Daring Bakers June 2012: Battenberg Cake

So I feel like this could be the most ridiculous post ever, simply because there is so much to tell about! I got to break in the new kitchen with this awesome challenge recipe, we went to California for our honeymoon/anniversary trip. We got to do a wine tasting in this castle. Really. Probably the coolest thing we did on our trip! If you are ever in the Calistoga area, make sure you check out Castello di Amorosa.

We also checked out the sights of San Francisco and brought home enough wine that we won't need to buy more for quite a while. It was a really fantastic trip, I'm so glad we waited for a year to do our honeymoon and took a big trip! Then we came home to boxes to unpack. Every day the house looks more and more like people actually live here.

I feel like I'm always coming in under the wire on these challenges and making excuses for why the pictures suck and everything looks rushed. I think I just need to finally admit that I'm a procrastinator. These cakes were inspired by the Royal Jubilee, but I made mine with another anniversary in mind. One year ago I married the love of my life (insert sappy "aww" here) with my very best friends by my side. It was a really beautiful day and a year later I am still incredibly happy.

A traditional Battenberg is almond flavored with a marzipan covering and has pink and yellow squares. I'm a little wary of marzipan and wanted to try something a little different. In searching for different recipes I found a chocolate version and was immediately interested. As I've said before, when given the option to do a non-traditional recipe that involves chocolate, you add the chocolate! The chocolate plastique instead of the marzipan was just the... uh, icing on the cake?

Mandy of What the Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry's techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Dark Chocolate Plastique/Modelling Chocolate

200 gm/7oz good quality Dark Chocolate

¼ cup light corn syrup

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, stir occasionally.

2. Once completely melted, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.

3. Stir in corn syrup, it will seize up almost immediately, just keep stirring until mixed and it comes away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Transfer chocolate into a sealable bag, spread the chocolate out and then seal the bag.

5. Leave overnight or refrigerate for about 2 hours until completely firm.

6. Turn out from the bag and knead on a surface dusted with powdered sugar (or a silpat), at first it will just break, but as you knead, it will warm up and start to become pliable.

7. Knead until it's pliable enough to mould, 5-10 minutes. When ready to use, roll out on silpat to a 10x13 rectangle then use to cover the assembled cake.

Chocolate Battenberg (adapted from Jamie Oliver Magazine)

3 sticks butter, plus extra for greasing

1¾ cups granulated sugar

6 eggs

½ tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

2¼ cups self-rising flour

⅓ cup ground almonds

⅓ cup cocoa

raspberry jam 

1 recipe chocolate plastique (above)

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease 2 small loaf tins.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until combined. Fold in the flour.

3. Divide the batter evenly into two bowls. In one bowl, fold in the vanilla and one tablespoon of the milk. In the other fold in the almonds, cocoa and remaining tablespoon of milk.

4. Spoon batter into each of the tins. Bake both for 30-40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

5. To assemble, warm the jam. Level off the tops and sides of the cakes with a knife so each cake is a rectangle and the same size. Cut in half lengthways  so you have two long strips of each.

6. Join the 4 cake strips with the jam between the layers so that you have a checkerboard pattern. Trim any uneven sides. Wrap with the chocolate plastique. 

Daring Bakers November 2011, Filipino Desserts

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.


November is a crazy month. I decided to get this challenge done early and just do one of the two recipes offered because I was so worried about everything that has been on my plate lately.  I had my first concert with the 6th grade band at my "new" job, parent-teacher conferences, a trip to the Music Teacher's Convention, uncounted meetings and of course the holiday at the end of the month. I was really worried that if I didn't get this challenge done right away it wasn't going to happen. I didn't want to tempt fate, so I decided to make the recipe exactly as it was given, no changes to the flavors or anything.  Also, I was a little worried about the dacquoise. I've never made dacquoise before, and in fact, my history with egg whites is a little shady. I always want to stop whipping them a little too early. 

I needn't have worried. I did this challenge in a matter of hours one Saturday morning, served it for dessert that Saturday night and I was really happy with the results. In fact, I told my husband that I thought this was the easiest Daring Bakers challenge yet! I did the chocolate version, because really, when given the option to add chocolate, you always add the chocolate. This was a seriously delicious challenge, I'm sure it is one that I will make again. 

This month's playlist is just music I enjoyed listening to while making the Sans Rival. I didn't even know where to start with Filipino music, and while I would enjoy learning more, I wouldn't want to make a playlist of stuff I don't know much about. Lots of awesome, soulful lady singers on this playlist!

Sans Rival:Servings: 12

Photos shown are chocolate version, which is not traditional.

Ingredients
10 large egg whites, room temp
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) cream of tartar
¼ cup (60 ml) (20 gm) (2/3 oz) Dutch processed cocoa (optional and not traditional)
2 cups (480 ml) (240 gm) (8½ oz) chopped, toasted cashews

Directions:
Note: You will need four layers which will mean that you might have to bake in two batches. Be sure to use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.

1. Preheat oven to moderate 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.


2. Line cake pan bottoms with parchment paper and butter and flour the sides really well.

3. In a large clean, dry glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites on medium until foamy (2 mins.). Sprinkle with cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, continuing to beat now at high speed until stiff shiny peaks form. (about 7-10 mins.)

4. Fold in nuts, reserving enough to use for decoration. 

5. Divide meringue into four equal parts. Spread in pans, evenly to edges. If doing batches, use fresh parchment paper and cooled pans for each batch.

 6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the meringue from the baking pans while still hot; allow to cool slightly. Peel off the parchment paper while it is still warm, it is difficult to remove sometimes when they have completely cooled.

7. When cool, trim edges so that all 4 meringue layers are uniformly shaped. Set aside.

French Buttercream:
Ingredients
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) white granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) water
1¼ cup (300 ml) (2½ sticks) (285 gm) (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
Optional Flavorings: 2 oz (55 gm) unsweetened chocolate, melted, or 1½ teaspoon (7 ½ ml) almond extract, or 1½ teaspoon (7 ½ ml) vanilla extract, or any flavor you like

Directions:

1. Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until the yolks have doubled in volume and are a lemon yellow.


2. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pan and cook over medium heat, stirring the sides down only until all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup reaches 235°F/112°C (or thread stage).


3. With the mixer on high, very slowly pour the syrup down the sides of the bowl, until all has been added. Be careful as the very hot syrup could burn you if it splashes from the beaters. Continue beating on high until the mixture is ROOM TEMPERATURE (about 15 mins). Still on high, beat in the soft, room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time. Add flavoring after you beat in the butter. Refrigerate the buttercream for at least an hour, and whip it smooth just before you use it.

I tried decorating the top all cool like this, but I ran out of frosting.

Assembly:
Set bottom meringue on cake board with a dab of butter cream to hold it in place. Spread a thin layer of buttercream and then place another meringue on top. Repeat with a thin layer of buttercream, meringue, thin layer of buttercream, meringue, and finally buttercream the top and sides. Decorate with reserved nuts.

Assembly:
Set bottom meringue on cake board with a dab of butter cream to hold it in place. Spread a
thin layer of buttercream and then place another meringue on top. Repeat with a thin layer of
buttercream, meringue, thin layer of buttercream, meringue, and finally buttercream the top and
sides. Decorate with reserved nuts.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. It is easier to cut cold. May freeze.

Daring Bakers September 2011- Croissants!

 The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

Croissants have been on my to-bake list ever since I got the Julia Child cookbook for Christmas. I looked at the recipe and thought to myself "12 hours is much too long for a just-any-day recipe. I'll make them for Christmas next year". Then the September challenge was posted, and I was so excited. And a little nervous. This recipe takes a long time to make (if you're counting all the rising times, which isn't active baking time, so don't count it). It involves making layers of dough and butter and getting it all rolled out and perfect so it will be flakey and delicious. Don't worry so much about that. Make sure your butter is cold and you're good to go. And that you didn't just begin a weights program for your arms the day before rolling all this stuff out.

Cinnamon-Sugar flaky deliciousness!

I made the original Julia recipe and two off-shoots. The first was fairly straightforward: cinnamon and sugar croissants. The second was in homage to my husband, who for whatever reason loves white chocolate: raspberry white chocolate croissants. Because really, I didn't get to work with chocolate enough in the last challenge.  The raspberry white chocolate croissant definitely won the day. Everyone who tried it at our Packer Party loved it and it was by far my favorite of the three. Even with white chocolate. I found it fairly easy to just roll whatever filling into the croissant, so the possibilities are truly endless. Next time I'll try some different variations!

Look at that yummy raspberry oozing out!

Croissants (basic recipe, ala Julia Child)
One dozen 5½ inch croissants

1¼teaspoon dry-active yeast
3 Tablespoons warm water (not over 100℉)
1 teaspoons sugar

1. Proofing the yeast: mix the yeast in the warm water with the sugar and let liquefy (a foam should form on the top of the mixture, this shows that the yeast is "alive")

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup milk warmed to tepid in a small sauce pan
2 tablespoons tasteless oil (such as vegetable oil)

1. Measure the flour into a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the sugar into the tepid milk.
2. Combine oil, yeast and milk mixture into the bowl with the flour. Blend with a rubber spatula until completely combined.
3. Turn dough out onto a surface that has been lightly floured. Let rest for 2-3 minutes while you wash and dry the mixing bowl.
4. Start kneading by lifting near the edge, using a scraper or spatula to help, and flipping it over to the other side. Rapidly repeat from one side to the other and end over end 8-10 times until the dough feels smooth.

5. Place dough back into the large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or plastic bag. I then placed the bowl into the oven, slightly ajar, with the oven light on. Allow the dough to rise for about 3 hours, or until tripled.
6. Deflate by loosening dough with a rubber spatula, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat and push the dough into a rectangle (8x12 inches) with the palms of your hands. Fold the bottom third up, and the top third down, like a business letter. Return dough to bowl, cover again with plastic and let rise for about 1 ½ hours, or until doubled. (At this point, the second rise may be done overnight in the refrigerator)
7. Loosen dough from edges of the bowl and turn out onto a plate. Cover airtight and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

1- 1¾ sticks chilled unsalted butter

1. Julia advises that if this is your first try at making croissants, use only 1 stick of butter. If you've done this a few times the larger amount may be used.
2. Beat butter with a rolling pin to soften it.
3. Smear the butter out with the heel of your hand or a scraper or spatula until it is an easy spreading consistency but still cold. If it gets too warm (i.e. oily and soft), return it to the refrigerator for a bit.

4. Place the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface. Push and pat it out into a rectangle 14x8 inches.
5. Spread butter as evenly as possible over the upper two thirds of the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch unbuttered boarder all around.
6. Fold the bottom third of the dough up, and the top third down (again, like a business letter).

7. Turn the dough so the edge of the top flap is to your right, as though it were a book. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 14x7 inches. Roll rapidly, starting an inch from the near end and going to within an inch of the far end.
8. Fold again in three. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1- 1½ hours.
9. Unwrap dough, deflate by tapping lightly several times with a rolling pin. Cover and let rest 8-10 minutes.
10. Being sure that the top and bottom of dough are lightly floured, roll dough into a rectangle 14x6 inches. If you notice that butter has congealed into hard flakes, beat dough with firm taps for a minute or so to soften.
11. Fold rectangle in three again. Wrap and chill for 2 hours, or leave overnight (put something heavy on top so it doesn't rise too much)

12. Forming croissants: unwrap chilled dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Deflate by tapping several times with rolling pin. Cover with plastic and let rest 10 minutes.
13. Roll dough into a rectangle 20x5 inches, cut in half crosswise, chill one of the halves.
14. Roll the piece of dough into a rectangle 15x5 inches, cut into three equal pieces. Chill two of the pieces.
15. Roll the piece of dough into a 5½ inch square and cut into two triangles. Stretch the triangle to transform from a right triangle to an isosceles triangle.
16. Roll the croissant first by folding the large end forward onto itself. Then, holding the point with the fingers of one hand, roll the larger end up with the other.
17. Bend the two ends down to form a crescent shape and place on a lightly buttered baking sheet, with the point resting into the curve and against the surface of the baking sheet. (Formed croissants may be wrapped airtight and frozen for a week, if the dough was not previously frozen.)
18. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover croissants loosely with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Let rise for 1½ hours.

1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash

1. Just before baking, paint the croissants with the egg wash.
2. Set in the middle of a preheated 475℉ oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until croissants are nicely puffed and brown. Cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Variants:
Cinnamon Sugar Croissants: Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on dough just before rolling to form croissant.

Raspberry White Chocolate Croissants: Spread dough with raspberry preserves and roll a piece of white chocolate in the larger end of the croissant.

Edit: I forgot!! I thought that since I'm  a musician by trade it might be fun for me to upload a playlist of music I listened to while making each challenge. This one is decidedly French, full of artists I love to listen to regardless of whether or not I'm knuckle deep in croissant dough and covered in flour. So here is a link to my "croissant" play list on Spotify. Let me know what you think about this idea- I'm still playing around with how to share the playlists, so if you have any tips on that, do share!

The Daring Bakers August 2011

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!


My first Daring Baker's Challenge. I had been crossing off the days on the calendar, with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I've seen what kind of things show up in these Challenges. But when you don't actually have to produce one of these delicious treats, you think "oh, I could totally do that!". Until you see your first challenge. And it is TEMPERED CHOCOLATES. Now, I live in a world where chocolate is a food group. At the biggest part of the food pyramid. But I'd never attempted to make truffles. I have to admit that I was scared beyond belief to do this challenge. Then I sat down, read through it again and told myself it would all turn out okay, and even if it came out looking ugly it would still taste good. It did all turn out okay, even though my Chocolate Caramel Fleur de Sel Truffles didn't come out just how I wanted, and I was hopeless at tempering. Can't do everything perfectly the first time, I guess. Tempering is now on my list of things to practice (yum!), but I didn't tackle it right away since we are having the family over to celebrate our birthdays and I have quite a menu to execute. I'm telling you, though, I WILL get this tempering down. I'm too excited about giving beautiful, shiny truffles to all my new co-workers at the school for Christmas this year. 


This being my first challenge, I decided to take it easy (and since I was so darn scared) and do two of the recipes verbatim from the challenge posting. Then I would branch out (and try the whole frightening tempering thing). So I made Strawberry Paté de Fruits, Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Praline Truffles, and Chocolate Caramel Fleur de Sel Truffles.

Strawberry Paté de Fruits

Recipe by Elizabeth LaBau, About.com Guide
Makes about 40-64 squares depending on size cut, recipe easily doubled or halved

Ingredients:
3 cups (16 oz/450 gm) Strawberries, fresh or defrosted from frozen
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Lemon juice, fresh
2 cups (16 oz/ 450 gm) Granulated White Sugar
2½ tablespoons (38 ml) Liquid Pectin

Directions:

1. Prepare an 8”x8” (20cmx20xm) pan by lining it with aluminium foil or parchment paper and spraying it with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor and process until very well pureed.

3. Pour them through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan, discarding any remaining fruit chunks. Stir in the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar, place the pan over medium-high heat, and insert a candy thermometer.
4. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it is hot, around 140°F/60°C. Add the remaining 1.5 cups of sugar and the liquid pectin, and lower the heat to medium.

5. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture registers 200°F/93°C. At this point, turn the heat to low and hold it at 200°F/93°C for 2-3 minutes. After this, return the heat to medium and bring it up to 225°F/107°C. This process will take some time, especially with the heat on medium, so have patience and be diligent in stirring frequently so the bottom doesn't scorch.
6. Once the fruit paste reaches 225°F/107°C, turn the heat to low and keep it at that temperature for an additional 2-minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and scrape (Note from Lisa: I poured it in, it should still be quite liquid) the strawberry pate de fruit mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing it into an even layer.

8. Allow the pate de fruit mixture to set at room temperature for several hours, until completely cool and firm. Use a sharp knife to cut it into very small squares, and roll the individual pieces in granulated sugar.
9. The strawberry pate de fruits can be served immediately, or refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. If refrigerated, the pieces may need to be re-rolled in granulated sugar before serving.

Note: 
"Some paté de fruits take quite a long time to cook. If you think about what's happening, you're cooking all of the liquid out of the fruit puree and reducing it to a very thick paste. The exact amount of time depends on a lot of factors, like how much water was in your puree to begin with, the capabilities of your stove, and the quality of the pan you use. But you can expect the process to take at least 30 minutes and sometimes up to an hour. I do want to add that this is easier on a gas range, but can absolutely be done on an electric stove - in fact, I use a very old electric stove at home and it works fine." - Elizabeth LaBau

Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline Truffles

Servings: Makes +- 30 truffles, recipe easily doubled or halved
Adapted from the Cook’s Academy Curriculum, Dublin
Active Time: 1 - 2hrs
Ganache Setting Time: 2 - 4hrs or Overnight

Praline Ingredients:
½ cup (2 oz/60 gm) hazelnuts, shelled & skinned
½ cup (4 oz/115 gm) granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 180°C / 160°C Fan Assisted (convection oven); 350°F / 320°F convection / Gas Mark 4
2. Place whole hazelnut on a non-stick baking tray and dry roast for 10mins
3. Allow to cool
4. Place hazelnuts in a clean dry kitchen towel and rub to remove the skins
5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicon mat
6. Place the skinned hazelnuts onto the prepared tray
7. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved
8. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil (do not stir), brushing down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar crystals
9. Boil until the mixture turns amber (160°C - 170°C / 320°F- 340°F on a candy thermometer)
10. Remove from heat immediately and pour the syrup over the hazelnuts
11. Allow to cool completely
12. Break into small pieces
13. Transfer pieces to a food processor and process until desired texture, either fine or rough
14. Set aside

½ - 1 cup Crushed or Ground Roasted Hazelnuts for coating

Ganache Ingredients
1¾ cup (9 oz. / 255 g) Milk chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup (4 oz. / 125 ml) Double/Heavy Cream (36% - 46% butterfat content)
2-3 Tablespoons (1-1 ½ oz. / 30ml – 45 ml) Frangelico Liqueur, optional

Directions:
1. Finely chop the milk chocolate

This looks like heaven. Little pieces of chocolate heaven.

2. Place into a heatproof medium sized bowl
3. Heat cream in a saucepan until just about to boil
4. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir gently until smooth and melted
5. Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes
6. Stir in the praline and (optional) liqueur

7. Leave to cool and set overnight or for a few hours in the fridge
8. Bring to room temperature to use

Forming the truffles:
1. Using teaspoons or a melon baller, scoop round balls of ganache
2. Roll them between the palms of your hands to round them off
Tip: Handle them as little as possible to avoid melting
Tip: I suggest wearing food safe latex gloves, less messy and slightly less heat from your hands
3. Finish off by rolling the truffle in the crushed roasted hazelnuts

This is how I crush nuts in lieu of a food processor. Also good for stressful days. 

Tip: You can also roll them in hazelnut praline
4. Place on parchment paper and leave to set
Tip: They look great when put into small petit four cases and boxed up as a gift!

I have to agree, they do look great. And they are delicious!

Last, but not least, The One That Got Away, so to speak. I had all sorts of trouble with this one. From the caramel not cooking right (all the caramel's fault, not mine of course) to struggling with keeping my chocolate at the right temperature. These are still decadent, the balance between the salt and sweet just makes them perfect (if you keep your eyes closed when choosing one). 

Chocolate Caramel Fleur de Sel Truffles

Only shiny because they are still wet- not because they are tempered.

Total time: 12 hours (active time is 1 hour)

Makes: approx 35-40 truffles

Ingredients:

8 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

12 oz same quality chocolate, chopped into larger pieces

⅓ cup sugar

⅔ cup half and half

2 tablespoons water

¼ teaspoon Fleur de Sel (you can use Sea Salt, but I saw this at Penzey's and needed to buy it. You know how that goes)

¾- 1 cup cocoa powder (for dusting)

1. Create a double boiler- or if you have lots of cabinet space, just use your handy dandy ready made one- by placing a mixing bowl (glass or metal) on top of a saucepan with about an inch of water inside. Add the 8 oz of chopped chocolate. Do not turn on the heat yet. 

2. In another saucepan, mix together the sugar and water. Pour cream in a bowl and place nearby. 

Ganache looks so pudding-y delicious.

3. Heat the sugar and water mixture over medium heat. Look but don't touch! Heat the chocolate while the caramel is cooking, stirring constantly to encourage even melting. Remove chocolate from heat when it is all melted. 

4. When the caramel mixture is a dark amber color (320-340℉) remove from heat. Wait a few moments then stir in the cream until it is well mixed and smooth. Pour the caramel mixture into the warm, melted chocolate. Stir in the Fleur de Sel. Cover ganache with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours. 

5. Remove ganache from fridge. Using a melon baller or spoon, create small balls (about ¾") from the ganache. Roll each ball in your hands to shape and roll in the cocoa powder. Place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

6. Temper your remaining 12 oz of chocolate. I used the "seeding method" outlined here:

• Finely chop chocolate if in bar/slab form (about the size of almonds).
• Place about ⅔ of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl
• Set aside ⅓ of the chocolate pieces
• Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the water)
Tip: Make sure that your bowl fits snuggly into the saucepan so that there’s no chance of steam forming droplets that may fall into your chocolate. If water gets into your chocolate it will seize!
• Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate so that it melts evenly
• Once it’s melted, keep an eye on the thermometer, as soon as it reaches 45°C / 113°F remove from heat (between 45°C-50°C / 113°F-122°F for dark chocolate)
• Add small amounts of the remaining ⅓ un-melted chocolate (seeds) and stir in to melt
• Continue to add small additions of chocolate until you’ve brought the chocolate down to 27°C/80.6°F (You can bring the dark chocolate down to between 80°F and 82°F)
• Put it back on the double boiler and bring the temperature back up until it reaches its working temperature of the chocolate (milk, dark or white) as seen in the above chart. (32°C/89.6°F for dark, 30°C/86°F for milk and 29°C/84.2°F for white)
• If you still have a few un-melted bits of chocolate, put the bowl back over the simmering water, stirring gently and watching the thermometer constantly.
• IMPORTANT: You really need to keep an eye on the temperature so that it doesn’t go over its working temperature

It’s now tempered and ready to use

7. Drop cocoa dusted chocolates into the tempered chocolate. Gently pick up with a fork, tap on the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place onto baking pan lined with wax paper. Sprinkle a few granules of Fleur de Sel on top and allow to set. 

Triple Chip Cookies

These cookies went really fast at the first communion party. So fast that they had to be put away so there would be some left for dessert!

My favorite thing about this recipe: coarse sea salt.  What a revelation! Pair the chocolate-toffee classic cookie flavor with a surprise burst of saltiness and you have found heaven!

Triple Chip Cookies
2 sticks softened salted butter
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon medium coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
2 ¼ cups assorted baking chips (I used white chips, milk and dark chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 360˚ F. Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy- about 3 minutes in the KitchenAid. Add both eggs and vanilla and beat an additional 2 minutes.

2. Add baking powder, soda, salt and flour until batter is fully incorporated. Finally, add the chips until well distributed. (At this point I was extremely grateful for the KitchenAid, this is a thick dough!)

3. Drop 2 tablespoons of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Leave cookies on the sheet for 2 minutes after taking them out of the oven. Cool an additional 3 minutes on baking racks, just long enough to make sure they don't burn the roof of your mouth when you dig in!

No Bake

After my freak out last posting, I thought a little more (perhaps more realistically as well) about it, I realized that I don't really want to go into the high pressure professional cooking world. Nor do I think I'm honestly that good. I cook well enough for home and friends, and I'm happy with that. I just want to do what I love for a living- whatever form that takes. Right now, I'm just having a hard time seeing how that is going to work out.

Plus, I also watched this documentary: "The Kings of Pastry" and that sure snapped me back into reality.
 Although, it did call my attention to the fact that there is a cooking school right in Chicago that is the only cooking school in the US devoted entirely to pastry. Run by the men from France who are featured in above documentary. Being realistic though, I think maybe I should start by checking out some of my local community college or adult education cooking classes.

Friday night (which is quickly turning into my night in the kitchen, for some reason) I decided I needed comfort food. Quick and easy comfort food. So I turned to my favorite cookie from childhood: the Chocolate and Peanut Butter No Bake.

These are one of those cookies that I always forget about, but as soon as something triggers my memory of them, I have to have one... NOW! Plus, they are super addictive and I could probably eat the whole batch in the span of a couple days. Not that I would do that, but the temptation is definitely there. 

They are also super easy to make- as long as you're patient enough to watch the sugar/peanut butter/milk combo boil for a minute. Which, when I was younger I could not do for some reason. I wanted them so badly I either didn't wait long enough, and then they'd just be a gloppy mess that never hardened to the right consistency, or I would sit on my hands too long trying to be good, and they'd turn out like hockey pucks. Thankfully, I have matured enough that I can finally manage to get it just right and have them turn out a good, chewy consistency. 

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups oatmeal

In a heavy saucepan, bring first four ingredients to a boil. Boil for one minute, then add the peanut butter, oatmeal and vanilla. Drop cookies by spoonful onto waxed paper and wait for them to cool and set. 

Mocha-Almond Cake for two

The baking urge hit today, and it hit hard. Unfortunately, it is time to go grocery shopping so there isn't a whole lot around the house to bake with. We have two eggs, but we also like to do eggs for breakfasts in the mornings on weekends so I was faced with a dilemma. After doing some searching online, I found a few recipes for chocolate cake that didn't use any eggs and did some combinations and made some changes. My first attempt baking a cake without eggs, and I'm pretty pleased with the result.


This was also a fun experiment with the 6 inch cake pan. We don't need a whole 9-inch two layer cake for two people, so I cut down the recipe by half and made a 6 inch two layer cake. The only difficulty with this was the baking time. It was just a matter of setting the timer for smaller intervals and checking the cake often. 

Lop-sided cake... this is the reason for my cake-guillotine.

No-egg Chocolate Cake

• 2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour a 6 inch round pan.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Add sugar and mix together.

3. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour into pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Mocha- Almond Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 tablespoons hot brewed coffee

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons half & half

1. Whisk together sugar and cocoa in a bowl. Combine coffee, vanilla and almond extract in another bowl. 

2. Beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugar mixture alternately with coffee mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Beat in half and half, 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth and mixture has reached desired consistency.

*A word about the frosting: DELICIOUS. It is so creamy and light. If you don't have or want to use the almond extract, use a full teaspoon of vanilla extract in the frosting instead.*

Assembling the cake:

1. When cake layers are completely cool, place bottom layer on serving plate. Trim tops of both layers to create flat, even pieces. Spread a layer of frosting on top of the cake. Top with second layer of cake and frost top and sides. 

2. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.