June DB: Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.
Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.
Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.
The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

I am very late in posting this, though it was completely before the month was up! I made mine in 4 inch mini-tart pans, and made two using strawberry jam and two with cherry. I found the strawberry ones to be too sweet but the cherry was great! I also prefered them cold as opposed to warm as recommended in the recipe.

Interesting and different dish but a bit sweet overall for my taste! I guess this American Girl just prefers good ol American pie :)

Root Vegetable Chicken Pot Pie

What a great find this recipe was! A healthy and easy chicken pot pie... I only regret finding it at the END of the winter, but it will (and already IS!) be a staple in our house going forward... yum!

From the Cooking Light website (linke above):


In the magazine's early days, we shied away from indulgent ingredients like puff pastry. Now, though, we understand that these items can fit into a healthful diet. This dish registers at just 30 percent calories from fat--root vegetables help balance the fat from the flaky topping. You can also bake in individual (10-ounce) ramekins or crocks for the same amount of time.

Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed peeled celeriac (celery root) I omit this since - YUCK! - I use extra sweet potato and parsnips to make up for it
1 cup (1/2-inch-thick) slices parsnip
1 (10-ounce) package frozen pearl onions
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces), divided
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley I omit - again, yuck to parsley! blech!
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Bring broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add peas and next 5 ingredients (through onions) to pan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes. Add chicken; cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and vegetables from broth with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl.
Increase heat to medium. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place all but 1 tablespoon flour in a medium bowl; gradually add milk to bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broth; cook for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. Stir in chicken mixture, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon flour on a work surface; roll dough into a 13 x 9-inch rectangle. Place dough over chicken mixture, pressing to seal at edges of dish. Cut small slits into dough to allow steam to escape; coat dough lightly with cooking spray. Place dish on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes or until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 388 (30% from fat)
Fat: 13g (sat 2g,mono 3g,poly 7.1g)
Protein: 21.9g
Carbohydrate: 45.7g
Fiber: 4.4g
Cholesterol: 34mg
Iron: 3mg
Sodium: 790mg
Calcium: 115mg
Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2007

DB: Cheesecake!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

This was a great challenge! We were given a basic (fabulous) cheesecake recipe and then were free to get creative! And some of the DBers sure did get creative!!

My initial idea was to do something a little different using one of my favorite flavors... balsamic vinegar. I have a bottle of good quality thich sweet balsamic that I use exclusively for dessert (usually macerate strawberries.... over vanilla ice cream... yummm) so I hoped it would work in this! I reduced the balsamic so I could get more flavor out of it without messing with the consistency of the cheesecake, and I added chopped strawberries to the batter. I used vanilla wafer cookies instead of graham for the crust. They were GREAT! Different, but they worked!

Because I was not sure how that would turn out, I decided to make them in cupcake form and split the batter into thirds. I omitted the lemon juice from all three so I could play with more liquid flavoring

My other two flavors were:

espresso-vanilla (with vanilla crust). I made fresh espresso and reduced it for the same reason as above... this allowed it to haev a really nice strong coffee flavor!

Vanilla Mint-chocolate. I added mint extract and kept teh vanilla to the batter, and I made the crust with chocolate wafer cookies. I added broken chunks of ghiradelli 70% chocolate bar to the batter. This I think was my favorite! The taste and texture was reminiscent of a Peppermint Patty - only better ;)

These came together quickly and easily, and cooked much faster thanks to the smaller size (about 25 minutes). Also, cooking in a cupcake pan with liners meant that it was foolproof to use a water bath.

Thanks for a great April challenge!

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:
crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs

1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract
cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake
DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.
Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.
Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Candy Cane Biscotti

I saw this recipe on Culinary in the Desert, and thought it looked great... and it was! The recipe called for dipping in white chocolate - I did dark as well, and next year I would do just the dark... because why use white chocolate when you can go dark??

Candy Cane Biscotti (Adapted from Land O Lakes)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candy canes
14 ounces fine-quality white chocolate, melted
extra crushed candy canes to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined - stir in crushed candy.
Evenly divide dough into 4 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Shape each piece into 9" x 1 1/2" round log. Place logs 3 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake until tops are cracked and ends just start to turn light brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325. Cool logs 10 minutes on cookie sheet.
Cut each log diagonally into 1/2" slices with sharp serrated knife. [Discard ends]

Arrange pieces standing up back onto the baking sheet.
Bake until cookies are light golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 12 to 15 minutes. The centers may still be a little soft, but will firm up as they cool.. Place onto cool rack and cool completely.
Dip half of each biscotti into melted chocolate - shake off excess. Immediately sprinkle with additional crushed candy canes and set on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet until the chocolate has set.

DB: Caramel Cake!

So this month the challenge was to make a caramel cake, with caramel frosting (making our own caramel). As an option, we can also make caramel candies. I accepted both challenges... however before I got a chance to upload my photos... my camera disappeared! Along with it, photos of my sisters and I from Thanksgiving :( I really hope it turns up soon, and if / when it does I will put my cake and candy photos as well! In the meantime though, you will just have to take my word for it... I completed the challenge!

- Name of the Cookbook - Shuna Fish Lyndon's recipe - (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/)

- Name of the Author - Shuna Fish Lyndon

- Hosts for the month - Dolores the host (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/) with Co-hosts Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/). And since none of us know jack about alternative baking, we’ve once again turned to Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/) to assist us.

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), as published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/)

FOR THE CAKE:

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

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, and cream the mixture 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.

FOR THE 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.

FOR THE 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.

GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS

from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, Artisan Press, Copyright 2007, ISBN: 978-1579652111

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.

Caramel Sauce: Stop cooking any caramel recipe or variation when it reaches 225°F or, for a sauce that thickens like hot fudge over ice cream, 228°F. Pour it into a sauceboat to serve or into a heatproof jar for storage. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for ages and reheated gently in the microwave or a saucepan just until hot and flowing before use. You can stir in rum or brandy to taste. If the sauce is too thick or stiff to serve over ice cream, it can always be thinned with a little water or cream. Or, if you like a sauce that thickens more over ice cream, simmer it for a few minutes longer.

MY NOTES: I added much more heavy cream to the frosting than called for (and less sugar) and I was heavy handed with the salt. I beat the heck out of it so t was nice and fluffy and I think that all helped with the sweetness. My caramel was a nice deep amber color - I think a key is to get that great burnt caramel flavor - it really does help cut the sweetness.

The caramels were fabulous. LOVED them! I added salt when cutting htem but next time I would add more. I cooked them to a bit of a lower temp than called for because I really didnt want to have to go to the dentist due to eating candy. They were very very soft, but still shapeable. Perfect since I gave half to my elderly grandfather - and he loves caramel but normally cant eat them as they are so chewy.

Great challenge - thanks to our hosts! I will definitely make at least the candy again :)

Daring Bakers: Lavash!

So I am a few days late... I forgot about the early posting date, and then life got in the way a bit. BUT I did complete the challenge well in advance of the deadline.

This was a great challenge. First, because it was savory - finally! Next, it was something I would have never thought to make myself. Finally, the results were so yummy :)

Part of the challenge was to make your own gluten-free and vegan dip to go with the crackers - and while there is no part of me that is vegan, my sister is allergic to wheat so I decided to also attempt the GF lavash (as well as the regular one).

I made two batches of 'normal' lavash, one whole wheat and one white and two batches of GF (my first was quite like cardboard... the instructions for GF told us not to knead the dough but mine did not rise at all. Batch two I kneaded for quite awhile and got a teeny rise out of it, and it tasted much better). I used a variety of toppings including cumin, sesame seeds, dried minced garlic, oregano, with grated parmesan (my fav), chili powder, pepper, and kosher salt on em all of course.

My dips were a black bean and pumpkin dip from my Pumpkin cookbook by DeeDee Stovel (I found it eh but everyone else liked it) and Cooks Illustrated Roasted Garlic Hummus. Not fancy but my first time making hummus myself, and I loved it! I love some garlic hummus though.

This recipe was refreshingly simple, though the GF version was certainly a challenge. I loved the results and am glad to have stretched my repetoire a bit!

RECIPE - Recipe Reference: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6.

Here's a simple formula for making snappy Armenian-style crackers, perfect for breadbaskets, company and kids...It is similar to the many other Middle Eastern and Northern African flatbreads known by different names, such as mankoush or mannaeesh (Lebanese), barbari (Iranian), khoubiz or khobz (Arabian), aiysh (Egyptian), kesret and mella (Tunisian), pide or pita (Turkish), and pideh (Armenian). The main difference between these breads is either how thick or thin the dough is rolled out, or the type of oven in which they are baked (or on which they are baked, as many of these breads are cooked on stones or red-hot pans with a convex surface)...The key to a crisp lavash,...is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers*

1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)*

1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast*

1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar*

1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil*

1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature*

Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bread-Dough-Has-Been-Mixed-Long-Enough for a discription of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.or

2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors. or

4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

DB: Eclairs!

August's Daring Bakers Challenge was eclairs - something new to me (again). I really liked this one! Even though I ran into some hiccups... they were still scrumptious!

The challenge rules required that we use the given pate a choux recipe, and either the given glaze recipe OR the given chocolate filling. I felt that a chocolate glaze and filling would be too much, so instead I made the given chocolate glaze and two different fillings: cappuccino flavored, and the given chocolate filling... just without the chocolate (thus, vanilla).

I got the cappuccino recipe from a recent issue of Bon Appetit magzine (linked above). I really liked the flavor, but the filling didnt set up as well as the given recipe, so it was too runny.

I encountered two problems with this challenge: first, the pate a choux. It came together GREAT - perfectly! I piped them (used a ziplock with the corner snipped - perfect!) and threw them in the oven. They rose nicely... I pulled them out... and POOF. Fell flat. To the point that it was hard to slice them later! I made a second batch, this time trying the trick of letting them slowly cool in the oven after they were done baking. Same thing.

After reading some tips on the forums, I think they probably just needed more baking time (hard to tell since they were golden and puffed as the recipe says they should be when done). It was ok though, still tasted great!

Me second issue was with the glaze, and I am still not sure what happened. I followed the directions to a T, and yet after adding my first tsp of butter, the glaze broke. It became a beautiful choclate glaze, swimming in melted butter. I ended up adding double the chocolate sauce to it, and that mostly fixed it... regardless, it was deeply dark (I used half unsweetened and half bittersweet chocolate) and tasted beautiful :)

Overall, a great challenge! It really did challenge me, and it tasted great! Thanks!

Check out the recipe here!

Danish Braids

First off - post 200! woohoo! Go me!

(slight explosion... and goofy braiding!)

This month's Daring Baker's Challenge was, simply, awesome. I have to say that this recipe intimidated me... but really wasnt so bad. Really, it was (for me) easier and more successful than May's challenge! Thanks to our hosts Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’? for choosing a great challenge!

We were given the recipe for the dough and a suggested apple filling, but were welcomed to use any filling and just to make at least one braid. I doubled the recipe (yeah... I know...) because we are having some houseguests in July (I froze the finished braids) and because I couldnt pick just two fillings! Some had trouble with the dough, or butter oozing out. Mine was ok - just make sure to flour your surface WELL pre-rolling

My fillings are: Blueberry Lemon (1 pint of blueberries cooked with some sugar and juice of 1 lemon, plus a bit of cornstarch to thicken) plus sweetened cream cheese, Strawberry Rhubarb (berries and rhubarb cooked with sugar and a little orange rind and thickened) plus sweetened cream cheese, fresh strawberries macerated in Balsamic Vinegar, and a coffee-chocolate filling - cream cheese sweeted with about 1 serving of fresh espresso whipped in, topped with chunks of dark chocolate. Yummmm! The braids are frozen now, but I made some small baby danishes with the extra dough... so so good.

(Random chocolate explosion)

And without further ado... the recipe

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients

For the dough (Detrempe)

1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup whole milk

1/3 cup sugar

Zest of 1 orange, finely grated

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

2 large eggs, chilled

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH

Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

BUTTER BLOCK

1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.

2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes

3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

DANISH BRAID

Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients 1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)

2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.

3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.Egg WashWhisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking

1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.

2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Favorite Brownies

I love brownies. Homemade brownies are probably my fav dessert, and the food for which I demonstrate no control at all... I could eat an entire pan in a day, no problemo. And these are my favorite ones! The recipe is my moms... where she got it I dont know but she has been making them for as long as I can remember. The beauty of brownies is to make them from scratch is EASY. You dont need a mixer - best to mix by hand so you dont overbeat. Throw it all in a boal, mix until JUST combined, pour in a greased pan and bake! Easy as pie - except pie can be tricky. Easy as BROWNIES! :)

Deep Dish Brownies:

3/4 c melted butter

1 1/2 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 c flour

1/2 c baking cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c choc chips

Heat oven to 350. Grease 8x8 pan. In medium mixing bowl blend melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well w/ spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well-blended. Stir in chips. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 min or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. (always err on the side of undercooking brownies, and I often add a bit more cocoa to these :) )

Latest DB EVER!

I made my May Daring Baker's Opera Cake in May, within the allotted time... but when post date came along I was travelling on business and posting from my laptop didnt seem like a fun idea. So, the post date came and went... and because I was late already... I didnt get around to posting. Until today. My June DB entry is currently in process so I figured it was about darn time I blogged may! Part of my delay is due to the fact that I really did not like my opera cake :( The reason is, I think, three-fold:

1) I really did not care for the white chocolate flavor in the mousse and ganache... like I hated it!

2) The flavors I chose (hazelnut/frangelico, vanilla, and caramel) really didnt come through very well - they were not strong enough and really just didnt work for me. I think Iwould have been better of with fruit, or more acidic flavors

3) I struggled through my buttercream - it wasnt firming up for me - so I kept tasting it. Finally it came together (I just kept beating it... and beating it... and finally like 15 minutes later it firmed up) but by then I had had WAY too much. Also, I follwed the posted recipe (more sugar, less butter) but it was just WAY too sweet for me... so I kept adding butter... and tasting. Blech!

Now, I gave it all away (Ryan brought into work) and I fully expected a poor review but he said it was enjoyed. So, maybe it was just me... but I wasnt a fan. I think I would have prefered it if I have followed some other DBers lead and cheated... with chocolate :)

Not going to bother posting the recipe since y'all have either a) seen it already or b) wont make it anyhow but you can see it on all the other DBers blogs here - they all have the recipe posted :)

HomeGrown Gourmet - Peanut Butter Gobs

This is my entry for this month's HomeGrown Gourmet, a challenge in which you make a dish based on the host's theme that somehow represents your area.

This month's theme was... peanut butter. Ill admit, I was thrown and had no clue what to make - figured I would skip out this month. THEN I had an epiphany... Ryan's birthday was in mid-May and I was planning to make him Gobs anyhow - a favorite treat of his from his hometown of Johnstown, PA and something that really doesnt exist outside of J'town under that name (they are everywhere else as Whoopie Pies though). They don't even get their own wiki entry (but are noted under whoopie pies) they are THAT unique to the area!

Basically, they are chocolate cake cooked in large cookie form with fluffy white frosting in between. So, I added peanut butter to have of them and VOILA! Peanut Butter Gobs!

I got the recipe from someone on the local Pittsburgh Nest board (since really, they dont exist anywhere else!) and THey turned out well with the addition of some PB - ryan said they were authentic :)

Recipe Courtesy of Amber (waltsgirl102503) on the Pittsburgh Nest's Grandma

CHOCOLATE GOBS
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
41/4 cup flour (sifted)
2 t soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sour milk
1/2 cup boiling water
2 t vanilla
Cream together eggs, sugar, shortening until fluffy.
Sift together all dry ingredients.
Alternately add dry ingred. and milk.
Finally add boiling water and vanilla
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
I like to use a small ice cream scoop to make gobs so they are the same size annd bake evenly.
CREAM FILLING
1/2 cup white shortening
1/2 cup margarine (butter will work but stick margarine is the best)
1 cup sugar
1 egg white (room temp.)
2 t vanilla
1/2 cup hot milk (microwave about a minute)
Cream shortening, margarine, and sugar until fluffy.
Add egg white and then vanilla.
Keep beating while adding hot milk a little at a time.

When the cake is cooled scoop filling in between two and wrap in plastic and refridgerate until serving.

I added about 1/2 a cup of peanut butter to the filling (only half the filling) for this challenge.

Check out the rules here and the other entries soon!

Daring Cheesecake!

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge is a recipe for mini cheesecake pops! THese looked and sounded so fun; I was really excited to try them with a few recipes. I made this recipe so it was ready to serve alongside birthday cake on my mom's birthday. I changed the recipe slightly, substituting the flour for cornstarch since my sister is allergic to wheat. There is a 2:1 flour:cornstarch ratio for that substitution, and it was not really an obvious change. The flour is really just there to provide some structure.

I doubled the recipe because I wanted to try a variety of flavors: I made half of my popsicles following the recipe exactly (other than the flour) and added some vanilla beans for an extra pop of vanilla. I dipped them in dark chocolate, which was melted with a little shortening, and I added some cinnamon and cayenne to make it a bit of a mexican chocolate - I really liked that layer in the flavor. These were decorated in colored stars.

With the other half, I made half coconut using a tsp of coconut extract, and dipping the chocolate in toasted coconut flakes. The remaining part was flavored with a tsp of lemon extract. These were dipped in multicolored sugar.

The pops were really good but I think I liked them better in theory than in practice. They were a bit too rich for me, and for ryan. I think I prefer cheekacake, straight up. Too much going on with these. But, dont take my word for it: my family enjoyed them, and the leftovers did not last long at Ryan's work!

Overall the recipe was a success. It took a bit longer to set in the oven, about 55 minutes. I just pulled them when they were set in the center. They were somewhat of a pain to roll - the cheesecake softened very quicklywhen I was rolling them and my hands got gooey quickly, I found them hard to get into uniform balls. The biggest difficulty I encountered was freezer space. After rolling the balls and sticking in the sticks the pops need to freeze in the freezer for a few hours. They defintely took longer for me for them to get really hard, and it was very hard to find the space in a standard side by side fridge/freezer, especially when the freezer is packed ;) I had to do small batches in the freezer which made the process longer than it should have been.

Had I had a second freezer or just less junk in mine, it would have been much easier.

Check out the recipe here at Taste and Tell, one of our esteemed hosts for this round!

Birthday Cake!

For my mom's birthday, we had the whole family over for dinner to celebrate. She looooves a good rich chocolate frosting and wanted a moist cake, maybe with caramel, maybe with brown sugar. I think I achieved success!

Brown Sugar Butter Cake

(Adapted from Gourmet)

This recipe makes 1 - 9 inch round so I doubled it. My other changes in italics

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar (I subbed 1/2 of sugar for dark brown sugar)

1 whole large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest (Omitted)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup whole milk

Garnish: Confectioners sugar (omitted)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, then line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter parchment. Lightly dust with flour.
Whisk together flour (1 3/4 cups), baking powder, and salt.
Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add whole egg, yolk, zest, and vanilla and beat 1 minute. At low speed, mix in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches.
Spread batter in cake pan and bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

The cake was great - so buttery and moist!

Caramel Sauce for Layers

(Adapted from Gourmet)

I cut each cake layer in half and in between I layered some homemade caramel sauce. I used this recipe:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I used Dark)

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Equipment: a candy thermometer

Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.
Put rack with cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

I let the sauce set in the fridge and it separated into a thick layer on top which it what I used between the layers. I drizzled the remainder over the frosted cake.

Chocolate Frosting

(From Cooks Illustrated)

This recipe was so so easy, quick and is fabulously rich. I also made it here.

Foolproof Chocolate Frosting

Makes 3 cups

20 T unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
pinch salt
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
8 ounces chocolate (I used unsweetened), melted and cooled slightly

In food processor (NOT your KASM), process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 sec. Scrape sides as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process to just combined, 5-10 sec. Scrape sides, and add chocolate and pulse to smooth and creamy, 10-15 sec. Frosting can by used immediately or held (longer than 3 hrs, chill covered and let stand at room temp for an hour prior to use). Yummmmm

Chocolate 'Covered' Banana Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes to bring to a party. There was going to be a 20 month old there who cant yet have peanuts or coconuts (or booze probably!) so I wanted to make some cupcakes with something else to kick them up. I had saved this recipe ages ago from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody that I used to make cupcakes (the explosion of overripe bananas in my freezer helped too!)

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup shortening

8 ounce Mascarpone cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup mashed bananas (I used 2 overripe frozen then thawed bananas)

Cream together the sugar, shortening and Mascarpone cheese. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. Add banana and buttermilk. Mix together all dry ingredients, then combine sugar mixture with dry ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. (This made 22 cupcakes, on the full side, and took about 15ish minutes to be done).

I picked up the April issue of Cooks Illustrated and decided to test out their "Foolproof Chocolate Frosting' claim. After all, my mom's birthday is coming up and she loves a good chocolate frosting. This recipe lived up to its claims: easy decadently deeply chocolatey...

Foolproof Chocolate Frosting

Makes 3 cups

20 T unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

pinch salt

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

8 ounces chocolate (I used unsweetened), melted and cooled slightly

In food processor (NOT your KASM), process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 sec. Scrape sides as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process to just combined, 5-10 sec. Scrape sides, and add chocolate and pulse to smooth and creamy, 10-15 sec. Frosting can by used immediately or held (longer than 3 hrs, chill covered and let stand at room temp for an hour prior to use). Yummmmm

'Daring' Easter Cake!

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge (click HERE to see all the other participants!) was Dorie Greenspan's 'Perfect Party Cake.' I thought that the family Easter/Bday (x3) party would be the perfect time to make it. I make the cake according to the directions, only subbing the raspberry jam for blueberry, and toasting my coconut for the sides. I also found that I needed another 1/2 batch of the buttercream to have enough to frost and decorate.

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable

About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean

Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.

Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream

Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.

Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.

Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.

During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.

On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake

Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.

Spread it with one third of the preserves.

Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.

Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).

Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving

The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing

The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around

Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake

If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

The cake came out well, very white with a nice rise and golden top. Very dense, rich cake! The buttercream was fabulous... the two together were VERY lemony. The blueberry was a welcome sweetness.

I was very proud of my decorating since that is NOT normally my strong suit. Go me!

Cranberry Soda Bread

For St Patricks Day weekend we went to Pittsburgh for the parade and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's annual shindig.

I decided to try my hand at Irish Soda Bread, which Irish though I am, I have never made. not sure why because it is EASY and YUMMY!

I had to be different though and changed the recipe to be more of a sweet bread than a traditional Irish Soda, and used dried cranberries instead of raisins too. It was SO.GOOD. I seriously ate about 5 (small) pieces saturday night. YUM!

The recipe is from one of my good buddies Alison (Finny). This is one of her family recipes (plus my changes since I cant leave well enough alone...). My changes in italics

2 cup raisins (crans)

4 cup flour (It was a REALLLLLY wet dough so I added about 1/4-1/2 cup out of worry)

3/4 cup sugar (I added 1/4 c extra)

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda (all the recipe said was "tsp" so I guessed at 1...)

1 3/4 cup butter milk (i did it the cheater way - turned milk to buttermilk by added white vinegar)

1 egg

1 stick butter, chopped (I softened it first to work in the dough more easily)

1. soak 2 cup raisins in warm water, when plump drain.

2. combine dry ingredients in large bowl

3. add butter - use hands to mix

4. combine wet ingredients in separate bowl

5. slowly add wet ingredients to dry, mix with hands, turn dough (will be sticky) If too sticky add more flour

6. place moist dough in greased cast iron pan or onto a greased cookie sheet. The dough was huge and wet so needed to be a skillet... I tried a cookie sheet but it wasnt holding together...)

7. cut x across top of dough

8. Back at 350 until toothpick comes out clean. (about 1 hour)

9. if the top is getting too brown before middle is done...cover with foil.

I also "floured" the loaf before baking with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and some more after it came out of the oven.

SO GOOD.

Beer Bread

For some reason I was in the mood to make bread yesterday but didnt have the time for a yeast bread. Looked around and decided - beer bread! This is so incredibly easy. SO fast to make. We are talking the ease of making a brownie mix. And good! I made two loaves...

I did a quick google to get the correct ratios and used this website.

Basic Beer Bread Mix:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking powder (make sure it's fresh!)

12 ounces beer

Optional glaze: 1 egg & 2 teaspoons water, beaten

Heat oven to 375 degrees. (for some reason I wrote 350 not 375 but it came out well, not too brown and took 45 min to be done so I recommend the 350)

Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, dill, and cheddar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan, brush with egg glaze if desired, and bake until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Flavor Variations (also see the comments section at the end of this post for lots more beer bread flavor inspiration):

Garlic & Herb: Add 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and 2 minced garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon garlic flakes) to the basic mix. For fresh herbs, use 1 chopped Tablespoon of each.

Dill & Chive: Add 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried dill) and 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives to the basic mix.

Rosemary & Feta (courtesy of my bread baking pal, Beth): Add 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces) to the basic mix.

Italian: Add 1 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano (or 1 Tablespoon each chopped fresh basil and oregano), 2 minced cloves of garlic, and 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or romano cheese to the basic mix.

Other Additions: Any dried or fresh herbs; 1/2 cup freshly grated asiago (or other hard cheese); 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped scallions; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or 1/2 cup oats in place of 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour. Or practically anything else you can think of--just use your imagination.

I made two loaves: the first with Sam Adams Brown Lager and a generous 1/2 cup or parmesan (plus some sprinkled over the egg wash on top)

The Second with Blue Moon Winter and 3 cloves of garlic, minced, and a tsp each of rosemary, oregano and thyme.

We have only cut into the Parmesan one so far but it is very good! Consistency is similar to a banana bread. Easy enough to make that you dont even need a mixer!

Once these loaves are done I plan to attempt a whole wheat loaf - with honey beer and honey instead of sugar... shd be good!

"Rice" pudding

Part deux of my Platinum Chef entry, I decided to go with a dessert. I used a recipe from Epicurious as my base. I had planned to make this with butternut as well but ran out of time and energy so I just used canned pumpkin instead. I also skipped carmelizing (no blowtorch :( ) I subbed barley for the rice - tricky tricky!!

From the site:

Caramelizing the top of this pudding adds an extra depth of flavor, but it's equally delicious without doing it.
A blowtorch works best here; the broiler didn't give us the uniform browning we wanted.

Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Servings: Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Ingredients

1 (1 1/2- to 2-lb) piece pumpkin or butternut squash, halved and seeded (omitted)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (omitted)

2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

2/3 cup long-grain white rice (changed to PEARL BARLEY)

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 cups whole milk

8 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (2 oz) (omitted)

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar such as Sugar in the Raw (optional) (omitted)

Added: 1 vanilla bean

1 can pumpkin (1 1/3 cups used)

Special equipment: a blowtorch (optional)

Preparation

Bake pumpkin: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
Arrange each piece of pumpkin, cut side up, on a sheet of foil. Top each with 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Wrap separately in foil and bake, cut sides up, in a shallow baking pan until flesh is tender, about 1 hour.
Open foil and cool pumpkin slightly, then scoop flesh into a food processor and purée until smooth. (This was all skipped and canned pumpkin was used instead)

Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Cook rice (barley) while pumpkin bakes: Heat rice, salt, 4 cups milk, and remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until very hot. Transfer to a large metal bowl set over a large saucepan of simmering water (or to a double boiler) and cook over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and most of milk is absorbed, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. (Add more simmering water to saucepan if necessary.) Remove pan from heat and keep rice warm, covered.

Make pudding: Lightly whisk yolks in a large bowl, then whisk in vanilla, ginger, 1 1/3 cups pumpkin purée (reserve remainder for another use), and remaining cup milk. Gradually stir in warm rice, then pour mixture into a buttered 2-quart flameproof shallow baking dish (not glass). Set baking dish in a roasting pan and bake pudding in a hot water bath, uncovered, in oven until set, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

If caramelizing pudding, sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar, then move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth over sugar until sugar is melted and caramelized. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cooks' notes:• Pumpkin can be baked and puréed 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled, covered. • Pudding can be baked (but not caramelized) 1 day ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before caramelizing or serving.

That was all from the website linked. I added the vanilla bean (seeds and pods) to the milk and barley as it was cooking (remove the pods before cooking of course!) I still used vanilla in the custard because I really wanted vanilla to be a star in this. The barley worked great as a substitute for the rice - healthied it up a bit (though really all the whole milk and sugar... not much that can be done!). I dont think ryan would have known except I told him about the challenge and ingredients prior.

It turned out great - lucky since there is a TON leftover!