It's a Tart! It's a Pudding! Wait...It's Just Delicious!

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was by far my most favorite challenge yet! And trust me, I have some rough challenges under my belt.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.


I chose to use my rectangle tart pan and had enough dough and fillings left over to make two mini tarts. I devoured one as soon as it had cooled enough to eat. I used extra-delicious Bonne Maman raspberry preserves and literally shoveled this tart into my mouth. Best. Lunch. Ever.

Bakewell Tarts

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spread ability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

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

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

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

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

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

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

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish. When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Scoop Me Up Some of That

I was so excited when I saw the Daring Bakers Challenge for the month of February. Flourless chocolate cake with homemade vanilla bean ice cream - yum! I've always wanted to make my own ice cream but don't have the want or need to invest in an ice cream maker...I mean really, how much would I use that? I was skeptical that this vanilla bean ice cream would taste like the real thing, but it turned out just amazing! It's definitely not as smooth and creamy you'd want out of an ice cream, but the texture is pretty good and the flavor was spot on.

Paring the vanilla bean ice cream with the flourless chocolate cake was fabulous. The cake was super dense and chocolatey. I made this for our Valentine's Day dessert. Steve whipped up some awesome turkey burgers and garlic french fries, and we timed everything out so that the cake came out of the oven just as we finished eating. It was nice 'n' hot against the ice cream. Love it!

Chocolate Valentino
Sweet Treats by Chef Wan
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
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

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Classic Vanilla Ice Cream

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

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.

Sorry, Daring Bakers

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was to make tuiles. I was excited about this challenge because it only took 5 ingredients! After December's challenge, this was a great change of pace. Unfortunately, I just didn't have time to really devote to the challenge - short as it may have been - so my tuiles leave a little bit to be desired.

Let's just put this behind us, Daring Bakers, and please don't hold it against me. I promise I'll do better next month <3

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

It's a Yule Log...I swear

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was a challenge, to say the least. I had wanted to tackle a French yule log last year - the more commonly known sponge cake and buttercream variety - and failed miserably. When I saw that this month's challenge was going to be a different type of yule log full of different layers, I was excited. Something challenging and Christmas-y all in one. Yay! 

The yule log I made is comprised of six different components:

1)  Almond Dacquoise Biscuit

2)  Chocolate Mousse

3)  Chocolate Ganache Insert

4)  Praline (Crisp) Insert

5)  Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee Insert

6)  Dark Chocolate Icing

I managed to make each and every element. Other than the cream brulee, that didn't want to set up no matter how long I kept it in the oven, the remaining elements turned out as they were supposed to. And beyond that, they tasted great! Some elements I was able to make ahead of time, like the biscuit, while others had to be made just before I assembled the whole thing. 

Unfortunately, I thought that I could make the chocolate mousse component ahead of time and pop it in the fridge. Nowhere in the instructions did it say that you couldn't do this. Unfortunately, the chocolate mousse is the most import component! The mousse fills the gaps and envelops the crispy layers. Because my mousse had been sitting in the fridge for an hour or two, it was just too firm. So, when I unmolded the whole "log" after having it sit in the fridge overnight, it was quite apparent that things did not go as planned and the mousse had not spread out to become flush with the sides of the mold. It looked like some sort of crazy geological science project showing the layers of the Earth. Not exactly the look I was going for.

In any event, the log (or chunks of Earth) tasted phenomenal! It may have been one of the ugliest things I have ever made, but it tasted great and was almost like an ice cream cake. Who knew?

So, am I glad I did the challenge? Yes. Do I have plans to try it again next year? Probably not!

*****

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand

"Throw Your Diet out the Window" Cake

November's Daring Bakers Challenge was sugar packed, ensuring that anyone even trying to avoid the sweets would gobble this cake down without a second thought. Yes, it was that good! I devoured this like I'd never had cake before.

The challenge was Shuna Fish Lydon's Caramel Cake with Carmelized Butter Frosting. If your mouth isn't watering yet, you're obviously not human. The challenge was co-hosted by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray Into Food.

This was SO much fun. The caramel syrup (that was used to flavor both the cake and the frosting) was crazy to make - it was like a science experiment in my very own kitchen! Although, it did make me feel bad that Steve had just scrubbed the stovetop earlier that day. Needless to say, having caramel flying and sputtering about all over the kitchen wasn't the nicest way to say "thank you." Fortunately I had a lot of mini cakes to fork over as a peace offering!

Originally, the recipe just makes one 9-inch cake. Since we really didn't have anything going on last week when I made the cake, I didn't know what we'd do with a big old cake (besides eat ourselves into a stupor). Instead, I made three 4-inch cakes (which I then stacked and frosted) and three heartshaped cakes using my mini heart springform pans. The hearts were harder to frost and I was lacking patience, so they didn't make it to the photo shoot! One of them did, however, make it downstairs to my neighbors who were celebrating 6 months of marriage, aww. Making some "baby" cakes is an easier way to spread the cake love around so you don't end up wondering what to do with the 1,000+ sweet calories sitting in your kitchen.

Overall, a really fun challenge, and a recipe that I would most definitely pull out again when I really want to woo someone with cake.

Dare Me? I Dare You.

Whew! I've just barely made the cut off for this month's Daring Bakers challenge, Bake Your Pizzas Like A Real Pizzaiolo using a pizza dough recipe from “The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread” by Peter Reinhart. Steve actually got me this book for Christmas this year, and I pour over the recipes trying to decide what I can make, and quite honestly, what I have time to make. The recipes definitely take a lot of pre-planning - it's not the book I'd turn to when in need of something quick 'n' easy, but this is a great place to turn to for technique and the background to bread making.


One piece of this month's challenge was to toss the pizza dough like a pro...or something like that. I definitely tossed the dough, but I can't say it landed where it should have! And, overall, if there's one recipe that Peter Reinhart gives in this book that anyone can handle, the pizza dough recipe is as accessible as it can get. I cheated and cut out one of the additional rises and I can't say we noticed the difference.

Steve and I make pizza almost once a week...we rotate from "Pizza Monday" all the way through "Pizza Thursday" depending on what the week brings for us, and our staple is our whole wheat pizza that we love so much, piled on with toppings including chicken sausage, roasted garlic, mozzarella, and extra veggies for Steve. I dare you to break away from ordering out and have a pizza night at your house, whole wheat or white, whatever you have a taste for. Not only is it easy to make, it's also much easier on your wallet...no delivery charges :)

Try, try again...

I entered this month's Daring Bakers challenge with some trepidation...last month's challenge was a rocky road for me as I struggled to make something that in some way, somehow resembled a delicious dessert that others would want to eat.

When the August challenge was announced, I thought how wonderful this challenge would be. Who doesn't love eclairs? And even if only one of the two dozen turns out well, I can still have a picture perfect baking moment. Things started off smoothly until my perfect puffed eclairs came out of the oven and...de-puffed. Yep. Completely flat and unappetizing, slightly eggy smelling and soft in the center. I hadn't gotten a start on the chocolate pastry cream or the chocolate glaze, so I tossed the flopped desserts into the garbage and stayed away from the kitchen for a week.

I did my research before my next attempt and learned that if your eclairs fall after being removed from the oven, they weren't baked long enough, and it's almost impossible to over bake them. So on my second attempt I left them in as long as I possibly could, certain that my careful and meticulous efforts this time around would ensure that the puffs would stay puffed.

Yet again, almost all of these deflated within moments of being removed from the oven. So I cut my losses and moved forward, whipping together the yummy chocolate pastry cream, the laborious chocolate glaze, and put the whole mess together into a dozen or so chocolate eclairs.

The result? A somewhat picture perfect chocolate-filled moment and a fabulous sugar high Sunday. This time around I confirmed that it is always better to have plenty of extra ingredients on hand, to step away from the oven when verging on insanity, and that there's absolutely nothing better than chocolate pastry cream.

I'd include the recipe, however, it is rather long...it's from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, so check it out when in need of some chocolate goodness.

It's Daring...

...that I even attempted this Daring Bakers Challenge!

After continuing to see Daring Bakers challenges posted all over I decided to see what it was all about. I joined, and conveniently the first challenge fell around this time of craziness in my life - with vacation, move into the condo, etc.

Despite all of that, I trudged on and Sunday attempted the first challenge - Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Great Cakes by Carol Walter. I was all ready to bake, had my new kitchen all organized, ingredients lined up and ready to go.

Preparation only took me so far, because the baking gods weren't smiling down on me. The cake just didn't rise up the way I had expected and it was tough, uneven and thin. I'm not positive about what I did wrong, but I think it may not have been mixed as well as it should have been, so it wouldn't rise.

From the point I pulled the cake out of the oven, I knew I was doomed. I actually was ready to cut my losses and stop there, deeming myself not ready for the Daring Bakers, but Steve made me continue on. Continue on to a horrendously ugly cake that I am embarrassed to post. I even encouraged Steve to "accidentally" help the cake meet it's fate - maybe it could fall off the counter? Or one of the cats could inconveniently jump on the counter and place a paw in the middle? No dice. Steve continued with the planned photo shoot, helping to ensure I always have memories of my ugly cake.

On the upside, I've never made Swiss buttercream before, so that was a new technique learned, and it turned out fabulous! I was so proud. I will definitely use this method again as it was tasty and fun to prepare (if whipping eggwhites and sugar over a hot stove can be "fun").

So please enjoy my failed first baking adventure for my first Daring Bakers Challenge...can't wait to amp myself up for next month's challenge...and maybe buy some backup ingredients, you know, just in case...