Daring Bakers & Dessert Rangoon

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. Thank you Karen and Zorra for such a fun challenge. You would think that making stencils and having to shape the cookies would be such daunting tasks. However, this was my favorite challenge so far. You could mold your cookies into whatever shapes you wanted them to be. Oh the possibilities :)

Since I am obsessed with other cultures foods, I thought it only right that I shape my tuiles into one of my favorite things to eat. Crab rangoon. Yum :) I decided to make the sweet version, so obviously these were crab-free. I filled half of them with a sweet cream cheese and the other half with nutella. Just to make sure the nutella was up to par though, I had to taste test it. And by taste test I clearly mean take a large spoon and get the biggest scoop possible of the chocolate hazelnut goodness. Don't judge. You know you would do the same thing if you were me. Now on to the recipe.

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

Recipe:Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)

Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)

60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar

1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)

2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)

65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour

1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice

Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

1. Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not over mix.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

3. Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

4. If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

I think I need to go try some more of that nutella. I did buy 2 jars just in case one was bad ;) 

Stay tuned for my next baking adventure!

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Pasta + Sauce + Wine = Dinner :)

"I'm hungry. Feed me."

Tomato Feta Pasta

1/2 box of Barilla whole wheat rotini

1 8oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 large red onion, chopped up

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large tomato, cut into chunks

1/2 cup red wine

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

dash of garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

feta cheese crumbles

1. Cook your pasta. You can really use whatever kind is your favorite. I love the taste of whole wheat pasta, so that's what I use.

2. Drain the pasta and set aside.

3. In the pot you used for the pasta, sprinkle in some olive oil and turn to medium heat.

4. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes.

5. Now add your garlic and saute for another minute.

6. Add the tomatoes and let cook until they are tender.

7. Add your can of sauce, wine, and seasonings. You can adjust the seasoning amounts to fit your taste buds.

8. Cook until the sauce starts to lightly bubble and then remove from heat.

9. Add your pasta to the sauce and mix together.

10. Serve up into your favorite bowls and top with feta or whatever your favorite cheese may be.

11. Enjoy with a glass of wine :)

This dish is so easy and you can add all sorts of veggies or even meats to it. Kale or mushrooms would be really great in this pasta. Or if you love meat, maybe some spicy sausage. Enjoy! And stay tuned for my next baking/cooking adventure!

Sorry Excuse for a Blogger & Lemon Bars

Where did December go?! Seriously! And now January is almost over. So it's time to get my butt back into baking gear! I decided to make lemon bars, but then completely forgot to take ANY pictures. WHAT?! Oh well. I guarantee that minus the pictures, this recipe will make some of the best lemon bars you've ever had.

Lemon Bars

2 cups of flour

1 cup of softened butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

4 eggs

2 cups of sugar

dash of salt

5 Tablespoons of lemon juice (juice of 2 large lemons or 3 small)

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 cup of flour

powdered sugar

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flour, butter, and powdered sugar.

3. Mix thoroughly and press into ungreased 13x9 pan. Bake for about 20 minutes until it looks golden brown.

4. Meanwhile, mix eggs, sugar, salt, and lemon juice.

5. Fold in 1/4 cup of flour and baking powder.

6. Pour the lemon mixture onto hot crust.

7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

8. Let cool and sprinkle powdered sugar onto bars.

9. Cut into squares or eat straight from the pan with a fork and enjoy :)

Stay tuned for my next baking adventure :)

Daring Bakers Give Thanks For Caramel Cake

Now it would be an understatement to say I had difficulties with this cake. First, I tried making the optional caramels. I had read how others were having issues with the cooking times and temps turning the caramels into a rock hard block. Wow were they right! My block of "caramels" could have been used as a deadly weapon. Hahaha. Instead of wallowing in my mess, I decided to move on to the syrup part of the recipe. I'm sorry, did I say syrup? I meant paste, or at least that's how mine turned out. Everything was going fine until I went to add it to the cake batter. I go over to the pot of cooled down syrup and there is a cloudy, hard, paste. WHAT?! So I warmed it up and it resumed it's liquid form, but only long enough for me to add it to the batter and frosting. Which leads me to the frosting debacle. Although I really wouldn't call this a true frosting since it was not smooth or easy to work with like a regular frosting. The moment I added the syrup to it, the whole thing turned oily looking. Thankfully, adding the cream transformed it into somewhat of a frosting, but not a very spreadable one. While all of this was going on my cakes were baking up nicely. The two square cakes I decided to make turned out beautifully. So golden and perfect.

Oh, and did I mention how very very sweet the frosting was? Too sweet to cover an entire cake. So I only used it as the middle layer in the cake, then covered the cake in a vanilla cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Sorry, but that frosting was just not going to cover my entire cake.

I would like to thank our hosts this month for such a learning experience. So thank you to our host Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, and her co-hosts Brownie of Brownie and Blondie, Jenny of Foray into Food, and Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go.

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING


By: Shuna Fish Lydon




10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature


1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar


1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)


2 eggs, at room temperature


splash vanilla extract


2 Cups all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1 cup milk, at room temperature






Notes from Natalie for those of you baking gluten-free:




So the GF changes to the cake would be:




2 cups of gluten free flour blend (w/xanthan gum) or 2 cups of gf flour blend + 1 1/2 tsp xanthan or guar gum




1/2 - 1 tsp baking powder (this would be the recipe amount to the amount it might need to be raised to & I'm going to check)




I'll let you when I get the cake finished, how it turns out and if the baking powder amount needs to be raised.






- Preheat oven to 350F
- Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.
- Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
- Sift flour and baking powder.
- Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}
- Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.
- Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.
- Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.


CARAMEL SYRUP
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)




- In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.
- When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.
- Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}
Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.


CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste
- Cook butter until brown.
- Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.
Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.


(Optional) GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS
By: Alice Medrich
- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels -
Ingredients:
1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
3/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, purchased or ground in a coffee or spice grinders, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened
Equipment:
A 9-inch square baking pan Candy thermometer
Procedure:
Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F. Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.
When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.
Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.
Variations:
Fleur de Sel Caramels: Extra salt, in the form of fleur de sel or another coarse flaked salt, brings out the flavor of the caramel and offers a little ying to the yang. Add an extra scant 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt to the recipe. Or, to keep the salt crunchy, let the caramel cool and firm. Then sprinkle with two pinches of flaky salt and press it in. Invert, remove the pan liner, sprinkle with more salt. Then cut and wrap the caramels in wax paper or cellophane.
Nutmeg and Vanilla Bean Caramels: Add 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg to the cream before you heat it.
Cardamom Caramels: Omit the vanilla. Add 1/2 teaspoon slightly crushed cardamom seeds (from about 15 cardamom pods) to the cream before heating it. Strain the cream when you add it to the caramel; discard the seeds.

Stay tuned for my next baking adventure!

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Pretzels and a Birthday

Have you ever just had one of those cravings and nothing but that certain food would do? Well I was having one of those moments this week. Pretzels. Chewy, buttery, and fresh from the oven is what I was craving. But where would I find a good recipe? Of course! Pretzels are what started The Daring Bakers. So I went to both Lisa and Ivonne's blogs, La Mia Cucina and Cream Puffs In Venice. Well, I was obviously meant to bake up some pretzels because when I went to Ivonne's page there were the pretzels. Turns out November is The Daring Bakers birthday month!

So I pulled out all the ingredients and got to work making some delicious pretzels. Since I don't like to eat a lot of white flour if I can help it, I did alter the recipe a bit. Instead of 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, I split it into half white flour and half whole wheat flour. Sooo good! Feel free to follow the original recipe though as it is written below. Or follow this link, Hot Buttered Pretzels, over to Ivonne's page and the original post.

Hot Buttered Pretzels
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

For the dough:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
1 cup warm water (you may need a little more)

For the pretzel topping:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
kosher salt
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1.) Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Work the ingredients together until you can form a ball. If the dough is very dry, add a bit more warm water until it comes together. The dough will look messy, but don’t worry about it.

2.) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading by pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand, and then folding it back in onto itself. Push the dough away again and then fold back in. Continue this motion, working the dough until it’s smooth. This should take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough in a mixer with your dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes).

3.) Once the dough is done, sprinkle some flour on the dough and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It will rise considerably.

4.) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5.) Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and set aside.

6.) Divide your dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope that’s roughly 24 inches in length. (Don’t make it too long or your pretzels will be too thin.)

7.) Taking hold of the ends of the rope, cross the rope over itself to form a circle with about 4 to 5 inches on each end that are sticking out. Twist the ends over themselves and secure each end on either side of the pretzel.

8.) Carefully dip the pretzel in the water and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.

9.) Sprinkle the pretzels with the kosher salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

10.) Put the pretzels in the oven for 6 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the pretzels so that they don’t burn.

11.) Remove the pretzels from the oven and immediately brush them with the butter. Keep brushing them with butter until you’ve used it all.

12.)Serve the pretzels warm with plenty of mustard or another condiment of your choice.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DB!!!

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Je t'aime Pizza Tina

Ham and mushroom pizza, mmmmm :) Next to my morning, afternoon, and evening pain au chocolat in Paris, this pizza is what I dream about. Now when you think of Paris, you probably don't immediately think of pizza. Well you should. There was this cute little Italian place across the street from my hotel on Avenue Bosquet, Pizza Tina. It was a small, family owned restaurant, like most places in Europe.

Now usually I'm not a meat-on-my-pizza kind of girl, but that night I thought, why not. How many times will I get to eat pizza in Paris? Honestly though, I'll probably get to go there a few more times before I hit old age. Yea! So I pulled up the pizza dough recipe from last month's DB challenge and I got down to business. Only this time I made it with whole wheat flour.

For some reason the whole wheat flour made me think I could eat a few extra pieces. Or it could have been that my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Either way, I went on a long walk after I had consumed a whole 8 pieces! Did a pig just snort? Hmmm, nope, just me :) And as you can see from the pictures I made more than just ham and mushroom. I also made a tomato and shitake pizza and a couple of onion and mushroom pizzas (not pictured).

So if you are ever in Paris near Avenue Bosquet, do stop by Pizza Tina. You'll dream about their pizza long after you leave there. And stay tuned for my next baking adventure!

"Shouldn't you be scarier?"

"Angel of Death?" "You're too cute to be the Angel of Death." "Shouldn't you be scarier?"

These are the responses I received from my co-workers this morning. Completely overlooking the fact that I was carrying homemade truffles. Which I had spent 2 days making for them. Honestly, no imagination. So on to my truffles. I decided to forgo the traditional bat shaped, pumpkin shaped, ghost shaped cut out cookies and instead made some amaretto truffles. Yum :) After looking through several recipes for truffles and deciding there just was not enough amaretto in any of them or chocolate for that matter. I decided to piece together my own recipe, although mine closely resembles one of my favorite truffle recipes from Joy of Baking. So here is my version. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!

Amaretto Truffles

8oz. of semi-sweet chocolate (or whatever is your favorite)
1 handful of white chocolate chips

1 & 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs. of butter

1 tsp. of vanilla

1 bag of milk chocolate chips (again, whatever is your favorite)

3-4 Tbs. of Amaretto (yes I did say 3-4 tablespoons)

- Cut up your blocks of semi-sweet chocolate. It melts easier when it's not in big chunks. Melt in a microwave safe glass bowl for a minute or two, stirring occasionally.

- In the meantime heat your heavy cream, butter, and vanilla in a small sauce pan. Once the butter has melted and the cream has started to boil, remove from the burner. Slowly whisk it into your bowl of almost melted chocolate. Whisk until you have a smooth bowl of chocolate goodness :)

- Let your bowl of chocolate sit out until has cooled off a bit. About 15-20 minutes. Now cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or over night.

- When you are ready to make the truffles, use either a spoon or a small cookie dough scoop. I prefer the scoop. I scoop out about 10 balls at a time. That way I can form more at a time between rinsing off my hands. Take the ball of chocolate and either form a ball with the tips of your fingers (works best for me) or roll it between your palms. Place completed pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet.

- When you have all of your truffles formed, place the tray in the freezer for about an hour to harden up. About 10 minutes before you take them out, melt your milk chocolate chips. With a spoon dip the truffles in the melted chocolate and coat completely. Set the coated truffle back on the tray and repeat with the rest of the truffles. I also decided to forgo the chocolate shell on half of my truffles and instead used black and orange sprinkles.

- Place the tray back in the freezer for about 20 minutes to let the shell harden. Once they have set-up you can decorate the outside of the truffle with orange tinted white chocolate. Simply fill a pastry bag with the white chocolate and attach the smallest frosting tip you have. Now pipe on ghost faces or write out 'Boo'. Make spider webs. Decorate until your heart is content. Place the finished truffles into small candy liners.

- Now feel free to consume your finished product. Or give away as Halloween treats.

Happy Halloween everyone! Stay tuned for my next baking adventure ;)

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