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).
   

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.