La biscuit jaconde imprime

First, please allow me to apologise for the delay in posting, but for the last few weeks I have been traveling through Europe, and posting from the the road is not without it's challenges.... I know, feel bad for me, okay? (PS it's due to these challenges that there are no photos with this post, a situation I am trying to correct)

Jacode Entremets.. not perfect, but pretty good for my first try!

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

When I saw the challenge for this month's Daring Bakers, I was at the same time both excited and terrified.  I first joined the group so that I could learn new skills and recipes that I had never tried.  For the most part, that's exactly what it's done for me - aside from the odd one here and there.  But this challenge, to make an entremets complete with a biscuit jaconde.  Well, let's just say that this seemed to be way beyond my range of skills.  Like, way, WAY beyond...


One of my recent cookbook acquisitions is a book that I found in Paris a couple of years ago; La Pâtisserie de Pierre Hermé.  It is a large, beautiful book that details many of Pierre's creations from the Fauchon days - long before he had his own shops.  Like most cookbooks (the good ones at least), it has stunning pictures of the dessert, but then it goes deeper.  In this book, Pierre also has illustrations detailing the actual construction of the dessert, as well as every single step you will need to do to create the gorgeous finished product (or something close to it).  And, he offers all of this in both Français and English.  When I first found this book at Mora, a great little cookware supply shop near les Halles, I fawned over it and carried it around with me while I perused the rest of the store.  You see,  at almost $200 CAD, it was just a tad over my cookbook budget.  But it was so amazing and so pretty, and it held all of Pierre's secrets, I couldn't just put it down and walk away.  Nor could I justify spending that much money on a cookbook.  In then end, I reluctantly put it back on the shelf and left the store without it.  I never forgot about that book, and from time to time, would search the internet for a copy of it.  I was able to find plenty of copies of the French/German version, as well as the French/Japanese version, but the French/English copy always eluded me until I recently received it as a birthday gift from my brother-in-law and his wife (assisted by friends who were visiting Paris).  Now, with this month's DB Challenge, I had my chance to really put it to use!

Immediately, but not surprisingly, I learned a couple of things about la biscuit jaconde; that it's important to prep your silpat sheet so the biscuit does not stick like mine did, and that this is not a dessert that can be made in a hurry.  To properly make this dessert, you need time, and planning.  I started in the morning and served it that evening for dessert, and I can tell you, it definitely needed more time to properly set.  While it looked pretty spectacular (especially for my first and somewhat hurried attempt), and it tasted fabulous, as soon as we cut into the entremet, it became nothing more than a tasty mess.  Another piece of advice I have for any of you brave enough to give this dessert a try: make only a half- or even quarter-recipe for the jaconde pattern.  I ended up with a ridiculous amount left over, and unless you plan on making a whole bunch of these, it's an awful waste.

The inspiration for the entremet came from a trip to the grocery store.  I found a jar of Peach-Passionfruit Curd that I had never seen or tasted before.  I picked up a jar of that, some canned peaches (since fresh ones are long out of season), and some cream for a mousse.  Using La Pâstisserie de Pierre Hermé for inspiration, and the recipes that Astheroshe gave us for the biscuit jaconde, I was able to create a dessert that tasted fabulous and was a huge hit with our friends at dinner.  Next time I attempt this dessert, however, I will definitely give myself an extra day for proper chilling and setting, so the dessert can turn out as anticipated, and hold up to a knife.

Below is the recipe and instructions, as posted by Astheroshe for this challenge:


Joconde Sponge

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

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

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

Directions:

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

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

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

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

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
Fold in sifted flour.
Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.
Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.


Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.

Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.

Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)
Preparing the MOLD for entremets:

You can use any type of mold. I would suggest a springform pan, a trifle bowl, or any open-ended cylinder in whatever size you choose

Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.
A biscuit cutter/ cookie cutter- using cling wrap pulled tightly as the base and the cling covering the outside of the mold, placed on a parchment lined very flat baking sheet. Line the inside with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping.

Cut PVC pipe from your local hardware store. Very cheap! These can be cut into any height you wish to make a mold. 2 to 3 inches is good. My store will cut them for me, ask an employee at your store. You can get several for matching individual desserts. Cling wrap and parchment line, as outlined above.

Glass Trifle bowl. You will not have a free standing dessert, but you will have a nice pattern to see your joconde for this layered dessert.
Preparing the Jaconde for Molding:

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

Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)

Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.
The mold is done, and ready to fill.
*Note: If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze.

Entremet- Filling Options:

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

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

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

Christmas Stollen

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

Fresh from the oven Stollen loaf... sans rum and sugar coating

Being of more French heritage than German, I've never actually tasted Stollen. I've seen it occasionally at the market, but have never felt compelled to try it, probably because there are so many treats at every turn during the holidays. Now, I don't have the best track record when it comes to yeast breads (remember the brioche incident?), but I was still interested to give it a try. After all, I've got to conquer this thing at some point.

Because I have never tasted stollen, it was not until I actually read through the ingredient list that I noticed the similarities between this and the traditional hot cross buns we enjoy at Easter. A mildly cinnamon spiced bread dotted with candied citrus, cherries and almonds, the biggest difference between the two seems to be the rum and sugar coating that is typical of stollen.

nuts, candied citrus, raisins and cranberries - all in a spiced bread.  mmmmm.....

I used the recipe suggested by Penny, and it was really pretty straightforward. Make the sponge, let it rise, punch it down, add the fruit and let it rise again before baking. For a little bit of personality, I added some chopped candied ginger to mixture of candied citrus, and substituted dried cranberries for the cherries I didn't have in the house. As soon as the stollen loaves were in the oven, the kitchen took on the familiar smell of fresh hot-cross buns - all cinnamon and citrus peel. I took the freshly baked loaves from the oven and headed off to pack for our holiday vacation at my sister's in California.

As we had an early morning flight the next day, there was no time to taste my very first stollen. So, I wrapped it up with the rest of the cookies and baking I was bringing, and packed it all in my carry-on, wondering what, if any hassle I would get as I passed through security. It was only once we were at the airport that I realized I had forgotten to brush the loaves with rum and sprinkle them with sugar. I had two very naked loaves of stollen with me. {sigh}

We arrived in LA a few hours later, thankful for the uneventful trip. For breakfast the following morning, we sliced up the stollen and toasted it. It tasted exactly like cross buns. Had I not forgotten the rum and sugar coating, I imagine it would have tasted noticeably different, but we were more than pleased with the finished bread. I'm not sure if this will make it into my Christmas repertoire the way other new treats have over the years, but I suspect I will be returning to this recipe in a few short months for Easter, when I can enjoy it again in bun form.

Happy holidays to everyone. I wish you a Happy Hanukah, a Merry Christmas, and a Fantastic New Year!

Happy Baking!


Stollen Wreath
Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients
¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C)
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) milk
10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
5½ cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) (770 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting)
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gms) sugar
¾ teaspoon (3 ¾ ml) (4 ½ grams) salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 grams) cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (very good) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract or orange extract
¾ cup (180 ml) (4 ¾ ozs) (135 grams) mixed peel (link below to make your own)
1 cup (240 ml) (6 ozs) (170 gms) firmly packed raisins
3 tablespoons (45ml) rum
12 red glacé cherries (roughly chopped) for the color and the taste. (optional)
1 cup (240 ml) (3 ½ ozs) (100 grams) flaked almonds
Melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
Confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath

Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.

Directions:

In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside.
To make the dough, pour ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (240 ml) milk and 10 tablespoons (150 ml) butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.
In a large mixing bowl (4 qt) (4 liters) (or in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment), stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries if you would like. Be delicate with the cherries or all your dough will turn red!
Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Shaping the Dough and Baking:
Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
Punch dough down, divide equally and shape into 2 loaves

Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.
The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh - especially if you intend on sending it in the mail as Christmas presents!

When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.
The stollen tastes even better in a couple of days and it toasts superbly…. so delicious with butter and a cup of tea….mmmmm

Apricot Crostata

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.

I was pretty excited when I saw the challenge for November, because I've actually made this dessert a number of times, even though I haven't posted about it yet.  Crostata is essentially the Italian version of the French tarte, the most noticeable difference being the pastry shell itself.  While the French Pâte Brisée is a flaky pastry made of flour, butter, egg yolk and water, the Pasta Frolla of Italy is more of a shortcrust pastry, but much more flavourful.  It uses the same building blocks as the French pastry, but adds a generous amount of sugar, fresh lemon zest and vanilla, elevating the crostata shell from a mere vessel for filling, to an actual flavour component for the entire dessert.  What's more, a common filling for crostata is jam, meaning  you can create a killer dessert in under 15 minutes when you have last minute guests and are pinched for time.  You can't get much more appealing than that, can you?

Two things that you should definitely make sure of when you are making a crostata; use fresh lemon zest in the pastry and whatever jam or filling you like best - doesn't matter if it's homemade or store-bought, if you like it on toast, it will be incredible in a crostata.  I have even used some pretty mediocre jams, just to use them up and clear some space in the fridge, only to hear groans of delight when our friends get a taste (it's a magical dessert that way).  This time, I had my eye on a tangy apricot jam, though a seedless raspberry also

I followed the pasta frolla recipe that Simona posted for us (pasted below), but as always, I used my food processor to combine everything.  If you, like my friend Shannon, happen to be one of those who struggle with pastry because you have warm hands, the food processor is the only way to go.  If you struggle, like I do, to roll out a pastry shell that doesn't shrink every bloody time, no matter what you do, then I highly recommend that you skip the rolling process entirely and simply press the crumbled dough into the tart shell and be done with it.  The number of hours I have wasted on rolling out dough and reading up on how to make sure the shell doesn't shrink, and rolling out more dough, and blah blah blah.... let's just say I could have done a LOT with those hours.  Well, since I pressed it directly into the shell and then let it chill in the fridge, I haven't looked back.  I get reliable results every time, with a lot less time, and a lot less cursing.  I doubt I will ever go back to rolling....

Press-in method for tart shells.  Perfect every time.

Pasta Frolla

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 (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Note 1: Superfine sugar is often also referred to as ultrafine, baker’s sugar or caster sugar. It’s available in most supermarkets. If you cannot find “superfine” sugar, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.

Put sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
Add butter and pulse a few times until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface.
Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten egg and vanilla extract into it.
Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients then use your fingertips.
Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
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.

OK, here's where I go off recipe and do my own thing....

I add the lemon zest in with the butter, and pulse it a few times until it has the consistency of coarse meal.

Pour the egg, yolk and vanilla into the food processor and pulse a 5 or 6 times until the liquids are fully incorporated and the mixture holds together when squeezed together.

Dump 3/4 of the dough mixture into the bottom of a tart pan, and press it firmly and evenly into the shell.  Start by concentrating on the edges of the tart, making sure they are even, then press the remaining dough into the bottom of the pan.

Place the pan in the fridge to chill for about an hour or so.

Take the remaining 1/4 of the dough, and roll it out {sigh} to about 1cm thickness.  Using a ruler and a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 3cm wide strips.  It is ok if not all the strips are the same length, as they will be criss

Place the strips onto a cookie sheet or flat tray, and move them to the fridge while you fill the tart shell.

For the filling:

Open your pantry or fridge

Pull out a jar of really good jam (about 600 ml), such as apricot

Open it.

Dump the jam into the crostata shell.

Spread it evenly around the shell using the back of a spoon.

Now take a bow - Ta-Daaaaaa!

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC)

Take the beautifully rolled strips of dough, and criss-cross them over the filled crostata, making a nice pattern.

Press the strips firmly into the edges of crostata shell, to make sure they adhere (the sugar in the dough will help that happen).

Bake the crostata in the now-heated oven for 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

Once baked, allow the crostata to cool to room temperature, about 1-2 hours.  Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, creme fraiche, or just on it's own.

Sit back, enjoy your tasty dessert, and contemplate all the flavours of jam that you can use next time....

Jam Crostata... endless flavour possibilities

In the words of Homer Simpson...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....doughnuts.

Homemade Vanilla Bean Glazed Doughnuts

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.  Thankfully, I no longer have a fear of frying, so I was pretty excited about this challenge!

Now, here in Canada, doughnuts are pretty popular, though I didn't realize just how popular - apparently Canucks consume more doughnuts per capita than anyone else.  Maybe these stats include those incredibly addictive mini-doughnuts that you get at every summer carnival, festival and fair - hot and freshly sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, they are wickedly good.  I can guarantee you that included in their count is the Canadian institution that is Tim Hortons.  Tim Horton was a hockey player (which automatically makes him a Canadian hero), who opened up a doughnut shop in 1964 with a business partner.  Today, there are over 2700 Tim Hortons locations across Canada (don't ask me why they dropped the apostrophe "s"), almost 600 in the US, and because "Tim's" is such a Canadian staple, there is even a location at the Kandahar Military Base in Afghanistan, simply to keep our troops well supplied with doughnuts and coffee.  Ironically, they're known more for their coffee than anything else these days, and if you don't believe me, next time you run into a Canadian, just ask them what a "Double Double" is, and they'll be able to tell you.  It's pretty well known that if you can get your hands on a Tim Hortons franchise, you basically have a license to print money.  Heck, at the location a block away from my work, the drive through lineup is never less a dozen cars.  While I won't go out of my way for some Tim's, I've definitely eaten there.

Mmmmmm... Doughnuts.  Chocolate, glazed or rolled in sugar!

Lori's challenge gave us the freedom to make whatever kind of doughnuts we wanted, but she provided some recipes for both cake and yeast doughnuts.  I decided to go with the more traditional yeast doughnut recipe by Alton Brown.  Party because I prefer them over cake doughnuts, and partly out of loyalty to Mr. Brown - without him, I would probably still be doing heat-'n-eat food for dinner every night.  His "Good Eats" show was a favourite of mine when hubby and I first moved in together and my cooking skills were basic at best.  His entertaining food science approach was very inspiring, and I would head into the kitchen with a "Hey, I can make that!" attitude after every episode.  It wasn't long before my cooking repertoir expanded considerably.  So, on behalf on myself and my hubby - Thanks Alton!  Now, where was I...? Oh yeah - yeast doughnuts.  Anyway, I was pondering the possibilities of all things doughnut and started thinking about French Crullers, my personal favourite in the doughnut category.  But they're completely different from all other doughnuts... they're not yeast, and they're certainly not cake - they are incredibly light and have an airy, yet moist, custard-y interior.  Well I was able to find out (thanks Google!) that crullers are actually made from pâte à choux dough - which is awesome, because I totally know how to make that! It also explains why they're my fav... pâte à choux dough is the wonderous stuff that éclairs, chouquettes and profiteroles are made from.  It's like wonder dough!

Frying up some French Crullers

Fresh French Crullers... ready to be glazed

The yeast doughnuts do take longer to make, simply because yeast doughs need time to rise and rest and rise again, but you can still have fresh, homemade doughnuts in a little under 3 hours. Conveniently though, there is just enough time while the yeast dough rises to make the crullers.  French Crullers are pretty straightforward: make the choux dough, pipe it into a swirly dough shape using a star tip and a piping bag, and fry.  When they come out of the hot oil you can glaze them or roll them in sugar, plain or seasoned with a spice of your choice, such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg... pretty much anything you like!  As for the yeast doughnuts, you can really go crazy with toppings, glazes and even fillings - just remember to omit cutting a hole in the doughnut if you're going to fill them.  I opted to make a vanilla glaze using confectioners sugar, vanilla and cream - and it paired perfectly with the crispy dough.  I also made a ganache to use a rish chocolate glaze for some of them.  Finally, I pureed some strawberry preserves and piped them into the few hole-less doughnuts I cooked up, and used the vanilla glaze on them as well.  A word of advice if you're going to make filled doughnuts: be careful not to overstuff them with your filling.  I sent the filled ones off to work with hubby with the warning that folks should watch out for the exploding doughnut.  I'm pretty sure one of his coworkers started their day off with a strawberry stain down the front of their shirt... oops!

Homemade Jelly Doughnuts - what could be better?

So, having made my own doughnuts from scratch, crullers are still my favourite, though the other ones are way better than store bought.  I can also say that I will certianly be making these again - to fill a request from my nephew in California.  He spent many mornings going for "doughjeez" with his grandpa when he lived in Canada, and he is bona-fide doughnut lover.  Unfortunately, we recently discovered he has a severe allergy to soy, and Sis has yet to find a doughnut they can buy down there that is soy-free.  So I'll happily cook up a fresh batch for him at Christmas.  After all, one of my favourite things about cooking and baking is making someone's day by making their favouite treat - especially if they are otherwise deprived of it.

Sweet, warm & waiting to be devoured....

Happy doughnut making!

Yeast Doughnuts
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Makes 20 to 25 doughnuts

360 1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 ounces vegetable shortening, approximately 1/3 cup
2 packages instant yeast
1/3 cup warm water (95 to 105 degrees F)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
23 ounces all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface
Vegetable oil, for frying (1 to 1/2 gallons, depending on fryer)

Directions:
Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter or pastry ring and using a 7/8-inch ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 degrees F. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

Pâte à Choux
makes approximately 12 French Crullers

125 ml milk
125 ml water
125g unsalted butter
4g salt
140g all-purpose flour
4 large eggs (at room temperature)

Place the milk, water and butter into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Once the butter has completely melted, add in the flour and stir vigorously, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the dough is well mixed and resembles the texture of wet sand.
Place the dough into the bowl of a food processor (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Turn the food processor on to cool the mixture for a couple of minutes. With the processor running, add the eggs, one at a time, through the feed tube. Scrape down the bowl if necessary, and continue to process until the dough becomes thick and glossy.
Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.  Gently pipe large circles of dough onto a sheet of parchment paper sprinkled generously with flour.
Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365˚F. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 2 or 3 at a time.  Cook for about 1 minute per side.  Remove from oil and place onto a cooling rack.  Allow them to cool slightly before dipping in glaze or dipping in sugar.

The incredible exploding doughnut

Vanilla Bean Glaze
60ml (1/4 Cup) heavy cream
1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste (or you can substitute with vanilla extract)
205g (1 1/2 Cups) confectioner's sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the cream and vanilla.  Gently whisk in one third of the confectioners sugar until well blended.  Gradually blend in the rest of the confectioners sugar, 1/3 at a time, whisking until smooth.

Dip the warm doughnuts into the glaze, and coat completely.  Lift the doughnut out of the glaze by threading a skewer, dowell or the handle of a wooden spoon through the hole of the doughnut.  Suspend the doughnuts over the bowl for a couple of minutes to allow the excess glaze to drip off.  Transfer the glazed doughnuts to a plate, platter or tray.  Serve immediately.

Give 'em a dip in some Vanilla Bean Glaze

Almost ready to eat.....!

Now that's my kind of Cherry Bombe!

Chocolate Cherry Bombe

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.  Well, the timing for this recipe challenge could not have been better.  Dad's birthday is in July and, as I mentioned in a previous post, my dad *loves* ice cream.  He loves ice cream the way some people love chocolate.  At any given time, there are probably 4 or 5 containers of ice cream in my parents' freezer, and let's just say they are never in danger of freezer burn.  I've been told that when hubby and I go to Rome, Mom and Dad can give me a map showing where the best gelato can be found.  Seriously, I'm talking ice cream-aholic.  The fact that this recipe did contain a small amount of actual cake was actually a strike against it, but I figured for some homemade ice cream, he'd likely look past that minor flaw.  

The birthday boy's shirt don't lie....

(One thing to note about this cake... this is not a "whip up a quick dessert an hour before company arrive" kind of dessert.  Each layer needs a couple of hours of chill time in the freezer, so it's best to start a day or two before you want to serve it)

Though we have had a solid 10 days of very wet weather here, the grocery stores are still filled with summer's haul of fresh stone fruits.  I picked up a huge bag of dark red cherries for one of the two ice creams called for in this recipe.  Ice cream #2 would be a nice creamy vanilla, because in my opinion, vanilla ice cream is often overlooked.  Years ago, Sis told me that vanilla couldn't be my favourite flavour of ice cream because it's the food equivalent of white in a colour palette - it's a non-flavour.  I disagree.  For me, vanilla ice cream (and I mean really *good* vanilla ice cream) is more like the little black dress in your dessert wardrobe.  Every girl should have a little black dress, and every kitchen should be stocked with a really good quality vanilla ice cream.  After all, when your sweet tooth starts screaming to be appeased, vanilla ice cream can provide the perfect backdrop for a dark rich chocolate ganache, a smooth fleur de sel caramel sauce, fresh fruit, or hubby's favourite: an ice cream float made with orange pop.  

The cherry ice cream layer turned out to be a real labour of love.  It took about 20 minutes just to pit the entire bag, before I quartered them and put them in a saucepan with a bit of sugar and a pinch of salt to bring out the juices and reduce them down to an intense syrup.  When the juices were just starting to boil,  I added a generous splash of Crème de Cassis (our liquor cabinet was all out of Kirsch), and cooked everything for another few minutes before straining out the fruit and pouring the liquid back into the pan for more reduction.  Today's food science tip; when you want to make a fruit-flavoured ice cream but you don't want to break a tooth on an icy chunk of fruit, cook the fruit with a bit of alcohol first - preferably something that compliments the flavour, or vodka.  Alcohol doesn't freeze, so you're essentially infusing the fruit with just enough anti-freeze to keep them a similar consistency as the ice cream itself.  A second food science tip regarding ice cream is that when things are extremely cold or frozen, our taste buds don't register flavour as strongly as when the same food is room-temperature.  So, when adding a flavour component to ice cream, it should be much stronger that you would make it for any other dessert.  Likewise with sweetness and flavours, which is why that last little bit of melted ice cream at the bottom of the bowl always tastes so much sweeter than the first spoonful did.  So, instead of adding just the straight cherry juice to my ice cream base, reducing the juices down until they are thick and syrupy, concentrates the flavour in them, which makes for a tastier ice cream in the end.  When it finally came time to churn everything in the ice cream maker, I added about 1/2 of the cherry reduction to the cream base and, as I transferred the entire batch to a freezer-proof bowl for the final chill, I wove a ribbon of the same syrup through the finished ice cream after the cherries were folded in.  The result was sheer perfection - probably my best batch of fruit ice cream ever (candied ginger holds the top spot for all-time favourite homemade ice cream).  The intense, distinct flavour of dark cherries was unmistakable and impossible to miss.  Now it was time to make the Swiss roll cake.

Cherries, chocolate, ice cream... what's not to like?

A Swiss roll typically uses a classic génoise cake as the sponge.  Perhaps without realizing it, we have all tasted génoise cake at some point in our lives, because it is highly adaptable and can be used in an endless variety of dishes.  However, the process for making a génoise is very unique.  For one thing, the batter contains no chemical leaveners.  That's right, no baking powder, no baking soda.  Instead, it uses a method similar to Swiss meringue, only génoise whips the entire egg into a foam, and cooks it gently over a double boiler to help stabilize the structure of the foam, before the dry ingredients and butter are added and the batter is baked.  The result is a very light, flexible cake that can be rolled up before it cools without breaking apart and crumbling.  Once cool you can gently unroll the cake, spread on a layer of filling, typically either a flavoured whipped cream or fruit preserves, then roll it all back up and serve.  Once the cake was filled with chantilly cream,  I let it firm up in the freezer for about 20 minutes to make for cleaner slices.  That gave me enough time to find the right bowl to use as a mold, and line it with plastic wrap.  I carefully cut the cake into 20 equal slices and arranged them snugly around the bottom and sides of the bowl.  I then scooped the cherry ice cream on top of the cake, and smoothed it out a bit, covered it with plastic wrap and put it back into the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up.

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake - perfect for a summer birthday!

For the fudge sauce layer, I went simple.  I prefer a nice dark chocolate ganache to most chocolate or fudge sauce recipes that often call for corn syrup or other things that only make the sauce sweeter, taking away from the chocolate.  Ganache stays relatively soft once it's frozen, so it's a fine substitution.  Equal parts heavy cream and dark chocolate, heated up and stirred together... it takes less than 2 minutes to make and is *so* good when it's done.  To eliminate any chance of melting the ice cream layer by adding warm ganache, I left it on the counter overnight to cool to room temperature.  The next morning, I had a fully frozen ice cream mold and a scoop-able truffle layer, which I smoothed over and set back in the freezer while I made the final layer of ice cream.... Vanilla!

Both ice creams for this recipe were made Philadelphia style.  It's a lot faster to make than French style ice cream, because you don't have to cook and then cool the cream.  You can just mix everything together and churn it in your ice cream maker if you have one (If you don't happen to have an ice cream maker, Sunita has also posted a recipe for homemade ice cream that doesn't need any special equipment).  Milk, cream, sugar and a generous amount of vanilla were mixed together, churned and scooped on top of the chocolate layer.   A couple more hours in the freezer to firm up and the cake was finally done.

Dad loved his ice cream cake.  In fact, when Mom tried to send the left-overs home with me after dinner, I insisted it would keep in the freezer and he could enjoy a piece after dinner every night this week if he wanted.  When Mom asked Dad if he would be able to finish it, his reply was a simple "It's ice cream!"  Enough said....

So, if you have a couple of days to prepare in advance, and you want a nice summer treat to cool everyone down, this is a great dessert to make.  The sky's the limit when it comes to flavour combinations - if you can dream it, you can make it in this cake.  I'll definitely be making this dessert again and mixing up the flavours yet again.

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cherry Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
serves 12-14

Chocolate Genoise Cake


60g (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
107g (3/4 Cup) all-purpose flour
30g (1/4 Cup) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 eggs, room temperature
201g (1 Cup) granulated sugar

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla

Preheat  oven to 350˚F and place rack in centre of oven.  Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Butter and flour any areas that may not be completely covered by the parchment.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt and set aside.

In a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs and sugar.  Continue whisking gently until the mixture reaches 110˚F (check using an instant read thermometer).  Immediately pour the mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a whisk.  Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip until the egg mixture has more than doubled in volume.  When the whisk is lifted and held above the bowl, the mixture should fall in a thick ribbon that rests on top of the batter for several seconds.  Whisk in the vanilla.  Gently fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Gently fold in the melted butter.

Holding the bowl very close to the sheet pan, and being very careful not to deflate the batter, gently scrape the batter onto the prepared pan.  Carefully smooth the batter with a spatula.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch.  Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes.

On a flat, clean worksurface, smooth out a clean dishtowel which is larger than the sheet cake.  gently sprinkle cocoa powder onto the towel.  One the cake is just cool enough to handle, invert the cake onto the dusted towel.  Working quickly and using the towel, tightly roll the cake width-wise.  Set aside to cool completely.

Once the cake is fully cool, carefully unwrap the cake just before preparing the cream...

Vanilla Cream Filling
250ml (1 Cup) heavy cream
30g (2 Tbsp) granulated sugar
15ml (1 Tbsp) vanilla

In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.  Gradually whip in the sugar and vanilla, and continue until the cream holds still peaks.  Spread in an even layer over the top of the cake, leaving a 1/2 of clean border along the outer edge of the cake.

Slice the cake into approximately 20 equal slices, and line the mould tightly with the rolls.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to set while you make the cherry ice cream.

Cherry Ice Cream
2 Cups fresh cherries, pitted and sliced into quarters.

100g (1/2 Cup) granulated sugar

1/2 stp salt

45ml Kirsch liqueur

500ml (2 Cups) heavy cream

Place the cherries, sugar and salt in a large saucepan.  Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the juices have begun to reduce.  Strain the cherries over a bowl, reserving the juices.  Return the juices to the saucepan and stir in the Kirsch.  Continue to simmer for several minutes until the juices are thick and syrupy.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once cool, combine 1/2 of the syrup with the heavy cream and churn in an ice cream maker, following manufacturer's directions.  Once the ice cream is churned, quickly fold in the cherries and finally, a ribbon of the syrup.  Immediately spread the ice cream into the cake-lined mould.  Cover and place in the freezer to set.

Chocolate Ganache
250ml (1 Cup) heavy bream
250g (1 Cup) dark chocolate, chopped
15ml (1 Tbsp) Kirch

Heat the cream over medium heat, but do not allow it to boil.  Place the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl.  Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and whisk gently to combine.  Once the ganache comes together, gently stir in the Kirsch.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool for approximately 1 hour.

Once cooled, pour the ganache on top of the cherry ice cream, but do not spread it to the top of the mould.  Cover and return the cake to the freezer once more.

Vanilla Ice Cream
500ml (2 Cups) heavy cream
100g (1/2 Cup) granulated sugar

30ml (2 Tbsp) vanilla

Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Churn the mixture in the ice cream maker according to directions.  Once fully churned, spread the ice cream over the ganache layer in the mould, and smooth the top.  Cover and return to the freezer and allow to chill completely, approximately 6-8 hours.

Shortly before you are ready to serve, remove the mould from the freezer and carefully run warm water over the outside of the mould to help release the dessert.  Gently invert onto a plate and keep in the freezer until everyone is ready for dessert.  To slice, use a very sharp knife, dipped into very hot water.

Not every ballerina gets a dessert named after her....

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

Ahhhhh, Pavlova. There's a dessert I haven't had in years! This was one of the dessert's in my mom's arsenal when I was a kid. She often made this when we were going over to a friends' for dinner, or had company to our house in the summer - the perfect light and elegant dessert. Even better, it was quick and easy to prepare and didn't require standing around a hot stove for hours on those +34c days of summer. A gorgeous puff of meringue, baked in a low, slow oven until it was nice and crisp with just a bit of colour, covered in a blanket of whipped cream and served with sweet, juicy strawberries. Mm mmm mmmmm... It was a huge favourite of my sister's, not only because it's sweet and about 50% cream, but this dessert was named for the once famous ballerina, Anna Pavlova (I say "once famous" because he time was back in the 1920's and I'm willing to bet more people today know the dessert than the dancer). Well, sis dreamed of being a ballerina, and she worked hard at it for years, but the women in my family were not blessed with height, so it was not to be.

Whoa, this ain't my momma's Pavlova. Chocolate, mascarpone cheese, creme anglaise... nope, this is a different dish altogether, and I could not wait to give it a try. This is why I decided to stick to the recipe as it was posted. Ooooh - and I can work on my piping skills! Thank you Dawn! 

The meringues whipped beautifully into glossy gorgeous peaks in no time - they were absolutely pearlescent before I added in the cocoa and icing sugar. Because meringues were one of the hardest things for me to master when I first began learning to bake, I find a perfect meringue to be a thing of beauty. I filled my piping bag with the glossy foam and began piping out swirly nests that would hold the rich chocolate mousse. Taking a page from my macaron experience, I decided to let these air dry for about an hour before I put them in a low temperature oven for another hour. Just before bed, I turned off the oven and left the meringues there get nice and crisp overnight. By morning they were irresistible, yet I would have to resist, at least until I got home from work and made the mascarpone mousse and crème anglaise. 

I had made crème anglaise once before but found it to be nothing but tooth-achingly sweet. This recipe, however, from François Payard, with mascarpone cheese whipped into it was thick and creamy and delicately flavoured. Not having any Sambuca in my liquor cabinet, I chose to omit it, instead doubling the amount of vanilla. While the crème chilled in the fridge, it was time to make the chocolate mascarpone mousse, which was fairly straightforward as mousses go. With the addition of the cheese, it was beyond rich - almost overpoweringly so, but it was thick and creamy and held it's shape beautifully. Since the crème anglaise was not yet chilled, the mousse also went into the fridge for the night. Which turned out to be a happy coincidence actually...

The next night, hubby finally arrived home from his 2 week business trip (yay!), so I didn't do much baking - between flight delays and waiting for luggage, we didn't get home until 10pm. The next night however, we had some surprise dinner guests in friends visiting from Vancouver. Dinner was a simple homemade pasta with grilled shrimp, and dessert was as simple as assembling the chilled components sitting in the fridge. Violà! Garnished with a few fresh cherries, and we enjoyed a fabulous elegant dessert in less that 5 minutes!

No, this certainly is not the pavlova of my childhood, it is an incredibly rich, chocolatey version of it. Next time, I would probably make opt to just make the meringues and the mascarpone crème anglaise, serving an elegant version of Ile Flottant. I think it would be significantly lighter yet still just as elegant as this challenge turned out.  But don't just take my word for it - give it a try yourself and let me know what you think!

Happy Baking!

Julia

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

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.
Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)
Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)
Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days


Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse:1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)

grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (490 mls) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
Directions:

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

Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks.
Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Mascarpone Cream:
1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream
Directions:
Prepare the crème anglaise (below). Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the optional Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Crème Anglaise:
1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar
Directions:In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.
Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overcook.
Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.


Final Assembly of the Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

Piece Montée -also known as Croquembouche

Even the name sounds yummy.... cro-kemmmmmmm-booooooooshhhhh.

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. I was super excited when I this month's challenge, for a bunch of reasons...

1. I won't have to make anyone cry with my Daring Bakers' Challenge this month
2. It's French, and I adore all things French
3. I *love* pastry cream filled choux - one of the tastiest things on the planet in my opinion.
4. I am a stickler for real, honest-to-goodness, made-from-scratch pastry cream, and not powdered vanilla pudding.
5. I have made this dessert before (for my sis-in-law's wedding), and have always wanted to try it again, because I wanted to perfect it (word of advice - don't try and make/assemble a never-before-made dessert for 150 people an hour before you're supposed to beat a wedding, dressed-up and not covered in chocolate. Oh - and maybe make sure you have enough little choux to actually finish the piece montée, so you don't have to lop off the top and end up with a croquembouche that looks like this ------>)
6. I love French desserts.  Pretty much all things French, actually, but my absolute favourite are French things you can eat.
7. I've always wanted to do the proper spun caramel technique for it (you can guess why that didn't happen the first time - no time, and it's even less attractive to show up at a wedding with molten sugar burns on your arms)
8. It's stunning AND delicious, and that's a pretty killer combo in my books
9. It's FRENCH... wait, did I already say that?

So, first of all, I'm a little bummed that April's & May's DB challenges weren't switched, because I had a dozen events in April that this would have been perfect for, and I have none of those in May.  While I love girly, pretty French things, most of my co-workers are more...ummm (how do I say this?) ....they're more not into girly, pretty French things.  A big culture shock for me was to go from working in an industry with mostly women and a lot of gay men, to working with very few women and a lot of men who aren't even all that comfortable being around gay men.  So bringing this in for what have now become known in the office as "Baking Mondays", well, it won't get quite the same level of appreciation a dessert like this deserves.  (but boy oh boy, it would have at the flower shop...)

Anyway... I sat down with a good cup of coffee and began reading all about the challenge - no sweat, I can totally do this.  When it came time to actually make it however, I gave it a second read and noticed that "You must use the recipe provided for the the pate a choux batter however".  Sure thing, Cat, not a problem.  Your recipe doesn't look all that different from the recipe I normally... wait a second....NO MILK???????  Oh great, here we go again......

You may recall my recent, still-very-fresh-in-my-mind, battle with brioche and recipes that omit crucial ingredients.  Namely: milk.  Well, as soon as I saw this recipe used only water, I began going over and over the recipe, looking for some hint that this was a typo.  Nope, just water.  Hmm.  Ok (here's where I owe Little Miss Cupcake an apology ), I googled pâte à choux recipes to see if this was in fact an accurate version of the recipe.  Huge sigh of relief when I found several other recipes that were sans le lait.  whew!  Carry on.

I started out by making my pastry cream - exactly the same one I made for my Perfect Chocolate Éclairs. Tried and true and tasty.  Once the pastry cream was chilling in the fridge, I took a deep breath and started on my batch of choux.  Much to my delight, it worked and behaved exactly like the recipe I usually use avec le  lait, so I was worried for no reason.  My piping skills have even improved  considerably, thanks to the techniques Mardi at Eat.Live.Travel.Write. shared from her macarons class at Lenôtre.  (my piping skills really needed still need work - I've graduated to the lever where I can pipe blobs now... not much else).  Into the oven my petit choux blobs went.  When the timer finally went off, I took a deep breath and looked in the oven.  They were beautiful - I would have to say they were even bigger than mine normally are, so maybe milk-less is the way to go.  Filling them up with that lovely pastry cream didn't take very long, which meant I was soon ready to move on to the next step.

The Caramel.  I have made caramel sauce before - many times in fact - and each time seems to be a bit different.  But this isn't caramel sauce - this is just caramelized sugar.  That's all.  No water or added cream or vanilla or butter.  Just sugar.  However, one thing you should know about me is that I am a complete woos when it comes to the idea of burning myself, and playing with molten sugar scares the bejeezus out of me.  But I persevere, in hopes that eventually I will be able to do it and not hold find myself holding my breath the whole time - cuz that only makes you lightheaded and dizzy, which *significantly* increases your chances of getting a 3rd degree sugar burn.  Also, one of my goals for this year is to improve my caramel and sugar caramelizing skills (stay tuned for future posts and you'll get to see how that turns out).  This was as good a time as any to get in some practice time, right?  Besides, if you're going to participate in a baking "challenge" then there should be some aspect of it that challenges you.  (yeesh - that sounds more conceited than intended - let me elaborate)  Yes, so far I've lucked out two months in a row with DB Challenges that I already have experience making, but I also believe that luck is going to run out soon.  

So, given my inexperience working with just plain old melted sugar, I was a little apprehensive.  But, I took a deep breath, put some sugar in a cooper pot and lit the burner.  While keeping a very steady eye on my pot of liquifying sugar, I began roughly "dry-fitting" together the pieces for my first layer of the croquembouche, preparing in advance so I would know where to put the little choux once it was covered with hot caramel.  Pretty soon, the sugar was just beyond the point when it starts to smoke, so I plunged the pot into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process, and quickly got to work.  Maybe this was the prefect dessert to help me get over my fear of molten sugar, I was so distracted with all of the fitting together the choux blob puzzle, that I completely forgot to be freaked out.  Before I knew it, I had two full layers done and had zero burns!  WooHoo!  This is cool!  Now I can see why they use this as pastry glue for those amazing pieces they make on tv.  It's awesome!

Another thing I learned was why the croquembouche is traditionally covered in a halo of spun sugar.  Because a frothy veil of golden caramel acts as a really good cover for the mess.  You're not exactly going to use your finger to wipe away any smears or drips of 200˚ sugar, and I certainly had a lot of drips and oozes happening.  So, while I was glueing together my piece montée, I asked hubby to take one of my very large whisks and sacrifice it for the spun sugar cause.  Well, it took a little more tweaking after he trimmed off the rounded top of the whisk - he had to also bend the individual wires back out a bit, as they immediately collapsed on one another once they were cut.  Full of caramelly confidence, I was excited to give my "new" toy a try, and dipped the wire whisk into to the hot caramel, lifted it above the completed tower of choux and proceeded to spray hot sugar onto every surface in my kitchen while almost nothing landed on the croquembouche.  Awesome.  I went back for another attempt, but didn't fare any better the second time.  I abandoned that idea and figured that would be a lesson for another day.  I did, however, play around a bit on some parchment paper and made a caramel Tour Eiffel for a decoration.  Because after all, it's FRENCH!

So here you have it - my Piece Montée, complete with caramel.  Thanks so much to Cat (whom I should hate, simply because she lives in Paris and I don't), I had a blast making this, and you helped me face my fear of molten sugar, and I even survived unscathed!  ZERO burns to show for it!  YAY!

Pâte à Choux (sans le lait)

(Yield: About 28) - I ended up with 40
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

(directions are exactly the same as they are for my "Perfect Chocolate Éclair" post, which is also where you will find my recipe for REAL Pastry Cream)

Caramel aka Molten Sugar Glue

1 Cup (200g) sugar
Put the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place over medium heat.  Keep a watchful eye om the sugar, and as the crystals begin to melt and darken, gently stir (using a silicone spatula only) the sugar to move the dry sugar to the bottom to even the cooking.  As the entire pot of sugar melts and begins to darken, it will begin to smoke.  Once it begins smoking, immediately plunge the bottom of the pot into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process.  If, while you are assembling your piece montée, the pot of caramel begins to harden and become difficulty to work with, simply return it over a medium flame on the stove until it melts to the proper consistency again.  Repeat as needed.