The beginning ...

...of something good?

You know how it goes. You make something terrific and people say- Ooh, you should sell this! You hear that enough and you start to wonder if you could sell some things. How would it work? What exactly could you sell? Where could you do it? Who would buy your stuff? How could it happen without disrupting your life or costing too much to get started? Etc. Etc.

Let it be said, I'm interested in cooking for money again. Not as a full time gig, however. I enjoy cooking and entertaining, and I enjoy the rest of my life which does include a 1/2 time job teaching. I don't want for that to change. But, how great would it be to have some people who regularly or occasionally bought some baked goods from me or hired me to cater parties?

I've mentioned this to several people in the last couple of months and I intend to put together a reasonable list of things I could offer, including some prices. That's in the works, but not yet ready. In the mean time, if you're in need of any items or catering don't hesitate to give me a call.

One of my dear friends, who has listened to me ruminate on this project, had an occasion this last weekend where my services were exactly what she needed. She'd gotten in over her head a little bit in throwing a birthday brunch for a family friend. The guest list grew and grew and things took a serious turn when she discovered that the menu needed to be kosher for passover. Yikes! No bread for brunch?? What about birthday cake? This put a serious wrench in her well laid plans. We talked and she offered to hire me to provide some quiche and a cake, and she handled the rest.

Kosher for passover is different than regular kosher- the main restriction for us was no flour, no leavening, and for those of you jumping to the logical birthday cake option of a flourless chocolate cake with ground nuts, due to an allergy, no nuts were permitted either! You can use ground matzoh as a substitute for flour, but without time to do a trial run and tweak a recipe, I figured I would use a recipe that I knew. I chose the Chocolate Oblivion cake from the Cake Bible. It's a pound a chocolate, a half pound of butter and 6 eggs. This satisfied the dietary rules, and is darn tasty.

A flat, dark, kind of dull looking single layer simply would not do for a birthday cake. The dense texture of this "cake" made it a little challenging to fancy up. I decided on a raspberry whipped cream piped on top with some pretty fresh raspberries. This was not the time to try new things, since I had to make the delivery in less than an hour, but I wanted to make it even more dazzling. On the second try, a band of white chocolate lattice/scroll work/squiggles whatever you want to call it, worked! It was even sturdy enough to survive the car ride and made it in good shape.

For the quiche, large potato latkes served as the crust, and the filling for one was mushroom, spinach, sun dried tomato and feta. The other was caramelized onion, asparagus and chive. I made a third for our own brunch on Sunday of the remaining fillings and it was really good. I like the Silver Palate quiche custard formula of 1 1/2 cups of cream to 3 eggs. And, if you can use flour, their pate brisee recipe makes a perfect crust.


-Janet

Double Post of Daring Baker Goodness

This month's recipe is the Chocolate Valentino and an accompanying ice cream. The Valentino is a pretty standard flourless chocolate cake- eggs, chocolate and butter. In this version the eggs get separated and whipped up so it's not just a chocolate custard, but has a fluffier texture. The type and quality of the chocolate really determines the flavor of the cake. We used a 62% semisweet chocolate that we have liked in everything else we've made. Not this, though. The cake had a chalky dry quality and terribly bitter flavor. Robb had been especially keen for this one- was sure we were going to love it. I don't know why we didn't. The chocolate is tasty on its own and has been in other things we've made.

It's always fun to make ice cream, and it did provide some moisture and sweetness against the very chalky tasting cake. We made an apricot ice cream- pureed dried apricots in a typical custard base. It was fruity and creamy and a beautiful pale color.


The second Daring Baker item that I recently made was the milk chocolate and caramel tart. It's pretty good-nice to have a milk chocolate recipe for a change. The crust has quite a bit of cinnamon which is a nice compliment to the caramel and milk chocolate layers.


Happy Baking!
Janet

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.

Chocolate Valentino
16 oz. chocolate, roughly chopped
5 oz. unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Melt chocolate and butter, cool.
2. Butter, paper, butter pan.
3. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks

4. Mix yolks together and add to cooled chocolate.
5. Lighten, then fold together.
6. Bake at 375˚ for 25 min., the batter should fill 8” spring form pan 3/4
Will test wet, internal temp is 140˚, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie.
7. Cool 10 then turn out.Chocolate Shortbread Pastry
To make 3 tarts, 9 ½ inches (24 cm) square
or 10 inches (26 cm round)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened CREAM in f.p. ADD 150 g 10x, 50 g gr hazelnuts, 2 t cinn. MIX in 2 eggs, 1x1. SIFT 400 g cake flour, 2 ½ t b powd. & 1 ½ T cocoa and mix in.

Form into a ball and chill overnight.

Blind bake 15 min. @ 325˚

Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart
One 9-inch(24-cm) square pan; 1 10-inch (26-cm) round baking pan

CARAMELIZE 1 cup granulated sugar to golden. ADD 1 c xx cream or crème fraiche, and ¼ c butter. Cool.

BEAT 2 eggs & 1 yolk, ADD 2 ½ T flour. ADD to caramel mix. Pour into shell and bake 15 min. Cool.

BEAT 1 ¼ c xx cream to stiff and fold into 8 oz. melted milk choc.

SMOOTH over caramel mix. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

Daring Bakers August 2008 Challenge

Eclairs!

I love choux paste. It is just so fun to make.

About 20 years ago I made it for the first time. I had talked my way into a job at a bakery and was given some responsibilities I was not completely qualified for. It was a small operation with the manager/chef and me, plus some counter girls. There I was in my first week working alone one afternoon trying to make eclairs. I had seen it done, once, in culinary school by someone across the kitchen. I had a vague memory of how the dough comes together, but I wasn't sure if what I remembered was the student assigned to the task that day fouling it up or if that was the way it was supposed to go. When you are adding the eggs, it looks like it has totally gone to hell, then you keep mixing and it turns into beautiful dough. I'm glad I kept the mixer running while I tried to figure out what to do.

Not that I am some withered and dried up old lady, but youth does have its advantages, doesn't it? I didn't know enough to see how foolish I was to talk my way into this position. Somehow I muddled through for a couple of months and left to start the next year of school.


For this challenge I used a coconut cream filling in the eclair. It turned out like an eggy mounds bar which was a little weird.

Also, since I made these first thing in the morning, I filled one with some scrambled eggs with chives. Delicious!

For the recipe, and to see what some other folks did this month, please see some of the other Daring Bakers sites.

-Janet

Double Daring Bakers: Chocolate Intensity Cake

Intense? yes
Cake? not really

This flourless chocolate recipe is the least cake like flourless chocolate cake I have ever tried. Usually in these flourless recipes, ground nuts are substituted. Not in this case. It was an intensely chocolate, not overly sweet, eggy custard enhanced with some strong coffee. I sampled it when it was warm from the oven and it was very eggy indeed. I actually liked it, so I knew it wasn't going to please those with a real chocolate sweet tooth. When chilled, the flavor was still intense, a little less eggy, and it had a really dense smooth pudding texture. The coffee I used was an orange scented espresso (undrinkable btw- thanks nespresso!), and you could just get a hint of it, which was nice in this application. I cut out individual circles with a 3 inch round cutter and spread a little raspberry puree and drizzled some ganache on top. The raspberry added sweetness and a tart contrast to the dense pudding.

-Janet

Chocolate Intensity from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book Makes one 9-inch cake

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 62% cocoa), finely chopped
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brewed coffee
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350º F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round and butter the parchment. (If you're using a pan with a removable bottom like a springform, make sure to wrap the pan with 2 or 3 layers of foil.)

Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir butter, sugar and coffee until the butter is melted and mixture is boiling. Pour the hot mixture over your chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously until blended. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Slowly add about 3/4 cup hot chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. (Tempering the eggs with a little bit of the hot chocolate mixture will prevent "scrambled eggs" when combining the two mixtures.) Add the egg mixture to the hot chocolate mixture and whisk to combine well.

Strain the batter through a sieve (to catch any cooked egg bits) and then pour batter into prepared pan. Set cake pan in a large roasting pan and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the center is shiny and set but still a bit jiggly. Transfer cake pan to a cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a cardboard round on top of the pan and invert the cake onto it. Remove pan and carefully remove the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before glazing with chocolate glaze.

Bittersweet Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Gently stir in the vanilla. Transfer glaze to a small bowl and cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and let cool for 5 minutes at room temperature before using.

To glaze the cake:
Place the chilled cake, still on the cake round, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the hot glaze onto the center of the cake. Smooth the glaze over the top and sides, letting the excess drip onto the baking sheet.

Scrape the extra glaze from the baking sheet and put it in a small ziploc bag. Seal the bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners. Gently squeeze the bag over the top of the cake to drizzle the glaze in a decorative pattern. Refrigerate the cake at least one hour before serving.

Guess who had a big birthday??

Robb, that's who!! He turned 40 and had a pretty terrific surprise party put together by his partner, Michael.
Who knew there was a decent place to go here in Peekskill?? Henry's on Hudson had been reported to be a real s&#t hole. It's a motel restaurant so expectations were low to boot. But it was shockingly good! The food and beer selection was good, the service was excellent, and no one could complain about gorgeous views of the Hudson river at sunset.
My contribution to this monumental event was, naturally, a birthday cake. What to make for Robb... It has to be special, that's a given. I don't want for him to "know" all the elements. Uh, but I can't remember what he doesn't fancy. I'm sure that he's not fond of coconut, but what else... I don't want it to be too predictable...not just chocolate... Ok here goes!

It's a variation on a Baumtorte. This is not a widely known cake (at least here in the U.S.). It's not one that you are likely to see done commercially, either. The labor is a killer, although I bet it wouldn't be that hard to mechanize production. It's a cake that gets baked, broiled really, in thin layers one at a time, so that the end result is a short cake with tons of layers that looks like a cross section of a tree trunk. The almond paste batter gets spread into a very thin layer and broiled until its set, every other layer gets brushed with apricot and dusted with ground pistachios.
In honor of Robb's 40 years, I thought it appropriate to make it with 40 layers. I counted the cake batter layers. A second layer had 29, figuring that's the age many of us wish to stay in perpetuity.

The normal Baumtorte would be covered in Apricot and glazed with chocolate. It's tapered sides then covered with ground pistachio. To create a little more drama with this tiered version, I made an Apricot Silk Meringue Buttercream- our favorite from the cake bible (p. 239) with creme Anglaise, Italian meringue, butter, and apricot puree ( p. 335).

My piping skills are improving, and even though I thought it would be smashing to have some chocolate scroll work piped on the pale orange frosting, I decided not to ruin the cake! Instead, I recycled something we had done before. Robb and I liked it so well on the Strawberry Maria (CB p. 184), that along with the buttercream replay I didn't think he'd mind seeing it.















I experimented with some candy making molds, too. The little cordial cups came out pretty well and I liked the marbled look of the white and dark chocolate. I filled them with the frosting, although some apricot puree topped with frosting would have been better. Live and learn, right?
Robb's gifts there are an Easy Bake oven- yes they still make them- and some extra cake mix and tools to go whit it. My Dad always said it made a perfectly edible cake, hopefully we'll see sometime soon.

















Lots of great folks were at his party, including Robb's friend Rob who was kind enough to share some of the photos he took at the event. Thanks Rob!

To be fair, I'll add a picture that Rob shot of me at the party too. I'm no spring chicken either, my 40th is only 1 month away!

Happy birthday!
Janet


P.S. If you're dying for the recipe to the cake, just send me an email. Or google for it, I found little to no variation in recipes for it.

Daring Bakers July 2008 Challenge

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream From Great Cakes by Carole Walter (We also love, love, love her Pies and Tarts book- see favorite links)

Another terrific challenge with lots of recipes within one challenge: cake, buttercream, meringue, praline paste, caramel, syrup, whipped cream...

We got to make a Swiss meringue buttercream which we love almost as much as the Italian meringue buttercream in terms of texture, and we may like it even more due to the ease of making it. It is made even more delicious in this recipe with the addition of praline paste. Yum! We added some Frangelico just to make sure it was super nutty- and it was!

The filling is buttercream and whipped cream. The cake itself is made with ground toasted hazelnuts and is super, super good. I will be thinking of opportunities to make just the layer of cake in the future. It is delightful in texture and the toasty hazelnut flavor is dynamite. Maybe the plain cake layer with some creme fraiche and raspberries, or juicy peaches? Mmmm.

We added a layer of buttercream as a crumb coat even though the recipe called for apricot glaze to seal the whole thing up. #1: I didn't have any apricot jam (oops!), and #2 I really liked the buttercream and wanted more! The stripe between the top cake layer and the chocolate isn't that gorgeous, but if you didn't know it wasn't supposed to be that way, it's probably not noticeable.

The chocolate glaze was very pretty. We may finally have learned to stop poking at it and let gravity do its job- we were rewarded with a satiny smooth top. Our piping needs improvement, as always! I like the frilly ruffle that the leaf tip produces, but a bit of praline paste got clogged in the tip. I had only a #69 or #70, not a #114 which may have been large enough to stay unclogged. But, piping skills are a work in progress for us, getting better each time.

This cake was really delicious. K says it may be the best we've made, and another taster swooned as she said this will be my wedding cake! It was really that good. There are a lot of individual components to the cake as you can see in the recipe below. I made the cake layer and froze it until I had the time to put it all together. I also had some hard caramel from a previous recipe- anyone remember the caramel cage decoration? I felt rewarded for being a "saver" when I realized I didn't have to make any more caramel. If you're going to make this one, you might do some of the steps ahead of time so it's not quite so time consuming.

Janet

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream From Great Cakes by Carole Walter

1 Filbert Gateau
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 Gateau

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.

*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.

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 or 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.

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

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.

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.

Double Daring Bakers Biscotti

Another "making up for lost time" recipe. A bunch of us Daring Bakers are doing the monthly recipes that occurred before we joined the group. We are on the second recipe: Chocolate Toffee Biscotti (and a cinnamon biscotti variation). The formulas were originally from a Dorie Greenspan book and have been modified (or not?). I find that there are many versions of recipes floating around in cyberspace regarding the past challenges. It's like a game of telephone- you pass the info from one to another and changes get made.

In any case, these are not my favorite biscotti. They are quite flavorful, though a bit sweet, and they don't store very well. Some of you are saying, what do you mean store? #1 They get eaten, and possibly #2 Aren't they hard to begin with? Well, yes they do get eaten, but not as rapidly in my house as some baked goods. I like to have them for an occasional treat with a cup of coffee. I know, I know, that's a shocking level of never before witnessed restraint on my part. More importantly to me, therefore, is the stale quality after just one day. These recipes, are in my opinion, more a dried out cookie posing as biscotti, than what I think of as biscotti. I could be completely out to lunch, so don't take my comments personally if you really love these cookies.

I much prefer a biscotti by Maida Heatter, in her Best Desserts Book Ever, published in 1990. The difference is the butter. Hers have none. They are a crisp biscotti, not a stale sweet cookie. I know for sure that I am in the minority on this. People like sweet, especially with coffee. In my opinion, if you need to add sugar and whipped cream and caramel and chocolate and vanilla syrup to your coffee, and choke it down with a frosted sugary treat, you don't actually like coffee. Don't get me started... hmmm, too late?

I am going to include both recipes so you can make your own decision, should you decide to make them. The biscotti cioccolato from Maida have a definite spice and incredible intensity. They are crisp and wonderful. If you are making some biscotti that will be stored, I highly recommend these. If you are interested in making sweet cookies with chocolate chips, nuts and toffee pieces to eat right away, the Daring Bakers' recipe is really good. It's quite flavorful, and straightforward to make.

Maybe in another installment I'll share my thoughts on the orange nut cinnamon biscotti. For now, here are the chocolate recipes.

Enjoy them both!
Janet

Chocolate Toffee Biscotti

2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBS. instant espresso powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 stick (6 TBS.) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. chopped almonds, blanched or unblanched
1 c toffee peices
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 3/4 c. store-bought mini chocolate chips
Sugar for dusting

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes; the mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes; don't worry if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chopped nuts and chocolate, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead in any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into 12 inch long logs. Flatten both logs with the palm of your hand so that they are 1/2 to 1 inch high, about 2 inches across and sort of rectangular, then carefully lift the logs onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.

Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack - and that's just fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack and cool the logs for about 20 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)

Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet - you'll have an army of biscotti - and bake the cookies again, this time for just 10 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool. Makes about 40 cookies.

Biscotti Cioccolato from Maida Heatter's Best Desserts Book Ever

7 oz. whole unblanched almonds, skins on
3 eggs
½ c light brown sugar
1 t vanilla
½ t almond extract or bitter almond extract
2 c sifted unbleached flour
1 ½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 ¼ t white pepper
1 ¼ t ginger
1/3 c Dutch-process cocoa
2 T instant espresso powder (Medaglia D’oro)
½ c sugar
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, grated *

Toast the almonds at 375º for about 13 minutes. Cool. Turn oven down to 300º. Mix eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, ginger, cocoa, espresso and sugar. Put chocolate in food processor and add about ½ c of dry ingredients and process until the chocolate is fine and powdery. Add this chocolate mixture and eggs to dry ingredients in large mixer bowl. Mix, and add the nuts.

Form into loaves about 10“ long, 3“ wide, and ½ to ¾ “ high and bake on foil lined cookie sheets at 300º for about 50 minutes. Work on a floured surface and brush off any excess flour before baking. Reverse sheets top to bottom half way through.

Slice loaves into cookies about 2/3 to ¾” wide, can be as long as 8” if sharp enough angle. Good to start with serrated and finish with sharp straight edge. Bake again at 275º for 35 to 45 minutes.

* I like to use cocoa powder for the grated chocolate. Substitute 1T +1 ¾ t cocoa, 1 T + ½ t sugar, 1 ½ t unsalted butter for every ounce of semisweet chocolate.

Also, I like to cut the nuts instead of leaving them whole- much easier to slice the cookies.

And, leaving the sliced cookies in the oven over night works great. Turn oven off and there is enough heat left to crisp them without browning the sliced edges.

Triple Chocolate Cake

Triple Chocolate Cake (pg 201)

Contains: 1 recipe Light Whipped Ganache (pg 268), 1 recipe Moist Chocolate Genoise (pg 132), 1 recipe syrup flavored with Frangelico, 1 recipe chocolate praline sheets (pg 386)

The genoise came together fairly well. We did have a bit of trouble with flour clumping. I think it had something to do with the humidity. Or, it could be that it just wasn't stirred properly. Either way, the cake had white balls of flour along the bottom, not a tremendous amount, but even one is too many, right?

Actually the flavor and crumb of this cake was how I envisioned the previous cake (The Fudgy Genoise Jeffery) was supposed to be. Moist, crumbly, richly flavored. We really liked this cake, overall.

The whipped ganache was lovely. It's just cream, chocolate and vanilla, that you whip up. All around, a nice way to frost the cake. A chocolate frosting that's light. Who knew?

I conquered a fear this time. I made the caramel. I almost burned chocolate too, but we'll get to that. Caramel always seemed to be a scary venture to me. You put sugar on heat and wait for it to almost, but not quite, burn. Then you call it caramel. Well, lo and behold, magic can happen in a kitchen. You drizzle the caramel over the hazelnuts and let it harden. Then blend into a powder. We came as close as we could to fine powder, but the nuts were beginning to become a paste. So, we stopped grinding them. It left the chocolate praline sheets a bit grainy. The taste was exemplary, but the texture was a bit off with the smooth chocolate ganache and the moist chocolate genoise. We wondered if it would better to use a puree of praline rather than a crunchy caramelized sugar.

Yes, I almost burned the chocolate. In a fit of haste, read: in a hurry and clueless, I dropped chocolate into a pan to melt (notice I didn't say double boiler). J was working on the praline powder and she looks up and and says, "That chocolate smells hot". I lifted the pan off the stove and continued to stir, rapidly, just outside the kitchen. Luckily, I hadn't added all the chocolate and J has a superfine olfactory sense so the chocolate never burned!

You must cool the chocolate praline sheets before you put them around the cake. We ended up freezing them. But even that didn't help us on a fairly warm day in the kitchen. As we put the sheets around the cake, J could work with them for a fair amount of time. I, the guy who's usually a bit chilled, generated so much heat in my hands that I almost melted them on contact. I felt a bit like Heat Miser. "Every thing I touch, starts to melt in my clutch, I'm too much."

All in all we liked this one. The layers were moist and gently infused with the Frangelico and the whipped ganache was tremendous, the choclate sheets that wrapped the cake were tasty, and next time we'd use a paste of praline to have a smooth texture.

Robb

Well they all can't be winners!

Fudgy Genoise Jeffrey (pg 136) with the Perfect Whipped Cream, Mocha variation, (pg 253)

When last we met, we were extolling the virtues of this section of genoise cakes. This genoise went a bit haywire.

For this cake, you whip the egg yolks, add the melted chocolate, add the whipped egg whites and bake. Straightforward enough, but here's where it veered off course:

* The yolk/chocolate mixture was so thick, almost gloppy, that we worried that we may have over beaten the egg yolks. A bit of heat thinned it out enough for us to add the egg whites. But it always seemed a bit stiff.

* The "crisp, meringue-like crust" fell off when we turned the cakes out onto the cooling racks.

* The edges were a bit over done -- almost burnt.

* The middle part was a bit doughy/gooey.

* The texture wasn't fudgy in any way, it was actually a bit dry.

We thought it we could have over cooked it -- it wouldn't be the first time, but the almost un-done interior made us think that wasn't the case. Yes, it was dry and undercooked! Bizarre.

Sometimes we assume operator error, and figure that we'll give it a try again some time. But too much was wrong with this particular cake. There just weren't any redeeming qualities.

And, most sadly to me, somehow, I cracked the cake plate that J & K & John got me for my birthday.

The one thing that did go well was the perfect whipped cream. It was amazing. The inclusion of the tablespoon of cocoa and the teaspoon of instant espresso was wonderful. Both of us expected it to be gritty and granular, but it was smooth and a beautiful tan color. And, let me tell you, it tasted divine. We highly recommend the mocha whipped cream.

One of the things that we've learned together is that sometimes fixing a mistake is what baking is all about. In this case, we removed the crust (top, bottom and sides), cut the cake horizontally and created the rustic napoleon type cake you see here.

We had such high hopes for this cake. Perhaps it was those expectations that made this cake seem not so good? No, this one just didn't work.

Sometimes, I feel like Paula Abdul, I have to find something nice to say about what we baked. Often, the journey is more important than the finished product. This is one of those times where we got to hang out while the cakes baked and chat, eat lunch and enjoy the sun.

(But, I can say that the whipped cream was a thing of beauty.)

Bake through

Robb

Temper, Temper

With forks still in our mouths, both of us said, "This is a great cake!"

Strawberry Maria (pg 184)

The Strawberry Maria has 1 recipe Genoise au Chocolat (pg 129), 1 recipe syrup flavored with Grand Marnier (pg 129), 1 recipe Strawberry Cloud Cream (pg 264), 1 Chocolate Lattice Band (pg 388) and strawberries dipped in chocolate.

J was so happy with the photo of this showcase cake, that her enthusiasm made the entire baking time fun. And, if we hadn't taken the class at La Tulipe, we'd never have had the confidence to do the lattice work with chocolate, which turned out so beautifully.

Tempering chocolate isn't nearly as frightening as I originally thought. We learned in the class about the 4 kinds of crystals in the chocolate structure and that the melting point of each of them is slightly different. Tempering involves melting teh chocoalte, cooling it so that a crystal in that chocolate (the one you want) begins to form, then heating it again so that the other kinds of crystals (the ones you don't want) don't form.

It sounds complicated, and it helps to have had a trained professional, in a professional kitchen show you how. I am beginning to see how working with chocolate could be a whole life's work. There is much to know about chocolate and how to be creative and do more daring things. But the basics- melt, cool, melt keeping it a little cooler but still workable- are not tough!! It see ms like some kind of mystical process, but

we said if those teenagers who work at Godiva in the mall can do it, so can we. We've had professional instruction after all.

We dipped the strawberries into chocolate, drizzled stripes on them and J suggested we melt some white chocolate to drizzle over them. What a hit. The texture of both dark and white stripes looked really cool.

The genoise came together quite nicely. Actually this whole section of genoise has come together nicely. The syrup, well, who doesn't like sugar syrup? And, can anything be bad if it has Grand Marnier?

Strawberry Cloud cream is a fancy way of saying strawberry flavored whipped cream. We did the same thing to strawberries that we did to raspberries -- take frozen ones, thaw them, capture the juice, bowl i t down, puree the fruit, blend. Add a cup or so to the whipped cream. Really simple now, but in the midst of doing this, we forgot to measure the pureed bit and ended up with what looked like the beginning of a very soft serve ice cream. So, we remade it. Urgh, the basics of measuring still bites us in the butt sometimes. It turned out quite nice.

Another cake that sounded good, looked good, and tasted good. One year ago, we would have been freaked out and probably not tried the lattice band. But, this really was easy to put together. We are so happy with this one, we will each make it again.

Now that I've at least faced my fear of chocolate, I hope to overcome my fear of piping. Who knows.

Robb

Looking Back

After I realized that we'd been doing Bake Through for a year, I found myself re-reading the previous posts.  Back in April 2007, we had said that we'd like to try the Chocolate Cherry Almond Pound cake (pg 32) in its more traditional Apricot Version.  Well, here it is.

I have to say that I wasn't a big fan of this cake, then or now. And, while I'm glad that I made it using apricot preserves and a lemon sugar glaze, I'll not make this again. The texture once again was too dry and crumbly. It had a host of good things in it: hazlenuts, almond paste, chocolate, yet, it seemed almost too bland to me.

When I mentioned to J that I had remade it, she said, "Isn't that the one that looked like meatloaf?"  As soon as she said it, I knew she was right. Look at this picture: 

Sometimes, it's good to go back and see how far you've come.  Honestly, a year ago, this would have seemed to daunting of a task to attempt.  And now, I did it on a Sunday afternoon, just because I had a bit of time.

Bake Through

Robb

Cooking Class: Part 2

The second class was so intense in some ways that I found myself with a bit of a furrowed brow and a touch of the headache.

We made the Chile Pepper Raspberry Chocolate Cake. And, damn if it isn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen, well, honestly, it's the prettiest thing I think I've made.

Each of the people in the class (all 4 of us) got to take one home. It's a chocolate mousse cake with a raspberry gelatin middle, that is spiced with a chile pepper simple syrup. And, it's covered in chocolate glaze. The glaze gets poured through a fine mesh sieve which slows down the flow and removes any tiny air bubble that might blemish the smooth sheen. Then snappy tempered chocolate decorations and gold leaf are the finishing touches.

Up until recently, I focused on learning the big things -- what type of cake, what type of filling, which frosting/icing should I use. Really, it's the smaller, detail orientated things that make a more amazing cake.

With the glaze, the sieve works wonders, but so does the even pressure of a spatula. You coax the glaze over the edges, you make the top even and the edges covered. It's such a simple thing you don't think it can be that important, but really, it is. It's what makes the finished cake look, well, finished.

Chef Steenman showed us how to make all the components. First we made the chocolate sponge layer, which is piped onto the cocoa powdered silpat. Have I told you how much I'm not a fan of piping? It seems so fraught with despair. And up till last Wednesday, it was. I practically swoon when watching Chef pipe perfect circles. He shows us what is possible and that is surprisingly encouraging. Really, it's about doing it over and over and over and making mistakes and corrections.
We then made simple syrup and infused it with chili peppers. To this syrup we added raspberry puree and gelatin. We made a deliciously silky chocolate mousse that had a consistency similar to gelato. It was not the fluffy air filled mousse that you might expect. It was rich and egg-y and chocolately. Then we got to assemble the whole lot. Anything you build upside down has to be good, right? In a cake ring- which it turns out is an equipment must in the pattisserie- we first added mousse. Then the raspberry layer which was sandwiched between chocolate disks was added, more mousee, another chocolate disk, more mouuse. The last thing in the mold is a layer of flourless chocolate sponge. Really I think it's just there to give you something to lift the cake off the cake plate. But, it's a light and airy cake like layer that contrasts nicely with the satiny smooth mousse in color and texture.
While the cakes chilled, we learned all about chocolate. Cocao Barry is the brand of chocolate Chef Steenman prefers. He says Vahlronha is the best, but not enough better to justify the 3x greater price. He spares no expense on ingredients: plugra butter, organic milk, vanilla beans from Tahiti, fruit purees from France that are totally unbeleivable. Chef worked in a chocolate factory in France and has pictures of the process of making chocolate from cocoa pod to chocolate bar. He told us about processing differences in Belgium and Switzerland. Fascinating. Then we got into the tempering process and the 4 types of crystaline structrues in solid chocolate and the temparatures at which they melt. He tempered some chocolate to show us how. In concept the process seems reasonable: melt, cool, melt. We'll see the next time we have some chocolate project on our own how simple it really is.

Chef proposed that what makes a quality chocolate isn't just the % of cocoa and cocoa butter, but that the texture is what he's looking for. In the process of grinding the chocolate into paste, there is a step called conching. Near as we can tell it's grinding while the temperature is controlled. The longer you do it, the smoother the chocolate. As Americans we tend to think that if 60% cocoa is good, then 72% must be better. Not so. His dark chocolate is 64% and has the most luscious full flavored taste.

After he finished tempering we learned how to make decorations. He colored some cocoa butter red and splattered it onto acetate strips. Once it was hard we spread a layer of the tempered dark chocolate onto the strips and when they just firm enough, but not too firm, cut shapes on the strips and then set them to cool. Once cool, we peeled the acetate sheets off and were left with amazingly shiny peices of chocoalte with red polka dots. Chef says it should be shiny enough to comb your hair in the reflection!!
Fantastic!! We each took a cake home with such pride. If you are in Mt. Kisco, he is selling these as individual cakes for now. They are just being introduced. The chocolate disks made clean slicing somewhat difficult as you can see.
The individuals are completely amazing- instead of glaze they are chilled and sprayed with liquid chocolate. The chocolate hardens in little tiny sand grain sized dots. They also don't have the disks of chocolate in the interior (at least for now).

I wonder if we will ever be able to replicate the artistry of all this chocoalte work.

Much like Janet's sentiment in her post about bread baking, I also don't like to make mistakes. I do what I can to keep mistakes to a minimum. I remember in my Math Methods Course. One of the teaching assistants said, "Are you stuck? Good, this is where you begin to learn."

It's true. You can't know what your limitations are until you reach them. And, you can't grow past them to you know where they are. Piping is one of my limitations. But, I'm working my way through it.

Robb

Good Charlotte, An Angel

Well, as usual, it all begins with the next recipe in the Cake Bible. This time, it started on page 120 the Genoise Classique. Boy that sounded pretty. The most complicated thing about this recipe was learning how to pronounce "beurre noisette" (according to dictionary.com: bur nwah-zet" . I can't get the midwestern out of my voice for the first word.

From the Genoise Classique, we move on to CB pg 179 and the Chocolate Chip Charlotte. This is photographed in the book, which I find is a great help. Sorta like a puzzle box having the picture on it so I know what I'm supposed to be making. Unlike a puzzle, I rarely get it exactly right in baking. But looking at the picture at the top, you have to say it looks mighty fine.

We also have to make one of our favorite frostings: Ganache (pg 279). This is so easy. Chop the chocolate and add it to warmed cream. Stir. Damn, it's easy and it's good!

We make a syrup, it's a part of the original Genoise recipe. Then, the fun whipped cream with nuts, chopped chocolate (in our case, mini morsels) and a touch of gelatin.

Nothing in any of these recipes was difficult, and all of the instructions up to the 6th step of the Charlotte were easy to follow.

At step 6, Houston we had a problem. Ok, it wasn't nearly as bad as being trapped in space until you possibly burn upon rentry. But there was a moment when I thought, "How the Hell does this actually work?"

After J cut the edges to form a point to keep the top from being a wad of cake dough, I was "supposed" to lay them in the bowl with the chocolate facing out and the points all meeting at the bottom of the bowl. I have to say that I'm more of a bull in the China shop sort. I barrelled on through, hoping that at some point, it would all make sense.

The trouble is I can't barrel through and chat and when J said, "It's gotten quiet in here, it's starting to be work." I realized she was right and all that was missing was my tongue sticking out as I tried to write. Growing up I always thought of myself as Charlie Brown. It seemed to me that everyone was so mean to him, especially when he tried to do something good and bring home that sad under loved Christmas tree. Then, when Linus gets up and recites the real meaning of Christmas... I need a hanky.

The Chocolate Charlotte was not, however, hanky inducing. It came together with a bit of

barreling through and a pause, and a bit of a redo, but it turned out quite nice. About half way through (ok, about an hour into our 3.5 hour baking session), we thought we'd not finish the charlotte until next week. So, we made the Chocolate Lover's Angel Food Cake (pg 160). J had made it before and thought it would be a quick one to whip up and that way we'd have something to show for our day's work.

Well, here it is....

Somehow, we spent the next hour and a half (while the Angel Food cake cooled and the ganache cooled on the genoise) looking at blogs. Thanks everyone for your comments on the Lemon Meringue Pie entry. This Daring Bakers thing could get awfully addictive. We looked at pictures from J's Mom and her homemade Twinkies, made from an actual Twinkie baking kit, complete with a plastic Twinkie the Kid!

We got to look at J's dad's wonderful baguettes. Ok, that sounds a bit dirty, (you can stop giggling now). There is something about seeing someone create a thing of beauty, whether it be a Twinkie, a baguette, or variations on a theme like the lemon meringue pies to inspire you. John's photos inspired us so much that when we get back together in two weeks, we are going to make those baguettes. They are from the latest Fine Cooking issue, to which we all three subscribe. The link takes you to a picture and a video of how to shape the loaves, although the recipe is available only through a subscription. An additional subscription even for those of us who pay dearly for a hard copy subscription every year. No, we didn't have our complaint fall on deaf ears at Taunton Publishing or anything, really. Don't get us started.

I am away next week on baking day, heading to North Carolina for to meet with folks at a salon outside of Charlotte. I can hardly wait, I've never been to Charlotte. (Seemed fitting to bring up since we made a Charlotte and I'm going to Charlotte.)

See you soon.

Robb