Eclairs

When I first let R know what this month's Daring Bakers challenge was, we were both excited. I was excited to make them, because amazingly, I have never made eclairs, or cream puffs, or a pate choux of any time. R was excited to eat the eclairs, because apparently she is something of an eclair fan.

This month's challenge was hosted by Tony Tahhan and MeetaK and featured a recipe from Pierre Hermé, from a cookbook written by Dorie Greenspan: Chocolate Desserts By Pierre Hermé.

I put this off, because that is what I do - procrastinate. As I read other comments from DBers throughout the month I gleaned that there were a few points in the recipe that threw some people off and that this was not going to take nearly as long as last months challenge. When I finally did get around to making these, it was true what other DBers had said: the whole thing can be done in a little over two hours and it dirties about every pot, pan, rack etc. that you own. It was definitely a fun challenge since I have not made this before, once again, invoking the true spirit of the Daring Bakers - get out there and try something new, take on that recipe you wouldn't have tried on your own you lazy bastard.

My thoughts: I made the recipe as written (except I don't have a good scale, so some of my chocolate ratios may have been a tad off - I tend to lean to the more is more approach) and although the dough was a bit eggy, I think it held up well to the chocolate pastry cream and chocolate glaze. The pastry cream was also a bit too puddingesque for me. Overall, I think the recipe was a good one and it came together easily, but I just don't think I really like eclairs that much. Everyone else enjoyed them and they didn't last long, so it seems it's just me who is weird. I've decided that the next time I make a choux, it will be in a savory setting, and I will continue to search for the perfect pastry cream.

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs

Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.
   
2. Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
   Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
   Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
   The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
   
3. Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes. My notes: after reading comments from other DBers, I passed on the opening of the oven door and had nice and puffy eclairs. Others complained that opening the oven caused their eclairs to deflate and flatten.
   

Notes:

1. The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1. Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
   
2. The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
   
3. Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:

1. If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.
   
2. The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Cream Puff Dough
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1. In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.
   
2. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
   
3. Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
   
   You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
   
   
4. The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:

1. Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2. You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
   
2. Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
   
3. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
   
4. Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
   
5. Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:

1. The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2. In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3. Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
   
2. Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
   

Notes:

1. If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2. It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1. Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2. It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:

1. You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2. This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Bagels Revisited

Bagels are a big deal to me. Way way back (back before Blogger and a gagillion personal food blogs), freshman year in college, the first time I had access to "fast" internet connections and free domain space I even createded a website (or "web page" as we called it back then - I'm talking back in the dancing baby days) "Ethan's Don't Forget to Boil the Bagel Page". I was also fairly convinced that egg bagels were going to take over the world - and I wasn't totally convinced that was a bad idea. Maybe that's why I am now on a journey...Baking Bread to Save the World.

Enough. Point is, I like bagels. I hate crappy round rolls with holes that you get at the grocery store. Since the closest, good bagels are about a 2.5 hour drive from home, it's high time we nail down this bagel baking business.

I made a batch of bagels from my NY Grandpa's recipe a while back, and while I will make a few changes the next time I make them, they were very good, real bagels...chewy with a bit of a crust and great flavor (from the bagel itself, not some ridiculous blueberry flavor).

I am interested in coming up with the perfect bagel recipe so I have been pouring through recipes online. I came across the same recipe on two great food blogs (Eating out Loud, and Cafe Fernando). They both had used Peter Reinhart’s recipe from his classic book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" which is actually a book I have, but had largely been intimidated by - all these levains, and poolishes, and breads that take three days to make, assuming you've spent the last 23 years tenderly seeing to the needs of your precious sourdough starter. Now that I found it in "quick and easy" comfort of the internet, I was ready to take it on.


Alas, the venerable Peter Reinhart has let me down. After mixing, and kneading, and kneading, and kneading, an overnight retard, a quick dip in the boiling pot, and baking at such ridiculously high heats considering the weather around here (when will it drop below 100 again?) what did we get to have for breakfast? Round rolls with a hole in the middle. Decent rolls (especially when covered with Rosemary and Grey Sea Salt, or Pecorino and Crushed Black Pepper), but certainly not bagels, certainly not Grandpa's bagels.


So it is decided...Grandpa was not messing around. I think a tweak or two and Grandpa's recipe will produce as fine a bagel as you can get this side of NYC.

3 Reasons Why I Should At Least Pretend to Diet

We usually break out the ice cream maker in the summer months, but the bug hit a bit late this year. I finally started making a few batches and once again I'm hooked on the ability to create all types of fun and new flavors of fatty frozen fabulousness. We are on our third flavor experiment so far and I already have lots of ideas and recipes waiting in the wings.

The first batch was a horchata ice cream that apparently was so good it did not last long enough to photograph. It actually was quite good. This was however the total cheater ice cream. I had, on a lark, purchased a horchata mix to easily make some of the yummy almond, cinnamon, rice milk drink for H's bday. I wanted to keep the horchata theme going since I had made horchata cupcakes with mini churros for her 1st birthday - including grinding rice, soaking overnight etc. Since we were having nearly 50 people over this year (yes, we broke down and got the giant inflatable cage, I mean bounce house, too) I wanted to streamline things, hence the mix. Of course, by the time things got rolling, I forgot to make horchata. So here we are with an empty fridge save for a half gallon of horchata concentrate and we want ice cream. The obvious solution was to mix the concentrate with some half and half (also left over from the party, because really, who was going to drink coffee when it was nearly 100 degrees outside?) some cinnamon, almond extract and some chopped mexican chocolate. Mix it up, chill it, throw it in the ice cream maker and boom, super-duper easy horchata ice cream that ended up quite the crowd pleaser.

After being such a cheat I decided I should redeem myself by making up my own recipe. Of course, this ended up not tasting as good, but it was healthy ice cream man, so you know, it had that going for it. I tried to keep it very easy so it would be replicable, which in turn had the effect of making it not taste good enough to want to replicate. That's not entirely true, it wasn't so bad that we didn't devour it in a day or two - in fact, R really liked it and would order it again. That's our test, we will often rate food we make by deciding if we were served this at a restaurant, a) would we go back to that restaurant? b) would you order the same dish? and c) would you recommend that dish (the highest compliment)?

Health Food Pina Colada Ice Cream
really, it's healthy, eat as much as you want, there's no cream

1 can coconut milk
1 can pineapple (I had a can of rings, so I used that, crushed would work, whatever)
1 individual size container of vanilla yogurt. (Plain would work, or I suppose even Pina Colada yogurt, but that's just getting silly)
approx. 1/4 C. honey
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
Zest from one lime
Juice from said lime


Chop the pineapple if you are using rings or chunks, mix it all together in a bowl and put it in the fridge to chill for a few hours, or overnight.


Put it in your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers directions.

Wow, now that I write it out, this looks like cheater ice cream too, but at least it's my cheater ice cream.

Chocolate Gelato

Now this one is worth repeating. I found this recipe at a favorite food blog Cafe Fernando. It's a starch based (not custard) gelato/ice cream. Again, quite easy, but amazingly delicious. Very rich, great texture (H said it was "chewy"). We will certainly be making this one again. I've now got a couple of David Lebovitz's recipes I am itching to try. Who's up for some Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream? Man that sounds good. We'll let you know.

The last harvest

The last of the tomatoes, onions, and peppers. We still have a half dozen watermelon and a few cantelope and honeydew on the vine. We are looking forward to redesigning the garden and getting ready for fall plantings.

This Weekend - I Baked

I have been wanting to do a lot more baking and cooking lately. It has just been too busy with kids, work, event like American Idol, etc. But this weekend, the stars aligned and I was able to spend some time in the kitchen. Actually, it is mostly due to my beautiful wife who was kind enough to stay on top of the weekend chores and the kids so I could get some yummy things from the oven to our bellies. And, speaking of stars...they were gorgeous last night. R and I stepped outside after the kids went to bed and the sky was brilliant with glowing stars, we hung out outside long enough to see a shooting star together, which has always been a thing for us.

Back to the baking. This weekend, I made...

a brotform loaf of semolina bread,

a classic diner style layer cake with homemade peach jam and spiced whipped cream,

and bagels from Grandpa S's recipe

I also made some zuchinni pickles from the Zuni Cafe cookbook to put on hamburgers at my mom's house tomorrow.


So first off, the brotform. This was basically because I needed space in the fridge. I had some semolina dough from ABi5MaD and I let it rise in the brotform I got from D and M. This was a much smaller loaf than the last one, but it worked just fine. We had it as an appetizer with some rosemary oil and balsamic last night.

The cake was also for last night - we celebrated my Dad's birthday.

They had just dropped off some fresh peaches for us the day or two before so I thought it would be fun to incorporate them into the cake.

I have been looking for a go-to cake recipe lately and have been playing with one from Dorie Greenspan that was used in a past DB challenge. I made it a few nights ago as mini lavender bundt cakes, but I forgot the vanilla extract and they were obviously a bit flat (sorry Cat and Heath). I am liking the cake, it's got a great texture and a hint of lemon from the zest that is blended with sugar and then creamed with the butter.

This time I used vanilla and walnut extract and used the homemade peach jam (which was just cooked fresh peaches with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove) and covered the whole cake with whipped cream (whipped with powdered sugar for added stability) flavored with a hint of the walnut extract. It ended up looking like a classic diner cake. I really liked using the whipped cream - I really really like whipped cream, so covering a cake (I really really like cake too) in whipped cream is definitely the way to go. I can do without buttercream for a while.

I have also been wanting to bake more bread lately and I thought trying out Grandpa's bagel recipe would be perfect. My grandpa was a New York fireman way back, and used to tell me cool stories about growing up playing stickball in the streets. Now some people swear that you can't make a good bagel outside of New York because there is something special in the water, but Grandpa and I gave that theory a run for its money today.

To make bagels, you make a basic bread dough with salt and a bit of sugar, and knead the heck out of it

let it rise,

reknead, then shape into the the classic bagel "oh".

After a brief rise, they are boiled in salted, malted, water. I used sugar, because I didn't have any malt in the house. Boiling is key. You can't make bagels without boiling, so don't even try, unless you are a huge fan of round rolls. Steaming bagels doesn't work either, they don't get that perfect crust and chewy inside without being boiled.


They boil for about three minutes then you take them out and put them on a greased cookie sheet and you can add your favorite toppings at this point. That is of course assuming to don't think blueberries, or sundried tomatoes are the perfecting topping. Chocolate chip and blueberry are muffin flavors, not bagels. Today I went with sesame seeds, caraway seeds, and some gray salt.


They'll sit again for a few minutes and then head into a preheated (425) oven for about 25-30 minutes. I did add extra steam when I first put them in and I left my baking stone in the oven to regulate temp since I knew I would have to open the oven to rotate the two trays.


After an agonizing wait to let them cool, R and I finally tried some. They're fantastic. I will keep playing with the recipe, but I won't buy bagels in the Valley ever again. They are delicious, dense, chewy with a crust. I can't wait to toast one up in the morning with a schmear of cream cheese.

Throwdown - Challah

It's official, the first throwdown is on. Cat and I will be going head to head in a Challah challenge. Results to follow - although we've put it off until after H's b-day.

You know what this means Erica, apple pie throwdown here we come!

Filbert Gateau (well, almond gateau really)

My second Daring Baker challenge!

This month's challenge was brought to us by Chris at Mele Cotte. The recipe was for a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Great Cakes by Carol Walter. The cake is definitely not your standard, light fluffy American style out of the box cake. It is a not overly sweet, nutty, dense, but good cake - of course the buttercream, syrup, and ganache blow the "not overly sweet" issue out the window.

I ended up substituting almonds for the hazelnuts (filberts) because they are considerably cheaper and I like them better. After baking the cake, you slice it into three layers and when it's time to assemble, each layer gets brushed with a simple syrup flavored with a liquor. I used coffee and almond liquor flavors instead of the rum - to go with the almond cake. After each layer is brushed with the syrup, they get sandwiched with a layer of praline butter cream (again with the coffee liquor) and a layer of unsweetened (almond flavored in my case) whipped cream. The whole cake gets a final covering with a wonderful dark chocolate ganache and then is decorated with some reserved buttercream.

My biggest issue was with the ganache. I was not able to get the mirror finish that others got. Annette gave me a tip though for next time - warm an offset spatula over the stove flame and then brush across the top of the poured ganache to shine it up. I will definitely give that a try if I can't get that mirror finish from the first pour next time.

Now be patient, the recipe is really long, but if you take it step by step, it's not all that bad. Also I apologize, but I didn't edit the recipe for my changes, I copied and pasted as it was presented to me (weird wording errors and everything).

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

1 Filbert Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Filbert Genoise

Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

The finished cake, fresh from the oven.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.

Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.

Praline Buttercream
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
1/3 cup praline paste
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum.

Swiss Buttercream
4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a elevtric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

The whipped egg whites/cool meringue portion of the butter cream.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Praline Paste
1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup Sugar
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.

Melting sugar for the praline

Almond praline cooling before being ground in the food processor.

Apricot Glaze
Good for one 10-inch cake

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer or tube cake

**Ganache can take on many forms. While warm – great fudge sauce. While cool or lukewarm – semisweet glaze. Slightly chilled – can be whipped into a filling/frosting. Cold & solid – the base of candied chocolate truffles.

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt
6 oz. (¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreay, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)
¾ tsp. vanilla
½ - 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ - 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling Cake

Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.



Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes



Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-ich blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache.

Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

Leftover cake can be covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Everyone seemed to really like the cake, it was pretty and tasted good - not necessarily my favorite cake every and I am not entirely sold on buttercream, but it was a worthy challenge, quite a bit of fun to put together (over several hours, over two days) and indeed a delight to eat.

The piping skills leave a bit to be desired.

Grilled Bread

I finally made another batch of bread dough. Semolina this time because I didn't have any unbleached ap flour in the house (I know, how does one let these things happen?). We had Steve and Erica over for dinner so I wanted to try a little grilled bread for an appetizer. I took a few small pieces of dough, spread it out on a Silpat with a bunch of olive oil, sprinkled a few herbs and sea salt on the bread and plopped it down on a medium-hot grill. Close the lid, and flip it over in a few minutes. You can of course cover it with some precooked toppings, sauce and a little cheese and make quick and easy grilled pizzas. But tonight instead, I made a new pasta dish from a site I like a lot. The Velvety Broccoli and Feta Pasta was pretty good - broccoli, feta, lemon, parsley - what's not to like? We served it all with a good salad and a nice citrus-honey viniagrette. All in all a good meal, and of course great company!

Palmiers - Sweet and Savory

I "borrowed" another recipe from my friend Debs' food blog Girl and Her Spoon. This was one of her childhood favorites and I can see why. I have always loved Palmiers, all flaky and sweet, with good cup of coffee, and now with the ease of this recipe, I am sure we will have them more often. I did a couple of experiments with the recipe. I made both a sweet (cinnamon and sugar) and a savory (pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and pecorino) version of the treat and I worked with the puff pastry differently for each version. First the recipe, and then what I learned. I'll quote Debs' recipe and then explain how I did things.

Palmier (easy version)

1 sheet of puff pastry
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon
1 egg, beaten

Spread the sheet out. Brush egg wash on one side and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Turn over and do the same to the other side. Take one side of the puff pastry and roll it to the center. Take the other side and roll it to the center. Wrap in parchment paper and put in the freezer for about 10 minutes to harden. Don't unravel, but cut the log into 1/2 inch heart-shaped pieces. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle again with sugar and cinnamon. Bake according to puff pastry box directions. Keep an eye on them so they brown and don't burn!

**This can easily be savory by swiping pesto instead of egg and adding Parmesan cheese to the inside and on top of the cookies (before you bake). Really, add anything you think could taste yummy!


I used one sheet of the pastry (they usually come two to a pack) for the sweet. I simply defrosted and followed the recipe exactly (just unfolding the pastry sheet, but not rolling it out), although I didn't measure anything, I just sprinkled away. For the savory, I did indeed swap pesto for the egg wash, and then I added chopped up sun dried tomatoes and a healthy sprinkling of pecorino (obviously you could use parmesan, etc.). However, with the savory batch, I folded up the thawed sheet and then re-rolled it out to a rectangle about 10" by 14". As you can probably see from the photos, the savory batch that had been folded and rolled puffed up into larger treats. The sweet batch that was just a thawed sheet still made pretty cookies but they were smaller. I think I actually like the taste of the sweet ones better - perfect with coffee on a weekend morning, but the savory was good too. I would only add the tomatoes to the interior side next time, the ones on the outside burned a bit and I ended up knocking most of them off. I will definitely keep experimenting - roll out the sweet version and see if they grow, maybe try a little mexican chocolate and cayenne.

Daring Danish

My first Daring Bakers challenge!

I've joined the legions of adventurous baker/bloggers who have banded together to challenge each other with new and exciting recipes each month and share their experiences, challenges, and successes. I am excited to have jumped aboard the Daring Bakers express and I look forward to the new challenges to come. It's a pretty fun idea. It started with two friends (Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice) back in Nov. 2006 with the idea to bake the same recipe (pretzels) and compare results. Soon others realized that could be quite fun, and about 20 challenges later, the Daring Baker Blogroll stands at over 1,000 bakers.

This months challenge was a fun one for me because it lived up to the spirit of the whole Daring Baker concept. I have never made Danish or a laminated dough and probably would not have taken it on with out the impetus of the challenge and deadline.

The danish dough recipe we were given worked out really well. It was a very compliant dough, even in my warmer than ideal kitchen. The dough is scented with orange zest and cardamom and I made an almond cream and a cardamom plum compote for the filling. The end result was fabulous and worth the hours of rolling, folding, chilling, rolling, folding, chilling...I still have some of the dough left, and lots of almond cream so I think I am going to roll quasi-croissants and fill them with the cream.

The finished product was flaky and delicious!

It was a lot of fun, and I am excited to have an excuse to try new recipes, fill the house with new smells, and fill the belly with new tastes.

The freshly mixed dough had a wonderful touch and already smelled fabulous

Mixing the butter block

The butter block has been spread on 2/3 of the dough which will then be folded like a letter

The first fold - the dough is then chilled, turned, rolled and folded again several times before a long rest.

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
½ cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
¼ cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
½ pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour


DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Slits are cut on either side of the rolled dough so the filling can be braided into the danish

Filled with almond cream and plum compote

The braided dough set for a final rise

It was looking good, better than I expected, but anything could happen during baking so fingers were crossed.

DANISH BRAID

Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see above)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see above)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.