instead. I thought an all chocolate pastry might be a bit too much for me. I have made eclairs before, but this recipe called for more eggs than I have used in the past. You could definitely taste them, but the eggs weren't overpowering. Also, I baked mine longer and slower to ensure they wouldn't fall after we removed them from the oven.

Overall, they were good. Not too hard to make and a special treat for breakfast.

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

[bNotes:[/b]
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly  in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Tuesdays with Dorie -Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

2008-09-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, that is quite a name for a small cookie. But, they are very good. I halved the recipe (who needs 60 cookies to be tempted with, 30 is a much more reasonable amount :) ). Also, my husband is not a fan of peanut butter, so I used almond butter instead.

These cookies are very good, nice and moist with a slight crunch on the edges. I had to try at least 4 when they came out of the oven, just in case...

Check out the recipe here from Stefany of Proceed with Caution.

Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes

2008-08-26T16:30:00.003-05:00

The other kind of cupcakes I brought to work last week was Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes. These were a big hit, since they look like the familiar kiddy treat :)

These chocolate cupakes were awesome, I might make them my go to for chocolate cupcakes. They were so light and fluffy and very simple to make. The cream filling was spot on, and the top was just melted chocolate. Very good cupcakes!

Chocolate Cupcakes (vegan) from Baking Bites

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cold water
1 tbsp coffee powder

Preheat the oven to 350F. Get 24 cupcake tins ready.
In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Dissolve the coffee powder in the cold water (or just use cold coffee for a slightly more mocha taste) and pour the water over the mixture. Stir until smooth.
Divide evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Put the cupcakes onto racks to cool completely before frosting.
If storing overnight before frosting (they can be made a day ahead), just wrap completely in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.

Vanilla Cream Filling from Baking Bites

3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup butter (or trans fat-free shortening)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Sir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil.
When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.
When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until light.
Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Salted Carmel Vanilla Cupcakes

2008-08-26T16:12:00.002-05:00

For my last week at work, I made lots of cupcakes for my co-workers. These were the more adult flavor. The salted carmel is very different than normal frosting, but I thought it was very good. The sweetness with the salt reminds me of chocolate cover pretzels (and I love those). The only thing I would change is the consistency of the frosting. It's not stiff enough to do anything except slather it on. Next time I would up the powdered sugar.

The cupcakes were ok, I like my normal vanilla cupcakes better, they have a little softer texture.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes from Chow

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved (or 1 tablespoon extract)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Line 2 (12-well) muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, coat the wells with butter; set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until very light in color, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla seeds (if you’re using vanilla extract instead, you’ll add it later), and continue beating until mixture is airy, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer to medium speed, and add egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add milk (and vanilla extract, if you’re using it in place of seeds), and mix until combined (the mixture will look curdled, but it’s not). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined, about 15 seconds.
Fill the muffin wells about halfway, and bake cupcakes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Set the pans on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pans and let cool completely before frosting.

Salted Caramel Frosting from Chow

1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup powdered sugar

Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes.
Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes.
Combine butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.
Turn mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add caramel. Beat frosting on medium-high speed until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until stiff, about 45 minutes, before using.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Chocolate-Banded Ice Cream Torte

2008-08-26T15:58:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm back. All the traveling and leaving my day job got the best of me for a few weeks, but I made it!

This week's recipe from Amy of Food, Family and Fun was pretty simple. The ganache was the only item that took any time, but only about 15 minutes. I used pasteurized eggs as the ganache is not cooked. Basically, its three layers of ganache and ice cream. Waiting for the layers to harden in the freezer is the hardest part.

I made these in ramekins. I wasn't the biggest fan, but my husband liked it (which is surprising since there wasn't much fruit it in).

Prosciutto Ring

2008-08-06T17:39:00.003-05:00

My bread from The Bread Bible this week was the Prosciutto Ring. I had been eyeing this recipe since I got the book, but I never had any leftover prosciutto, until now :)

There is no pre-ferment to this bread, it is a simple one rise and bake, so it only took a few hours start to finish. The taste was good, but I thought some added flavor from a sponge would have been good to balance the saltiness of the prosciutto. I would make it again with some additions, because it was so easy to make.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Black and White Banana Cake

2008-08-06T17:31:00.005-05:00

Yeah, the recipe makes a loaf, but since I had to make a summer themed cake for my cake decorating class I decided to change this up a bit to work. So instead of cooking it in a loaf pan, I made 2 - 9 inch cakes.

The recipe itself is pretty straightforward, I have been saving the last ripe bananas from our bunches in the freezer for an occasion such as this. I made a simple lemon buttercream for the frosting, and the flavors worked pretty well. I have this thing about banana and nuts, so this wasn't my favorite, but not too bad (some walnuts would have been good). The decorations on top are marshmallow fondant.

I will be sitting out next week as I will be out of town, so look for my post in 2 weeks!

Daring Bakers July Challenge - Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

2008-07-30T01:15:00.002-05:00

This month's challenge was chosen by Mele Cotte, Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream. I have to admit, I was not really looking forward to this challenge. This isn't the sort of dessert that my husband or I tend to enjoy. But, in true Daring Baker's spirit, I forged ahead.

There are a lot of steps to this recipe. None of them are hard, just a bunch of them. Taken separately, it's not a big deal, but reading through it the first time can be overwhelming, like the Opera Cake. I put this together in one day, but if you were familar with the recipe, it could be done a bit faster.

Overall, it was good. The cake came out a bit dry so it was a bit hard to layer. But after soaking it in the syrup it tasted moist. The buttercream was good, I only used 2 sticks of butter rather than the 3 called for and it was still very rich. I had a hard time decorating with it as it was getting warm, but that was my fault for rushing to get it done before bedtime :)

I'm not sure I would make this whole cake again, but the frosting is a great recipe.

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

1 Filbert Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Filbert Genoise

Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.

Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.

Praline Buttercream
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
1/3 cup praline paste
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum.

Swiss Buttercream
4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a elevtric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Praline Paste
1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup Sugar
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.

Apricot Glaze
Good for one 10-inch cake

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer or tube cake

**Ganache can take on many forms. While warm – great fudge sauce. While cool or lukewarm – semisweet glaze. Slightly chilled – can be whipped into a filling/frosting. Cold & solid – the base of candied chocolate truffles.

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt
6 oz. (¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreay, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)
¾ tsp. vanilla
½ - 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ - 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling Cake

Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.

Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-ich blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache.

Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

Leftover cake can be covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Stone Fruit Galette

2008-07-29T01:55:00.000-05:00

Yea for all the seasonal challenges lately! We are flush in peaches and plums here in Texas now, so I used those fruits for the filling of this lovely Galette. This dessert is basically a flaky pie crust wrapped around some fruit and jam and baked until the crust sets. Then, a custard filling is added to the middle and baked until the custard sets.

I downsized this recipe, as usual, by half and then made some personal sized desserts. I like serving things so much better this way. So pretty and less mess...

I liked this recipe, and so did my husband (since it had fruit in it). Peaches are soo good warm :)

If you'd like the recipe, click over here to Michelle in Colorado Springs.

Strawberry Lime Cupcakes

2008-07-28T12:03:00.002-05:00

Since last week was working with fondant at my cake decorating class, I decided I should practice with it at home a bit this week. I also had some strawberries I needed something to do with, so this recipe was born (the marshmallow fondant recipe was from class).

I liked them, the fondant was rolled thin so it wasn't overpowering, and the lime cut the sweetness just a bit. Not too bad for my first attempt at fondant decorating...

Strawberry Lime Cupcakes
makes 18 regular cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest, grated
1 cup diced strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350º and line 18 cups with liners.

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix throughly before adding the next.
3. Add half the dry ingredients and mix. Then add half the milk.
4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and then the rest of the milk.
5. Add the vanilla and lime, mix to combine.
6. Fold in the strawberries.
7. Fill the liners about half full (this will give you flat tops)
8. Bake for about 20 minutes, testing with a toothpick to see if they are done.
9. Let sit in pans for 5 minutes, then let cool on wire rack.

Marshmallow Fondant
enough for 18 cupcakes

4 cups little marshmallows
2 teaspoons lime juice
4 cups confectioners sugar
corn starch for dusting

1. In a microwave proof bowl, add the marshmallows and the lime juice.
2. Microwave for 30 seconds on high, or until all the marshmallows are big/
3. Carefully stir until you can't see the marshmellow shapes anymore. If you want colored fondant, add food coloring now.
4. A bit at a time, sift the confectioners sugar into the marshmallows and stir, this will be sticky.
5. Add more sugar until it becomes a workable dough and is not sticky (it might take more or less than 4 cups)
6. Cover and let cool for an hour, or until it is workable.
Note: You may want to coat the bowl and spoon with butter, it helps it to not stick as much. I did it without and it was fine.

Lime Buttercream Frosting
enough for details on 18 cupcakes

1/2 stick butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons lime juice

1. Cream the butter and lime juice until it is well mixed.
2. Sift the sugar into the mixture a bit at a time until you get the consistency you like.
3. Refridgerate until 10 minutes before you need it.

Basic Hearth Bread

2008-07-28T11:44:00.002-05:00

This week's bread from The Bread Bible is the Basic Hearth Bread. It involves a short fermentation on the sponge, then a quick 3 hour rise with a little folding and shaping in between.

I like this bread, it has a nice crust, and a chewy but light interior. I think another 2 minutes in the oven would have been better for the crust, but it was a perfect golden brown so I took it out. It is a mild flavored bread, good for just about anything. My husband said it was European in texture...

Oh yeah, I got to hear the crackling again when it came out of the oven :) I think I'm getting better at this bread thing.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Cobbler

2008-07-21T13:10:00.003-05:00

I was going to follow the recipe this time, I really was... but then I couldn't find any rhubarb in the store this week. So I made the recipe, but with berries instead :)

It was very good, I liked the whole wheat dough, I think it added more texture and crunch than the other cobbler in the book. Also, I put some on the bottom of the ramekins which sopped up the juices nicely.

These single serving sizes were great for breakfast, my husband and I had a good Sunday morning.

Rosemary Foccacia

2008-07-21T13:05:00.003-05:00

My next bread from The Bread Bible was the Rosemary Foccacia. I have made foccacia a few times with other recipes, and this one is definitely the wettest. The dough starts out as soup, but after 20 minutes with the mixer, it is a lot more together with longs strands of gluten. It just plops out of the bowl after 4 hours of proofing, and you think 'this is never going to be bread, maybe pudding'. But after another hour of proofing and a short 20 minute bake, out comes a very light and airy bread.

I made this a bit taller as I wanted to use it for buns for some burgers. Very tasty and would make again.

Basic White Bread

2008-07-18T17:04:00.005-05:00

Ah yes, another bread from The Bread Bible. This is my favorite so far, it turned out perfect! I am so impressed with myself, the full loaf could be a wonderbread loaf! I think the difference is that I underproofed it a bit, and then let the oven spring take it the rest of the way. This gave it a good rise, light texture, and a great shape.

I only have one regular size loaf pan, and the recipe makes 2, so I divided the rest of the dough into 4 small loaf pans, very cute and my favorite.

This recipe would also work well for dinner rolls, breadsticks, etc. Very versatile wet dough.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Perfect Party Cake

2008-07-18T16:31:00.006-05:00

I know we aren't suppose to go back and do old recipes, but chocolate pudding just isn't my thing. And, because I am posting this so late, let's just say I skipped this week :)

I am taking a cake decorating class with Steph from Frosted Garden, so I decided I should make a cake to practice with at home. This cake looked awesome, and it didn't disappoint. The cake is very light and lemony, and the swiss buttercream was very smooth and not overly sweet. I had been wanting to make a swiss buttercream since I had been reading my other blogs about them, and how you to have to whip it for a long time and it might look like it's falling apart but just keep whipping, so I had to try it out. Very tasty, but mine was a bit too soft to hold the details of the piping. But good none the less.

One change I made to the recipe was instead of raspberries, I made a mixed berry compote to put between the layers, and no coconut. Very yummy.

Perfect Party Cake, adapted from Dorie Greenspan:

For the Cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups whole buttermilk

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons grated Meyer lemon zest

1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream:

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup fresh Meyer lemon juice

For Finishing:

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable

About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready:

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake:

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean

Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream:

Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.Remove the bowl from the heat.Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.On medium speed, gradually beat in more lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake:

Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.Spread it with one third of the preserves.Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.ServingThe cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing:

The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Baguettes

2008-07-08T08:45:00.001-05:00

On my way through The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum, the Baguettes caught my eye. Nothing is terribly difficult about the recipe, but it does take a while before you are eating fresh, warm bread.

The recipe called for both a Pate Fermentee (a stiff dough that is fermented overnight in the fridge) and a Poolish (a more battery dough that is fermented overnight at room temperature). These both increase the flavor of the bread and allow you to use much less yeast than normal for this amount of dough.

One change I was forced to make in the recipe was to use about half whole wheat flour and half AP flour, as early on Sunday morning when I needed to mix the dough I realized I did not have enough AP flour and a trip to the store was not going to happen. I think this made the bread a bit less tender than the AP flour would have, but the bread had a nice flavor to it.

The baguettes came out well, I would have preferred a lighter texture, but again I attribute that to the whole wheat flour sub. I'll make them again with the correct flour mixture to test :)

And one other thing I accomplished with this bread was to hear it crack after I took it out of the oven. I have read on countless other blogs about this miraculous noise, but I have never heard it before. Then, all of the sudden, I started hearing this cracking noise when I took the bread out of the oven to cool! I guess I did something right with this recipe.

Tuesday with Dorie - Double Crusted Pie

2008-07-08T07:13:00.001-05:00

The last few recipe choices have been great, they have all involved fruits that are in season now! I really like trying to eat seasonally, rather than trying to buy expensive fruits that have flown thousands of miles and don't really taste that great after all that. That being said, blueberries aren't very plentiful here in the oven we call Texas. So, I subbed out the blueberries for blackberries and peaches, both are getting to their peak here. I also used 1/4 cup of tapioca flour instead of the AP flour, I think it has less of a gritty taste and setting up clearer.

I also made a few smaller pies instead of one big one. I love individual sized treats, they are easier to serve, promote less of me eating a whole pie in one sitting, etc. I made 3 pies in a mega muffin pan, and one pie in a 5 inch square dish. Both of them tasted excellent, but I had some issues getting the pies out of the muffin pan. I used a silicon pan, thinking I could carefully pop them out once they had cooled, but the pies had a different idea about that. The 5 inch pie served up excellently, but is more than one normal serving.

I recommend this recipe, the crust stood up well with the fruit, even after a day or 2 in the fridge. If you don't have the book, you can get the recipe here at South in Your Mouth.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Apple Cheddar Scones

2008-07-01T06:01:00.000-05:00

To start, let me say that I like scones but have never made them before so I was excited at the recipe choice. But then I realized that this weekend I had dedicated to the Daring Bakers Challenge of Danish Braids, and that recipe takes a lot of time and space, neither of which I have a lot of in my kitchen.

So on Saturday, I decided I could squeeze these in, but then I realized I did not have all the ingredients needed, namely the apples and cheddar :) I soldered on, and made them with peaches instead and froze them to bake off for Sunday's breakfast.

Well, I had a bit of an issue with the dough. Since I did not add the cheddar, it was much more unstable, too fragile to cut so I had to work in a bit more flour. After about 1/2 cup more, the dough was much more workable so I could cut out the scones.

They turned out ok, not my favorite scones but good for an easy Sunday breakfast.

Daring Bakers - Danish Braid

2008-06-29T20:25:00.003-05:00

The challenge this month was a danish braid, which involves an rich dough layered with butter to give it the nice rise and buttery flakiness that we all so enjoy. I've made danishes quite a few times, and have always had good results. They tend to be one of my most requested baked goods...

On to the recipe, it is a little different then the one I normally use, specifically it calls for orange zest and juice in the dough. I think this added a nice dimension to the finished product, so I will probably continue to add that in the future. Every time I make these I wish I had a dough sheeter :)

They came out really well. I decided to make nine smaller braids that are more easy to eat with your hands and have them not fall apart. I made the apple filling and used that for some. The rest I filled with a mixed berry compote that I made with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (all the berries are in season here now finally, so I couldn't resist using them all). I liked the berry mixture better, but I'm not a cooked apple fan so I could have been biased.

My friend came over and gave me a photography lesson, so hopefully my pictures from here out will be much higher quality. Thanks Dave! The picture is so much better I put it before the recipe :)

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Mixed Berry Cobbler

2008-06-23T22:02:00.001-05:00

Mmm, lots of berries for me this week! These recipes are timed very well for me, as berries are just coming into season in Texas. As I mentioned in a previous post, blueberries aren't plentiful here, but we are awash with blackberries and raspberries now. So I made the cobbler with fresh blackberries, raspberries, and frozen blueberries (i just couldn't make it without them, they're my favorite!)

I made 2 smaller cobblers from the recipe (so my husband and I could each have one). Since this treat is not very portable, I won't be sharing it at work tomorrow. Not that there will be any leftovers anyway, my husband and I both loved this recipe. Anything with fruit is usually a hit for this crowd.

I changed up the top a bit, adding some ground flaxseed and some wheatgerm for a little extra flavor and heathlyness. I also subbed out the sugar in the berries for 1 tablespoon of agave nectar, the berries are great on there own and didn't need much sweetness.

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins

2008-06-22T21:39:00.005-05:00

I love blueberries, but unfortunately here in Texas they are not plentiful. Back in Illinois, we used to go pick them every summer, and come home with more than we knew what to do with. Now, I settle for some frozen blueberries from the grocery store. They're not bad, but not nearly as good as the fresh picked ones. But I digress...

This morning I wanted some muffins for breakfast, so I whipped up this recipe. Since I used the frozen berries, they took a bit longer to bake than I expected, but they tasted good. Nice juicy blueberries with a subtle muffin background, the blueberries were the star of the show...

Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins
Makes 6 Muffins

1/8 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400º. Mix the sugar, honey, egg, milk, butter and vanilla together until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

2. Add the dry ingrediants and fold lightly until just combined (don't overmix or the muffins will toughen). Fold in the blueberries.

3. Spoon the mixture evenly into 6 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

I used a heart shaped pan so the muffins came out with a cute pattern.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Peppermint Cream Puffs

2008-06-17T06:52:00.000-05:00

This week's recipe was fun. It involves some technique in the preparation, but nothing too difficult. The dough is cooked briefly, then beaten with eggs and piped hot (if it cools off, it is hard to pipe and looses some rise in the oven). These little guys also have lots of decorating possibilities. The original recipe was for a ring, but I thought the puffs were a bit more portable, since I don't need a big ring of creamy goodness tempting me all the time :)

They turned out well, the creme has just a hint of mint which goes well with the sweetness of the chocolate. I have made cream puffs before, but with a different baking method. This recipe calls for high heat for 10 minutes, then lower heat for 15. Previously I made them with low heat, then high heat, then low heat to dry them out. I liked that method a bit more, as they get drier without getting as brown. This batch got a little darker then I would have liked before they were dry.

Ten Grain Torpedo Bread

2008-06-15T19:42:00.004-05:00

For my bread from The Bread Bible this week, I made the Ten Grain Torpedo (I was feeling like something healthy since I made the Tuesday's with Dorie dessert today too). The bread is nice and moist, probably from soaking the grains before adding them to the bread. The crust is nice and crunchy, so the contrast is nice. The vital wheat gluten also helps keep the bread light.

I like this bread, it's good with some butter. It's not as memorable as the Ciabatta, but a good healthy bread.

Fathers Day Macarons

2008-06-15T11:28:00.003-05:00

Since I sent biscotti for Mother's Day, I had to think of another treat that would stand up to shipping for Father's Day. I have been wanting to try my hand at French Macarons for a while now, but finding a recipe that looked good was challenging. I finally found this recipe from David Lebovitz that others reported success with, so I tried it out. I made 2 versions, one plain with raspberry jam in the middle, and chocolate with dark chocolate ganache. I used the same recipe for both, just omitting the cocoa powder for the plain version.

They tasted great, but I didn't get the flat shape I was looking for. The first batch, the plain ones, I think I didn't break the eggs down enough when folding, so the peaks didn't fall out when they baked. I think they looked cute, but not the traditional shape. For the chocolate, I folded the eggs a bit more, so they flatted out. A few had the little foot, so they look more sleek.

The little treats are addicting, they are so light and are only one bite, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to eat more than one...

Tuesdays with Dorie - La Palette’s Strawberry Tart

2008-06-10T08:32:00.002-05:00

This week's recipe was simpler than most, but very tasty none the less. The tart shell on the bottom is more like a sugar cookie than a traditional crust, which balanced nicely with the strawberry jam and fresh strawberries. Since strawberries are in season now, I purchased some great ones from the store, and they didn't need much sugar at all.

My husband is a big fan of fruit centric desserts, so he happily tried this one and liked it. I didn't have any crème fraîche, so we just had it unadorned, gasp! It was still very good and easy to put together, great for an easy but elegant dessert.

Ciabatta Bread

2008-06-10T08:23:00.003-05:00

As I was looking through The Bread Bible for my next challenge, the picture of this bread caught my eye. I have never worked with a wet dough before, which is the key to getting the large holes in the bread. The recipe was simple, a biga of water, yeast and flour, and that plus some salt for the rest of the dough. Usually I like to add some flax seed, wheat germ, etc to "healthy" it up a bit, but to get the characteristic holes that was not an option.

It turned out well for my first shot, I am getting much better with breads now, yea! The holes weren't as big as I would have liked, but they were good and the crust was nice and crisp.

Tuesdays with Dorie - French Chocolate Brownies

2008-06-03T08:08:00.002-05:00

Mmm, brownies for me two weeks in a row :)

I have to say, these are the best brownies I've ever had. I left out the raisins (I'm not a big fan of such a smooth crumb, and then biting into something chewy). I was going to add in pecans instead, but just when they got in the pan is when I remembered, so this patch is plain. But they are soo good. A nice, cracked crust on top, with a moist, light cake underneath. I think it is the cinnamon that makes these pop, just a hint does the trick.

French Chocolate Brownies

- makes 16 brownies -
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

1. Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.

2. Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

3. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

4. Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

5. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

6. Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Brinna's Pugliese

2008-06-01T22:20:00.006-05:00

I've starting working my way through The Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum, and this recipe looked interesting today. I've tried about 5 of her recipes now, and they all have turned out well. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants an in depth look at how the elements of bread come together and why. Rose lays the science out very well in the beginning so you get a good understanding, and the recipes drive the principles home.

I don't get quite as much oven spring as I would like, but I have a convection oven and even when it is set to bake normally, the fan still runs a bit. I think this pulls any steam that might get built up out of the oven, so the crust sets before it has time to rise. Never the less, the bread tastes awesome.

This recipe was great, and probably has the most structure of any of the breads I have made. I'd make it again, once I get through the rest of the book :)

Daring Bakers May Challenge- Opera Cake

2008-05-28T08:15:00.004-05:00

The challenge this month was a bit lengthly and on the first read was intimidating. But after I realized all the pieces to the cake were things that I had made before, this regal cake seemed much more achievable.

I decided to make the cake for a Memorial Day party we had at our house. I made the everything but the glaze the day before and just assembled on the day of the party. This is where I made my error. Since I was pressed for time when assembling the cake, I put down one layer and the buttercream. Then the next layer, another layer of buttercream, then the last layer and the ganache. You may be thinking, what's wrong with that? The problem is that I didn't have enough time to let the cake firm up before adding the glaze and then letting that sit. So I did the next best thing, I frosted the entire cake with the ganache, and it was great. No one but me noticed that there was a layer missing, and I had plenty of ganache so the frosting looked pretty good. The recipe is a bit long, but if you have a few hours, it's a fun challenge. (Scroll to the end for my pics).

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake

This recipe is based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

Joconde

(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you’ll need:

•2 12½ x 15½-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans (Note: If you do not have jelly-roll pans this size, do not fear! You can use different-sized jelly-roll pans like 10 x 15-inches.)
•a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
•parchment paper
•a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
•two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it’s preferable to have two)

Ingredients:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds (Note: If you do not want to use almond meal, you can use another nut meal like hazelnut. You can buy almond meal in bulk food stores or health food stores, or you can make it at home by grinding almonds in the food processor with a tablespoon or two of the flour that you would use in the cake. The reason you need the flour is to prevent the almonds from turning oily or pasty in the processor. You will need about 2 cups of blanched almonds to create enough almond meal for this cake.)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

2. Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

3. Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

5. If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

6. Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

8. Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

9. Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

10. Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

Syrup

(Note: The syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of your choice (i.e., vanilla extract, almond extract, cognac, limoncello, coconut cream, honey etc.)

1. Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Buttercream

(Note: The buttercream can be made up to 1 month in advance and packed in an airtight container. If made way in advance, you can freeze the buttercream. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days after making it. To use the buttercream simply bring it to room temperature and then beat it briefly to restore its consistency.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a candy or instant-read thermometer
•a stand mixer or handheld mixer
•a bowl and a whisk attachment
•rubber spatula

Ingredients:

1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 grams) water
seeds of one vanilla bean (split a vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds) or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract (Note: If you are flavouring your buttercream and do not want to use the vanilla, you do not have to. Vanilla will often enhance other flavours but if you want an intense, one-flavoured buttercream, then by all means leave it out!)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
flavouring of your choice (a tablespoon of an extract, a few tablespoons of melted white chocolate, citrus zest, etc.)

1. Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

2. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) [*Note: Original recipe indicates a temperature of 255◦F (124◦C), however, when testing the recipe I found that this was too high so we heated to 225◦F and it worked fine] on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

3. While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

4. When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

5. Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

6. While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

7. With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

8. At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.

9. Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

Ganache

(Note: The mousse can be made ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to use it.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients:

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

1. Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.

2. Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.

4. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.

5. If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.

6. If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

Glaze

(Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:

14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

1. Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.

2. Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

3. Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling the Opéra Cake

(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavored syrup.

Spread about three-quarters of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavored syrup.

Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache/mousse (if you haven’t already) and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.

Potato Flatbread & Pesto

2008-05-27T22:25:00.003-05:00

For our Memorial Day party, I also made some Potato Flatbread. It started from a recipe from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, but turned into a great appetizer. It can sit in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, so it's easy to make ahead for a party and then shape and bake the day of. This recipe makes enough for one 10 inch flatbread, but I multiplied it out for 6 flatbreads and it was gone in a few minutes (too fast for me to get a picture!!). This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Potato Flatbreads

3/4 cup AP Flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 slight tablespoons mashed potatos (I used Russets)
1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons water, room temperature
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon olive oil

1. Whisk together the flour, yeast, and sugar. Then whisk in the salt. Add the mashed potato and butter and mix until just incorporated. Add the water and egg and stir until blended. Roll onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 15 seconds to form a smooth dough.
2. Pour the oil into a 2 cup container and place the dough in it. Turn it over to coat with the oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then put the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove 1 hour before you are ready to put it in the oven.
3. Preheat the oven to 475ºF, and put a shelf at the lowest level. If you have a baking stone, place it on the rack.
4. With oiled fingers, lightly pull the dough out of the container. Pour the oil onto a pizza pan and rub around a bit. Put the dough on the pan and lightly press to deflate, then fold into a ball by tucking in the bottom with your fingers. Let the dough relax, covered, for 15 minutes.
5. Press the dough out into a 10 inch circle, leaving the edges a bit thicker. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 -45 minutes, until they are slightly puffy.
6. Uncover, and set the pan on the baking stone in the oven for 5 minutes. Then check the bottom to make sure it isn't getting too dark. If it is, move off the stone to another rack. Bake for 5-7 more minutes until the top is golden.

Cilantro Pesto (a great dip for the bread)

1 bunch fresh cilantro
10 fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup good olive oil
kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the torn cilantro and basil leaves in a food processor and pulse until chopped.
2. Slowly drizzle in the oil while the processor is running to form a paste. Add the salt and pepper and pulse to combine.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Brownie Buttons

2008-05-27T22:08:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I had a party this weekend for Memorial Day with 25 people, and this week's recipe of Pecan Sticky Buns just was not going to fit the theme and I didn't have any extra room to put them. So I made the Brownie Buttons from the book instead. Not exactly the same, but I tried :)

They turned out really well, very chocolaty and a light texture, definitely recommend these...

Brownie Buttons

2 teaspoons lime zest, finely chopped
¾ teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch salt
½ stick (2 oz) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 ½ oz high quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup soft light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

1. Heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease 2 x 12 hole mini muffin pans or use liners.
2. Mix together the orange zest and granulated sugar, set aside. Whisk together the flour and salt, set aside.
3. In a heavy saucepan melt the butter, chocolate and brown sugar – stirring all the time until smooth. Leave for a minute off the heat then stir in the vanilla, egg and zest mixture. Lastly add the flour and salt and mix lightly until it is smooth and shiny.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and bake for 9-10 minutes.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Traditional Madeleines

2008-05-20T08:29:00.003-05:00

My first Tuesdays with Dorie Challenge! I ordered the book 2 weeks ago, but apparently I didn't get the speediest shipping. So here we are with my first recipe, Madeleines. I don't have a pan for this, and am not a fan of uni-taskers as my kitchen is tiny, so I made do. What did I use, you may ask. Tartlet pans. I use these all the time to make little tarts, shaped cookies, as cookie cutters, etc so I don't consider them a uni-tasker. Plus, they are much easier to store than a big pan. Anywhos, back to the madeleines. They taste great, they puffed up nicely and look to have a bump on the flat side, so I think they came out well, even if not in the traditional shape. The lemony flavor is subtle but nice, and they are very tender.

Traditional Madeleines

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioners' sugar.

makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies

Grilled Focaccia

2008-05-18T22:21:00.003-05:00

Since I was grilling fish tonight for dinner, I decided to try making some bread on the grill. The Grilled Focaccia from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum looked good and fit the bill. It turned out pretty nice. I think I had the grill a bit too hot as the bottom was really browned, but it tasted good. It's hard to tell exactly how hot a grill is...

Grilled Focaccia

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon AP Flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup room temp water
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
kosher salt to taste

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and sugar. Then whisk in the salt, you don't want the salt to come in contact with the yeast or it will kill it. Make a well in the center and pour in the water. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, lightly stir in the flour until all the flour is moistened and a dough begins to form, about 20 seconds. It will be rough looking, but do not overmix.
2. Pour the oil into a 2 cup measuring cup or small bowl. With oiled fingers, place the dough in the cup, then flip over to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes until puffy. Set the dough in the refridgerator for up to 24 hours, remove 1 hour before ready to put in oven. Or leave at room temperature for anouther 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled.
3. With oiled fingers, lift the dough out of the cup. Holding the dough with one hand, pour a bit of the oil on a baking sheet and spread out. Set the dough on top and press down lightly to deflate. Shape it into a smooth round by tucking under the edges. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, covered, to relax. Press the dough out with your fingertips from the center to stretch to a rectangle abut 9x6 and 1/4 inch high. Brush the dough with any remaining oil and cover. Let rest 20-30 minutes.
4. Preheat a grill to 500º.
5. Using your fingertips, dimple the dough at 1 inch intervals. Sprinkle with kosher salt and rosemary.
6. If using a gas grill, turn one side to low. Place the focaccia, still on the baking sheet, on the hotter side of the grill, covered for 2 minutes. Slide a pancake turner underneath to loosen and slip directly onto the grill on the cooler side of the grill for a few seconds. As soon as the brown lines appear, return the focaccia to the baking sheet and move to the cooler side of the grill for 7-8 minutes until the top starts to brown around the edges.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2008-05-12T21:36:00.002-05:00

I didn't have much time to bake this weekend, so I started some pizza dough and let it rise in the fridge overnight. So tonight's dinner was easy (meaning I didn't have to think about what to make, that's usually half the challenge). The dough is based on Alton Brown's recipe here, I just added the flax seeds so it had a little more flavor and a little more healthy. My husband even asked if we had more, so it had to be good :)

Pizza Dough
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
2 teaspoons olive oil
Olive oil, for the pizza crust
Flour, for dusting the pizza peel

Toppings:
1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup red onions, sliced
1/4 cup red peppers, sliced thin
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup bbq sauce

1. Place the sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 1 cup of flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into a standing mixer's work bowl. Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Lube the hook attachment with cooking spray. Attach the hook to the mixer and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed.

2. Tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light and look to see if the baker's windowpane, or taut membrane, has formed. If the dough tears before it forms, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Roll the pizza dough into a smooth ball on the countertop. Place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.

4. Place the pizza stone or tile onto the bottom of a cold oven and turn the oven to its highest temperature, about 500 degrees F. If the oven has coils on the oven floor, place the tile onto the lowest rack of the oven. Split the pizza dough into 2 equal parts using a knife or a dough scraper. Flatten into a disk onto the countertop and then fold the dough into a ball.

5. Wet hands barely with water and rub them onto the countertop to dampen the surface. Roll the dough on the surface until it tightens. Cover one ball with a tea towel and rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the steps with the other piece of dough. If not baking the remaining pizza immediately, spray the inside of a ziptop bag with cooking spray and place the dough ball into the bag. Refrigerate for up to 6 days.

6. Sprinkle the flour onto the peel and place the dough onto the peel. Using your hands, form a lip around the edges of the pizza. Stretch the dough into a round disc, rotating after each stretch. Toss the dough in the air if you dare. Shake the pizza on the peel to be sure that it will slide onto the pizza stone or tile. (Dress and bake the pizza immediately for a crisp crust or rest the dough for 30 minutes if you want a chewy texture.)

7. Brush the rim of the pizza with olive oil. Spread the bbq sauce evenly onto the pizza. Sprinkle on the chicken, onions, and red peppers and top with the cheese.

8. Slide the pizza onto the tile and bake for 7 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Rest for 3 minutes before slicing.

Mother's Day Biscotti

2008-05-12T21:19:00.005-05:00

For Mother's Day this year, I decided to make some treats that travel well. Biscotti came to mind as a treat that can stand a few days travel and come out in one piece. These came out really well, and I think the made the trip ok...

Coconut Pecan Biscotti
From Baking and Books

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick liner.
2. Combine the flour, coconut, pecans, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Use the flat beater attachment or a hand-held mixer to blend together briefly on low speed.
3. Using a fork, lightly beat together the eggs, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. With the mixer speed on low, add to the dry ingredients and blend together thoroughly.
4. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Dust your hands lightly with flour and shape each piece of dough into a loaf about 8 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, and 3/4 inches high. Place both loaves on the baking sheet, leaving several inches of space between them. Bake the biscotti for 22 to 24 minutes, until the loaves are light golden and set. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
5. Using a serrated knife (I actually used my sharpest chef knife, since my serrated knife wasn’t slicing through the loaves so well), slice each loaf on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place these slices on their sides on the baking sheet. (To avoid breakage, after you slice a piece rest its weight on the blade of your knife instead of picking it up with your fingers. Slide the piece onto the baking sheet.) Place these slices on their sides on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until firm and golden colored. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer biscotti to racks to cool.

Variations: You can also drizzle the biscotti with thin lines of bittersweet, semisweet, milk or white chocolate after they are completely cool. Let the chocolate set for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving or storing.

Espresso Almond Biscotti
from About Professional Baking by Gail Sokol

31/2 cups AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons ground coffee beans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
21/2 cups slivered almonds
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon egg wash

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, expresso powder, coffee beans, baking powder, baking soda, salt and almonds.
2. In another bowl, blend the sugars, zests, and the eggs until until slightly thickened.
3. Gradually add the oil, vanilla, and almond extracts.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients until just combined.
5. Divide the dough in half and form each into a log 15 inches by 3 1/2 inches. Place logs on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. The logs will rise as they bake.
6. Brush each log with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake the logs for 30-35 minutes until the tops look crackled.
8. Allow the logs to cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into 3/4 inch slices with a serrated knife. Place the slices cut side down on the pan.
9. Return the slices to the oven for 6-8 minutes on each side.
10. Optional - After the slices have cooled, turn them right side up on the pan. Drizzle some melted chocolate over the top decoratively.

Cinnamon Twist Bread

2008-05-12T08:40:00.005-05:00

Since my parents were in town this weekend, I decided to make a more fabulous breakfast than normal (which would be cereal with some blueberries for good measure). I saw this Cinnamon Braid recipe here, but I had to make a few changes. Mostly because I didn't want to spend my limited amount of time with my guests making bread, I made the bread through the first rise and shaping on Thursday night, then froze it until Saturday night. Then I put it in the fridge to thaw and rise a bit. About 2 hours before I wanted it finished, I took it out of the fridge to let it rise the rest of the way. It was delish, the gooey filling was nice and hot, and the pecans gave it some good crunch.

DOUGH

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (can use up to 3 1/4 cups)

FILLING

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, eggs, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, at least 1 hour.

2. Punch dough down turn onto floured surface. Roll into 24×8 rectangle.

3. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread over rectangle to within 1/2 inch of long edges. Sprinkle with pecans.

4. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side; pinch seam to seal.

5. Place roll seam side down and using sharp knife, cut completely in half long-ways. Place cut sides up; gently twist two pieces together to form a “rope”. Pull ends together and pinch to form a ring. Transfer to pan (I used a 9 inch cake pan since a cookie sheet will not fit in my freezer, but others have used a cookie sheet). At this point I froze the bread under plastic wrap and aluminum foil.

6. About 12 hours before you want to eat the bread, transfer it to the refrigerator. About 2 hours before meal time, put it somewhere warm to take the chill off and finish rising.

7. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Best eaten while still warm, but may be frozen for up to two months. Reheats well in the microwave, but definitely best fresh

Others have made a simple icing of milk and confectioners sugar, but I thought it was great all on its own.

Unique Birthday Cake

2008-04-30T21:31:00.004-05:00

My husband's birthday was yesterday, so I told him that I would make whatever cake he wanted. I gave him a book, Cakes and Cake Decorating by Nilsen, Maxwell, and Murfitt, and he picked out the Pear and Cardamom Spice cake. Granted, he likes fruit more than sweets, but I still thought this was a bit unusual. But, I made it for him and it is very good. I guess he has good taste...

Pear and Cardamom Spice Cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
2 cups AP flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons cardamom
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 1/4 pounds dessert pears, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat the over to 350º. Grease a 8 inch springform pan and put parchment paper in the bottom.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together and mix into creamed mixture, alternating with the milk.
4. Stir in the cardamom, nuts, and poppy seeds. Reserve 1/3 of the pear slices and chop the rest. Add pears to mixture.
5. Transfer to prepared pan and smooth the top. Arrange the pear slices around the top, covering the cake batter. Add 3 walnuts to the center.
6. Bake for 75-90 minutes, until it a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool for 20 minutes, then remove from pan and brush with honey.

Daring Bakers April Challenge - Cheesecake Pops

2008-04-27T21:36:00.002-05:00

This was my first challenge since joining the Daring Bakers, and it was quite a good recipe to start. The pops are delish! I took this to a tailgating party for a baseball game and just left them in the cooler, they were great. A nice cool treat on a hot day. They stood up to the traveling very well and everyone liked them. I'll definitely make them again.

One difference I had was that it took about 1 hour 15 minutes for the cheesecake to cook through and set. Lots of other bakers had this issues as well. I used a small biscuit cutter to make the rounds and pressed the extra together (it was too good not to use it all).

Here's the recipe we used:

Cheesecake Pops from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionery chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Honey Oat Bread

2008-04-27T21:00:00.005-05:00

I needed a baking project today and I've been on a bread kick, so this recipe peaked my interest. It turned out well, my loaf pan is smaller than the recipe calls for, so I made some mini-loaves as well. I have to tell you these were my favorite. The recipe was great, so I'll just link it here rather than retyping. The site is great, so take a look around while you're there...

Honey Oat Bread by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Also, check out this great event!

Almond Minicakes

2008-04-20T19:58:00.006-05:00

Today I wanted to try some more intricate decorating, so I found an almond minicake recipe from Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker and gave it a try. The cake itself is pretty sweet, and with the white chocolate glaze, I decided to add a bit of lemon to the Buttercream decorations to cut the sweetness a bit. It is a good match. Next time I'll try a different glaze recipe thought, as mine didn't cover as well as I'd hoped. The taste is good, but it's a bit too thin and just ran off.

Almond Minicakes (makes 24 1 1/4 inch cakes)

8 ounces almond paste, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour

1. Preheat oven to 350º, move a rack to the bottom third of oven. Grease and flour a 7 inch square pan.
2. Beat the almond paste at low speed to break it up. Add the sugar in a steady stream and mix till incorporated. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest. Then lightly mix in the cake flour.
3. Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top springs back lightly when touched.
5. Let cool on a wire rack. Place in freezer for a few minutes to make easier to cut.
6. Turn out onto a cutting board and cut the cake into 24 1 1/4 inch pieces. Place the pieces on a wire rack over a backing sheet.
7. Ladle 2 tablespoons of the glaze on top of each cake. When you run out, pour the excess off of the baking sheet back into the bowl. You may need to reheat or strain the glaze to make it the right consistency and to remove crumbs.
8. While the glaze is still liquid, move the cakes on the rack to give a smooth finish on the bottom and prevent sticking.
9. After glaze has set, decorate as desired.

White Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces unsalted butter, diced
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

1. Melt the butter and chocolate together and stir until smooth.

Buttercream Frosting

2 ounces shortening
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
Food Coloring (optional)

1. Mix first 4 ingredients together until light and fluffy.
2. Add the food coloring and stir until the color is consistent.

Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

2008-04-15T17:44:00.002-05:00

I was reading some of my favorite blogs (Joy the Baker) the other day, and I ran across this great looking cookie. I knew I had to make it, so I did!

The texture was great, soft & light in the middle, with bit of a crunch on the edges. The vanilla glaze was great, but the chocolate came out way too thick to spread and was not shiny. Next time I'll try a different chocolate ganache or something...

Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
4 ounces semisweet chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

2. Using a mixer, beat 5 tablespoons butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, food coloring and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until smooth.

3. Place 1/4-cup scoops of batter 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet; spread out. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

4. In a bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon corn syrup and 2 tablespoons hot water until smooth. In another bowl, combine the chocolate, remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon corn syrup; microwave until melted, about 1 minute.

5. Coat the cookies with the vanilla, then the chocolate icing. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.

Pecan Coffeecakes

2008-04-01T14:49:00.005-05:00

For dessert (and breakfast on Monday) I made these Pecan Coffeecakes. I love coffeecakes, the combination of the crunchy topping with the moist crumbly cake is awesome. I had a few bags of fresh pecans from the local farmers market, so these mini-cakes came to be.

I started with this recipe from FoodNetwork, but changed it up a little (yogurt instead of sour cream, more topping in layers, little cakes...

For the cake:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt

For the topping:
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 teaspoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup pecans pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar and mix. Add the eggs and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy. Sift the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Working in batches, add them to the butter-sugar mixture, alternating with dollops of yogurt.

Make the topping: In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the butter and, using your fingertips, pinch the ingredients together into a sandy, crumbly mixture. Add the pecans and mix.

Fill the mini-muffin cups 1/3 full of the batter. Add a bit of topping to each cup (you should use half the mixture here). Then fill to 2/3 full with the batter and add the rest of the topping to the top, pressing down a bit to make sure the layers stick together.

Bake until risen and browned, 12-15 minutes. Let cool in the pan.

'Slider' Honey Wheat Buns

2008-04-01T13:53:00.006-05:00

I got a request for hamburgers on Sunday, but that was a bit too plain for my one day to really cook/bake. So I decided to make sliders (smaller versions of hamburgers) and make my own buns. This recipe started with one I saw in Modern Baking, but morphed into my own creation as it went on.

The buns turned out really well. I used a mega-muffin pan to get the right size. The only one I had was silicone, and while they came out good, they didn't have the browning I was looking for on the sides and bottom. It seems like anything I bake in them steams more than browns.

Makes 6 'Slider' Buns

190 grams whole wheat flour
90 grams AP flour
14 grams wheat germ
4 grams yeast
8 grams butter (cold, cut into pieces)
17 grams honey
6 grams salt
196 grams warm water

Mix dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and mix on low until incorporated. Use dough hook and mix for 8-10 minutes to full gluten development. Divide the dough into 6, 2 oz pieces and round out into balls. Place the balls in the muffin pan and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 425º for 12 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Hot Cross Buns

2008-03-25T13:17:00.006-05:00

For Easter, I decided to make something festive. I came across this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs, WildYeastBlog. Her pictures always look amazing!

Since there is only 2 of us, I halved the recipe and made 6 delicious rolls. I had to let mine proof for an extra 45 minutes (Easter dinner was taking up the oven), but they came out great. They have just a hint of sweetness and spice, so they are good for breakfast, dinner, or maybe even dessert :)

The post with the recipe also has some great history about the buns, and she writes excellent directions so I won't even post them here. Take a look...

I'd definitely make these guys again, the recipe is pretty simple. Most of the time is just spent waiting. Here are some pics of my Hot Cross Buns.

Irish Soda Bread

2008-03-11T07:29:00.002-05:00

Since I'm not going to be in town to celebrate St Patrick's day, I thought this weekend I would bake some Irish themed goodies. First up, a lovely bread that turned out much better than I had expected. Usually I am not a fan of raisins in bread, but it really works in this recipe with the texture and the caraway. I found this recipe on the Food Network site, and I would definitely make it again. This bread comes together in under an hour!

I'm trying to remember to take more pictures during the process, but I get too into the recipe sometimes :)

Raisin Caraway Soda Bread
(Food Network)

1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons treacle or molasses ( I used honey instead)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let sit and rehydrate for 10 minutes, then drain well in a sieve.

Into a large bowl sift together the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter into the dry ingredients and work with your fingertips until it resembles dry crumbs. Add the caraway seeds, treacle, buttermilk and raisins and work with your fingers until just mixed and a wet dough is formed, being careful not to over mix. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a round. Press down on the dough with the palm of your hand and press to form a flat round about 1 1/2-inches high.

With a knife, cut a 1/4-inch deep cross in the center of the dough. With a pastry brush paint the dough with the cream and sprinkle the top with the oats. Place on a baking sheet and bake until light brown and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing. Serve warm with plenty of sweet butter.

I decided to use it in a corned beef sandwich, and it was delish!

I also entered this bread in the BreadBakingDay #8, check it out here.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

2008-03-10T21:44:00.010-05:00

I had to make something sweet for St Patrick's day as well, and I had some bananas that I needed to do something with, so this recipe was born. I've made chocolate chip muffins before, but since I wanted to frost these, I wanted a more cake-like texture. They came out nice and moist, not crumbly at all. Here is the recipe I came up with:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
2 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy
3. Add the bananas and mix together throughly
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, until they are mixed well, then add the vanilla

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and oats

6. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet mix and lightly mix, then add the yogurt and mix, and the rest of the dry and mix.
7. Add the chocolate chips and stir in by hand.
8. Dish out the batter into 24 mini cupcake tins, or 12 regular size.
9. Bake 15 minutes for mini cupcakes, and 20 minutes for regular size (they should be golden and a toothpick comes out pretty clean).

For the frosting, I made a simple white chocolate cream cheese mix.

4oz white chocolate
4oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar (just to make it the right consistency)

1. Beat the cream cheese until it is smooth
2. Melt the chocolate and let cool slightly
3. Add the chocolate and lemon juice, beat until it is smooth.
4. If it is too soft, add the powdered sugar until it is the consistency you need.

I piped 3/4 of it on the cupcakes in white, then added a bit a green coloring to it and added the shamrocks...

Also, check out this neat event...

Key Lime Bars

2008-03-10T17:40:00.003-05:00

Last week I was craving something healthier than a cupcake and included some fruit (some picky eaters I know prefer desserts with fruit in them). I came across this recipe on Martha Stewart's website and it not only fit the bill, but was very cute.

This was my first time making a custard type filling, so I was a bit cautious about making sure the eggs were the right consistency before adding the milk and lime juice. But, the recipe was pretty easy (except for squeezing 23 key limes!) These are the times that I wish I had a few of those uni-taskers (like a citrus reamer) that I don't have any room for...

The bars came out great and were easy to cut after they chilled for a while. This is definitely a recipe I'd make again.

Key Lime Bars
(Martha Stewart Living)

1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice , (about 23 Key limes total)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.(Leave oven on.)
Make filling: Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.
Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating
dish halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10
minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at
least 4 hours (or overnight).

My First Blog!

2008-03-06T18:14:00.003-06:00

I am very excited to write my first post ever! I plan to use this space to share my love for baking and hopefully get some community input to improve my craft. I try to spend a day a week making breads, pastries, or some other treats and will put my recipes along with some pictures of my triumphs (and hopefully not to many failures) up here after the tasting is done.