Daring Bakers: Apple Strudel

This was such a great challenge!! I was so excited when I saw that Courtney of CoCo Cooks and Linda of Make Life Sweeter chose a traditional apple strudel recipe for the May Daring Bakers challenge. I admit that I was very nervous about mixing and rolling the dough because I have never made anything even close to pastry like this before. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the dough was extremely easy to work with! Ok, let me back up, this is not an easy recipe. In fact, it took me about four hours start to finish to do the whole thing, but, the recipe is straightforward and the dough is easy to stretch very thin.

I let my dough rest for about an hour while I made the filling for the strudel and I think this really helped to relax the gluten enough to roll the dough thin enough for me to see the pattern of the tablecloth through it!


I was also very nervous about folding the filling into the dough because it was so delicate but again, I had nothing to worry about, because the instructions were so easy to follow!


My strudel baked up to a nice golden brown color. I let it sit for the prescribed 30 minutes before cutting into it and wow was it tasty! I thought it tasted best right after I made it while the pastry was still very crisp and the filling was still warm but Derrick preferred it the next morning after the pastry had softened a little (he also insisted that the filling tasted sweeter after it sat a bit). Needless to say Derrick, Helen Mae, and I finished the entire thing off in less than three days!
I will say that I did tweak the apple filling a little- I used vanilla instead of rum and I increased the cinnamon from 1/4 tsp to 1 tsp. I think that the rum really would have given the filling a much nicer flavor but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a whole bottle for a measly 2 tablespoons! I thought the filling was good but not great- I am definitely going to experiment with some different fillings (including some savory ones). I really loved the recipe for the pastry and I seriously cannot wait to make it again!! Thanks again Courtney and Linda!


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.

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

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. 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.

3. 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 walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. 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.

5. 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 (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. 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 (longer is better).

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, 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.
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.

4. 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.

Daring Bakers: Cheesecake!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Ok, I really slipped this one in right in the nick of time- today is the Daring Bakers reveal day and I actually woke up and made this cheesecake this morning and let it chill all day before decorating it, snapping a few pictures of it, and serving it! The recipe was for a very simple, basic cheesecake with a graham cracker crust but we were given instructions to do whatever we wanted to flavor it and make it our very own creation! So, because I am not fancy and or experienced with cheesecakes (I can't stand cream cheese so I NEVER eat or make cheesecake!) I made an Oreo crust, a chocolate cheesecake, a little chocolate sauce, and some good old fashioned whipped cream and called it a night. I think my cake turned out remarkably cute although extremely cliché looking! haha! Sort of like those cakes you see in the refrigerated cases at the bakery section of a grocery store! OH well!


Although I could not bring myself to eat a slice- it got rave reviews from my entire family. Here's a little secret: I used 16 oz of 1/3 fat cream cheese and 8 oz of regular full fat cream cheese and nobody noticed! The recipe is so simple and so versatile that I know I will make it again and again because everyone loves cheesecake (besides me). The cake is baked in a water bath to prevent cracking. There was a lot of debate about how to keep the water out of the spring form pan so that the crust doesn't get water-logged. I followed the advice to place the spring form pan into a larger cake pan and then placed that into the water bath- it worked great! I had no cracks and the crust was very crisp.


I ended up with a lot of extra batter so I put a whole Oreo in the bottom of a muffin liner and filled them with about two spoonfuls of the batter. They baked in about 25 minutes and there was only one crack casualty in the whole dozen:


My husband can't seem to keep his hands off the cheesecaklettes because they are just so easy to pop in your mouth and you don' t even need a knife and plate to eat it.


Thank you Jenny for a very good recipe- and be sure to check out the Daring Kitchen to see the amazing variety and astounding results that the Daring Bakers had with this cake!


Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:
adapted by Emily Rose

crust:
2 cups / 180 g Oreo crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
6 oz. chocolate melted
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Daring Bakers: Emilia-Romagna Lasagna

Like many of the Daring Bakers I was really surprised at this month's challenge! Lasagna is not typically what I think of when I think about baking- but this recipe was extremely daring! Every component is homemade- including the spinach pasta. I've never made pasta before but I've always wanted to try it out. Although it is a lot of kneading and hand rolling- I have to admit that the end result was worth it. I have always loved eating hand made pasta at restaurants because the taste and more prominently, the texture is so different from the dried store bought variety. The dough consisted only of fresh spinach, eggs, and flour and was not difficult to make but extremely labor intensive!

I really was interested in preserving the integrity of the recipe from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy because it is so different from the lasagna that we are used to eating and making in the United States. The recipe for the ragu sauce was especially different from the usual tomato sauce that we often use here. The problem is that the recipe is VERY meaty- like four or five different kinds of ground meat...and I don't eat meat. So...I knew that I could easily substitute a regular vegetable based marinara or something- but like I said, I wanted to stay true to the Northern Italian flavors. So, I compromised. I used the recipe and changed the meat out for eggplant, baby portabella mushrooms, and kalamata olives. Now this sauce was absolutely delicious... but it took about a million years to make it! Seriously, I stood over the stove for about four hours! The outcome was great- I just don't know if I could commit to making it again anytime soon!

The last component was the bechemel sauce. This was the easiest and most straightforward part of the recipe and it yielded great results. Instead of mounds of stringy mozzarella and a bunch of ricotta (which I actually also love!) this lasagna had only a cup of freshly grated Parmesan layered in with the bechemel.


The end product was really delicious and very different from the lasagna we eat here in the states. I served the dish to my parents, aunt, uncle, sister, husband, and baby and everyone really enjoyed it- there wasn't even one tiny square left over! I'm so glad that the challenge really challenged me but I'm also glad to be finished with it because it was really a two day long affair and I'm starting to feel this pregnancy a little more now that I'm getting close to the third trimester. I think I'll be sticking to recipes that require me to be on my feet for less than 2 hour increments.

Be sure to check out the beautiful, new Daring Kitchen website- it's a lot of fun to browse through!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

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

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

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

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

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

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

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

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

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

Working by Hand:

Equipment

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

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

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

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

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

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

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

#3 Vegetarian Ragu

Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours

Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g kalamata olives chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced

2cloves of garlic, minced
1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped

1 lb of baby portabella mushrooms chopped

2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) vegetable stock
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
6 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:
Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Add the eggplant and mushrooms and stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the eggplant and mushrooms are soft. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick stew. Season with salt and pepper.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Valentino and Fresh Raspberry Ice Cream

Yay, I finally got back to baking with the Daring Bakers! Even though I made the recipe on Valentine's Day- I am posting late...ooops! Helen Mae's 1st birthday party was on Saturday so I have been in overdrive getting everything ready. I'm so glad that morning sickness is now a distant memory (ok, not that distant....but it's over none the less!) and that I can finally handle the smell of, well, everything! The February 2009 challenge was hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They chose a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan along with the decadent cake we were required to make ice cream of any flavor. I have eaten flourless chocolate cake before, but I've never actually made one myself so I was excited about this challenge. Immediately I knew that I wanted to make a fresh raspberry ice cream to go with the cake- not only are raspberries and chocolate a wonderful combination- it was also the perfect way to Valentine's Day-up the dessert enough to serve it to my sweetheart on Feb. 14h!

The biggest challenge for me came with choosing the right chocolate for the cake. We were given complete freedom about what brand and type (milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet, etc.) of chocolate we wanted to use but we were also warned that the cake would taste exactly like the chocolate we picked. So I decided to do a little taste test with some good quality chocolates:


I picked up these bars of chocolate and decided to do a blind taste test- well the milk chocolates were decidedly too sweet and creamy for the cake and the bittersweet chocolate, though deliciously rich, was not quite sweet enough (the cake has no added sugar in it)- but the semi-sweet darker chocolates were just right. I narrowed it down to the World Market brand and this really wonderful bar of Bolivian chocolate-which ultimately won out. The chocolate was expensive but it was a fair trade product and I really want to try to support fair trade whenever I can.

The cake was so easy to throw together! I was a little worried about folding in the egg whites because I knew that if I deflated the batter the cake would not turn out- but everything worked out great! We were warned that the cake would fall quite as it cooled- and mine did, but it also held it's shape. The cake's texture was very dense, almost like fudge. I saved the remainder of mine for 3 days in the refrigerator and it became even denser but not dried out. I loved the deep flavor that the dark chocolate imparted but my sister wants me to try it again with a sweeter chocolate next time which I'm definitely going to try out- I actually would love to try it with an even more bitter chocolate too!


For the ice cream I used an extremely easy vanilla ice cream recipe and simply added 2/3 cup fresh raspberry puree (I strained out the seeds). The ice cream was delicious- it was not that overly sweet fake raspberry flavor that most of us think of, instead it was earthy and light.


Everyone enjoyed the cake and ice cream- but I think Helen Mae might have been the biggest fan! Here she is sharing with her Pop Pop:


Chocolate Valentino Cake Recipe, adapted from Chef Wan.

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

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.
While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
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).
With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
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}
Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
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.
Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Raspberry Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup raspberry puree with seeds strained out

mix first four ingredients and pour into ice cream maker. Allow the mixture to churn for 15 minutes then add the raspberry puree. Churn for 10 more minutes. Remove ice cream and eat immediately if you like it soft or put in an air tight container and allow ice cream to set in the freezer (about 2 hours).

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.

Daring Bakers: Caramel Cake

Sorry I'm posting this late in the day but we got back from Thanksgiving in the Tennessee mountains late last night and Helen Mae is really struggling to get back into a good nap schedule. Good thing I had foresight to make this delicious and very rich cake last week before I left for our trip!

November's Daring Bakers challenge was Caramel Cake with Browned Butter Caramel Frosting. The difficult part of the cake was making the caramel syrup which was used in the cake batter as well as the frosting. Like any caramel, you have to let sugar and water boil together until it turns a dark amber color- what made this a little different from other things I've done with caramel is that once the amber color is attained you pour one cup of water into the caramel to stop the cooking. I read a lot of comments about how much it would sputter and pop when the water was added so I used oven mitts and a long sleeved shirt and I didn't have any problems. Right after the water was added it seemed like the sugar became a little solid but I kept whisking it over medium heat and eventually it turned into a really nice syrup.


Honestly, the flavor of the syrup itself was so good that I could have eaten it by the spoonful- but it really added a delicious taste to the cake. Many of the Daring Bakers complained about the extreme sweetness of the cake and the frosting so I used regular salted butter instead of unsalted and mine turned out with a really great flavor.


I have not had much success with browning butter in the past because I'm always so worried that it's going to burn that I take it off the stove before it actually browns. But I was determined this time to get it right- this little tutorial on All Recipes helped me quite a bit. I strained the butter through a sieve like the directions indicated and I think I ended up straining out most of the salt that was in the butter- so that it was too salty or too sweet.


Caramel Cake Recipe Courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon

Recipe published from Bay Area Bites

Hosts/Co-Hosts for this month's challenge:

Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity

Alex of Blondie and Brownie

Jenny of Foray into Food

Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

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 eggs, at room temperature

splash vanilla extract

2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F

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

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.

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.

Sift flour and baking powder. 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.

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.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.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

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.

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.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 BUTTER FROSTING

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

Cook butter until brown.

Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool. Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

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

(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon)

Daring Bakers: Pizza!

Hooray! It's finally the reveal day for my first Daring Bakers challenge!! PIZZA! I know this seems like a pretty benign challenge when compared to some of the amazing feats that the Daring Bakers have accomplished- but the real challenge here was in the method- not the recipe. You see, Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums, required us to hand toss the pizza like a real pizzaiolo! We are supposed to post a picture of the toss, but, allow me to issue this disclamer: Helen Mae was being a grump so Derrick was torn between trying to keep her quiet and trying to photograph me. So here are the only shots we got:

You can tell that I was going to toss it and that I caught it- but no actual toss picture- and boy do I look stunning in those action shots! Oh and I was house sitting when I made these- so this glorious kitchen is unfortunately not my own! Haha! Actually, tossing the dough worked well- I got one small tear in the first crust but the second one went perfectly!

The dough had to prove in the refrigerator for at least one night but as much as three days- mine went about a day and a half. I really liked the recipe- I found it easy to work with and it produced a crust that was crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. I imagine this will become my go-to pizza recipe (at least until I find a good whole wheat one too!).


The only requirements for toppings were that there be a sauce and a topping. I love gourmet pizza as much as the next foodie- caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, handmade goat cheese from the Swiss Alps, etc.- but I made us the world's simplest old fashioned pizza pie- tomato sauce (that I didn't even make myself) and a mozzarella and provolone mix of cheese- boring with a capital B. But sometimes you just have to do what you can do- and what I could do was try to throw these together as quickly as possible while simultaneously solacing my teething tiny one.
I did try something a little New Orleansy by making one half of one pizza with olive salad to create a sort of vegetarian muffuletta pizza- and lordy was that good! I will definitely make a version of this again.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 Cups Unbleached bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled

1 3/4 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Instant yeast

1/4 Cup Olive oil or vegetable oil

1 3/4 Cups Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)

1 Tb sugar

cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE:

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: 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, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, 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.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. 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 zippered 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

8. 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. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately 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.

9. 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).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. 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.

NOTE: 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, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

13. Place 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.

NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

14. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

15. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.