Daring Bakers Challenge 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.


The problem with being a Daring Baker is that our creations are hardly low on calories and generally come with a baked-in 'just-one-more-slice' factor. On the other hand, there is nothing better than being able to share the fruit of your toils with friends. And thank goodness I had friend old and new to help me eat this month's offerings!

As soon as I read the description of the Sans Rival, I knew that this would be exactly up my alley. I've always had a terrible weakness for the meringue and buttercream combination. Each birthday I would ask my mum to make a Gateau Diane, and on Saturdays lunchtimes I would sneak out of the shop I worked in to buy a Jap Cake... yeah, I've always had a sweet tooth :-D I couldn't wait to get started!


I used the given recipe, using chocolate and cashew nuts, and it all went very smoothly. I made the buttercream the day before, very dangerous as I couldn't resist checking it every now and then. I didn't bake the meringue in a tin, instead I just drew a circle on parchment and spooned it into shape. They weren't as crispy as I'd hoped they'd be, but that was entirely because I'd left it til late to bake them and I really needed to go to bed rather than hang around my oven into the early hours. Next time I will make sure to bake in the morning.


The finished product was utterly divine! I can see me making this again and again, although it would be fun to play around with flavours (I'd hoped to make a matcha and kinako version before the deadline). I am already mentally lining up social occasions to be able to try just another slice!

I also took up the optional challenge to make Bibingka. It was rather a last minute decision and I knew I hadn't left enough time to make the salted eggs, so I used quail eggs in the hope that they would absorb the brine faster (I had less than a week). I forgot to take photos of the first batch of eggs, but I have a second batch of hen eggs soaking right now as I will be making this recipe again for our church Christmas service (we have a lot of Filipino members and I thought they might enjoy a taste of home).

Like many other DBers, I had trouble dissolving the salt, in spite of simmering the mixture for a good while. The murky jar looks like some kind of science experiment, although the quail eggs did look far more pretty than the hen eggs. Oh, and I didn't have any brandy so ended up using some homemade umeshu (plum liqueur) instead. The quail eggs tasted great - I snacked on one or two as they were very fiddly to peel and some of them didn't survive in tact to make it to the cakes! ;-)

I couldn't find banana leaves anywhere, so instead opted to make Bibingka cupcakes (which worked very well with the smaller eggs). The batter was very easy to make, although mine was much, much thicker than the example we were shown and I have no idea why... Still, they turned out just fine. The only thing I did differently was to brown the tops of the cakes after sprinkling with the topping rather than before. Not that I was trying to be clever or anything, I'd just misread the instructions!

They were made for my friend (and pastor's wife) M-san, who will be celebrating her birthday on Tuesday!


Thank you to Catherine for challenging us with such interesting and delicious desserts, it was great fun to do! :-D

Sans Rival:
Servings: 12

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.

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.

Bibingka
Thank you to Jun, from Jun-blog, for his recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups (480 ml) (320 gm) (11.3 oz) rice flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) (80 gm) (2.8 oz) glutinous rice flour
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) baking powder
3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm) (6 oz) sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) (75 gm) (2⅔ oz) unsalted butter melted
1-1/2 cup (360 ml) coconut milk
6 pieces banana leaves cut into 8-inch (20 cm) circles
1 salted egg, sliced into 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick slices, recipe follows
Butter, salted or unsalted, for brushing the tops
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) white granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) grated coconut (optional)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) grated Edam cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.

2. Line six tart pans or ramekins with banana leaves and brush the leaves with butter.

3. Combine rice flour, glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and sugar together in a bowl. Beat eggs in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Add butter and coconut milk and mix well. Add the flour mixture and blend well until smooth.

4. Pour the rice batter equally into the six pans or ramekins. Lay a slice of salted egg on top and bake until the cake is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Take the cakes out of the oven and brush the top with butter. Turn the broiler to low and broil the cakes to brown the top for about two minutes.

5. Serve the cakes warm. Brush the cakes with butter and sprinkle with sugar, grated coconut, and grated Edam cheese.

Cooking notes from Jun:

• For the rice and glutinous rice flour, I recommend using the Thai brand commonly found in most Asian grocery stores.
• Use either tart pans or ramekins lined with banana leaves cut into circles. The cakes baked in 6-inch (15 cm) pans more closely resemble the traditional ones. The cakes baked in 4-inch (10 cm) ramekins are thicker and take longer to bake.
• Instead of a sliced salted egg, the cakes can be topped with slices of Edam or Gouda cheese.
• When using frozen grated coconut let the grated coconut thaw then place the thawed coconut on paper towels to soak up the extra moisture. Place them on a baking tray and lightly toast them for about a few minutes with the broiler (griller) turned on low. Use grated coconut and NOT grated young coconut.

Salted Eggs:

Ingredients:
1 part salt
4 parts water
sichuan pepper corns
1 tablespoon brandy or whiskey
Eggs, duck or chicken (duck is traditional)

Directions:

1. Boil all ingredients except eggs on the stove until the salt is dissolved. Let the liquid cool.
2. Place eggs in a clean mason jar, pour in the salt water, seal.
3. Place in your pantry for 2-3 weeks. To check if they are done, remove an egg, cook it, and taste it. You may decide that the rest of the eggs need a few more days.

September 2011 Daring Bakers Challenge - Croissants

O-hisashiburi... Long time no see. The last time I posted was just before heading to the UK for the first time in nearly 3 years. Less than two weeks before Japan was hit by the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Not going to write about that right now, I'm sure you read and saw enough in the news reports. We live far away from the emergency zone, but even so those events knocked me flying off my feet. Writing about baking fancy cakes seemed frivolous

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!

I've been keeping a close eye on recent challenge, looking for the right moment to jump back in. Some were just too expensive, others were never going to work in this sticky summer heat... But this time round I was over the moon to see a recipe that uses cheap (except for butter - 300 yen for 200g!) and easily available ingredients! :-) I immediately printed off the recipe to try and work out timings, and I could see that this was going to take some planning.

So, I carefully calculated exactly when I needed to do what, and set to work. Didn't take me long to realise that something was wrong, even though I was following the recipe to the letter... my dough was waaaay to dry, it was like trying to knead a block of rubber! A quick check of the Daring Bakers website revealed that there had been an error in the published recipe, which listed twice as much flour than was required... oh well. Starting again meant that I fell behind on my military precise operation, and I ended up working on the dough until past midnight, but I was determined that we would be eating delicious croissants for Sunday breakfast!

The dough was very lively and, even during the fridge proves, rose quite spectacularly - even bursting out of the plastic wrapping on one occasion. The final, overnight rise was unhindered by placing a heavy item on top of the package. Considering this, I was disappointed by the final rise after the croissant had been shaped. Perhaps they would continue to rise in the oven?

As I am currently counting every calorie I consume in a bit to be fit and healthy by the time I turn forty, I decided that I would make half of the batch of croissants that little bit more attractive to the children by including a chocolate filling. I had high hope that these might turn out something like the pain au chocolat I used to buy, fresh from the oven, on my way home from a night on the town during my my time in the south of France!

Well, they didn't rise much further so they were somewhat mini-croissants, but they were quite delicious! The texture was good, very authentic and not at all 'bready' (if you know what I mean). They were a tad salty though, so when I make these again (and I will) I must make sure to reduce the amount, but other than that there were no complaints!

In fact, the boys polished off the lot - thank goodness, otherwise I might have had to do that job myself! ;-)

Very happy to have learned a new skill and add a new recipe to the breakfast menu, I'd like to thank Sarah for hosting this month's challenge! Thanks to you, I am back :-)

Croissants

Servings: 12 croissants

Ingredients
¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 3/4 cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk (I am not sure if the fat content matters. I used 2%)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil (I used generic vegetable oil)
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl
8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video (see below). It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.
9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag.
10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.

11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.
12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or counter top, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm).
13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up)
14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag.
15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge

16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.
17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter
18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.
19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.
20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.

21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.
22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle
24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges.
25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.
26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).
27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.
29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.

30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.
31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little
32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes
33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
34. Fold in three, as before
35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)

37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants
38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready
39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter
40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm).
41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm))
42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold
43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).
44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))
45. Place two of the squares in the fridge
46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square
47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.
48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.
49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.
50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet
51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.
52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour

53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water
55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.
56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely
57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

February 2011 Daring Bakers Challenge - Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.


I can't believe that, considering I had this month's challenge done and dusted right at the start of the month, I didn't manage to post my results on time! It's been a busy month, and we're off to the UK on Saturday and there's still so much to get done...

I did manage to complete both elements of the challenge, although not at the same time. It was actually very straight forward, I didn't really have any trouble with the recipes (apart from trying to throw things together in a hurry, and I should know better by now).


I made the panna cotta for my MIL, and went with the vanilla recipe provided. I made a chocolate syrup and poured it in the bottom of each glass (not easy to see in the photos, I should have used a white background!), poured the vanilla panna cotta over the top (got a few bubbles around the edges) and decorated with melted dark chocolate.


The only thing I changed in the recipe was the vanilla pod - at 600 yen for one, I went for the much cheaper option of using vanilla extract! I also halved the recipe, as there were only a few people to eat the dessert, and cream here is far too expensive to waste (not that there would have been any left over, they went down a treat)!


Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
   
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

The Florentine cookies got made a week or so later, which worked in my favour as the calorie count of the panna cotta and cookies together would most likely have taken me over one day's allowance in a single serving. These Florentines are nothing like the Florentines from back home (fruit and nuts, yum!) and really were a doddle to make. OK, I'll come clean and admit that the first batch was already in the oven when I realised that the syrup, milk and vanilla I'd measured out were still sitting on the kitchen counter - oops. I did wonder why the mixture seemed a little dry as I was spooning it out onto the baking tray. Funnily enough, they were actually very nice - crunchy but a little pale in colour :-) Once I'd stirred the liquids into the remaining mixture, the resulting cookies were pretty much as they should be.

I didn't enjoy these florentines as much as the ones from home - made with oats they had a rather porrige-y flavour - but once I'd sandwiched them together with some melted chocolate they reminded me of some biscuits sold at Ikea (Gilles?), oh my, they were gooood...



Nestle Florentine Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
2. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
4. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
5. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
6. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

January 2011 Daring Bakers Challenge - Biscuit Joconde Imprime

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

Oh my, a what?!


Joconde imprime /entremets: A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect. This Joconde/spongecake requires attentive baking so that it remains flexible to easily conform to the molds. If under baked it will stick to the baking mat. It over baked it will dry out and crack. Once cooled, the sponge may be cut into strips to line any shape ring mold. Entremets (French baking term)- an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold. Think Trifle in a mold vs. a glass bowl. A joconde imprime is the outside cake wrapper of the Entremets dessert.

After a short while spent eying up examples of this rather impressive looking dessert on the 'net, I was totally intimidated! But with the birthday of a special friend falling towards the end of the month, I had time to muster up courage, plan, and give it a crack. Having sussed out that Very Cute Hiroko-chan would generally plump for a chocolate cake given a choice, I decided to fill my entrement with chocolate and raspberry mousses. Armed with my shopping list I hit the shops, but there was not a raspberry to be found, frozen or fresh! Quick change of plan and I grabbed a large juicy iyo ama orange instead.

The joconde imprime was far easier than I'd anticipated. I chose a very simple design as I was so worried that I would mess it up, but everything went according to plan and I ended up wishing that I had been a little more adventurous! I did have a slight wobble when I thought that the baking tray I was working on wasn't going to fit in my freezer drawer (after I had piped out my batter), but a bit of juggling and I just managed to fit it in. :-)


So the joconde imprime turned out fine, next on to the entrement. I started of by making a biscuit base by smashing up a packet of choc chip cookies and mixing the crumbs with some melted butter, easy peasy. Lined the tin with my joconde imprime, however failed to realise that I cut it rather too tall before filling with my first mousse layer:

Orange mousse

zest and juice of one large orange
1 teaspoon gelatine/agar
50g caster sugar
150ml double cream
2 eggs, seperated

Heat the juice and zest in a small pan for one minute, add the gelatine/agar and stir until dissolved. In a bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisk together the cream, sugar, egg yolks and orange juice zest for about 10 minutes, until thick and foamy. Remove from the heat and continue to whisk until cool, then whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the orange custard. Pour into a bowl or mould and leave in the fridge to set.

It dawned on me that I was going to have to improvise another filling when, after the second layer was poured in, the entrement was still only half full:

Milk Chocolate Mousse

100g milk chocolate
70ml double cream
2 eggs, seperated

Melt the chocolate and beat in the egg yolks. In seperate bowls, whisk the egg whites and cream, then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Bour into a bowl or mould and leave to set. I wasn't sure if this would set, so I added a little agar to the chocolate mix while it was hot.

And even a third layer didn't reach the top:

Mocha Mousse

2 egg yolks
60g caster sugar
135ml milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon gelatine/agar
2 teaspoons instant coffee
50g dark chocolate
140ml double cream

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Heat the milk and vanilla almost to boiling point, whisk over the egg yolks and return to the pan and heat slowly until thickened (do not let it boil). Sprinkle in the gelatine/agar and stir it to dissolve before straining the custard to ensure it is smooth. Melt the chocolate and coffee together (dissolve the coffee in a tablespoon of hot water first) and whisk into the custard. When the custard has cooled, whip the cream and fold in. Pour into a bowl or mould and leave to set (pipe once the mousse is firm).


I was out of time and ingredients and, frankly, had had enough of washing mixing bowl after mixing bowl, so finished off by piping rosettes of the mocha mousse around the inner edge. Wouldn't you know it, the top layer failed to set properly and the rosettes ended up as flat splodges, not the look I was going for! And of course, the loose mousse meant that it really wasn't a pretty sight once it had been cut into. :-(



In spite of how it looked, this dessert was delicious. I'd never made a mousse before (why ever not?!) and I learned a lot from this challenge. To see what proper bakers produced this month, take a look at the Daring Bakers website - there are some real works of art there. A big, big thank you to our host Asheroshe, I am so happy that I didn't wimp out of your fabulous challenge!


Mandatory Items: Make the full biscuit joconde imprime, cut and fit into a dessert mold. Complete entremets.

Variations allowed: Use the recipe provided for the Joconde. I have baked it many times without problems. Use any fillings for your entremets. Use a mold. You can use store bought fillings, to save time, or make homemade. The real task here is making the joconde wrap properly in a beautiful molded dessert presentation.

Preparation time: This is difficult to guess at. This time will vary. 2 hours for the joconde?? Entremets portion will vary depending on your fillings.

Equipment required:

• Silpat
• ½ baking sheets or a 13” x 18” jelly roll sheet (rimmed baking sheet)
• Mixer (optional)
• Bowls
• Knives
• Offset spatula
• Regular spatula
• Pastry comb (optional)
• Rulers
• Spring form pan
• Biscuit cutter (or ring mold, or cut PVC pipe, or whatever else you can think of to use as a mold for individual desserts)
• Torte/entremets mold/Springform pan/ Trifle dish (for larger desserts)
• Cling wrap
• Parchment paper
• Gel, paste or liquid food coloring (optional)

Joconde Sponge

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients:
¾ cup/ 180 ml/ 3oz/ 85g almond flour/meal - *You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons/ 150 ml/ 2⅔ oz/ 75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
¼ cup/ 60 ml/ 1 oz/ 25g cake flour *See note below
3 large eggs - about 5⅓ oz/ 150g
3 large egg whites - about 3 oz/ 90g
2½ teaspoons/ 12½ ml/ ⅓ oz/ 10g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons/ 30 ml/ 1oz / 30g unsalted butter, melted

*Note: How to make cake flour: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/

Directions:

1. In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
2. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
3. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
4. Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in melted butter.
6. Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients
14 tablespoons/ 210ml/ 7oz/ 200g unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups plus1½ tablespoons/ 385ml/ 7oz/ 200g Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites - about 7 oz / 200g
1¾ cup/ 420ml/ 7¾ oz/ 220g cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid

COCOA Décor Paste Variation: Reduce cake flour to 6 oz / 170g. Add 2 oz/ 60 g cocoa powder. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together before adding to creamed mixture.

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

1. Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
2. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
3. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
5. Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
6. Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
7. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Preparing the MOLD for entremets:

1. Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.
2. A biscuit cutter/ cookie cutter- using cling wrap pulled tightly as the base and the cling covering the outside of the mold, placed on a parchment lined very flat baking sheet. Line the inside with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping.
3. Cut PVC pipe from your local hardware store. Very cheap! These can be cut into any height you wish to make a mold. 2 to 3 inches is good. My store will cut them for me, ask an employee at your store. You can get several for matching individual desserts. Cling wrap and parchment line, as outlined above.
4. Glass Trifle bowl. You will not have a free standing dessert, but you will have a nice pattern to see your joconde for this layered dessert.

Preparing the Jaconde for Molding:

Video: MUST WATCH THIS. This is a very good demo of the joconde and filling the entremets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca4eLDok-4Q

1. Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
2. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
3. Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)
4. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.
5. The mold is done, and ready to fill.

*Note: If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze.

Entremet- Filling Options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e1DsyDtcd0&feature=related

It is nice to have a completed dessert so you can unmold and see the Joconde working. Fill with anything you desire. Layers of different flavors and textures! However, it needs to be something cold that will not fall apart when unmolded.

Suggestions:
Mousses, pastry creams, Bavarian creams, cheesecakes, puddings, curds, jams, cookie bases, more cake (bake off the remaining sponge and cut to layer inside), nuts, Dacquoise, fresh fruit, chocolates, gelee.

November 2010 Daring Bakers' Challenge - Who ate all the pie?

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

A very special friend of mine was celebrating her birthday this month so, as soon as the challenge was announced, I started planning what I would bake for her. We are just entering mikan (mandarin orange) season here, so I easily settled on making a chocolate mikan crostata.


The pastry came together very well (recipe at the end of this post), I didn't encounter any difficulties while working with it. I blind-baked the pastry case and grated a layer of dark chocolate over the base while it was still warm. Once the chocolate had set, I filled the shell with my mikan custard:

Mikan Custard Filling:

• 3 large eggs
  
• 120g caster sugar
• juice and finely grated zest 6 mikan (mandarin oranges)
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 100ml double cream
• 60g dark chocolate, grated

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin, leaving an overhang around the edges. Line the case with baking paper, fill with baking beans (I used uncooked rice), then blind-bake for 20 mins until golden. Remove the beans, then continue to cook for 10 mins until the base is also golden, cover the warm pastry case with the grated chocolate (it will melt) then set aside to cool. Chill briefly to set the chocolate. Reduce oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2.
2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Whisk the eggs and sugar well, then whisk in the juices, zest and cream. Scrape into a jug and set aside. Once the case is cool, trim the overhanging pastry.
3. Carefully pour in the orange custard to the pastry case. Bake for 45-50 mins until the custard has just set, then cool in the tin. If you're making ahead, this can now be chilled overnight.

Although I was under the impression that we would be hosting a party for the birthday girl at my home, it turned out that the plans had changed... only they forgot to tell me! As I had neither transport nor a babysitter, I ended up sending my crostata along to the party with a friend (and a request to take photos), sob, sob...


It went down well, from what I hear :-) And I was delighted that they saved me a slice so that I could taste it for myself the next day!


The pastry had been so straight-forward that, when I did a cooking demo earlier this week and found myself with half a jug of pumpkin pie filling left over, I decided to make another crostada - a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!


I'd never eaten pumpkin pie before, but it was really very, very good! And I had lots of pumpkin puree left over even after making the pie and ended up making some pumpkin swirl chocolate brownies... and pumpkin soup...


Pumpkin Pie Filling:

• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
  
• 1 pack (200g) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Cream together the cheese and sugar until smooth.
2. Beat in the pumpkin puree, followed by the eggs then the spices.
3. Pour into the blind-baked pastry case and bake for 40 minutes at 180c.
   

I really enjoyed this month's challenge - basically an enriched, sweet shortcrust pastry. Back in the UK I usually took the easy route and bought ready-made pastry, but the only pastry you can get your hands on here in Japan is puff pastry - no good for mince pies! I'll be using this recipe again over Christmas, that's for sure! Thanks, Simona, for hosting another fantastic month with the Daring Bakers! xxx

Mandatory Items:
You must make the pasta frolla using the recipe that I have provided here and use it as the base layer for a crostata.

Variations allowed:
You can make a crostata with fruit preserves (traditional) or pastry cream or any other filling of your choice. Here's where you can be creative!

Preparation time:
The following times are approximate, as the time depends on your dexterity to cut the butter and work the dough (which should not be overworked) and your familiarity with the rolling pin.

• Preparing pasta frolla with a food processor takes 10-15 minutes
• Preparing pasta frolla without a food processor takes 20-25 minutes
• Allow the pasta frolla to chill thoroughly. I recommend at least two hours.
• Rolling the pasta frolla and assembling the crostata takes 25-30 minutes, if you use fruit preserves.
• Baking the crostata takes about 35 minutes, if you use fruit preserves.

Preparation time for other types of crostata vary. For example, making crostata with pastry cream requires the time to make pastry cream (25-30 minutes) and a longer baking time. If you make crostata with fresh fruit, you'll need time to prepare the fruit, besides the time needed to prepare pastry cream. In this case, you assemble the crostata after the crust is baked.

Equipment required:

• bowls, as needed
• fork
• knife
• bench (or pastry) scraper
• rolling pin
• pastry brush
• 9 or 9.5-inch [23-24 cm] fluted round tart pan with removable bottom, about 1 inch [2.5 cm] high.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
• 1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• grated zest of half a lemon
• 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Making pasta frolla by hand:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.
   

Making pasta frolla with a food processor:

1. Put sugar, flour, salt, and lemon zest in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
2. Add butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
3. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface
4. See step 3 above and continue as explained in the following steps (minus the lemon zest, which you have already added).
   

Daring Bakers Challenge October 2010 - Going nuts

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.


Now this was a challenge I was only too eager to take up! For the first time in months I didn't leave things to the last minute, and my first batch of doughnuts had been gobbled up (mainly by me) on the 2nd of the month! :-)

Although most of the doughnuts sold here in Japan seem to be the ring-type, for me the perfect doughnut has to be filled with jam and rolled in sugar a la Tesco, and so I plumped for the bombolini recipe to start off with.


They were surprisingly easy to make, and were utterly delicious - thank goodness I'd halved the recipe! I stuffed them full with blueberry jam (unable to get raspberry here), and rolled them in sugar, but for some reason the sugar wouldn't stick so I ended up dusting them with icing sugar. I had to force myself to leave some for the rest of the family (I made them when they were all at the park)! I was reminded of the doughnut eating contests of my university years (eat as many as you can in a minute, without licking your fingers or lips - far, far harder than you might think)...

Bomboloni:

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 35 minutes
Rising time - 1 1/2 hours plus overnight
Cooking time - 10 minutes

Yield: About 32 Bomboloni

Ingredients
Water, Lukewarm 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon
Active Dry Yeast 3 ¼ teaspoon (1.5 pkgs.) / 16.25 ml / 10 gm / .35 oz
Honey 1.5 Tablespoon / 22.5 ml
All Purpose Flour 3 cup / 720 ml / 420 gm / 14 ¾ oz
Milk 3 Tablespoon / 45 ml
Egg Yolk, Large 6
White Granulated Sugar 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 75 gm / 2 2/3 oz + more for rolling
Kosher (Flaked) Salt 2 teaspoon / 10 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz
Butter, Unsalted 3 Tablespoon / 45 ml / 42 gm / 1.5 oz
Canola Oil 3 cup / 720 ml / (Or any other flavorless oil used for frying)
Raspberry Jam, Seedless ¾ cup / 180 ml / 300 gm / 10.5 oz (or any flavor jam, preserves, jelly)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, mix the water, yeast, honey and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (160 gm) of the flour. (Alternatively, whisk the ingredients by hand.) Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 1 hour.
2. Return the bowl to the mixer, fitted with a dough hook. Add the remaining 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons (260 gm) of flour, along with the milk, egg yolks, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and the salt. Mix at low speed until blended, then add the butter and knead at medium speed until silky but sticky, about 5 minutes; the dough will not pull away from the side of the bowl.
3. Using an oiled spatula, scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
4. In a large saucepan, heat the canola oil to 360°F/180°C. Line a rack with paper towels. Fill a shallow bowl with 1/2 inch (12 mm)of granulated sugar. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough a scant 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick. Using a 2-inch (50 mm) round biscuit cutter, stamp out rounds. The original recipe said to not re-roll the dough, but I did and found it to be fine. Fry the rounds, 4 to 5 at a time, until they are browned, about 4 minutes (mine only took about a minute each – try to go more by sight). Be sure to keep the oil between 360°F and 375°F 180°C and 190°C. Drain the bomboloni on paper towels.
5. Roll them in the granulated sugar.

Filling Directions:

Fit a pastry bag with a plain donut tip (or a 1/4-inch (6 mm) tip) and fill with the preserves (you can also use a squeeze bottle). Poke the tip three-fourths of the way into the bomboloni and squeeze in the preserves, pulling the tip out slightly as you squeeze to fill them as much as possible. Serve warm.

Next up came the yeast doughnuts.

Again, I halved the recipe (and this time made sure that I had plenty of people around me to help me eat them!) and they turned out wonderfully! As before, I had no hassles with the recipe, eveything was very straight forward. :-) I rolled half of the batch in cinnamon sugar, and the other half got dipped in Alton Brown's chocolate glaze... phwoarrr...

Yeast Doughnuts:

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 25 minutes
Rising time - 1.5 hours total
Cooking time - 12 minutes

Yield: 20 to 25 doughnuts & 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size

Ingredients
Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml
Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz
Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)
Eggs, Large, beaten 2
White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz
Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz
Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz
All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Directions:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.
11. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
12. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

Chocolate Doughnut Glaze:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (I didn't have any on hand and so substituted with treacle)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:

Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.

This was such a delicious challenge - I really don't think that you can beat freshly cooked doughnuts like these! My tastebuds are thanking you, Lori, although my waistline my never forgive you!

June 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge - Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.



Oh, what joy I felt when I read of this month’s challenge! Honestly, this heavenly dessert is composed of my favourite foods of all time, and I was itching to get started. Writing out my shopping list, however, I realised that this indulgence was going to have to wait for a special occasion - just check out how much cream/mascarpone/chocolate is called for! So I gritted my teeth and resolved to wait until Father’s Day.

As the big day approached I gathered my supplies, and decided to price the recipe up... gulp... over 5,000 yen! Don’t think we’ll be eating anything this fancy again for quite a while. Having said that, the finished pavlova was huge! We each ate the most enormous slice, and it was so rich that even I（!） couldn’t manage seconds. The mousse （not really sure that I would describe it as a mousse, more a cream） was sublime, the highlight of this creation. I must confess that, after getting the boys and K out of the door the following morning, M and I enjoyed a sizable slice for our breakfast! I would have eaten it for lunch, too, but knew that this would be a very bad thing to do... so off-loaded it to some friends just around the corner!

Everything went very smoothly as I followed the challenge. I didn’t pipe the meringue, choosing to make a large, free-form shaped pavlova. My oven couldn’t be set low enough to be able to bake the meringue as per the recipe, so I just baked it my usual way (actually, Nigella’s way - heat the oven to 180c, reduce the temperature to 150c as the meringue goes in and bake for 1 and a 1/4 hours. Leave the meringue to cool in the oven after baking) and it turned out perfectly. And I didn’t use any alcohol as it was being made for the whole family. I served it with the mascarpone cream and some juicy, American cherries (the recipe made far too much cream, so I used it to make a tub of ice-cream).



I will be saving this recipe to be made again, but not whilst we are living here in Japan! K, if you’re reading this (I know he won’t be), can I request that you make this for my birthday?!

Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

Mandatory items: The recipe is comprised of three parts, four if you include the crème anglaise. You must make the chocolate pavlovas, the mascarpone mousse and the mascarpone cream using the recipes provided.

Variations allowed:

* You can use orange juice for the Grand Marnier in the mousse if you don’t use alcohol
* You can omit the sambuca from the mascarpone cream.
* You may substitute any crème anglaise recipe you might already have in your arsenal.

Preparation time: The recipe can be made in one day although there are several steps involved.

* While the pavlovas are baking, the crème anglaise should be made which will take about 15 minutes.
* While it is cooling, the chocolate mascarpone mousse can be made which will take about 15 minutes.
* There will be a bit of a wait time for the mascarpone cream because of the cooling time for the Crème Anglaise.
* If you make the Crème Anglaise the day before, the dessert should take about 2 hours including cooking time for the pavlovas.

Equipment required:
• Baking sheet(s) with parchment or silpat
• Several bowls
• Piping bag with pastry tip
• Hand or stand mixer

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):

3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.

Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)

Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)

Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):

1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)

Directions:

Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.

Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)

Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):

1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Directions:

Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):

1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.

Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.

Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Assembly:

Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

May 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge - Piece Montee

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.



Hurrah for creme puffs! I was very pleased when I read of this month's challenge, and fortunately for me (but not my waistline) the weather has remained unseasonably cool and was was able to complete my creation without any problems. Early in the month I'd worked out my battle plan, but changed my mind last minute, couldn't say why (I'd thought of creating a croque-en-bouche in honour of the Icelandic volcano, with black sesame in the pastry batter and a filling of strawberry creme)... Ended up going with a matcha (green tea) creme instead :-)



I decided to make it for my Mama & Me group. I made the choux pastry puffs the day before, and although I was concerned that they were looking rather wet and flat before they headed for the oven, I was delighted to find that they had puffed up gloriously - wow! I had enough beautiful puffs to create a rather impressive structure, but it wasn't until I was filling them only an hour or so before the ladies were due to arrive that I realised that I had seriously under-estimated the amount of filling that I would need. Ah well, I'd have to make do with what I'd got, and then make some more to treat the family in the evening :-) Just as well, really, as it turned out that there were only three of us at the gathering. We did a pretty good job of demolishing my creation... it all went. Good job I'd skipped breakfast to allow for this indulgence!



As was required, I used the recipes provided (adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of matcha to the creme). I chickened out of doing the spun caramel after reading of the numerous casualties on the DB forum, as I knew that there was no way my two year old 'helper' would agree to remain at a safe distance. Instead, I 'glued' the puffs together using white chocolate, and got artistic a la Jackson Pollock with some white and some matcha chocolate.



The remaining puffs got served after dinner, filled with vanilla custard and smothered in dark chocolate. Loved by all :-)



This was way more straight forward than I had imagined it would be, and I can't wait to make these again - especially having seen some of the other DB creations (oh my, you just have to check out some of the spun caramel at www.thedaringkitchen.com - amazing)! Cat, thank you, thank you, thank you for a fun and totally delicious challenge!

This recipe has 3 main components: the pate a choux, the crème patissiere, and the glaze used to mount/decorate it. While you can purchase or make a cardboard conical structure to build your piece montée or use toothpicks as an aid, it is relatively easy to assemble it using just the baked pate a choux as the main building blocks and the glaze as the glue.

While a piece montée may be a bit time-consuming to assemble, the various components are relatively easy to make and don’t require any special ingredients. The best part about them is that once you have mastered them, you will be able to go on and make many beloved French French pastries such as éclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest, etc. all of which are made with this pate a choux recipe, a filling and glaze.

Variations allowed: I am providing the recipes for 3 variations on the crème patissiere: vanilla, coffee and chocolate but please feel free to flavor your crème patissiere in any flavor of your choosing or a mix of different flavors. You may use either a chocolate glaze or caramel or both (recipes provided) to build your piece montée. You must use the recipe provided for the the pate a choux batter however. As for the structure, feel free to be creative as you want – but it must be a “mounted piece” meaning that it has some height; you may decorate it with any objects you desire.

Preparation time: You will want to use your puff pastry batter and chocolate glaze or caramel as soon as it has been prepared and as close to serving time as possible. This is not a dessert that stores well and it may be a bit temperamental in humid areas as the glaze needs to harden to hold the choux together. The crème patissiere can be made a couple of days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

You will need approximately 10 minutes to prepare the puff pastry, 10 minutes to pipe and about 30 minutes to bake each batch. The crème patissiere should take about 10 minutes to cook and then will need to be cooled for at least 6 hours or overnight. The glazes take about 10 minutes to prepare.

Equipment required:
• several baking sheets
• parchment paper
• a whisk
• a pastry brush (for the egg wash)
• a pastry bag and tip (a plain tip or no tip is best for piping the puff pastry; you can use a plain or star tip to fill the puff pastry with the cream)
• a flat surface such as a baking sheet or cake board/stand on which to assemble your piece montée
• some of the items you may want to use to decorate your piece montée include ribbons, Jordan almonds, fresh flowers, sugar cookie cut-outs, chocolates, etc.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Half Batch)
1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat. Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook. Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking. Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla. Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

For Chocolate Pastry Cream (Half Batch Recipe):
Bring ¼ cup (about 50 cl.) milk to a boil in a small pan; remove from heat and add in 3 ounces (about 80 g.) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, and mix until smooth. Whisk into pastry cream when you add the butter and vanilla.

For Coffee Pastry Cream (Half Batch recipe)
Dissolve 1 ½ teaspoons instant espresso powder in 1 ½ teaspoons boiling water. Whisk into pastry cream with butter and vanilla.

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)
¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly. Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes. It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.
Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.

Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces/200 g. finely chopped chocolate (use the finest quality you can afford as the taste will be quite pronounced; I recommend semi-sweet)

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning. Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. Use immediately.

Hard Caramel Glaze:
1 cup (225 g.) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:
You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best. Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up. (You may want to use toothpicks to hold them in place).

When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate.