Thanks daring bakers! I'm looking forward to May :)Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Cheesecake!
That was a really fun challenge for me. My mom was in town and we decided on making peanut butter cheescake with a chocolate swirl. Our favorite! This was a great recipe, though I suspect I overbaked them a little. They still tasted wonderful and I will certainly make this again...i'm thinking lemon next time. We made them for easter dessert, and they were a hit! We used 1/3 less fat cream cheese and i don't think it made a difference in the final product, especially since we added the peanut butter.
Thanks daring bakers! I'm looking forward to May :)
Thanks daring bakers! I'm looking forward to May :)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
FRESH SPINACH LASAGNE
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.
I was so excited to see this challenge at the beginning of the month. I am a HUGE fan of The Splendid Table and all things NPR. Also, I’ve heard only good things about the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna.
I’ve always had making fresh pasta on a to do list in the back of my mind. I imagined rolling and cutting fresh sheets of dough and stuffing ravioli bellies with seasonal fare like pumpkin or fresh herbed goat cheese. With the time involved in the preparation, it would only be for a special occasion for certain.
This challenge involved making a vivid spinach dough, a béchamel sauce, and a ragu. Simple ingredients layered together with parmesean cheese to form pure indulgence. Rolling and stretching the dough was not as difficult as one would imagine. (Even without a machine!). It’s very forgiving.
I got a little creative with the drying process. I love my dish towels. It made me smile to see them slung around the dining chairs draped with the verdant lasagne sheets.
The texture of the pasta in the finished dish was velvety smooth. Nothing compares to fresh pasta and now homemade is within my grasp. Thank you Mary, Melinda, Enza, and Lynn!
- Olivia
I was so excited to see this challenge at the beginning of the month. I am a HUGE fan of The Splendid Table and all things NPR. Also, I’ve heard only good things about the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna.
I’ve always had making fresh pasta on a to do list in the back of my mind. I imagined rolling and cutting fresh sheets of dough and stuffing ravioli bellies with seasonal fare like pumpkin or fresh herbed goat cheese. With the time involved in the preparation, it would only be for a special occasion for certain.
This challenge involved making a vivid spinach dough, a béchamel sauce, and a ragu. Simple ingredients layered together with parmesean cheese to form pure indulgence. Rolling and stretching the dough was not as difficult as one would imagine. (Even without a machine!). It’s very forgiving.
I got a little creative with the drying process. I love my dish towels. It made me smile to see them slung around the dining chairs draped with the verdant lasagne sheets.
The texture of the pasta in the finished dish was velvety smooth. Nothing compares to fresh pasta and now homemade is within my grasp. Thank you Mary, Melinda, Enza, and Lynn!
- Olivia
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.
I made some modifications in this challenge. First of all, my husband cannot eat spinach so I used butternut squash instead. I pureed the squash and added about 6 ounces to the pasta in lieu of the spinach. The color was a rich golden color, probably slightly darker than if I had added nothing at all. Fortunately, I have my old Atlas pasta machine, so the pasta rolling process was much easier than if I had rolled it out.
I made a sauce from a combination of pork and beef, since I thought the pork flavor would go especially well with the butternut pasta. This is the recipe, modified to include the pork:
Dice one large onion, 2 large carrots and 3 celery ribs. Throw into a food processor along with 4 cloves of garlic. Puree into a coarse paste. Coat a large pan with oil and heat. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Cook until the liquid in the veggies has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently.
Add about a pound and a half of ground beef and another pound or pound and a half of ground pork. Season again with lots of salt. Brown the meat (this took me about 15-20 minutes). Add 2 cups of tomato paste and brown again, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of a hearty red wine and cook until it has reduced by half.
Add water to the pan to cover the meat by about an inch. Toss in 3 bay leaves and a bundle of fresh thyme and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. As the water evaporates, add more, 2-3 cups at a time. Don’t dump in several cups of water all at once. Reduce and then add more. Stir and taste frequently and add more salt as needed. Simmer for 3 ½ to 4 hours. At the end of this time, the sauce will be meaty and not too watery. This recipe makes a lot – I froze the leftovers. (This recipe is a modification of a recipe from Anne Burrell, who has a cooking show on The Food Network).
I made the béchamel from the challenge recipe and assembled the lasagne after the pasta had dried and cooked and cooled. It was a much more refined dish than the lasagne with which I am more familiar – the kind overloaded with ricotta and mozzarella. I think the meat sauce could have used a little more spice or heat. If I were to do it again, I’d add some red pepper flakes. Probably not traditional, but we are fans of spicy flavors!
- Bunnee
I made some modifications in this challenge. First of all, my husband cannot eat spinach so I used butternut squash instead. I pureed the squash and added about 6 ounces to the pasta in lieu of the spinach. The color was a rich golden color, probably slightly darker than if I had added nothing at all. Fortunately, I have my old Atlas pasta machine, so the pasta rolling process was much easier than if I had rolled it out.
I made a sauce from a combination of pork and beef, since I thought the pork flavor would go especially well with the butternut pasta. This is the recipe, modified to include the pork:
Dice one large onion, 2 large carrots and 3 celery ribs. Throw into a food processor along with 4 cloves of garlic. Puree into a coarse paste. Coat a large pan with oil and heat. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Cook until the liquid in the veggies has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently.
Add about a pound and a half of ground beef and another pound or pound and a half of ground pork. Season again with lots of salt. Brown the meat (this took me about 15-20 minutes). Add 2 cups of tomato paste and brown again, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of a hearty red wine and cook until it has reduced by half.
Add water to the pan to cover the meat by about an inch. Toss in 3 bay leaves and a bundle of fresh thyme and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. As the water evaporates, add more, 2-3 cups at a time. Don’t dump in several cups of water all at once. Reduce and then add more. Stir and taste frequently and add more salt as needed. Simmer for 3 ½ to 4 hours. At the end of this time, the sauce will be meaty and not too watery. This recipe makes a lot – I froze the leftovers. (This recipe is a modification of a recipe from Anne Burrell, who has a cooking show on The Food Network).
I made the béchamel from the challenge recipe and assembled the lasagne after the pasta had dried and cooked and cooled. It was a much more refined dish than the lasagne with which I am more familiar – the kind overloaded with ricotta and mozzarella. I think the meat sauce could have used a little more spice or heat. If I were to do it again, I’d add some red pepper flakes. Probably not traditional, but we are fans of spicy flavors!
- Bunnee
Friday, March 27, 2009
Italy~how I love thee?
Let me eat the ways. I don’t know about everyone else but I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Italy this month. I hadn’t planned on taking any trips, but am thoroughly glad one came my way.
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.
This was not my first time making pasta and I was very excited about using some spinach and making some beautiful noodles. My first big hurdle was the dough. (nice how I start out with a hurdle and don’t even get a chance to sprint ahead a few meters so I can leap effortless over the hurdle eh?) My dough was dry…bone dry. I had no idea how to rectify it, so I added another egg. That didn’t work…so I added….water. I know…I’m a sinner, but I had to get a dough that was kneadable not breakable. After a drizzle or two…possibly three, maybe more I had a dough that was somewhat workable. One of the things that I should have done was chop my spinach a lot finer.
As I was rolling the pasta it was tearing where there were pieces of spinach a bit larger than they should have been. They were absolutely beautiful though once I got them rolled out.
The Ragu was amazing! I loved the flavors but I admit I did alter the recipe. There was no veal in my Ragu as I have a personal veal policy. (yes…I am one of those) I did find it interesting that when I added the milk to the Ragu it curdled a smidge. It worked its way out after all the cooking though.
I made the Bechamel right before I layered the lasagne and it was a basic but good recipe and was the easiest part of the challenge. It did make a lot and I was able to make this really great pasta bake with portabellos and chicken with it. Anyway….this dish was so beautiful~ to the eye and to the palate.
My parents happened to be visiting so I had taste testers that would not feel bad about telling me the truth.
After I tasted it myself I didn’t really care if they liked it or not because that would mean more for me if they didn’t. But really…how could they not like it?! It was eaten and enjoyed.
- Amber
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.
This was not my first time making pasta and I was very excited about using some spinach and making some beautiful noodles. My first big hurdle was the dough. (nice how I start out with a hurdle and don’t even get a chance to sprint ahead a few meters so I can leap effortless over the hurdle eh?) My dough was dry…bone dry. I had no idea how to rectify it, so I added another egg. That didn’t work…so I added….water. I know…I’m a sinner, but I had to get a dough that was kneadable not breakable. After a drizzle or two…possibly three, maybe more I had a dough that was somewhat workable. One of the things that I should have done was chop my spinach a lot finer.
As I was rolling the pasta it was tearing where there were pieces of spinach a bit larger than they should have been. They were absolutely beautiful though once I got them rolled out.
The Ragu was amazing! I loved the flavors but I admit I did alter the recipe. There was no veal in my Ragu as I have a personal veal policy. (yes…I am one of those) I did find it interesting that when I added the milk to the Ragu it curdled a smidge. It worked its way out after all the cooking though.
I made the Bechamel right before I layered the lasagne and it was a basic but good recipe and was the easiest part of the challenge. It did make a lot and I was able to make this really great pasta bake with portabellos and chicken with it. Anyway….this dish was so beautiful~ to the eye and to the palate.
My parents happened to be visiting so I had taste testers that would not feel bad about telling me the truth.
After I tasted it myself I didn’t really care if they liked it or not because that would mean more for me if they didn’t. But really…how could they not like it?! It was eaten and enjoyed.
- Amber
Therapeutic and Delicious :)
Well, homemade lasagne, including pasta, I thought was really challanging. I'd made quick 'cheats' semolina gnochi before, but I'd been fantisising about making pasta for a while, but was not too keen without a pasta roller. I think I like the idea of making things like breads and pastas from scratch because of the drawn out process, there's a lovely piece and quiet that comes from kneeding, and rolling, and resting the dough, lovely routine, and then the visual and textural change of the dough beneath the work of your hands. Such a wonderful experience.
So, I though it would be a bit of a challange to roll out, but a great kick in the bum for me to get on and make it. I encountered a problem in the dough, as I used 2.5 50g eggs. I thought this would give me as much as the 2x60g eggs mentioned in the recipie, but I neede another egg on top of that to get the dough to bind, otherwise there would have been tones of flour left over. I am sure I had the right amount in spinach, although it was still semi frozen, so I don't know if that made the difference in consistency?
Kneeding and rolling went well. I rolled it in a few different pieces, and got it lovely and thin and even just with the rolling pin. But when the pasta was dried, it cracked horribly. Maybe I rolled it too thin, or the extra egg made it crack? Whichever reason, when it came time to cook the dried pasta for lasagne assembly, it all fell into small pieces, meaning it was more a pasta bake than a lasagna with whole sheets. But I poured out the pasta pieces in layers with the other components anyway, and the finished product looked and tasted lovely. I'm not a big meat eater, but I wanted to go by the recipies stated, which my family liked, but my mum and I think making the dish with our usual vege layers would be nice. The layering of the bechemel on every layer, and parmesan I thought made a difference in the taste, so I'd use the layering technique again. I'll also be making the pasta again, rolling by hand sadly, on an errand free weekend soon I hope. This time I'll try making ravioli, or just straight pieces of pasta and cooking them fresh just with a sauce on top. I know it will taste so fresh and lovely.
Thank you so much everyone for the challenge :)
- Monique
With Just a Little Spice...
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.
I made some modifications in this challenge. First of all, my husband cannot eat spinach so I used butternut squash instead. I pureed the squash and added about 6 ounces to the pasta in lieu of the spinach. The color was a rich golden color, probably slightly darker than if I had added nothing at all. Fortunately, I have my old Atlas pasta machine, so the pasta rolling process was much easier than if I had rolled it out.
I made a sauce from a combination of pork and beef, since I thought the pork flavor would go especially well with the butternut pasta. This is the recipe, modified to include the pork:
Dice one large onion, 2 large carrots and 3 celery ribs. Throw into a food processor along with 4 cloves of garlic. Puree into a coarse paste. Coat a large pan with oil and heat. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Cook until the liquid in the veggies has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently.
Add about a pound and a half of ground beef and another pound or pound and a half of ground pork. Season again with lots of salt. Brown the meat (this took me about 15-20 minutes). Add 2 cups of tomato paste and brown again, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of a hearty red wine and cook until it has reduced by half.
Add water to the pan to cover the meat by about an inch. Toss in 3 bay leaves and a bundle of fresh thyme and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. As the water evaporates, add more, 2-3 cups at a time. Don’t dump in several cups of water all at once. Reduce and then add more. Stir and taste frequently and add more salt as needed. Simmer for 3 ½ to 4 hours. At the end of this time, the sauce will be meaty and not too watery. This recipe makes a lot – I froze the leftovers. (This recipe is a modification of a recipe from Anne Burrell, who has a cooking show on The Food Network).
I made the béchamel from the challenge recipe and assembled the lasagne after the pasta had dried and cooked and cooled. It was a much more refined dish than the lasagne with which I am more familiar – the kind overloaded with ricotta and mozzarella. I think the meat sauce could have used a little more spice or heat. If I were to do it again, I’d add some red pepper flakes. Probably not traditional, but we are fans of spicy flavors!
- Bunnee
I made some modifications in this challenge. First of all, my husband cannot eat spinach so I used butternut squash instead. I pureed the squash and added about 6 ounces to the pasta in lieu of the spinach. The color was a rich golden color, probably slightly darker than if I had added nothing at all. Fortunately, I have my old Atlas pasta machine, so the pasta rolling process was much easier than if I had rolled it out.
I made a sauce from a combination of pork and beef, since I thought the pork flavor would go especially well with the butternut pasta. This is the recipe, modified to include the pork:
Dice one large onion, 2 large carrots and 3 celery ribs. Throw into a food processor along with 4 cloves of garlic. Puree into a coarse paste. Coat a large pan with oil and heat. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Cook until the liquid in the veggies has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently.
Add about a pound and a half of ground beef and another pound or pound and a half of ground pork. Season again with lots of salt. Brown the meat (this took me about 15-20 minutes). Add 2 cups of tomato paste and brown again, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of a hearty red wine and cook until it has reduced by half.
Add water to the pan to cover the meat by about an inch. Toss in 3 bay leaves and a bundle of fresh thyme and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. As the water evaporates, add more, 2-3 cups at a time. Don’t dump in several cups of water all at once. Reduce and then add more. Stir and taste frequently and add more salt as needed. Simmer for 3 ½ to 4 hours. At the end of this time, the sauce will be meaty and not too watery. This recipe makes a lot – I froze the leftovers. (This recipe is a modification of a recipe from Anne Burrell, who has a cooking show on The Food Network).
I made the béchamel from the challenge recipe and assembled the lasagne after the pasta had dried and cooked and cooled. It was a much more refined dish than the lasagne with which I am more familiar – the kind overloaded with ricotta and mozzarella. I think the meat sauce could have used a little more spice or heat. If I were to do it again, I’d add some red pepper flakes. Probably not traditional, but we are fans of spicy flavors!
- Bunnee
Daring Baker's Lasagna
I don’t know what went wrong?! I purchased very nice products for the various parts and I followed the instructions precisely. I spent hours on this lasagna! The night before I made the lasagna pasta and let it dry for an hour or so before packing it in for the night. I have made pasta before and have a terrific manual pasta “machine” – I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to try to roll it out by hand to the desired “thinness”. The next day I spent a lot of time laboriously adding items to the meat sauce and letting it cook and reduce for the maximum time. In the end it looked good but tasted bland and had a gluey texture. What a disappointment after all that work! I even thought that perhaps it might be better the next day for leftovers. My daughter bravely ate a helping for lunch, but I couldn’t stomach it. I ended up being a “lasagna tosser” which is quite unusual because I often end up eating leftovers that no one else will so as not “to waste perfectly good food”. In the future I think I’ll stick with my tried and true lasagna that I can throw together in under an hour and tastes delicious.
- Robin
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Flourless in NJ
When I first saw a flourless chocolate cake I was watching the beautiful Curtis Stone on Take Home Chef. It looked delicious but I doubted that I could make it as well as he did. Well, I can! And I can't...I'll explain.
Then another idea: why not fill some heart ramekins with the same cake/ice cream formula and make single servings of ice cream cake? Done! The ice cream was a big hit (I used the second recipe) but I got mixed reactions from the cake. I think the chocolate may have been a little too intense - it was a little bitter, but I think the ice cream takes a away most of the bitterness and leaves you with a delicious dessert that looks special. The ice cream was so simple to make. I didn't use an ice cream machine, just a hand-held mixer. I whipped the ice cream every 20-30 minutes for about 3 hours and left it overnight.
I had no problems with the recipe. Everything came together seamlessly (someone told me never to say that. Carol, are you reading this?). O.K. I take the cake out of the oven. No jigglyness in the middle, it's not burnt, it looks great. So I set it on the rack to cool. But did I wait long enough before I removed it from the pan? I'm ashamed to say "no".
I knew better. I was treating it like a normal cake and it was fine until I flipped it over and then it fell to pieces. I should be grateful that it happened on the counter and mostly on a plate instead of on the floor.
So what do I do with these pieces? I thought and thought and thought and then it hit me - Ice Cream Cake! I ran the idea by my *genius* cooking buddy, Jessie, and she loved it too. She even suggested that I get the little crunchies to go with it (it's on my shopping list). So I broke out the largest heart-shaped cookie cutter I own and this is what I got:
Then another idea: why not fill some heart ramekins with the same cake/ice cream formula and make single servings of ice cream cake? Done! The ice cream was a big hit (I used the second recipe) but I got mixed reactions from the cake. I think the chocolate may have been a little too intense - it was a little bitter, but I think the ice cream takes a away most of the bitterness and leaves you with a delicious dessert that looks special. The ice cream was so simple to make. I didn't use an ice cream machine, just a hand-held mixer. I whipped the ice cream every 20-30 minutes for about 3 hours and left it overnight.
This has been a great challenge. Thanks, Daring Bakers!
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.
Monday, March 2, 2009
I Prefer to Think of This as an Ice Cream Challenge! :D
Here we are…another month down…and another challenge done. 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.
It’s interesting to note that I have made a Danish braid, a French yule log, and some cheesecake pops. I have to admit that I was feeling pretty prideful as these recipes and challenges were not easy and yet I had succeeded. Apparently it was time to be knocked down … dragged through the mud….and then tossed over the edge of the cliff in order for me to come back down to earth. Of course my failure would have to be the recipe that has only 3 ingredients. Chocolate, butter and eggs….a.k.a. flourless chocolate cake. What could be easier or better? We were also allowed to make something to accompany the cake and of course I chose ice cream. Can you guess what flavor I made? The first five don’t count. If you guessed cinnamon ice cream…then you were right. I just can’t give it up….plus it gave my dessert a whole Mexican chocolate vibe. Nice huh? I made the ice cream first and it was amazing…maybe it was because I was up at midnight making it….I don’t know, but it was spot on! (I even went crazy and used some cinnamon vanilla coffee mate in the ice cream and it totally worked.) I decided to make the cake the next day when I would not be distracted by Mr. Sandman and his sleeping powder.
So the next morning I got up and melted my chocolate…
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Then I beat my whites…….
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Then I combined the two with the yolks and stuck it in the oven and set the timer.
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When I took it out of the oven I had a cake that was cooked on the outside and totally not cooked on the inside. I’m talking liquid goop. It was horrible. I mean HORRIBLE. It only cooked enough at one edge to get a tiny heart cut out of it. The rest went into the trash. I was at least grateful I got the little bit out so that I could enjoy it. Then I tasted it. I think I’m the only person in the forum who hated it. It was terrible. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I had my oven calibrated recently so I can’t blame the oven. DANGIT! I can only say one more thing ~From this point forward I vow to respect all recipes no matter their content or their technique so as to gain it’s respect in return.
I LOVE Daring Bakers
- Amber
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.
It’s interesting to note that I have made a Danish braid, a French yule log, and some cheesecake pops. I have to admit that I was feeling pretty prideful as these recipes and challenges were not easy and yet I had succeeded. Apparently it was time to be knocked down … dragged through the mud….and then tossed over the edge of the cliff in order for me to come back down to earth. Of course my failure would have to be the recipe that has only 3 ingredients. Chocolate, butter and eggs….a.k.a. flourless chocolate cake. What could be easier or better? We were also allowed to make something to accompany the cake and of course I chose ice cream. Can you guess what flavor I made? The first five don’t count. If you guessed cinnamon ice cream…then you were right. I just can’t give it up….plus it gave my dessert a whole Mexican chocolate vibe. Nice huh? I made the ice cream first and it was amazing…maybe it was because I was up at midnight making it….I don’t know, but it was spot on! (I even went crazy and used some cinnamon vanilla coffee mate in the ice cream and it totally worked.) I decided to make the cake the next day when I would not be distracted by Mr. Sandman and his sleeping powder.
So the next morning I got up and melted my chocolate…
.jpg)
Then I beat my whites…….
.jpg)
Then I combined the two with the yolks and stuck it in the oven and set the timer.
.jpg)
When I took it out of the oven I had a cake that was cooked on the outside and totally not cooked on the inside. I’m talking liquid goop. It was horrible. I mean HORRIBLE. It only cooked enough at one edge to get a tiny heart cut out of it. The rest went into the trash. I was at least grateful I got the little bit out so that I could enjoy it. Then I tasted it. I think I’m the only person in the forum who hated it. It was terrible. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I had my oven calibrated recently so I can’t blame the oven. DANGIT! I can only say one more thing ~From this point forward I vow to respect all recipes no matter their content or their technique so as to gain it’s respect in return.
I LOVE Daring Bakers
- Amber
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Mmmmmm Chocolate Goodness!
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
I truly enjoyed this challenge. I love anything chocolate! This was a pretty simple recipe and I was glad that my attempt at it was a success. I decided to make it for our family valentines dinner and I'm glad that I did not disappoint them.
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I decided to use Valhrona semi-sweet chocolate and the cake's chocolate intensity was perfect. Texture was good too, dense but not too dense that you end up eating just a small bite because of it's richness. I also made a raspberry coulis to complement the chocolate and the vanilla ice cream.
This recipe is a keeper for me!
- aleli
The Chocolate Continuum, or, Smells Like Chocolate Spirit
Like hemlines and pop stars, chocolate has its trends. Back in the swingin’ Seventies, every fondue restaurant worth its shag carpeting served chocolate mousse for dessert. The glitzy Eighties brought us giant chocolate tortes adorned with chocolate curls, enough sugar to fuel a New Wave all-nighter. Suddenly, everyone wanted to commit suicide with chocolate as the weapon of choice. Death by chocolate desserts popped up in a desire to combine dessert and nihilism. In the Nineties, we wore flannels, discovered these strange little metal disks that held music and stopped putting flour in our chocolate cakes. The Aughts saw us scuffing around in Uggs and Juicy Sweats, gluing ourselves to the Internet and preferring our chocolate cake molten, i.e. underbaked. Where will chocolate go next? Only the gods of cocoa know for certain. But chocolate, whatever permutation it takes on the dessert menu, is forever.
The De Beers cartel would have us believe a diamond is forever, but I’d rather have chocolate. I’d look more favorably on Z. if he presented me with a box of See’s rather than some valueless rock pried from the ground to gleam uselessly on my finger. Have you ever had a See’s Candy Bordeaux crème? If you did, you’d know why a diamond is just carbon in comparison.
February means romance on demand, and that means chocolate. This month’s DB challenge had us all strap on our Timberland hiking boots, turn up the Pearl Jam and go back in time. Our Valentines would be gifted with flourless chocolate cake, plus we had to make some creamy accompaniment, preferably of the ice cream variety. To be frank, flourless chocolate cake never ranked high on my dessert dance hits. It can be dense and monodimensional. I like a little textural play in my desserts, and, often, FCC is just a wedge of gritty, unrelenting chocolate without much sense of humor. We all have relatives like that, and they usually corner us at family gatherings to grill us about tax preparation.
But, being a DBer means setting aside my biases for the greater baking good. So I made the FCC and found it easy and, shockingly, pretty damned tasty. I added a hit of cinnamon for a tip of the hat to chocolate’s pre-Columbian beginnings, and reduced the size of the recipe so it yielded one cute little cake, perfect for Z. and I. My accompaniment was orange and cream ice cream, its flavor reminiscent of an orange and cream popsicle, but with a much more sophisticated flavor profile.
I’m not a FCC convert, just as I don’t miss my sartorial and dating choices from the Nineties. But I can still look back on all of that with some nostalgia while eating the dessert of yesteryear with my now and forever sweetheart. I’m looking forward to see what the future brings.
I remain,
Your servant, &c.
Ami
The De Beers cartel would have us believe a diamond is forever, but I’d rather have chocolate. I’d look more favorably on Z. if he presented me with a box of See’s rather than some valueless rock pried from the ground to gleam uselessly on my finger. Have you ever had a See’s Candy Bordeaux crème? If you did, you’d know why a diamond is just carbon in comparison.
February means romance on demand, and that means chocolate. This month’s DB challenge had us all strap on our Timberland hiking boots, turn up the Pearl Jam and go back in time. Our Valentines would be gifted with flourless chocolate cake, plus we had to make some creamy accompaniment, preferably of the ice cream variety. To be frank, flourless chocolate cake never ranked high on my dessert dance hits. It can be dense and monodimensional. I like a little textural play in my desserts, and, often, FCC is just a wedge of gritty, unrelenting chocolate without much sense of humor. We all have relatives like that, and they usually corner us at family gatherings to grill us about tax preparation.
But, being a DBer means setting aside my biases for the greater baking good. So I made the FCC and found it easy and, shockingly, pretty damned tasty. I added a hit of cinnamon for a tip of the hat to chocolate’s pre-Columbian beginnings, and reduced the size of the recipe so it yielded one cute little cake, perfect for Z. and I. My accompaniment was orange and cream ice cream, its flavor reminiscent of an orange and cream popsicle, but with a much more sophisticated flavor profile.
I’m not a FCC convert, just as I don’t miss my sartorial and dating choices from the Nineties. But I can still look back on all of that with some nostalgia while eating the dessert of yesteryear with my now and forever sweetheart. I’m looking forward to see what the future brings.
I remain,
Your servant, &c.
Ami
The Valentino is a Winner!
This was like eating a truffle with a fork! The recipe for the Valentino was simple and easy to prepare. Loved the consistency and deep, deep chocolate flavor. The homemade ice cream was hard as a rock, so in the future, I'll let it thaw out a bit before serving.
Served Valentino and ice cream on white plates with powered cocoa sprinkled on the plates as an embelleshment.
This dessert was restaurant quality and worthy of my favorite house guests!
- Jan
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Daring Baker February Challenge
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.
I was excited when I found out that this month's challenge would include none other than my very favorite ingredient in the world: CHOCOLATE!!!
I had never made a flourless cake before, so I was a bit nervous, but it turns out that there was nothing at all to be nervous about. I took the advice of the hosts and bought high quality chocolate - 2 bars of bittersweet and 2 bars of semisweet. The ingredients mixed beautifully, the cake baked up and turned out fantastic - aside from being a bit dry the day after being baked. This was definitely an easy cake to make and very satisfying to see such an elegant cake coming out of my oven. I probably made it in too large of a pan as it was a little on the thin side - next time I will try and bake it in a pan with a smaller diameter so that the final product will be thicker, fudgier slices.
I was super excited about making my own ice cream, so much so that I went ahead and bought a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker from Amazon. I made a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream and a batch of Cheesecake Ice Cream (both from Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz) to go with my Valentino cake. The vanilla ice cream was the best ice cream I think I've ever had! I vaguely remember making our own ice cream as kids in our old manual ice cream maker with the crank handle that we had to take turns cranking. However, I don't remember it being this delcious - definitely worth all the cranking, but even better since my new ice cream maker is automatic! I am now thrilled with the endless possibilities of the ice creams I can make myself at home, and I doubt that I'll be buying store-bought ice cream anytime soon - too many artificial ingredients and only mediocre compared to homemade.
I shared the Valentino cake and homemade ice creams with my family, all of whom enjoyed it very much. It was a little on the bitter side (I used 8 oz. bittersweet and 8 oz. semisweet), so I may try making this again sometime and playing with the proportions of chocolates to try and get a more sweet but still intense cake. I might also try cooking it a little less since it did end up drying out the day after it was baked.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this challenge and will definitely make the cake again! Thanks for the challenge, Wendy & Dharm!
-Tricia
I was excited when I found out that this month's challenge would include none other than my very favorite ingredient in the world: CHOCOLATE!!!
I had never made a flourless cake before, so I was a bit nervous, but it turns out that there was nothing at all to be nervous about. I took the advice of the hosts and bought high quality chocolate - 2 bars of bittersweet and 2 bars of semisweet. The ingredients mixed beautifully, the cake baked up and turned out fantastic - aside from being a bit dry the day after being baked. This was definitely an easy cake to make and very satisfying to see such an elegant cake coming out of my oven. I probably made it in too large of a pan as it was a little on the thin side - next time I will try and bake it in a pan with a smaller diameter so that the final product will be thicker, fudgier slices.
I was super excited about making my own ice cream, so much so that I went ahead and bought a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker from Amazon. I made a batch of Vanilla Ice Cream and a batch of Cheesecake Ice Cream (both from Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz) to go with my Valentino cake. The vanilla ice cream was the best ice cream I think I've ever had! I vaguely remember making our own ice cream as kids in our old manual ice cream maker with the crank handle that we had to take turns cranking. However, I don't remember it being this delcious - definitely worth all the cranking, but even better since my new ice cream maker is automatic! I am now thrilled with the endless possibilities of the ice creams I can make myself at home, and I doubt that I'll be buying store-bought ice cream anytime soon - too many artificial ingredients and only mediocre compared to homemade.
I shared the Valentino cake and homemade ice creams with my family, all of whom enjoyed it very much. It was a little on the bitter side (I used 8 oz. bittersweet and 8 oz. semisweet), so I may try making this again sometime and playing with the proportions of chocolates to try and get a more sweet but still intense cake. I might also try cooking it a little less since it did end up drying out the day after it was baked.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this challenge and will definitely make the cake again! Thanks for the challenge, Wendy & Dharm!
-Tricia
Daring Bakers Challenge - February 2009: Chocolate Valentino
So, this being my first Daring Baker’s Challenge I anxiously awaited the recipe and was super excited when it was posted. The recipe was not for something I’d made before, but looked fairly simple.
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.
February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan.
So, I chose to use Lindt Milk Chocolate for the chocolate. They had said that the cake would come out tasting pretty much exactly like the chocolate you used, and since I like my treats sweet I thought this would be a good choice. (Not to mention I asked for some suggestions from a chef...is that cheating?)
First step: Melt the chocolate with the butter. I’m always a bit nervous when working with chocolate. I have a tendency to have it seize up on me or just become wrong. Luckily, it worked out great this time. Maybe my friend “butter” helped me along this time.
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.
February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan.
So, I chose to use Lindt Milk Chocolate for the chocolate. They had said that the cake would come out tasting pretty much exactly like the chocolate you used, and since I like my treats sweet I thought this would be a good choice. (Not to mention I asked for some suggestions from a chef...is that cheating?)
First step: Melt the chocolate with the butter. I’m always a bit nervous when working with chocolate. I have a tendency to have it seize up on me or just become wrong. Luckily, it worked out great this time. Maybe my friend “butter” helped me along this time.
Before
After
Second step: Add the egg yolks. Other than a minor mishap when separating the eggs, this part was fairly simple.
Third step: Whip the egg whites, fold into mixture. So this is the step that had me the most worried (once my chocolate was done!). I’m not super confident that I knew what stiff peaks really meant. We got a warning that if we over did the eggs that the cake would be dry….certainly didn’t want that! I think I did ok with this step, my cake was anything but dry…maybe even too moist, so I maybe should have gone a bit further with the eggs. Folding the egg whites in I accidentally didn’t fold, but beat in the first third…this could have also compromised the finished product a bit (ahh, the joy of learning new things!).
Ready to Mix!
Folded
Fourth step: Bake! This is the easy part, letting the oven do its thing. The cake did fall a bit after it cooled. But I trudged on into the ice cream portion of the challenge.
Before
After
Now, those that know me, know that I’m not afraid of making ice cream. My vanilla and chocolate have been requested treats during the summer months. So, I wanted to actually challenge myself a bit and try a new ice cream recipe. I love the flavor combinations of peanut butter with chocolate and chocolate with mint…so I couldn’t decide what to make. I ended up making both: Thin Mint Ice Cream and Peanut Butter Ice Cream. I realize now that I’m a fan of custard based ice creams versus these milk based (Philly-style?) ice creams. Challenge was a success…I learned something!
To plate the finished products I broke out my fine china and used a cookie cutter to cut the cake. You can see in the photo that the cake was still a bit ooey-gooey. It tasted wonderful. Since I have to be careful with my sugars I didn’t eat too much, but it got raves at the office the next day…and I didn’t bring any home. Overall, I loved this recipe, had a great time with the challenge and am anxiously awaiting the March challenge!
Below are the finished products and recipes:
Chocolate Valentino with Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Chocolate Valentino with Thin Mint Ice Cream
Recipes:
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.
Peanut Butter Ice Cream
From Ice-Cream-Recipes.com
Thin Mint Ice Cream
From Bumzwife Personal Blog
Note on the Thin Mint Ice Cream: I don't know Bumzwife, the recipe was found doing a search. I added about a capful of peppermint extract to this.
Enjoy with love,
Christina
Fun with My Niece and the Chocolate Valentino!
The recipe was quite easy to make. Of course my niece was impatient as any 15 year would be. She wanted to eat it right out of the oven. I baked the cake for 18 minutes in a 9" springform pan. I had frozen strawberries in the freezer. I asked her if she wanted a sauce to top the cake, but she said no. Since I didn't plan on eating the cake, I didn't make a sauce.
This was a great bonding experience. I taught my niece how to melt chocolate over a water bath and how to bring egg whites to a stiff peak. I made her separate the eggs...This was fun but it really grossed her out. We separated them cold so her hands were covered in super cold slime. I am hoping to have her help me every month.
The cake felt jiggly coming out of the oven. I could find my instant read thermometer, so I used my candy thermometer. The temperature registered somewhere between 135-145F. The candy thermometer doesn't give a good gauge on lower temperatures. The cake eventually settled.
I wish the cake was a little firmer in the center. It did fall a little. The outer crust looked quite nice. I almost forgot to mention that I used Guittard 61% semi sweet chocolate.
The plan was to not eat any cake. Then I decided to use the "Three bite rule". Well the three bites turned into six+ bites. So here are my thoughts based on the bites that I did have. I think that I should have mixed the semi-sweet with some darker chocolate... For me, the taste was quite weak. After the fact, DH and my niece both told me that the cake definitely needed a fruit sauce (raspberry or strawberry), ie. something tart. I agree. We all agree that ice cream would have been overkill.
I served DH's and my niece's pieces (plus my sliver) right out of the springform so you can see the fallen cake. I eventually flipped the cake over so that I could add powdered sugar and cinnamon to the top. I think that I overdid it with the powdered sugar (see photo).
I took the rest of the cake to my grandmother's house since she will have guests tomorrow. I made it very clear to my diabetic grandparents not eat the cake because of the amount of sugar in it.
I don't think that I would make this cake again. I have made other flourless cakes that I have liked better. I think that my taste buds are really changing so I don't know if I am giving this cake a fair shake. Until today, I have not had any "bad" carbs (fruit, more than 100 calories a day of "good" natural sweetners, bread, etc) in over a month. I thought that the cake had a weird aftertaste. This is common for South Beach Diet. The last time that I was on it, orange juice really grossed me out. I asked DH and my niece about the aftertaste and they thought that I was crazy. Oh well, I know that I used good quality products so the issue must be me.
In the future, I hope that I have the will power to not eat as much as I did this month. I am working with my primary care physician and endocronologist to bring down my insulin.
As always, thank you for the opportunity to participate in another wonderful challenge.
Cheers,
- Angelique
This was a great bonding experience. I taught my niece how to melt chocolate over a water bath and how to bring egg whites to a stiff peak. I made her separate the eggs...This was fun but it really grossed her out. We separated them cold so her hands were covered in super cold slime. I am hoping to have her help me every month.
The cake felt jiggly coming out of the oven. I could find my instant read thermometer, so I used my candy thermometer. The temperature registered somewhere between 135-145F. The candy thermometer doesn't give a good gauge on lower temperatures. The cake eventually settled.
I wish the cake was a little firmer in the center. It did fall a little. The outer crust looked quite nice. I almost forgot to mention that I used Guittard 61% semi sweet chocolate.
The plan was to not eat any cake. Then I decided to use the "Three bite rule". Well the three bites turned into six+ bites. So here are my thoughts based on the bites that I did have. I think that I should have mixed the semi-sweet with some darker chocolate... For me, the taste was quite weak. After the fact, DH and my niece both told me that the cake definitely needed a fruit sauce (raspberry or strawberry), ie. something tart. I agree. We all agree that ice cream would have been overkill.
I served DH's and my niece's pieces (plus my sliver) right out of the springform so you can see the fallen cake. I eventually flipped the cake over so that I could add powdered sugar and cinnamon to the top. I think that I overdid it with the powdered sugar (see photo).
I took the rest of the cake to my grandmother's house since she will have guests tomorrow. I made it very clear to my diabetic grandparents not eat the cake because of the amount of sugar in it.
I don't think that I would make this cake again. I have made other flourless cakes that I have liked better. I think that my taste buds are really changing so I don't know if I am giving this cake a fair shake. Until today, I have not had any "bad" carbs (fruit, more than 100 calories a day of "good" natural sweetners, bread, etc) in over a month. I thought that the cake had a weird aftertaste. This is common for South Beach Diet. The last time that I was on it, orange juice really grossed me out. I asked DH and my niece about the aftertaste and they thought that I was crazy. Oh well, I know that I used good quality products so the issue must be me.
In the future, I hope that I have the will power to not eat as much as I did this month. I am working with my primary care physician and endocronologist to bring down my insulin.
As always, thank you for the opportunity to participate in another wonderful challenge.
Cheers,
- Angelique
February 2009 Daring Baker Challenge – Flourless Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream
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.
I made the cake with 70% bittersweet chocolate, following the recipe but adding just a little Grand Marnier for additional flavor. I used a heart-shaped cake pan.
The cake turned out fine, although I’m not sure this is a recipe I would use again. It seemed to be a bit crumbly and was difficult to cut. Perhaps I baked it a little too long? It was in the oven fewer than 25 minutes but the instant thermometer read somewhat over 140 degrees.
The ice cream was a basic vanilla custard with lots of vanilla bean flavor. It was not too sweet (only ½ cup sugar for 2 ½ cups of milk and cream and four egg yolks), which is fine with me, and was a good complement to the chocolate cake, cutting some of the richness of the bittersweet chocolate.
I decorated the cake with several scoops of ice cream and some mandarin orange sections which I poached in butter and caramel and Grand Marnier. Tactical error – the oranges were warm when I placed them on the scoops of ice cream, so there was some melting going on while we were taking the pictures!
We served the cake and ice cream to guests and the plates were scraped clean, so I think the combination was a success.
- Bunnee
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.
I made the cake with 70% bittersweet chocolate, following the recipe but adding just a little Grand Marnier for additional flavor. I used a heart-shaped cake pan.
The cake turned out fine, although I’m not sure this is a recipe I would use again. It seemed to be a bit crumbly and was difficult to cut. Perhaps I baked it a little too long? It was in the oven fewer than 25 minutes but the instant thermometer read somewhat over 140 degrees.
The ice cream was a basic vanilla custard with lots of vanilla bean flavor. It was not too sweet (only ½ cup sugar for 2 ½ cups of milk and cream and four egg yolks), which is fine with me, and was a good complement to the chocolate cake, cutting some of the richness of the bittersweet chocolate.
I decorated the cake with several scoops of ice cream and some mandarin orange sections which I poached in butter and caramel and Grand Marnier. Tactical error – the oranges were warm when I placed them on the scoops of ice cream, so there was some melting going on while we were taking the pictures!
We served the cake and ice cream to guests and the plates were scraped clean, so I think the combination was a success.
- Bunnee
Chocolate Valentino and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
One word – YUM!
The chocolate valentino and homemade ice cream was just the ticket for this months challenge. It has been a busy and demanding month for me as I have returned to school full-time and so this challenge was very satisfying in that it was delicious AND simple.
I made the chocolate valentino with Trader Joe’s unsalted butter and a mixture of their fair-trade swiss (3/4) and bittersweet chocolate (1/4). I tried to tone down the bittersweet chocolate as I have sometimes been accused of making my chocolate treats too “chocolaty” (I don’t understand what that is?). It was very good and turned out perfectly – however, I still could have been very happy with a higher ratio of bittersweet chocolate!
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The kids and I pulled out our 1970’s era electric ice cream maker and found out that it still works – very well thank you. We made the simpler of the two ice cream recipes and have all deemed it worthy of being made again. All of the chocolate valentino was gone within 24 hours – delicious!
- Rachel V
The chocolate valentino and homemade ice cream was just the ticket for this months challenge. It has been a busy and demanding month for me as I have returned to school full-time and so this challenge was very satisfying in that it was delicious AND simple.
I made the chocolate valentino with Trader Joe’s unsalted butter and a mixture of their fair-trade swiss (3/4) and bittersweet chocolate (1/4). I tried to tone down the bittersweet chocolate as I have sometimes been accused of making my chocolate treats too “chocolaty” (I don’t understand what that is?). It was very good and turned out perfectly – however, I still could have been very happy with a higher ratio of bittersweet chocolate!
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The kids and I pulled out our 1970’s era electric ice cream maker and found out that it still works – very well thank you. We made the simpler of the two ice cream recipes and have all deemed it worthy of being made again. All of the chocolate valentino was gone within 24 hours – delicious!
- Rachel V
Happy With My First Chocolate Valentino!
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This is my first challenge as a DB. Although the pictures are not very good, I'm really happy with the outcome of my challenge.
For the Valentino cake, I used 60% bitter chocolate and 40% milk chocolate for fear that it was too bitter. The result was surprising, and went well with the Philadelphia style ice cream that I made my way, and whipped cream with a pinch of sugar.
I look forward to the next challenge, and do not discard doing the past ones.
Thanks to Wendy and Dharma for the excellent recipes.
XOXO
- Rosa
A Fun and Filling First Challenge!
This challenge was a lot of fun (Yay my first one!!!) for the cake I used Lindt half dark and half milk chocolate and loved the idea of making your own ice cream by hand it came out creamy and wonderful with a bit of babysitting of course ;)
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I used David Lebovitz method and his Vanilla ice cream recipe. When my ice cream was almost frozen I put it into a cookie cutter and when it was time I took it out and ran my finger on the edge to warm it out and it popped out beautifully.
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I just pureed strawberries for on top but oddly it photographed sort of like Ketchup hmmm. I think this cake has filled my chocometer and that is not easy!
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- Andrea
Awww Sweet Revenge, December Yule Log! :D
This was a really fun one- boy, have I always wanted to make my own ice cream- and the flourless chocolate cake was lovely. What a perfect dessert for Valentine's day- everyone loved it.
It redeemed the experience SUFFERED in December with the Yulelog...
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- Katie L
A Heart For Her Sweetheart :)
A Valentine for the boyfriend who is currently working 800km away. So the ice cream part would be a bit tricky.
I decided to make 1/3 more of the batter, send a heart shaped cake to the boyfriend and bake some small rose shaped muffins for us to go with the ice cream. For the batter I used 33% milk chocolate and 85% dark cocolate. As for the ice cream, I made some banana ice cream. The recipe came with the ice cream maker.
The rose shaped muffins did bake quite a bit shorter. And we ate them with the banana ice cream as soon as they cooled down. They tasted great, just like fluffy chocolate and went well with the creamy ice cream.
They were so great that I forgot to take some pictures till it was too late and all little choclate roses and banana ice cream were gone. So there are only pictures from the heart shaped cake I sent to my boyfriend.
- bana
I decided to make 1/3 more of the batter, send a heart shaped cake to the boyfriend and bake some small rose shaped muffins for us to go with the ice cream. For the batter I used 33% milk chocolate and 85% dark cocolate. As for the ice cream, I made some banana ice cream. The recipe came with the ice cream maker.
The rose shaped muffins did bake quite a bit shorter. And we ate them with the banana ice cream as soon as they cooled down. They tasted great, just like fluffy chocolate and went well with the creamy ice cream.
They were so great that I forgot to take some pictures till it was too late and all little choclate roses and banana ice cream were gone. So there are only pictures from the heart shaped cake I sent to my boyfriend.
- bana
Chocolate Valentino and Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Sandwich
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.
This flourless chocolate cake went together like a breeze. I selected a newly available chocolate, El Rey Apamate, from my favorite local wine and cheese shop. It’s an unrefined bar made on the coast of central Venezuela (an area prized for its cacao quality) that boasts a 73.5% cacao content. YUM! Extra bitter, rich and intense—the flavor really came through in the cake.
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My flavor choice for ice cream, dulce de leche, was inspired by a certain loved one with an intense passion for caramel. I like to make heart-shaped ice cream sandwiches for dessert around this time of year. It was a natural progression to pair the two challenge components into a decadent and festive frozen treat.
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Here’s the ice cream recipe…it’s too good not to share.
Enjoy!
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
ADAPTED FROM MARIANA CRESPO TIENDA DEL ENCUENTRO, BUENOS AIRES
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb dulce de leche (about 1 2/3 cups; preferably La Salamandra brand)
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (2 1/2 to 3 oz), toasted
Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.
Freeze mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm, then fold in pecans.
Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
- Olivia
This flourless chocolate cake went together like a breeze. I selected a newly available chocolate, El Rey Apamate, from my favorite local wine and cheese shop. It’s an unrefined bar made on the coast of central Venezuela (an area prized for its cacao quality) that boasts a 73.5% cacao content. YUM! Extra bitter, rich and intense—the flavor really came through in the cake.
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My flavor choice for ice cream, dulce de leche, was inspired by a certain loved one with an intense passion for caramel. I like to make heart-shaped ice cream sandwiches for dessert around this time of year. It was a natural progression to pair the two challenge components into a decadent and festive frozen treat.
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Here’s the ice cream recipe…it’s too good not to share.
Enjoy!
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
ADAPTED FROM MARIANA CRESPO TIENDA DEL ENCUENTRO, BUENOS AIRES
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb dulce de leche (about 1 2/3 cups; preferably La Salamandra brand)
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (2 1/2 to 3 oz), toasted
Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.
Freeze mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm, then fold in pecans.
Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
- Olivia
Chocolate and Flax.. A Winning Combination!
I decided to take the vegan recipe for flourless cake and alter it slightly. I used flax seed as an egg replacer which gave the cake a more nutty texture but really helped hold it together in the absence of any other binders. I also had to make the recipe sweeter to counteract the strong taste from the flax. This took a few attempts!!
For the ice cream, again, I used flax and it really gave it that smooth texture. Rather than being all icy. I made a black cherry jam flavour. It complimented the chocolate VERY well. This challenege has also caused the explosion of a few experiments with other flourless things with flax and other binders. Really enjoyed this one.
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Woo!
- Rachel C
For the ice cream, again, I used flax and it really gave it that smooth texture. Rather than being all icy. I made a black cherry jam flavour. It complimented the chocolate VERY well. This challenege has also caused the explosion of a few experiments with other flourless things with flax and other binders. Really enjoyed this one.
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Woo!
- Rachel C
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
It ain't pretty...
But it does taste good:-)
When I first saw the challenge I had the brilliant idea of making tuile butterflies that I would use to decorate cupcakes...but that didn't happen. I still think it was a great idea but I decided to go the easy route this time. I just freeformed the tuiles and let them harden (well, it was still kind of warm when I ate one) over some glasses to make an edible ice cream bowl - VOILA! It turned out wonderfully, even if all of them aren't as pretty as I would have hoped.
As you can see they are a little brown. I didn't burn them...I just didn't read the recipe correctly and thought that I was supposed to add the cocoa powder into the batter. No harm done. It's delicious with cherry vanilla ice cream.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
January Challenge - Tuiles
I made the original sweet Tulies, luckily I had been given some vanilla sugar over xmas, so I could even add that. It was all pretty straight forward, and I loved the way they browned on the outside, and were so lovely, crisp and caramelized. Although I didn't think this was right at first, and had a few that were underdone, and a bit floppy and rubbery.
I had trouble keeping my family away from them long enough to make something to accompany them. I got round to making some fruit moose, the same recipie from the Yule log last month, using some squish looking nectarines and the frozen egg whites we always seem to keep in supply in the freezer. It was a great way to avoid wasting the egg yolks from the recipie as well. My family loved the Tulies and the moose, and were definately harping on at me for the recipie of the Tulies to make more, which I have to say I liked and will do, when I can find the time to roll them up all pretty in shape :)
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Thanks for the recipie, can't wait for the next.
- Moni-Q
I had trouble keeping my family away from them long enough to make something to accompany them. I got round to making some fruit moose, the same recipie from the Yule log last month, using some squish looking nectarines and the frozen egg whites we always seem to keep in supply in the freezer. It was a great way to avoid wasting the egg yolks from the recipie as well. My family loved the Tulies and the moose, and were definately harping on at me for the recipie of the Tulies to make more, which I have to say I liked and will do, when I can find the time to roll them up all pretty in shape :)
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Thanks for the recipie, can't wait for the next.
- Moni-Q
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Lightness of Berries and Tuiles
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
This was a fun, new, exciting recipe to try.
I had to defer from my original plan because I was under the weather and once again, I procrastinated. Luckily, I had planned to use a stencil that I made out of cardboard. This was basically just two circles cut out in the card board that fit nicely on the baking sheet. My first plan included a chocolate Tuiles with cranberry/orange granita. I will make this some day. But, I did go with the recipe provided and the stencil worked out nicely. I made a berry salsa to put inside. This salsa included chopped strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries that I soaked in a few tablespoons of lime juice and sugar while the Tuiles baked.
Once the time was up for the Tuiles (I made two at a time), I shaped them around the bottom of a juice cup and filled them with the berry salsa once cooled. I did add a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt when I sat down to enjoy my new creation.
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Recipe:
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch
65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner's sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet
Oven: 180C / 350F
Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.
Bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven't tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.
- Abby
This was a fun, new, exciting recipe to try.
I had to defer from my original plan because I was under the weather and once again, I procrastinated. Luckily, I had planned to use a stencil that I made out of cardboard. This was basically just two circles cut out in the card board that fit nicely on the baking sheet. My first plan included a chocolate Tuiles with cranberry/orange granita. I will make this some day. But, I did go with the recipe provided and the stencil worked out nicely. I made a berry salsa to put inside. This salsa included chopped strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries that I soaked in a few tablespoons of lime juice and sugar while the Tuiles baked.
Once the time was up for the Tuiles (I made two at a time), I shaped them around the bottom of a juice cup and filled them with the berry salsa once cooled. I did add a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt when I sat down to enjoy my new creation.
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Recipe:
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch
65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner's sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet
Oven: 180C / 350F
Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.
Bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven't tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.
- Abby
TUILLE OR NOT TUILLE
I definitely did not think that I would be this frustrated with this months challenge.
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
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As you will see in the pictures that I have posted my tuilles did not come out right. So many trials until I finally gave up. I had batches that were too thin so they burned and this set of pictures show you that they were undercooked or too thick. Frustrating indeed.
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Maybe next time I'll be luckier...this is definitely not tuille!
- Aleli
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
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As you will see in the pictures that I have posted my tuilles did not come out right. So many trials until I finally gave up. I had batches that were too thin so they burned and this set of pictures show you that they were undercooked or too thick. Frustrating indeed.
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Maybe next time I'll be luckier...this is definitely not tuille!
- Aleli
Tuiles!
Well, tuiles. I LOVE them. Just like I love just about everything else!
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
Cut to the chase, because everyone knows by now that I won't have pictures.
I did lots of ice cream, and lots of tiny ice cream cones. I dipped some of each into tempered dark chocolate.
I tried the nougatine and regular tuile recipes. Along with a total freezer clean out of a ton of ice creams..banana ice cream, chocolate/peanut butter swirl IC, brown sugar IC and olive oil IC. Also guava/mango sorbet, pineapple/cranberry sorbet, and pomegranate sorbet. I was all over with flavors but had something for everyone.
I ended up bringing everything to Hubb's precinct and had a mid-winter ice cream party with his fellow officers. They loved it.
Then I decided to get a little wild. For a dinner party I made the savory tuile recipe and did the same cones except this time i filled these with an Uni cream. it was seriously out of this world. Odd, but great.
--Marisa--
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Butterfly Tuiles and Chocolate Mousse—what could be lighter!
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda at Bake My Day! http://www.bakemyday.blogspot.com/ and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf http://kochtopf.twoday.net/ . The recipe they chose was Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink or Nougatine (or Chocolate) Tuiles from Michel Roux.
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Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named. As for its Dutch provenance, traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the past year unfolded. On New Year’s Day however, the same batter was used but the cookies were rolled and presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream. This symbolized the New Year that was about to roll on.
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I found the recipe extremely easy to make. The butterfly shapes were such a fun and creative way to express the airiness of these cookies. (Thank you Karen and Zorra!!!) I served my butterfly tuiles along with Chocolate Mousse, a recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook. This mousse is rich and dense. It’s a breeze to make and unusual in that it is made with cooked eggs (which meant safe to share with my pregnant neighbor).
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it, too.
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Chocolate Mousse (serves 8 if you have very good self control with portion size)
2 cups very cold heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Heat ¾ cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot but not boiling; remove from heat.
Whisk together yolks, sugar and salt in a metal bowl until well combined, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and stir in vanilla.
Melt chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth. Let cool.
Beat remaining 1¼ cups cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one quarter cream into chocolate cream to lighten it, then gently but thoroughly fold in remaining cream.
Spoon mousse into eight 6-ounce glasses. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours.
Let mousse stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving, with whipped cream and tuiles.
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- olivia
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Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named. As for its Dutch provenance, traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the past year unfolded. On New Year’s Day however, the same batter was used but the cookies were rolled and presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream. This symbolized the New Year that was about to roll on.
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I found the recipe extremely easy to make. The butterfly shapes were such a fun and creative way to express the airiness of these cookies. (Thank you Karen and Zorra!!!) I served my butterfly tuiles along with Chocolate Mousse, a recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook. This mousse is rich and dense. It’s a breeze to make and unusual in that it is made with cooked eggs (which meant safe to share with my pregnant neighbor).
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it, too.
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Chocolate Mousse (serves 8 if you have very good self control with portion size)
2 cups very cold heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Heat ¾ cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot but not boiling; remove from heat.
Whisk together yolks, sugar and salt in a metal bowl until well combined, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and stir in vanilla.
Melt chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth. Let cool.
Beat remaining 1¼ cups cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one quarter cream into chocolate cream to lighten it, then gently but thoroughly fold in remaining cream.
Spoon mousse into eight 6-ounce glasses. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours.
Let mousse stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving, with whipped cream and tuiles.
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- olivia
In Praise of Simplicity, or, The Cookie Crumbles
After last month’s Yule Log debacle, it was with some amount of trepidation that I approached this month’s DB Challenge: tuiles. I envisioned myself covered in flour and butter, screaming, as I wrestled with the fragile cookies, and winding up with nothing but shards and a broken heart. But Daring Bakers are a persistent—or perhaps insane—group, so there was no room for fear and trembling. Either move on, or give up the DB. Well, that I won’t do. I mean, if I hadn’t joined the DB, would I have made danish? Pâte à chou? Genoise? No. So, I had to press forward.
The whole process of making tuiles was surprisingly straightforward. I could have pushed myself further, creating stencils and also coloring the batter, but, even though I wanted to challenge myself, I also wanted a small respite from the multistep recipes that don’t always end successfully (*cough*YuleLog*cough*). So I made simple circles of plain vanilla batter, spreading it with an offset spatula, and then baking them in small batches.
The cookies never really darkened, staying almost as pale as my legs. Perhaps I should have baked them longer, but I was concerned that any longer in the oven and they’d be too brittle to shape. So, they emerged from the oven in all their midwinter skin pallor. I draped them over some small metal bowls to create little cups, but they took on only a gentle ruffle, not a deep cup shape. But they would serve my purpose as serving vessels for a sorbet made of sparkling wine and raspberries. A few cracked, which means Z. and I got to snack on their remains.
And here you have the end result: a light, refreshing dessert that, while it certainly won’t drive anyone into a mad frenzy of dessert-induced delirium, was certainly pleasant. The tuiles tasted just like professionally-made cookies, even if their appearance was somewhat lackluster. And the sorbet was flavorful and bright. A simple, charming way to begin the year.
Further challenges await, and I’m ready to meet them.
- Ami
The whole process of making tuiles was surprisingly straightforward. I could have pushed myself further, creating stencils and also coloring the batter, but, even though I wanted to challenge myself, I also wanted a small respite from the multistep recipes that don’t always end successfully (*cough*YuleLog*cough*). So I made simple circles of plain vanilla batter, spreading it with an offset spatula, and then baking them in small batches.
The cookies never really darkened, staying almost as pale as my legs. Perhaps I should have baked them longer, but I was concerned that any longer in the oven and they’d be too brittle to shape. So, they emerged from the oven in all their midwinter skin pallor. I draped them over some small metal bowls to create little cups, but they took on only a gentle ruffle, not a deep cup shape. But they would serve my purpose as serving vessels for a sorbet made of sparkling wine and raspberries. A few cracked, which means Z. and I got to snack on their remains.
And here you have the end result: a light, refreshing dessert that, while it certainly won’t drive anyone into a mad frenzy of dessert-induced delirium, was certainly pleasant. The tuiles tasted just like professionally-made cookies, even if their appearance was somewhat lackluster. And the sorbet was flavorful and bright. A simple, charming way to begin the year.
Further challenges await, and I’m ready to meet them.
- Ami
Light Fly Daring Bakers!!
In my Country Christmas is all about family. No, that's not the whole truth. In my Country Christmas is all about food. And family. So you can imagine how fluttered could i be waiting for Jan challenge-i was 2 kilo plus, praying for somthing not as sweet as Dec log and after all the fuzz, not as time consuming. And here we are-i couldn't apreciate more.
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. i was delightes by the idea, even though at first i had no idea what tuiles were:)
And so i made mine -not as original as some of the guys, i suppose, but i was so for simplicity this month...so i just used them as cups for fruit salad made out of mango, banana and tangerins. but this was sooo good. you can see my brother's belly after eating first part of them.
- Ursula
Breaking In the New Kitchen
Hard to believe that it's been a month since our last post. Time has been whizzing by while living out of a suitcase and after 45 days I was starting to wig out just a bit. Luckily for me I was able to close on a new home just in time to make this month's challenge. I have to admit...my new kitchen is quite the enjoyable place to cook. Isn't it super cute?
Anyway back to the challenge....this month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angelique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. This was a perfect challenge for one who needs an easy challenge since they don't have all their stuff yet. I happened to be looking through a Martha Stewart magazine and found a recipe for Mango Napoleons with Caramel and Cream. What a perfect way to use Tuiles eh? The only change I made to the tuile was to add cinnamon. (I know I seriously have a problem...I add it to everything...I mean everything....I even carry a little one with me in case I need to add it to something) The Tuile was great to make.....I didn't realize that it would be so fun and as I was figuring it out I had lots more ideas of how to use it. The taste was great, but it was very clear that you really need the perfect thickness to get it just right. A little hard to do freehand....but not impossible.
I then made a mint cream which is pretty self explanatory. The mango caramel was also quite simple....sugars, mango, lime juice, spices....cooked to a nice syrup with soft mango chunks. The mango filling was some mango and lime juice. Very fresh tasting and a bit tart to counteract the caramel. To assemble I layered tuile, caramel, mango and cream. I have to admit it looked pretty. I think the magic of a new kitchen helped.
According to my taste testers...it was delicious...the only thing they would change would be the mint cream. (sometimes man and boy can't see the beauty on their palate) I see their point. I wasn't too sure myself when I read the recipe, but obviously nothing hindered them from eating it. See you next month!
- amber
Chocolate Tuiles
Wow, what an experience this was!! Between getting stranded at my family's with no car, I had to do this with zero tools and minimal ingredients. Though I wasn't so successful at producing the tuiles as I had hoped, the process was still fun and the end product deeee-lish!
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
I chose to attempt the Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. Can't help it, I just love chocolate! My family is really into the chocolate-banana combo, so I decided on a banana's foster type filling for the tuille.
Not having any rum, raspberry balsamic running low, I reduced Madeira wine with a bit of black pepper, allspice, brown sugar, unsalted butter, and a cinnamon stick. Then I added the sliced bananas and broiled them til caramelized.
I prepared a lite banana mousse that had a bit of lemon zest in it. Somehow, even without a candy thermometer, the chocolate for the tuiles tempered correctly, but I couldn't conceive of how to form it and remove it from the molds. After trying several times, the chocolate was running low, hence the trifle-type dessert pictured.
I'm definitely going to try this again, maybe next time with the regular tuiles instead of the chocolate.
Thanks so much for a great challenge!!!
- Cocoloco
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
I chose to attempt the Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. Can't help it, I just love chocolate! My family is really into the chocolate-banana combo, so I decided on a banana's foster type filling for the tuille.
Not having any rum, raspberry balsamic running low, I reduced Madeira wine with a bit of black pepper, allspice, brown sugar, unsalted butter, and a cinnamon stick. Then I added the sliced bananas and broiled them til caramelized.
I prepared a lite banana mousse that had a bit of lemon zest in it. Somehow, even without a candy thermometer, the chocolate for the tuiles tempered correctly, but I couldn't conceive of how to form it and remove it from the molds. After trying several times, the chocolate was running low, hence the trifle-type dessert pictured.
I'm definitely going to try this again, maybe next time with the regular tuiles instead of the chocolate.
Thanks so much for a great challenge!!!
- Cocoloco
Delicious AND Fun!
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
I decided to bake cigarettes and pastry cups. The recipe from Angélique Schmeinck was easy to follow and the tuiles really easy to mold. I didn't have any templates, so the outer areas got very thin. We had some amarena ice cream to go with them.
They were really delicious. I will try some other tuiles recipes over the next weeks. It was so much fun and my family loved this ones so much.
- bana
Not What I Was Going For...
Here is my product for January. I was so excited because it looked relatively easy compared to December. Not sure that I did the butter right, they were drenched in it, and soggy. Not my best effort, but the kids enjoyed them.
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Looking forward to February!
- Katie
January Tuiles
I have never made Tuiles before! Shocking huh?! OK, I’m sure most of my friends and family have never heard of them before. Honestly I wasn’t very excited about making these, BUT, I had all the ingredients on hand and it looked fairly easy. Well, let me tell you, these little cookies are addicting! Luckily the batches are small so I couldn’t do too much damage to my waistline.
I made little “cups” to hold some premium vanilla bean ice cream, topped it with a little toasted coconut and drizzled dark chocolate over it all. Mmmmmmm, these unassuming little cookies are crisp, buttery and were so much better than ANY ice cream cone or cup I have ever had. I’m sure that if I spent a bit more time on them, I could have a lot of fun making templates and getting more creative. It was tricky working with the batter – too thick and they are chewy (not that that’s a bad thing), too thin and they are too delicate to get off the cookie sheet and draped over a muffin tin. Timing is everything – they needed a minute or so to firm up straight out of the oven, but too much time and they were already set. Even the experimental ones were delicious and the crumbles got eaten up as well. Thanks for another great recipe!!!
- Robin
I made little “cups” to hold some premium vanilla bean ice cream, topped it with a little toasted coconut and drizzled dark chocolate over it all. Mmmmmmm, these unassuming little cookies are crisp, buttery and were so much better than ANY ice cream cone or cup I have ever had. I’m sure that if I spent a bit more time on them, I could have a lot of fun making templates and getting more creative. It was tricky working with the batter – too thick and they are chewy (not that that’s a bad thing), too thin and they are too delicate to get off the cookie sheet and draped over a muffin tin. Timing is everything – they needed a minute or so to firm up straight out of the oven, but too much time and they were already set. Even the experimental ones were delicious and the crumbles got eaten up as well. Thanks for another great recipe!!!
- Robin
My First Daring Baker Challenge - Tuiles!
Here is my completed challenge for this month. Loved it!
I made the vegan version of these tuiles and the chocolate one came out a bit more like leather than biscuity, however the others seemed to work out fine. I had a lot of fun with this one and used fondant icing to make my green leaves and flower stem.
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Bringing spring to the winter
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This was my first daring bakers challenge. Glad to be here.
- Rachel
I made the vegan version of these tuiles and the chocolate one came out a bit more like leather than biscuity, however the others seemed to work out fine. I had a lot of fun with this one and used fondant icing to make my green leaves and flower stem.
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Bringing spring to the winter
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This was my first daring bakers challenge. Glad to be here.
- Rachel
Tuiles
This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf.
They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
Savory tuile/cornet recipe
From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)**
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.
There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.
Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.
Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.*** This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.
Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.
When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.
Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.
- Bunnee
They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
Savory tuile/cornet recipe
From Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook"
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)**
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.
There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.
Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.
Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door.*** This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.
Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.
When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.
Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.
- Bunnee
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuiles via Pizzelle Maker!
I did somenting a little bit diffent than others. I used my pizzelle maker for the tuiles. Karen and I had addressed this option via email. I did plan on baking 1/2 and using the pizzelle maker for the other half. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I made the batter that I noticed that I did not have any parchment paper.
I must say the final product was quite yummy and pliable. Unfortunately, most of the tuiles/pizzelles did stick to the pizzelle maker. Without the sticking, I think that I would have ended up with about 6-4" pizzelles. I will not be using this batter for pizzelles again due the sticking and breakage.
I also had problems with the butter curdling. I set both the eggs and butter out for several hours before using. I guess that my house was cold enough to make the butter curdle. Next time, I'll cream my butter a little longer. Maybe that would have helped.
I bought my pizzelle maker about 2 years ago and have only used it twices. Both times, I used different recipes, neither of which had the fabulous taste of this one...So, I am still in search of a great pizzelle recipe. If you have one, please share.
I filled my tuiles (pizzelles) with store bought whipped cream with toasted almonds (Trader Joe's) and the caramel simple syrup from a previous challenge mixed in. There wasn't enough of that mixture to fill both pizzelles, so I filled the rest with plain whipped cream. I drizzled a warmed chocolate sauce on top. The whipped cream started to melt fast. I wished I could have taken more pictures. before the cream melted...Oh well. When eaten, the caramel whipped cream almost tasted like flan or other type of custard. I swear, that syrup is evil-good.
I'll definitely use this recipe again. I bought some 1/16" form core to make a pattern
- Angelique
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Short But Sweet
I didn't think that I'd be able to make this month's challenge as I am in the process of moving from a foreign country back to the states….but when I saw what the challenge was I decided that I would do what I could to make it happen. So here I am….after 3 days of breaking into a vacant house to use the kitchen…presenting to you, The French Yule Log. (okay…maybe not breaking in since I had a key, but it's more exciting if I had and really a true Daring Baker would totally break in to use a kitchen right?)
The French Yule Log
Beautiful
Fun to make
Impressive to others
Delicious
- Amber
The French Yule Log
Beautiful
Fun to make
Impressive to others
Delicious
- Amber
Wow. That was daring. And challenging...
...but the end result was very impressive. I pretty much followed the original recipe except that I made the mouse with milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, and I was glad that I did! With the very dark chocolate glaze and the very dark chocolate layer, the milk chocolate was a nice change. The general consensus was that the praline layer was the best, and the frozen crème brulee layer was a very close second.
This took a lot of time over about three days to make. My mom and brother assisted the making over Christmas, they both love to bake so it was a fun activity for us. I waited till then since I knew I would need space to make it and people to eat it. Mom's kitchen is about 4 times the size of mine.
The only snafu we ran into was in making the praline paste to go into the praline layer. The first batch of sugar ended up black, burnt and in the trash. All was well after that...well, well enough. The crepe for the praline did not cook evenly, but once crushed into bits and coated in chocolate, you could not tell. I think my mousse was a little thick, but it made it easier to spread into the pan.
The only other change I made was in the assembly of the cake. I put the entire cake together at once and put it in the freezer fully assembled upside down in a loaf pan, and it worked just fine. I glazed it the next day and we had a wonderful dessert.
My cake could have been prettier, but it could not have really tasted any better. I enjoyed the whole process but I'm not sure what would inspire me to do this again. I think that if I did want to do it, I would skip the most time consuming part...the praline layer...and use kit kats lined up for that layer instead. I think it tasted very similar to a kit kat and they would be a perfect fill in when you just don't have time for praline paste, crepes, melting chocolate and cooling. . . I was only sad that I had to leave the leftovers at home in my Mom's freezer...oh yea, and my mom said to mention that she's never buying unshelled hazelnuts again!
Can't wait for the next daring challenge!!
This took a lot of time over about three days to make. My mom and brother assisted the making over Christmas, they both love to bake so it was a fun activity for us. I waited till then since I knew I would need space to make it and people to eat it. Mom's kitchen is about 4 times the size of mine.
The only snafu we ran into was in making the praline paste to go into the praline layer. The first batch of sugar ended up black, burnt and in the trash. All was well after that...well, well enough. The crepe for the praline did not cook evenly, but once crushed into bits and coated in chocolate, you could not tell. I think my mousse was a little thick, but it made it easier to spread into the pan.
The only other change I made was in the assembly of the cake. I put the entire cake together at once and put it in the freezer fully assembled upside down in a loaf pan, and it worked just fine. I glazed it the next day and we had a wonderful dessert.
My cake could have been prettier, but it could not have really tasted any better. I enjoyed the whole process but I'm not sure what would inspire me to do this again. I think that if I did want to do it, I would skip the most time consuming part...the praline layer...and use kit kats lined up for that layer instead. I think it tasted very similar to a kit kat and they would be a perfect fill in when you just don't have time for praline paste, crepes, melting chocolate and cooling. . . I was only sad that I had to leave the leftovers at home in my Mom's freezer...oh yea, and my mom said to mention that she's never buying unshelled hazelnuts again!
Can't wait for the next daring challenge!!
Holy procrastinator!!
OK... I admit it.. I am a complete procrastinator, and this is NOT a challenge that you want to procrastinate on! I don't know if my fellow DB's had as hard of a time as I did finding some of the ingredients, (i.e. the almond meal and praline paste) but these things took forever. Oh, and my other problem is I waited to start it at 8:00 last night.
Things went OK overall. It was just very time consuming and I don't have the patients when it gets too late at night. (why did I put it off till the last night?????) I thought the taste was pretty good,and it is defiantly a show stopper.... still not sure it is worth all of the time it takes to make it though.
- Bluzet
The Freakout Before Christmas; or, A Matter of Perspective
Initially, I thought about writing this DB post in rhyming verse, in keeping with the title. Then I realized how much I despise rhyming verse, and would come to hate myself for composing my post with crappy ABAB rhyme, so I’ll spare everyone that foray into dime-store poetry hell.
Last year, about the time I joined the Daring Bakers, I was introduced to the simultaneous joy and terror of the Buche de Noel, alias the Yule Log. In that dessert, a genoise sponge cake was filled with mousse, rolled, frosted with buttercream and adorned with meringue mushrooms. I made two critical errors with that dessert. First, I made a pastry cream instead of a mousse—this made for a less-than-stable filling that wound up gushing out the sides of the cake when I rolled it. Second, I rolled the cake along its short side so that I wound up with a Yule Stump rather than a Yule Log. Well, I was a bit disappointed with the overall appearance of said Stump, but Z. and P. graciously assisted in the devouring of the cake.
I kept everything in perspective and moved on.
This year, the Daring Bakers were introduced (or, at least, I was introduced) to the other variety of a Yule Log, a frozen specialty from Paris that is the apotheosis of the pastry chef’s art. Beautiful and gleaming, these modern Buches’ architectural splendor would make Frank Gehry burn his drafting table and join the pro hacky sack circuit. And here I would be, throwing my toque into the ring, with a dessert that had no fewer than six separate components.
I swallowed my trepidation and threw myself into the project, knowing that it would only strengthen my baking skills. So, four days before I planned on serving the Buche at a holiday gathering at my in-laws’ home, I began the process. Six components, ladies and gentlemen. Orange crème brulee, crisp (corn flakes in chocolate), dark chocolate mousse, cinnamon ganache, almond dacquoise, and dark chocolate glaze. Only someone insane or French would attempt such an endeavor.
Things began to go wrong only when it was time to glaze the Buche. There wasn’t enough of the glaze to cover the log, so I made a double batch and was singularly unimpressed with its appearance or consistency. Instead of a mirror-like finish creating a visually elegant log, I had something lumpy and decidedly gauche, like a guy wearing jams at a gallery opening. Undaunted, I slapped some sliced almonds over the sides and packed up the Buche for transportation to the holiday gathering. Once transported, it went into the freezer, and then was removed to thaw slightly whilst presents were opened. (Thanks for the Williams-Sonoma gift certificate, Jerry!)
Then it came time to slice the Buche. Perhaps I let it thaw too long, or perhaps, by selecting a slightly different mousse recipe than the one provided to the DBers, I hamstrung myself. But when the knife met the Buche, it turned into a sloppy, smeared mess, and the dacquoise was nigh impossible to cut. Rather than the gorgeous modern art I had been anticipating, I was left with something that resembled the Johnstown Flood. Several people attempted to mollify me, assuring me that the cake really didn’t look that bad, and they were sure it tasted wonderful, and that was all that mattered, really. I would not be consoled.
Reader, I freaked out. I stormed upstairs, away from the festivities, and actually shed tears of anger. My poor husband accompanied me, insisting that the Buche was truly fine and no one cared if it looked a bit messy. But no. I was adamantly upset. Mature? Firmly grasping perspective? No and no.
Eventually, I made my way back downstairs where everyone had cleaned their plates and sagely did not mention the fact that I had freaked out days before Christmas because of a cake. We played silly trivia games and had tea, and I morosely picked at my slice of cake, feeling like an utter jackass. I’m fairly certain that this Christmas will forever be known in family lore as The Year Ami Freaked Out. Or perhaps I flatter myself.
In the end, Z. and I had our post mortem and decided certain components of the Buche were tasty (dacquoise, ganache), but overall, the dessert was actually too rich and thus not especially enjoyable. Though, it’s also likely that the flavor was made bitter by my unreasonable expectations. After all, I’m a girl who really prefers a simple brownie or blondie to ornate French pastries. You can’t expect to fly by just running off the roof. At least my hard head broke my fall.
I remain,
Yours, &c.
Ami
Last year, about the time I joined the Daring Bakers, I was introduced to the simultaneous joy and terror of the Buche de Noel, alias the Yule Log. In that dessert, a genoise sponge cake was filled with mousse, rolled, frosted with buttercream and adorned with meringue mushrooms. I made two critical errors with that dessert. First, I made a pastry cream instead of a mousse—this made for a less-than-stable filling that wound up gushing out the sides of the cake when I rolled it. Second, I rolled the cake along its short side so that I wound up with a Yule Stump rather than a Yule Log. Well, I was a bit disappointed with the overall appearance of said Stump, but Z. and P. graciously assisted in the devouring of the cake.
I kept everything in perspective and moved on.
This year, the Daring Bakers were introduced (or, at least, I was introduced) to the other variety of a Yule Log, a frozen specialty from Paris that is the apotheosis of the pastry chef’s art. Beautiful and gleaming, these modern Buches’ architectural splendor would make Frank Gehry burn his drafting table and join the pro hacky sack circuit. And here I would be, throwing my toque into the ring, with a dessert that had no fewer than six separate components.
I swallowed my trepidation and threw myself into the project, knowing that it would only strengthen my baking skills. So, four days before I planned on serving the Buche at a holiday gathering at my in-laws’ home, I began the process. Six components, ladies and gentlemen. Orange crème brulee, crisp (corn flakes in chocolate), dark chocolate mousse, cinnamon ganache, almond dacquoise, and dark chocolate glaze. Only someone insane or French would attempt such an endeavor.
Things began to go wrong only when it was time to glaze the Buche. There wasn’t enough of the glaze to cover the log, so I made a double batch and was singularly unimpressed with its appearance or consistency. Instead of a mirror-like finish creating a visually elegant log, I had something lumpy and decidedly gauche, like a guy wearing jams at a gallery opening. Undaunted, I slapped some sliced almonds over the sides and packed up the Buche for transportation to the holiday gathering. Once transported, it went into the freezer, and then was removed to thaw slightly whilst presents were opened. (Thanks for the Williams-Sonoma gift certificate, Jerry!)
Then it came time to slice the Buche. Perhaps I let it thaw too long, or perhaps, by selecting a slightly different mousse recipe than the one provided to the DBers, I hamstrung myself. But when the knife met the Buche, it turned into a sloppy, smeared mess, and the dacquoise was nigh impossible to cut. Rather than the gorgeous modern art I had been anticipating, I was left with something that resembled the Johnstown Flood. Several people attempted to mollify me, assuring me that the cake really didn’t look that bad, and they were sure it tasted wonderful, and that was all that mattered, really. I would not be consoled.
Reader, I freaked out. I stormed upstairs, away from the festivities, and actually shed tears of anger. My poor husband accompanied me, insisting that the Buche was truly fine and no one cared if it looked a bit messy. But no. I was adamantly upset. Mature? Firmly grasping perspective? No and no.
Eventually, I made my way back downstairs where everyone had cleaned their plates and sagely did not mention the fact that I had freaked out days before Christmas because of a cake. We played silly trivia games and had tea, and I morosely picked at my slice of cake, feeling like an utter jackass. I’m fairly certain that this Christmas will forever be known in family lore as The Year Ami Freaked Out. Or perhaps I flatter myself.
In the end, Z. and I had our post mortem and decided certain components of the Buche were tasty (dacquoise, ganache), but overall, the dessert was actually too rich and thus not especially enjoyable. Though, it’s also likely that the flavor was made bitter by my unreasonable expectations. After all, I’m a girl who really prefers a simple brownie or blondie to ornate French pastries. You can’t expect to fly by just running off the roof. At least my hard head broke my fall.
I remain,
Yours, &c.
Ami
A Very Daring December Challenge
I awaited Decembers challenge with much excitement. After seeing the yule logs from last year I was curious as to what the challenge would be. Well, my heart nearly stopped when I saw the pages and pages of instructions. Very scared!
I must admit that it looked very difficult at first glance and I almost stopped reading and considered not even attempting the challenge. However, challenging is why I joined DB so there was no point in quitting now.
After reading a few other peoples comments about their completed challenges I shortened the instructions by deciding on what flavours to use for each layer and figuring out in which order to make the layers.
I decided on:
Element 1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)
Element 2 White Chocolate Mousse
Element 3 White Chocolate Ganache Insert
Element 4 Milk Chocolate Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert
Element 5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert
Element 6 Milk Chocolate Icing
I stared out with the Crème Brulée which worked fine. I know a few people had issued with it taking a long time to set so I cooked mine on a slightly higher temperature and it was done in the time stated.
I then made the mousse and thought all had gone well until it got to the washing up (which were was plenty of) when I found my gelatine still dissolving in a bowl!!!! Oops. I thought, hey its probably ruined anyway so decided to put the gelatine in at the end, refrigerate for a while and see what happens. By some form of miracle it was fine when I got it out of the fridge so I managed to save it.
Next up were the Dacquoise and the crisp insert. Both went fine although the Dacquoise made more than I thought it would so I ended up with it on the top and the bottom of the log.
I made mine for Christmas day so made it up in advance save for the icing. I only got round to buying the cream for the icing very late on Christmas eve so the shops were virtually bare. The only cream I could get was extra think double cream with Tia Maria but it worked really well and tasted lovely with a bit of alcohol in it.
It was very well received on Christmas day, the only down side is that I struggled to make people believe it was home made! If I were to make this again (which I wont be doing until we get a dishwasher!) then I would try and make the Crème Brulée layer thinner as it did not defrost as quick as the other layers.
- Denise
I must admit that it looked very difficult at first glance and I almost stopped reading and considered not even attempting the challenge. However, challenging is why I joined DB so there was no point in quitting now.
After reading a few other peoples comments about their completed challenges I shortened the instructions by deciding on what flavours to use for each layer and figuring out in which order to make the layers.
I decided on:
Element 1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)
Element 2 White Chocolate Mousse
Element 3 White Chocolate Ganache Insert
Element 4 Milk Chocolate Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert
Element 5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert
Element 6 Milk Chocolate Icing
I stared out with the Crème Brulée which worked fine. I know a few people had issued with it taking a long time to set so I cooked mine on a slightly higher temperature and it was done in the time stated.
I then made the mousse and thought all had gone well until it got to the washing up (which were was plenty of) when I found my gelatine still dissolving in a bowl!!!! Oops. I thought, hey its probably ruined anyway so decided to put the gelatine in at the end, refrigerate for a while and see what happens. By some form of miracle it was fine when I got it out of the fridge so I managed to save it.
Next up were the Dacquoise and the crisp insert. Both went fine although the Dacquoise made more than I thought it would so I ended up with it on the top and the bottom of the log.
I made mine for Christmas day so made it up in advance save for the icing. I only got round to buying the cream for the icing very late on Christmas eve so the shops were virtually bare. The only cream I could get was extra think double cream with Tia Maria but it worked really well and tasted lovely with a bit of alcohol in it.
It was very well received on Christmas day, the only down side is that I struggled to make people believe it was home made! If I were to make this again (which I wont be doing until we get a dishwasher!) then I would try and make the Crème Brulée layer thinner as it did not defrost as quick as the other layers.
- Denise
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
December Challenge...
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. Thank you all for the challenge - it was definitely the most daunting to think about all month long, so far, which is the point, now, isn't it? :)
My Yule Log is currently in the freezer setting up for its final journey to a New Year's Eve party tonight! I am hoping beyond all hope that it is delicious because it was time- and freezer-consuming :)
I'll go through the Log, component by component, and will have to come back tomorrow to post on overall flavor because we won't be cutting into it until tonight. I made my Log in a traditional bread loaf pan, lined with the poor choice of Press 'n Seal plastic wrap - it made my outside layer very wrinkly and was a b**** to get out of the frozen pan to ice.
Dacquoise: This was easier than I had anticipated. For some reason I kept imagining this being crunchy after baking, but alas, it is cake...why I thought this, I have no idea. I'm embarrassed to say that I actually went to school for baking & pastry arts and have MADE dacquoise before, so I don't know what was wrong with me in that thinking. I actually started certain components on Monday - this was reserved for Tuesday and I set aside a lot more time than I actually needed, which was nice, because it was started at almost 11 PM. The only thing I couldn't find was the almond meal, so I made my own, skins on.
Mousse: I actually went with the milk chocolate chantilly cream. I am a lover of dark chocolate, but I know quite a few unfortunate people who prefer the milk version, so I tried to mix and match so it wouldn't be too rich for them (trust me...everyone at this party tonight WILL try this thing!). It came out wonderfully and is delicious. I made this on Monday, refrigerated over night and whipped it up Tuesday night just before filling the mold.
Creme Brulee: I made the traditional vanilla creme brulee, however I have been having a hard time getting vanilla beans lately, so I went with straight pure vanilla extract - I do love vanilla bean specks, though, so it's not as pretty as it could be, but I used a pretty high quality extract, so hopefully the flavor is respectable. This was prepared and baked Monday and frozen overnight. It took almost 2 hours to bake, with a water bath. I'm a little afraid that I may have actually over-baked it, but the problem I was having was the center seemed set early on, but my edges were actually a little watery - meanwhile, the recipe said to bake until the edges are firm and the center is wobbly...hmmmm...
Praline Insert: Unable to find praline paste and failing to print out ingredients for the July praline recipe before shopping, I used Rice Krispies, milk chocolate and Nutella. I sampled some scrap pieces and it was okay...I am usually a big fan of Nutella, but the flavor wasn't really what I was hoping for. My hopes have now turned to assuming the praline layer will taste divine when it is cuddled up against all the other layers :) This was easy enough - I made it on Monday and kept it in the fridge overnight. Because I rolled it out long enough, I was able to cut two layers and just stacked them right on top of each other to make one thick layer.
Ganache: Okay, so if you look at photos of my Log, you will notice it is sadly missing a layer - there is no ganache. I am just embarrassed to admit that I did not have time. The only way I could see myself getting this layer completed and inside the Log would have been to set my alarm for like 2 AM this morning to get up and make it then, so it would have enough time in the freezer before icing. I won't go into my list of excuses - I wanted to bring this thing to NYE, so I have only that to fall back on.
Icing: I made the original dark chocolate icing, which I just finished about an hour ago. I actually had to make this twice - the first time, I used the 1/4 cup of water to soften the gelatin (powdered), not realizing that was in addition. By the time the chocolate mixture had cooked the additional 3 minutes, it was dry and burnt. So, round 2 - everything was fine, however, I felt it got a bit lumpy from the gelatin, so I wound up straining it and losing quite a bit of it in that process. This lead to a more "side-drip" look, rather than the desired full-coverage. If my outer mousse layer had been smoother I would have been fine with the drips, but it looks like a bit of a hot mess, as though it may have started celebrating NYE early, if you know what I mean. :) I'm heading to the party around 8 (it's about 3:00 now), so I'm trying to think of a fabulously creative way to decorate it and then I'll have pics ready to post.
- Laura, Lucky Cupcake
One Heck of a Yule Log (My First Daring Baker Challenge)
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
Wow! What an intimidating recipe – I kept staring at the binder-clipped packet that was to be my first Daring Baker challenge and wondering if I really wanted to try this. The truth is that I’m somewhat of an amateur baker and many of the items that made up the yule log were things I had never made before. Not wanting to be timid or take the easy way out, I made my grocery list and was on my way.
As Christmas edged closer (D-day for the yule log as a smashing dessert at my family’s get-together), I repeatedly checked the Daring Baker forums and was so thankful to be learning from other people as they worked their way through the different elements. From others and from my own experience with this, here’s what I learned, element by element (I should say that I stuck pretty much to the standard recipe except for using the milk chocolate ganache – since it was my first challenge, I didn’t want to get too risky):
1. I made my own praline for the crisp and then used Special K Protein Plus (because who doesn’t want a little healthiness mixed in with their sinfulness?). This was my husband’s favorite part. I thought this was a very easy element to make.
2. The crème brulee – ah, a lesson in trusting my own judgment. Just like others found in the forums, my brulee was nowhere near done at the given temp. So I bumped it up and kept it in longer…longer than my gut said it should be. Sure enough, it was slightly overdone. I waited until it was frozen and I was ready to embed it in the log before slicing off the top ¼ inch, which was very chewy and yellow (yuck!)
3. The dacquoise was easy to make but I didn’t really like the taste of it by itself. Fortunately, mixed with all the chocolate in the log, you can’t really taste it. It was super sticky, however; I may not have let it bake long enough.
4. The mousse was also easy to make – easier than I expected. It turned out absolutely delicious and was truly my favorite part of the whole dessert.
5. The ganache – also very yummy. I decided to go with the milk chocolate simply because I had the two different chocolates available to me and wanted to somewhat temper the overwhelming dark chocolate taste of the other elements.
6. The icing was probably the most difficult part, simply because I’ve never made this type of icing before, and I thought icing a frozen log was pretty challenging. My icing kept gelling up very quickly once touching the log, so smoothing the tops and sides was somewhat futile. My final product turned out a little lumpy and bumpy, but fortunately family doesn’t judge too harshly! I’m not really the best decorator so I used a few almonds I had set aside for a simple decoration and decided to be done with it.
Holy crow, the dishes – I swear I dirtied every dish in my entire house, and it took 3 runs of the dishwasher to clean them all! However, the family loved it, commenting on how rich and delicious it was. And I have certainly been enjoying the leftovers, pulling out the log whenever I feel a post-Christmas chocolate craving hit. When my hubby asked if I thought it was worth the work, I didn’t really know how to answer. I asked him if he thought it was worth all the dishes, to which he promptly responded, “No!”
Although I’ll probably not include this as an annual dessert for the holidays, I did enjoy making it as I learned SO much! Thanks Hilda and Marion for an excellent challenge!
-Tricia
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand
Wow! What an intimidating recipe – I kept staring at the binder-clipped packet that was to be my first Daring Baker challenge and wondering if I really wanted to try this. The truth is that I’m somewhat of an amateur baker and many of the items that made up the yule log were things I had never made before. Not wanting to be timid or take the easy way out, I made my grocery list and was on my way.
As Christmas edged closer (D-day for the yule log as a smashing dessert at my family’s get-together), I repeatedly checked the Daring Baker forums and was so thankful to be learning from other people as they worked their way through the different elements. From others and from my own experience with this, here’s what I learned, element by element (I should say that I stuck pretty much to the standard recipe except for using the milk chocolate ganache – since it was my first challenge, I didn’t want to get too risky):
1. I made my own praline for the crisp and then used Special K Protein Plus (because who doesn’t want a little healthiness mixed in with their sinfulness?). This was my husband’s favorite part. I thought this was a very easy element to make.
2. The crème brulee – ah, a lesson in trusting my own judgment. Just like others found in the forums, my brulee was nowhere near done at the given temp. So I bumped it up and kept it in longer…longer than my gut said it should be. Sure enough, it was slightly overdone. I waited until it was frozen and I was ready to embed it in the log before slicing off the top ¼ inch, which was very chewy and yellow (yuck!)
3. The dacquoise was easy to make but I didn’t really like the taste of it by itself. Fortunately, mixed with all the chocolate in the log, you can’t really taste it. It was super sticky, however; I may not have let it bake long enough.
4. The mousse was also easy to make – easier than I expected. It turned out absolutely delicious and was truly my favorite part of the whole dessert.
5. The ganache – also very yummy. I decided to go with the milk chocolate simply because I had the two different chocolates available to me and wanted to somewhat temper the overwhelming dark chocolate taste of the other elements.
6. The icing was probably the most difficult part, simply because I’ve never made this type of icing before, and I thought icing a frozen log was pretty challenging. My icing kept gelling up very quickly once touching the log, so smoothing the tops and sides was somewhat futile. My final product turned out a little lumpy and bumpy, but fortunately family doesn’t judge too harshly! I’m not really the best decorator so I used a few almonds I had set aside for a simple decoration and decided to be done with it.
Holy crow, the dishes – I swear I dirtied every dish in my entire house, and it took 3 runs of the dishwasher to clean them all! However, the family loved it, commenting on how rich and delicious it was. And I have certainly been enjoying the leftovers, pulling out the log whenever I feel a post-Christmas chocolate craving hit. When my hubby asked if I thought it was worth the work, I didn’t really know how to answer. I asked him if he thought it was worth all the dishes, to which he promptly responded, “No!”
Although I’ll probably not include this as an annual dessert for the holidays, I did enjoy making it as I learned SO much! Thanks Hilda and Marion for an excellent challenge!
-Tricia
French Yule Log
Wow this month's challange was a big one, what with all the other xmas baking going on, not to mention all the indulgent eating already afoot as well!
I enjoyed making this challange, as I experimented with changing a few of the layers, and it gave me quite a good opportunity to be creative :)
I made a strawberry moose, which I can wildly recommend, it tasted so strongly of strawberry, and was such a light fresh and cooling desert to eat, I could have had the whole bowl if I didn't have to use it in the challange! Plus the sugar for the french merange used to airate the moose what just enough sweetness for the tart frozen strawberries I used in the puree.
I also changed the creme brulee layer, and made it with some fresh french and ordinary cottage garden lavender I had growing in my garden. I think I was remembering back to a sorbet combination that used strawberries with lavender and thought they would compliment each other. They did, but the creme brulee took a bit longer to cook through, even though I used the water bath method, and was quite a slippery item to deal with, requiring a good freezing before I dare lift it out of the tray to cut it to size. One thing I might change, if I can figure out how, is the amount of lavender I use, or maybe trim more off the stem, as there was a slight bitter taste to the brulee, from the essential oils in the plant I think.
I made the praline crisp layer, and the biscuit layer with hazelnuts, using a mix of rice puffs and cornflakes in the praline layer, and the hazelnut meal, and also some grated orange rind in the biscuit. The biscuit was probably my second favorite layer, and was really tasty on it's own. But sadly I was getting over chocolate by this stage of cooking and xmas eating, or I would have loved the praline layer too.
the ganache layer was easy, but I should have let it cool a bit more before putting it in the mould, but it didn't matter. But I REALLY should have awaited till the icing cooled. I was worried about it 'gelling' up as it had for other challangers, and not getting it to cover the log, but I didn't really give it a chance to cool...at all...and it ran straight off! luckily I scraped the remains back and let the first covering freeze a little, and just added the rest later. I didn't find it gummy to eat, it was pleasant enough, just so rich all together.
I ran out of moose in the assembly, which was a shame, as I would have liked some left over to eat :), but I just substituted some whipped cream instead. I made a large log to share with family, and a mini log to drop off to some friends who were doing volunteer work on christmas day. So I ended up having no strawberry moose to make their log. Luckily, I have my birthday on 21 Dec, and had made a chocolate moose raspberry cake, and had moose left over from that, so in that went, thinned down with some whipped cream, as that was already very rich.
All the layers stacked well, but just looked a bit awkward. I would have had a nice pic of the finished big log before the cutting, but it had to travel in an eski to my aunt's place on xmas day. It was a hot day, which didn't help matters, but sadly, the log had a car accident, when the eski tipped going round a corner, so the attempted icing of an xmas tree on top, got very smooshed, as did the choc icing coating as well :(
People seemed to like it, and be able to taste the lavender in the brulee. I forced some down, but sadly I was so over making it and over chocolate, that I didn't really enjoy it as much as I'd have liked. Like everyone else, the creme brulee layer just didn't defrost as well as the rest of the log, and had to be eaten still icy. I think it too a lot away from the creaminess it had in it's semi frozen state.
I loved being able to be creative changing the elements in the layer. Although my pics don't tell a very good story, I enjoyed the challange and hope the new year of DB challanges is just as exciting and new as this one :)
- Monique
My First Challenge - The French Yule Log
This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry ( http://saffronandblueberry.blogspot.com) and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. (http://ilenfautpeupour.canalblog.com/)
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand http://plaisirgourmand.perso.cegetel.net/
The French Yule Log
My first Daring Baker challenge and it lived up to its title. While the individual components were not particularly difficult (although I did have a few struggles), the timing and the assembly process had me running to the instructions repeatedly.
The dacquiose was easy. I found almond meal, the whole thing went together quickly and the baking turned out just right. I think I would make it slightly thicker were I to do this again, but it was fine. There was plenty, so if I had made mistakes in cutting to fit my pan, I would have had a lot of room for error.
The crème brulee took much longer to cook than indicated on the recipe and didn’t really make much progress until I bumped the temp on the oven up a few degrees. I flavored my brulee with a little peach schnapps, but it didn’t seem to make a big difference. I also baked it in a pan which was a little too small - a bigger pan would have made a more attractive layer within the log.
I made raspberry mousse and probably had the most problems with this component. First of all, I used frozen raspberries (from the Skagit Valley of Washington, so I knew they would be wonderful). This, however, required quite a bit of blending and sieving to get all the seeds out. With the help of my husband, I managed to get this done and the color was gorgeous. The Italian meringue was a pain. Cooking the sugar to the right temp was OK, but adding it to the egg whites resulted in big globs of hard sugar. I tasted it and it seemed sweet enough, so I did not redo it. Definitely I need to practice that! The gelatin for the mousse was also a pain. I really think I just didn’t understand the instructions. Microwave for 1 second? Really? Didn’t do a thing. I finally just melted the gelatin in some water over the stove and added it. I think it would have worked better to soften the gelatin for about 5 minutes in some cold water and then add it to the hot raspberry puree – not lukewarm, as suggested in the mango mousse recipe. Anyway, the mousse turned out, although it was less firm than I expected.
The dark chocolate ganache was easy.
I made my own praline from almonds and then made the Feuillete using Rice Krispies and that worked just fine. Had lots left over. The amounts of product from these recipes varied greatly. For some components, it was just enough but for others, either way too much or way too little. I used the leftover almond praline in a wonderful green salad with blue cheese.
I decided against fiddling with gelatin again and made another chocolate ganache with bittersweet chocolate to be the icing. It set up beautifully.
End result: It looked a little less than perfect because the sides were uneven. I used a springform which is smaller diameter than most but deeper, since I thought that would give me the most flexibility with the various layers. It was not as evenly layered as I had hoped, but it still looked pretty good when cut, especially with the raspberry mousse contrasted with the dark chocolate. It also tasted pretty good, but all that chocolate made it really rich!
- Bunnee
Monday, December 29, 2008
Daring Bakers December Challenge
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
The name of cookbook/website link for this challenge [http://plaisirgourmand.perso.cegetel.net/index.html]
The name of the December 2008 challenge recipe author is [Flore].
Link to challenge: Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry (http://saffronandblueberry.blogspot.com/) and Marion of (Il en faut peu pour etre heureux (http://ilenfautpeupour.canalblog.com/).
I was a little apprehensive about my first Daring Bakers Challenge, but in the end, turned out to be a fun process with a dessert to enjoy in the end. I procrastinated making the yule log until the holiday madness, eh, I mean holiday cheer was complete.
I liked making the layers rather than rolling the log. I tried to stick to the basic recipe, but I would definitely love to try the variations on the layers, especially the coconut. I was to anxious to cut the log and take some pics. I think it needed to set longer in the fridge. The yule log was a nice alternative to the over abundance of holiday cookies.
Thanks to Lauren of illeatyou.com for introducing me to the Daring Bakers. Looking forward to the next challenge!
- Abby
Yule Bomb…er…Brick…er…Log
Many thanks to Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry (http://saffronandblueberry.blogspot.com/) and Marion of Il en faut peu pour etre heureux (http://ilenfautpeupour.canalblog.com/) for this month’s daring baker challenge: A French Yule Log! The original recipe for the log is attributed to Flore and can be found here http://plaisirgourmand.perso.cegetel.net/index.html.
This challenge seemed quite daunting, requiring completion of 6 separate elements that are ultimately layered to form a scrumptious semi-frozen treat. I spent days “studying” the recipes, planning my grocery list (which included top-quality vanilla beans and chocolate bars), and determining the best order in which to execute the components. With so many elements, I chose to follow the recipe to the letter, not deviating with alternative flavorings. My goal was to prepare everything from scratch—even the gavottes (a product sold only in France) and the praline. But I was on a tight schedule with time being short for other holiday obligations (and plenty of snow shoveling). I did not have room for mistakes. BIG MISTAKE using that philosophy. This challenge certainly knocked my ego, hard.
This is where it began. The first recipe I chose to tackle was the Praline Feuillete. This is where things started to go wrong. I made the hazelnut praline without a hitch and then turned my attention to the gavottes. I guess I didn’t spread the batter thin enough because it never got to the crispy stage upon baking and stayed in a more pancake like form. Fortunately, I had purchased a box of crisped rice cereal as a back-up. I reached for it immediately while gobbling the still warm “gavotte”. YUM!
Next came the crème brulee insert. I thought for sure this would be no problem. I’ve made this treat more than a handful of times. Unfortunately, mine didn’t really set after baking for an hour. I thought for sure it would upon cooling, but it did not. Feeling harried I stuck it in the freezer, surely it would harden now! Most unfortunately I don’t think I gave it enough time to freeze. When it came time to assemble this layer it was still a sad, goopy mess.
Onto the mousse. My pate a bombe was just that—a total bomb! The egg yolks never became frothy and the sugar syrup turned to spun sugar and hardened against the sides of the mixing bowl upon contact. Why did this happen?! I can make Italian buttercream like a professional! Determined, I proceeded forth with the result, setting my mixer to whip the cream and furiously chopping chocolate for the next recipe. By the time I got back to the mixer my cream was on its way to becoming fresh butter. OOPS! This did not stop me from assembling the mousse with the components as they stood—no time to redouble now is what I was thinking. In the end, the mousse was actually not half bad—tasty and much more dense than one should expect. Though, this proved to be an added challenge when it came to assembly.
Next, I made the dacquoise biscuit and then the ganache. Both seemed to go off without a hitch. (Finally!) Then, I proceeded to assemble the log. The biscuit was plentiful, so I added it to both the top and bottom layers. Same for the praline, but these I stacked on top one another. Spreading the mousse was not a moment of which I’m proud. With its stiff consistency it seemed best to grab handfuls and pack into shape where necessary (picture mud pie assembly to understand technique). When it came time to pull the crème brulee from the freezer, I was deflated to see that it still was goop. Wanting to push forward (TICK-TOCK), I eased the goop as best I could into its requisite position and covered quickly with more mousse. It’s bound to freeze eventually, right? (This is why the crème brulee portion appears absent from the log. The layer was so thin, it melded almost inconspicuously with the surrounding mousse.)
While unmolding and icing my log I thought the shape was more reminiscent of a brick and hence named it so. Not having an occasion to serve it (Thank God, it’s appearance is a little embarrassing), I didn’t add any festive trifles on top. I imagined sprigs of holly or gumdrop snowmen and Santas would be really cute. A wintery scene definitely would offset its otherwise questionable appearance. Instead, I sliced the brick into servings and wrapped each individually to store in the freezer. No worries, my sweet tooth will not let these linger for too long. Perhaps I’ll even share with a non-judgmental friend or two. This dessert is so very tasty, despite my shortcomings in its execution.
-olivia
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Yummy Yule Log
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
I was scared and excited for the December challenge. I'm glad I kept updating myself with reading the forum because various corrections due to comments and questions were made with the recipes.
Here are my comments:
Dacquoise - I did not have much problem with this, simple recipe and easy to follow
Mousse - Tasted really good! Simple to make but I did encounter confusion with the gelatine sheets. Recipe called for 2.5 sheets or 5 g. Since I had a good food scale I decided to take the weight and 2.5 sheets was way over 5 g. so i decided to just go by weight and ended up just using about 1 1/4 sheet of gelatin. Mousse consistency came out well.
Ganache - I may have made my sugar syrup too dark as I noticed that the ganache alone came out tasting quite bitter, together with the other components though it was not noticeable
Praline crisp insert - Decided to make my own gavotte and I had to do it twice. The first one crisped and burned at the edges while the middle part remained pale colored (raw). The second batch I made I lowered the temperature and although the edgest turned brown/burned real fast the rest came out a nice brown color. I just discarded the burned edges.
Creme Brulee insert - No problem with this recipe. Consistency was really good and taste was fantastic
Icing - Most comments regarding the icing in the forum mentioned that the recipe was not enough so most doubled. I wanted to make sure mine covered the log so I tripled the recipe.
I did the log for our family Christmas lunch and it was a hit. I would do it again. It is time consuming but it is not difficult to make.
aleli
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
It's Very Close...
Shuna’s Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting,
Pecan Praline Topping and Caramelized Bananas
Pecan Praline Topping and Caramelized Bananas
“Don’t ask a Southern boy if your Caramel Cake is better than my mother’s,” exclaimed my husband once when I asked for a comparison. So it was no surprise to me when his eyebrows perked up when I informed him of the Daring Bakers’ Challenge for November.
His mother’s recipe consisted of a plain vanilla cake, which was not too sweet, which helps balance the rich caramel icing made of butter, brown sugar, vanilla and evaporated milk. Simple, but good! Our challenge recipe is somewhat different.
First, homemade caramel syrup is added to both cake batter and icing. Second, the butter in the icing is browned first, and then beaten. I was up to the challenge and curious to see if Mother-in-Law’s recipe would take a back seat to this upstart!
Shuna Fish Lydon, who earned a BFA in photography, and has been a professional cook and baker for 15 years, created the DB Challenge recipe. Her Caramel Cake recipe can be found here: http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/.
Here’s my experience:
For the syrup I determined that 6 minutes and 30 seconds was enough boiling on high heat to produce the smoke. By then it measured about 355°F! With a wire sieve over the syrup, I quickly poured the cold water without it splattering out.
Upon reading some of the comments on the members’ forum, I decided to reduce the amount of sugar in the batter by ¼ cup. I also added ¾ cup chopped and toasted pecans to balance the sweetness, add a nutty twist, and shadow the Praline Topping.
The batter was beaten and beaten and appeared curdled in the end. 2 tablespoons extra flour seemed to do the trick, then Batter Man (hubby) insisted on his raw portion, which was met with good reviews. I used an 8x8 square pan and baked the batter in two batches, but even though the layers did not rise as much as expected it was dense and delicious!
The Caramelized Butter Frosting also had that curdled look, but that was mended with the addition of about ½ stick softened butter, which helped bring the ingredients to a smooth mass. Icing Man (hubby) exclaimed it a killer icing!
I filled the layers with icing and iced the cake. I decorated the top with a Pecan Praline Topping I have been making for years. Here’s the link to the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pecan-Praline-Topping-104320. It’s delicious and very easy to make.
At the last minute, I sliced some bananas, sprinkled them with turbinado sugar, and sicked my kitchen torch on them. The flavor added yet another dimension to the seriously sweet confection.
The cake (in small portions) was enjoyed by many over Thanksgiving weekend. My niece, Sasha, requested it for her birthday next year, and hubby deemed it ‘very close’ to mama Mrs. Virginia Bolt Harris’ Caramel Cake. Now that’s a huge compliment!
Ms. Lydon’s blog http://eggbeater.typepad.com/ is a wealth of information for the home baker and I’ll be checking it periodically for ideas and tips. Thanks for being a good sport through our efforts in replicating your cake.
Thanks to our hosts Dolores (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/), Alex (http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com) and Jenny (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/) for hosting the challenge. It’s been so much fun!
- Dragana
His mother’s recipe consisted of a plain vanilla cake, which was not too sweet, which helps balance the rich caramel icing made of butter, brown sugar, vanilla and evaporated milk. Simple, but good! Our challenge recipe is somewhat different.
First, homemade caramel syrup is added to both cake batter and icing. Second, the butter in the icing is browned first, and then beaten. I was up to the challenge and curious to see if Mother-in-Law’s recipe would take a back seat to this upstart!
Shuna Fish Lydon, who earned a BFA in photography, and has been a professional cook and baker for 15 years, created the DB Challenge recipe. Her Caramel Cake recipe can be found here: http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/.
Here’s my experience:
For the syrup I determined that 6 minutes and 30 seconds was enough boiling on high heat to produce the smoke. By then it measured about 355°F! With a wire sieve over the syrup, I quickly poured the cold water without it splattering out.
Upon reading some of the comments on the members’ forum, I decided to reduce the amount of sugar in the batter by ¼ cup. I also added ¾ cup chopped and toasted pecans to balance the sweetness, add a nutty twist, and shadow the Praline Topping.
The batter was beaten and beaten and appeared curdled in the end. 2 tablespoons extra flour seemed to do the trick, then Batter Man (hubby) insisted on his raw portion, which was met with good reviews. I used an 8x8 square pan and baked the batter in two batches, but even though the layers did not rise as much as expected it was dense and delicious!
The Caramelized Butter Frosting also had that curdled look, but that was mended with the addition of about ½ stick softened butter, which helped bring the ingredients to a smooth mass. Icing Man (hubby) exclaimed it a killer icing!
I filled the layers with icing and iced the cake. I decorated the top with a Pecan Praline Topping I have been making for years. Here’s the link to the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pecan-Praline-Topping-104320. It’s delicious and very easy to make.
At the last minute, I sliced some bananas, sprinkled them with turbinado sugar, and sicked my kitchen torch on them. The flavor added yet another dimension to the seriously sweet confection.
The cake (in small portions) was enjoyed by many over Thanksgiving weekend. My niece, Sasha, requested it for her birthday next year, and hubby deemed it ‘very close’ to mama Mrs. Virginia Bolt Harris’ Caramel Cake. Now that’s a huge compliment!
Ms. Lydon’s blog http://eggbeater.typepad.com/ is a wealth of information for the home baker and I’ll be checking it periodically for ideas and tips. Thanks for being a good sport through our efforts in replicating your cake.
Thanks to our hosts Dolores (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/), Alex (http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com) and Jenny (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/) for hosting the challenge. It’s been so much fun!
- Dragana
Monday, December 1, 2008
I *heart* Caramel Cake!
I love this cake! I have to admit I almost didn't make it. You know, with all the "have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back" and "for safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into" talk - YIKES! Thankfully, my inner Daring Baker stepped in and gave me a good slap in the face and I got to work.
I made the heart-shaped cakes first and froze them because I didn't feel like putting it all together in one night and I was getting ready to go on vacation (excuses, excuses) but mostly because I'm a lazy procrastinator. I'm hoping one of these days I will do my challenge at the start of the month so that I'm not scrambling to make it under the deadline.
Everything worked out well. I let my cake thaw out while making the buttercream. The icing is delicious but very sweet. When I make this cake again I think I will have to either lessen the sugar or use some sort of substitute. The caramel sauce set up perfectly on top. I could have made the caramels but...you guessed it...I'm lazy. I think I would like to try some of the ideas of the other challengers posted on what they did with their leftover sauce. We have quite a talented and creative group here:-)
I had a lot of fun with this challenge - thank you!!!
RECIPE SOURCE Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), as published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/).Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, Artisan Press, Copyright 2007, ISBN: 978-1579652111
HOSTS (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/) Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/). Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/).
Comforting Caramel Cake
This caramel cake was comfort food at its best for me. I have always loved crème caramel. Combining it with browned butter was brilliant! I followed the recipe to a “T” and everything came together just right. I have never caramelized sugar with water before and I was so glad that there were detailed instructions warning me about all the sputtering and splattering that was to take place. You can see that I took my caramelized sugar to a pretty deep amber color – it was really flavorful. I didn’t have a deep cake pan so I just made two 9 inch cakes. I think this is even better than a single layer, because I love having a layer of frosting in the middle!
Two things I would do differently: 1) Cut a little off the edge of the top layer so that the frosting would slope down and the caramel drizzles would “drip” down the sides in a more appealing manner and 2) Take my cake out earlier – I got distracted and so the cake went a little longer than I meant for it to – just a tiny bit dryer than I wanted it to be.
My girls and I ate cake two evenings in a row and cut the rest in slices for the freezer. What a decadent treat to pull out of the freezer every so often! The remaining sugar syrup is being used to flavor steamed milks and my morning yogurt. What a delicious fall dessert to make.
- Robin
November Daring Bakers Challenge - Caramel Cake
We, humans, tent to think, that certain things are given forever. But from time to time things go missing. And that includes people, too.
There are many reasons for that. Most often it’s an accident. This is out of our control. But sometimes it’s possible to help to avoid that. By treating depression, talking to teenagers or simply having strong, real contact with people we love or just like and have a real friendship with.
In order to restore those, sometimes lost in this fast and rushy world, bounds, one of the NGO in my country called to organize a Tea for friends and family. Also they asked for donation during it, because it’s their way of found-raising. It was called for this last week and became for me a perfect occasion to ask my dear friends to try CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING. And they liked it. And they were generous. So thanks for hosts of the November Daring Bakers’ challenge, Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray of Food for choosing Shuna Fish Lydon’s Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. For great recipe that raised quite a lot of money for people who look for their loved ones.
- Borgia
Nov 2008 - Caramels!
Since I didn’t participate in last month’s pizza challenge, I tried to make up for it by making both the caramel cake and the optional caramels. Overall, I loved the flavors and the rich, caramel smell that filled the kitchen. And that sugar rush… ohh, the sugar rush!
The caramel cake was very tasty and the syrup in the recipe helped to add moisture to the cake. The crumb was a little dense, but that may be because I accidentally added the milk too early. The frosting was a bit too sweet for my taste, but that didn’t stop me from covering the cake with even more caramel syrup! Toasted coconut would nicely complement the frosting and cake as well. I had a lot of leftover caramel syrup, but that will happily accompany many future, delicious ice cream sundaes. 
I’m not a huge fan of plain caramels, so I decided to use the caramel candy to make caramel apples and candy turtles. I like my caramels to be soft, and so I kept the caramel in the soft ball stage. The caramel was creamy, chewy, and very, very sweet. Since I didn’t have golden syrup, I substituted half honey and corn syrup. Either my caramels were super sweet because of this change, or I just do not have the sweet tooth I thought I did. Unfortunately, I lost the pictures of the candy turtles. I topped the turtles with a simple chocolate coating of melted chocolate chips and they turned out great. Recipes: Shuna Fish Lydon’s Caramel Cake (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/) and Alice Medrich’s Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels (Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, Artisan Press, Copyright 2007, ISBN: 978-1579652111). Thanks to host Dolores (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/) and co-hosts Alex (http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/), and Natalie (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/).
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Maturity; or, Blub
The process of retrospection is one in which we begin to engage early in life. When we’re children, we often ask our parents about what we were like as babies. The teen years are often marked with a disgust and dismissal of our childhood, even as we cling to small talismans of those first years or invest in them a kind of kitchy reverence. Who amongst us hasn’t pondered the manifold mysteries of the Kroftt Superstars, especially whilst under the influence of controlled substances? (Not I, of course. )
But those are external factors. A fascinating aspect of growing older is observing our internal changes—why something that once seemed so pleasing or wonderful to us is now appalling, or vice versa. Food is one of the best indicators of these changes. One day, we wake up, and smoked gouda cheese is suddenly delicious, but uncooked Pop Tarts are not. (Again, this might change under the influence of certain controlled substances....)
As a child, I had a boundless appetite for sweets. I used to be able to eat, in one sitting, two full-sized candy bars and drink an entire soda, and not feel like purging afterwards. It also helped that I had the metabolism of a bee, and could cram fistfuls of Rolos into my mouth without gaining a pound. The thought is less than appetizing now. Also, the metabolism has slowed considerably since then, which is not helped by my journeys into gourmandism.
In my childhood, anything chocolate, especially milk chocolate, was my favorite. A slice of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting was the height of gastronomic pleasure. Gradually, however, my love of intensely sweet desserts waned, until, one day, I discovered that my favorite desserts involved the salty sweet flavors of butterscotch and caramel. The innovation of adding salt to caramel was a revelation. The perfect sharp note that helped ground the fancies of caramelized sugar—the bliss of heaven, tempered by earthy reality.
This month, the DB challenge was a caramel cake with browned butter caramel frosting. I was ready to embrace the mature me.
To ensure that all facets of my personality were satisfied, I made sure to liberally salt the frosting with kosher salt. I also added some toasted pecans as a garnish, a touch which the young me would have sneered at. The cake was baked up as cupcakes, to be served at P.’s birthday dinner, and also to give to L. for her birthday present. Fitting that this cake, the signifier of maturation, was to be served for several birthdays, but yet in the shape that evoked the innocent years of childhood.
The verdict? The cake was moist and had a pleasing, dense crumb without being heavy. The caramel flavor of the cake was, however, muted. But the frosting...ah, the frosting. It won acclaim from both birthday girls as well as other friends. Sweet, but perfectly mitigated by the salt. I could have eaten it alone with a spoon and, in a moment of weakness, I did just that when alone with some leftover frosting. It was also liberally smeared upon some chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Z. and I were rapturous.
There was actually a little bit of cake batter left over from the cupcakes, so I caved my less mature side and baked up a tiny cake that looked exactly what I wished had emerged from my EZ Bake Oven twenty five years ago. (All the cakes that did come out of the EZ Bake resembled burnt little pucks, so now I have my retribution. Take that, Hasbro!) Perhaps not the most sophisticated and adult decision, but if we can’t indulge our childish whims every once in a while, then what’s the point of getting older?
I remain,
Your servant, &c.
Ami
But those are external factors. A fascinating aspect of growing older is observing our internal changes—why something that once seemed so pleasing or wonderful to us is now appalling, or vice versa. Food is one of the best indicators of these changes. One day, we wake up, and smoked gouda cheese is suddenly delicious, but uncooked Pop Tarts are not. (Again, this might change under the influence of certain controlled substances....)
As a child, I had a boundless appetite for sweets. I used to be able to eat, in one sitting, two full-sized candy bars and drink an entire soda, and not feel like purging afterwards. It also helped that I had the metabolism of a bee, and could cram fistfuls of Rolos into my mouth without gaining a pound. The thought is less than appetizing now. Also, the metabolism has slowed considerably since then, which is not helped by my journeys into gourmandism.
In my childhood, anything chocolate, especially milk chocolate, was my favorite. A slice of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting was the height of gastronomic pleasure. Gradually, however, my love of intensely sweet desserts waned, until, one day, I discovered that my favorite desserts involved the salty sweet flavors of butterscotch and caramel. The innovation of adding salt to caramel was a revelation. The perfect sharp note that helped ground the fancies of caramelized sugar—the bliss of heaven, tempered by earthy reality.
This month, the DB challenge was a caramel cake with browned butter caramel frosting. I was ready to embrace the mature me.
To ensure that all facets of my personality were satisfied, I made sure to liberally salt the frosting with kosher salt. I also added some toasted pecans as a garnish, a touch which the young me would have sneered at. The cake was baked up as cupcakes, to be served at P.’s birthday dinner, and also to give to L. for her birthday present. Fitting that this cake, the signifier of maturation, was to be served for several birthdays, but yet in the shape that evoked the innocent years of childhood.
The verdict? The cake was moist and had a pleasing, dense crumb without being heavy. The caramel flavor of the cake was, however, muted. But the frosting...ah, the frosting. It won acclaim from both birthday girls as well as other friends. Sweet, but perfectly mitigated by the salt. I could have eaten it alone with a spoon and, in a moment of weakness, I did just that when alone with some leftover frosting. It was also liberally smeared upon some chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Z. and I were rapturous.
There was actually a little bit of cake batter left over from the cupcakes, so I caved my less mature side and baked up a tiny cake that looked exactly what I wished had emerged from my EZ Bake Oven twenty five years ago. (All the cakes that did come out of the EZ Bake resembled burnt little pucks, so now I have my retribution. Take that, Hasbro!) Perhaps not the most sophisticated and adult decision, but if we can’t indulge our childish whims every once in a while, then what’s the point of getting older?
I remain,
Your servant, &c.
Ami
Laura's Caramel Cupcakes - November 2008
Well, after many internet issues, I'm finally here to post my November Challenge!
• Recipe Source: the website link of the author Shuna Fish Lydon’s recipe Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), as published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/).
Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, Artisan Press, Copyright 2007, ISBN: 978-1579652111
• Host: Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/) assisted by Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/). And since none of us know jack about alternative baking, we’ve once again turned to Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/) to assist us.
I waited until the end of the month for this challenge because I decided right away to bring them to Thanksgiving dinner, as a lovely compliment to my usual (and very non-challenging) pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. However, I think because I waited so long and wound up reading so many other Bakers' posts, I was nervous not only about the degree of the challenge, but also about how they would taste! I do love sweet, but I was very concerned that these would be beyond my threshold and, therefore, a sad miss with the family. Well, I'm happy to report that I was thrilled with the flavor combination and so was the family :) I thought the cake had a wonderful flavor on its own; not nearly as sweet as I expected. Coupled with the frosting, I thought it was an excellent combination.
My biggest challenges were really all in my head - I have worked with caramel before, but very sporadically, so every time I attempt, I go back to feeling like it's going to be impossible. Again, happy to report there were no real disasters - although I will say I was petrified of having my strainer melt when I made the browned butter. Plus being that I only had a regular strainer and not a super-fine sieve, I wound up with quite a bit of the "brown" in there - however, not only do I think it had no effect on the flavor, but I thought the specks gave it a lovely appearance. My intention with presentation was to create leaf cut-outs from the caramel (which I made with regular pure vanilla extract because I didn't have time to hunt down vanilla beans, sadly) and serve them with the cupcakes. I blame my lack of a candy thermometer (which I really should own by now) and fear of over-cooking the caramel. I wound up with caramel that wouldn't really set up - great for heating and pouring over just about anything, but not so much for cookie cutters (what a mess!). Also, I used the remaining caramel sauce, in place of the golden syrup, which may or may not have had an impact on the set-up.
Well, here is the final result - I will definitely hang on to this recipe for future use and will probably attempt the caramels again as an addition to my Christmas cookie platter:
• Recipe Source: the website link of the author Shuna Fish Lydon’s recipe Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), as published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/).
Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, Artisan Press, Copyright 2007, ISBN: 978-1579652111
• Host: Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/) assisted by Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/). And since none of us know jack about alternative baking, we’ve once again turned to Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/) to assist us.
I waited until the end of the month for this challenge because I decided right away to bring them to Thanksgiving dinner, as a lovely compliment to my usual (and very non-challenging) pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. However, I think because I waited so long and wound up reading so many other Bakers' posts, I was nervous not only about the degree of the challenge, but also about how they would taste! I do love sweet, but I was very concerned that these would be beyond my threshold and, therefore, a sad miss with the family. Well, I'm happy to report that I was thrilled with the flavor combination and so was the family :) I thought the cake had a wonderful flavor on its own; not nearly as sweet as I expected. Coupled with the frosting, I thought it was an excellent combination.
My biggest challenges were really all in my head - I have worked with caramel before, but very sporadically, so every time I attempt, I go back to feeling like it's going to be impossible. Again, happy to report there were no real disasters - although I will say I was petrified of having my strainer melt when I made the browned butter. Plus being that I only had a regular strainer and not a super-fine sieve, I wound up with quite a bit of the "brown" in there - however, not only do I think it had no effect on the flavor, but I thought the specks gave it a lovely appearance. My intention with presentation was to create leaf cut-outs from the caramel (which I made with regular pure vanilla extract because I didn't have time to hunt down vanilla beans, sadly) and serve them with the cupcakes. I blame my lack of a candy thermometer (which I really should own by now) and fear of over-cooking the caramel. I wound up with caramel that wouldn't really set up - great for heating and pouring over just about anything, but not so much for cookie cutters (what a mess!). Also, I used the remaining caramel sauce, in place of the golden syrup, which may or may not have had an impact on the set-up.
Well, here is the final result - I will definitely hang on to this recipe for future use and will probably attempt the caramels again as an addition to my Christmas cookie platter:
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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Nov. Challenge
The cake was a delicious treat on Thanksgiving Day. Moist, rich and perfect caramel flavor.
- ginny
November 2008 challenge
Wow, I finally managed (incredibly) to complete my challenge on time! Let me start (according to the rules) by mentioning the recipe appeared on this blog http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/ and is a creation of Fish Shuna Lydon. The blogs hosting this Daring Bakers November 2008 challenge are : http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/ , http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/ and http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/ .
Now for my post. As I first read the recipe (and other guys’ comments), I knew right away that I absolutely HAD to reduce sugar amount, and I did so at every step.
I started the previous day by making the sugar syrup. I made only HALF the recipe, and found it was plenty (I had some left over). No problem at all making it, I just had to be careful since from the moment sugar just begins to colour to the moment caramel is ready it takes mere seconds! When a very fine wisp of smoke started coming out, and the caramel was pretty dark (but NOT burnt), I pronounced it ready. I used a long spatula when adding water to the hot caramel (away from fire), and it did splatter, but fortunately I didn’t get burned.
No problem making the cake itself, as mentioned in recipe, it is an ordinary “dry, wet, dry, etc.” cake. I slightly reduced the sugar as well (used 1 cup and 2 Tbsp), and added more baking powder (a total of 1 ½ tsp). My rule of thumb for cakes than don’t have stiff-beaten egg whites is no less than 1 tsp per cup of flour. In my oven it took 1 hour to bake completely. The colour was lovely (thanks to the dark caramel).
As for the icing, I used only 6 Tbsp butter, 4 oz (about 1 cup) icing sugar, no cream, no vanilla, 2 Tbsp caramel syrup and 1 Tbsp of rum. With these quantities I had enough for filling and icing top of cake. I couldn’t have found takers if I had put in any more sugar. I still found it too sweet, but I used it to complete my challenge, and altogether the result is pretty good. I’m taking it to the office Monday, I’ll let you know how fast it goes!
- milnead
Now for my post. As I first read the recipe (and other guys’ comments), I knew right away that I absolutely HAD to reduce sugar amount, and I did so at every step.
I started the previous day by making the sugar syrup. I made only HALF the recipe, and found it was plenty (I had some left over). No problem at all making it, I just had to be careful since from the moment sugar just begins to colour to the moment caramel is ready it takes mere seconds! When a very fine wisp of smoke started coming out, and the caramel was pretty dark (but NOT burnt), I pronounced it ready. I used a long spatula when adding water to the hot caramel (away from fire), and it did splatter, but fortunately I didn’t get burned.
No problem making the cake itself, as mentioned in recipe, it is an ordinary “dry, wet, dry, etc.” cake. I slightly reduced the sugar as well (used 1 cup and 2 Tbsp), and added more baking powder (a total of 1 ½ tsp). My rule of thumb for cakes than don’t have stiff-beaten egg whites is no less than 1 tsp per cup of flour. In my oven it took 1 hour to bake completely. The colour was lovely (thanks to the dark caramel).
As for the icing, I used only 6 Tbsp butter, 4 oz (about 1 cup) icing sugar, no cream, no vanilla, 2 Tbsp caramel syrup and 1 Tbsp of rum. With these quantities I had enough for filling and icing top of cake. I couldn’t have found takers if I had put in any more sugar. I still found it too sweet, but I used it to complete my challenge, and altogether the result is pretty good. I’m taking it to the office Monday, I’ll let you know how fast it goes!
- milnead
Caramel Cake the Wrong Way
If you ever wanted to know what happens when you do everything the wrong way..then this is the post for you. This month's challenge was the Caramel Cake, given to us by Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater. It happens to be her signature cake so you know it's been tested and tried and has to be good. I tried to make caramels once and I failed. I tried again….and failed. The third time…totally failed again, so I thought here's where I can make caramels without making caramels. Right?! I admit…I've been a little preoccupied. Organizing for a move back to America has kinda been my focus (especially since I don't want to move), but I had no idea it was affecting me the way it is. I ALWAYS read a recipe before I attempt to make it. Not once but 3 times~just in case I misunderstand after the first read. Well apparently I retained absolutely nothing after I read. I'm talking NOTHING. It all started with the caramel syrup. I had just enough ingredients to make the challenge. We've used or given away all other food items for the move and we're not buying any replacement food. The syrup was tricky as I didn't want to burn it or I'd not have enough sugar for the cake. I cooked it forever at the highest flame and it would not caramelize. I couldn't figure it out. I finally got a light amber color out of it but didn't dare continue as I was afraid I would have day long sucker in my pan. It didn't taste like sugar syrup, but it didn't taste like caramel. Then I moved on to the cake. Shuna reminded us about how making this cake was about getting everything just right, from the fats to the acids. So of course I jump right in and combined everything out of order, even though I'm reading the recipe as I go. Here's my order…..Butter, sugar, salt, caramel syrup, eggs, vanilla and milk. HELLO!! What was I thinking? I then sifted the flour and baking powder into my sloppy, separated mess and prayed that it would somehow combine into a representation of cake batter. It did not look like great cake batter but it did look like batter so I threw it in the oven. I then went on to make the frosting. Thankfully I was able to pull that together even though my butter didn't brown. What's that you say? It didn't brown? How does butter not brown? I've browned it many times when I didn't want it to, and now when I want it to I can't. What's even more bizarre is that it tasted browned. So once I messed everything up and then combined it this is what I got.
Apparently the stars were aligned. YAY!!!! This is a fantastic cake. Yes it is sweet….but so worth the sugar high. I can only imagine how delicious it must be when the caramel flavor is a bit stronger. The man in my home said it was delicious…and I found the boy in my home eating with a fork digging out of the cake. That means it's REAL good. I would definitely not recommend making the cake out of order…I think it was definitely a fluke that it worked. Make sure when you make yours, you follow the directions. Thanks Shuna for a great recipe and taking the time to help everyone out with their questions. For the recipe go to http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/ and make sure you stop by Shuna's blog http://eggbeater.typepad.com/.
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- Amber
Apparently the stars were aligned. YAY!!!! This is a fantastic cake. Yes it is sweet….but so worth the sugar high. I can only imagine how delicious it must be when the caramel flavor is a bit stronger. The man in my home said it was delicious…and I found the boy in my home eating with a fork digging out of the cake. That means it's REAL good. I would definitely not recommend making the cake out of order…I think it was definitely a fluke that it worked. Make sure when you make yours, you follow the directions. Thanks Shuna for a great recipe and taking the time to help everyone out with their questions. For the recipe go to http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/ and make sure you stop by Shuna's blog http://eggbeater.typepad.com/.
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- Amber
So Sweet!
This November I got excited about the new challenge of caramel cake. I enjoy baking recipes of the sweet nature as opposed to savory ones and since this is only my third daring bakers challenge it is the first dessert recipe that I'm participating in.
The caramel cake recipe that we were asked to try was from Shuna Fish Lydon. Reading the forum was a great help for me. I picked up on a lot of useful tips in making the syrup thereby allowing me to avoid burnt sugar and burnt arms/hands. Visually the cake turned out pretty much ok. It was not also too difficult to make and it did not require a lot of waiting time to come up with the finished product - no waiting, resting of dough etc such as with the previous challenge.
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The taste though was not one of my most successful products. By this, I mean that my family did not gobble this cake with as much enthusiasm as others that i've done before. Main reason was that the cake was just way too sweet for our taste. This despite the fact that I already cut the sugar by a considerable amount on the icing recipe. I did not add the full amount of 1 lb of powdered sugar called for but instead just used 2 cups, still it was too sweet in the end. Taste of brown butter though was delicious. This type of icing/frosting reminds me of a donut glaze. I would have probably enjoyed a thicker creamier type of frosting. Maybe I did something wrong along the way in following the recipe.
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Although the taste was not a winner for me or a keeper I'm glad I did this challenge because it made me work with sugar syrup, something that I think can be difficult.
- Aleli
The caramel cake recipe that we were asked to try was from Shuna Fish Lydon. Reading the forum was a great help for me. I picked up on a lot of useful tips in making the syrup thereby allowing me to avoid burnt sugar and burnt arms/hands. Visually the cake turned out pretty much ok. It was not also too difficult to make and it did not require a lot of waiting time to come up with the finished product - no waiting, resting of dough etc such as with the previous challenge.
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The taste though was not one of my most successful products. By this, I mean that my family did not gobble this cake with as much enthusiasm as others that i've done before. Main reason was that the cake was just way too sweet for our taste. This despite the fact that I already cut the sugar by a considerable amount on the icing recipe. I did not add the full amount of 1 lb of powdered sugar called for but instead just used 2 cups, still it was too sweet in the end. Taste of brown butter though was delicious. This type of icing/frosting reminds me of a donut glaze. I would have probably enjoyed a thicker creamier type of frosting. Maybe I did something wrong along the way in following the recipe.
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Although the taste was not a winner for me or a keeper I'm glad I did this challenge because it made me work with sugar syrup, something that I think can be difficult.
- Aleli
Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting
The safety precautions for making the caramel syrup caught my attention, but I made a pan of syrup without any injuries. I made the batter exactly following the recipe and was pleased with the flavor and texture of the finished cupcakes. I drizzled some of the leftover syrup over the tops for decoration.
The caramelized butter frosting was melt-in-your-mouth smooth, but a little too sweet for my taste, but I knew that my Minnesotan book club friends would love it. Nothing is ever too sweet for them and they were declared delicious!
- Party Princess
The caramelized butter frosting was melt-in-your-mouth smooth, but a little too sweet for my taste, but I knew that my Minnesotan book club friends would love it. Nothing is ever too sweet for them and they were declared delicious!
- Party Princess
Daring Bakers November 2008 Challenge
Hosts of the month are:
Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity
(http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/)
Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo:
http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/),
Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/ ) Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/).
The recipe is from Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater
(http://eggbeater.typepad.com/) and posted at http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/
CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
First of all, I really don't like caramel. But since there often is an exception to the rule, I love 'Kouign Amann'. And I love to try out new things. So why not a Caramel Cake? Maybe there is other caramelized stuff I like?
So I went to work on this challenge.
First I cooked the caramel syrup. This part didn't seem very tricky but even as the syrup only had a light amber colour, it tasted a little bit burnt.
For the cake I choose a springform ring pan. The cake didn't rise much but was light and fluff and just right. So I had hope. But then came the caramelized butter frosting... I even used only 30ml of the caramel syrup but together with the confectioners sugar it was sweet.... way too sweet for my taste. The added salt didn't help much. I cut the cake horizontal, filled and decorated it with the icing.
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At least I made some caramel fragments for decorations as I had seen at Pilles Blog (http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2007/08/im-daring-baker-eric-kaysers-milk.html).
Therefore I caramelized some sugar, poured the liquid at a baking sheet and let it cool down. Then I only had to break the caramel to pieces and stick them into the cake.
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This cake is way too sweet for our tastes. Only two people liked it as it was and my boyfriend even disliked the salt part in the frosting which he felt was too sweet, too. All of us liked the cake itself, most disliked the oversweetness of the frosting. Maybe I made some mistakes with the frosting as this cake went well with other daring bakers. So if I ever come down from my sugar high maybe I will try this cake again.
But this will probably take some time.
- bana
Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity
(http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/)
Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo:
http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/),
Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/ ) Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/).
The recipe is from Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater
(http://eggbeater.typepad.com/) and posted at http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/
CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
First of all, I really don't like caramel. But since there often is an exception to the rule, I love 'Kouign Amann'. And I love to try out new things. So why not a Caramel Cake? Maybe there is other caramelized stuff I like?
So I went to work on this challenge.
First I cooked the caramel syrup. This part didn't seem very tricky but even as the syrup only had a light amber colour, it tasted a little bit burnt.
For the cake I choose a springform ring pan. The cake didn't rise much but was light and fluff and just right. So I had hope. But then came the caramelized butter frosting... I even used only 30ml of the caramel syrup but together with the confectioners sugar it was sweet.... way too sweet for my taste. The added salt didn't help much. I cut the cake horizontal, filled and decorated it with the icing.
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At least I made some caramel fragments for decorations as I had seen at Pilles Blog (http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2007/08/im-daring-baker-eric-kaysers-milk.html).
Therefore I caramelized some sugar, poured the liquid at a baking sheet and let it cool down. Then I only had to break the caramel to pieces and stick them into the cake.
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This cake is way too sweet for our tastes. Only two people liked it as it was and my boyfriend even disliked the salt part in the frosting which he felt was too sweet, too. All of us liked the cake itself, most disliked the oversweetness of the frosting. Maybe I made some mistakes with the frosting as this cake went well with other daring bakers. So if I ever come down from my sugar high maybe I will try this cake again.
But this will probably take some time.
- bana
How to Tell When Your Butter is Hot...
I was excited to see this challenge as it would be my first sweet challenge. All that soon changed though and I am afraid to say that there is only one word to sum this challenge up - DISASTER!
After reading about other members progress I decided to attempt the caramel syrup. All seemed to be going fine and was happy with the colour and texture so left the syrup to cool as directed. I go back to my syrup to find it had solidified. Anyway, 3 batches of syrup later and I am out of sugar and still not managed to stop the caramel process in time so decide I will have to work with what I have. I re-heated my syrup and decided to work with it while it was still warm and hope it didn’t effect the cake too much.
The sponge was a simple process and looked divine. My sponge rose slightly and was a good height and lovely and dense with caramel flavour.
So, I finally felt that the challenge was improving and that surely with only the caramel butter cream icing what more could possibly go wrong.
I browned off my butter, sieved it as directed, did a double glance at my sieve -
yes you guess it I had melted it!!!
Still don’t get how that happened! I quickly hid the melted evidence and moved on to my second attempt (minus the sieving stage), again I had to re-heat my solid mass that I was attempting to pass off as caramel syrup. The syrup was divine though and struggled to stop eating it!
Overall the cake looked ok considering the troubles I had had and everyone who had a slice said it was very sweet but they still ate it all!
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Can't say I would be rushing to make this again. Needless to say that after the trouble I had with the syrup I decided that the caramels were more than my nerves could take!
- Denise
After reading about other members progress I decided to attempt the caramel syrup. All seemed to be going fine and was happy with the colour and texture so left the syrup to cool as directed. I go back to my syrup to find it had solidified. Anyway, 3 batches of syrup later and I am out of sugar and still not managed to stop the caramel process in time so decide I will have to work with what I have. I re-heated my syrup and decided to work with it while it was still warm and hope it didn’t effect the cake too much.
The sponge was a simple process and looked divine. My sponge rose slightly and was a good height and lovely and dense with caramel flavour.
So, I finally felt that the challenge was improving and that surely with only the caramel butter cream icing what more could possibly go wrong.
I browned off my butter, sieved it as directed, did a double glance at my sieve -
yes you guess it I had melted it!!!
Still don’t get how that happened! I quickly hid the melted evidence and moved on to my second attempt (minus the sieving stage), again I had to re-heat my solid mass that I was attempting to pass off as caramel syrup. The syrup was divine though and struggled to stop eating it!
Overall the cake looked ok considering the troubles I had had and everyone who had a slice said it was very sweet but they still ate it all!
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Can't say I would be rushing to make this again. Needless to say that after the trouble I had with the syrup I decided that the caramels were more than my nerves could take!
- Denise
Carmel? I LOVE CARMEL!!!!!
I have to admit, with this being my very first DB Challenge I must have checked to see what the challenge would be a thousand times!! When it was, finally, posted I couldn't wait to get started!! Forget chocolate.... it's all about the Carmel baby!!
Having never made Carmel anything before I was a little intimidated, but everything went really well... all three times I made it! My Carmel syrup turned out really well. The taste was good... the consistency was good... but... it always went too thick or hard by the time I got around to making the frosting. So I had to adjust. I thought it was cooking too long. My "slightly sticky" was too sticky. I though it was when it was slightly tacky.... not so much. The third time I made it I cooked it till it almost felt think between my fingers... if that makes sense. This time I was able to make the cake... the frosting... and it was still soft enough to decorate with. YAY!!
I made two cakes and one batch of cupcakes. My sugar and I agree that for whatever reason the cake had a much better crumb then the cupcakes. I have never noticed a difference before in other recipes. Don't get me wrong... they were both fantastic... but the cake was more dense and both times the flavor was better.
The first time I tasted the frosting I really didn't care for it. I was worried I used too much salt.. but I thought that I needed it to cut through the sweetness. However, after it sat for a few hours, I loved it!! It just gets better and better as it sits.
The verdict from friends and family is that this is definitely "a keeper".
- Bluzet
How Sweet It Is…
What a great challenge! Caramel is one thing I have not worked with very much, mostly out of fear, so I appreciated the push to get going with the sugar already. And the results were very pleasing all around.
I was nervous going into making the caramel syrup because of all the comments about it on the message board, but either I got very lucky or I’ve got a caramel thumb, because it came together perfectly, no problem. The eruption of molten sugar was quite exciting, and the syrup tasted heavenly. I let that cool while I started the batter for the cake, which I made into cupcakes. My batter looked curdled after adding the eggs, but became creamy and smooth after adding the flour and milk. I got 21 cupcakes from the batter, and they were done after 20 minutes in the oven. Those cooled while I scrubbed caramel sauce from my counters, my mixer, several spoons, then they were packed away to await frosting the next day.
This challenge was my first foray into browned butter, and man was I missing out! It took longer than I expected for the butter to get brown, and then I thought I had actually burnt it. I strained it anyways, and realized that all the burnt looking pieces were stuck to the bottom of the pan, and the strained butter smelled so good it couldn’t possibly be burnt. I had to strain it twice, as the first sieve I used wasn’t nearly fine enough to get out all the little bits. I had to re-warm my caramel syrup to make the frosting, since it had become so thick it was hardly moving in the pan when I tilted it, so I put it on a low burner while the butter cooled off. I wish I had measured as I made the frosting, because it came out really good, but mostly I just started dribbling in a bit of sugar, some caramel, a little sugar, some cream, until all the sugar was in, and enough of the caramel and the cream to make a smooth, creamy frosting. A few pinches of kosher salt, and it was done. I will be going back to this frosting for sure, it was incredible. I piped it onto my cupcakes, then used the leftover caramel syrup to make some decorations for them. I boiled it for a while, then drizzled it onto some foil to make little sugar candies for the tops of the cupcakes.
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I brought these cupcakes to a potluck, and within 2 minutes of opening the box, they were gone. Is it bragging to say they were the hit of the party? Personally I found the cake to be too dense, but the frosting more than made up for it. I’m trying to figure out what would be the perfect thing to use that frosting on, because I certainly will be making it again.
- Brooke
I was nervous going into making the caramel syrup because of all the comments about it on the message board, but either I got very lucky or I’ve got a caramel thumb, because it came together perfectly, no problem. The eruption of molten sugar was quite exciting, and the syrup tasted heavenly. I let that cool while I started the batter for the cake, which I made into cupcakes. My batter looked curdled after adding the eggs, but became creamy and smooth after adding the flour and milk. I got 21 cupcakes from the batter, and they were done after 20 minutes in the oven. Those cooled while I scrubbed caramel sauce from my counters, my mixer, several spoons, then they were packed away to await frosting the next day.
This challenge was my first foray into browned butter, and man was I missing out! It took longer than I expected for the butter to get brown, and then I thought I had actually burnt it. I strained it anyways, and realized that all the burnt looking pieces were stuck to the bottom of the pan, and the strained butter smelled so good it couldn’t possibly be burnt. I had to strain it twice, as the first sieve I used wasn’t nearly fine enough to get out all the little bits. I had to re-warm my caramel syrup to make the frosting, since it had become so thick it was hardly moving in the pan when I tilted it, so I put it on a low burner while the butter cooled off. I wish I had measured as I made the frosting, because it came out really good, but mostly I just started dribbling in a bit of sugar, some caramel, a little sugar, some cream, until all the sugar was in, and enough of the caramel and the cream to make a smooth, creamy frosting. A few pinches of kosher salt, and it was done. I will be going back to this frosting for sure, it was incredible. I piped it onto my cupcakes, then used the leftover caramel syrup to make some decorations for them. I boiled it for a while, then drizzled it onto some foil to make little sugar candies for the tops of the cupcakes.
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I brought these cupcakes to a potluck, and within 2 minutes of opening the box, they were gone. Is it bragging to say they were the hit of the party? Personally I found the cake to be too dense, but the frosting more than made up for it. I’m trying to figure out what would be the perfect thing to use that frosting on, because I certainly will be making it again.
- Brooke
Olivia’s Caramel Layer Cake
From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/) for sharing with us her signature caramel cake. Her recipe for Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting can be found at (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), as published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/). If you’d like to try the recipe, additional guidance on the cake can be found here (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/shuna/2007 … ake-a.html) and here as well (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/). Thanks also to the co-hosts this month (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/) Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/), and Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/).
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The assembly of this cake requires the careful coordination of 3 recipes: a caramel syrup, the cake, and a caramelized butter frosting. The latter two rely on the perfect execution of the first. Much ado is made about balancing the addition/incorporation of liquid and dry ingredients to form the cake batter. This part was not a problem for me. I was most nervous about the syrup, wondering if I cooked it long enough—if the color was deep enough. I took pictures so that I may compare with others. It certainly tasted good and it did its job in flavoring the cake and frosting.
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I love making layer cakes and so chose to do so with this challenge. The amount of batter this recipe generates was perfect to fill two very deep 6-inch cake pans. In my opinion, splitting each layer (for a total of 4) always makes the assembled cake look stately as it is sliced and plated. I brushed each layer with caramel syrup and drizzled the top and sides of the cake with syrup once it was frosted. Admittedly, my piping skills leave a lot to be desired. To finish, I sprinkled the frosted cake with Murray River Australian Sea Salt (https://secure.spicemerchants.biz/sm/products/details/173). (I’ve been sampling the gourmet salts at my local spice shop. Read further below for more details on its appearance and texture.) It made the cake sparkle with a slight iridescent sheen and was a good counterpoint to all of the sugar.
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This little 6-inch layer cake was a huge hit! Smaller and smaller portions were shaved off of the last slice—no one wanted to take the last piece. The most repeated compliment was “moist”. It was even suggested that this would make a superb wedding cake. I feel so fortunate to have access to such professional talent as Shuna and to be able to reap the accolades as well.
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Having a copious portion of caramel syrup left over, I decided to make a half portion of Alice Medrich’s Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from her book, Pure Dessert. The recipe calls for golden syrup. After researching exactly what that was (including appropriate substitutes) and perusing other caramel recipes in which honey or agave nectar were implemented, I determined by the viscosity of my caramel syrup left over from Shuna’s recipe that it would be a good substitute. It worked beautifully. I chose to make a softer caramel by allowing the confection to reach only 260°F. Each caramel was dusted with a pinch of Murray River Australian Sea Salt (https://secure.spicemerchants.biz/sm/products/details/173). The salt is a new favorite of mine. It has a lovely, fluffy texture, a pale peachy color, and the salinity was a good contrast to the sugar. I wrapped the caramels in wax paper, twisting each end. They will be a birthday gift for my officemate who keeps a candy bowl full of Werther’s on his desk. I think he may notice a distinctive difference in these handmade treats!
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-Olivia
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The assembly of this cake requires the careful coordination of 3 recipes: a caramel syrup, the cake, and a caramelized butter frosting. The latter two rely on the perfect execution of the first. Much ado is made about balancing the addition/incorporation of liquid and dry ingredients to form the cake batter. This part was not a problem for me. I was most nervous about the syrup, wondering if I cooked it long enough—if the color was deep enough. I took pictures so that I may compare with others. It certainly tasted good and it did its job in flavoring the cake and frosting.
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I love making layer cakes and so chose to do so with this challenge. The amount of batter this recipe generates was perfect to fill two very deep 6-inch cake pans. In my opinion, splitting each layer (for a total of 4) always makes the assembled cake look stately as it is sliced and plated. I brushed each layer with caramel syrup and drizzled the top and sides of the cake with syrup once it was frosted. Admittedly, my piping skills leave a lot to be desired. To finish, I sprinkled the frosted cake with Murray River Australian Sea Salt (https://secure.spicemerchants.biz/sm/products/details/173). (I’ve been sampling the gourmet salts at my local spice shop. Read further below for more details on its appearance and texture.) It made the cake sparkle with a slight iridescent sheen and was a good counterpoint to all of the sugar.
.JPG)
This little 6-inch layer cake was a huge hit! Smaller and smaller portions were shaved off of the last slice—no one wanted to take the last piece. The most repeated compliment was “moist”. It was even suggested that this would make a superb wedding cake. I feel so fortunate to have access to such professional talent as Shuna and to be able to reap the accolades as well.
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Having a copious portion of caramel syrup left over, I decided to make a half portion of Alice Medrich’s Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from her book, Pure Dessert. The recipe calls for golden syrup. After researching exactly what that was (including appropriate substitutes) and perusing other caramel recipes in which honey or agave nectar were implemented, I determined by the viscosity of my caramel syrup left over from Shuna’s recipe that it would be a good substitute. It worked beautifully. I chose to make a softer caramel by allowing the confection to reach only 260°F. Each caramel was dusted with a pinch of Murray River Australian Sea Salt (https://secure.spicemerchants.biz/sm/products/details/173). The salt is a new favorite of mine. It has a lovely, fluffy texture, a pale peachy color, and the salinity was a good contrast to the sugar. I wrapped the caramels in wax paper, twisting each end. They will be a birthday gift for my officemate who keeps a candy bowl full of Werther’s on his desk. I think he may notice a distinctive difference in these handmade treats!
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-Olivia
Delicious Cake!
It is the sweetest cake I have ever concocted.
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The caramel syrup was a little tricky- I did not know when dark amber colour was really that colour...so I guessed and it worked out! It is a delicious cake.
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- Katie
Maryann, Fruit & Caramel = Delish!
So let's talk about the cake. I made the syrup on Saturday night (without any problems) and made the cake on Sunday. The syrup had a yummy caramel taste to it. I had about 3 tablespoons of it left in the pot after I transferred the rest to a glass jar, so I decided to make steamed milk with it...I added a dash of vanilla plus a combination of heavy cream and fat free milk...Boy was that delish.
I have lots of cake pans. After a bit of contemplation, I decided on the MaryAnn pan...It's quite forgiving.
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The batter was quite easy to make. At first it seemed to curdle. Once all of the flour was incorporated the batter looked fine. I was really surprised by how little the batter raised. I provided pictures of the batter before and after baking the cake. The cake stuck a bit to the pan once it was cooked. I probably should have waited a little longer before flipping the pan. I think that I'll start a "walk around the block rule" before flipping. You can see a few flaws on one of the pictures.
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I quartered the frosting recipe. This worked out perfect for the MaryAnn well. I made just enough frosting to cover the inperfections in the well. I decorated the cake 'til this point on Sunday night. The frosting was slightly soft, so I refrigerated the cake until 5 am on Monday morning.
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I thought that the frosting was delish. I really loved the brown butter taste. I was very generous with the sea salt. I used flaked sea salt from Zijautenejo (sp???) that partially smashed with a rolling pin. I made the frosting a bit on the thin side. It was definitely much thinner than a Wilton "thin".
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On Monday morning, I added the fruit (blueberries, rasperries and strawberries) to the frosted well of the MaryAnn cake. I drizzled lots of the caramel syrup on top of the fruit. This probably added to my out focus pictures. As you can see from my pictures, the fruit is quite shiny.
I took the cake to work. My coworkers went bonkers over it. No complaints of sweetness. I noticed that once the berries were added to the cake, it lost it's caramel flavor. Some of my coworkers were shocked when I told them that it was a caramel cake.
I was told that the cake was very pretty but I attribute those compliments to the pan. My husband told me that this was the best cake that I have ever made...I don't think so, but I am glad that he does.
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I think that the base of the cake was quite moist but the sides/walls were a little dry...I have had this happen with other cakes that I have baked in the MaryAnn pan.
I would definitely make this cake to take to a party or if I had company. I would also use the same pan and fruits on top.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this challenge.
Kind Regards,
Angelique
I have lots of cake pans. After a bit of contemplation, I decided on the MaryAnn pan...It's quite forgiving.
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The batter was quite easy to make. At first it seemed to curdle. Once all of the flour was incorporated the batter looked fine. I was really surprised by how little the batter raised. I provided pictures of the batter before and after baking the cake. The cake stuck a bit to the pan once it was cooked. I probably should have waited a little longer before flipping the pan. I think that I'll start a "walk around the block rule" before flipping. You can see a few flaws on one of the pictures.
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I quartered the frosting recipe. This worked out perfect for the MaryAnn well. I made just enough frosting to cover the inperfections in the well. I decorated the cake 'til this point on Sunday night. The frosting was slightly soft, so I refrigerated the cake until 5 am on Monday morning.
.JPG)
I thought that the frosting was delish. I really loved the brown butter taste. I was very generous with the sea salt. I used flaked sea salt from Zijautenejo (sp???) that partially smashed with a rolling pin. I made the frosting a bit on the thin side. It was definitely much thinner than a Wilton "thin".
.JPG)
On Monday morning, I added the fruit (blueberries, rasperries and strawberries) to the frosted well of the MaryAnn cake. I drizzled lots of the caramel syrup on top of the fruit. This probably added to my out focus pictures. As you can see from my pictures, the fruit is quite shiny.
I took the cake to work. My coworkers went bonkers over it. No complaints of sweetness. I noticed that once the berries were added to the cake, it lost it's caramel flavor. Some of my coworkers were shocked when I told them that it was a caramel cake.
I was told that the cake was very pretty but I attribute those compliments to the pan. My husband told me that this was the best cake that I have ever made...I don't think so, but I am glad that he does.
.JPG)
I think that the base of the cake was quite moist but the sides/walls were a little dry...I have had this happen with other cakes that I have baked in the MaryAnn pan.
I would definitely make this cake to take to a party or if I had company. I would also use the same pan and fruits on top.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this challenge.
Kind Regards,
Angelique
Thursday, November 6, 2008
I need to work on my pizza tossing skillz...
But other than that, everything went well with the pizzas. I was so happy when the challenge was pizza because it is my FAVORITE food!
I split the dough into 6 balls but only used 2 for now. The first pizza was a shrimp, garlic and broccoli pizza (yum!). I didn't use pizza sauce for either pizza, just some olive oil (thanks for the tip, Jess:-). I used canned shrimp with fresh garlic and fresh broccoli. I actually got the idea for this one from a new pizza place I tried a couple of weeks ago. Mine wasn't as good as theirs but I have no complaints...because I ate it all.
The next pizza was a buffalo chicken pizza. Again, just olive oil at the bottom. I mixed some buffalo chicken sauce with canned chicken and baked up a winner. My peeps loved it. It was their favorite. I will definitely have to make this one again.
Tossing the dough was comical to say the least. I had fun and that's what it's all about. Trying to get an action shot of that would have been even funnier. I'm glad I have the recipe as I will definitely be making this dough again. See you next month, DBs!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Pizza Crazy!
Sorry I'm a little late posting, but these past few days have been hectic! This is my first Daring Bakers challenge, and it was so much fun! Although I did have some difficulties, and my creations may not be the prettiest things to look at.
So, with my six balls of pizza dough, I made a pizza, a calzone, bosco sticks (cheese-stuffed breadsticks), breadsticks that tasted like Little Caesars', and cinnamon sticks.
I really did not follow a recipe for any of them, I just went off what I thought would taste good. I bought my own pizza sauce (sorry if I cheated), and really I just loaded the calzones and pizza with melted butter, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I made it stuffed-crust by rolling the dough over some cheese sticks (not very neatly, if you can tell from my picture). I dipped the sticks in my pizza sauce, and the cinnamon sticks in some melted chocolate. Yumm...
I DID try the tossing method, but I soon found out I cannot catch. So rolling pin it was.
All in all, I had a blast. I can't wait for next month. :D
So, with my six balls of pizza dough, I made a pizza, a calzone, bosco sticks (cheese-stuffed breadsticks), breadsticks that tasted like Little Caesars', and cinnamon sticks.
I really did not follow a recipe for any of them, I just went off what I thought would taste good. I bought my own pizza sauce (sorry if I cheated), and really I just loaded the calzones and pizza with melted butter, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I made it stuffed-crust by rolling the dough over some cheese sticks (not very neatly, if you can tell from my picture). I dipped the sticks in my pizza sauce, and the cinnamon sticks in some melted chocolate. Yumm...
I DID try the tossing method, but I soon found out I cannot catch. So rolling pin it was.
All in all, I had a blast. I can't wait for next month. :D
Friday, October 31, 2008
Trick or Treat Pizza!
Here is my pizza dough effort! As you can see this will nourish the million kids who are coming for dinner before they go out trick or treating tonight.
The only issues I had were that the dough got a little tacky at times and blobbed up in places so it was not done in some spots and I did not wish to overcook the thin parts. But I will learn!
Enjoyed myself, made the kitchen quite a mess.
I look forward to November...
- Katie
The only issues I had were that the dough got a little tacky at times and blobbed up in places so it was not done in some spots and I did not wish to overcook the thin parts. But I will learn!
Enjoyed myself, made the kitchen quite a mess.
I look forward to November...
- Katie
Pizza, the Opiate of the Masses; or, Jacques Cousteau’s Pizza Adventures
I daresay that pizza is one of the most American foods in existence. Yes, its origins lay in Italy, but I have never been anywhere in this nation of ours that didn’t have at least one pizza parlor or pizza delivery. I’ve eaten pizza in Clinton, Missouri, Iowa City, Iowa, and Ogallala, Nebraska—and, folks, I doubt one can get more American than any of those places.
Given pizza’s ubiquity, I was never much inclined to make it myself. Not with such a wide variety available. New York thin crust. Chicago deep dish. Wood-fired. Grilled. With Thai chicken or barbecue sauce. And the whole world of yeast dough never truly caught my eye, at least, not in a savory capacity.
So along comes the Daring Bakers’ October challenge, ready to topple me from my complacency.
Given pizza’s ubiquity, I was never much inclined to make it myself. Not with such a wide variety available. New York thin crust. Chicago deep dish. Wood-fired. Grilled. With Thai chicken or barbecue sauce. And the whole world of yeast dough never truly caught my eye, at least, not in a savory capacity.
So along comes the Daring Bakers’ October challenge, ready to topple me from my complacency.
Admittedly, I had noble and high ambitions for the pizza. Sweet pizza was even considered. A multitude of toppings. The tabula rasa of bread dough. And then the month stretched on, time was short, and, ultimately, I opted for a not particularly innovative but exceptionally tasty quasi-Greek concoction of homemade sauce (courtesy of Z.), sautéed red bell peppers and sweet onion (also courtesy of Z.), topped with feta (he crumbled the cheese, too—so basically, I just made the dough and stood around looking distracted).
Part of the challenge was that we had to toss the dough in the air. I watched, for about three seconds, some pizza-tossing competition on the Food Network before changing channels to see what poor fashion slob received a tough love makeover from Stacey and Clinton. So, with this scanty knowledge, and a little YouTube research, I attempted my own pizza tossing.
Part of the challenge was that we had to toss the dough in the air. I watched, for about three seconds, some pizza-tossing competition on the Food Network before changing channels to see what poor fashion slob received a tough love makeover from Stacey and Clinton. So, with this scanty knowledge, and a little YouTube research, I attempted my own pizza tossing.
The manta ray you see floating above my hands is, in fact, supposed to be a lovely circle of pizza dough gently wafting through the air. Perhaps because the kitchen was exceptionally warm, or perhaps the fault lies not in the temperature but ourselves, but the dough was much too soft for tossing. It turned into the aforementioned manta ray. So I shoved the ball of dough aside and simply pressed out the remaining crusts with my hands. Much better. Z. took the blob of unsuccessfully tossed dough, formed it into balls, drizzled some olive oil on them, and topped with a dab of tomato sauce and cheese. Into the oven with all of it. The pizzas had the added benefit of baking on a genuine pizza stone, while the dough balls (hee!) baked on a jelly roll pan.
The result: very tasty. We shoved those pizzas into our gullets and drank some retsina (thank you, P.) and considered the evening a success. I still have dough frozen in the freezer, for future use. If I am ever so inclined.
But I’m still keeping the pizza delivery menu close to the phone.
I remain,
Your servant, &c.
Ami
The result: very tasty. We shoved those pizzas into our gullets and drank some retsina (thank you, P.) and considered the evening a success. I still have dough frozen in the freezer, for future use. If I am ever so inclined.
But I’m still keeping the pizza delivery menu close to the phone.
I remain,
Your servant, &c.
Ami
Daring Bakers, my second challenge!
Well, I have actually made this pizza dough before and I loved it. Last time I did it in the oven on the back of cookie sheet on parchment, and it worked out very well, but it did heat my kitchen up to ungodly tempratures. So, this time around I thought that I would channel some Bobby Flay and make my pizza on the grill. It worked out wonderfully. Tossing pizza dough turns out to be a skill that I do not have, but I did toss it back and forth in my hands and coax it into a somewhat unifrom amoeba shape. We made all six dough balls, there were 3 of us eating and we wanted some leftovers for lunch the next day.
We made garlic bread pizza, just add garlic butter, and parmesean. This was a hit with everyone. Everyone made their own, so i'm not sure what all the toppings were but I had artichoke and mushroom pizza with lots of cheese. I will defiantley use this dough again, and I loved making it on the grill, it was really easy and a lot of fun! It also allowed for me to make 2 -3 pizzas at a time, which is nice when you are making personal sized pizzas.
- Kelly
We made garlic bread pizza, just add garlic butter, and parmesean. This was a hit with everyone. Everyone made their own, so i'm not sure what all the toppings were but I had artichoke and mushroom pizza with lots of cheese. I will defiantley use this dough again, and I loved making it on the grill, it was really easy and a lot of fun! It also allowed for me to make 2 -3 pizzas at a time, which is nice when you are making personal sized pizzas.
- Kelly
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Daring Bakers Pizza Challenge
Never shy of a culinary challenge, I was immediately drawn to the idea of making and tossing my own pizza dough. After viewing several You Tube entries of experts tossing pizza dough, I humbled myself to the fact that it wouldn’t be easy. But surely, with some practice, I too could hurl a piece of dough into the air, watch it swirl above my head, widening as it spins, only to be caught by my eagerly awaiting hands on its way down!
The dough was made and sitting pretty in the fridge. You can find the recipe here: Rosa's Yummy Yums. I loved the silky texture as I was kneading it. I prefer to use my God-given hands, and not a dough hook to make sure all ingredients are blended. (It’s also very therapeutic!) I was ready and eager with my dear friend, Chantal, at hand with the camera.
As I attempted to lift one of the dough rounds, it stretched and exhibited a beautiful lace pattern, holes and all! It stretched so much, that it looked like an exuberant Medieval sleeve around my wrist - not at all favorable for a pizza dough ready to be tossed! After a nervous laugh and in a panic, I quickly kneaded it a little and let it sit for a few minutes.
Fortunately, the dough came together and I was in business. I spread it out carefully so I could get the backs of both hands underneath it. I set my feet as if I was about to sprint in the 100m dash, and after I took a few deep breaths, off it went towards the ceiling! It spun at a 45 degree angle for only a couple of seconds, and came back bigger than it was when it lifted off. I felt the swell of success as Chantal cheered me on!
I tossed the remainder of the dough rounds similarly. Most of them spun at a 45 degree angle, so I’m interested to learn the correct tossing technique so that I too can balance the horizontal hat-shaped dough on one little finger!
I shaped the dough on a pizza paddle generously sprinkled with semolina flour. Now for my two toppings (thanks, Chantal for the tips, pictures and being fun to be with!):
Gorgonzola, Walnut Arugula Pesto, Caramelized Onion and Fresh Pear Pizza
It’s a mouthful, but it’s the most delicious pizza we’ve ever tasted! This will be enough for 2 pizzas.
For the Gorgonzola Sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup Gorgonzola Dolce
Boil cream on medium-low heat in a small saucepan until thickened. Add Gorgonzola and cook until thick and creamy. Set aside to cool.
For the Caramelized Onion:
1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Sauté onion in a little olive oil until brown. It will take about 10 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and stir well. Set aside.
For the Walnut Arugula Pesto:
½ cup walnuts
1 clove garlic
1 large grabby handful of fresh arugula
½ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Place walnuts, garlic and arugula in a food processor. Process until chopped up. Slowly add olive oil and blend well. Season with salt and pepper.
You will also need 1 ripe but firm pear (we used Yellow Bartlett). Slice it into thin wedges.
Here’s how we layered the pizza toppings: First we spread some Gorgonzola sauce evenly on the dough. Then we added a layer of caramelized onions. Next we dolloped the walnut arugula pesto here and there, and topped the pizza with slices of the pear. Bake as directed and you will enjoy a crispy thin-crust pizza with a symphony of velvety Gorgonzola, sweet onions, spicy pesto and juicy pear.
C’est magnifique!
Roasted Tomato, Poblanos and Chorizo Pizza
Our bold south-of-the-border version. Enough for 2 pizzas.
For the roasted tomato sauce:
6 Roma tomatoes
2 poblano peppers
½ cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
Roast tomatoes and peppers on a grill until the tomato skins burst and pepper skins are charred. Put them in a pot and cover for a few minutes until the skins loosen. Carefully remove the skins.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes and put them in a pan with a little olive oil. Cook on medium-low heat until the sauce is thick and the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and add cilantro. Set aside to cool.
Slice the peeled poblano peppers into ½” strips and set aside to cool.
The chorizo:
½ lb Mexican style chorizo sausage, spicy or mild
Saute the chorizo over medium heat until cooked, breaking it apart. Drain the fat and discard. Set aside to cool.
You will also need 1 cup grated Mexican Oaxaca cheese.
Here’s how we layered the pizza toppings: First we spread the tomato sauce on the dough. Then we added the grated Oaxaca cheese, and a generous amount of chorizo. We topped it off with strips of roasted poblano peppers. Bake as directed and you will hear the Mariachis in the distance – enjoy!
- Dragana
Pizza!
This was my first DB challenge and I must admit that after seeing some of the previous challenges (crepe cake etc) I was very thankful for what appeared to be a relatively simple task.
So with such a simple task in mind who would have thought that 2 very valuable lessons could be learnt.
1. If your printer is broken and your writing down the recipe at least write it down correctly.
2. Once you have ensured you have written it down correctly make sure you read it through first.
So lesson 1 was soon learnt after using ¾ cups water as opposed to 1 ¾ cups. Thankfully I knew almost instantly that the mix was never going to combine and that there was a serious lack of liquid. A quick check later and lesson 1 was learnt.
Lesson 2 did not actually affect the overall result but on reading other peoples posts about completing the challenge I learnt small things like the recipe said to use cold flour. It didn’t seem to affect my dough but I might not be so lucky on future challenges.
I have made fresh pizza dough before but have always worked with warm water. I must admit I was a little dubious about using cold water and putting the dough in the fridge.
The recipe was simple to follow and the dough was soon nice and smooth and in the fridge to be left overnight. However, by this point serious impatience kicked in and I was dreaming about pizza.
I froze half the dough and intended on making 2 large pizza’s, one savoury and one sweet.
I decided to be a bit adventurous and attempt a stuffed crust pizza. My tossing technique left a lot to be desired but I did manage a not too imperfect circle with no holes so I cant have been too bad. I didn’t manage to get a tossing photo though.
I used grated mozzarella to stuff my crust with and placed it in a thin ring around the inside edge of the dough, wet the outer edge then rolled the dough over the cheese into the centre of the pizza to seal the cheese in. I used a tomato reduction for my base and topped with mushroom, salami and mozzarella. I cooked it on my pizza stone and was amazed at how thin and crispy the base was. Definitely an improvement on my previous pizza attempts with different dough recipes.
Unfortunately by the time we had eaten the pizza and I returned to do my sweet one something strange had happened to the dough, it was really big and smelt of strong yeast. I wasn’t sure it was still usable so my vanilla cream cheese apple crumble pizza was left with no dough. I still have a batch in the freezer though so may attempted it at a later date.
Overall I was very impressed with the dough recipe and it was a hit in my household. A successful first DB attempt.
- DM Bell
Pizza & Toppings
Thank you, Rosa, for such a yummy challenge! Peter Reinhart's pizza dough has been my go-to recipe when I crave pizza. I believe it to be far tastier than any pie ordered from the local pizzerias.
I had high hopes for perfecting the "toss", but alas my attempts were stymied by sticky and tearing dough. No worries, I'll keep trying and perhaps next time, enlist the help of a friend who's worked in a pizza shop.
I'm fortunate enough to live near the Zingerman's conglomerate, which offers pizza making classes at their Bakehouse. But I think I'll save the "tuition" $$ and splurge on yummy toppings instead. My pies were topped with a blend of cheeses, red onion, green olive, artichoke hearts, and fire roasted tomatoes.
-Olivia
Tossed, Topped and Tasted – Yum!
In my house, pizza night is always cause for celebration, and hardly ever cause for a call to the pizza shop. We love making pizza, from my husband who tossed pies in a pizza shop back in his college days, on down to my 5 and 3-year-olds, who always demand a piece of dough of their own. My specialty is grilled pizza, our answer to a hot kitchen in the summertime. I usually use a crust recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, but I was more than happy to try out a new one in the name of The Daring Bakers!
The path to pizza dough was not a smooth one. The first time I read the recipe all the way through was the day I intended to make it, not realizing it was a 2-day process. OK, try again. Then I realized that the yeast I have is not instant yeast, just the regular kind, so I had to tweak the mixing method a little bit, as I was unsure if my yeast would work if it wasn’t dissolved in water first. In the end my dough ball was nice and springy, soft, a bit stickier than what I’m used to. When I made my pizzas the next day the stickiness was gone, but the dough was still really soft, soft enough that I found it hard to work with. I attempted “the toss,” pretty poorly I must say. My husband wasn’t able to catch it on film, but we did get a picture of the mangled results. Oops!
The path to pizza dough was not a smooth one. The first time I read the recipe all the way through was the day I intended to make it, not realizing it was a 2-day process. OK, try again. Then I realized that the yeast I have is not instant yeast, just the regular kind, so I had to tweak the mixing method a little bit, as I was unsure if my yeast would work if it wasn’t dissolved in water first. In the end my dough ball was nice and springy, soft, a bit stickier than what I’m used to. When I made my pizzas the next day the stickiness was gone, but the dough was still really soft, soft enough that I found it hard to work with. I attempted “the toss,” pretty poorly I must say. My husband wasn’t able to catch it on film, but we did get a picture of the mangled results. Oops!
I made 2 pizzas, and stashed the rest of the dough in the freezer for another time. The first was for the kids, topped with some leftover pasta sauce and mozzarella. I had to test it out of course – delish! The “grown-up” pizza was sauced with pesto made from this summer’s basil plants, then topped with roasted chicken, red bell peppers, grape tomatoes, and mozzarella. Fabulous! Of course I made my usual mistake and used too much sauce on both, but nobody complained. There were no leftovers.
I liked the dough well enough, but I prefer my usual recipe, so I’ll be going back to it. Maybe next time I make it I’ll try tossing again, I might be better at it with a sturdier dough. But don’t worry, the extra crusts in the freezer won’t go to waste - I’m planning to cruise the Daring Bakers blogroll for some new topping ideas! Thanks to Rosa for a yummy challenge - looking forward to next month!
- Brooke
- Brooke
Do You Dare to Bake a Pizza?
Sometimes you really want to do something different. It doesn’t have to be as challenging, not really time consuming, Just different…
In my, lately, rather less than more interesting life I would really like some excitement. When I saw “PIZZA” I was little disappointed, as I bake pizza at least once a week for my pizza loving son.
But this crust…..I thought I knew about pizza dough. I didn’t. So thanks Rosa for it. And for challenging me for finding fun in everyday things. That has always been a hardest part. That’s also what we can all learn from Sherry’s blog, in whose memory this challenge is.
So that’s it: my tossing
In my, lately, rather less than more interesting life I would really like some excitement. When I saw “PIZZA” I was little disappointed, as I bake pizza at least once a week for my pizza loving son.
But this crust…..I thought I knew about pizza dough. I didn’t. So thanks Rosa for it. And for challenging me for finding fun in everyday things. That has always been a hardest part. That’s also what we can all learn from Sherry’s blog, in whose memory this challenge is.
So that’s it: my tossing
and my pizza just before…
The Pizza Monster got it :)
I did the second pizza with tuna, corn and onions with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, but the photos went blur.
So thanks again Rosa and REALLY check this crust out one day. It’s worth to try.
- Ula
So thanks again Rosa and REALLY check this crust out one day. It’s worth to try.
- Ula
Pizza, an old friend
Duncan at Syrup and Tang first showed me how to make one successfully, many moons ago. Since then, I've stuck by the same recipe through thick and thin. Until... what's all this? The tossing method?! And...uh... putting it in the fridge overnight??
The dough presented little change from what I was used to, if a little saltier. I dutifully wrapped my kneaded ball of dough in plastic, I whipped it in the fridge. And lo.. the next day, it had doubled in size! Was that supposed to happen? I'm still not sure.
The dough presented little change from what I was used to, if a little saltier. I dutifully wrapped my kneaded ball of dough in plastic, I whipped it in the fridge. And lo.. the next day, it had doubled in size! Was that supposed to happen? I'm still not sure.
Then came the tossing. Much flour was spent. I tossed and I tossed, but alas, my ball of dough lengthened beyond the width of my oven, let alone my pizza tray. It just wouldn't go round. Out came my trusty rolling pin (minus the handles - I lost them years ago), and the dough was coaxed into shape.
My topping was not the most original idea, but I'd never tried it before myself. Prawns, feta and mozzarella, with a bit of fresh rosemary from the window garden box. The whole thing cooked fairly happily in the oven, a bit longer than prescribed given the thickness of my dough.
My topping was not the most original idea, but I'd never tried it before myself. Prawns, feta and mozzarella, with a bit of fresh rosemary from the window garden box. The whole thing cooked fairly happily in the oven, a bit longer than prescribed given the thickness of my dough.
Lessons learnt:
1. Never freeze unshelled prawns. They're a bugger to unthaw and unshell!
2. Remember that when you're pizza comes outta the oven, it's ready for eating, whether your guests have arrived or not!
3. Taking photos of your pizza before you eat it requires a clean surface in the kitchen after the chaos of cooking is over! Not as simple as it sounds...
- Harry
1. Never freeze unshelled prawns. They're a bugger to unthaw and unshell!
2. Remember that when you're pizza comes outta the oven, it's ready for eating, whether your guests have arrived or not!
3. Taking photos of your pizza before you eat it requires a clean surface in the kitchen after the chaos of cooking is over! Not as simple as it sounds...
- Harry
I use to buy dough from a local pizza shop. Not anymore…
The first time I tried the dough something just wasn’t right. To this day, I can’t figure out what went wrong. There were pea sized dry bits throughout the dough. The dough never developed enough to pass the windowpane test. I baked some of if off. It was bland cardboard with peas of hard uncooked dough. The birds wouldn’t even eat it.
The second attempt was beautiful dough. I found myself thinking about the first attempt as I added each ingredient. Did I use iced water first time or warm tap? Maybe I grabbed vinegar instead of olive oil. I got over it almost as soon as I started to knead.
Tossing – move away from the island and those low hanging lights. Instead of my pizza stone, I took an opportunity to try a trick from Alton. I used the drip pan of a terra cotta pot. This worked very well! It is cheaper than replacing my pizza stone when they break.
One pizza was sauced with a homemade tomato sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni and a mozzarella/cheddar mix. A second pizza was olive oil, arugula, prosciutto and shaved parmesan. A third pizza was made for a dessert (walnuts, gorgonzola and honey). The remaining dough was used for frozen pizzas.
Will I start making my own dough? Yes! Everything about the second attempt dough was better than the dough I purchase. It isn’t hard to pull together if I know a pizza day is coming up.
Thanks for motivating me to try it myself.
- Ginny
The second attempt was beautiful dough. I found myself thinking about the first attempt as I added each ingredient. Did I use iced water first time or warm tap? Maybe I grabbed vinegar instead of olive oil. I got over it almost as soon as I started to knead.
Tossing – move away from the island and those low hanging lights. Instead of my pizza stone, I took an opportunity to try a trick from Alton. I used the drip pan of a terra cotta pot. This worked very well! It is cheaper than replacing my pizza stone when they break.
One pizza was sauced with a homemade tomato sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni and a mozzarella/cheddar mix. A second pizza was olive oil, arugula, prosciutto and shaved parmesan. A third pizza was made for a dessert (walnuts, gorgonzola and honey). The remaining dough was used for frozen pizzas.
Will I start making my own dough? Yes! Everything about the second attempt dough was better than the dough I purchase. It isn’t hard to pull together if I know a pizza day is coming up.
Thanks for motivating me to try it myself.
- Ginny
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I made the pizza right at the beginning of the month. There is only one photo of the dough, none of toossing and throwing and none of the 12 pizzas we made. Most of them were salami pizza, because the children eat only these. As to the tossing an throwing - I din't get it. even after 12 pizzas they always were too thin in the middle and then got holes. So in the end I had to kneed the doughs once again and rolled it like usual. As to the dough, I will use this recipe in the future for my pizzas, even if it will take me years to manage the tossing and thowing. This were the most delicious crusts we ever had.
- Tanja
Daring Pizza Story
Hi everybody,
I feared I wouldn’t be able to complete my challenge due to my wrist surgery (last October 3), but I finally made it (in extremis).
I have no comments on day one, everything went without a hitch. Please refer to my comments on bad Belgian flours, posted at the nonbloggers blog http://daringbakernon-bloggerblog.blogspot.com/ . This time I used French “type 55” flour which is available at my supermarket. I didn’t need to add water or flour, the recipe was just perfect. I did NOT measure the dough’s temperature.
I made half the recipe, which I divided in two parts.
After exactly 24 hours in the fridge, I realised there had been a minor accident: one of the babies had remained partially uncovered for some time, and had therefore dried out a bit.
I wasn’t prepared to throw it away, though.
I continued to follow instructions, except I put some baking paper on my pizza peel and sprinkled that with durum semolina.
My friendly neighbour who was to come photograph the event (and eat pizza) came late, so my first try at tossing and photographing at the same time was not very successful.
I was, however, able to overcome my desperation and sort of spread this thingy onto my pizza peel in a roundish shape, which I covered with my simple (and delicious) tomato sauce and lots of mozzarella. Baking took about 7 minutes. My baking stone failed me (probably because I had only heated it for about 15 minutes instead of 45??), so the central part of the crust was slightly softer, but still delightful.
TOMATO SAUCE:
I coarsely chopped one SMALL onion (I meant to blend the finished sauce in any case), and lightly fried it in a little olive oil (1 ½ tablespoon, say). I added one clove garlic (chopped), then one can of cubed tomatoes (400g – 14 oz.), sugar to counteract the acidity (this depends on the brand of tomatoes – I need to taste; I used 1 Tbsp, but other brands need less), salt to taste, and some FRESH basil and marjoram. I’m a staunch believer in the superior tastiness of fresh herbs. Cook 3 minutes, blend, cool and use.
Friendly neighbour arrived just at this point in time, and immortalised my second (and possibly my last – if slightly more successful) try at tossing. No sooner had I caught the dough over my knuckles, after only one second of trying to turn it, it took a perfect round shape which I didn’t intend to spoil by more tossing and turning and spinning, so I delicately and lovingly placed it on my pizza peel.
Here I opted for a childhood favourite, white pizza; I simply put on a lot of mozzarella, chopped raw onion, and FRESH rosemary and marjoram. Some salt (my mozzarella is not salty), and on to the oven for about 9 minutes.
Same comment for pizza stone, same fantastic result in spite of all. PETER, YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN! This recipe is great!!!!
And finally, this is what I was left with after my friendly neighbour took off with his share (he has 2 children at home, I only have one daughter and she’s in Madrid):
Conclusin: next time, hotter pizza stone, placed lower down in the oven. Nothing else to change, it is a perfect recipe.
- Milnead
This will be a late post..kinda..
I swear! I made it! BUT..
I'm on vacation in Disney World right now!! WOO HOOOOO..anyway..I will totally write a better post once i'm home. I made a BUNCH of pizzas, 9 to be exact, I had a bit of a pizza party with hubby's precinct. The cops totally loved it. I had a blast making it, BUT I'm having even more of a blast frolicking with Mickey Mouse!
Soon my dears, soon.
Marisa
October Challenge: Pizza
I really enjoyed my second Baker's Challenge because it is something I would frequently bake for family dinners, if I became skilled at it. The dough was a breeze to make with my countertop mixer. I've had it for years and had never used the dough hook before! I like that the recipe made enough dough to stash some in the freezer for later, too. Stretching the dough and tossing it will take a little more practice, but it was a lot of fun, especially trying to get a photo of the dough airborne before its crash landing.
I topped the pizza with canned chunky vegetable spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, red onions, sun-dried tomatoes and beef tenderloin. My family had been a fan of this topping combination at a local restaurant before it was taken off the menu. The finished result was delicious - just as we remembered. And...I have more dough in the freezer.
- Party Princess
October Challenge: Pizza
Here's what I made:
1) chorizo, mushroom and green pepper
2) red onion, roast pumpkin, baby spinach and brie cheese
3) basil, sundried and normal tomato slices, and bocconchini cheese.
I made all pizza's with a simple tomato sauce base, from one of the suggested websites, putting in heaps of dried herbs. Then covered the base with a sprinkle of motzerella cheese, for the sticky, stringy effect, so I didn't loose all the topping.
The dough was yum, but unfortunately I couldn't get my oven hot enough, just using a baking tray, to get a crisp crust all the way in the middle of the pizza, even though my tossing job had it stretched out VERY thin (sometimes hole-ey!).
I had friends round for a cocktail n pizza friday night, and it was enjoyed by all, not even a slice left over cold for the next day :( hehe.
I certainly like having the idea to keep the dough balls in the freezer tho. Very handy, and lucky when it makes so much. I'll be able to have a healthy homemade pizza on a week night now :)
- Monique
Holey Pizza!
I am not a pizza person so this October's daring bakers challenge is truly a challenge for me. This is the reason why I joined the Daring Bakers - to do recipes that I wouldn't normally do, to force me to make items that are not in my comfort zone.
Making the dough was easy, using the dough hook of the mixer really makes it so much faster and easier on the hands. Since I never made pizza dough from scratch or even used store bought dough before, I was not sure if the texture or consistency of the dough I made was right.
The next night I decided to head to my sisters place and have "Pizza Night". I did this because she has the pizza paraphernalia in her home - a pizza stone, corn meal, and a pizza paddle. I came with my dough and the various toppings I decided to put on the pizza. I made 6 kinds of Pizza: Olive oil/Anchovies/Roasted Garlic/Sauteed Mushrooms, 4 cheese, Olive oil/roasted garlice/Jamon Serrano/arugula/shaved parmesan cheese, Pepperoni, Italian sausage/mushrooms/onions/black olives and the last one was Olive oil/roasted garlic/sundried tomatoes/mozzarella/basil.
I loved how the crust was thin and crispy. I had a very hard time shaping the dough, I could not even attempt to do the tossing part! Some of the pizza dough had holes because it was very thin. Therefore, my pizzas all look odd shape. Nevertheless, my family liked it - flavor wise. This recipe is a keeper for me.
- Aleli
October Challenge: Pizza
I really liked this pizza dough recipe. My husband liked it too. I ended up only making 2 pizzas and freezing the rest of the dough (four balls) for later.
At first, I was a little hesitant about trying a new dough recipe, especially one that takes two days to make. I am glad that I decided to be open minded, 'cause this may be my "new" dough.
Attached are pictures of my two pizzas. Although they are not glamous, they were quite tasty. Here are the toppings for each of the pizzas:
BBQ chicken pizza
cubed chicken covered in bbq sauce
bbq sauce for crust
Italian cheese mix
red onions
red bells
cilantro
- Angelique
First DB Non-Blog Post: Pizza
This was my very first daring bakers challenge. And I LOVED every minute of it! I had been craving pizza for a while so when I saw what Octobers challenge entailed I thought it must be fate! I decided to keep the pizzas really simple and topped them with some tomato, ham and ricotta… turned out perfect and just enough to satisfy my cravings! I must admit though, i tried the tossing method and came to the conclusion that i am far too uncoordinated for something like that!
- Emelia
Experiments in Pizza Dough
I have my tried and true pizza dough that I have been making for years. Given to me by my sister who made it for years before that! That dough recipe produces a lighter and softer crust that transitions from pizza crust to calzone dough to breadsticks to cheesy-bread. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled about this challenge because I already make pizza dough about once a week. But, since I am a persevering person, I made the big batch of dough planning to have it that night. Oops, I have to let it sit in the fridge overnight… The next night I plan to make it only to find that my girls have already had pizza for lunch…Oh well, I’ll make it the next night….Nobody wants pizza that night since they will be having pizza the next day!!! What to do?
So along comes an unplanned and unconventional meal idea that pleased everyone in my family! I decide to sauté some sausages (polska kielbasa type) and fresh green beans, slice up some apples and pears and make some fantastic italian pizza dough “garlic bread”. I rolled out the dough in a rustic rectangle and spread it with butter, minced garlic, some sea salt and a pinch of Italian herbs. It was strong enough to be lifted up and placed on the pan without breaking and losing shape. I baked it on my well seasoned stoneware dish (no cornmeal needed) and it was great! The extremely hot stoneware and oven created a crispy, bubbly dough that melted in our mouths. I was so busy pulling dinner together I never got a kid to take my picture throwing the dough – and honestly, I figured it would end up on the floor I have 3 more dough balls sitting in my freezer and I am looking forward to using those soon for pizza or some more of that delicious garlic bread!
- Robin
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Whole-wheat crackers with Ajvar and Yogurt ‘cheese’
Having been sidelined by hurricane Ike and a fabulous trip to the Oregon wine country, I apologize for my late entry in this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge. Somehow I missed the memo about the posting date, thinking that it was always on the first of the month, so I thought I had plenty of time to write my notes when I returned home.
Fortunately, I bought all of the ingredients before Ike struck! After a week of tending to my parents, who had two of their neighbor’s tall pines favor the roof of their house during the storm, I hurriedly made my crackers and two dips and set up my tasty treats on the patio table. I took my final pictures and headed for the plane to Portland.
Fortunately, I bought all of the ingredients before Ike struck! After a week of tending to my parents, who had two of their neighbor’s tall pines favor the roof of their house during the storm, I hurriedly made my crackers and two dips and set up my tasty treats on the patio table. I took my final pictures and headed for the plane to Portland.
Here is how I made my crackers: I used whole-wheat flour and added 1-tablespoon fresh key lime juice. Having a key lime tree with limes coming out the Yazoo is a wonderful thing – I use it everywhere! I also proofed the yeast, just in case. I kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes until it became velvety and smooth. My dough required very little extra flour and it did not stick to the counter. It was very pleasing to work with.
I divided it in half, and when rolled out, each half covered two 11x17 pans. I found that it needed several breaks to rest before I rolled it out again, and most of my upper body strength. I trimmed the dough and shaped the crackers with a pizza cutter. The first batch was sprayed with a fine mist of oil (instead of water), and sprinkled with kosher salt, red pepper flakes and fresh cracked pepper. The second batch was decorated with oil, kosher salt and black and white sesame seeds. They were fully baked and crispy after 10 minutes and ready to be served when cool with my two dips.
Being Serbian-born, I was raised on a relish called Ajvar (eye-var). It was a no-brainer that it was going to be one of my dips. The main ingredient is roasted red peppers, which evokes memories of a trip I made to Serbia with my husband years ago. During the fall, the predominant sight and aroma in every town and village is that of smoke rising from the fires that char the skins of the peppers and the sweet smoky nose. It’s also a bonus that Ajvar is low in calories, high in vitamin C and goes well with grilled meats and vegetables.
My second dip is a very simple and cool Yogurt ‘Cheese’, which complements the spicy Ajvar. Here are the recipes:
Ajvar
6 red bell peppers
1 small eggplant
1 whole garlic bulb
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
½ -1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Roast red peppers on high flame of bar-b-que grill until the skin is charred on all sides. Place in a bowl and cover tightly with foil so that the skin separates from the flesh. Roast eggplant and garlic bulb at the same time, on the top rack of the grill, until soft and brown.
Peel peppers while still hot. Cut them in half, but be careful not to burn your hands as you allow the steam to escape from the inside. Discard stems and seeds. Place in colander. Cut eggplant in half and scoop out the flesh, discarding the seeds, if possible. Add eggplant to peppers in colander. Slice one end of garlic crosswise and squeeze about half of the garlic cloves on the peppers and eggplant. You can use the rest to flavor your mashed potatoes! Place colander over a bowl and allow the peppers, eggplant and garlic to drain for about 3-4 hours or overnight.
Place peppers, eggplant, garlic and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and process until blended but not smooth. It should still be a little chunky. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
My second dip is a very simple and cool Yogurt ‘Cheese’, which complements the spicy Ajvar. Here are the recipes:
Ajvar
6 red bell peppers
1 small eggplant
1 whole garlic bulb
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
½ -1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Roast red peppers on high flame of bar-b-que grill until the skin is charred on all sides. Place in a bowl and cover tightly with foil so that the skin separates from the flesh. Roast eggplant and garlic bulb at the same time, on the top rack of the grill, until soft and brown.
Peel peppers while still hot. Cut them in half, but be careful not to burn your hands as you allow the steam to escape from the inside. Discard stems and seeds. Place in colander. Cut eggplant in half and scoop out the flesh, discarding the seeds, if possible. Add eggplant to peppers in colander. Slice one end of garlic crosswise and squeeze about half of the garlic cloves on the peppers and eggplant. You can use the rest to flavor your mashed potatoes! Place colander over a bowl and allow the peppers, eggplant and garlic to drain for about 3-4 hours or overnight.
Place peppers, eggplant, garlic and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and process until blended but not smooth. It should still be a little chunky. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Yogurt ‘Cheese’
1 32-ounce container plain yogurt (I used Dannon Lowfat Plain Yogurt)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Place a sieve that can hold the yogurt over a bowl. Line it with two layers of cheesecloth, having some extra hanging over the bowl. Carefully place the yogurt onto the cheesecloth and fold the extra cheesecloth over the yogurt. Place in refrigerator overnight to drain. You will have about 1½ cups of thick and creamy yogurt ‘cheese’ the next day. Unmold on a serving plate and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
1 32-ounce container plain yogurt (I used Dannon Lowfat Plain Yogurt)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Place a sieve that can hold the yogurt over a bowl. Line it with two layers of cheesecloth, having some extra hanging over the bowl. Carefully place the yogurt onto the cheesecloth and fold the extra cheesecloth over the yogurt. Place in refrigerator overnight to drain. You will have about 1½ cups of thick and creamy yogurt ‘cheese’ the next day. Unmold on a serving plate and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
Serve crackers, Ajvar, and yoghurt ‘cheese’ and enjoy! And thank you for allowing me to share my first Daring Bakers Challenge experience!
- Dragana
- Dragana
A Photo Essay of Lavash Crackers.. to start! :)
Forgive me all.. Kelly sent these in a couple days ago and it took me a lil bit to finally get them posted.. I'm missing the first part of her email, so when she resends, I'll update her post. :)
Seasoned and ready to go!
Into the oven...
Fresh out of the oven!
All cracked up.. haha!
Seasoned and ready to go!
Into the oven...
Fresh out of the oven!
All cracked up.. haha!
- Kelly
Lavash Crackers and Vegan/Gluten-Free Dips/Spreads
September marked my inaugural entry in the Daring Baker's Challenge, and what fun! I was expecting primarily sweet-related recipes for the challenges so I was pleasantly surprised to see Lavash Crackers and Vegan/Gluten-Free Dips and Spreads as the chosen recipe. I rarely, if ever, bake non-sweet treats, and as a meat- and dairy-loving girl, I don't usually think twice about whether or not I'm using any animal products in my creations. So it was nice to step outside my comfort zone and really think about exactly what to make within the guidelines (I almost wrote "restrictions" but that makes it sound like I had to give up something good to fulfill the challenge, but the finished result was nothing short of decadent!)
While my crackers didn't roll out quite as thinly as I'd have like, they nonetheless came out crispy with just the hint of a chewy center. I divided the dough in half and sprinkled sea salt and sesame seeds to one half, and sea salt and poppy seeds to the other. Looking back I wish I would have gotten more creative with the herbs, but I will definitely get more adventurous when making them again. I rolled the dough out then cut strips with my trusty pizza cutter (which is a tool I use so often, yet rarely for pizza!). I liked how the uneven edges gave it a rustic look.
For my dips/spreads, I decided to make one savory and one (sort of) sweet.
First I made pineapple salsa. The combination of juicy roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and pineapple chunks made a really pretty presentation. I will admit I am a pepper/chile wuss, so my salsa was a little mild. The only "kick" came from the chopped red onion and minced garlic. But it was still super tasty, with a tangy tartness from the addition of balsamic vinegar that went well with the crispier pieces of the crackers.
My savory dip was olive hummus. I love love love black olives so I knew for this challenge I wanted to incorporate them somehow. The distinctive olive flavor meshed well with the hummus. A dash of cumin powder at the end gave it just the right amount of pep.
While my crackers didn't roll out quite as thinly as I'd have like, they nonetheless came out crispy with just the hint of a chewy center. I divided the dough in half and sprinkled sea salt and sesame seeds to one half, and sea salt and poppy seeds to the other. Looking back I wish I would have gotten more creative with the herbs, but I will definitely get more adventurous when making them again. I rolled the dough out then cut strips with my trusty pizza cutter (which is a tool I use so often, yet rarely for pizza!). I liked how the uneven edges gave it a rustic look.
For my dips/spreads, I decided to make one savory and one (sort of) sweet.
First I made pineapple salsa. The combination of juicy roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and pineapple chunks made a really pretty presentation. I will admit I am a pepper/chile wuss, so my salsa was a little mild. The only "kick" came from the chopped red onion and minced garlic. But it was still super tasty, with a tangy tartness from the addition of balsamic vinegar that went well with the crispier pieces of the crackers.
My savory dip was olive hummus. I love love love black olives so I knew for this challenge I wanted to incorporate them somehow. The distinctive olive flavor meshed well with the hummus. A dash of cumin powder at the end gave it just the right amount of pep.
The day I made the crackers and dips I was heading to the Hollywood Bowl for the Beck/Spoon concert (woohoo!), so I decided to pack it all up and bring it for my friends. Now, perhaps it wasn't the easiest thing to attempt to eat in that situation (we did not have box seats with a table, just regular seating), but my friends were sure happy that I brought it all. Both dips and the crackers were very well received, thankfully.
Over all I was pleased with the end result. I will definitely do some things differently next time, and that's the beauty of the cracker/dip theme the flavors and combinations are endless!
- Angie
Over all I was pleased with the end result. I will definitely do some things differently next time, and that's the beauty of the cracker/dip theme the flavors and combinations are endless!
- Angie
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Lavash Crackers with a side of Delicious-ness.
I rolled the dough as thinly as possible and tried not to worry about its unruly shape. After covering the surface with minced garlic, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, and sea salt, I popped it in the oven where they proceeded to take a life of their own, becoming unevenly browned and bubbly. I snapped the cooled sheets into large , rugged-looking pieces and dunked them into a giant bowl of Honeydew-Peach Salsa and proceeded to groan in satisfaction. Homemade crackers – who knew they could be this good?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Lavash Crackers and Topping
I looked so forward to this challenge, because I just so do love crackers. But I had never heard of Lavash Crackers before.
First I was unsure about the unbleached bread flour, but then I decided to make two batches of dough with type 1050 flour.
(For German flour type numbers see here.
First I was unsure about the unbleached bread flour, but then I decided to make two batches of dough with type 1050 flour.
(For German flour type numbers see here.
Following this recipe was pretty easy. I made sweet ones with cinnamon,sugar and almonds and salty ones with salt, dried garlic and dried italian herbs, salty and ones with salt and ones only with salt.
They all came out O.K. I was the only one who liked the sweet ones so I decided not to make any topping for them.
For the salty ones I made a tomato topping and an avocado topping and as special request of my boyfriend some shepherds topping which doesn't belong to this challenge because it isn't vegan.
They all came out O.K. I was the only one who liked the sweet ones so I decided not to make any topping for them.
For the salty ones I made a tomato topping and an avocado topping and as special request of my boyfriend some shepherds topping which doesn't belong to this challenge because it isn't vegan.
The tomato topping was to everybody's liking and eaten before I could take a photo. So there is only one photo of Lavash Crackers with avocado topping (and shepherds topping).
As for the crackers, my family was very unison in deciding that the crackers can really go without topping, too. I will make those crackers from time to time in the future.
-bana
As for the crackers, my family was very unison in deciding that the crackers can really go without topping, too. I will make those crackers from time to time in the future.
-bana
I Swear I'm Vegan...
…in my other life. By other life I mean the one that I live when my husband and son aren’t around. After all, one can’t make 2 separate meals all the time and stay sane. I grew up in a home that was almost vegetarian and I didn’t know that’s what we were. On a very rare occasion we had ground beef…..never straight though…it was always mixed with some ground seitan.
Ah….the memories…..anyway I made the Lavash crackers and they were perfect. I don’t think one could really mess that up. They have to be the best cracker I’ve ever made, so many different ways to make it shine. I used three different topping for the crackers. Cracked pepper, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. I admit I was out of control for this challenge and it took everything I had to reign in my visions of vegan deliciousness. This was my most favorite challenge so far and the bonus was that I got to use my favorite cookbook. I have come across many opinions about Mark Bittman and his books. Most people are neutral…don’t love him, don’t hate him. I on the other hand….LOVE him. His books are simplistic, yet tasty and so I totally have to give him a plug. I used his book “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” for my dips. I wanted to make everything in there, but I narrowed it down to three.
The first is a pineapple chutney. I’ve never had chutney and thought this would be a great one to try. It was fantastic. Next time I will add a little less red hot pepper flakes.
I then made a spinach artichoke dip. While it’s not your typical dip, it had some great flavor.
10 oz. of creamed spinach
1 jar of marinated artichokes
Smidge of minced garlic
¼ c of vegannaise
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients, put in dish and bake for 20 minutes till bubbly.
I then made a spinach artichoke dip. While it’s not your typical dip, it had some great flavor.
10 oz. of creamed spinach
1 jar of marinated artichokes
Smidge of minced garlic
¼ c of vegannaise
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients, put in dish and bake for 20 minutes till bubbly.
I made the creamed spinach myself using almond milk and a roux of oil and flour. I think the almond milk added flavor that brought out the spinach. I had planned on using a dash of Worcestershire to add a sharpness that the parmesan adds in a traditional recipe, but I found I didn’t even need it.
My last spread was a mushroom pate. I love mushrooms and this was a great combo of button and dried porcinis. I did choose to not totally macerate the pate….I like a little chewy with the cracker. Unfortunately I didn’t alter two of the recipes I used so I can’t post them, but I totally recommend Mark’s book.
Thanks Natalie and Shel for a great challenge. I love living in my vegan world!
- Amber
Thanks Natalie and Shel for a great challenge. I love living in my vegan world!
- Amber
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I just Dare to be a Baker. For the first time.
Vegan? Gluten free? Never tried those before, so why not. First attempt was both successful and…not as the Lavash was ate before I even started with the dip. It’s such a great snack just as it is!! But than I got my little Help-er.
And we made it again. It was topped with nigella on one half and cumin seeds on the other (we got two sheets out of the recipe)
At the begining I was thinking of dozens of dips I could make for Lavash. Humus. Black olives Tapenade. Hot & Spicy salsa. Guacamole. Hot apple chutney. Sweet apple/cinnamon sauce. Even poppyseed dessert. But I could only make them after visiting store. And I was running out of time, as the Lavash was already on the table. So I made an eggplant/tomato/red pepper/onion/chili/olive kind of dip (i just used vegetables available-meaning: in my fridge). It was almost too late. But I managed to take a photo. One.
My first lavash experience
I need to start with a brief discussion of Belgian flour. I hope no-one takes offence, flour here is pretty bad. There are only a few types of flour available in supermarkets and normal food stores, and only some of them actually serve their stated purpose. Bread flour here (white bread flour) has hardly any gluten content at all (9% protein, can you believe it?), and comes ready-mixed with “bean flour”!!!! Perfectly useless for making edible bread (or anything else that is edible for that matter). Pastry flour is good for pastry and cakes, but again, not for bread. Real bread flour can be obtained at specialist stores (e.g. as a British import), but the nearest outlet is quite far from my house. That left me with only one option: I had to mix plain pastry flour with some Italian “hard wheat” (durum wheat/semolina) flour in order to increase the gluten content. I replaced about 25% of the flour with this. I do this when I make Italian ravioli dough, and for puff pastry as well, whenever I need the gluten.
After that, everything went more or less smoothly; I followed the recipe to the letter (except I used sugar instead of honey). I needed the full amount of water. I believe the dough could have used a bit more rising time (and/or more yeast, and/or warmer water), as it was only beginning to rise after 90 minutes. I’m also convinced that the proportion of olive oil should be at least tripled.
I used my beloved Silpat mat for rolling, cutting (very carefully with my ravioli wheel) and baking.
My baking time was about 25 minutes. I tasted one for scientific purposes, the other ones had to wait for the dips to be ready. They are crusty, and rather good!
Let me mention that next time I intend to use half the dough to make “tortas de aceite”, a delicious addictive Spanish sweet cracker, following the recipe given by Susan at the Wild Yeast blog which looks very authentic to me.
Now for the dips.
Firstly, I made salmorejo, an Andalusian classic. Salmorejo is said to be “the mother of gazpacho”, and it is typical of Córdoba in Spain. I learned to make it from my ex-sister-in-law, but she always made it without measuring anything. I therefore used a recipe, which came from this site.
Don’t even attempt to make salmorejo if your tomatoes aren’t really tasty, red and ripe. I used 4 lovely tomatoes which were exactly 500 g (a little over 1 lb.), and about 2 oz. of bread (crust removed). I pressed the garlic before it went into the food processor. I also did peel tomatoes and remove crust from bread. Since it had to be vegan, I used neither eggs nor ham for decoration, just black olives.
Now for the dips.
Firstly, I made salmorejo, an Andalusian classic. Salmorejo is said to be “the mother of gazpacho”, and it is typical of Córdoba in Spain. I learned to make it from my ex-sister-in-law, but she always made it without measuring anything. I therefore used a recipe, which came from this site.
Don’t even attempt to make salmorejo if your tomatoes aren’t really tasty, red and ripe. I used 4 lovely tomatoes which were exactly 500 g (a little over 1 lb.), and about 2 oz. of bread (crust removed). I pressed the garlic before it went into the food processor. I also did peel tomatoes and remove crust from bread. Since it had to be vegan, I used neither eggs nor ham for decoration, just black olives.
And the last dip is entirely my creation, a tweaked eggplant pesto trapanese recipe borrowing elements from pesto trapanese (see here) and from eggplant pesto (see here, which is in Italian).
I used:
2 eggplants/aubergines (about 500 g total weight)
2 Tbsp roasted pine-nuts
2 Tbsp roasted almonds
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 walnut halves
a small bunch of basil
one clove garlic (pressed through garlic press)
5 cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt (slightly over ½ tsp.)
My first step was roasting the eggplants directly over the gas flame until soft and all skin was charred. You have to be real careful when turning them, you grab them by the stalk and take care not to get burned. Then you peel off all charred eggplant skin, rinse them and press them between your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. The rest is easy, you just put everything into your faithful food processor and pulse. You don’t need to get it too smooth.
I used:
2 eggplants/aubergines (about 500 g total weight)
2 Tbsp roasted pine-nuts
2 Tbsp roasted almonds
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 walnut halves
a small bunch of basil
one clove garlic (pressed through garlic press)
5 cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt (slightly over ½ tsp.)
My first step was roasting the eggplants directly over the gas flame until soft and all skin was charred. You have to be real careful when turning them, you grab them by the stalk and take care not to get burned. Then you peel off all charred eggplant skin, rinse them and press them between your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. The rest is easy, you just put everything into your faithful food processor and pulse. You don’t need to get it too smooth.
Well, this was my first challenge. I never thought I’d be able to do it on time, considering I was rehearsing for a theatre piece (it went great BTW). I feel sooo proud. The crackers are nice, the dips are good too. Can’t wait to see all the other posts!
- Adriana
- Adriana