Daring Bakers July Challenge - Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.