Miss Baked Alaska-Daring Bakers

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

I am so late...again!! I was really excited to make August's daring baker challenge, I love browned butter and I want to use it all the time!! I decided to make the baked alaska for my friend for her birthday. She absolutely loves ice cream, and what's a better birthday cake for her than a Baked Alaska. But August was so crazy...I felt like I didn't have time to breath. Since I had a long weekend, I decided I better make this now!

To make it extra special, I decided to make a barbie cake!! I don't know what possessed me to do this..but I thought it would be fun. I bought a Disney High School Musical doll named Gabriella. I don't even know what High School Musical is. (Am I getting old?)

Anyway...I used the browned butter cake as the base, and put chocolate ice cream on top. I used a Chocolate ice cream recipe from David Leibovitz via Amanda's cooking. This chocolate ice cream is sooo good!!! The browned butter cake is even better!! I will be making both of these again and again. The cake came to getting pretty quickly after all the components were made. The hardest part was keeping the contents of my freezer away from Miss Alaska. =) Here are the recipes.

Baked Alaska

Brown Butter Pound Cake
adapted from Gourmet October 2009

19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

4. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate ice cream
from David Leibovitz's Perfect Scoop via Amanda's cooking

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

2. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3. Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)

Meringue

4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar

1. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Miss Baked Alaska assembly

1. Spread ice cream in a shallow baking pan and freeze.

2. Cut out one 5” diameter circle from the cake. Cut a small circle in the middle for the doll to stand in. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.

3. Make the meringue (see above.)

4. Cut out a few 5" ice cream circles with a small circle in the middle and place them on top of the cake. Smooth out the body to create the skirt for the princess.

5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.

6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

Swiss swirl ice cream cake-Daring Baker

I have been a horrible daring baker. I missed the last two daring baker challenges and I'm really late on July's challenge. Better late than never right?!

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

I made this swiss swirl ice cream cake using a vanilla swiss roll and a lime sorbet. This cake was the dessert for my friend's baby shower and it was a hit! Yipee!! I personally had a problem with it. My problem was the texture of the cake didn't quite match the texture of the sorbet. I think a regular ice cream might have been better. By the time the cake got to a softer consistency, the sorbet was already melted.

I ended up eating the sorbet part on its own, then waited for the cake to thaw a bit and finished it off then. I have to say I love the sorbet!!! I will definitely make other sorbets using this recipe. I'm thinking of lychee sorbet with a bit of mint?! Here are the recipes.

Swiss roll ice cream cake
inspired by Taste of Home

For the cake:
6 medium sized eggs
1 cup of caster sugar + extra for rolling
10 tbsp of all purpose flour, sifted (see note)
2 tbsp of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees. Brush the baking pans ( 11 inches by 9 inches ) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

3. Add the flour, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

4. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

5. Place the pans in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.

6. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

7. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

For the filling:
2 cup of whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
5 tbsp of caster sugar

1. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

2. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

3. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of 1/2 an inch should be fine).

4. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

Lime Sorbet
From Cook's Illustrated, Entertaining Spring 2009

2 tsp zest from three or four limes
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 cup cold water
1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar (see note)

1. Combine zest, lime juice, water, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir on and off for several minutes until sugar is dissolved. (Rub finger along bottom of bowl to see if sugar has dissolved.)

2. Pour mixture into airtight container. Refrigerate until mixture is no more than 40 degrees. (if mixture has been stirred over bowl of ice water, it may already be cold enough, and this step may be omitted.)

3. Pour chilled mixture into container of ice cream machine and churn until frozen. Freeze.

Assembly

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (approximately 2 cms each ).

2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm (at least 1 hour).

5. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

6. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Note:

• *The original recipe uses 1 tbsp of vodka, but since I was making this for my pregnant friend, I omitted it. Cooks illustrated states that the alcohol improves the texture of the sorbet.
  

English pudding-Daring Baker

A few years ago, Mr. G and I went shopping in the gourmet section of Foodland. We saw a can of spotted dick and like the unsophisticated people that we are, we had a giggle fit! Guess what this month's Daring Baker challenger is? It's spotted dick!!

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.

We were able to choose between a boiled pudding or a steamed pudding. I decided to make the steamed pudding and make the spotted dick variation. I've never had spotted dick before and not sure what it's supposed to taste like, but I wasn't thrilled about this dessert. The sponge by itself is very dry. It's a better with the custard sauce, but overall, not really my cup of tea. I have to say though, it was really easy to make. The time consuming part is the steaming. I let my sponge steamed for about 2 hours.

Here's the recipe.

Spotted dick

(100 grams/4 ounces) All-purpose flour
(1/4 teaspoon) salt
(1.5 teaspoons) Baking powder
(100 grams/4 ounces) breadcrumbs
(75 grams/3 ounces) Caster sugar
(75 grams/ 3 ounces) Shredded suet or suet substitute (i.e., Vegetable Suet, Crisco, Lard)
(1) large egg
(6 to 8 tablespoons) Cold milk

1. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into bowl.

2. Add breadcrumbs, sugar and suet.

3. Mix to a soft batter with beaten egg and milk

4. Turn into a buttered 1 litre/ 2pint pudding basin and cover securely with buttered greaseproof paper or aluminum foil.

5. Steam steadily for 2.5 to 3 hours

6. Turn out onto warm plate, Serve with sweet sauce to taste such as custard, caramel or a sweetened fruit sauce.

Orange Tian-Daring Bakers

My food affair is on location this month...I'm baking from my friend's beautiful and huge kitchen in the Bay Area. Thank goodness for her hospitality, otherwise, I would miss this daring baker challenge.

I'm here in the Bay area for work for the last month and I've been so stressed out. Without baking as my outlet, I've been pulling my hair out instead. Anyway, on to this month's challenge.

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

This challenge was a lot of fun because I got to bake with my friend. We were able to share the tasks so the three-page recipe did not seem as daunting. We made the orange tian in this order: marmalade, pate sablee, orange segments, whipped cream, and caramel

The pate sablee was my favorite part of the recipe. It has a really nice buttery and crumbly texture, I will definitely use that again. I am normally not a big fan of marmalade, but this was actually pretty good. It makes me want to try and make other jams. =)

Overall the orange tian was a success. It was time consuming, but the result was a pretty and yummy dessert. Here's the recipe.

Orange Tian

Marmalade:
100g Freshly pressed orange juice
1 large orange used to make orange slices
cold water to cook the orange slices
5 g pectin
granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

1. Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes.

2. Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices.

3. Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool.

4. Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor).

5. Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measurer and use the same amount of sugar.

6. In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes).

7. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

Pate Sablee

2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
80g granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 grams Unsalted butter, ice cold and cubed
2 grams salt
200 grams All-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

1. Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

2. In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

3. Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 degree Celsius. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a 1/4 inch thick circle.

5. Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.

Orange Segments

8 oranges

1. Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice. Check out this link on You tube.

Orange Caramel
granulated sugar 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
orange juice 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons; 14 oz; 400 grams

1. Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it.

2. Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.

3. Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians.

Marmalade whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp Gelatine
1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

1. In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream.

2. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks.

3. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.

Assembling the Dessert

1. Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

2. Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone.

3. Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

4. Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use.
Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snuggly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

5. Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

6. Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough.

7. Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

8. Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.
Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

Tiramisu-Daring Bakers

***AN UPDATE: I JUST SAW WHIPPING CREAM THAT'S NOT ULTRA PASTEURIZED AT THE COSTCO IN IWILEI!! YIPEE! YEA FOR COSTCO!! I ALSO SAW WHOLE VANILLA BEAN AND NUTELLA AT COSTCO..VERY DANGEROUS!!***

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

I was so excited when I saw this month's daring baker challenge. I absolutely LOVE Tiramisu. Not only that, we were tasked to make our own mascarpone cheese and our own lady fingers. How very exciting!!!

In order to make mascarpone cheese, you need heavy cream that's not ultra pasteurized. For weeks and weeks, I searched and searched for heavy cream that's not ultra pasteurized. I went to all the regular grocery stores, and also to the health food stores too...but all of them were ultra pasteurized..even the organic ones!!! I finally gave up and just used store bought mascarpone. boo =(

Everything else came together pretty quickly after the heavy cream hiccup. As for the results, I really liked the zabaglione and pastry cream mixture. It's a lot richer than the Tiramisu recipe that I normally use. My ladyfingers are not as fine in texture as the store bought ones..so I think it would be better if I let the ladyfingers sit in the espresso mixture a little longer. As a whole, I really enjoyed this challenge. Thank you, Aparna and Deeba!!!

Here's the recipe:

TIRAMISU
(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 )
This recipe makes 6 servings

For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee) (see note)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (see note)

1. Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.

2. In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.

3. Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.

4. Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

Vanilla pastry cream
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (see note)
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

1. Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this, add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.

2. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)

3. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

Whipped cream
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar (see note)
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

1. Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice. Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

3. Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.

4. Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.

5. To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

MASCARPONE CHEESE
(Source: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese)
This recipe makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese

500 ml whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.

2. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir.

3. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.

Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

LADYFINGERS/ SAVOIARDI BISCUITS
(Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home)
This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers.

3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons /75gms granulated sugar
3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.

2. Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.

3. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.

4. Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.

5. Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.

6. Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.

7. Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.

8. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack. Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

Notes:

• *I think next time I will use less masala wine in the zabaglione, the alcohol taste was quite strong!
  
• *I omitted the lemon zest in both the zabaglione and the pastry cream.
  
• *I omitted the sugar in the whipped cream because I thought the zabaglione and the pastry cream were sweet enough.
  

Nanaimo bars

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.

This is my first baked good using gluten free flours and I have to say I was very impressed. The glutinous rice flour and the tapioca starch was very easy to find, but the sorghum flour took a little longer. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and just use the wheat flours...but I really wanted to try making gf baked goods. In the end, I found the sorghum flour at a local health food store called, Down to Earth.

The dough for the graham crackers was really hard to handle. It was so sticky and soft, it felt almost like a thick cake batter. I put my dough in the freezer instead of the refrigerator, but it was still very soft after just a little bit of rolling. After the graham crackers are made, the nanaimo bars came together pretty quickly.

The results? I love the graham crackers. I really want to make the wheat version just to compare. As for the nanaimo bars, I've never had them before, so I can't compare it to anything. As a bar, I thought it was too sweet. It made me kinda sad that I took all that time making the graham crackers, and they kinda get lost in the bars. Here are the recipes.

Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
adapted from 101 cookbook

1 cup Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup Sorghum Flour
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons Whole Milk
2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.

2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.

7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.

9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup coconut(Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

Middle Layer
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups Icing Sugar

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

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.

French Macaron

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

I'm thoroughly disappointed in myself with these macarons. I didn't get the little cute macaron feet nor did I accomplish the beautiful smooth tops. I should really learn to trust my instincts. Before putting it in the oven, I told myself that I need to let the macarons rest in order for the smooth skin to develop..but I thought..I should follow the recipe...right?!

The results otherwise? I don't think I'm a good judge...I don't really like French macarons..*gasp*. I know...everyone seems to love them..but I find them way too sweet!! These are the same...they are toothachingly sweet. I chose to make hazelnut macarons with a chocolate ganache. Maybe that was my problem..I should've used almond. Here's the recipe with my adapation.

Hazelnut macaron

2 1/4 cups Confectioners’sugar
2 cups finely ground hazelnuts
2 tbsp granulated sugar
5 Egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Dobos Torte-Daring Bakers

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

I had a really hard time with this dobos torte. I don't think there's actually anything wrong with the recipe, but my heart just wasn't in it the night that I made this cake. I planned to make the dobos torte for a friend for her birthday. Her birthday was on a weekday. After a long day at work, I came home dreading the idea of baking.

But bake, I did. The cake batter came together with no problems. Instead of baking it on a sheet pan, I baked it layer by layer in a springform pan. The problem is by the last layer, the batter didn't look as light and airy as the first layer. If I made this cake again, I will follow the recipe.

The chocolate buttercream is absolutely delicious. I can eat it straight, and I'm not a frosting person. I keep telling you that, but I don't know if you believe me anymore. Anyway, I think the buttercream saved the cake. When I assembled the cake, it was so short and looked so sad. So I cut it in half and stacked in on top of each other.

I couldn't give my friend a half circle cake, so I cut it to make a triangle. The good part is I got to have a taste of the cake. It was okay....nothing to the recipe though, it was completely my mood and me not baking it correctly. Here's the recipe.

Dobos Torta
from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague

Sponge cake layers
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour
pinch of salt

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

1. Position the racks in the top and center thirds of the oven and heat to 400F.

2. Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3. Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4. In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5. Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4 cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the center and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the center rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Chocolate Buttercream
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favorite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

3. Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.

4. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

5. When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Caramel topping
1 cup caster sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

1. Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.

2. Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.

3. The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Angela's note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Finishing touches
a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Assembling the Dobos
1. Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

2. Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

3. Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

4. Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the center of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavor.

Milan Cookies-Daring Bakers

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.

We could make one or the other or both. I didn't have the time to make both, so I decided to make the Milan cookies. I absolutely love Pepperidge Farm's Milano cookies and welcome the opportunity to duplicate it.

Was my attempt successful? Sadly, no. These Milan cookies are not like the Milano cookies from PF. To me they're more like tuiles. They spread a lot in the oven and came out very thin and delicate. They're very good tuiles though. Instead of making the chocolate ganache, I spread Nutella between the cookies and rolled it in some crushed hazelnut. In the end, it was a very satisfying sandwich cookie, full of hazelnut flavor, YUM!

Here is the recipe for the Milan Cookies. If you're interested in the Chocolate covered Marshmallow cookies, take a look at Nicole's blog.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling (see note):
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 15 to 18 minutes (see note) 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.

Note:

• *Instead of making the chocolate ganache, I used Nutella for the sandwich filling.
  
  
• *The original recipe says to bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, my cookies were chewy on the inside, not the texture I wanted. I had to bake it for another 5 to 8 minutes to get it to have the crunch I wanted.
  
  
• *I only have two cookie sheets, so I had to make many batches. The cookie sheets should be cool before piping more dough on the cookie sheet. To cool the cookie sheets quickly, I run the cookie sheet under cold water and dry it.
  

Bakewell Tarts-Daring bakers

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.

I have never had a bakewell tart before and I'm not sure what it's supposed to taste like. As far as tarts go though, this is delicious. The shortcrust pastry is really tasty, like a shortbread cookie. I made little individual tarts with many different types of fillings. I made some with blueberry jelly, strawberry jam and also with some semi-sweet chocolate. My favorite was the blueberry jelly, the combination of the blueberry and almond go very well together. What a great challenge!! Hopefully one day I will make it to England to try a real bakewell tart. =P

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Inspirations and References: Allan Davidson, Tamasin Day Lewis, Anton Edelmann, Jane Grigson, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

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

2. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

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

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

Sweet shortcrust pastry

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

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

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

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

Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (1/2 tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

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

Spinach and Feta cheese strudel

Thank you thank you Courtney of Coco cooks and Linda of Make life sweeter for this great challenge!!! I would've never thought to make a strudel. Pastries are always so intimidating to me. If someone told me you have to stretch the dough so thin that you can see through it, I would say you're craaazy!

But because it's a daring baker challenge, I knew I had to do it. And...I did it!!! You have to try it too, you really do. The strudel dough is so much fun to play with. You really can stretch it so thin that you can read fine print through it.

I decided to make a spinach and feta cheese strudel...kinda like a spanakopita strudel. It came out really really good. The strudel was nice and flaky and the spinach filling was delicious. The strudel was gone in no time. You have to try it, you won't regret making it!! Here are the recipes.

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.

Spinach and Feta cheese strudel
filling recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's Spanakopita

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
salt and freshly-ground pepper
8 oz feta cheese
1 stalk of green onion
pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg
1 large egg, at room temperature
lemon juice

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent.

3. Transfer the onion to a medium bowl. Add the spinach and green onion. Allow mixture to cool

4. Add the feta cheese to the spinach mixture. Add the nutmeg and a squirt of lemon juice, plus more salt and pepper if desired. Stir in the egg.

5. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the spinach mixture about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip.

6. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

7. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a medium size bowl. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour and mix until a rough dough forms. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.

2. Knead the dough on an unfloured surface until a soft and elastic dough forms. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (see note).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth (see note), dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.

4. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

5. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Note:

• *I allowed my dough to rest for 3 hours and it was really easy to manipulate. I don't know if you actually need to rest it for that long.
  

Brand new Daring Baker Website!!

I have been a proud member of Daring Bakers since 12/2007. It's been so much fun baking with my fellow members every month, and I'm so excited to share with you our new website. The wonderful people at Daring Kitchen have created a brand spanking new website and new logos!! There are now two groups, Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks. The new website is absolutely FABULOUS! Go on over to check it out.

Let me introduce to you the new superheros from the Daring Kitchen. From left to right, we have El Spatula, Lady Whisk, Chopping Ninja, Miss Measure, Mighty Flame, and Vanilla Fairy. What I'm most excited about is the Daring Shop!! I can't wait to purchase some Daring Kitchen merchandise!!!

Chocolate Valentino

I'm sorry I'm late!! I didn't have time to make this cake until last night..and didn't have time to post until now. Better late than never! For this month's Daring Baker's challenge, we were tasked to make a Chocolate Flourless cake and a ice cream of our choice.

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

A tip from our hosts is to use a chocolate that you love, because the cake would taste exactly like the chocolate. I decided to splurge and use some bittersweet chocolate I bought when I was in Paris. The recipe calls for 16oz of chocolate..and I didn't have the heart to use all my chocolate in one go, so I halved the recipe.

The result is the most decadent chocolate cake I've ever tasted. It was more like a truffle than a cake. You really only need a very small slice to satisfy your chocolate craving..it's really that potent! As an accompaniment, I made a green tea white chocolate ice cream that I found from Tartelette. This is my first time making ice cream, and I was surprised how good it was!! It's not quite as good as Bubbies' green tea ice cream...but, I will keep trying! =P Here are the recipes.

Chocolate Valentino-half portion
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

8 ounces of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
3 large eggs separated

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

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

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

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

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

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

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

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

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

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

Matcha White Chocolate Ice cream
adapted from Tartelette

Makes a little over a quart

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
4 large egg yolks
6 oz white chocolate, finely chopped (see note)
2 1/2 tablespoons matcha powder, sifted (see note)

1. In a medium heavy saucepan, bring the cream, milk, and salt to low boil, stirring constantly.

2. Whisk the eggs until pale yellow eggs, pour the hot cream mixture in a thin, steady stream in the bowl of eggs. Now pour mixture back in the saucepan.

3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, just until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of it, about 5 minutes. Looks like your making custard sauce or creme anglaise at this point. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and pass it through a strainer, add the matcha powder and stir well with a whisk.

4. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring at 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Add the chocolate to the matcha cream and whisk it in well. Cool the cream to room temperature, cover with a layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold.

5. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions of your ice cream machine.

Note:

• The original recipe uses 8 oz of white chocolate. I didn't want the taste of the chocolate to overpower the green tea, so I decreased it to 6 oz. I thought it was sweet enough with 6 oz.
  
• The original recipe uses 2 tbsp of matcha powder. I used 2 1/2 tbsp to increase the green tea potency. I had a hard time dissolving the powder into the cream mixture. Next time, I will pour a small amount of the cream mixture into the tea powder to form a paste before I mix it into the cream.
  

Tuiles-Daring Bakers

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. Our challenge is to either make plain tuiles, chocolate tuiles, nougatine, or savory tuiles and pair it off with something light.

I decided to make the plain tuiles, and pair it off with a lilikoi (passion fruit) mousse. This was such a fun challenge..unlike most of our usual challenges, this one didn't take that much time at all. It only took me couple of hours to finish this..even with the refrigeration and the cleanup. That's pretty quick for me..I'm normally a very slow baker. I always need to multiply the regular cooking time by two.

The recipe for the tuiles is very straight forward and easy to make. The challenge, I think, was deciding what shape I wanted my tuiles in. In the end, I decided to make little tuile cups and a tuile spoon to serve my lilikoi mousse in. They're so cute!!

I didn't have any tuile molds and I didn't want to spend the money to buy one, so I made them using styrofoam plates (I know, I know, this is me hiding in shame!!) But in my defense, I only used one plate, and I saved the molds for future use. For the tuile cups, I just made a circle the size of about a cd, and used the cut out from the circle to make my spoon. I chose styrofoam plates because they were the perfect amount of thickness for the tuiles.

The tuiles were very yummy. Check out all the other daring bakers' creations. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try. If you want to make the Lilikoi mousse, the recipe is here.

Tuiles
“The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.
Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

1. Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

3. Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

5. If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

Daring Bakers-Caramel cake

This month's daring baker challenge is a caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting. This month's challenge is brought to us by Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater. Helping Shuna are Alex of Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie, Jenny of Foray into Food, and Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go.

The original author of the Caramel Cake is Shuna Fish Lydon and the original recipe can be found here. We were also given the option of making Golden Vanilla Bean Caramel from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert. I didn't end up making the caramel as this is a busy time of the year for us.

This challenge has three parts, the caramel sauce, caramel cake and the caramelized butter frosting. The part that scared me the most was the caramel sauce...I think it was because of the warning that came with the recipe (see below). But it actually wasn't that bad at all. It was fun watching the sugar change color and the sauce is so very tasty!!

After making the caramel sauce, I made the caramel cake..no problems there, the cake turned out fine. Not too much trouble there...the last part was the caramelized butter frosting. I have never browned butter before and I absolutely love it!! I am now in search for other recipes that use browned butter. The smell of browned butter is amazing. The frosting is very good and you can really taste the browned butter, but the only thing is that it's so very very very sweet!! I wish I knew how to make it less sweet without ruining the texture, because I just love the browned butter taste...any ideas?

Here are the recipes, enjoy!!

Caramel Cake
from Shuna Fish Lydon

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

4. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

5. Sift flour and baking powder.

6. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

7. Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

8. Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

9. Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

Caramel Syrup
by Shuna Fish Lydon

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

1. In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

2. When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

3. Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

Caramelized buttered frosting
by Shuna Fish Lydon

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

1. Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

2. Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month. To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.

Daring Bakers-Pizza

I missed the last three daring bakers challenge while I was away so I was so happy to be back in the kitchen with this challenge!! Although I love sweets, I love it when our challenges are savory. The hardest part about this challenge is we were required to toss our pizza, and as you can see in the picture..I didn't do so well. heehee..I'm sorry, at least I tried right?!

The pizza came out well, everyone was happy with the results. I made the traditional "super supreme" variety. I used a quick tomato sauce recipe from cook's illustrated, and just added some fix-ins. Take a look at all the other Daring Bakers' pizza successes. here's the recipe:

Basic Pizza Dough

Adapted from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.
Makes 4-6 pizza crusts

For the dough:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) olive oil or vegetable oil
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) ice cold water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl or stand mixer. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (spoon or paddle attachment) to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth. If it is too wet, add a little flour and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

2. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper. Cut the dough into 4-6 equal pieces. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

4. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil and cover with plastic wrap. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

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

DAY TWO
1. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

2. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C). If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Take 1 piece and lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

3. Make only one pizza at a time. During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin.

4. When the dough has the shape you want, place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.