Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats

Pfaltzgraff Dollar Sale

2012-01-07T11:33:00.000-06:00

Pfaltzgraff.com is currently having a Dollar Sale with over 1,200 items on sale for up to 96% off!
They sell high quality dinnerware and kitchenware. Stock up your kitchen with measuring spoons, spatulas, wine openers, pastry brushes and more. Flat rate shipping is $7.95. They also have a $5/$10/$20 item sale, too, so be sure to check it out.

Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 15 oz (2 pack) for $12.16 shipped!

2012-01-04T17:31:00.000-06:00

Right now at Amazon the 2 packs of Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil are $16.20 (down from $24.06). Choose Subscribe and Save (right side) to get an additional 15% off AND you can use coupon code NUTIVJAN to get another 10% off! Your total will be $12.16 shipped, or only $6.08 for each 15 oz tub! After your order ships, you can cancel your subscribe & save subscription at no cost.

The reviews on this coconut oil are all very positive too. If you've never used coconut oil, it is delicious and a healthy alternative to cook with :) No refrigeration is required. You can use it as cooking oil, a butter substitute, a shortening substitute in baking, or even as massage/body oil!

* Please note that prices do fluctuate often on Amazon so it may not be at this price for long.

French Country Bread (DB)

2011-12-27T22:30:00.000-06:00

Our Daring Bakers' Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

Sourdough is made without adding any yeast or leavening, by fermenting your own sourdough ‘starter’. The natural yeasts in the flour do the work of making a lovely loaf of bread – we just facilitate that process. Sourdough is basically bread as your great-, great- grandmother knew it, before the days of Chorleywood (i.e. factory-made, steamed, sliced, additive-filled) bread and packaged yeast. It takes time, but not too much active work.

I have to say that while I had a lot of fun with this recipe, it was a colossal fail! I've never made a starter before, and watching this one develop and bubble up was really cool. Unfortunately, I let my dough proof too long (didn't realize that would be an issue), and while I ended up with what looks like a beautiful loaf, it was extremely dense and didn't quite develop the crumb I was hoping it would. I was hoping to get a good picture of the cut loaf, but since I failed to successfully get a good crumb, I didn't photograph the inside of the loaf :(

The great thing about this recipe, though, is that you're left with a starter that you can keep on using... so I look forward to trying this recipe again! :) Thanks Jessica, for hosting this month's challenge. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else rose to the challenge.

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking
Wheat Starter - Day 1:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total scant ½ cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.
Wheat Starter - Day 3:

Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.
Wheat Starter - Day 4:

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 ¼ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven

Ingredients
1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 ⅔ oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/1¾ oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

French Country Bread
Stage 2: Making the final dough

Ingredients
3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons (7½ ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon (3⅓ ml) (3 gm/⅛ oz) table salt
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 ½ oz/2 lb 3½ oz)

Directions:
1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS3raEGdwk
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPO97R4iO4U
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDoJRCMfclE
6. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
7. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack.

Notes:
• Good bread starts with good flour. Beyond trying to find good quality, local (organic if possible) flour, Whitley recommends finding out three things: how was it milled? (stoneground ideally, to retain more nutrients); how much of the original grain is left in the flour (ideally 95-100 % for bread making); and lastly, how much protein is in the flour? (the more protein, the more gluten, leading to a more stretchy dough – ‘strong’ or ‘bread’ flour indicates a higher level of protein).
• Normal tap water is fine in most cases, unless you live in a municipality that heavily chlorinates the water. Chlorine will kill almost all bacteria, including your yeast, so you’ll want to use filtered water if you can. Whitley says that leaving water in a pitcher overnight can rid most of the chlorine.
• If you clean your kitchen with anti-bacterial products or harsh cleaners, try not to do it before baking and make sure your bowls are clean but have no chemical residue left on them! Many a bread has been deflated by an overly-sterilised kitchen.
• All of these recipes call for sea salt because it retains a higher level of minerals and has a stronger salt taste, meaning you can use less of it. Never add salt directly to your starter – it will kill the yeast, so use the following method: dissolve your starter in water, stir your salt through your flour, then mix the wet with the dry ingredients.
• When greasing pans for baking, try to use hard fats like butter because oil can drip down the pans and lead to a fried bottom on your loaf!
• When working with the dough, you might feel inclined to heavily flour your work surface or your hands. Resist this urge! Sourdough is meant to be wet and sticky – this helps to give the bread a nice crumb once it has baked. I work most doughs with my hands, but sometimes use a dough scraper to help lift and fold the dough. When I need to pick up or shape a loaf, I find damp hands work better than floured ones!
• If you don’t have dough scrapers, old bank cards/credit cards work just as well! But wash them thoroughly first.
• Try to work with your hands to make these recipes – mixing and kneading the dough by hand means you’ll get a better sense of how your dough should feel! We learn by doing!
• Remember, a lot of these timings are guidelines – pay attention as, depending on temperature and your starter, you may need more or less time to proof your dough. You want a dough that resists poking a bit (if you poke it, the hole will disappear) but not one that quivers all over and seems really fragile.
• Cutting the top of your loaf before it goes in the oven helps it to expand or split at those points. This means you don’t end up with funny outgrowths from your bread! You want to be quick, gentle, and use a very sharp blade – see the video at the end for tips.
• Notes on scheduling: For the Rye loaf, and all the other starters, I find it helpful to start the process on a Monday, so that come Friday/Saturday you are ready to bake. I refresh my starter (Stage 1) the night before baking, then do Stage 2 in the morning. For the French Country Bread, I refresh the starter in the morning, make the final dough at lunchtime, and bake at dinner time. For the Rice Sourdough, I soak the flaxseeds on a Friday morning, refresh my starter on Saturday morning, the prep the final dough at lunchtime, ready to bake at dinner.
• I would set the difficulty level of these recipes as: Rye – Easy!, French Country Bread – Med-Hard!, Rice Sourdough – Easy!
• Once you’ve finished baking, you’ll have some leftover starter. Keep this in a Tupperware container, as this is what you will use to start your next loaf (and so on…)! Some of the best starters are hundreds of years old – and they get better with time. If you bake daily, you can keep your starter at room temperature. If you bake weekly, I’d keep it in the fridge. You can also freeze starter if you bake very infrequently, but I find it does fine in the fridge so long as you feed it at least once a month. Simply refresh your starter according to the recipe – or with equal parts by weight of flour and water – and let it come back to life at room temperature.
• You might notice that your starter starts to smell a bit like acetone – this is completely normal. It may develop a grey liquid on top, which you can either pour off or stir back into the starter. When I refresh mine, I discard half of the original starter and add in fresh flour and water for the yeast to feed on.
• Sometimes, very rarely, a starter might get moldy. This is often due to being left at room temperature without feeding. If there is a lot of mold throughout the starter, I would discard it. But the odd bit is not always a problem. It is nearly impossible to kill a starter, unless you get salt or chemical products in it – so don’t fret! Often it is just a matter of feeding it over a few days and nursing it back to life.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:31:00.000-06:00

photo credit: Erin Tukua Photography

I hope everyone has had a sweet holiday with their family and friends. We've certainly enjoyed visiting with our family and celebrating Christmas with our precious little 2 year old. She had lots of fun opening presents (hers and everyone elses!) while exclaiming, "rip it!" as she tore through all the wrapping paper :) I can only imagine how next year will be even more fun!

And, for those who entered the Peeled Snacks giveaway, I'm happy to announce that Denise L. is the winner. I have emailed Denise and if I do not receive a reply within 48 hours, I will choose an alternate winner. Congrats Denise, and Merry Christmas!

$0.99 Brie

2011-12-19T23:55:00.000-06:00

Right now at Target, you'll find President Brie Cheese (8 oz) for $3.49. Use the $2.50 off coupon found here (you’ll need to share this offer with 3 friends) and get it for just $0.99!

If you're doing any holiday entertaining this year, this delicious Baked Brie is sure to please all your guests! :)

Unbelievably Good Chocolate Blueberry Pomegranate Ice Cream (TWD)

2011-12-13T14:41:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Laurie (founder of TWD!) of Slush: Unbelievably Good Chocolate Blueberry Ice Cream.

I would never to think to make chocolate blueberry ice cream, but I've totally had chocolate covered strawberries, and chocolate covered dried cherries, blueberries, etc. so of course it would make sense that chocolate blueberry ice cream would be good :)

I thought I had everything I needed for this recipe because we usually keep frozen blueberries on hand for my daughter, but when I went to the make the recipe I realized that the recipe calls for blueberry preserves, not fresh/frozen blueberries! Well, I just so happened to receive some Pomegranate Jelly for my birthday in November, so I decided to puree some frozen blueberries (about 1 tbsp) and mixed it together with the Pomegranate Jelly.... resulting in the most delicious chocolate blueberry pomegranate ice cream!

If you would like the recipe, you can find here. Make sure you also check out this page, too, so you can see what everyone else thought of this unusual chocolate ice cream!

And if you haven't already, don't forget to enter my Peeled Snacks Giveaway!

Cake Pop Maker for $1.99!

2011-12-11T00:23:00.003-06:00

Right now Kohl's has this Babycakes Cake Pops Maker on sale for just $14.99

Get an additional 20% off with code SECRETSANTA and use coupon code XMASFREE for FREE shipping.

You’ll pay only $11.99 (+ tax) out of pocket. Then submit this $10 mail in rebate (only valid if item is purchased between 12/11 - 12/12 so purchase any time after midnight), making it $1.99 + tax!

Don't forget you can also get 5.5% cashback through ShopAtHome with their 110% guarantee. Simply go to the Kohl's page on ShopAtHome, then click on 110% guarantee (it's on the right hand side) and tell them that you found 5% cashback at Mr. Rebates with this link: http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/?mrr-kohls

Then proceed to click on Kohl's through ShopAtHome as usual and they will give you 5.5% cashback!

Please note that you won't be able to make traditional moist cake pops with these, but you can still make some sweet treats with it! :) I am thinking even waffle recipes would be great in this! Hurry, because this deal will likely sell out fast!

(Thanks, hip2save!)

Peeled Snacks Giveaway

2011-12-06T23:00:00.008-06:00

I often get asked by my friends and family why I try so hard to feed my daughter healthy things when I myself eat so many sugary sweets! If you read my blog, you might wonder the same thing ;) Well, the answer is easy - I want her to have a better and healthier lifestyle. They say that what a baby/toddler eats during the first few years will help establish their eating habits for the rest of their lives. So if I can get her off to a right start now, I will hopefully raise a healthy eater. (Clearly, I was fed way too much sugar when I was a child because I have the worst sweet tooth of anyone I know!)

So, I do many things to ensure that she is eating well. I limit her salt intake and avoid processed foods whenever possible. I feed her fresh or frozen vegetable instead of canned vegetables. I only give her milk or water, never fruit juice (pediatricians discourage giving children fruit juice due to the high sugar content and low nutritional value). I limit her sugar intake - she did not have any refined sugar until she was 22 months old and now that she is older she is allowed to have some, but I try to limit the amount of refined sugar she consumes. Refined sugar has a higher glycemic index and will cause her to get a super sugar high (and then a big crash, which makes tantrums more likely).

Given all of this, I've had quite a time trying to find healthy snacks for her to eat. You don't realize how everything has sugar in it until you start reading labels and looking for things that don't have added sugar! (Not to mention how manufacturers will sometimes try to hide the sugar in their ingredients list by using dextrose, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) So, when I stumbled upon Peeled Snacks at Starbucks, I was really excited. Could a dried fruit snack with no added sugar, just fruit, really taste good?

Well, the folks at Peeled Snacks were kind enough to send me one of their Organic Fruit Picks Variety Packs that includes several of their organic fruit snacks: pine-4-Pineapple, much-ado-about-Mango, Banan-a-peel, Apricot-a-lot, Cherry-go-round and Apple-2-the-core. My favorite was the apricot; I'm not sure what it is about them (maybe they're sweeter?), but I found them to be much better than the ones we usually get from Sam's Club. I loved them all, but didn't care much for the dried banana - the pieces were a little tough (my daughter still loved them).

What did my little girl think about the variety pack? Well, her favorites are the dried pineapple, dried apples, and dried cherries. She will pretty much oblige to anything for some Peeled Snacks! :) I can't tell you nice it is, as a parent, to be able to find healthy snacks that my daughter loves.

Would you like to try some Peeled Snacks, too? Enter now to win your own Organic Fruit Picks Variety Pack. Just go to the Peeled Snack website and check out their Organic Fruit Picks Variety Pack, then leave me a comment here, telling me which type of dried fruit is your favorite (or which one you'd like to try most). For one additional entry, "like" Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats on Facebook, then come back here leave a second comment telling me that you "liked" my page.

This giveaway is open to US Residents only, and will be open until midnight Central Time on December 20th. Please note that comment moderation is in place, so your comment may not appear immediately. Also please make sure that you leave your email address if you don't have one associated with your profile! (I already have one comment from "unknown" and would have no way to contact him/her if he/she wins!)

Sour Cream Pumpkin Tart and Normandy Apple Tart (TWD)

2011-12-04T13:00:00.000-06:00

This week for Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) we had two recipes! (I actually had this post ready to go on Tuesday night and just realized I never posted it! oops!) The recipes were chosen by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats. Tracey chose the Normandy Apple Tart and Judy chose the Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie/Tart. I was ambitious this week and made both :)

The Normandy Apple Tart is a very rustic and homey dessert. It's basically a tart shell filled with delicious homemade (or store bought) applesauce, then layered with apples on top. It's amazing how something so simple can be so delicious. I think using your own homemade applesauce really makes a difference in this dessert. I am also a huge fan of Dorie's tart shell recipe and use it all the time.... I even used it for the Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie recipe because Dorie mentions that as an alternative to your traditional pie crust.

The sour cream pumpkin pie was one of my husband's favorite desserts this Thanksgiving. He said he liked it better than traditional pumpkin pie because it wasn't so heavy. I thought that was interesting, given the amount of heavy cream in it ;) It has a nice blend of spices to it and I think the addition of some rum to the filling really makes it stand out.

While the pumpkin pie can be served cold or at room temperature, I thought the flavors were a bit muted when it was chilled, so I would definitely recommend serving it at room temperature.

Thanks, Tracey and Judy, for hosting this week! I really enjoyed both recipes. I don't normally eat pumpkin pie except around Thanksgiving, but I could definitely see myself making the Normandy Apple Tart a few times each fall :) If you'd like the recipes, please click here for the Normandy Apple Tart and here for the Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie.

* Recipe notes:

- Make sure to put a pie crust shield (or some foil) around the edge of your tart about 20-30 minutes into baking to avoid burning the edges.

Sans Rival (DB)

2011-11-27T22:10:00.000-06:00

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Baker’s host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

With all the cooking and backing involved with the Thanksgiving holiday, I only had time to make the Sans Rival cake. “Sans rival” means “without rival” and any Filipino will argue with you that this is true. Although it’s one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines, its origins are certainly French. In the 1920’s to 30’s there were many Filipinos who went abroad to study. A good number went to France and learned many French cooking techniques which they then brought home. A Sans Rival is made with layers of dacquoise, typically using crushed cashews, with very rich French buttercream frosting. The dacquoise is allowed to bake and dry to a crispy layer so that there is the crunch of pastry and nuts with the buttery, silky frosting. I went the traditional route with cashews, but the non-traditional route by making mine chocolate based.

The recipe really isn't more difficult than any other layered cake. In fact, it's a little easier because each layer is baked as is so you don't even need to halve the layers and worry about slicing them perfectly! It's basically meringue with crushed nuts folded in, then layered with buttercream.

It was fun to make, but I have to be honest and say that it didn't really "wow" me. I like cashews but wasn't a big fan of a cashew flavored cake. Perhaps almonds or peanuts would have been a better choice for me? Both my parents thought the cake was good, while my husband didn't really care for it. So I guess it just depends on who you ask!

Thanks Catherine, for hosting this month's challenge. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this Filipino cake!

Sans Rival
from Catherine of Munchie Musings

Ingredients
10 large egg whites, room temp
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) cream of tartar
¼ cup (60 ml) (20 gm) (2/3 oz) Dutch processed cocoa (optional and not traditional)
2 cups (480 ml) (240 gm) (8½ oz) chopped, toasted cashews

Directions:

Note: You will need four layers which will mean that you might have to bake in two batches. Be sure to use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.

1. Preheat oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.
2. Line cake pan bottoms with parchment paper and butter and flour the sides really well.
3. In a large clean, dry glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium until foamy (2 mins.). Sprinkle with cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, continuing to beat now at high speed until stiff shiny peaks form. (about 7-10 mins.)
4. Fold in nuts, reserving enough to use for decoration.
(Note the more finely ground for folding into meringue. The coarsely ground for is decoration of finished cake.)
5. Divide meringue into four equal parts. Spread in pans, evenly to edges. If doing batches, use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the meringue from the baking pans while still hot; allow to cool slightly. Peel off the parchment paper while it is still warm, it is difficult to remove sometimes when they have completely cooled.
7. When cool, trim edges so that all 4 meringue layers are uniformly shaped. Set aside.

French Buttercream:

Ingredients
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) white granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
1¼ cup (300 ml) (2½ sticks) (285 gm) (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
Optional Flavorings: 2 oz (55 gm) unsweetened chocolate, melted, or 1½ teaspoon (7 ½ ml) almond extract, or 1½ teaspoon (7 ½ ml) vanilla extract, or any flavor you like

Directions:
1. Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until the yolks have doubled in volume and are a lemon yellow.
2. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook over medium heat, stirring the sides down only until all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup reaches 235°F/112°C (or thread stage).
3. With the mixer on high, very slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the bowl, until all has been added. Be careful as the very hot syrup could burn you if it splashes from the beaters. Continue beating on high until the mixture is ROOM TEMPERATURE (about 15 mins). Still on high, beat in the soft, room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time. Add flavoring after you beat in the butter. Refrigerate the buttercream for at least an hour, and whip it smooth just before you use it.

Assembly:

Set bottom meringue on cake board with a dab of butter cream to hold it in place. Spread a
thin layer of buttercream and then place another meringue on top. Repeat with a thin layer of
buttercream, meringue, thin layer of buttercream, meringue, and finally buttercream the top and
sides. Decorate with reserved nuts.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. It is easier to cut cold. May freeze.

Yield: 12 Servings

Notes:
• Brushing the parchment paper with some oil will help you to peel it off after the dacquoise is baked.
• Do not grind the nuts down to a fine flour/powder. This recipe is better with the nuts in a grainy/sandy grind.
• It is important to peel off the parchment within a couple of minutes of it coming out of the oven. Certainly while it is still warm.
• After you’ve removed the paper, return it into the warm oven to dry out more as the oven is cooling down. You want crunchy layers.

Ginger Jazzed Brownies and Fall Butternut Squash Pie (TWD)

2011-11-25T20:00:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of good eats and sweet treats! We had a pretty impressive spread at our house, and of course we're still enjoying leftovers today.

This week we're posting for Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) on Friday. This was to allow everyone the time to get ready for Thanksgiving. There was no specific recipe chosen for this week, we were simply given the liberty to do a "rewind," meaning we could go back and bake a recipe from the past that we may have missed. I'll be posting about the Ginger Jazzed Brownies and the Depths-of-Fall Butternut Squash Pie.

The ginger jazzed brownies were actually chosen by Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker as the recipe of the week for October 18 and I made them a few weeks ago. I just never got around to posting about them! I didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, so I added extra ground ginger to the brownies, as Dorie suggested. My brownies came out with very little ginger flavor to them, which was a big disappointment because I love ginger. I had contemplated adding in chopped candied/crystallized ginger to the brownies, and should have... because I munched on some while eating these brownies and found that the ginger and chocolate flavors together were great. So, next time I make these, I will definitely add in chopped crystallized ginger instead of fresh ginger. Otherwise, these brownies were super moist and dense like you would expect brownies to be.

The Fall Butternut Squash Pie was chosen by Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine. I am not a big butternut squash fan, but I still wanted to try this pie because that's what TWD is all about - trying recipes you wouldn't otherwise try. So, I made this one for Thanksgiving. Aside from the butternut squash, this pie is filled with pears, brown sugar, spices, walnuts, and raisins (or dried cranberries or diced apples).

This pie was met with mixed reviews. I really didn't care for it much. I think I would have liked it better if there had been more sugar in it because I think it was lacking in sweetness. My mom thought it was good, but attributed that to the fact that there was a lot of other filling ingredients besides squash. I think if it had a little bit less squash and lots of pears and apples, it would be very good. Just enough to have a hint of squash in it, but not overwhelmingly squashy ;)

If you're interested, head on over here for the Ginger Jazzed Brownies recipe and here for the Fall Butternut Squash Pie recipe.

Thanksgiving Favorites

2011-11-18T22:30:00.001-06:00

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just less than one week away? I sure can't. Of course my favorite part of Thanksgiving (aside from gathering all together with my family), is the delicious food :) I only put a little bit of everything on my plate, and yet somehow I always end up stuffed! I don't know what it is about Thanksgiving food, but it is always hard not to want to eat all of it!

Here's a roundup of some of my favorite fall treats that I've made over the years; all of these would be perfect to bring to your Thanksgiving table. Hope you'll try one or two of them, and come back to tell you me what you thought of them!

(And if you haven't already, click here to see how you can earn a $10 Amazon gift card for FREE!)

Awesome Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing

sorry, no blog post about this one yet but it is a great stuffing recipe

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin Walnut Cookies

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Sugared Cranberries

Apple Crumb Pie

Cranberry Lime Galette

Get a Free $10 Amazon Gift Card

2011-11-15T23:00:00.001-06:00

Free $10 Amazon Gift Cardwhen 5 Friends Sign up for StumbleUpon

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Here’s how to refer your friends:

Sign up for a new StumbleUpon account - thanks for using my link! :)
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For every 5 friends you refer, you should receive a $10 Amazon gift card (it does not say that there is a limit to the number of gift cards you can earn)

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Alsatian Apple Tart (TWD)

2011-11-15T08:00:00.005-06:00

I am back with Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) and will be back to posting weekly with the group from now until the end of the year. Even though we're down to the last few recipes in the book, we've got a lot of great recipes lined up. Believe it or not, we'll be done baking through the entire book by the end of the year! Isn't that crazy?!

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Jessica of Cookbook Habit: Alsatian Apple Tart. It is a tart lined with "thick slices of sweet apples and a vanilla-flavored mix of eggs, cream and sugar that is poured over the apples and, under heat, transformed into a soft custard."

When I think of custard filled tarts, I think of fruit tarts that are topped with fruits like strawberries, blackberries, kiwi, blueberries, etc. I have never had a custard fruit tart with apples! Interestingly enough, the rich and creamy custard that envelopes the apples is absolutely delicious. I think the tart would be great with pears, too, which Dorie suggests in the "Playing Around" section.

I only added one egg and omitted the extra egg yolk in the custard, just because I didn't want to have another egg white in my freezer. The custard was still rich despite this omission thanks to the heavy cream. Only thing I would do differently next time would be to remember to put my pie crust shield on the tart sooner! I forgot and didn't realize the edges were burning until I started to smell it! (That's why you don't see a picture of the entire tart!)

Thanks, Jessica, for hosting this week! I love baked apple desserts and this one was no exception.

* Recipe notes:

- Make sure to put a pie crust shield (or some foil) around the edge of your tart about 20 minutes into baking to avoid burning the edges.

Povitica (DB)

2011-11-06T17:00:00.001-06:00

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat! It is a specialty bread that normally costs $25 a loaf! Yes, $25!

Yes, I know it's November and October is long gone, but I am so terribly behind in my blogging. I actually finished this dessert bread before the posting deadline and have several other things I have made that I just haven't gotten around to blogging about! Please bear with me as I get back into my blogging groove.... being sick for most of September and part of October just threw me for a loop and then the last week I was very very busy making a super special birthday cake for my daughter (post to come)!

So on to the challenge... this dessert bread was different from anything I've tried before, but certainly delicious. You basically make your regular yeast dough, then roll it out super thin (kind of like making phyllo dough) and then add in whatever filling you like. Then you roll it up like you would a cinnamon roll and coil it up onto itself into a loaf pan. The result is a beautiful spiral filled dessert bread.

We were given the liberty to either fill our bread with an English walnut filling, or the filling of our choice... and since I don't really like nuts I went with a cinnamon apple filling. I browned some butter and brown sugar in a pan, sauteed the apples, and then layered them into the bread with cinnamon and sugar. I didn't have enough apples at home (only 3) so my filling was a little scarce, and I would definitely add more next time.

When I first removed my pan from the oven, there were lots of juices from the baked apples bubbling in the pan. I found, however, that after leaving the pan out overnight that most of it had been soaked up by the bread, making it oh so gooey and delicious. It almost tasted like cinnamon apple cinnamon rolls but with thin layered dough.

Thanks Jenni, for hosting this month's challenge. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else this specialty bread!

Povitica
(makes 4 loaves)

Ingredients

To activate the Yeast:
2 Teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) Sugar
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
½ Cup (120ml) Warm Water
2 Tablespoons (30ml/14 gm/½ oz/2 sachets) Dry Yeast

Dough:
2 Cups (480ml) Whole Milk
¾ Cup (180 ml/170gm/6 oz) Sugar
3 Teaspoons (15 ml/18 gm/2/3 oz) Table Salt
4 Large Eggs
½ Cup (120ml/115 gm/one stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
8 cups (1.92 l/1.12 kg/39½ oz/2½ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Walnut Filling:
7 Cups (1.68 l/1.12 kg/2.5 lbs) Ground English Walnuts
1 Cup (240ml) Whole Milk
1 Cup (240ml/225 gm/2 sticks/8 oz) Unsalted Butter
2 Whole Eggs, Beaten
1 Teaspoon (5ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Cups (480ml/450 gm/16 oz) Sugar
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) Cinnamon

Topping:
½ Cup (120 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
2 Tablespoons (30 ml/28 gm/1 oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

To Activate Yeast:
1. In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into ½ cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes

To Make the Dough:
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
4. In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, ¾ cup (180 gm/170 gm/6 oz) sugar, and the salt until combined.
5. Add the beaten eggs, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz) of flour.

6. Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.

7. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick. Note: I did not use all 8 cups of flour

8. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (they will each weight about 1.25 pounds/565 grams)
9. Place dough in 4 lightly oiled bowls, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.

To Make the Filling
10. In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.
11. Heat the milk and butter to boiling.
12. Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
13. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
14. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
15. If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk.

To Roll and Assemble the Dough:
16. Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.
17. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)
18. Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter.

19. Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.
20. Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling pin, if you prefer.
21. As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
22. When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.

23. Spoon filling (see below for recipe) evenly over dough until covered.

24. Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.

25. Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.
26. Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan.
27. Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of ½ cup (120 ml) of cold STRONG coffee and 2 tablespoons (30ml/28 gm/1 oz) of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.
28. Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.
29. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
30. Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
31. Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.
32. Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.
33. Check the bread at 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.
34. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes, still in the bread pan. Remember, the bread weighs about 2.5 and it needs to be able to hold its own weight, which is difficult when still warm and fresh out of the oven. Allowing it to cool in the pan helps the loaf to hold its shape.
35. It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

Smaller batch measurements courtesy of Audax
Half Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes two loaves each 1.25 lbs/565 grams)
To activate the Yeast:
1 Teaspoon (5 ml/4 ½ gm) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
¼ Cup (60 ml) Warm Water
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/7 gm/¼ oz/1 sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:
1 Cup (240 ml) Whole Milk
6 Tablespoons (90 ml/85 gm/3 oz) Sugar
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/9 gm/1/3 oz) Table Salt
2 Large Eggs
¼ Cup (60 ml/60 gm/½ stick/2 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups (960 ml/560 gm/19¾ oz/1¼ lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:
¼ Cup (60 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1 Tablespoon (15 ml/14 gm/½ oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

Half Batch Filling Ingredients (enough filling for the two loaves(
3½ Cups (840 ml/560 gm/1¼ lb/20 oz) Ground English Walnuts
½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
½ Cup (120 ml/115 gm/1 stick/4 oz) Unsalted Butter
1 Whole Egg, Beaten
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup (240 ml/225 gm/8 oz) Sugar
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) Cinnamon

Quarter Batch Dough Ingredients (Makes one loaf 1.25 lbs/565 grams)
To activate the Yeast:
½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2¼ gm) Sugar
¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Warm Water
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/3½ gm/0.125 oz/½ sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:
½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
3 Tablespoons (45 ml/43 gm/1½ oz) Sugar
¾ Teaspoon (3¾ ml/9 gm/0.17 oz) Table Salt
1 Large Egg
1 tablespoon (30 ml/30 gm/¼ stick/1 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz/0.62 lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided

Topping:
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/7 gm/¼ oz) Granulated Sugar
Melted Butter

Apple Muffin Cake (TWD)

2011-10-19T22:30:00.001-05:00

It's been weeks since my last blog post... I've been horribly sick for the last five (yes, five!) weeks and the last few were particularly terrible. I got a cold that turned into walking pneumonia and I didn't have the energy to do anything. I'm still playing catch up with my life but I finally managed to get some baking done. Too bad I'm still behind. I made Katrina's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) pick from October 4th finally - Apple Muffin Cake. It was very moist but kind of plain, I thought... but it was pretty great with some caramel sauce drizzled on top :)

....and then I wanted to make the ginger jazzed brownies that were yesterday's TWD pick, but I ran out of butter! I never run out of butter! I usually try to keep the house well stocked with butter, sugar, eggs, and flour but what with being sick and all I haven't been keeping track of things so well. I hope to make those tomorrow and post them soon, so stay tuned.

I also have a few more giveaways lined up, just have to get some time to sit down and write those posts! So if you haven't already, become a fan of my blog on Facebook so you don't miss those giveaway announcements!

* Recipe notes:

- I baked my cake in a 9 inch pan instead of an 8 inch pan and it was done at 20 minutes.

Croissants (DB)

2011-10-02T21:00:00.002-05:00

The Daring Bakers’ go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

I don't typically complete the DB challenge until the last minute, but still get it posted in time. Ironically, this month I actually completed it by mid-September, but couldn't get it posted in time. I was supposed to get this post up on September 27th, but I've been sick, working, chasing around a toddler, and getting ready for a trip. So you'll have to forgive me if this post is short and sweet.

Making croissants really isn't as hard as it might sound (time consuming, yes, but not very difficult). It simply involves rolling out some dough, adding a layer of butter, and then folding it over several times until you've got layers of alternating dough and butter. As it bakes up in the oven, it puffs up into wonderful, buttery, flaky layers.

I filled my croissants with nutella and they were delicious. I baked up a few and then put the rest in the freezer so that I can enjoy more at a later date.

Thanks Sarah, for hosting this month's challenge. Nothing beats a fresh, homemade croissant and these were no exception! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed these flaky, buttery, treats.

Croissants
Recipe Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume Two. Julia Child and Simone Beck.
Download printable recipe here

Ingredients
¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 3/4 cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk (I am not sure if the fat content matters. I used 2%)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil (I used generic vegetable oil)
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl
8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in this video. It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.
9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag.
10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.
11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.
12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm).
13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up)
14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag.
15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge
16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.
17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter
18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.
19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.
20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.
21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.
22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle
24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges.
25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.
26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).
27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.
29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.
30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.
31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little
32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes
33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
34. Fold in three, as before
35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)
37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants
38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready
39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter
40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm). (Photo 24)
41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm)) (Photo 24)
42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold
43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).
44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))
45. Place two of the squares in the fridge
46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square
47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.
48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.
49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.
50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet
51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.
52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour
53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water
55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants
56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely
57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Servings: 12 croissants

Flip-Over Plum Cake (TWD)

2011-09-27T23:30:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Becky of Project Domestication: Flip-Over Plum Cake. Dorie describes this cake as having "down-home, not-in-the-least-fussy good looks, an unquestionably appealing flavor and a texture that can't decide whether it wants to be a cake or your favorite nursery pudding." I'll have to admit that when I read that description, it sounded great, up until the "nursery pudding" part! I love bread pudding (and I have no idea what nursery pudding is), but for some reason, thinking of a cake as pudding just didn't sound appetizing. But please don't let that deter you from trying this cake - it was fantastic!

What's neat about this recipe is you pour the batter into the bottom of the pan, then top if with the fruit and pop it in the oven... and when you pull it out, the fruit has sunken to the bottom and the batter has risen to the top!

This cake has a really interesting flavor because Dorie pairs cinnamon with the plums. Typically when you think of cinnamon being used with fruits, it's with apples, but Dorie was on to something when she paired it with plums! I'm not sure if I would describe this as a pudding, but more like a rustic cobbler of sorts. Whatever you might want to call it, this cake was delicious. Probably one of my favorites from this book so far if you factor in both taste and prep time (basically it has a high yield yummy factor with a low prep time factor!). Only change I'll make when I try this again will be to decrease the sugar in the fruit by 50%, as it was just a little bit too sweet for my taste.

Thanks Becky, for hosting this week. I loved this cake and will be making it again and again. I think it would also be good with different types of fruits, too. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these chocolately treats!

* Recipe notes:

- I baked my cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan so my cake was a little bit thinner and was therefore done baking at about 40-45 minutes.

- I'll try reducing the sugar in the fruit by 50% next time, or perhaps cut the sugar in the batter by 50% to cut back on the sweetness just a little.

Salt and Pepper Cocoa Shortbreads (TWD)

2011-09-20T23:00:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Tia of Buttercream Barbie: Salt and Pepper Cocoa Shortbread. This was our second time this month baking up chocolate slice and bake cookies. This time, our cookies were spiced up with salt and pepper. Yes, salt and pepper!

I would never think to put salt and pepper in a cookie, but it worked surprisingly well. You don't really taste the salt and pepper right away when you bite into the cookies, but as you start to enjoy them, the salt and pepper flavors start to really come to the forefront. I think you definitely need to use fleur de sel or sea salt and a coarsely ground black pepper, as regular salt or finely ground black pepper won't stand out as much on your palate next to the buttery chocolate shortbread flavor.

Thanks Tia, for hosting this week. This was definitely something different, and I'm glad I got to try these cookies! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these chocolately treats!

Classic Brownies (TWD)

2011-09-13T23:30:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry: Classic Brownies. There's really no explanation needed for these - they're just your traditional brownies, no bells or whistles.

These brownies were extremely easy to make. Simply melt some butter and chocolate, add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and then some flour. Instead of nuts, I added chocolate chips to the mix. These baked up perfectly and were slighty cakey but mostly fudgey and very chocolately.

With how simple (yet delicious) these brownies are, I really don't see any reason to use a box mix to make brownies. The prep time was virtually the same. I'm sure that inclusion of nuts in these brownies would be welcomed by any nut lover, but I enjoyed the extra chocolately goodness provided to these brownies by the substitution of chocolate chips :)

Thanks Anne, for hosting this week. I'll definitely be making these again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these chocolately treats!

* Recipe notes:

- I used semisweet chocolate chips instead of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

- I used a 9-inch pan instead of an 8-inch pan and the brownies were done baking in 20 minutes.

Chocolate Spice Quickies (TWD)

2011-09-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Jessica of My Baking Heart: Chocolate Spice Quickies. Dorie calls these "sophisticated little rounds" that are "mildly spiced, slightly chewy, almond-flecked chocolate cookies."

After reading in the P&Q that these Chocolate Spice Quickies were a little lacking in the spice department, I decided to double the spices. I added 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, as well as a few pinches of cloves and nutmeg. I also used unblanched almonds (instead of blanched almonds), simply because I was in a rush.

These cookies were easy to put together. They were in the oven for exactly 7 minutes before they were done baking. They were delicate, sweet, nutty, and chocolately with just a hint of spice. I can see how others would have trouble tasting the spice if there was only 1/8 teaspoon of spice in the dough. I don't think it really mattered that I didn't blanch the almonds, so feel free to skip that step too, if you make these cookies.

I like Dorie's suggestion of making ice cream sandwiches with these cookies, and definitely need to get my hands on some ice cream for the cookies that are remaining! As far as chocolate cookies go, these were good, but I'm not a big chocolate cookie kind of gal and my favorite chocolate cookies are still the World Peace Cookies and Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops :)

Thanks Jessica, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these chocolately treats!

Homemade Chocolate Candies and How to Temper Chocolate (DB)

2011-08-27T23:00:00.034-05:00

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?! These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

This challenge involved learning how to temper chocolate. For those who are unfamiliar with chocolate tempering, “tempering is a method of heating and cooling chocolate in order to use it for coating or dipping. Proper tempering gives chocolate a smooth and glossy finish. Tempered chocolate will have a crisp snap and won't melt on your fingers as easily as improperly tempered chocolate. Properly tempered chocolate is also great for molding candies because the candies will release out of the molds more easily and still retain a glossy finish.” - Ghirardelli

If you simply melt chocolate and let it cool it will set with unattractive grey streaks or spots, called blooming. If eaten, the texture will be grainy and it won’t melt smoothly in the mouth. When you temper chocolate the end result is shiny, even colored, smooth melting and with a crisp snap. Basically, tempered chocolate is what you want because it’s better in every way. Simply put, the process involves heating the chocolate to a certain temperature, then cooling it down to a certain temperature, and then heating it back up to a working temperature that is lower than the initial temperature to which it was initially heated up.

The reason for the difference is a bit complicated, it has to do with different types of crystals forming in the cocoa butter at different times, to understand it fully you’d have to learn about the behavior of the chocolate crystals at a molecular level. To simplify the explanation, in tempered chocolate the crystals have formed in a uniform way which gives us great looking and tasting chocolate.

Our challenge was to make two different types of candies, with at least one being chocolate. For the first candy, I decided to make chocolates that involved the flavors of one of my favorite desserts - Bananas Foster! I caramelized some bananas in brown sugar and rum, then pureed them and mixed them into a swiss meringue buttercream to create a bananas foster buttercream. I then filled my white chocolate candies with this buttercream, and added in a layer of salted caramel. These Bananas Foster Chocolates were delicious!

I used the marble slab/granite method for tempering my chocolate and although it is a fairly straightforward process, I have to admit that I had to stop, let my chocolate set, and start over multiple times because my chocolate would quickly get over the working temperature. One second it would be way under the temperature I was shooting for and then next thing I knew, it was rising so quickly I would over heat the chocolate. I think this may have had something to do with the fact that I was using a glass bowl for my double boiler, and the glass would retain so much heat that even after I removed the bowl from the heat, the chocolate's temperature would continue to rise dramatically. If you work quickly, you can dump the chocolate onto the counter before it over heats, but it's hard when you're working with a very hot bowl, a thermometer, and a spatula all at the same time. So instead of glass, I would probably recommend using a metal bowl.

I don't have a palette knife or bench scraper, but found that using a rigid spatula worked just fine. It was a little messy, but a suitable substitute if you're not wanting to go out and buy something just for this recipe. Funny thing was that when I first poured my chocolate onto the counter and started spreading it out and folding it to get it to cool down, I was very careful because the recipe states "keep the motions neat and tidy, if you’re not working with a lot of chocolate you don’t want to spread it too far otherwise you may end up with chocolate that begins to cool too quickly and start to set as well as drops below."

I was also glad to have my digital thermometer, because it's a multi-tasker in the kitchen! I did not realize until we did this challenge, but you cannot use a regular candy thermometer for tempering chocolate because candy thermometers do not go below 100F. So this digital thermometer is perfect because it goes low enough for making chocolate, high enough for making candy, and of course it can be used for cooking meat as well. It has a heat safe cord so it can be left in the oven while the meat is cooking, too. It has been well worth the investment!

The second candy I decided to make was chocolate covered sea salt caramels. I adore anything with caramel, so it just made sense to go with that choice. I have to admit that while my white chocolate candies turned out pretty well, my chocolate covered caramels didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped. The chocolates didn't have as much shine to them as they should have, but that was my fault because after redoing the tempering about 5 times, I just gave up and said "close enough" when it was off by 1 degree because I was too tired to redo it again.

My caramel, while still soft, also came up much firmer that what was depicted in some photos by our hosts. Instead a nice gooey, drizzle-over-the-top-of-your-ice-cream-sundae caramel, I got a firm, chewy caramel. At first I thought it was because I let the caramel get 2-3 degrees hotter than I was supposed to, but then I made a second batch, keeping close watch on the thermometer, and it still came out fairly firm. This was fine, because then instead of making filled chocolate candies, I simply made chocolate covered caramels by dipping them in the tempered chocolate. These were delicious, with just the right amount of salt to complement the sweetness of the caramels.

Thanks Lisa and Mandy, for hosting this month's challenge. I had a great time learning how to temper chocolate and making homemade candies! There's a lot of scrolling to do on this post to get to the recipes due to the lengthy information below on how to temper chocolate, so to jump down to the white chocolate bananas foster candies recipe just click here, and for the chocolate covered sea salt caramels click here. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how creative everyone else got with their chocolately confections!

* Recipe notes -

- When tempering chocolate use a metal bowl instead of a glass bowl. If you want to help keep it at the working temperature during the final stage, then you can transfer it to a glass bowl which will retain the heat better so you don't have to keep re-warming it so much.
- When you are getting close to your goal temperature, really do stick to heating it for 10-15 seconds at a time. This ensures that you don't over heat the chocolate and have to start over so many times like I did!
- If you have trouble getting your chocolate down to 80.6F, you can cool down your counter/marble slab with an ice pack (or bag of frozen veggies) beforehand, just be sure to wipe it down very thoroughly before pouring your chocolate onto it, because any water droplets left on there will cause the chocolate to seize.
- I added milk chocolate swirls on top of my white chocolate candies for contrast, but found that it is better to add the milk chocolate swirl on top after unmolding the finished chocolates (as opposed to piping the swirl into the mold and letting it set before adding in the white chocolate).

Tempering Chocolate:

Method 1: On marble or granite

Marble slab, chocolate or bench scraper, dipping forks and chocolate thermometer
Tempering Ranges:
Celcius
Dark: 45°C-50°C/ 27°C / 32°C
Milk: 45°C / 27°C/ 30°C
White: 45°C / 27°C / 29°C
Fahrenheit
Dark: 113°F-122°F / 80.6°F / 89.6°F
Milk: 113°F / 80.6°F / 86°F
White: 113°F / 80.6°F / 84.2°F

Chocolate is melted and heated until it reaches 45°C / 113°F. It is then poured onto a marble surface and moved around the surface with a scraper until it has thickened and cools to 27°C / 80.6°F. Once cooled it is then put back into the bowl and over heat to bring it back up to 32°C/30°C/29°C /// 89.6°F/86°F/84.2°F depending on the chocolate you’re tempering. It is now ready for using in molds, dipping and coating.

Tempering using a marble surface
• Finely chop chocolate if in bar/slab form.
• Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
• Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water).
Tip: Make sure that your bowl fits snuggly into the saucepan so that there’s no chance of steam forming droplets that
may fall into your chocolate. If water gets into your chocolate it will seize!
• Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate so that it melts evenly
• Once it’s melted, keep an eye on the thermometer, as soon as it reaches 45°C / 113°F remove from heat (between 45°C-50°C / 113°F-122°F for dark chocolate)
• Pour ¾ of the melted chocolate onto a marble or granite slab or worktop
• Using a scraper or large palette knife move the chocolate around the surface to help it cool
Tip: Keep the motions neat and tidy, if you’re not working with a lot of chocolate you don’t want to spread it too far otherwise you may end up with chocolate that begins to cool too quickly and start to set as well as drops below
• the necessary temperature. Use a motion that folds the chocolate on itself
• Check temperature regularly with a thermometer
• Once it reaches 27°C / 80°F put the chocolate back into the heatproof bowl with the remaining chocolate
• Gently stir together with a rubber spatula
• Check the temperature to see if it’s risen back up to the working temperature of the chocolate (milk, dark or white) as seen in the above chart
• If the temperature has not risen to its working temperature, put the bowl back over the simmering water, stirring gently
• IMPORTANT: You really need to keep an eye on the temperature as it can rise quicker than you think, so as soon as it’s up to its working temperature, remove from heat
• It’s now tempered and ready to use
Tip: If you’re using the chocolate to dip a lot of truffles etc. which means the chocolate will be sitting off heat for a while it will naturally start to thicken as it cools. To keep it at an ideal viscosity for even coating, put the bowl over steam for 30sec-1min every 5-10mins, just do not let the temperature go over the working temperature!
Tip: Having the chocolate in a warmed glass bowl and wrapped in hot kitchen towel can also help keep the chocolate at its working temperature for longer
Tip: It is also easier to keep the heat if you work with larger amounts of chocolate rather than small amounts. Any leftover chocolate can be kept to be used later and then re-tempered
Tip: Remember, don’t let any water get into your chocolate at any stage of the tempering process!

Method 2: With tempered chocolate pieces, also called “seeding”

Tempering Ranges:
Celcius
Dark: 45°C-50°C/ 27°C / 32°C
Milk: 45°C / 27°C/ 30°C
White: 45°C / 27°C / 29°C
Fahrenheit
Dark: 113°F-122°F / 80.6°F / 89.6°F
Milk: 113°F / 80.6°F / 86°F
White: 113°F / 80.6°F / 84.2°F

Chocolate is melted and heated until it reaches 45°C / 113°F. Tempered un-melted chocolate is then stirred and melted in until it brings the temperature down to 27°C/80.6°F. It is then put back over heat and brought up to its working temperature of 32°C/30°C/29°C /// 89.6°F/86°F/84.2°F depending on the chocolate you’re using. It is now ready for using in molds, dipping and coating.

Tempering using the seeding method with couverture callets
• Finely chop chocolate if in bar/slab form (about the size of almonds).
• Place about ⅔ of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl
• Set aside ⅓ of the chocolate pieces
• Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water)
Tip: Make sure that your bowl fits snuggly into the saucepan so that there’s no chance of steam forming droplets that may fall into your chocolate. If water gets into your chocolate it will seize!
• Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate so that it melts evenly
• Once it’s melted, keep an eye on the thermometer, as soon as it reaches 45°C / 113°F remove from heat (between 45°C-50°C / 113°F-122°F for dark chocolate)
• Add small amounts of the remaining ⅓ un-melted chocolate (seeds) and stir in to melt
• Continue to add small additions of chocolate until you’ve brought the chocolate down to 27°C/80.6°F (You can bring the dark chocolate down to between 80°F and 82°F)
• Put it back on the double boiler and bring the temperature back up until it reaches its working temperature of the chocolate (milk, dark or white) as seen in the above chart. (32°C/89.6°F for dark, 30°C/86°F for milk and 29°C/84.2°F for white)
• If you still have a few un-melted bits of chocolate, put the bowl back over the simmering water, stirring gently and watching the thermometer constantly.
• IMPORTANT: You really need to keep an eye on the temperature so that it doesn’t go over its working temperature
It’s now tempered and ready to use
Tip: Another way of adding the "seed" is by dropping in one large chunk of tempered chocolate (the seed). That way you only need to fish out one piece of unmelted chocolate and don't need to fish out several small bits of unmelted chocolate once the chocolate has reached temper.

Other Tips

• If you’re using the chocolate to dip a lot of truffles etc. which means the chocolate will be sitting off heat for a while it will naturally start to thicken as it cools. To keep it at an ideal viscosity for even coating, put the bowl over steam for 30sec - 1min every 10 - 15mins, just do not let the temperature go over the working temperature!
• Having the chocolate in a warmed glass bowl and wrapped in hot kitchen towel can also help keep the chocolate at its working temperature for longer
• It is also easier to keep the heat if you work with larger amounts of chocolate rather than small amounts. Any leftover chocolate can be kept to be used later and then re-tempered
• Remember, don’t let any water get into your chocolate at any stage of the tempering process!
• Unless you’ve been working with chocolate for a while and have developed a feel for the tempering process and can tell the chocolate’s temperature by touching it to your lower lip like a pro, it’s imperative that you use a thermometer to determine the temperature, as going a few degrees either way can ruin the temper.
• If at any stage you do make a mistake with the tempering process you can simply start again from the beginning.
• While a marble or granite top is ideal for cooling the chocolate in the first method, you can also cool it on a countertop that’s laminated, glass or steel. It will take longer to cool, but it’s possible! (but I definitely wouldn’t recommend a wood or rough textured counter top)
• Any chocolate left over after making your molded or dipped chocolate can be stored away in a cool place and then re-tempered before using again. There’s no need to ever waste good chocolate!
• Wooden spoons can retain moisture so it’s best to use a rubber spatula while tempering

Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Caramels
caramel recipe from CandyBarLab.com

Dark or milk chocolate melted, preferably tempered, about 1 lb / 450g
1 cup (225g / 8oz) Granulated White Sugar
1/2 cup (125ml / 4 fluid oz) Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup (125ml / 4 fluid oz) Water
4 Tbsp (60g / 2 oz) Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp (30ml / 1 fluid oz) Heavy Cream
1/4 cup (60ml / 2 fluid oz) Passion Fruit Puree
1/2 Tbsp salt

Place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan.

Set over medium-high heat and stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until dark amber in color 310°F-315°F / 155°C-158°C, about 5 minutes.

Use a pastry brush, dipped in water, to wash down sides of pan to prevent crystallization as the mixture boils.

Remove saucepan from the heat and gradually whisk in the passion fruit puree, heavy cream and butter.

Transfer to an 8-inch square pan that has been lined with buttered aluminum foil.

Once cooled, removed the aluminum foil from the pan and cut the chocolates with a sharp knife (coated in butter) into 1-inch squares.

Carefully lower each square of marzipan into the chocolate with a dipping fork

Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate

Place chocolate on parchment paper

Decorate as you like

Tip: You can use transfers or sprinkle sea salt on top. You can also wait for the chocolate to be semi set then use your dipping fork to mark the top of the chocolate

Once fully set, cut off any feet with a sharp knife

White Chocolate Bananas Foster Candies
from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats

2 pounds of high quality white chocolate (do not use white chocolate chips)
1 bananas foster swiss meringue buttercream recipe, see below
1/2 of salted caramel recipe, see below

Coat the molds with chocolate; there are a few ways to do this. While holding mold over bowl of tempered chocolate, take a nice ladle of the chocolate and pour over the mold, making sure it cover and fills every well. Knock the mold a few times against a flat surface to get rid of air bubbles, then turn the mold upside down over the bowl of chocolate, and knock out the excess chocolate. Turn right side up and drag a bench or plastic scraper across so all the chocolate in between the wells is scraped off cleanly, leaving you with only chocolate filled wells. Put in the fridge to set, about 5 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, you could take a small brush and paint the tempered chocolate into each mold, or spoon it in if you’d like.

Remove from refrigerator and fill each well with some of the bananas foster buttercream, leaving a little room for a layer of caramel. Squeeze a thin layer of caramel on top of the buttercream (make sure the caramel is cool, or else it will melt the buttercream).

Again take a ladle of chocolate and pour it on top of the filled chocolate wells, knocking against a flat surface to settle it in. Scrape excess chocolate off the mold with the bench scraper then refrigerate until set.

Once fully set, carefully knock the chocolates out of the mold.

Bananas Foster Swiss Meringue Buttercream
from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats, adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg white
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 bananas foster recipe, see below
1 tsp rum

Put the sugar and egg white in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.

The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth.

Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes (during this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again).

On medium speed, gradually beat in the bananas foster, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then add in the rum.

You should have a shiny smooth, velvety buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

Bananas Foster Recipe (for the buttercream filling)
1 tbsp tightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tbsp rum
1/2 banana, sliced

Add the brown sugar and rum to a small saucepan over medium heat until the brown sugar melts. Add the banana slices and cook for a few minutes on each side, until the bananas are soft and cooked through. Remove from heat and mash well with a fork, or puree in a food processor. Allow to cool completely before adding to the buttercream recipe.

Salted Caramel
from CandyBarLab.com

1 cup (225g / 8oz) Granulated White Sugar
1/2 cup (125ml / 4 fluid oz) Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup (125ml / 4 fluid oz) Water
4 Tbsp (60g / 2 oz) Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp (30ml / 1 fluid oz) Heavy Cream
1/2 Tbsp salt
Place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan.

Set over medium-high heat and stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until dark amber in color 310°F-315°F / 155°C-158°C, about 5 minutes.

Use a pastry brush, dipped in water, to wash down sides of pan to prevent crystallization as the mixture boils.

Remove saucepan from the heat and gradually whisk in the heavy cream, butter, and sea salt.

Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool.

Transfer cooled caramel to a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip or a squeeze bottle.

Tropical Crumble and How to Cut a Mango (TWD)

2011-08-15T14:00:00.007-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Gaye of Laws of the Kitchen: Tropical Crumble. I'm not a big nut person, so I omitted the nuts from the streusel topping. Usually when I do this with other recipes, the topping still comes out crumbly. However, with this recipe, it all kind of just melted away and I ended up with one big brown layer on top and what looked like baby food underneath! It was not a pretty sight. So much so that I would be embarrassed to post a picture of it!

I know that a post without pictures is boring and kind of useless, so instead I'll share with you photos of how to cut a mango. For some this may be easy, for others maybe not so much. I grew up eating mangoes, so I never really thought anything of it, but I've found over the years that not everyone knows how to properly cut a mango.

First off, when you're choosing a mango, look for one that is more rounded and less oval. The plumper and rounder mangoes are going to be sweeter. After you've peeled your mango, you'll want to lay it on its side (I like to use a vegetable peeler but if you're more skilled with a knife you can use a knife - I just end up wasting so much flesh when I used a knife). Starting about half an inch above the stem, start cutting longitudinally through your mango. It is important that you cut from the stem towards the opposite end and not the other way around, because this will prevent you from getting too many fibers from the seed in your cut mango (should you get too close to the seed and start skimming it with your knife).

Once you've removed one half, flip the mango over and repeat with the other side.

You now have two halves to work with, and can proceed to slice or dice them however you please. (If you're a true mango lover, you can now proceed to chomping on the seed and eating off what's left of the fruit around the seed!)

Now that we've talked about how to cut a mango, let's talk about the actual tropical crumble. I would have never thought to pair mangoes with bananas but the flavors are fantastic together. The mangoes are caramelized in a skillet with brown sugar and butter, then the bananas are added and just barely cooked through. The filling is then finished off with some fresh chopped ginger and grated lime zest. Looks aside, this dessert was fabulous. The mango and banana are a perfect pair, and the ginger and lime zest give it just a little kick. I found the dish was a bit too sweet (even for my sweet tooth) when it was served warm, but it was surprisingly delicious served cold. I suspect this would be great served with some ice cream too!

Thanks Gaye, for hosting this week. I can't wait to make this one again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this tropical treat!

Carrot Spice Muffins (TWD)

2011-08-09T23:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs: Carrot Spice Muffins. I personally thought these muffins could use a little more sugar (or maybe some cream cheese frosting!) but then I guess they would be more like cupcakes and not really muffins :) The addition of some crushed pineapple might be nice, too. Regardless, these muffins were perfect for breakfast, or as a snack, and were a big hit with all of my husband's coworkers.

Thanks Nancy, for hosting this week. I'm sorry my post is so short this week but I've been so busy and barely had enough time to get this post up today! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this delightful breakfast treat!

Cocoa Almond Meringues (TWD)

2011-08-02T16:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) was chosen by Mike of Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude: Cocoa Almond Meringues. Dorie describes them as small cookies that "have the rough, craggy surface of stone nuggets. Their interiors are wonderfully chewy and their flavor a bit caramelish, slightly nutty and quite chocolaty."

I loved how quick and easy these cookies were to make. I think "slightly nutty" is a good description because despite being called Cocoa Almond Meringues, I'm not sure you'd know there were (ground) almonds in them unless you saw the recipe. Regardless, these are especially great if you're craving something chocolate but want something light.

Thanks Mike, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these crunchy, chewy, chocolately treats!

Fresh Frasiers (DB)

2011-07-27T23:00:00.018-05:00

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine. The Frasier is a light, moist layered chiffon cake, split and filled with sliced fresh fruit and pastry cream, then topped with a thin sheet of almond paste.

I love fresh fruit and this challenge was the perfect way to showcase some of summer's fresh fruits! I omitted the optional layer of almond paste on top, mostly just because I didn't have any on hand, but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I made an orange chiffon cake and filled it with strawberries and blueberries. I made the simple syrup with 2 tablespoons of orange juice and 2 tablespoons of triple sec. I was concerned the flavor of the alcohol would be too strong if I added the full 4 tablespoons of alcohol, but in retrospect I think it would have been much better that way.
Regardless, this cake was amazing. The chiffon had an incredibly light but moist crumb. (It is also special to me because this was the first time that my 20 month old helped me make a cake! She helped mix the cake batter (before the egg whites were added!) and it was so great to see how much fun she was having helping her mommy out.) The pastry cream was delicious, though I think calling it a "pastry cream" makes it sound heavier than it actually is. Most pastry creams are made with multiple egg yolks (thus lending them their richness); this one is made with just one whole egg. So it's more like whipped cream with a little pastry cream added in. This keeps the dessert from being too heavy, and adds just a touch of richness to it. I basically loved everything about this dessert. Just look at all those fresh berries swimming in pastry cream! Yum!
While this dessert is compromised of several components, each part on its own is very simple and you can make each individual component ahead of time and then assemble it all when needed. Plus, if you are short on time, you can just make a trifle with the cake, fruit, and pastry cream! It's every bit as good without any of the fuss.

Thanks Jana, for hosting this month's challenge. I've never had or made a Fresh Frasier before, but I fell in love with them and definitely plan to make them again in the future! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet, summery treat.

* Recipe notes -

- When cutting parchment rounds for your pan(s), don't forget to check out my helpful tip here!

- I made my chiffon cakes in mini springform pans. One chiffon cake recipe (below) will fit in four to five mini springform pans (depending on how thick you want them to be). Depending on how thick or thin you want your cake layers to be, you can cut them into either three or four layers once they are cooled. (I made four mini cakes and found that cutting them into two layers yielded layers that were too thick for this dessert.)

- Please note that the cake, like all chiffon cakes, will rise quite a bit, so do not overfill your pan(s)! You only want to fill them about half way, or two-thirds at most.

- Baking time was approximately 30 minutes for the mini cakes.

Fresh Frasiers
Basic Chiffon Cake:

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 ml) (5½ oz/155 gm) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) baking powder
3/4 cups (180 ml) (6 oz /170 gm) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (1½ gm) salt, preferably kosher
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (3.17 fl oz/95 ml) water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (3 gm) lemon zest, grated
5 large egg whites
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).

Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.

Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.

Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Variations to the Basic Chiffon Cake:

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Reduce water to 1/4 cup (60 ml)
Add 1/8 cup (30 ml) lemon juice
Increase lemon zest to 1½ teaspoon (7½ ml) (5 gm)
Remove the vanilla from the recipe

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the lemon juice and zest to the oil, egg yolks and water in step 4.

Orange Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Replace the full amount of water with orange juice
Replace lemon zest with the zest of one orange
Remove the vanilla from the recipe

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the orange juice and zest to the oil, and egg yolks in step 4.

Coconut Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Add ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) freshly ground nutmeg
Reduce oil to 1/8 cup (1 fl oz/30ml)
Reduce water to 1/8 cup (1 fl oz/30ml)
Add 1/3 cup (2 ⅔fl oz/80 ml) unsweetened coconut milk
Remove the vanilla from the recipe

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the nutmeg to the flour mixture in step 3, and the coconut milk to the oil, water and egg yolks in step 4.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Ingredient Alterations:
Reduce all-purpose flour to ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (195 ml) (4 oz/110 g)
Add 1/4 cup (60 ml) (3/4 oz/20 g) cocoa powder

Direction Alterations:
Follow the directions, same as above, adding the cocoa to the flour mixture in step 3.

Pastry Cream Filling:

Ingredients:
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) whole milk
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon (1/2 ml) (¼ gm) salt, preferably kosher
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (10 gm)cornstarch
1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz/55 gm) sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz/30 gm) unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (4 gm) gelatin
1/2 tablespoon (7½ ml) water
1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) heavy cream

Directions:

Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine

Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.

When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture.

Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally.

Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth.

Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.

In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften.

Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.

Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water.

Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks.

Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula.

Simple Syrup:

You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons (60 ml) of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) (2⅔ oz/75 gm) of sugar, flavored or white
1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) of water

Directions:

Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup.

Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.

Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Fraisier Assembly:

Components:
1 baked 8 inch (20 cm) chiffon cake
1 recipe pastry cream filling
⅓ cup (80 ml) simple syrup or flavored syrup
2 lbs (900 g) strawberries
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
½ cup (120 ml) (5 oz/140 gm) almond paste

Directions:

Line the sides of a 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan.

Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.

Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup.

When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.

Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring.

Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake.

Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream.

Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup.

Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap.

Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet (TWD)

2011-07-26T22:00:00.008-05:00

Chocolate Sorbet. Did you even know there was such a thing as chocolate sorbet?! I always thought that sorbets were fruit flavored. Wow, where have you been all my life, chocolate sorbet?

Rich and creamy and so delicious. I did not believe Dorie when she said this. How could something made with skim milk and no cream or eggs turn out to be rich and creamy? I don't know how, but I now know that I should not have been skeptical. My only complaint is that it melts really quickly - I mean, you blink and it's melted! So, it ends up a little bit more like a soft serve or a milk shake, but that won't stop me from making this one again (especially when this is so much easier and lower in fat than ice cream!)

Thanks to Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) pick. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this smooth, chocolately treat!

* Recipe notes:

- Only change I made was to use semisweet chocolate chips in place of the bittersweet chocolate in this recipe.

Cream Scones (TWD)

2011-07-12T22:00:00.022-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu: Cream Scones. I almost didn't make this one because I just got back from a long trip, but scones are quick and easy so I went ahead and threw this recipe together.

After returning home, my fridge was pretty bare, and I did not have any heavy cream on hand. I decided to substitute whole milk for the cream. Instead of currants, I added dried cherries to my scones. I'm not sure if it was just me, but I made the scones, cut them, and put them on the baking sheet... and then looked over and saw my dried cherries still sitting on the counter! I freaked out, because they weren't in there and if I added them now, I knew I would risk over working the dough. Worried that the scones would be too plain, though, I went ahead and put all the dough back into my mixing bowl, added the dried cherries, and gently mixed them in with the spatula. I was convinced that they wouldn't turn out because of how much mixing I had to do to get the cherries evenly incorporated into the dough, but to my surprise, they still came out perfect!

After the scones went into the oven, I went back to the recipe to see if I had missed the addition of the cherries. I've re-read the recipe four or five times now, and I still don't see where you're supposed to add the dried fruit! I think it was just an oversight on Dorie's part, but if I'm just blind and don't see it, please let me know :)

Thanks Lynne, for hosting this week. The scones were delicious. They were nice and flaky, and perfect without any butter or jam. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this breakfast treat!

Also - big congrats to Aaron Richards and Heather (comments #10 and #15) - you're the winners of my recent Tropi Treats Giveaway! You have 48 hours to contact me with your mailing address; after that, I'll choose an alternate winner.

* Recipe notes:

- My scones were done about 3-4 minutes early, so be sure to check them frequently.

- A tip for making good scones (or biscuits) is to grate your butter ahead of time and then stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to chill before adding it to the flour. Alternatively, you can simply grate frozen butter into your flour.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies (TWD)

2011-06-28T22:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Spike of Spike Bakes: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies. I almost didn't make this one because there were some lukewarm reviews of these cookies on the P&Q. However, the recipe looked pretty simple, so I decided to forge ahead.

I included both raisins and dried cherries in my cookies, and like Dorie, found that biting into the little bits of dried fruit was wonderful. I thought the dried cherries were better than the raisins in this cookie, just because they were tart and stood out more than the raisins did. I can definitely see how those who omitted the dried fruit found the cookies to be a little plain. (However, if you do make these cookies without the dried fruit, because they have a very cake-like crumb, they do make for the base of some fantastic chocolate whoopie pies.)

Thanks Spike, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this chocolately treat! Also don't forget to enter my giveaway here before it ends on June 24th.

Baklava (DB)

2011-06-27T22:00:00.001-05:00

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Bakers’ June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava. For those who are not familiar with baklava, it is a sweet rich pastry made with layers of phyllo dough and nuts sweetened with a simple syrup or honey syrup. Baklava is widely known as a Greek dessert, but its origin has really never been pinpointed as many Middle Eastern countries also name it as their own.

I was really excited to try this recipe. I was pretty thrilled when I made puff pastry from scratch for the first time, so trying my hand at homemade phyllo dough sounded like a great challenge! It was actually not as hard as I had expected. I think the hardest part for me was trying to get the sheets as thin as possible without tearing holes in them. Thankfully the baklava is forgiving and you can put several partial sheets together to form one complete layer and no one will ever know the difference! :) It was a lot of fun stretching it out and seeing it get super thin!

Instead of an almond/walnut/pistachio nut mix, I simply used 1 cup of pistachios and 1/2 cup of almonds. I don't generally like nuts in baked goods, but I'll eat them in something like this.

Unfortunately, I think I under baked my baklava a little bit. I took it out about 20 minutes early because it was starting to become golden brown on the top and I was concerned about it burning. As a result, I don't think my inner layers of phyllo got as crisp as they should have. Still, the baklava turned out great and we all enjoyed it. The recipe is definitely a keeper.

Thanks Erica, for hosting this month's challenge. It was great to go beyond my comfort zone and try something completely new and challenging that I would never have thought to try on my own. While I probably won't ever make my own phyllo dough again (store bought is just too convenient in this case), it's nice to have another skill under my belt. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet and flaky treat.

Homemade Baklava

Phyllo Dough:

*Note 1: To have enough to fill my 9” x 9” baking dish with 18 layers of phyllo I doubled this recipe.
*Note 2: Single recipe will fill a 8” x 5” baking dish.
*Note 3: Dough can be made a head of time and froze. Just remove from freezer and allow to thaw
and continue making your baklava

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour
1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt

2. Mix with paddle attachment
3. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.

4. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water (I had to add a tablespoon more)

5. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.
6. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.

7. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil

8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest 2 hours and it was perfect)

Rolling the dough:
1. Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out.

2. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.

** Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough**

Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can. Here is a fantastic video on how to roll out your phyllo dough, using a wooden dowel, which worked perfectly for me. You may also use a pasta machine if you have one, or a normal rolling pin whatever works for you.

3. Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out.

4. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel

5. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel (see attached video for a visual, its much easier then it sounds)

6. Remove; notice how much bigger it is!

7. Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.

8. When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine

9. Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not try out.

Baklava Recipe

Adapted from Alton Brown, The Food Network
30 servings

Ingredients

For the syrup:
· 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) honey
· 1 1/4 cups (300ml) water
· 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) sugar
· 1 cinnamon stick
· 1 (2-inch/50 mm) piece fresh citrus peel (lemon or orange work best)
· a few cloves or a pinch or ground clove

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved

2. Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.

3. Once boiled for 10 minutes remove from heat and strain cinnamon stick and lemon, allow to cool as baklava cooks

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 (5-inch/125 mm piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) ground cinnamon
15 to 20 whole allspice berries ( I just used a few pinches)
3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) blanched almonds
3/4 cup (180 ml) (155 gm/5½ oz) raw or roasted walnuts
3/4 cup (180 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) raw or roasted pistachios
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm/ 5 1/3 oz) sugar
phyllo dough (see recipe above)
1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225g/8 oz) melted butter ** I did not need this much, less then half**

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside

3. Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan

4. Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet

5. Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. (Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it's not needed)
6. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

7. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times
8. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
9. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times
10. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
11. Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.
12. Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.

13. With a Sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later. A 9x9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge

14. Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven)

15. When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava!

16. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup.17. Serve at room temperature

Freezing/Storage Instructions/Tips: There are a few ways to store your Baklava. It is recommended that you store your baklava at room temperature in an airtight container. Stored at room temperature your baklava will last for up to 2 weeks. You will notice as the days pass it will get a little juicier and chewier. You may choose to store it in the fridge; this will make it a little harder and chewy, but does increase the shelf life. You can also freeze your baklava and then just set it out at room temperature to thaw.

Date (Nut) Loaf (TWD)

2011-06-21T17:00:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted! Where does the time go? I really need to get better about posting, especially since I have some great good eats to post about!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet: Date-Nut Loaf. I love dates, but I'm not so keen on nuts so my cake was a Date Loaf sans nuts. The recipe was straightforward and easy. While I was creaming the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together, I chopped the dates up. After that, it was just a few more minutes to add in the eggs, extracts, and dry ingredients. My loaf was done baking about 10 minutes early, so I was glad I checked on it, because it was just a tad on the dry side as it is.

Thanks Mary, for hosting this week. I just finished baking the loaf today and I've only had a few bites so far, because I wanted to wrap the loaf and lets the flavors "ripen" overnight, as Dorie suggests. The dates were delicious in this loaf, and I imagine dried apricots would be quite nice, too. I'll have to report back later on the final verdict after I try it again tomorrow!

If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet treat! Also don't forget to enter my giveaway here before it ends on June 24th.

* Recipe notes -

- I checked my loaf and it was done 10 minutes early, though next time I'll probably start checking it 20 minutes out to make sure the loaf doesn't dry out.

Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake (TWD)

2011-06-07T15:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Cindy of Everyday Insanity: Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake. Dorie says this cake, with "no crumbs, streusel, nuts, icing or filling--is just plain appealing. It's got soft crumbs, a strong streak of caramel brown sugar flavor and the here-and-there surprise of sweet tart berries."

I have to say that this is probably the best "plain cake" I've had in a while! It's tempting to want to put a glaze or streusel topping on it, but give it a try as is and I promise you won't be disappointed! The sweet, caramel undertone from the brown sugar is well complimented by the layer of blueberries. Yes, like many other bakers noted, all of my blueberries sank to the bottom of the cake while it was in the oven (and I even rolled them in flour first!). So, I ended up with a nice blue layer on the bottom of my cake. Thankfully this did not affect the taste at all ;)

Thanks Cindy, for hosting this week. I'll definitely be making this again! It was such a simple recipe but the flavor combination was spectacular. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet, blueberry treat! Also don't forget to enter my giveaway here before it ends on June 24th.

* Recipe notes -

- I baked my cake in a 9 inch square pan and that did not seem to affect the baking time.

- I did have to cover the cake loosely with a foil tent to prevent the top from over browning.

Pear Cranberry Pie with Gingersnap Crumble (SMS)

2011-06-05T15:30:00.009-05:00

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Dawn of Growing Up and Getting Healthy After 40: Pear Cranberry Pie with Gingersnap Crumble. I love baked pears, almost as much as I love baked apples... so this recipe was right up my alley! I even still had frozen cranberries leftover from last Thanksgiving so I was able to use them in this recipe.

I used d'Anjou pears instead of Bosc pears (not sure if it matters?) and limes instead of lemons, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I found that putting the pie dish on the baking sheet resulted in an underbaked pie crust, so if you make this pie I would recommend putting it directly on the oven rack and then simply putting a piece of foil on the rack below it to catch any messy drippings should your pie bubble over.

The gingersnap crumble was delicious! I often prefer a good crisp or crumble over a traditional pie, so this pie has something to offer everyone - both a crust and a crumble! It's not the most visually appealing crumble (but what it lacks in looks it makes up in taste)... in fact, while I was photographing it, my 18 month old reached for the pie and tried to grab the crumble while shouting "beef! beef!" She thought it was ground beef! :)

The filling was good, but admittedly very tart. I used lime juice instead of lemon juice in the recipe, but I think what accounted for the majority of the tartness in this recipe was the cranberries. We all enjoyed the sweet and tart combo, but those who don't like a tart dessert will probably want to shy away from this one. I also found the filling to be very runny, though it was much better the next day after the crust had some time to soak up some of the juices. I might use Dorie's trick next time and sprinkle a bread crumb/ground nut mix on the crust before adding the filling to help soak up some of the juices.

Thanks Dawn, for hosting this week. If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this very tart treat! Also don't forget to enter my giveaway here before it ends on June 24th.

* Recipe notes:

- Don't bake your pie on a baking sheet. Instead, simply place a large piece of foil on the rack below the pie to catch any drippings should the juices from the pie bubble over during baking.
- If the crumble starts to brown too quickly, you can cover the pie loosely with a foil tent while the rest of the pie finishes baking.

Tropi Treats Giveaway

2011-06-02T08:00:00.005-05:00

I've never been so health-conscious and label-conscious in my life, but having a baby will do that to you! I don't feed my baby girl any refined sugar, she eats mostly fruits and veggies, and some meat. I avoid feeding her foods that are processed, or that contain a lot of preservatives in them. I really wish I had the will power to eat as healthy as I feed my daughter, but I enjoy my sweets too much to do so! Ha ha. Still, we are making strides in this household to change what we can. Every little bit counts, right?

So, when I found out about Tropi Treats, I was really excited to try them! They are dried pineapple bites that have no added sugar or preservatives - it's just 100% pineapple! Despite having no added sugar, the bites are nice and sweet with a bit of tartness that you'd expect with pineapple. Some preservative free dried fruits can be tough and hard to chew but these are soft and chewy. My daughter loves these, and so do I! There is something about them that is so addictive! I really have trouble eating just a few pieces... so in that regard their small snack packs are perfect because I'm then forced to stop after a certain point.

Want to try some Tropi Treats and see how great they are? The folks at Tropi Treats have generously agreed to send two lucky winners some free goodies! One winner will receive a 5 pack of the 4 oz bags, and the other winner will receive a 5 pack of the Snack Pack bags (each has six 0.5 oz snack packs). To enter to win, please leave a comment below, answering the following question: What ingredient(s) do you try to avoid when purchasing food?

You may receive up to two additional entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Tweet about this giveaway and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

b) Blog about this giveaway (on your main blog, not a blog created solely for the purpose of giveaways!) and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

c) Become a fan of the Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats Facebook page and leave your first name and the first letter of your last name (for verification purposes) in a comment on this post

No duplicate comments - please note that comment moderation is enabled and it may take some time before your comment appears below. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You will have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Giveaway ends at midnight CDT on June 24th. Good luck!

* Note - I was given free samples of this product to try, but this is not a paid/sponsored review.

Caramel Pots de Creme (TWD)

2011-05-31T08:00:00.002-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Peggy of Peggy the Baker: Caramel Pots de Creme. These little pots of cream (or ramekins, in my case) are made with caramelized sugar. I think I was too worried about burning my sugar that I didn't let it caramelize quite enough. The caramel flavor in this custard wasn't quite as strong as I was hoping it would be. Still, these were delicious.

Thanks Peggy, for hosting this week. I'll definitely be making this again! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this creamy, caramel-y treat!

Chocolate Marquise (DB)

2011-05-27T22:00:00.001-05:00

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

When we were presented with this month's challenge, we were told to "imagine a cube of spicy and creamy chocolate resting on a tuft of something that tastes like burnt marshmallow cream, drizzled with tequila caramel, spicy nuts, and some cacao nibs." Talk about enticing, right?

If you glance over the recipe it can definitely seem overwhelming at first. However, if you take it one step at a time it is really not that difficult, just a bit time consuming. The chocolate marquise tastes a bit like a cross between chocolate mousse and chocolate ice cream, and the meringue really does taste like soft, pillowy, marshmallow cream. I used hazelnut chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate because I don't care much for bittersweet chocolate. The end result was a very rich and creamy frozen chocolate concoction.

My favorite part of this challenge, however, was probably the caramel. I love caramel but I've never added liquor to it before. I found the amount added to the recipe was just enough to give it a good flavor without being too strong. I used rum instead of tequila and loved it. I think the rum caramel would be delicious over some ice cream!

Thanks Emma and Jenny, for hosting this month's challenge. While this challenge was admittedly daunting at first, in the end it was very do-able and I enjoyed trying a new dessert for the first time. Not sure if I'll be making the marquise again, but I'll definitely be making the rum caramel again! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this chocolately, caramely treat.

Chocolate Hazelnut Marquise over Torched Meringue with Rum Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Base

Servings: n/a - this is an ingredient for the chocolate marquise, not meant to be used separately

Ingredients
3 oz (85 grams/ 6 tablespoons) bittersweet chocolate (about 70% cocoa) (I used hazelnut chocolate instead of bittersweet)
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons (90 ml/3 fluid oz.) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon (15 ml/ 1/2 fluid oz.) tequila (I used rum)
1 tablespoon (15 ml/ 1/2 fluid oz.) light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon/(less than 1/4 ounce) cocoa powder (we used extra brut, like Hershey's Special Dark, but any Dutch-processed cocoa would be fine. Do not substitute natural cocoa powder.)
dash freshly ground black pepper
1/4 oz unsalted butter (1/2 tablespoon/8 grams), softened

Place the chocolate in a small mixing bowl. In a double-boiler, warm the cream until it is hot to the touch (but is not boiling). Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute or two before stirring. Stir until the chocolate is melted completely and is smooth throughout.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Do not refrigerate, as the base needs to be soft when added to the marquise mixture. If you make it the day before, you may need to warm it slightly. Whisk it until it is smooth again before using it in the marquise recipe.

Chocolate Marquise

Servings: six 2" x 2" (5 cm x 5 cm) cubes

Ingredients
3 large egg yolks at room temperature
1 large egg
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40 ml) (40 grams/ 1½ oz) sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (2/3 fluid oz/ 20 ml.) water
Chocolate Base, barely warm (recipe follows)
½ cup (4 fluid oz./ 120 ml.) heavy cream
½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (for rolling) (Note: We used extra brut, like Hershey's Special Dark. Make sure it's a Dutch processed cocoa, not a natural cocoa powder.)
Torched meringue (recipe follows)
Spiced almonds (recipe follows)
Cacao nibs (optional)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and whole eggs. Whip on high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 - 15 minutes.

When the eggs are getting close to finishing, make a sugar syrup by combining the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring the syrup to a boil and then cook to softball stage (235F/115C). If you have a cake tester with a metal loop for a handle, the right stage for the syrup is reached when you can blow a bubble through the loop (as seen in the following pictures).

With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle the sugar syrup into the fluffy eggs, trying to hit that magic spot between the mixing bowl and the whisk.

When all of the syrup has been added (do it fairly quickly), turn the mixer back on high and whip until the bowl is cool to the touch. This will take at least 10 minutes.

In a separate mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Set aside.

When the egg mixture has cooled, add the chocolate base to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Try to get it as consistent as possible without losing all of the air you've whipped into the eggs. We used the stand mixer for this, and it took about 1 minute.

Fold 1/3 of the reserved whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, and then fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Pour into the prepared pans and cover with plastic wrap (directly touching the mixture so it doesn't allow in any air). Freeze until very firm, at least 2 - 4 hours (preferably 6 – 8 hours).

When you're ready to plate, remove the marquise from the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving. While it's still hard, remove it from the pan by pulling on the parchment 'handles' or by flipping it over onto another piece of parchment.

Cut it into cubes and roll the cubes in cocoa powder. These will start to melt almost immediately, so don't do this step until all of your other plating components (meringue, caramel, spiced nuts, cocoa nibs) are ready. The cubes need to sit in the fridge to slowly thaw so plating components can be done during that time. They don’t need to be ready before the cubes are rolled in the cocoa powder.

Plate with the torched meringue and drizzled caramel sauce, and toss spiced almonds and cocoa nibs around for garnish. You want to handle the cubes as little as possible because they get messy quickly and are difficult to move. However, you want to wait to serve them until they've softened completely. The soft pillows of chocolate are what make this dessert so unusual and when combined with the other elements, you'll get creamy and crunchy textures with cool, spicy, salty, bitter, and sweet sensations on your palate.

Torched Meringue

Servings: Makes about 1 cup of meringue.

Ingredients
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) (3½ oz or 100 gms) sugar
Splash of apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Tequila Caramel

Servings: Makes about 1/4 cup of caramel

Ingredients
1/4 cup (60 ml/2 fluid oz) (2 oz/55 gm) sugar
2 tablespoons (1 fluid oz./ 30 ml.) water
1/4 cup (2 fluid oz./ 60 ml.) heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon tequila (I used rum)

Combine the egg whites, sugar and vinegar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using your (clean, washed) hand, reach in the bowl and stir the three together, making sure the sugar is moistened evenly by the egg whites and they make a homogeneous liquid.

Over a saucepan of simmering water, warm the egg white mixture. Use one hand to stir the mixture continuously, feeling for grains of sugar in the egg whites. As the liquid heats up, the sugar will slowly dissolve and the egg whites will thicken. This step is complete when you don't feel any more sugar crystals in the liquid and it is uniformly warm, nearly hot.

Remove the mixing bowl from the saucepan and return it to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk until you reach soft peaks. In the last 10 seconds of mixing, add the vanilla to the meringue and mix thoroughly.

When you're ready to plate the dessert, spoon the meringue onto a plate (or use a piping bag) and use a blowtorch to broil.

Spiced Almonds

Servings: Makes about 1 cup of spiced almonds

Ingredients
1/2 cup (4 oz.) sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white
1 cup (145 grams/ 5 oz.) blanched whole almonds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt.
In a larger mixing bowl whisk the egg white until it's frothy and thick.
Add the spice mix to the egg white and whisk to combine completely.
Add the nuts to the egg white mixture and toss with a spoon.
Spoon the coated nuts onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake the nuts for 30 minutes, or until they turn light brown. Allow the nuts to cool completely and they will get very crunchy. Set aside until ready to serve.

Maple Cornmeal Biscuits (TWD)

2011-05-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Lindsay of A Little Something...Sweeet!: Maple Cornmeal Biscuits. Cornmeal biscuits don't sound all too exciting, but since these are maple cornmeal biscuits, I was willing to give them a try ;) I love maple syrup and anything maple-flavored, so I figured these were worth a taste. (Truth be told, I only had a tablespoon of maple syrup left in the jug after making these biscuits and I just licked it right out of the container!)

Like most biscuits, this recipe was quick and easy. Even easier than some biscuit recipes because they are drop biscuits that don't need to be rolled and cut. The baking time for these was several minutes less than indicated in the recipe, so be sure to keep a close eye on them!

I was a bit disappointed that the maple flavor wasn't very prominent in these biscuits. They were, however, delicious on their own without any butter or jam. Perhaps adding more maple syrup and less milk would make them taste more like maple cornmeal biscuits?

Thanks Lindsay, for hosting this week. I think these would be great alongside some chili instead of traditional cornbread. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this homey treat!

Brown Sugar Bundt Cake (TWD)

2011-05-10T08:00:00.009-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake. It doesn't sound like anything special, but there is something to be said about brown sugar - I love anything flavored with brown sugar or caramel.

The addition of prunes is quite unusual, and when my husband saw me making the cake he asked me, "You're making a cake... with prunes?!" I told him that I had made muffins not too long ago with prunes that he liked, but he had no recollection of prunes in anything I had made! I swapped out the fresh pears in the recipe for some apples, and the combination of apples and prunes was quite good. I know some may find the idea of prunes in a cake to be odd, but Dorie was really on to something when she came up with this cake. If you are absolutely against having prunes in your cake, you can also substitute other dried fruit such as raisins, dried apricots, or dried cranberries.

This cake is extremely moist and the caramel undertone that the brown sugar gives it is delightful. The flavors definitely ripen if you're able to wait a day before cutting into it.

Thanks Peggy for hosting this week. I'll definitely be making this one again! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this incredibly moist treat!

Chocolate Orange Marbled Loaf Cake (TWD)

2011-05-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Carol of The Bake More: Basic Marbled Loaf Cake. Dorie gives several "playing around" options, with the peppermint version being her favorite. I would have loved to have tried it but did not have any peppermint extract on hand. Instead, I decided to make the chocolate orange marbled loaf cake.

My loaf cake only had a hint of orange to it because I did not have any orange extract, either. However, to bring out as much orange flavor as possible, I rubbed the orange zest with the sugar before mixing it in with the creamed butter. I took the loaf out right at 1 hour and 20 minutes, and it was nice and moist, although I wonder if I may have over baked it by just a few minutes because I had envisioned the cake being more moist than it was. Still, it was good and enjoyed by all.

I was especially pleased with how the marbling turned out with this one, as it was only my third attempt at marbling a cake (and I failed the first and second attempts miserably!). Overall, I enjoyed this cake but probably won't be making it again. There's nothing wrong with it per se, I just feel like there are so many other recipes that I enjoy more than this one.

Thanks Carol, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this swirly treat!

Maple Mousse in Chocolate Dipped Almond Bowls (DB)

2011-04-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

Sadly, I didn't have time to get real creative with this challenge, so I simply made the recipes as they were posted and did not come up with my own unique "edible container." I made a half recipe of the maple mousse and poured it into two edible almond cups. I would have loved to have tried making some bacon cups for the mousse (I love salty and sweet combos!), but I ran out of time.

The flavor in the maple mousse was absolutely amazing, though probably slightly too sweet for my taste. I hardly ever complain of anything being too sweet, so you know it must be pretty sweet! I did read that some bakers cut back about 25% on the amount of maple syrup in the recipe to decrease the sweetness just a tad. If you've never had good quality maple syrup, you really need to try it. Especially if you've been using maple-flavored pancake syrup which is nothing compared to pure maple syrup! If you're looking for a good deal, you can get a 32 oz. jug of Coomb's Family Farms 100% Pure Organic Maple Syrup for $16.83 (with subscribe & save). (If you don't use maple syrup all that often, you may want to pay a little more and get two 16 oz. jugs for $17.88 since the syrup can mold after a while but has a long shelf life as long as it's sealed.)

Thanks Ria and Jamie, for hosting this month's challenge. It was the perfect way to showcase the wonderful flavor of maple syrup and I'll definitely be making it again. I've seen some pretty amazing creations on some other blogs already, so make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet, maple-y treat.

Maple Mousse:
Ingredients:
• 1 cup (240 ml/ 8 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml. g/12 fluid oz) whipping cream (35% fat content)
Directions:
1. Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t curdle).
3. Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed.
4. Measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved.
5. Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.
6. Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.
7. Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.
8. Remove from the fridge and divide equally among your edible containers.

Bacon Cups:
Ingredients:
• 24 thin slices good quality bacon

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C.
2. Take a muffin pan or 6 small ½ cup capacity heat-proof bowls, turn upside down and carefully form aluminum foil covers on the back of 6 muffin cups or the bowls.
3. Taking 2 strips of bacon at a time crisscross the strips over the backs of the muffin cups and cut to size a tad longer then the bottom part of the cup. Now use 1 to 2 more strips to cover the sides of the muffin cups in a weaving fashion. You want a full tight weave because bacon shrinks a lot. For smaller cups I used a shot glass with a square of bacon for the bottom and I wrapped 1 strip around the side.
4. Tuck the ends of the bacon strips inside otherwise they will curl while cooking. A good idea is to insert 4 toothpicks where the crisscrossed bacon meets in the weave.
5. Place muffin pan in a cookie tray to catch drippings. Bake in oven for about 25 to 40 minutes, or until the bacon is golden and crisp but not burned.
6. Cool completely, a good hour, before removing your cups delicately from the foil.

Nut Bowls:
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups crushed nuts of your choice such as almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts
• 1 egg, beaten, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces

Directions:
1. Use a food processor or a zip-lock back with a rolling pin to crush your nuts if whole, use about 1 cup of whole nuts to get 3/4 cups crushed. You want it somewhat coarse.
2. In a bowl mix the nuts with the beaten egg and the sugar.
3. Take 6 small ½ cup capacity Pyrex cups or a similar container and line the inside with aluminum foil. Spread ¼ cup of the mixture in the bowl, all the way up to the sides making sure you have a thin and even clean layer all around.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. until the nuts are golden and fragrant (about 15 minutes). Let cool completely before unmolding.
5. Melt chocolate (either in the microwave or over a double boiler). Dip the rims of the cooled nut bowls in the chocolate. Place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened and is set.

Vegan Maple Mousse:
Ingredients:
• 1 package (12 oz.) soft silken tofu
• ¾ cup (14 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp agar-agar

Directions:
1. Let tofu come to room temperature. Using a food processor, blender, or hand mixer, blend tofu until just smooth.
2. Sprinkle agar-agar on the maple syrup and let it rest for 10 minutes. Heat maple syrup on the stove to a boil and then let it simmer 5 minutes until the agar-agar has dissolved.
3. In a food processor, blender, or a large bowl, blend the tofu with the maple syrup until creamy.
4. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Remove from the fridge and divide among your edible containers.

Meringue (optional):
Ingredients:
• 3 large egg whites at room temperature
• ¾ cup (165 g./5.5 oz) sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C.
2. Put the egg whites in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer beat for a few minutes until the whites become stiff. Now add the sugar, a little at a time, whisking until the mixture is stiff and glossy. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down and the mixture won’t fall out.
3. Place baking parchment on to a clean baking sheet. Using a spoon or a piping bag, dollop the meringue into circles that fit inside the rim of your edible cups. (See mine, I wanted height but they fell a bit...which is OK...freeform art)
4. Put the tray in the oven, then immediately turn the oven down to 250 degrees F/130 degrees C. and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool in the oven for a few hours.
6. Place meringues as decoration on your maple mousse which has already be spooned into your edible containers.

Recipe Notes (from Evelyne):
• Putting aluminum foil on the muffin pan heat-proof bowls is essential or they will be stuck to the form. Be gentle when removing the aluminum foil from bacon cups.
• Bacon shrinks a lot so make sure weave is tight on the form. Tuck the ends of the bacon strips inside otherwise they will curl while cooking. A good idea is to insert 4 toothpicks where the crisscrossed bacon meets in the weave.
• For the nut bowls, use about 1 cup of whole nuts to get 3/4 cups of crushed.
• In the maple mousse recipe, after the gelatine has bloomed (softened) in the cold whipping cream, the gelatine MUST be heated to melt completely…contrary to popular belief. Follow the directions as described and never let gelatine boil or it will become stringy and unusable.
• If you make the meringues let them cool in the oven once they are baked… just don’t forget to turn off the oven when they are done. This cooling process will help then dry out nicely and be crispier.

Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (TWD)

2011-04-26T14:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine: Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies. I have to admit that I almost skipped out on this recipe. When you compare it to a lot of the other recipes in the book, this one just doesn't sound that exciting! They're traditional shortbread cookies with a twist - aside from substituting some of the flour for cornmeal, the zest of a lemon (or lime, in my case) is rubbed in with the sugar to give it a little extra something.

Boy am I glad that I didn't skip this one! The cookies are buttery sweet and crumbly like you'd expect shortbread cookies to be, but the citrus zest gives it the most wonderful flavor. The cornmeal gives it an interesting crunch (they have just the slightest gritty texture), though I wouldn't really know that there was cornmeal in these cookies unless you told me there was.

Thanks Valerie, for hosting this week. I'm so glad you got me to try a recipe I'd probably otherwise skip in this book! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this buttery, crumbly treat!

Bakeware Bargains

2011-04-25T14:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a blessed Easter weekend. Usually after every holiday I head out to the stores to buy some half price candy... this year I was able to score some nice bakeware too!

I was able to get some Wilton mini springform pans (3) for $5, a Nordic Ware muffin pan for $5, and a Nordic Ware mini bundt pan* for $6! If you're you in the market for any of these items, check your local Target. The mini springform pans were with the clearance Easter candy, but the Nordic Ware pans were on an end cap near the dishes and bakeware. I don't even think they were marked as clearance, but since they have Easter eggs on the packaging and the underside of the pans are bright pastels, that means they're 50% off! Hope this helps someone...

I also wanted to congratulate Tammy (comment #334) who was the winner of my La Crème Sweepstakes for a $100 VISA gift card and Sue (comment #120) who was the winner of my Stouffer’s Sweepstakes for a $100 VISA gift card. I'm sure you'll both put the money to good use! :) Stay tuned because I have another giveaway coming up for some yummy, all natural treats.

* Note - the mini bundt pan doesn't ring up as 50% but if you show them that they are in the same Easter packaging as the muffin pans that are 50% off they'll give it to you. Of course YMMV but I don't see why you wouldn't get the discount on them since there are Easter eggs on them!!!

Tourtely Apple Tart (TWD)

2011-04-19T08:00:00.005-05:00

Things have been crazy busy here lately; I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I last posted! Where did the time go?! I hope to have some time in the coming week to get caught up with things so I can finally get around to blogging about some of the great recipes I've recently tried...

But, without further ado, here's my Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) post. This week's recipe was chosen by Jeannette of The Whimsical Cupcake: Tourtely Apple Tart. This is about as homey as you can get. It's a filling of apples cooked in brown sugar, tossed together with nutty browned butter, raisins, and ground almonds. The aroma of the filling after is just made is simply amazing. I love browned butter. The filling is then sandwiched between two layers of sweet, sugary almond cookie dough.

I only had one (very large, one pound) Fuji apple left in the house, so I made a half recipe which was just enough for one mini tart. The filling probably could have used a few more apple chunks, but that was more my fault than the recipe's fault since I didn't have any more apples on hand. If you've never browned butter before, I'd suggest turning the heat down just a tad because it does go from brown to burnt very quickly if you don't watch it closely (and it will brown at the lower heat, it will just take longer). I did add the "optional" cinnamon to the filling, and added more than a pinch, just because it seems wrong to make an apple dessert without cinnamon :) (I know that Grace would agree.)

The result was a very homey, comforting dessert. It was like a cross between an apple pie and an apple tart. I find that a lot of Dorie's desserts are quite sweet, but this one was just barely sweet.... and that was more from the tart crust than from the filling itself. I love that you can make the tart dough and the filling ahead of time, and then just assemble and bake the tart when you're ready. I'll definitely be making this one again. (And next time I'll be more careful not to over bake the crust so much!)

Thanks Jeannette, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet, appley treat!

* Recipe tips:

- When baking your crust, instead of removing the foil completely after 20 minutes, gently remove it, cut a hole in the center to create a "pie crust shield," and then put it back over your tart. This will allow the center to brown without burning the edges of your crust. I forgot to do that this time, resulting in the very brown edges you see in my photos!

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Almond Powder Puffs (TWD)

2011-04-05T15:00:00.001-05:00

I'm supposed to be posting about a coffee ice cream tart today (chosen by Jessica of Domestic Deep Thought of the Day) but seeing as the recipe calls for store bought ice cream, that pretty much just leaves the tart to be made from scratch. I read in the P & Q (problems & questions) that the tart gets frozen so hard that by the time the tart thaws out enough to be eaten, the ice cream is melted :( So, I considered using Dorie's sweet tart dough instead, but in the end just ran out of time and motivation. My apologies to Jessica for not baking along this week. Instead, I have for you today last week's recipe, which I neglected to post seven days ago!

Last week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Tianne of Buttercream Barbie: Pecan Powder Puffs. I made these well before the posting date, but then I totally forgot about them until now! I'll blame it on "mommy brain" ;)

Looking at the name, I thought these were some type of cream puff, until I looked at the recipe and realized that they're actually cookies! They are Mexican wedding cookies, which are made from ground nuts, flour, sugar, and butter and then rolled in confectioner's sugar. I didn't have any pecans on hand, so I made almond powder puffs instead. I don't usually like whole nuts in my desserts, but I do enjoy things made with ground nuts (like this awesome chocolate dipped macadamia nut shortbread).

These cookies were super easy to make, the only hard part was waiting for the dough to chill in the refrigerator for two hours before baking! They aren't too buttery and the salty nutty flavor balances out quite well with the sweet sugary coating. My husband had one and I fully expected these to be 'not his thing,' but instead he immediately exclaimed, "What are these?! They are good!" So, I guess these will be making another appearance in our household in the near future :) I haven't had too many Mexican wedding cookies before, but I think the general opinion among other TWD bakers was that these are far better than any other Mexican wedding cookie encountered!

Thanks Tianne, for a great pick. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these nutty, crumbly treats! And, if you haven't already, head on over here to enter my current giveaway.

Honey Cream Caramels (SMS)

2011-04-03T00:01:00.008-05:00

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Carmen of Baking is My Zen: Honey Cream Caramels. I was very excited to see this recipe picked. If you've been following my blog, then you know that I love all things caramel! If you look on my side bar, you'll see that I even have a tag for caramel sweets :)

I've made fleur de sel caramels in the past (a must try by the way), and was eager to try this recipe out. The honey flavor really comes through in these, so be sure to use a honey that you enjoy. It's been a while since I've had caramels, but I think these were a bit on the sweeter side. You could definitely cut back on the sugar a bit and probably not miss it too much. These would probably be good with a little fleur de sel or sea salt sprinkled on top, too, to counter some of the sweetness.

I lined my pan with foil and buttered the foil, instead of pouring the caramel directly into the pan - a trick I've found to be most useful when it comes to clean up! I did learn the hard way, however, that the mixture bubbles up quite a bit as it comes up in temperature and almost ended up with caramel all over my stove because I used a saucepan that was too small! Next time I'll definitely use a 2 quart saucepan. Otherwise, this recipe went off without a hitch and I had no issues cutting the caramel into squares. I found the caramel to be so easy to work with that I didn't even have to butter my knife to cut it.

Thanks Carmen, for hosting this week. If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet treat! If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway here before it ends on April 11th.

* Recipe notes:

- Make sure you use a large saucepan (at least 2 quarts) because the caramel really rises up when it starts boiling! I used a 1.5 quart saucepan and it nearly boiled over!
- I use this digital thermometer for all my candy making - works great both for candy and for cooking meat! (No need to get a separate meat thermometer and candy thermometer.)
- Consider removing your pan from the heat as it approaches 250F because the temperature may continue to rise a few degrees after you take it off the heat. If it doesn't get hot enough after you take it off the heat, then you can always put it back on the heat.
- Line your pan with foil and then butter the foil to make clean up easier when you're done.

Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake (DB)

2011-03-27T00:01:00.002-05:00

The March 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. Jamie found this recipe on a piece of yellowed paper in her dad’s collection of clipped out and hand-written recipes from the 1970’s, no source, no date, and she tried the recipe and loved it! It's a gorgeous brioche-like dough rolled jellyroll style around a layer of whipped meringue, cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate chips, then shaped into a wreath and baked.

I halved this recipe because I didn't really see the need to have two coffee cakes around the house tempting me! The recipe was easy to follow, and instead of kneading the dough by hand I let my KitchenAid dough hook do the work for me. I did have to add a little extra flour until the dough was ready and was no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl, but otherwise the recipe was really straightforward. I used the filling recommended by Jamie, sans nuts, and simply doubled the amount of cinnamon in the mixture. It came out just right!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the meringue layer that is rolled into this cake, but as Ria and Jamie describe, the meringue "miraculously melts into the dough as it bakes leaving behind just a hint of sweetness and adding to the perfect moistness of the cake." Some of it does ooze out between the slits cut into the cake, and that part of the meringue bakes up into slightly crisp, ooey gooey goodness!

Thanks Ria and Jamie, for hosting this month's challenge. It was delicious and I'll definitely be making it again. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this wonderful breakfast treat.

And don't forget - I'm giving you two chances right now to enter to win a $100 Visa gift card. There are just a few days left to enter the giveaway that ends on March 31st. You have until April 11th to enter my second giveaway here.

FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:
4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
10 strands saffron for Ria’s version (Saffron might be hard to find and it’s expensive, so you can substitute with ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom or ground nutmeg. Or simply leave it plain like Jamie’s version)

For the meringue:
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:
Jamie’s version: (this recipe is for 1 coffee cake)
1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Ria’s version:
1 cup (130 g / 5 oz.) chopped cashew nuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala (You can make it at home – recipe below - or buy from any Asian/Indian grocery store)
1 cup (170g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips ( I used Ghirardelli)
Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

**Garam (means “hot”) masala (means “mixture”) is a blend of ground spices and is used in most Indian savory dishes. It is used in limited quantities while cooking vegetables, meats & eggs. There is no “one” recipe for it as every household has a recipe of their own. Below, I am going to share the recipe which I follow.
4 or 5 sticks (25 g) Cinnamon Sticks (break a stick and open the scroll)
3 ½ tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cloves, whole
100 g. (3.5 oz.) Fennel seeds
4 tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoons (10 g / less than half an ounce) Peppercorns
25 g (less than half an ounce) Green Cardamom pods

In a small pan on medium heat, roast each spice individually (it hardly takes a minute) until you get a nice aroma. Make sure you stir it throughout so that it doesn’t burn. As soon as each spice is roasted, transfer it to a bowl to cool slightly. Once they are all roasted, grind into a fine powder by using a coffee grinder, or pestle & mortar. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

Directions:
Prepare the dough:
In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Ria’s version: add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:
Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Irish Soda Bread and a Giveaway

2011-03-20T16:00:00.010-05:00

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Julie of A Little Bit of Everything: Irish Soda Bread. It's called that because it uses baking soda instead of yeast as the rising agent. As such, this recipe is quick and easy and does not require any "rising time."

I found this recipe to be easy and straightforward. The recipe calls for golden raisins and currants, but I had neither on hand so I added dark raisins and dried cherries to mine. The only problem I ran into was the dough being extremely sticky. Melissa says to use "a little flour" if needed, to form the dough into a large round. I had to add a lot of flour to mine before it was even manageable. I was worried that in doing so, I over worked my dough and the bread would not turn out very good, but in the end I still had a nice bread to show for it. Traditional Irish soda bread doesn't contain any dried fruit in it, it was only in later years that the dried fruit was mixed in, but I found the fruit to be a nice addition. I've never had Irish soda bread before, but I really don't think that I would like the version without the dried fruit.

Thanks, Julie, for hosting this week. Overall, I thought this bread was good but I think I much prefer yeast breads over this one (even if they do take longer). If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this traditional Irish treat!

And last but not least - I've just posted another big giveaway - you have until April 11th to check out my Stouffer's review and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card. Also, if you haven't already entered my other giveaway, make sure you click here and enter to win before March 31st.

* Recipe notes:

- I found that this bread took much longer to bake than indicated. I had to bake mine an additional 10-15 minutes before it was done.

Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins (TWD)

2011-03-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Lauryn of Bella Baker: Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins. Made with orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest, and dried currants, these muffins are definitely screaming "sunshine" as their name implies.

I didn't have any currants on hand, so I used dried cherries instead. I increased the amount of cherries to a full cup, and that ended up being just right. I think with just 3/4 cup, you'd end up with some bites that were without any dried fruit and that's no fun! ;)

While these muffins have plenty of citrus in them (and some lemon extract), I didn't find the citrus flavor to be very strong. It was there, but I guess I thought it would be much more prominent given the name of these muffins.

I read that many other bakers enjoyed the fact that these weren't very sweet. Personally, I would have liked these muffins to be a little bit sweeter (but I have a big sweet tooth!). Perhaps a streusel topping is in order next time? :) Overall, though, these muffins were a delight and I would definitely make them again.

Thanks Lauryn, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these citrus-y treats! And, if you haven't already, head on over here to enter my current giveaway.

* Recipe notes:
- I increased the amount of dried fruit from 3/4 cup to 1 cup.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Chocolate Pots de Crème and a Giveaway (TWD)

2011-03-01T15:00:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Christine of Black Cat Cooking: Chocolate Pots de Crème. Just like the name implies, these are little pots of cream! Pots de crème are a loose French custard - they aren't quite as firm or dense as other custards like flan.

Aside from their looser consistency, you will find that these are very similar to creme brulee (just without that yummy crunchy caramelized sugar "crust"). They are made the same way you would make creme brulee, except these are covered while baking. Pots de crème are made with eggs, egg yolks, sugar, cream, milk, and chocolate. The milk and cream are heated and then slowly added to the whisked eggs/egg yolks and sugar until it is tempured. It is then flavored with chocolate ganache and the final mixture is poured into porcelain cups (also called "pots de crème"), and baked in a water bath at low heat until set.

These were smooth and creamy but not too heavy. I didn't compare the proportion of milk, cream and eggs in this recipe to what's in creme brulee, but these definitely seemed less heavy. I know creme brulee recipes only use yolks and this one used both whole eggs and yolks, so that would make sense. Personally, I love the crystallized/burnt sugar layer on top of creme brulee. So even though I'd make this recipe again based on taste, I probably won't be making it again because I'd just rather make chocolate creme brulee instead!

Thanks Christine, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these creamy, chocolatey treats! And, if you'd like to win a $100 Visa gift card, head on over here to enter my current giveaway. I've got a few giveaways lined up for March, so be sure to check back often!

* Recipe notes:
- If you don't have any pots de crème, you can simply use ramekins.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies (DB)

2011-02-27T17:00:00.005-06:00

I don't know about other parts of the country, but we've been enjoying beautiful 70 degree weather here in Texas lately. It's a welcome change to the all the ice and snow we've been having! (Makes me wish we had a yard with a wooden swing set for my little girl to play on, though.) While some desserts lend themselves to the winter season (i.e. Yule log), here are two sweets that can be enjoyed year round whether it's warm or cold outside - panna cotta and florentine cookies.

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I love panna cotta and have always wanted to try making it. Every time I see it on a blog, I think I should try it, yet I never seem to get around to doing so. I was glad, then, to see that it was chosen for this month's challenge. Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together milk, cream, and sugar, mixed with gelatin. When set, it has a texture/consistency somewhat thicker than flan and but more delicate than jello.

Giada's recipe uses honey in addition to sugar to sweeten the cream. I found that this was a great way to flavor the panna cotta. It was subtle, but added some depth to the panna cotta's flavor profile. It only took a year, but I took this opportunity to use some Bee Raw wild raspberry honey that I won from Blake Makes. Because honey always takes on the flavors of the flowers used by the bees during the pollination process, this is “a light and floral honey, with a unique raspberry finish intertwined with the aroma of warm cocoa butter." It was wonderful in this panna cotta.

I ended up serving my panna cotta in several different ways. I layered it with some strawberry gelée in a small drinking glass, put it in some mini dessert glasses, and unmolded one from a small ramekin. While the small drinking glass size is great for any panna cotta lover, I think it's way too much cream for most folks. The small ramekin size was good and would probably be the size I would go with for entertaining. The mini dessert size was my favorite, though. Just enough to get a taste when you're craving something sweet after dinner, but not too much to where you end up too full and wishing you hadn't had dessert. If you've never made panna cotta before, I encourage you to try it. It is really easy and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. You can dress it up for a holiday or special occasion, or enjoy it with a weeknight dinner.

The florentine cookies were my favorite part of this challenge! They reminded me quite a bit of the maple tuiles I made not long ago, with a more grainy texture due to the addition of oats. These did not last long in our household, as I kept telling myself they were healthier for me than regular cookies because of the oats ;) I drizzled some with chocolate, sandwiched some cookies with nutella, and then ate the rest just plain. They were good and I will definitely be making them again!

Thanks Mallory, for hosting this month's challenge. I'm glad I finally got to make my own panna cotta, and I'm thrilled to have discovered florentine cookies! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed these sweet, creamy, and crunchy treats!

Vanilla Panna Cotta
from Giadia de Laurentiis

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

* Recipe tips:

- When you sprinkle your gelatin over your milk, be sure that it's a thin even layer of gelatin, no clumps. When you heat it up after it's soaked a bit, you'll be less likely to get any lumps of gelatin in the finished product.

- The type of honey you use will lend a subtle flavor the panna cotta so if you have a particular non-clover honey that you enjoy, you should use it in this recipe.

- If you would like to unmold your Panna Cotta from a ramekin simply run a knife along the edge, dip the ramekin in a bit of hot water, then invert onto your serving platter. Viola! Unmolded Panna Cotta. (Be aware though, Panna Cotta is not Jell-o, it's got a much softer texture so it does not keep its shape in the same way as Jell-o)

- If you cannot find powdered gelatin/only have access to sheet gelatin this can be used. Simply follow the directions on the package for conversions.

- Milk substitutes, such as skim, almond, or even coconut milk can be used in the vanilla Panna Cotta in place of the whole milk, but cream is important. In order to get the right texture there needs be a certain percentage of cream fat.

Fruit Gelée
from A Sofa in the Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mango, blackberry, etc.) *Note: Certain fruits interact with gelatin and stop it gelling like pineapple and kiwi etc.
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
1/4 cup (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (3½ gm) (1/8 oz) unflavored powdered gelatin

Directions:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over water.
2. Place fruit and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until sugar has dissolved. Now mix the gelatin into the strawberry mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool (close to room temp, again, if you're planning on layering on pouring on top of your Panna Cotta, a hot mixture will also heat up your chilled Panna Cotta).

Florentine Cookies
from Nestle

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.

To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.

While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).

Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).

Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

* Recipe tips:

- If you only have old fashioned oats on hand, simply give them a quick whir in your food processor to give them a similar texture to the quick oats. If you don't have a food processor on hand, you can still use the old fashioned oats in this recipe, you'll just end up with a chewier cookie.

- Nutella also tastes great sandwiched between these cookies!

Where to Eat in Puerto Rico

2011-02-22T17:00:00.003-06:00

We just got back from a short but sweet trip to Puerto Rico so I didn't get a chance to bake this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. My apologies to Mike for not baking along. Instead, I thought I'd post a few quick reviews of some of the places where we dined. Unfortunately, I didn't snap any photos of the food (didn't think about it until after I got home - sorry!) but hopefully the reviews will still be helpful for those who will be planning a trip to PR in the future. And, because I hate to put up a post without photos, here's a picture of my sweet baby girl enjoying her first trip to the beach! :)

San Juan, Puerto Rico Restaurant Reviews/Dining Guide

Bebo's Café - this eatery on Calle Loiza in Santurce serves traditional food (comida criolla) in an informal atmosphere. It felt like we were in the Puerto Rican equivalent of Denny's or Chili's. There were some tourists there, but for the most part we were surrounded by local families. My husband got the milanesa de pollo (chicken milanese) and said it was good. It's chicken pounded thin, then coated in egg and breadcrumbs and shallow-fried, then topped with cheese and marinara sauce. I had the salmorejo de jueyes (crabmeat stew), and while nicely seasoned and delicious, it was overly salty. The fried sweet plantains were great, though slightly greasy. If you go here, don't confuse it with Bebo’s Chicken, which is also delicious, but simply an open-air chicken shack off of the highway adjacent to the international airport. (average entree price = $10-20)

Ceviche House - located on the western end of Isla Verde, this Peruvian restaurant makes some of the best ceviche. I've heard the service here can be a bit slow, but we got take out so I can't comment on that. I do find in general though, that many restaurants in the Caribbean operate on "island time" and the servers just can't be bothered to move any quicker. Here we ordered the Papas Huancaína as an appetizer. Papas Huancaína is a Peruvian salad of boiled yellow potatoes (similar to the Yukon Gold potatoes) in a spicy, creamy sauce called Huancaína sauce. The sauce is made of fresh white cheese (similar to farmers cheese), vegetable oil, aji amarillo (yellow Peruvian pepper), evaporated milk and salt mixed in a blender. It was served cold as a starter over lettuce leaves and garnished with hard boiled egg quarters. It was good, but a bit too heavy for my taste. I thought the portion was quite large for an appetizer, so it was probably meant for sharing. It could easily serve 2-4 people. For the main course, I ordered the shrimp ceviche and it was very fresh and flavorful. I got the small portion and wish I had gotten the large. Would have definitely loved to have returned here a second time for more ceviche if time had permitted. My husband ordered the churrasco (grilled skirt steak) and found it to be average, with Che's being much better (see below). (average entree price = $20-30)

Che's - a churrascaria also located on the western end of Isla Verde, Che's is known for having the best churrasco in San Juan. My friend recommended this restaurant to us, and said she never visits PR without going to Che's. I had never heard of churrasco before, but it's grilled skirt steak. While seasoned well, I found the meat to be way too oily (leaving an oily taste in my mouth), and the meat too tough. My husband thought it was delicious and had no complaints, but I prefer a more tender preparation of skirt steak. Perhaps I just had a bad cut of meat, because all the reviews I've read of this place online say that their churrasco is excellent, so perhaps you'll still want to give it a try. (average entree price = $18-25)

La Bombonera - located in Old San Juan (on Calle San Francisco), this family run bakery and coffee shop was packed with a good mix of both locals and tourists. We arrived there on a Saturday around 10:30am to find a long line inside! Thankfully the line moved quickly and the wait wasn't too long, maybe 10-15 minutes. My husband ordered the pancakes which were good, but the portion was small (just 3 small pancakes served). I got the mallorca con mantequilla, a round spiral pastry sliced in half and grilled with butter, then dusted with confectioner's sugar - yum! I enjoyed it so much I ordered a second one :) We also got a box of several other pastries to take home with us - the best ones being the quesitos (flaky, slightly crispy, sugar-coated pastries with sweet cream cheese) and the quesitos con guayaba (sweet cheese pastries with guava filling). This bakery was also just reviewed yesterday in the NY Times travel section. (average entree price = $5-15)

La Mallorquina - also located in Old San Juan (on Calle San Justo), this restaurant had the most delicious shrimp asopao. It's a traditional Puerto Rican dish that is kind of like a soup/stew/gumbo made with rice, chicken broth, tomatoes, and spices. My husband ordered the chicken asopoa and it was surprisingly different from the shrimp asopao that I ordered - in a bad way. He didn't even finish his portion (and he isn't a very pick eater)! So, if you go here, stay away from the chicken version but definitely order the shrimp asopao! (average entree price = $14-30)

Piu Bello - actually a gelato chain with several locations in PR (and one in NY), we visited the location that is just a few blocks from the Ritz in Isla Verde. We stopped in during the morning to grab a snack before leaving for the rainforest, so we didn't get get any gelato. (I did read from other reviews that it's good, though). We tried the apple turnovers and quesitos here. The apple turnovers were ok at best, but the quesitos were delicious. We also had the grilled chicken sandwiches on focaccia with petso and mozzerella. They were good, but nothing spectacular. (average entree price = $5-10)

Platos -next door to Piu Bello in Isla Verde, this restaurant serves some amazing mofongo! Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made from fried green plantains that have been mashed together with broth, garlic, olive oil, and pork cracklings or bits of bacon. It's usually filled with vegetables, chicken, crab, shrimp, or beef. I had the mofongo con camarones (with shrimp) in an ajillo blanca (white garlic) sauce. You can also get the mofongo served with a Puerto Rican creole sauce, but if you love garlic you have to try the garlic sauce! Soooooo good. While I didn't try the mofongo at any other restaurants while we there, I would have happily returned here for a second visit to eat their mofongo again. (average entree price = $15-25)

Restaurante José Enrique - by far our favorite restaurant in PR! It is located in the Plaza de Santurce in a repurposed old home. It can be difficult to find because there is no street address on the home and there are no signs on the building, either. There is a small parking lot across the street with a banner that says "José Enrique," however. We never would have found it, except for the long line of people waiting out front when we arrived. Plan to come about 15 minutes before they open to make sure you get a table. People tend to linger and have drinks after their dinners so the wait can be quite long here sometimes (upwards of 1-3 hours). This restaurant is known for creative, upscale Puerto Rican food, done right. The menu is constantly changing, but we had the crab ceviche served on tostones (twice fried plantains) as an appetizer - beyond delicious. My husband doesn't even really care for crab and he was talking about how good it was. For the main course, my husband had the mahi mahi served over rice and beans mixed together. It was well seasoned and cooked to perfection, and the portion was quite hearty. I ordered the fried lobster with tostones and avocado "foam." It was chopped lobster pieces (in shell) in a slightly spicy breading, deep fried and served with an avocado dip. The server called it an avocado "foam" but I think he just wasn't clear on the English translation. It was definitely more like a mild guacamole or avocado dip. Whatever you want to call it, though, it was awesome. Far better than any plain old lobster served with butter for dipping! The portion size of the lobster was fine for me (especially with a shared appetizer and dessert), but I think it may be a bit too small for others. For dessert my husband ordered the homemade ice cream trio, featuring three different flavors of ice cream. I sampled a small bit of his ice cream and it was phenomenal - very rich and creamy. Our only complaint was that the ice cream "scoops" were very small scoops that were served in 3 individual tasting spoons. For my own dessert, I ordered the tembleque, a traditional Puerto Rican coconut pudding. The server mentioned that the dessert features 5 different textures, which definitely piqued my interested. It was a smooth coconut pudding dotted with small tapioca pearls, cubes of sponge cake dipped in cinnamon, spoonfuls of shredded coconut, and topped with two almond wafers. It was plated on a spiral seashell-like dish, which allowed me to sample each of the different textures separately. The cinnamon paired well with the coconut, and all the textures in the dish were a nice way to dress up a very simple Puerto Rican dessert. If it weren't for the fact that we ate here on our last night in Puerto Rico, we would have definitely returned for a second visit before leaving! You must visit this restaurant if you are in San Juan. I should also note that while it's "upscale" dining, the environment is very informal (some people were dressed up to go out to the bars afterward and others were very casually dressed in shorts) - we didn't feel like we were out of place bringing our daughter with us to dinner at all. (average entree price = $20-30)

If you're a foodie like me, eating out is one of my favorite aspects of vacationing! I hope this dining guide proves helpful to at least a few travelers in the future. If you're ever in Puerto Rico and end up trying one of these restaurants, do come back and leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Bon appetit! Or, since we're talking about Puerto Rico, I guess ¡Buen apetito! would be more appropriate ;)

Chocolate Oatmeal Drops (TWD)

2011-02-15T20:00:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Caroline and Claire of Bake with Us: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops. I'm on vacation right now so I'm short on time but I did want to put up a quick post about these!

I made these cookies the day before we left for our trip and they were great to munch on during the flight! :) A half batch was more than enough, I'm not sure what you'd do with a full recipe! My cookies did spread quite a bit and ended up rather pathetic looking, but if you follow the advice of Carol from The Bake More and chill your dough for about 20 minutes before scooping it out and baking these, you'll end up with beautiful cookies that are crunchy on the outside with a soft, chewy middle. Looks aside, I did enjoy these cookies, even though I'm generally not a fan of chocolate cookies.

Thanks Caroline and Claire, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Also make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these chocolatey treats!

* Recipe notes:
- Be sure to chill your dough until it is firm before scooping it out to bake.
- It's hard to tell when these are done because they are so dark, but mine were done closer to 10 minutes (maybe it would have been closer to the recommended 12 minute baking time with the chilled dough?). I'd recommend making a small batch in your oven first to determine the ideal baking time before making a large batch.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Great Grains Muffins (TWD)

2011-02-01T18:00:00.004-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Christine of Happy Tummy: Great Grains Muffins. Made with regular all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, and cornmeal, this healthy muffin is studded with dried fruit and nuts. I omitted the nuts and included prunes at Dorie's suggestion.

I considered swapping out the regular sugar for brown sugar and then somehow got distracted with the little one running around my feet and ended up forgetting the sugar altogether! I was worried they would turn out awful, but between the maple syrup in the recipe and the bites of sweetness provided by the prunes, the sugar wasn't really missed in this recipe! I think these would also be really good with some figs.

Thanks Christine, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Also make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this healthy breakfast treat!

* Recipe notes:
- My muffins were done baking in about 13-14 minutes, so watch yours closely.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake (TWD)

2011-01-25T21:45:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort: Nutty, Chocolately, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake. Cinnamon and sugar, nuts, chocolate chips, and raisins all mixed into a sour cream bundt cake. Wait a minute. Raisins?! Yes you heard me right - raisins! I know there are many raisin haters out there, but I can tell you that we loved this cake, raisins and all!

This cake was deliciously moist thanks to the addition of sour cream. I didn't quite get the "swirls" I was expecting, but luckily that didn't affect the taste ;) You're supposed to spoon half the batter into the pan, sprinkle half the swirl in, then top it with the rest of the batter. You then create a "channel" for the rest of the swirl using a spoon and then you're supposed to cover the swirl with the batter that's on each side of the "channel." It's a fairly sticky batter, so this was a bit difficult for me. Plus there wasn't much batter to work with because my "channel" was fairly shallow (but that's what the recipe says to do!). Luckily I had a bit of batter left in the bowl that I was able to scrape together and use to patch over the top. Next time I'll probably just reserve a little bit for the end.

This cake was so good. Let's just say that I made this yesterday evening, there were three of us munching on this cake, and as I write this there is half of a piece left! If you don't like raisins then leave them out (I left the nuts out of the recipe), but do substitute something like dried cranberries or apricots. I think the dried fruit really adds a nice flavor to this cake.

Thanks Jennifer, for hosting this week. I'll definitely be making this again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Also make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed swirly chocolate treat!

* Recipe notes:
- I omitted the nuts so I increased the mini chocolate chips to 1/2 cup.
- Some bakers had problems unmolding their bundt cake so be sure to butter and flour your pan well.
- Careful when you are putting the swirl in that you don't get too much near the edges of the pan or else it will burn.
- When preparing the cake, instead of using half the dough and then the other half on top, I would use a little less than half the dough for the first layer so you have some leftover to put on the very top to cover your "channel" or swirl/filling.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Speakeasy (SMS)

2011-01-23T13:30:00.005-06:00

As I was sitting on our kitchen bar stool looking over this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe, I realized that I didn't have any 8x2-inch round cake pans for the cake. Jeannette of The Whimsical Cupcake had chosen the Speakeasy - I'd never heard of a Speakeasy cake before. Apparently a speakeasy is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages (these establishments came into prominence during the Prohibition). So this speakeasy is a chocolate cake with brandy mixed into the batter. Most of it is baked off in the oven, but you can still get a hint of it in the finished product. I suppose I could have just used my 9-inch springform pan but instead I used my 8x1-1/4" cake pan and then made 6 mini cakes in a muffin pan.

The cake came together easily enough but I seemed to have the same problem that Jeannette did with hers - it formed a thick crust on the top (kind of like a brownie does but thicker). So, I guess I may have over whipped my egg whites? My cake didn't form a crater underneath the crust like Jeannette's did, so I simply scraped it off and proceeded as planned. Plus, Melissa says you should flip the cake over to glaze it anyway.

The only change I made to this cake was to use semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet, as I don't like bittersweet or dark chocolate. How did it turn out? I loved this cake. It had a nice, dense crumb with just a hint of brandy. The cake was rich but not over the top rich like a flourless chocolate cake. You can taste the brandy in it, but really only if you know to look for that flavor. I'll definitely be making it again; maybe next time I'll try it with some rum!

Thank you, Jeannette, for hosting this week. If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this boozey, chocolatey treat!

* Recipe notes:

- I used semisweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate.
- The mini cakes I made in the muffin pan were done around 15 minutes. My full size cake was done closer to around 60 minutes because it wasn't quite as thick as the one in the recipe.
- The cake will keep in a cake saver at room temperature for 2 days. For longer storage, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I was able to wrap mine in plastic wrap (after the glaze had set) without really messing up the glaze.

Chicken, Garlic, and Sundried Tomato Pasta... and a Winner!

2011-01-20T23:00:00.002-06:00

This is one of my favorite go-to dinners when I'm craving pasta but want something other than a regular red sauce or meat sauce. It is creamy and delicious but not overly heavy like an alfredo sauce can be sometimes. I've made it so many times now that I've adjusted it to suit our tastes... namely, I've cut back on the butter, added more garlic, milk, and sun dried tomatoes, and some crushed red pepper to give it a kick! I've also found that if I slice the chicken very thin, I don't have to precook it and I can simply add the chicken in raw, bring the sauce to a quick boil, and then lower the temp and let it simmer for those last 6-8 minutes.

Brownish colored food is never easy to photograph, but you'll have to trust me when I say that even though the photo doesn't look that appetizing, this is a really tasty dish! :)

And, without further ado, the winners of the Kettle Confections giveaway are lucky #9 and #12. Congrats to Marcy of minus tomato and "ikkinlala." I'll be contacting you shortly and you have until midnight (CST) January 22nd to email me your mailing address; if I do not hear from you by then, I will select alternate winners. Enjoy!

Chicken, Garlic, and Sundried Tomato Pasta
from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats (adapted from Allrecipes)

1 (12 ounce) package farfalle pasta
6 tbsp butter
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
2 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated in water
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese

In a large pot with boiling salted water cook farfalle pasta until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic cloves and cook until garlic browns. Add the cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup and milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in the dried parsley, salt, and ground fresh pepper (as well as the crushed red pepper if you are using it). Let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add bite size chicken pieces and hydrated sun dried tomatoes. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. Mix in grated Romano cheese.

Toss cooked and drained pasta with chicken sauce. Serve warm.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (TWD)

2011-01-18T22:30:00.001-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Betsy of A Cup of Sweetness : Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. Let me just start with a funny story...

I had never bought poppyseeds before, so when I went to the store I thought I'd check the baking aisle first (that's logical, right?).... but I wandered around and searched and could not find them! I was in a rush (on my lunch break and had to get back to work), so I stopped a random lady and asked her if she knew where I'd find poppyseeds because I've never had to buy them before. She said she had never bought them before, but told me to check with the spices, so I walked over to the spices... and painstakingly scanned through all of the spices, looking for them (all the bottles within each brand were alphabetical but there were multiple brands)... but of course they didn't have any! They weren't even out of stock, they just didn't have them. Ha ha.... so I finally found them at another store, but I can't tell you how silly I felt asking a complete stranger that doesn't work in the store where poppyseeds (of all things) might be!

So, on to the recipe of the week. Like any other muffin recipe, this one is straightforward and quick. Just mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir. The poppyseeds get mixed in at the very end. I decided to make 6 muffins and 1 mini loaf. I simply drizzled the muffins with the lemon icing, but poured the icing over the entire mini loaf. I ended up with just enough icing for everything.

These muffins are nice and moist with a fairly tight crumb. The drizzled muffins had just a hint of sweetness and tartness that would be perfect for someone who doesn't want something too sugary for breakfast. For someone like me, however, covering the entire top of the muffin would be much better. My min loaf was coated with the icing completely and I loved it! It added just the right amount of sweetness with a lot of extra zing! :) My iced lemon poppyseed loaf reminded me quite a bit of the iced lemon poundcake at Starbucks (one of my favorite "treats" on the rare occasion I happen to go to Starbucks).

Thanks Betsy, for hosting this week. I'll definitely be making these again (probably as mini loaves instead of muffins - so much easier). If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Also make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these lemony breakfast treats!

Oh, and if you haven't already, head on over here to enter my current giveaway before it ends!

* Recipe notes:
- You can find poppyseeds along with all of the other spices in your grocery store :)
- You can make jam-filled muffins by filling your muffin tins halfway, putting a dollop of jam in the middle, and then filling the rest of the muffin tin with the batter.
- I baked my mini loaf for about 40 minutes. I had to use a foil tent around 30 minutes to prevent the top from over browning.
- I would definitely recommend dipping your muffins in the icing instead of drizzling just a small amount over the top.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Fluff-Filled Chocolate Madeleines (TWD)

2011-01-11T14:30:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Margo of Effort to Deliciousness: Fluff-Filled Chocolate Madeleines. I don't have a madeleine pan, but instead of skipping this week's recipe I went ahead and made them in a muffin pan. I halved the recipe and got six of the cutest looking "madeleines" that didn't quite look like cookies and didn't quite look like muffins either! I did, however, get the characteristic madeleine "humps" and was very excited about that :)

I'm not sure if I overbaked mine - I took them out right at 13 minutes but found them to be just slightly dry. I was worried about over filling them with fluff and having the tops crack, so I wasn't too aggressive with my filling and ended up with under filled madeleines :(

These were good, but I think I enjoy classic madeleines better than the chocolate version. (Although these were pretty fantastic drenched in a chocolate ganache glaze!)

Thanks Margo, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it on Margo's blog. (You should go see how cute her madeleines turned out!) Also make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these fluff-filled chocolatey treats!

Oh, and if you haven't already, head on over here to enter my current giveaway!

* Recipe notes:
- I used semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate for the glaze.
- I used salted butter in this recipe without any problems.
- My cookies were done in 13 minutes but were a little dry. Judging from the comment below, they may have been ready as early as 8-9 minutes!
- Wrapped airtight, these glazedookies will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

All Natural Nougats & A Giveaway

2011-01-07T22:00:00.003-06:00

I was recently sent a sample of nougats from Kettle Confections. They're a small business based out of New York. Their fresh almond and pistachio nougats are all natural - no artificial colorings, flavors, or preservatives. They have a lower amount of sugar than mass produced candies but you really can't tell the difference. I love nougat and and there's just something to be said about candy that is not mass produced. I enjoyed these straight of of the wrapper, but these would also be really good dipped in chocolate. I think my favorite flavor was the Pistachio-Cranberry French Nougats.

Want to receive your own sampler? The folks at Kettle Confections have generously agreed to send an eight piece sampler box to two of my lucky readers. There are several ways to enter:

- Mandatory entry: Visit Kettle Confections and leave me a comment, telling me what flavor you think you would like best.
- Additional entry: I've just created a Facebook page for Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats. "Like" me and become a fan on Facebook and then come back here, leaving me a comment with your first name and last initial so I can verify that you have done this. If you're already a fan of Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats, then just leave me a separate comment telling me that you're already a fan (also leave me your name).
- Additional entry: Blog about this giveaway using this link and leave a comment with the link to your blog post in a comment. This must be on your main blog and cannot be done on a blog created just for giveaway entries ;)
- Additional entry: Tweet about this giveaway using this link and then come back here and leave the link.

If you'd simply like to purchase some nougats on your own, the folks at Kettle Confections have set up a special discount code for readers of my blog. Just use code "sweets" to get 5% off your order!

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents. Entries will be taken until midnight CST on January 18th and the winners will be announced on January 20th. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win! If a winner does not reply within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen. Also note that comment moderation is in place and it may take some time for your comment to appear below. Good luck!

Choco-Ginger Crackles (TWD)

2011-01-04T12:00:00.003-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by the group's founder, Laurie of Slush, and Jules of Someone's In The Kitchen: Midnight Crackles. These are chocolate cookies spiced with cinnamon and cloves, named for their dark color and the crackles that form along the top when they are done. I decided to go with one of Dorie's variations and made the Choco-ginger Crackles. I replaced the cinnamon and cloves with ground ginger and added candied/crystallized ginger pieces.

These cookies were very easy to make, and I definitely liked biting into the bits of ginger. My husband thought the ginger flavor in these was too strong, but he's not a big ginger person to begin with. I didn't find the ginger flavor overwhelming at all. However, I'm just not a chocolate cookie person in general. So while I enjoyed these cookies I probably won't be making them again.

Thanks Laurie and Jules, for hosting this week. I can't believe I've been baking along with the group for three years now!!! Looking forward to baking along in 2011 :)

If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these chocolatey treats!

* Recipe notes:
- I used semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate.
- I used 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger in place of the cinnamon and cloves.
- I used 2 tablespoons of diced candied/crystallized ginger in place of the chopped stem ginger that Dorie recommends.
- I refrigerated my dough for one hour, and still had to let is sit on the counter for a little bit before I was able to roll it into balls.
- My cookies were done in 9-10 minutes.
- Wrapped airtight, these cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

- For more recipe tips, click here.

Stollen (DB)

2010-12-31T22:00:00.001-06:00

"You stole what?" Yes, that is the response I got when I told my husband that I was making stollen!

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

I had actually never heard of or tried stollen before, so I had no idea what to expect. Stollen is a very traditional German Christmas bread. It is made with yeast, water and flour, and usually with zest added to the dough. Candied orange peel and candied citrus is often also added. What you end up with is a bread-like fruitcake.

I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. When you bake something until it is a "dark mahogany color,"and sounds "hollow when thumped on the bottom" you kind of expect something dry and hard. This was quite the opposite, actually. It was moist and had a nice, tender crumb. The citrus zest and candied orange peels really gave the bread an interesting flavor that reminded me of the Italian sweet bread panettone. I have to admit that the sugared butter coating was my favorite part of this bread (the finished bread is coated with three layers of melted butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar). Without it, the bread wouldn't have been nearly as good.

Thanks Penny, for hosting this month's challenge. I actually made this weeks ago but my post is a few days late because we just got back from a trip to (rainy) California and I completely forgot about this until now! Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet German holiday treat.

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year's!

Stollen Wreath

Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients

¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C)
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) milk
10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
5½ cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) (770 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting)
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gms) sugar
¾ teaspoon (3 ¾ ml) (4 ½ grams) salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 grams) cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (very good) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract or orange extract
¾ cup (180 ml) (4 ¾ ozs) (135 grams) mixed peel
1 cup (240 ml) (6 ozs) (170 gms) firmly packed raisins
3 tablespoons (45ml) rum
12 red glacé cherries (roughly chopped) for the color and the taste. (optional)
1 cup (240 ml) (3 ½ ozs) (100 grams) flaked almonds
Melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
Confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath

Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.

Directions:

Soak the raisins
In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside.

To make the dough

Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (240 ml) milk and 10 tablespoons (150 ml) butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.

In a large mixing bowl (4 qt) (4 liters) (or in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment), stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.

Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries if you would like. Be delicate with the cherries or all your dough will turn red!

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Shaping the Dough and Baking the Wreath

1. Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
4. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.

Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.

Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.

Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.

Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.
The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh - especially if you intend on sending it in the mail as Christmas presents!

When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style. The stollen tastes even better in a couple of days and it toasts superbly…. so delicious with butter and a cup of tea

Storage
The more rum and the more coatings of butter and sugar you use the longer it will store.
The following is for the recipe as written and uses the 45 mls of rum and two coatings of butter and icing sugar
1. Stollen freezes beautifully about 4 months
2. The baked stollen stores well for 2 weeks covered in foil and plastic wrap on the counter at room temperature and
3. One month in the refrigerator well covered with foil and plastic wrap.

iPad Giveaway

2010-12-20T17:45:00.001-06:00

This is a compensated review by BlogHer.

Have you gotten all of your Christmas shopping done yet? If you're anything like me, you're still working on getting some last minute gifts together! I was recently asked to check out BlogHer.com and see what features I liked. One of the first things I stumbled across was their holiday gift guide. There's several categories, including "Gifts for the Photographer," "Gifts for the App Addict," "Gifts for Animal Lovers," "Gifts for the Cook," and many many more. Take a peek and see if you get inspired!

They have featured content for entertainment, family, home & garden, life, style, etc. but of course what caught my attention was the food section! There I found some great posts from around the web from other bloggers on the BlogHer ad network. One that particularly caught my attention was the Rolo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies - can you say yum?!

Take a look around Blogher.com and visit this week's Sweepstakes post. This week’s giveaway is for an iPad. I'm sure that most of us could use a free iPad, right? The contest is open to US and Canadian Residents (except Quebec) who are 18 or older and is running today through Sunday, December 26th. Good luck, and Happy Holidays!

Apple-Coconut Family Cake (TWD)

2010-12-14T06:00:00.009-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Amber of Cobbler du Monde: Apple-Coconut Family Cake. I had seen this recipe in the book before, and thought it looked interesting. I honestly thought it was more of a fancy cake, so I passed it up, waiting to make it another day. Had I spent a little more time to read the recipe instructions (and not just the recipe list), I would have quickly realized that this is not a fussy cake, and it doesn't take long to make at all. The most time consuming aspect of it is slicing and dicing the apples. Otherwise, it's pretty much like any other muffin or quick bread recipe that doesn't even require an electric mixer.

I found that my cake took considerably longer to bake through completely - a full 20-25 minutes extra! I was worried that the edges would burn because they started to brown much sooner than the center, but in the end it was okay. The edges of my cake were a little drier than the center, but they weren't burnt at least. Otherwise, this recipe came together quickly and easily for me. The slightly chewy texture that the coconut gives this cake did not bother me, but I did read that a few did not like that. I love apples and I love coconut, but I never would have thought to put the two together like this. It was a nice combination of flavors.

Thanks Amber, for hosting this week. I will definitely be making this again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this cake.

* Recipe notes:
- Make sure you test your cake before removing it from the oven - mine took a full 20-25 minutes longer to bake!
- For more recipe tips, click here.

Translucent Maple Tuiles (TWD)

2010-12-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker: Translucent Maple Tuiles. I was honestly a bit intimidated about these because they look so beautiful and delicate and in the book. When I read the recipe and realized how quick and easy they are, I decided to give them a try.

The dough is simply butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup with just a little bit of flour. It can be made in a matter of minutes but requires a bit of refrigeration so you'll need to plan ahead when making these. Luckily, the dough will also keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, so you can make it ahead of time.

My tuiles did not turn out at all! They look more like pringles than translucent tuiles! I think my idea of a small cherry is a little different from Dorie's so my dough balls were a bit too big. So I ended up with cookies that did not spread as much as they should have but luckily only the appearance was affected because the taste was amazing! These tuiles are like part cookie, part candy.

Thanks Hindy, for hosting this week. I will definitely be making this again - next time I will be sure to roll out smaller balls of dough so they'll actually get their characteristic honeycomb appearance. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here.

Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how these are really supposed to look :)

* Recipe notes:
- Keep a close eye on these to make sure you don't burn them! Mine were done after a short 4-5 minutes in the oven!
- Make sure you make your balls of dough really small, as they spread quite a bit in the oven and a little bit goes a long way.
- For more recipe tips, click here.

Crostata di Frutta Fresca (DB)

2010-11-28T22:00:00.015-06:00

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

I decided to make the Crostata di Frutta Fresca (crostata with fresh fruit). I filled my tart with Dorie's vanilla pastry cream and then topped it with fresh raspberries. The dough came together quickly and easily, but I thought it was just okay. It was a little too hard and not buttery enough in my opinion. My favorite tart dough is still Dorie's sweet tart dough - it's so buttery and flaky and almost melts in your mouth.

Thanks Simona, for hosting this month's challenge. My post is a day late and kind of short because I've been busy! Between Thanksgiving on Thursday and my daughter's 1st birthday party yesterday (photos to come), I've been running around the kitchen like crazy. I finally got around to making the tart today and now I'm exhausted!

Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed these sweet Italian treats.

Crostata (Italian tart)
all photos below are from Simona

Version 1 of pasta frolla

Ingredients:

1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Note 1: Superfine sugar is often also referred to as ultrafine, baker’s sugar or caster sugar. It’s available in most supermarkets. If you cannot find “superfine” sugar, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.
Note 2: There are different ways of making vanilla sugar. I keep vanilla beans in a jar half-filled with sugar until I need to use them, for example, to make vanilla ice cream. After I remove the split bean from the custard that will go into the ice cream maker, I rinse it, dry it and put it back in the jar with sugar.
Making pasta frolla by hand:

Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Making pasta frolla with a food processor:

Put sugar, flour, salt, and lemon zest in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
Add butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface
See step 3 above and continue as explained in the following steps (minus the lemon zest, which you have already added).

Variation for Version 1 of pasta frolla:
If you want, you can make the pasta frolla using a combination of all-purpose flour and whole-wheat pastry flour.
If you choose to try this variation, use 1 cup [240 ml, 135 g, 4 3/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup [180 ml, 100 g, 3.5 oz.] whole-wheat pastry flour.

Version 2 of pasta frolla

In this version of pasta frolla, I have played with different kinds of flours, using almond, whole-grain barley and, most recently, coconut flour instead of some of the all-purpose flour. If you want to try a different version of pasta frolla that uses some flours that you wouldn’t normally use, this is a good recipe to try. All the flours listed below (whole-wheat pastry, almond flour, coconut flour and barley flour) are available at health food stores. You may even find them at well-stocked supermarkets.
The preparation for this version of pasta frolla is very similar to the preparation for Version 1.
Ingredients

1/3 cup [80 ml, 75 g, 2 2/3 oz.] superfine sugar or 1/2 cup [120ml, 60 g, 2 oz]powdered sugar (see Note 1.)
1/2 cup [120 ml, 65 g, 2 3/8 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup [120ml, 65 g. 2 1/4 oz.] whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup [60ml, 28 g, 1 oz] almond flour, or almond meal, or coconut flour
1/4 cup [60ml, 28 g, 1 oz.] whole-grain barley flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
6 tablespoons[90ml, 85 g, 3 oz] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can also use vanilla sugar; see Note 2.)

Whisk together sugar, flours and salt in a bowl.
Rub or cut the butter into the sugar and flour mixture until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
Make a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten egg and vanilla extract into it.
Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into mixture and then use your fingertips.
Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

With a food processor:

Put sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
Add butter and pulse a few times until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface.
Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten egg and vanilla extract into it.
Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients then use your fingertips.
Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Ideas for Filling for Your Crostata

Whether you choose to make Version 1 or 2 of the pasta frolla, there are numerous fillings that you can choose from for your crostata. I am suggesting some filling for you here (and including assemblage and baking instructions). But be brave and creative and see what you can come up with!
Crostata di Marmellata (crostata with a jam filling using Version 1 pasta frolla)
If you choose to make a crostata with a jam filling, you will need:

1 and 3/4 cups [415ml, 600 gm, 21 oz] of jam or fruit preserves, whatever flavor you like (Note: I use my homemade fruit preserves, which have a low sugar content. I recommend you choose a good quality product, made with mostly fruit.)

Assembling and baking the crostata di marmellata:

Heat the oven to 375ºF [190ºC/gas mark 5].
Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut away ¼ of the dough. Reserve this dough to make the lattice top of the crostata. Refrigerate this dough while you work on the tart base.
To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough on top of the plastic wrap that you had it wrapped in. This can help rolling the dough and can also help when transferring the dough to your pan. You can also use parchment paper for this. However, you can also roll the dough directly on a work surface if you prefer.
Lightly dust the top of the dough and your work surface (if you’re rolling directly on a work surface) with flour. Keep some flour handy to dust the dough as you go along.
If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling.
Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8th inch (3 mm) thick.
If you used the plastic wrap or parchment paper as rolling surface, flip dough over the pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the plastic wrap.
Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around.
Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
Take out of the fridge the reserved pasta frolla you had cut away earlier. Roll it with your pin and cut into strips or use cookie cutters to make small shapes (this is not traditional, but it looks cute); or roll with your hands into ropes.
Spread the jam or fruit preserves evenly over the bottom of the crostata.
Use the prepared strips or rolls of dough to make a lattice over the surface, or decorate with the cut shapes. (Note: You can use dough scraps to make cookies: see the Additional Information section for some pointers)
Brush the border and strips of dough with the reserved beaten eggs. You can add a drop or two of water to the beaten eggs if you don’t have enough liquid.
Put the tart in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, check the tart and continue baking until the tart is of a nice golden hue. (Note: Every oven is different. In my oven it took 34 minutes to bake the tart until golden.)
When done, remove the tart from the oven and let cool. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, then release the tart base from the fluted tart ring. Make sure the tart is completely cool before slicing and serving.

Crostata con la Crema (crostata with pastry cream filling using Version 1 pasta frolla)

If you choose to make a crostata with pastry cream filling, you will need:

One batch of pastry cream (Note: For the recipe that I used, see #5 of the Additional Information section. Prepare the pastry cream in advance of assembling the crostata.

Assembling and baking the crostata con la crema:

Heat the oven to 350ºF [180ºC/gas mark 4].
Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut away ¼ of the dough. Reserve this dough to make the lattice top of the crostata. Refrigerate this dough while you work on the tart base.
To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough on top of the plastic wrap that you had it wrapped in. This can help rolling the dough and can also help when transferring the dough to your pan. You can also use parchment paper for this. However, you can also roll the dough directly on a work surface if you prefer.
Lightly dust the top of the dough and your work surface (if you’re rolling directly on a work surface) with flour. Keep some flour handy to dust the dough as you go along.
If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling.
Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8th inch (3 mm) thick.
If you used the plastic wrap or parchment paper as rolling surface, flip dough over the pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the plastic wrap.
Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around.
Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
Take out of the fridge the reserved pasta frolla you had cut away earlier. Roll it with your pin and cut into strips or use cookie cutters to make small shapes (this is not traditional, but it looks cute); or roll with your hands into ropes.
Instead of jam or fruit preserves, cover the bottom of the crostata crust evenly with the pastry cream.
Use the prepared strips or rolls of dough to make a lattice over the surface, or decorate with the cut shapes. (Note: You can use dough scraps to make cookies: see the Additional Information section for some pointers)
Brush the border and strips of dough with the reserved beaten eggs. You can add a drop or two of water to the beaten eggs if you don’t have enough liquid.
Put the tart in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
After 35 minutes, check the tart, and continue baking until the tart is of a nice golden hue. (Note: Every oven is different. In my oven it took 45 minutes to bake the tart until golden.)
When done, remove the tart from the oven and let cool. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, then release the tart base from the fluted tart ring. Make sure the tart is completely cool before slicing and serving.

Crostata di Frutta Fresca (crostata with fresh fruit using Version 1 or 2 of pasta frolla)

Note: This filling variation involves a process called “blind-baking”. (If you’re not familiar with blind-baking, see #4 in the Additional Information section for an explanation and a video on blind-baking.)
In its simplest form, a crostata with fresh fruit has 3 components:

the pasta frolla base, blind-baked
a layer of pastry cream
a layer of fruit

For this recipe you will need:

a blind-baked shell made using pasta frolla
a batch of pastry cream, prepared in advance and cooled (Note: For the recipe that I used, see #5 of the Additional Information section. For this crostata I make half that recipe.)
enough fresh fruit to cover the top of your crostata (Note: You can choose anything you like, including berries, stone fruit, , kiwis, bananas, etc. See the Additional Information section for more information on using fresh fruit.)

Directions to assemble and bake a crostata di frutta fresca:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF [180ºC/gas mark 4].
Roll out a batch of the pasta frolla and cover the base of the tart pan. (You can use Version 1 or 2: if you use Version 1, you will have more leftover pasta frolla to turn into cookies.)
Cut a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil large enough to cover the bottom of the crust and extend out a bit over the edges of the pan.
You can use pie weights or dry beans to blind bake. Place whatever weight you’re using directly on the parchment paper or aluminum foil in an even layer.
Place the crostata shell in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the weights and parchment paper and continue baking the crostata shell until the border is light golden, about 5 minutes (watch carefully to avoid over-baking, which results in a hard shell). In the absence of weight, the crust may rise in the middle: if that occurs, gently push it back down with the back of a spoon.
Remove from the oven and let the crostata shell cool completely before proceeding.
If you use a tart pan with removable bottom, release the base from the fluted tart ring, then slide the cooled crostata shell on a serving plate for filling. (Note: If you’ve used a cake pan or pie plate, use a bit of care in taking the shell out of the baking vessel.)
Spread the prepared pastry cream over the cooled shell.
Decorate the surface with fresh fruit. The crostata must be cool, but not cold, so if you refrigerate it, take it out of the fridge half an hour before serving. This crostata is best eaten the same day it is prepared.

Additional Information:
You may be interested to know that in Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Artusi actually describes three recipes for pasta frolla. For crostata, Artusi recommends using his recipe C, made with butter and strutto, which is rendered pork fat used for cooking. Version 1 of the pasta frolla that I have given you here is a variation of Artusi’s Recipe B.
Here’s another version of crostata with fruit preserves inspired by Artusi's recipe
This is a video from an Italian web site that shows you how to make pasta frolla. It’s dubbed in English. Note that the recipe and the procedure used are a bit different from the ones I employ here; however, it’s a useful link:
A video from the same Italian food web site that shows how to make crostata con le fragole (crostata with fresh strawberries) and in the process shows how to blind-bake the tart shell
Blind-baking is a process often used in baking. To blind-bake a tart shell, you line the unbaked tart (once you’ve placed it in the tart pan) with parchment paper or aluminum foil. You then fill the tart with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use dried beans. You pour these on top of the parchment paper or aluminum foil to weigh the paper down. You then bake the tart for a period of time to ensure that it is at least partially cooked. The weights help to ensure that the tart base does not bubble up during baking and that it bakes evenly. The blind-baked tart is then cooled and filled according to the recipe instructions. (Note that in the video, the dough is rolled to 1 cm [3/8th inch] thickness, thicker than than what I do.)
Notes on using a different baking pan. If you don't have a fluted round tart pan with removable bottom, as described in the Equipment section at the beginning, you are not required to purchase one. As a reference, the one I have, purchased in a store in Northern California, was not expensive. However, if you don't have such a pan, a cake pan of the same size can be used, or a pie plate. I used my 9-inch cake pan, which is 9 inches [23 cm] wide and 1.5 [a bit less than 4 cm] inches high to make a crostata di marmellata. Making the border required a bit more dexterity since you want it to be lower than the rim of the pan. The crostata was ready a few minutes earlier than when I use the tart pan. I also used a 9.5 inches [24 cm] Pyrex pie plate to make a crostata di marmellata.. The baking time in this case was the same as the one noted in the recipe above. The plate is 1.75 inches [4.5 cm] so the same note about the border applied. I have never seen a crostata not baked in a pan. If you want to explore this option, use the descriptions and photos given above to guide your hands in shaping the crostata.
Note on white flour. I use all-purpose flour, the most commonly available flour in the US. Do not use bread flour or flour with a high protein content. If you use pastry flour, the volume measurement will be different, so use the weight.

Cranberry Lime Galette (TWD)

2010-11-16T21:00:00.007-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Whitney, April, and Elizabeth of Celestial Confections: Cranberry Lime Galette. What I love about a galette is how easy it is to make. You don't need a pie pan, and since it's supposed to look rustic, no need to worry about making it look perfect!

This galette was filled with both fresh and dried cranberries, apples, lime zest, and fresh ginger, tossed together with some raspberry jam (I used orange marmalade), lime juice and brown sugar. The layer of ground nuts and bread crumbs lining the bottom of the galette was subtle but perfect. The combination of cranberries and lime is wonderful - I love a good cosmopolitan, but I've never seen the cranberry and lime combination in sweets before.

The cranberries were definitely more tart than I expected them to be in this galette, but it was still delicious. Part of my crust opened up and my filling spread more on one side than the other and it seems to me that the thinner side ended up sweeter. I'm guessing that may be due to the fact that the layer of cranberries was thinner and and therefore cooked down more while in the oven.

I love sour candy, so I didn't mind how tart this was but I know it was too tart for some of the other bakers this week! So, if you're wanting a sweeter galette, I'd make a slightly larger crust so you get a thinner layer of filling; alternatively, you could halve the filling in the recipe or make two crusts and the same amount of filling. I think this would really help with the tartness factor. I considered adding in bits of crystallized/candied ginger, but in the end decided not to. I definitely want to try it with some next time, though. I think it would add an extra bit of sweetness to the galette, too, to counter the tartness of the cranberries. Of course you could just add more brown sugar to the recipe, but I think the crystallized ginger would be more fun :)

Thanks Whitney, April, and Elizabeth, for hosting this week. I will definitely be making this again - loved the cranberry and lime combination! (I loved it so much I ate 3/4 of the galette between the time it came out of the oven last night and when I went to bed!) If you would like the recipe, you can find it here.

Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet and oh so tart treat!

* Recipe notes:
- If you prefer a dessert that isn't tart, you'll have to add more sugar to this recipe. Or, consider adding chopped crystallized ginger. Halving the filling might also create a sweeter result as well.
- I had to add a rim of foil around my galette for the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent it from over-browning.
- For more recipe tips, click here.

Not-Just-For Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake (TWD)

2010-11-09T08:00:00.002-06:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Jessica of Singleton in the Kitchen: Not-Just-For Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake. Dorie calls this "part cake, part torte and even part bar cookie." It's a delicious layer of homemade cranberry orange jam sandwiched between two layers of shortbread.

The jam is so simple to make (takes about 10 minutes), but if you are short on time (or don't have the ingredients on hand) you can substitute 2 cups of your favorite chunky fruit preserve or citrus marmalade. If you've never segmented an orange before, you'll find this video to be helpful.

There were several bakers that had problems with their cakes ending up too tart. Dorie does recommend that you taste the jam at the end and add more sugar if it's too tart. I was worried about ending up with a cake that was too tart for consumption, so I added quite a bit of sugar to my jam. Even then, my cake ended up with a nice zing to it. Definitely not too tart, but more tart than I anticipated it being. My only guess is that the jam tastes more sweet when warm than when cooled to room temperature. So, my advice would be to add the sugar until the jam has reached your desired level of tartness, then add a little bit more sugar for good measure.

This cake was delicious. The crumb was so soft and tender, and the cranberry orange jam keeps this dessert light. It would be the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table, especially since you can make the jam up to two weeks ahead. Dorie says you can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight, but I had mine in the refrigerator for 2-3 nights without any problems. So you could easily make each component in advance and then put it all together come Thanksgiving Day.

Thanks Jessica, for hosting this week. I will definitely be making this again - maybe next time using Dorie's suggestion of layering caramelized apples in between! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here.

Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this wonderful cake! If you love cranberries, these sugared cranberries were a hit when I made them last year!

* Recipe notes:
- It seems that the cranberry orange jam tastes more sweet while it is warm than after it cools. So, keep adding sugar until it's no longer too tart for your preference, then continue to add a bit more!
- I did not do the knife test on my cake to see if it was done - I simply went by the color of the crust on top and that seemed to work well.
- I did not place my springform pan on a baking sheet as directed; I simply placed my pan directly into the oven. It was done baking after about 38 minutes.
- For more recipe tips, click here.

My Sunday with Dorie

2010-11-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago (Sunday, October 24th) I had the utmost pleasure of meeting Dorie Greenspan! Dorie's been all over the US to promote her newest book, Around My French Table. I had already booked a trip before I found out about her book tour. As luck would have it, though, I was returning to Dallas the day before Dorie was scheduled to do her cooking class here - so I was able to make it! I checked with my husband to see if he'd be okay with me attending, and to my surprise he immediately said yes. I think after being part of Tuesdays with Dorie for nearly three years, he actually gets how much I adore Dorie!!! :)

Being able to finally meet Dorie was amazing, and then some. She is so sweet and charming. Unfortunately, I left my DSLR at home (don't know what I was thinking), so all I had was my little point-and-shoot camera (Canon Powershot SD1000). My photos didn't come out too great due to the low lighting during the late afternoon, so to make up for it, I took some video clips of the cooking class so you could see what Dorie is really like. I think her personality really shines through when you watch these videos :)

This first video is Dorie talking about her relationship with her mother, who (surprisingly) rarely ever cooked/baked for her! Next, you'll see Dorie telling a funny story about what she learned about cheese when she was in Paris. Then someone in the audience asked Dorie if she was done writing cookbooks, or if there would be another one in the future and you can see what Dorie says about that here. She's actually going to go hang out with all of her baking idols and then write a book full of recipes based on what she learns from each of them - how cool is that? Not only was I lucky enough to meet Dorie, but I was able to do so on her birthday! At the end of the cooking class, the Central Market staff presented Dorie with a birthday cupcake and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her - see her reaction here - she is too cute!

Now on to the cooking class itself. Dorie made a few different dishes for us from her book. She said that she wants to make cooking simple and easy and I think she has definitely accomplished that with her book. While at first glance, some of the recipes from this book may look a bit involved, there wasn't really anything that she made for us that day that I felt would be too difficult or time consuming for me (and I am much more of a baker than a cook!). I feel like a lot of today's quick dinner ideas involve a lot of prepackaged or processed foods - Dorie's book allows the home cook to make simple dinners that taste like they took hours to prepare.

So without further ado, here's what Dorie showed us how to make during her cooking class:
(all recipes from Around My French Table)

Salmon Rillettes - I've never tried smoked salmon before. I've never wanted to. I know smoked salmon is "cooked" but I've always felt like it was still raw and could not bring myself to try it. But here I was, with a recipe that Dorie had created and I thought I'd better try it because if Dorie loves it, it has to be good, right? So I was brave and tried a bite... and then another bite... and then another until my little ramekin was empty! I think because the smoked salmon was mixed up with the chunks of poached salmon, I wasn't really able to recognize the texture of the smoked salmon. The hint of lemon with the salmon in this appetizer was fabulous and I could totally see myself making this in the future for dinner guests because it's something you could easily make in advance.

Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella & Basil Pizza - This was delicious, even without the tuna. I don't generally eat sushi, but I wanted to taste this "pizza" as Dorie intended so I tried a bite with the tuna, and then had the rest sans tuna. I'm usually not a very adventurous eater, but again, I had to give it a try because it was Dorie's creation.

Look at all those wonderful layers of puff pastry!

Cauliflower-Bacon Gratin - Creamy goodness! And it has to be healthy because cauliflower is the main ingredient, right? ;) This is better than any green bean casserole and will definitely be served for Thanksgiving at our house this year!

Lamb & Dried Apricot Tagine - Another first for me. Not my first time trying lamb, but my first time actually enjoying it! The lamb I've previously tasted was always gamey and had a funny taste to it. This lamb was tender and moist and I would not have known it was lamb unless you told me it was. The apricots imparted a sweet and delicious flavor to this dish that complemented the spices very well. I was glad to find out that this dish can be made in a dutch oven, as I do not have a tagine.

Sable Breton Galette with Berries - Simple and elegant. Strawberries atop a layer of lemon curd that has been spread across a buttery, cookie crust. Yum.

Neither the salmon rillettes nor the lamb tagine would be dishes that I would ever make on my own from the book. Yet I thoroughly enjoyed them and plan to make them in the future. So, while 9 times out of 10 you'll find me baking instead of cooking in the kitchen, I look forward to participating in French Fridays with Dorie because it will push me to try recipes I wouldn't otherwise try, and to develop my cooking skills in the kitchen. My participation in that group will be intermittent at best, as I already have a lot on my plate, but I look forward to cooking along whenever possible with the group.

Along with getting to meet Dorie, I had the pleasure of meeting Jessica of My Baking Heart, Paula of Salad in a Jar, and Amy of Sing for Your Supper. Hop on over to their blogs, as they got some great photos (better images than the ones I was able to get with my point-and-shoot camera) from that day to share, too.

Thanks, Dorie, for a wonderful and memorable day. I know it must have been difficult for you to be away from home, family, and friends on your birthday but I am so grateful that I had the pleasure of spending those few hours with you! I look forward to the release of your next cookbook, and have already set aside a special spot for it on my shelf!

Peanuttiest Blondies (TWD)

2010-11-02T11:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Nicole of Bakeologie: Peanuttiest Blondies. I love peanut butter, especially peanut butter and chocolate. What I particularly love about peanut buttery sweets is that when I make them, I don't have to share them with my husband ;) You see, he doesn't share my love for peanut butter. He'll eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but that's about it. So whenever I make something with peanut butter in it, that means more for me! :)

This recipe was easy peasy, and does not require a stand mixer. Just blend the peanut butter and softened butter together with an electric mixer, add the sugars, then eggs, followed by the dry ingredients. Then chopped peanuts and chocolate chips get mixed in at the very end.

These blondies were very good, but definitely not as peanut buttery as I expected them to be (given their name). Even my husband tasted one and liked it because "it doesn't taste too much like peanut butter." Don't get me wrong - I do think the peanut butter flavor is prominent (not sure why my husband couldn't taste it). The peanut butter just isn't over the top like the name implies. I think these are "peanuttiest" because they have both peanut butter and peanuts in the dough (especially when you use the crunch peanut butter variety). Nicole probably described these best - they are like thick peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars. They are incredibly soft and moist, too (even though I think I overbaked them by a minute or two).

Thanks Nicole, for hosting this week. I can definitely see myself making these again. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed these peanut-y treats!

Last but not least, congrats to AD of A Path in the Moonlight (comment #16) - you're the winner of my recent giveaway. I hope the soon-to-be mom/dad enjoys the gift basket!

* Recipe notes:
- I used honey roasted peanuts instead of regular salted peanuts.
- I did not put my pan on a baking sheet as directed in the recipe.
- I took my blondies out at 38 minutes (and they were probably done around 36 minutes), so (as with any recipe) do keep an eye on them while you are baking these.
- For more recipe tips, click here.

Baked Yeast "Doughnuts" with Caramel Glaze (DB)

2010-10-28T23:30:00.003-05:00

The October 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

We were actually supposed to post these doughnuts yesterday, but somehow the entire month got away from me and I did not get around to making these until today! I am so glad I checked the Daring Bakers' forums before embarking on this challenge because Audax had posted the most helpful information/tips! I was especially glad to see that Alton's yeast doughnut recipe could be adapted to the oven instead of the fryer. Not that I am afraid of frying things, but rather because we try to avoid eating fried foods as much as possible.

This recipe was simple and not very time consuming at all (if you don't count the time it takes for the dough to rise). I always use my oven as a proofing box (by turning it on to preheat for a few seconds and then turning it off), so my dough easily doubled in size in one hour. I halved the recipe and ended up with plenty of doughnuts! Since I was baking these and not frying them, I didn't cut holes in the middle. I made smaller doughnuts, so they were done baking in only 8 minutes (at 425F). One of my favorite kinds of doughnuts is a maple glazed doughnut, but I did not have any maple syrup so I decided to glaze my doughnuts with a caramel icing.

Thanks Lori, for hosting this month's challenge. These doughnuts were delicious and I had fun making them. You'll find the recipe for the doughnuts, as well as Audax's tips, and the caramel glaze recipe below.

Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed these deep fried (or in my case - baked) treats.

Yeast Doughnuts
from Alton Brown

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 25 minutes
Rising time - 1.5 hours total
Cooking time - 12 minutes

Yield: 20 to 25 doughnuts; 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size

Ingredients
Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml
Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz
Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)
Eggs, Large, beaten 2
White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz
Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz
Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz
All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Directions:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.
11. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
12. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

Tips from Audax:
This recipe (the first challenge recipe) produces absolutely and utterly the best doughnuts I have ever had; the interiors of the doughnuts are soft, fluffy and airy (light as a feather) and the crusts are thin and crisp. The doughnuts are mildly sweet and with a coating of icing (powdered) sugar they are perfect. An absolutely marvellous recipe! It is best to think of the dough as an artisan (high-hydration) bread dough i.e. very soft and sticky. Work it gently and try to keep as much air in the dough when you are handling it. I have a lot of experience working with high-hydration (high ratio of water to flour) soft and sticky doughs so I had no problems with this recipe. If you feel the initial dough mixture is too sticky and soft don't add flour just let the dough rise; during this time the water will hydrate (wet) the flour and the dough will become less sticky and firmer (it will always be a soft dough) and the gluten will develop. Only add flour after the first rising (and only on the counter and the cutting tools you are using).

A few comments on this recipe
1. I used butter since I hate the fat-sticking-to-the-roof-of-my-mouth-feel that shortening produces and also vegetable shortening is impossible to find in Australia.
2. It is best to weigh the flour if possible 23 oz or 650 gm or 4⅔ cups (of settled flour straight from the bag do not fluff up the flour first just measure the cup volume straight from the bag I checked 4⅔ cups of flour does equal 650 grams/23 oz) this amount produces a sticky batter-like cake-dough, very unlike normal bread-dough, this is how it is meant to be. Resist the temptation of adding more flour to make the dough like normal-bread-dough it is meant to be very sticky and like a very thick cake-batter the dough will become less sticky during the first rising. So please resist the urge to "correct" the recipe’s measurements. Just do what the recipe says and you won't be disappointed. As the dough (sticky batter) rises, the water absorbs into the flour and the final mixture will become more like a normal soft dough.
3. The dough is very yellow (as compared to normal bread dough) mainly due to the use of butter and eggs.
4. You should “pour” the soft dough into the rising bowl. And let it rise the dough will become less sticky and more firm but it will be soft dough. And it rises a lot so use a large bowl. The dough might take up to 2 hours (even longer) to double in size; rising time depends on: how much kneading you did, temperature and humidity:- so don't worry too much if nothing happens after an hour just wait it will happen.
5. You can keep the (first-rise) dough in the refrigerator up to four days before you roll it out and second-rise and deep-fry it.
6. I only needed a tiny amount of flour (about 1 tablespoon) on the counter to 'pat' out the soft dough to 3/8 inch (9mm) thick to do the cutting of the doughnut shapes. I lightly floured the cutting tools so they wouldn't stick to the soft dough.
7. I used a small piping connector to cut out the inner 'hole' of the doughnut.
8. I had no trouble lifting the cut-out and risen doughnuts from the counter into the hot oil. I used my lightly-floured fingers and hands to lift the risen doughnuts no problems.
9. Cooking the doughnuts only took about 30 seconds each side I used a thermometer to check the oil temperature. If you do not have a thermometer you can test the temperature by placing a small piece of white bread in the oil it should brown in about 60 seconds. If the oil is too cold the doughnuts will absorb the cooking oil and will became very greasy and if the oil is too hot the outside of the doughnut will cook too quickly while the inside will still be doughy.
10. I used rice bran oil which has a very high smoke point 490°F/254°C and has a very mild (almost flavourless) taste, I particularly dislike canola oil for deep-frying since it has a fishy/strange taste and odour to it, though I do use a combination of canola oil and olive oil for most of my shallow frying.
11. If you like your doughnuts sweet increase the sugar to ½ cup.
Special notes if you are making the dough by hand (not using a machine to mix the dough)
1. I have made high-hydration doughs many hundred's of times so I have a lot of experience with them.
2. The dough will be to sticky to knead by hand without adding a lot of extra flour and it will be very messy so if you are making the dough by hand, just roughly combine the dough ingredients using a plastic scraper (see first picture below) or wooden spoon. No need to knead too much; a longer resting/rising time is equivalent to kneading that is if you only roughly knead for one minute or so and let the dough rise for a longer time this is equivalent to kneading for a longer time. I only roughly combined the dough ingredients for a minute with a plastic scraper and let the dough rise for about 1½ hour (½ hour longer than the stated time in the recipe) which made the final dough silky and allowed the gluten to develop to maximum hydration.
3. The initial dough will look wet, very soft, sticky and not-combined but after rising/resting it will combine into a fully-hydrated (i.e. the gluten well-developed) mass.
4. Don't worry too much about the look and feel of the dough on initial mixing, only really look and feel the dough after the first rising (if you only roughly mixed the dough at the beginning the rising time will be longer than the stated time in the given recipe but the dough will come together with full gluten development) then flour the counter and cutting tools use the minimum extra flour to help you cut, shape and re-rise the doughnuts so they can be deep-fried.

If you're using a mixing machine just follow the instructions given in the recipe.

Caramel Glaze
from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp homemade caramel sauce
1 tbsp milk + a few extra drops

Add all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and stir to combine. If you need your glaze to be slightly thicker, add a little more confectioner's sugar. If you'd like it to be thinner, add a little more milk until you reach your desired consistency.

Apple Crumb Pie

2010-10-26T08:00:00.004-05:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Emily of Sandmuffin: All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie. I'm sorry to report that I did not bake along this week. We just got back from a week long trip out of state and I've spent the last two days trying to get settled back in before going back to work today. I've done one very big thing since returning, however... I went to a cooking class and got to meet Dorie on Sunday! I hope to be able to write up a blog post about that soon. For now, I'm pulling something from my archives to share with you that would only seem appropriate given this week's recipe. So, instead of sharing Dorie's All-American Apple Pie with you, I'll be sharing my all time favorite apple pie recipe with you instead.

I always find it curious when I hear people say that they do not like baked fruit because I love baked apple anything. Now, there are some things that I like more than others, but I universally like anything with baked apple in it.

One of my favorite classics is apple pie. I've never been a very big fan of the double crusted apple pie. Now a dutch apple pie or apple crumb pie, I could not live without. Growing up, we’d always spend Thanksgiving weekend at a family church retreat. The location of the camp varied, but often times it would be in the same general area and sometimes we’d go to the same place from time to time. One year, we went to a camp that was near Julian, in southern California. They are known for their apple pies and let me tell you, for the longest time, I would say that they had THE best apple pies hands down. I would look forward to Thanksgiving and ask my parents if the yearly retreat was going to be anywhere near Julian because I wanted to get my apple pie fix. We’d pick up a few pies for immediate consumption and then a few more to freeze for later. Only thing that kept us from getting more pies was our limited freezer space :)

Well, fast forward to about seven years ago when I met my husband. I can’t remember exactly when I first had it, but his mother made me an apple crumb pie that took me straight back to my youth. It was just like the pies I had tasted from Juliann, except (dare I say) better. His mom would tell me stories about how she would make a pie for the family and how my husband would eat the entire pie himself before anyone else had been able to have some… so if he is ever around, she always makes two pies, one for him and one for the rest of the family! Well, we are like two peas in a pod because I could just as easily eat an entire pie on my own within 24 hours as well. In fact, when we went to visit them this last week, there were two freshly baked pies sitting on the counter for us as soon as we walked in the door! :)

Of course after tasting her pie, I promptly asked his mom for the recipe and started making these pies at home shortly thereafter. It took a few times for me to get the recipe down (figuring out my oven temperature and how to long to bake it to avoid mushy apples), but I am proud to say that my husband now thinks that I am better at making this pie than his own mother :) Now that’s the ultimate compliment!

So, if you love apple pie, then you must try this recipe. In my humble opinion, it is hands down better than any other apple pie or apple crisp recipe you’ll ever try.

Apple Crumb Pie
from my mother-in-law, Joan P.

9-inch unbaked pie crust
6 cups pared, sliced apples (5-7 tart apples - Granny Smith work best)
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter

Thaw your pie crust as directed on the package and place it in your favorite pie pan. Place the sliced apples in the unbaked pastry shell. Combine ½ cup of sugar with the cinnamon; sprinkle over the apples.

Combine the remaining ½ cup of sugar with the flour; cut in the butter until crumbly (you can do this with a pastry blender or with two knives). Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples.

Bake at 400F for 40 minutes or until apples are tender. Cool completely before serving.

Note: baking time is for a metal pie tin, if using a pyrex pie pan the time may vary... just bake until the crumble mixture is a nice golden brown and the apples are tender (you may need to either use a pie crust shield or cover the edges of the pie crust in foil to prevent them from burning)

This recipe has been submitted to the Monthly Mingle for the "Fruit in Baking" theme.