Daring Baker's Cream Puffs

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri. This was a challenge I looked forward to. I thought it would be a great treat for Memorial Day with Nic coming home. But Nic isn't coming home, and I lost my desire to bake it. But, Christina showed interest in helping, so I said WTH, let's make it. I'll have my pity party over a glass or 3 of wine. Hopefully my sweet son will get a quick weekend home soon.

I have been making variations of croquembouche for many years. Not using pastry however, using truffles. I am sort known for my truffle tree by old friends. It has been a number of years since I made one, but I am thinking blow-out Christmas party this year and a truffle tree will make its reprise. But for today, Cream Puffs.

Pate a choux is the most basic of pastry. It mixes up in a hurry and makes magic in the oven. That fabulous, airy puff just waiting for pastry cream. Here is the recipe I followed for the puffs. Very easy.

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)
¾ cup water
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.

Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.

It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Traditionally vanilla pastry cream is the filling, and I am a basic kind of girl, my choice. You can use any number of recipes. Here is the one I chose.

For the Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Half Batch)
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla ( I used vanilla paste)

Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.

Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.

Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla. Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

The final step is to stack the profiteroles and surround it with spun sugar. This is a show stopping technique that is really a challenge in Memphis in the humidity. Since I don't have 20 people to eat these darn things, I couldn't fill and stack the whole batch at once. After the filling is pumped into the pastry, the clock is ticking. It doesn't take long for it to go from fabulous to soggy, so no preparing ahead. Since there were only 2 of us indulging, our tower was not to be. Four delicious cream puffs. But delicious, regardless of the size of the mountain. Not exactly Memorial Day food right?

Daring Baker's English Pudding

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Okay, so I can't hide my disappointment. I have been a DB for a year and haven't yet made anything with yeast. I have made some great challenges, puff pastry, tuilles, nanaimo bars, but no yeasty goodness. I skipped, unintentionally mind you, February which was Tiramisu, which I love but just couldn't make all those components with my travels to my parents. Then came some sort of Citrus Tart that no one would eat but me, and I had a thousand cookies to decorate. So...here we are on the cusp of getting booted if we don't get baking. And this month's challenge is English Pudding.

It was quite a shock when I read the beginning of the recipe and saw suet. I have no doubt that this fat makes an amazingly flaky crust, and it is obviously a very British ingredient. But there was no way I could go there. Suet is for birds. It is the white fat found in sheep and cows and it surrounds the kidneys and loins. 'Nuf said. Call me closed minded, I can live with that, I suspect it is not monounsaturated fat. We would roll it in seeds and make bird feeders in those cold Iowa winters. I just couldn't eat it. And I am fairly certain I could never find it in Memphis without a special order. So as I watched people post thier puddings in the forum I was delighted to discover a steamed chocolate pudding made with butter and chocolate. BINGO! Something I can easily track the nutrition of, something I can portion control, and most importantly something that will make Christina sing with joy!

Steamed Chocolate Pudding
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 T butter
8 oz flour (225g)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
1 egg
4 oz sugar (120g)
120 ml milk with 1 teaspoon vanilla
MY ADDITION: 1 Tablespoon Trablit coffee extract


It calls for a 1.5 pint pudding basin. Basically 6 cups, but I chose ramekins, they need to be lightly greased, I used butter. Melt chocolate and butter. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat egg and slowly add sugar, beating until creamy. Add melted chocolate. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with milk and vanilla/Trablit. Fill ramekins ⅔ full. Cover ramekins tightly with foil or greaseproof paper, which would be parchment, and secure with string. I did that to 2, but after wrestling the paper, I decided to foil the other 2.

Put into pot and immerse into water halfway up the sides. Boil and then simmer for 1½ hours. I simmered only an hour because I used ramekins instead of a pudding basin. Yum. Like a hot cake?! A little whipped cream and chocolate covered espresso bean garnish.
My biggest LeCrueset only held 4 ramekins, so I took the extra batter and baked it. Heck, what's the worst thing that could happen, right? It is like a sponge cake, and has great flavor and texture. I like it!


I got this pudding recipe here. Easy for sure, and no suet! The Trablit can be found here at Surfas, great LA store, actually in Culver City...
And the nutritional info? Well, the whole recipe is 1811 calories, 41 grams of fat, 39 grams of protein and 333 carbs. When you divide it by 6, it really isn't awful. Not exactly the true British Steamed Pudding with a Suet Crust, but a fair attempt and a delicious one at that.

A Cure For the Common Cold

AhhhhhChooo! That is me, over and over again. My nose is runny and raw. My joints ache and I am living in a fog. I hate being sick. Honestly, I hardly ever succumb to it. I can usually feel it coming on and pound the EmergenC, the Advil and the power of positive thinking. But not this one. Scott got off a plane over a week ago and said his seat mate was coughing and hacking the entire trip, the type of virus transmittal that hand sanitizer just can't touch. It took a good 4 days to incubate and then hit him like a ton of bricks. He did a dandy job of self diagnosis and started a ZPak. It took 3 days, but then I got it. A milder version, no psychedelic snot, so no infection, just a nasty cold. Blech.

So this is the reason I have no Daring Bakers Tiramisu post. I'll get there, it'll be excessively late. This is the reason we are eating thawed and reheated Minestrone, ordering pizza, turkey burgers. I don't feel like cooking, baking and certainly not doing dishes. But oh, that Minestrone. Then I realized I have never blogged my soup. My yummy Tuscany Bean Soup. There is always some in the freezer for times like these.

Tuscany Bean Soup
2 T Olive Oil
1# Sweet Italian Sausage
2 Medium Onions, peeled and diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
3 Carrots, peeled and diced
2 Celery Ribs, peeled and diced
1 can Canellini Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Qt. or more as needed Chicken Stock
1 can Quartered Artichoke Hearts
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1 small can Black Olives
1 Small bag Fresh spinach
1/4 cup chopped Fresh Parsley
1/4 cup chopped Fresh Tarragon
¾ cup Sherry
¼ cup Sugar
¼ cup White Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in a 6 qt. pot and add sliced sausage. Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add celery and carrots and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add beans, broth, tomatoes and olives.. Season to taste with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. Add artichokes, vinegar, sugar and sherry. Cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add parsley and tarragon. I like to add tortellini or mini ravioli too. Sometimes I add and subtract ingredients, zucchini, mushrooms whatever. It freezes very well although tortellini get mushy being reheated. I suggest adding fresh red bell pepper to reheated soup for a fresh crunch.

And don't forget the Queen of Condiments, Crystal Hot Sauce, that opens up the sinuses. The magic cure. Put it in everything, it even helps a sore throat. Make sure you have chapstick though, because it is murder on chapped lips!
I was feeing guilty hanging out in sweats all day. Watching movies, spending hours on theInternet, playing Bejewled, reading books. Then I realized, God, I love being sick.

I'll be back with Tiramisu when the sun is shining and I am breathing free and clear. Until then...Netflix upload!
My Movie Buddies

Crazy Canuck Challenge: Nanaimo Bars

It is all about Canada this month with the Olympics and the Daring Baker's Challenge.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca. So call up your favorite Canuck and make them a little something from the homeland!

Interestingly enough, I had my first Nanaimo Bar this Christmas at a friend's house and have to admit I was intrigued. They are unlike anything I have ever baked or eaten. They are named for Nanaimo, British Columbia, gateway to Vancouver Island, a pretty town for sure. And the Olympics are about to get underway in Canada as well, so how appropriate.

They are requiring us to bake the graham cracker base first, although I chose not do the gluten free recipe they published only because I already have so many different flours on hand, the thought of buying tapioca flour and sorghum flour was a little over the top. So I used only King Arthur's White Whole Wheat and the rice flour I had on hand for rolling. I loved the way the graham cracker dough came together and rolled out. It was sturdy and delicious. They puffed a little while baking, but really kept their shape and look, amazingly enough, like graham crackers! I am skipping the graham cracker recipe, as there are a million graham cracker recipes online, and the Nanaimo Bars can be made with Nabisco Honey Maid. However, as the wife of a graham cracker lover (Honey Maid only!) no one was more surprised than I, when Scott declared these homemade grahams the best, better than little ol' Nabisco.
I doubt I will make them on a regular basis, but after doing the s'more's test, I will bake them again. They really are delicious.

The Nanaimo Bars are three layers. The base is delicious, butter, cocoa, sugar, nuts, coconut and graham crumbs. Yes, I painstakingly made perfect graham rectangles only to have to toss them in the Cuisinart and pulverize them. Truth be told, when you add the Pernigotti cocoa and coconut, plus an entire stick of butter and some almonds, you could use generic grahams and not tell the difference. The egg in the crust needs to be cooked over the simmering water of the double boiler, but having made numerous crusts in my life, I think you could skip the egg entirely. The cocoa crumb crust on its own is very yummy!

The middle layer is what stumped me when I tried these in December. My arteries clogged right up when I discovered it is a butter-heavy buttercream. An entire stick of butter, icing sugar (I love Canadian lingo, yes it is confectioner's sugar) heavy cream and dry pudding. It could easily be cut down in fat with half as much butter, maybe fat free half and half, and sugar free fat free pudding mix (which is what I used). The way the recipe stands, rich is an understatement. It makes enough buttercream for a 9x13 cake!

The top layer is chocolate and hey, more butter, and it ends up like a ganache. Delicious? Absolutely.

I actually wrote this blog in steps, as I am at the moment of publishing, sitting on the beach. I knew there would be no wireless internet, and I had to do the challenge and write the blog before I hit the airport. I was very ho-hum about this challenge as it went on. Then I chilled the bars and cut my pieces for their photograph (which I totally suck at by the way). Of course I had a little bite. OMG. They are amazing. Totally addictive. I quick cut them up, and sliced a sliver here and there to nibble, and here and there again. Then I froze them so I wouldn't be tempted. I doubt I would have ever gone through the graham cracker step and the bar recipe as written were it not for the Daring Baker's. I am so glad I did, they are such an interesting treat, but you must eat them cold for the full effect! It is, after all, what these challenges are all about. So, get in there....and bake!

Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Daring Baker's Cannoli

Yes, I am aware it is December, but seriously, a house full of relatives: parents, in-laws, siblings, children, nieces, nephews, a couple of baking orders, 3 days of retail including Black Friday and Poof! November was gone. So here we are, making cannoli. The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

I am a seasoned cannoli maker. It is best made ahead regardless of what any non-Italian tells you. My grandmother would make hers in November and layer them on brown paper in boxes in a cool room. The paper absorbs the oil, the cannoli ripen and dry out a bit. Nothing is worse than a soggy cannoli, therefore, you never fill it before you want to eat it, and the frozen ones pre made? Forgetaboutit!

I made my dough after dinner one evening and let it rest in the fridge overnight. I was concerned. I had always used a sweet white wine in Grandma's recipe, but because it is Daring Baker's, I went with the recipe posted and used Marsala. Now I am not familiar with it, so my requisite for the wine guy was that it had to be drinkable as I rarely get into a project like this without a little nip for me. The color of the Marsala was deep amber, beautiful, tasted divine, but made my dough very brown.

The next morning I rolled them with the trusty pasta machine so they were super thin and sort of made 5" circles and wrapped my tubes. I have inherited quite a collection of tubes and recently added to it. One year I did an Italian dinner fundraiser for my alumni club (Go Hawks!) and made about 70 ahead.

This recipe made about 24 very dark cannoli. Now please don't get me wrong here, they are DELICIOUS, but they are not pretty. My Grandma's recipe follows, I suggest you try it. It doesn't have the vinegar which the Daring Baker's found so important, but if my memory serves me right, I fried up batch after batch of them and they were perfect. It also doesn't have cocoa and of course the wine is specifically white, my preference.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
6 T powdered sugar
2 T melted butter
½ cup sweet white wine
1 tea vanilla
1 tea cinnamon
Mix well. Chill a few hours and then roll and fry.

The Daring Baker's recipe called for 375° oil, but when you drop 2 shells in the oil, the temp plummets. I preferred the cannoli that went in closer to 380°. They got that beautiful blistered effect, but a degree higher led to brown/burnt cannoli. The entire batch was really less than perfect, my fault entirely.

The blog problem here is that although they are made and leaching out their excess oil, we are not filling and eating the little guys until I have a reason. Like my son home, or company coming, or a little something to celebrate. So here is my blog to that point and you Daring Baker's will have to wait until later in December to see the finished product with sweetened ricotta and chocolate, maybe even some pistachios. Until then, Buon Appetito!

Daring Baker's French Macaroons

I am taking a quick break from the Great European Adventure blogs so I can fulfill my Daring Baker's Challenge. Let me begin by warning any would be macaroon bakers, this is a terrible recipe to attempt in Memphis during the "rainy season" which apparently is right now. I mean unending rain, it is miserable. Macaroons are supposed to be light and airy with an ethereal crunch to them. That is hard to achieve when the relative humidity hovers at 99.9%. I am going to crank up the heat in my house and see if I can dry out the air a bit.

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

We were given free reign as far as flavoring the macaroons and filling them with whatever we cared to. I love almond and chocolate. So I opted for a little Halloween combo cookie. I used a little orange powdered food coloring in the cookie batter and sandwiched them with chocolate buttercream. Delicious and perfect for Halloween week.

It is crucial that your ingredients be at room temperature, and eggs whip up beautifully in a copper bowl if you happen to have one. Be watchful, over-beaten egg whites will lead to disaster. I upped the time on the first bake designed to dry them out a little from 5 to 8 minutes due to the humidity. The original recipe is supposed to make 10 dozen, the first tester's yield was 2 dozen filled, which is close to my yield, but I did try to make them a little on the small side. I baked them for a full 10 minutes, and after cooling on a rack, I put them back into the oven (turned off) to dry the bottoms a little. Normally these would rise into fluffy little pillows, but this is the result in high humidity. The taste is still great.

Macaroons are the rage in bakeries everywhere, so with just a few ingredients and a little patience you can recreate them right in your home. Fabulous!

September Daring Baker's Challenge

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

I took August off due to the many things that flooded my usually sane life. When I saw the challenge for September, I was very excited. I love puff pastry and find it a valuable resource for the holidays. Beef Wellington, appetizers, dessert, it really goes the distance. For the past few years I have seen a puff pastry for sale in the Williams Sonoma catalog touted to be much better than the famous frozen food brand at the grocer. I could never bring myself to part with the cash to try it. So this month I embarked on the Julia Journey and made it from scratch. You start with a pound of butter, so from there what could go wrong?

I watched the PBS video with Julia and found it a good refresher although I saw every PBS show from the Baking With Julia Book, it was my version of Saturday morning cartoons for awhile. The ingredient list is small: butter, flour, water, salt, and a food processor and rolling pin are the only utensils so to speak. This is not a task for anyone in a hurry or in a hot climate without air conditioning. Although it is September in Memphis, it is so muggy, I cranked the air way down, but still found a good hour of chill time necessary between turns.

To say the recipe and instructions are lengthy would be an understatement. If you really want to make this, Google it and find the original Julia recipe for puff pastry. From the finished puff pastry, we make the Vols-au-Vent, French for "windblown" due to the lightness of the pastry. They are a hollow shell happy to encase any filling. I made my obligatory Vols-au-Vent with whipped cream and strawberries.

It is imperative with the warmth that you roll small portions of dough so it doesn't get too soft, you never want to see butter ooze. The idea is to cut a large circle say 3" diameter, then a second. You then cut out the inside of the second circle and place the ring left around the first circle. The idea is that you make a bit of a bowl for filling. I did circles, stars and flowers. My cutters apparently weren't sharp enough, because where I had to stretch a bit, the pastry didn't rise. I took the cut insides from my shells and also brushed them in the egg wash and sprinkled a little black finishing salt on them. My own amuse bouche. They discourage wadding the scraps and re rolling, but suggest you stack the scraps to re roll.

I took what was left and sliced them into strips with a pastry wheel and wrapped a few queen olives. After wrapping them I froze them and then put them in an airtight container. Some night when the temperature drops and we are relaxing with a glass of wine, I'll pop them in a 400° oven and enjoy that puff with the salty earthy olives. Mmmmm, makes me wish for cooler weather right now. Then I happily rolled the remainder of my puff pastry flat and folded and put it in the freezer so at a later date I can make cheese straws, and wrap it around savory appetizer fillings and make more Vols-au-Vents. Sounds like another blog in the making! Am seriously hoping one of these upcoming Daring Baker's Challenges calls for yeast, I am hankering to bake bread!

July Daring Baker's Challenge

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

Now in Memphis, the temperature has dropped to a chilly 82, but the humidity at 10pm last night was 89%. Anyone who loves an egg white like me knows this is no weather to be making marshmallows. And it's sort of a bummer, because I love them. Raw, with Rice Crispies, toasted over a fire, on top of sweet potatoes, I am not choosy. But when it is dripping outside and the sun is shining the little devils get sticky as molasses. So I have opted to make only the Milan Cookies. They look a little like a famous upscale grocery store brand, but as with most things, they taste way better right out of your own oven. There are ways to make variations on this gem, adding mint, almond, rolling the edges in almond, white chocolate filling, really your imagination can go to town. The original recipe calls for orange with the chocolate, but I love dark chocolate and raspberry, and I love Nutella, but sometimes I am a total purist, like today. I chose to use vanilla paste. A wonderful product made by Neilsen Massey, the best name in vanilla to begin with. Vanilla paste is basically all those beans scraped from a pod of vanilla and suspended in a sugar syrup. It gives the bean flecks in vanilla products, and makes these cookies heavenly. I baked on convection, but even still with the humidity, they seemed chewy. So here's the recipe as I followed it. Delicious!

Milan Cookies
Prep Time: 20 min

Inactive Prep Time: 0 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min

Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened

• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar

• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla paste

• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour

Cookie filling
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
•
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
•
1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.

2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.

4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.

6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.

7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.

8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.

10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

As an afterthought...the flavor of the cookies alone with the vanilla paste was divine. However, I had to leave the cookies in the oven all night (not on) to dry them out. Because of the crazy humidity, it was nearly impossible to get a great crunchy cookie out of this recipe. But we decided you could slather chocolate ganache on Milkbones and they'd be yummy! Happy Baking!
The cookie below is rolled in almond meal....

The Daring Baker's Challenge: Bakewell Tart

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

What is a Bakewell Tart? No idea. But here it goes. It begins with a sweet shortcrust pastry. It is then filled with Frangipane, which is an almond filling. The result? Sort of yucky. The almond extract, a mere ½ teaspoon was overwhelming. Christina declared it tasted like Christmas. Not a bad thing, right? It will remain one of those experiences, not something I will come back to.
However, let me say that I love to bake tarts. Sweet and savory, and perhaps this filling with vanilla paste instead of almond extract. It is a possibility. I wanted to highlight some tools that are invaluable for tart making. A marble rolling pin, especially in the heat of the summer, it is always cool and keeps your shortcrust cool too. A reverse pastry board. You can see it has this lip on it so you can push at hard dough and the board won't go anywhere. On side is plain, the other has the pie diameters on it so you know when you have rolled your crust to the right size. Very handy. Lastly, a tart tamper, especially if you have fingernails. This rounded wooden tool will press your dough into the edges of the tin and prevents shrinking up when you prebake!
So there you have it. Happy Baking!
As an aside, please go to The Daring Kitchen where my article on rhubarb is featured!

May Daring Bakers

It's that time of the month, Daring Baker's reveal. This month's was extra special. The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers. Now I don't consider myself Austrian, more like half Italian, half Serbian. However, when my mom traced the ancestors many years ago, there were Austrians in the mix. This strudel recipe is eerily similar to what we call pita. Do not think pita bread. Think more of spanakopita from the Greek. Pita when I was growing up was made by my mom and Grandma. We had a pita tablecloth, 100% cotton damask, stained with butter and thin and frayed from years of use. I am the proud owner of it. Today I had my grandma here in spirit as I made this month's challenge. We eat pita at every holiday, but we use boxed phyllo dough, today I made it from scratch. And surprisingly it was easier than it looked 20 years ago.

There are a few thousand Daring Baker's out in the blogosphere, so I am not going to reprint their recipe. I will however give you mine. I decided if I was going to make the Daring Baker's strudel, I ought to make it side by side to the family recipe. A few things struck me right away. My grandma's called for Mazola corn oil, which is no longer here, so I used canola oil. She was very brand loyal and I can remember her always using Mazola. Also, her recipe had more oil and flour than the DB recipe. The DB recipe also called for a half teaspoon of cider vinegar, apparently this is to hinder the gluten development. My grandma never used a stand mixer, and I wasn't going to do it without. As usual, today is reveal day, so time is of the essence. It took additional flour to get my grandmas dough to come together, it was very gooey. On the flip side, I had to add another Tablespoon of water to the DB dough as it was very crumbly and raggy. Both doughs rested for about an hour, and in the end, grandma's dough stretched more evenly than the DB dough which felt a little tough.

We were free to fill it with what we liked, so for the DB I chose apple filling. With the family dough, I chose cheese filling also known as burek. Traditional burek is made with feta cheese, more like the Greek version. My family's cheese pita is made with cottage cheese, brick cheese (only found in the midwest, sub monterey jack) eggs, butter and maybe a little yellow cheese for color. Both recipes follow. My house smells delightful right now, and I am thrilled to eat pita for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few days. So let's compare the finished product. My dough was a larger batch, and I rolled the strudel about 4-5 times in it. I don't think it was hot enough in the oven because it really was doughy after baking and never really got crispy. The DB dough was so crispy it shattered. Hmmmm. It makes me rethink the vinegar, I think I will add it to my Grandma's. I love the way both doughs held in the filling, it sort of stretches with it as it bakes unlike phyllo which tends to split. Both were incredibly delicious, and a true success. However, I will make a few adjustments. I'm using my dough plus ½ teaspoon vinegar. Also, I think I will make 2 rolls with the dough since they are a little hard to pick up when rolled. I can honestly say I will not likely buy frozen phyllo dough again. This was far easier for me. The dough takes a few minutes to put together then rests for an hour. The stretching took all of 10 minutes and I was done. I think of all that time buttering the phyllo layers, this is a much tastier version. I'm so glad I have a Serbian grandma who passed her love of the kitchen to me. I admit this is a project, I am glad I jumped in, the results are delicious.

When you make this, turn off the air conditioner, lock the doors and remove watches, bracelets and rings. Get on short sleeves or roll them up good. One draft of cool air will make the dough seize back, you want it to stay relaxed. Also, as you stretch it, you are using the back of your hand so you want to be careful not to have it tear.

Pita Dough
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ oil
¾ cup warm water

Mix in bowl of stand mixer with flat beater. Add additional flour until dough becomes smooth and comes together. Replace flat beater with dough hook and mix for about 3 minutes. The dough should come onto the hook. Add more flour if it is too sticky. Remove the dough and place in an oiled bowl, flipping it around so it too is oiled. Cover with a damp towel and let it rest for an hour somewhere warm.

Cheese or Burek Filling
1# brick cheese shredded (substitute monterey jack if need be)
1 large carton cottage cheese 4%
5 eggs
1/4 cup yellow cheese grated for color


Apple Filling
6-8 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 crushed graham crackers
4 Tablespoons melted butter (salted please)
⅓ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon



Cover a small round or oval table with a cotton cloth and rub flour into the fabric. Roll the dough out as best you can and then begin to use your hands. If you let the edges come over the edge of the table, the weight of the edge will help stretch it. The dough should be paper thin, you can read through it.


My grandma would trim the fat edges and re-roll them. Drizzle a little melted butter (salted please) all over the dough. Do not use a brush as it will tear. Place your filling along one long edge and using the tablecloth start to roll the dough into a long log. Tuck the edges in as you roll. Carefully place the roll in buttered pan and bake at 375° for about 15 minutes to brown and then drop heat to 350° and continue to bake for about 30 more minutes. Cool slightly before cutting.



Yes, I insist on salted butter. You have to have that contrast of salt with the very plain dough and the sweetness of the apples or the cheese filling. Trust me on this, I have made it with unsalted butter and felt cheated. Enjoy!

BTW, if you haven't checked out my interview on the Daring Baker's site, come on...http://thedaringkitchen.com/on-the-spot/susie-petitti-tilton

The Daring Cook's Ricotta Gnocchi

As many of you know, I am a proud member of the Daring Bakers. This month is the first challenge of the Daring Cooks. Same concept, a recipe is revealed in a member's only forum, and then we all cook it and reveal our blogs on the same day. I was delighted to join, and happy to make something that didn't have sugar as its primary ingredient. So here is the first reveal. Ricotta Gnocchi.
We have chosen a recipe from the stunning cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook.
On the surface, this is a very straightforward recipe. The challenge is in the forming and handling of the gnocchi. What you do with the recipe, in terms of variations, is up to you.
So there's the business part, generally there is a blog checker looking for the tag lines, and if you are a member and don't participate 2 months in a row, you're fired!
So here's the deal with my gnocchi. I made and blogged the ricotta a week or so ago. It was delicious and I will be making this often. As Mother's Day approached, I was pretty sure no one was cooking for me, so I decided this would be a good time to make the gnocchi.
I actually prepared the gnocchi about 4 days in advance and froze them as was directed in the recipe. The dough is very fragile, and I tested it before I froze it and the cooked gnocchi without sauce was great. I could really taste the fresh nutmeg. Freezing it just for a few days must have taken a little moisture out because they were a little crumbly. I halved the recipe (thank goodness) since I was cooking for 3, and cooked them in 3 batches. The first batch was much better than the last. I boiled them as directed and cooked them in a sauce I made with browned sage butter, fat free half and half and a little tomato paste. The verdict? I love gnocchi, but not these and not mine. I totally stink at this. My gnocchi were seriously deformed, and of course I am comparing them to the gnocchi I would get at a restaurant likely made with potato or flour.


When I dropped them in the sauce they were so fragile, and by the last batch it was if they were almost melting into the sauce. Were they not boiled long enough? Was the butter sauce not hot enough? I really have no idea. My conclusion is, been there, done that. Not something I will attempt again. My family was not thrilled. The sauce was delicious and would taste great on whole wheat pasta with some chicken sausage in it. But I think I'll leave the gnocchi for my Italian restaurant adventures. Now I can really appreciate the work that goes into it!
As an aside, there were 2 products that really made the sauce and finished product shine. Tomato paste in a tube is super concentrated, tastes incredible and is the ultimate in convenience. It is also so easy to regulate the amount. This is what I used in my browned sage butter. Although I did use fresh grated nutmeg in my gnocchi, even with the sauce there wasn't a big flavor punch. A dusting with salt with truffles was superb. This trendy little salt has itty bitty chunks of truffles and is great on simple pastas. It made this ho-hum dish much more palatable for my family.

I am so excited about this month's Daring Baker's Challenge, which will be a real challenge. But that's really the concept behind the groups. Whether baking or cooking, they want us to step outside our comfort zone, step up to a challenge. I love that, I don't have to love what we make, but I love a kitchen adventure. Watch for the baker's reveal in a week or so!

The Daring Baker's Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
Let me put this right out front. I don't like cheesecake. I don't know why, I really think it is a texture thing. It is generally so dense and other times almost fluffy like a thick mousse. If someone should order it, I'll taste, but it really is the one dessert I can walk away from. Except this month. It is the Daring Baker's Challenge. As I have reported before, this very large group of bloggers is given the challenge at the first of the month. We dwell on it secretly all month, and then as reveal date approaches, I panic because life can get crazy busy. So, for the second month in a row, I am baking the day of the reveal. My daughter is SO excited. She is the one who orders cheesecake at every restaurant. Can I compare to her high standards? Only one way to find out!

The Daring Baker's gives us the recipe every month, and we generally aren't allowed to make any changes. This month the recipe is plain and we are challenged to make it unique. So I merged my favorite cheesecake recipe (yes, even a non eater like me knows what's good!) and made a Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake. My recipe is at least 18 years old. It originally came from Williams Sonoma although I doubt it is hanging out in any archives because it calls for a coffee extract called Trablit. It is a fantastic product they quit carrying around 1997. I recently found it at an L.A. store called Surfas, along with many other of my favorite Williams Sonoma discontinued items. Perhaps you can't get your hands on Trablit, or don't want the large bottle offered online, you can make your own so to speak. One option is to use instant espresso powder and dissolve in water to make a dark concentrate or use Kahlua for a more subtle flavor, but I can't say either will taste as good as the real thing. If you do go for the Trablit, try it in a little warm milk...delicious! So what follows is a merged recipe. It is delicious, even for a non cheesecake girl like me. I think part of my liking this version better than a traditional cheesecake is that this is only a pound of cream cheese, where as many are a pound and a half. I used light sour cream and I think that keeps the texture a little lighter on the tongue. The crust as an after note, could seriously be made with closer to 3 cups of grahams. I added the additional almond meal for a little "good fat", but still the crust was lower than the cheesecake batter.

Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake
CRUST
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup almond meal (Trader Joe's)
1 stick butter, melted
2 T. sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Line the outside of a Springform pan with foil, shiny side out. Butter the inside of the pan. Mix ingredients and press into the bottom and up the sides of Springform pan. I am using an 8" pan. Put crust in fridge while you make the cheesecake.

FILLING
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 T. rum or other liquor
1 pound cream cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 T Trablit.

Melt chocolate over simmering water with rum. Set aside. In bowl of electric mixer beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and then sour cream and sugar. Add Trablit and mix well. Divide the batter into 2 bowls. To one mixture add the chocolate/rum mixture. Layer the chocolate batter first and carefully top with the coffee only mixture.


Place cheesecake pan in lager roasting pan and pour boiling water up to the halfway point of the cheesecake pan. Carefully bake for about 50 minutes. You want a little jiggle in the middle and a little more done around the edges. Turn off oven and leave cake in oven for about another hour. Remove from water bath and chill fully before serving.


To serve. I make a whipped cream scented with Trablit and a little powdered sugar. Garnish with chocolate covered espresso beans. That's it! Delicious! Get in there and cook!

The Daring Baker's Lasagna

Okay, let me just say, this is not what I would consider a baker's challenge. The Daring Baker's is a "secret" baking club. We get our challenge at the beginning of the month, and we all reveal our blog and photos on the same day, (today). This was however, a challenge. First, how to find the time...March has slipped away, today is post day, and here I am, kneading pasta dough, cooling Bechamel, simmering ragu. I am making a vegetarian ragu because it is Lent and it's Friday. So my personal recipe follows, the other recipes are the ones we were instructed to use.

A note on the pasta. We were challenged to not use our Kitchen Aids or pasta rollers. I abided by the rules...and my arms are exhausted! I kneaded and kneaded and kneaded. I didn't believe it would come together, but it did.
Then after resting...the rolling! I divided my dough into 4 balls and rolled each and cut them into 3 slices, about 4X10 each.

I did not get it rolled thin enough to see through (seriously???), but it looks good, and tastes good. We'll see if it turns into a clunker when it is assembled.

This was an all day process for dinner. So much could be made ahead, and lucky for me I have left over pasta and ragu which I froze. I used all the Bechamel and I think next time I assemble it I will use my vegetarian ragu, Bechamel and maybe some crispy prosciutto and more spinach. The finished pasta was out of this world. Really. I will do it again, but with the Kitchen Aid and pasta machine, although I truly loved channeling my Italian Grandmothers. My secret hope is that next month's challenge involves yeast!!! Get in there and cook!!!


The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

HERE IS MY RECIPE

Susie's Vegetarian Ragu
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery chopped fine including leafy part
1 whole zucchini, shredded
1 large carrot, shredded
Saute veggies in 4 qt. pot with olive oil. The veggies should sweat, not really brown. Add:
28 oz. can Italian tomatoes, crushed in your hand
26 oz. strained tomatoes (tomato sauce)
2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup dry red wine
Simmer about half hour to reduce. Add:
2 cups milk
Stir well and simmer partially covered for a few hours. It should be thick, season toward the end with salt and pepper.
Steam a bunch of trimmed asparagus, and lay the asparagus on the Bechamel in the assembly process.


Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna
Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

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

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

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

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

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

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

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

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

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

Working by Hand:

Equipment

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

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

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

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

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

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

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