0 A Tree Falls in the Forest

The Daring Bakers are making some noise with this month's challenge. Keeping the holiday season in mind, the founders of the Daring Bakers, Ivonne and Lisa, chose a holiday inspired recipe. The yule log (which is also known as Bûche de Noël) is a genoise filled with buttercream and rolled up to form a log shaped cake. Then it's frosted and decorated to look like a log. It's a strange concept to have food that mimics a fallen tree trunk and mushrooms, but I guess it's no stranger than making houses out of gingerbread cookies. I didn’t think I would have the time to do this month's challenge and I was totally saddened by the thought of missing a challenge for the first time since I joined back in February (when we were just 10 bakers!). But even though I've had a super busy month, I luckily found the time to make the yule log.

I felt totally comfortable making the genoise so I had no problems with the cake part of the recipe. After letting the baked genoise cool, I trimmed the edges and then rolled it unfilled on a sheet of parchment that was dusted with powdered sugar. This sort of "pre-rolling" makes rolling the filled sponge a bit easier.

I was a bit nervous about making the buttercream since the chatter among the Daring Bakers was that this buttercream had a tendency to curdle if not handled properly. There are different types of buttercream. The basic American-style buttercream is just softened butter beaten with powdered (icing) sugar. Italian buttercream is made by pouring hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites. Then softened butter is added slowly and whipped until it's light and fluffy. Swiss buttercream is made by warming the egg whites and sugar over a water bath (bain marie) and then whipped until it's cool. Then softened butter is added slowly and whipped until it's light and fluffy. This buttercream was Swiss.

My buttercream started out silky and gorgeous albeit a bit runny so I was hopeful that I had made it correctly. All hope was dashed as soon as I added the espresso mixture to the cream. The buttercream broke and never quite returned to its silky state. I know that my meringue was cool enough before adding the butter but I think my butter may have been too soft. I didn’t want to waste all that butter and start over again so I threw in some powdered sugar to help bind the broken buttercream. That seemed to work but the extra sugar made the buttercream a bit too sweet. In hindsight, I should've added some cream cheese instead of the powdered sugar to salvage my buttercream.

To decorate our yule logs, Lisa and Ivonne gave us the option of making mushrooms out of meringue or marzipan. I chose meringue. I was doubtful that my meringue would even resemble real mushrooms but I was pleasantly surprised at how realistic they turned out. And the meringue mushrooms were so easy to make too. I ended up with a lot of extra mushrooms but they stayed nice and crisp for a few days so I had some sweet nibbles whenever the mood struck.


My overall experience with this recipe was mixed, but I probably won't make it again. It's not the recipe, it's me. Even though my yule log wasn't very pretty, I think my yule log was more about the way it looked than the way it tasted. Many of my tasters agreed with that sentiment. I'm sure the other 400 or so Daring Bakers might disagree with me, so go read what they have to say about their yule logs. Best wishes for a very happy holiday season and I'll see you in 2008!



Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)

Plain Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
3/4cup of sugar
1/2cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off
1/4 cup cornstarch

One 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.

3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).

4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.

6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.

7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.

9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

Filling and frosting the log:

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.

2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.

3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.

4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).

5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.

6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.

7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.

8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.

9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.

10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.



Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.

2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.

3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

4.Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.

0 Bogged Down

Last week I spent most of my evenings making cookie dough and baking dozens and dozens of cookies to give to my office mates and those in my husband's office too. For some reason I wanted everyone to have a variety to choose from so I made 6 different cookies this year. And I wanted my cookies to be as fresh as possible so I baked them over the course of 2 nights with the intention of passing them out at the office the following day.

Never have I been happier to have lots and lots of parchment paper! The parchment made baking all those cookies so much easier. I would scoop the dough onto clean sheets of parchment and they would be ready for the next available baking sheet (after the sheet cooled down of course). I prefer to bake my cookies one baking sheet at a time so you can imagine how long it took to bake 20 dozen cookies.

The 6 cookies I made were crystallized ginger cookies, sables korova aka world peace cookies, soft amaretti, espresso cookies with coffee icing, and the 2 different cranberry cookies included in this post. The first cranberry cookie had dried cranberries. The pistachio and cranberry rugelach were super flaky and rich. They looked so festive with the ruby red cranberries, the green pistachios and the shimmer from the sugar.

The second one had fresh cranberries combined with oatmeal and 2 kinds of chocolate. The tartness of the fresh cranberries went really well with the sweet and creamy white chocolate and the intense bittersweet Valrhona 85% cacao chocolate.

Except for the 2 cranberry cookies, I hardly have any photographic evidence of the fruits of my labor. I was so exhausted from the whole production that I opted not to take any photographs of the 60 individually wrapped and decorated packages. I just wanted to clean up and go to bed. As much as I love baking, I think I'll make just 2 or 3 types of cookies next year.


Pistachio and Cranberry Rugelach
(makes 30-32 cookies)

Dough
4 ounces (8 tbsp/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temp
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade

Optional: 2 tbsp granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

To make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy and had increased in volume, about 5 minutes on medium. On low speed, add flour, sugar and salt. Beat until well combined.

Scrape dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap dough and form a disk about 1-inch thick. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

To make the filling
Heat the marmalade in a saucepan over very low heat to liquefy. Set marmalade aside. In a small bowl, combine pistachios, cranberries and sugar. Set aside.

Assemble the rugelach
Take dough out of refrigerator. If it's too firm to roll, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 12 x 16 inches. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each measuring 8 x 12 inches).

With the 12-inch side in front of you, spoon or brush a thin layer of marmalade over the dough. Sprinkle half the pistachio-cranberry-sugar mixture over each rectangle of dough leaving a 1-inch wide strip of dough at the far edge uncovered (there will only be marmalade on this 1-inch wide strip). To make sure the filling sticks to the marmalade and dough, gently press the filling down into the dough.



Starting with the edge close to you, tightly roll the dough away from you. When you reach the strip of dough with the marmalade only, apply a bit of pressure to seal and roll the log so that it is seam side down. Carefully slide the logs onto a tray or baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate logs for 30 minutes or up to 1 day.

Bake the rugelach
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Slice each chilled log into 3/4-inch wide slices (you should get 15-16 slices per log). Place cookies 1-inch apart on prepared baking sheets (sliced side up). Sprinkle with more granulated if desired.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Allow rugelach to cool on baking sheets for 15 minutes before removing from the baking sheets.

~*~
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Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
(adapted from Bon Appétit December 2004 )
(makes about 30)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
5 ounces (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup high-quality white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

Preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and oats and stir until just combined. Stir in both chocolates and the cranberries.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until edges are light brown about 16 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

0 Pecan Pie in the Sky

Pecan pie is a fairly sweet pie and rightly so. But I don't like pecan pie when it's overly sweet. I know that "overly sweet" is subjective, but I wanted to craft this recipe to my family's tastes. Instead of using one cup (8 fluid ounces) of corn syrup (which is the amount that most recipes for a 9-inch pie seem to require), I cut back on the corn syrup and I even replaced some volume with maple syrup. When combined with the corn syrup, the maple syrup adds a very subtle yet different dimension of sweetness to the pie. Whole pecans are really stunning and pretty in a pecan pie, but I like using chopped pecans since I have difficulty cutting nice pie wedges when I use whole pecans. I have to say that making the filling is as easy as pie. I know, bad pun, but it had to be said.



Maple Pecan Pie
(makes one 9-inch pie)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
One 9-inch pie shell, pre-baked as directed below*

*Flaky Pie Dough
(makes enough dough for two 9-inch pies)

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice water
1/2 tsp vinegar

Cut the butter into tiny cubes and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Sift flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a standing mixer. Place bowl of dry ingredients in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove butter and mixer bowl with dry ingredients from the freezer. Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix on low for 2-3 minutes until the butter is the size of peas. Combine ice water and vinegar and add to dough. Mix until dough just comes together, about 20 seconds.

Gather dough and divide into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour (and up to 3 days).

Take out one disk of chilled dough. Save the other disk for another use. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick and 2-3 inches larger than the pie pan. Transfer dough carefully to a 9-inch pan. Let the pie shell rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes (and up to 1 day) before baking.

Preheat oven to 375F. Blind bake the pie shell by lining with parchment or buttered foil. Fill the parchment/foil lined shell with pie weights.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375F. Remove parchment and pie weights. Continue baking for 10 minutes more until light golden. Set pie shell aside on a baking sheet while you make the filling. Decrease oven temperature to 350F.

To make pie filling

Whisk brown sugar and eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in corn syrup and maple syrup. Mix in melted butter, vanilla and salt. Mix in chopped pecans. Pour filling into pie shell.

Bake at 350F until the sides of the filling are slightly puffed but the center is still a bit "sunken", about 35 to 45 minutes.

Allow pie to cool on a wire rack. Serve pie slightly warm or at room temperature.

0 You Say Potato

The lovely Tanna of My Kitchen In Half Cups has been baking bread for many years and definitely considers herself more of a savory instead of a sweet baker. So it's no surprise that she decided on a savory bread recipe for November's Daring Baker challenge. The tender potato bread she chose is a refreshing change from the egg, cream, chocolate, butter, and sugar laden recipes used for past challenges. It's nice to mix it up since baking involves both the sweet and the savory. Before I joined the Daring Bakers I had never used yeast in my baking. Although I've only used yeast 3 times (and all happen to be for past DB challenges - bagels, cinnamon buns, and now potato bread) I'm very happy to say that I am no longer afraid of yeast.



As scientific as baking can be, baking can sometimes also rely on intuition. Visual or tactile cues can help a baker determine whether it looks or feels right. I know when flour is just incorporated or when whipped egg whites have been folded into a batter enough to be combined but not over combined. Intuition was definitely needed with the potato bread.

The original recipe for the tender potato bread from "Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid gave slightly vague quantities of potatoes and flour. "4 medium to large floury potatoes" really means nothing to me as potato sizes can vary widely. I did notice in another recipe in the same book that they called for 3 medium floury potatoes which they said was about 1 pound of potatoes. From this I assumed that one medium potato would weigh about 1/3 pound. But the ever helpful Tanna suggested that bread beginners use no more than 1/2 pound and advanced bread bakers use no more than 1 pound of potatoes. I ended up using a russet potato that weighed 14 ounces before I peeled it.

The recipe also called for 6.5 to 8.5 cups all-purpose flour. I've learned that the amount of flour needed for making bread dough can vary depending on many factors including but not limited to the weather, brand of flour, protein content of flour or a vague amount of potato. The dough will tell you when it's had enough flour. See what I mean by intuition? Since I'm still a bread novice and haven't fully developed my bread intuition yet, Tanna told us that the dough is ready when it's smooth and soft and still just a little sticky. Instead of measuring out 8.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, I combined 6.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour with 2 cups white wheat flour for a total of 8.5 cups. (According to King Arthur Flour, it's okay to substitute about a third of all-purpose flour with their white wheat flour.) I ended up using about 7.5 cups of the 8.5 cups for my dough.



Tanna gave us the freedom to shape our bread dough any way we liked. I ended up making one 8.5 x 4.5 inch pan loaf, one 10x15 inch flatbread, two 3x5 inch pan loaves (one plain, one swirled with parmesan cheese). I adjusted my baking times as necessary but I wrote the recipe with the original sizes, shapes and baking times.

The bread turned out as tender as its name implied. The crumb of the loaves was tight and even. The flatbread had those irregular random air pockets that I associate with artisan bread. I thought the large and miniature loaves were a bit plain, but the one with parmesan was a bit more flavorful. My overall favorite was the flatbread. I brushed the top of the flatbread with some herb and caramelized shallot compound butter leftover from Thanksgiving and then generously sprinkled it with coarse sea salt.




A big warm virtual hug to Tanna for picking a great recipe that helped to expand my horizons and helped me gain more confidence when working with yeast. And thanks to all the wonderful Daring Bakers who shared helpful bread making tips. Our membership grows with every passing month. I really love being part of the Daring Bakers.




Tender Potato Bread
From "Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World"
by Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid
(Makes one 9x5 inch pan loaf and something more. Something more = one 10x15 inch flatbread or 12 soft dinner rolls or one small loaf.)

For the bread:
8 to 16 ounces floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cups water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6.5 cups to 8.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 cup whole wheat flour

For the toppings:
For loaves and rolls: melted butter (optional)
For flatbread: olive oil, coarse salt, and herbs (optional)

Instructions:
Put the potatoes and the 4 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook, half covered, until the potatoes are very tender.
Drain the potatoes, SAVE THE POTATO WATER, and mash the potatoes well.

Measure out 3 cups of the reserved potato water (add extra water if needed to make 3 cups). Place the water and mashed potatoes in the bowl you plan to mix the bread in – directions will be for by hand. Let cool to lukewarm – stir well before testing the temperature – it should feel barely warm to your hand. You should be able to submerge you hand in the mix and not be uncomfortable.

Mix dough by hand (Tanna said no stand mixers were allowed for this challenge):

Mix and stir yeast into cooled potato water and mashed potatoes and let stand 5 minutes. Then stir in 2 cups all-purpose flour and allow to rest several minutes. Sprinkle on the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter; mix well. Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour, stir briefly. Add 2.5 to 3 more cups of all-purpose flour and stir until the flour has been incorporated. At this point you will have used 4.5 to 5 cups of all-purpose flour.

The dough will be a sticky mess. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, incorporating more of the all-purpose flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will be very sticky to begin with, but as it takes up more flour from the kneading surface, it will become easier to handle; use a dough scraper to keep your surface clean. The kneaded dough will still be very soft. When the dough is soft and smooth and not too sticky, it’s probably ready.

Place the dough in a large clean bowl or your rising container of choice, cover with plastic wrap or lid, and let rise about 2 hours or until doubled in volume. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead gently several minutes. It will be moist and a little sticky. Divide the dough into 2 unequal pieces in a proportion of one-third and two-thirds (one will be twice as large as the other). Place the smaller piece to one side and cover loosely.

Shape the large 9x5 inch loaf with the larger piece of dough:

Butter a 9X5 inch loaf/bread pan. Flatten the larger piece of dough on the floured surface to an approximate 12 x 8 inch oval, and then roll it up from a narrow end to form a loaf. Pinch the seam closed and gently place seam side down in the buttered pan. The dough should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled in volume.

Pick one shape for the remaining dough:

Shape the small loaf: Butter an 8 x 4 inch loaf/bread pan. Shape and proof the loaf the same way as the large loaf.

OR

Shape the rolls: Butter a 13 x 9 inch sheet cake pan or a shallow cake pan. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each into a ball under the palm of your floured hand and place on the baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch between the balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 35 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled.

OR

Shape the flatbread: Flatten out the dough to a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches with your palms and fingertips. Tear off a piece of parchment paper or wax paper a little longer than the dough and dust it generously with flour. Transfer the flatbread to the paper. Brush the top of the dough generously with olive oil, sprinkle on a little coarse sea salt, as well as some rosemary leaves, if you wish and then finally dimple all over with your fingertips. Cover with plastic and let rise for 20 minutes.

Baking instructions:

Place a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles, if you have them, if not use a baking/sheet (no edge – you want to be able to slide the shaped dough on the parchment paper onto the stone or baking sheet and an edge complicates things). Place the stone or cookie sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C. Bake the flatbread before you bake the loaf; bake the rolls at the same time as the loaf.

If making flatbread, just before baking, dimple the bread all over again with your fingertips. Leaving it on the paper, transfer to the hot baking stone, tiles or baking sheet. Bake flatbread until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack (remove paper) and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Dust risen loaves and rolls with a little all-purpose flour or lightly brush the tops with a little melted butter or olive oil (the butter will give a golden/browned crust). Slash loaves crosswise two or three times with a razor blade or very sharp knife and immediately place on the stone, tiles or baking sheet in the oven. Place the rolls next to the loaf in the oven.

Bake rolls until golden, about 30 minutes.

Bake the small loaf for about 40 minutes.

Bake the large loaf for about 50 minutes.

Transfer the rolls to a rack when done to cool. When the loaf or loaves have baked for the specified time, remove from the pans and place back on the stone, tiles or baking sheet for another 5 to 10 minutes. The corners should be firm when pinched and the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Let breads cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Rolls can be served warm or at room temperature.




cheese swirl

0 Another Raspberry Something

I don't know what's up with my thing for raspberries lately. It's almost Thanksgiving and I'm still using a summer berry. I try to buy seasonal and local produce whenever I can and I'll admit that occasional cravings will override my good intentions. Raspberries should be out of season, but the container says they're from California. Even so, I felt slightly guilty for buying them. Just because they can grow them during the off season doesn't mean that they'll actually taste good. This was definitely the case with these raspberries. They looked good but they turned out to be bland. So instead of tossing them into the compost bin, I used them in these quick and easy cream cheese muffins. Right before adding them to my muffin batter I sprinkled a bit of sugar over my raspberries to add a bit of sweetness. I normally use a dollop of fruit preserves to top the muffins, but any fresh or frozen fruit will work just as well.

On a separate note, I want to apologize for my lack of posting lately. I haven't really been baking much during the last couple weeks. I spent most of this weekend preparing for Thanksgiving. Deciding on the menu, cleaning the house, washing the platters, serving bowls, and fancy glasses. I've done most of my grocery shopping and I just need to pickup the turkey and some sourdough bread for stuffing. I made a gigantic vat of turkey stock, a "scarborough fair" herb shallot butter for my turkey and a chunky cranberry sauce. The cheeses have been grated for the spinach gratin and I also made enough pie dough for my pecan tart and pumpkin pie. I still haven't decided if I'm going to make a third dessert. I'll see how I'm feeling later in the week. I still have a lot of chopping, slicing, brining, cooking and baking until T-day so I'll leave you now with a wish for a wonderful Thanksgiving! Have a happy and healthy one!



Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins
(adapted from Better Homes and Garden Nov 1997)
(makes 24)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened at room temp
4 ounces (8tbsp/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
10 ounces raspberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 24 (approximately 3.5 fluid ounce capacity) muffin wells (or use paper cupcake liners).

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat 1 minute.

On low speed, add half of flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Mix in milk and then add remaining flour. Mix until just combined.

Divide batter among prepared muffin wells. Place 3 or 4 raspberries on top of each. (If your raspberries are not sweet enough, toss them with a bit of sugar before using.)

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Cool. If desired, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

0 Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Every once in a while someone shares a recipe with me hoping that I will make it. I'm more than happy to do so because sometimes it's tough for me to decide what to bake. When there are too many recipes to choose from I can become paralyzed by indecision and end up baking nothing at all. So I'm more than happy when the decision is made for me. This is especially true when it's a recipe I would normally not pick by myself. Like with the Daring Bakers challenges, it's a nice break from my usual M.O. and a great opportunity to break out of my baking box. I always enjoy the experience and always learn something new.

My coworker WW mentioned that he saw a pumpkin chiffon pie in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living and was taken by the jewel like strands of candied pumpkin atop the pie. He searched Martha's website for the pie recipe but came up empty handed. So he purchased the magazine and asked if I would try my hand at making the pies. I was definitely up for the challenge.

I've made many pumpkin pies before but never a pumpkin chiffon pie. Just like a chiffon cake is supposed to be light and airy, I guessed that a chiffon pie should have a light and airy filling. In this case, the filling is a pumpkin pastry cream which is lightened with a meringue (basically egg whites beaten with sugar) and set with the help of some gelatin. The filling was pretty delicious and very different from the usual pumpkin pie filling, but I found it a tad on the sweet side and not particularly pumpkiny. I would probably decrease the amount of sugar in the filling if I make it again.

The crust was simply commercial gingersnaps blitzed in a food processor with some sugar and butter to hold it all together. This was the first time I've ever bought Nabisco brand gingersnaps. I tried one straight from the box and didn't really like it. I expected the gingersnap to be crisp but it just seemed hard. I hoped that the crust would taste better than the gingersnap itself. The crust did taste pretty good when filled. The gingersnap crust provided textural contrast to the fluffy filling but maybe too much of a contrast. In the future I might try using those thin ginger cookies that you can buy at Ikea instead.



The garnish was fun to make. I didn't have a sugar pie pumpkin but I did have a sweet dumpling squash. It was pretty easy to shave thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler and it was just as easy to candy them in the syrup. I only had a black and white copy of the recipe and photos from the magazine and I thought I messed up since my candied squash ribbons didn't turn out bright orange like I imagined they would be. Mine were more like a greenish tinged yellow. But when I presented my finished pies to WW he said that they looked just like in the magazine. The garnish was a nice finishing touch. Before laying the candied squash ribbons on my chiffon pie, I dabbed the ribbons with a clean towel to take of any excess syrup.

Even though I love the Martha, my success rate with her recipes has been 50/50. But despite the tiny issues I mentioned, I still must count this pumpkin chiffon pie in the win column. So thank you Martha and thank you WW for your wonderful suggestion.



Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
(adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine October 2007)
(makes six 5-inch pies)

Crust
34 gingersnaps*, coarsely broken
(*I used Nabisco brand gingersnaps)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 envelope (1 scant tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Garnish
1/4 small sugar pumpkin or another sweet hard squash*, peeled
(*I used a sweet dumpling squash)
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 piece (2 inches long by 1 inch wide) peeled fresh ginger, sliced 1/4 inch thick

To make the crust

Preheat oven to 350F. Grind gingersnaps, sugar and salt in the food processor until finely ground. Add melted butter and process until combined.

Divide crumbs among six 5-inch pie plates, pressing into the bottom and up the sides. Bake until slightly darkened and firm, about 11 to 13 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes. Using an offset spatula, carefully remove crusts from pie plates and cool completely before filling. (Since I had to transport my pies to the office, I kept my pie shells in the pie plate.) Crusts can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

To make the filling

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.

Combine pumpkin, egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, milk, salt and spices in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, about 8 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin mixture until completely dissolved. (At this point I strained my pumpkin mixture to catch any lumps. Apparently my strainer's mesh was too fine and it took a while for the mixture to make its way through the mesh. But I wanted to make sure it was lump free.) Let mixture cool completely.

Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Whisk one-third of beaten egg whites into cooled pumpkin mixture. Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon into pie shells and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. (I refrigerated my pies overnight and they seemed okay.)

To make the garnish

Using a vegetable peeler, shave pumpkin into thin, wide ribbons. Bring water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and ginger to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add pumpkin ribbons and reduce heat. Simmer gently until tender and translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and cool completely. Garnish can stand at room temperature for up to 3 hours. (I put mine in the refrigerator overnight before garnishing the pies.)

0 A Whole Lot of Eggs

...and cream and butter and chocolate. That must mean that the Daring Bakers are back once again. Who are we? Well, we're an online community of bakers who, once a month, receive a recipe chosen by that month's host, make the recipe without modifications (unless allowed by the host), and then blog about the experience on the same day. By following the same recipe, we have a good basis for comparing our results and we get to flex our baking muscles. Our group is now about 200 members strong and we even have a separate blog just to list the links to the participants' blogs!



my how we've grown

I had the honor of hosting this month's challenge. It was difficult to pick just a single recipe. There are too many great recipes and just not enough time. My first inclination was to choose something totally challenging. Something that would require days in the kitchen, ya' know, like the Tartine croissant challenge in January. I joined the group in February so I missed that one. Of course I could go ahead and make the croissants on my own just so I can empathize with the 7 ladies who toiled in butter and flour for days, but it's so much easier to just pop over to Tartine Bakery. I'm a bit of a lazy baker so I chickened out and chose a recipe that was relatively straight forward but still included some technical elements that home bakers should try.

It's the end of October so I decided to go with something that had the colors of Halloween (orange and black). I chose Bostini cream pie. No, it's not a typo. Bostini cream pie, like the name implies, is a twist on a traditional Boston cream pie (which is a vanilla layer cake filled with cream and topped with chocolate glaze). The Bostini cream pie is vanilla bean pastry cream topped with an orange chiffon cake and then drizzled with a rich chocolate glaze.



The recipe is from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni in the Napa Valley and Scala's Bistro in San Francisco and was published many years ago in the local newspaper. A dinner at Scala's Bistro just isn't complete without having a Bostini for dessert. I wanted to try making this treat at home and dug up the recipe.

When I first read the recipe I was really surprised that the chocolate glaze was just equal parts butter and chocolate. I always assumed the pastry chef had some secret sauce. Nope, it turns out that it was just Valrhona chocolate and butter. Just a warning, do not use salted butter. I did a small test batch with salted butter and it was gross.

I love the combination of orange and chocolate. The orange chiffon cake was so light, spongy, and airy. Just like chiffon cake should be. And it was oh so citrusy. I used a combination of tangelos and valencia oranges for my zest and juice. Freshly squeezed juice really makes a different in the flavor. I've tried it with Odwalla brand bottled "fresh" juice and it wasn't as flavorful.



The recipe called it custard but it's really more like a pastry cream. I've made a lot of different pastry creams before, but this vanilla bean pastry cream / custard was a bit scary because it required 10 egg yolks, just 1 egg white, and almost a whole quart of heavy cream! The pastry was scary delicious but really, really super-duper rich. Next time I would use a less rich pastry cream or even a silky baked custard. This dessert is not everyday fare, but fun for special occasions. I plan on making this during the upcoming holidays.

And, by the way, if you're keeping track, the whole recipe required 14 eggs, 1 quart of heavy cream, some whole milk, half a pound of butter, half a pound of chocolate, half a pound of sugar and a smidge of oil. At least there was some fruit involved.

I've already had a preview of a few of the incredible Bostinis the other Daring Bakers have made, but I can't wait to see the creative plating and how everyone felt about the recipe. So please head over to our blogroll, visit the other talented DBers' blogs, and see their Bostini cream pies for yourself!



Bostini Cream Pie
(from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala's Bistro)
(makes 8 generous servings)

INGREDIENTS:

Custard (Pastry Cream)
3/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten
9 egg yolks, beaten
3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze
8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

To prepare the custard (pastry cream):
Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.

To prepare the chiffon cakes:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter.

Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.

To prepare the glaze:
Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm.

To assemble:
Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

Please note:
I baked my chiffon cake in muffin pans with 3.5 fluid ounce capacity wells. Instead of using custard cups or ramekins for the custard/pastry cream, I used small ceramic pie dishes (about 4-inch diameter across the top).

~*~happy halloween~*~

0 Raspberry Walnut Coffee Cake

Much like tea cakes don't actually have tea in them, coffee cakes don't actually have coffee in them. Well, unless it is a coffee coffee cake then it does. Instead, these breakfast or snack cakes are meant to be eaten with coffee or tea or even a big glass of milk (soy milk in my case). Served warm or at room temperature, it's equally delicious. I don't remember where I got this coffee cake recipe, but it is one of my most requested.

While baking the raspberries will slightly disintegrate and become almost like a jam. If I am using frozen berries, I don't drain them since I like the way the berry juices soak into the top of the golden cake especially when combined with that crunchy sweet nutty streusel topping.



Raspberry Walnut Coffee Cake
(makes one 9x13-inch cake)

Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick/8 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temp
10-12 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen (barely thawed)

Topping:
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 ounces (half stick/4 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9x13-inch pan (or line pan with parchment paper).

To make the cake:
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape sides of bowl between additions. Beat in vanilla.

Add flour mixture and mix until the flour is just barely incorporated. Add buttermilk and mix until just combined and smooth.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and top with the raspberries.

To make the topping:
Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add butter and, with a fork or your fingertips, mix until crumbly. Stir in the walnuts and then sprinkle the topping over the raspberries.

Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until cake tested comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

0 Apple Pie Cupcake

Bloggers Cheryl of Cupcake Bakeshop and Garrett of Vanilla Garlic are hosting a second cupcake round-up event. I submitted my chocolate espresso cupcakes for the previous round-up back in January. To keep us cupcakers focused, Garrett and Cheryl have chosen the theme of "Re-Invention" for this round-up. Both bloggers are cupcake masters and they re-invent and re-interpret classic desserts into cupcake form on a regular basis. They also love the bounty of autumn and suggested that we should take advantage of the seasonal produce.

Like I do with most blog events I was running late. I had a lot of ideas for re-inventing a fall favorite into a cupcake, but the deadline was approaching fast and I had no time (or desire) to make a trip to the market. So I decided to make the apple pie cupcakes from the cupcake feature in an old issue of Donna Hay Magazine. I had all the ingredients I needed for my cupcakes.



Even though this is not an original recipe of my own, I hope it still qualifies for the round-up. I made some minor adjustments to the original Donna Hay recipe as well as adding cinnamon and lemon zest to the cupcake batter since a touch of cinnamon and lemon go so well with apples. Topping the cupcakes with sautéed apples before baking was a great idea (thanks Donna!). I considered increasing the apple-ness by adding chopped or grated apples directly into the cupcake batter but I felt that would've made it more like a muffin instead of a cupcake. If you like cinnamon, you'll love the frosting. If you're not a fan, then just decrease or omit the cinnamon.

To make the cupcake more "pie" like, I wanted to top the frosting with a little wedge of baked pie crust as an accent. I was sure that I had scraps of pie dough saved in my freezer for just an occasion. It would've been the perfect finishing touch, but sadly I was mistaken and no pie dough was to be found. Nevertheless, even without the crust accent, the cupcake is still reminiscent of apple pie.



Apple Pie Cupcakes
(adapted from Donna Hay Magazine #27)
(makes 24 cupcakes)

Cupcakes
2 1/4 all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
9 ounces (2 sticks plus 2 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon or orange zest
1 cup (8 fluid ounces) whole milk

Apple Topping
3 tbsp (40 g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Cinnamon Frosting
12 ounces (3 sticks / 340g) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

To cook the apples
Place butter and sugar in a large fry pan over low-medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add apple slices and cook for 8-10 minutes or until apples are lightly caramelized. Remove apples from pan and let cool completely.

To make the cupcakes
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 24 4-fl-oz-capacity muffin wells with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides if the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and grated zest.

On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until flour is barely incorporated. Add the milk and mix until just smooth.

Divide the batter among lined muffin wells, filling each well about 2/3 full. Top with the apples.

Bake at 325F until a cake tested comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool cupcakes on cooling racks. Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.

To frost the cupcakes
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the confectioner's sugar and cinnamon and beat for another 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Frost the cupcakes with an icing spatula or piping bag. Optional: Lightly dust frosted cupcakes with 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon.



On a side note, Donna Hay Magazine is a gorgeous glossy and has a clean, elegant aesthetic which I absolutely adore. Since the magazine is Australian based, it's a bit pricey to purchase here in the U.S. (one issue is $10), but I had a Borders bookstore gift card and decided to splurge a little.

0 From A To Z

I was wasting some time and I came up with this little game for myself. I wanted to see if I had posted a recipe that begins with each letter of the alphabet. I cheated a little on a couple letters, but I managed to make it work. Hey, what can I say? I get bored sometimes and am easily amused by silly yet goal-oriented tasks like list making. BTW, my other favorite time waster involves folding certain items.

Almond apple bars
Blackberry pie
Chocolate espresso cupcakes
Darkest chocolate crepe cake
Espresso cookies
Frangipane tart
Gateau Saint Honore
Hummingbird cupcakes
Iced meyer lemon cupcakes
Jam shortbread bars
Kuchen with plums, figs & walnuts
Lemon bars
Mousse towers
Nutella cookies
Oatmeal cake with cherry & almonds
Pumpkin cheesecake
Quellia's bagels (I really had to cheat on the letter "Q".)
Rugelach
Swiss orange chip cupcakes
Tart with chocolate & peanut butter
Upside down polenta cake
Vanilla chocolate swirl cheesecake
World peace cookies
Ximena's DB logo (Okay, so I had to cheat again. But I'm giving talented Ximena major props again for creating the very cool DB logo that we revealed during the red velvet cake challenge.)
Yogurt cake
Zucchini bread

0 Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

Cakes in miniature can make a person feel special. It's like you're getting a whole cake to yourself. I'm not saying that a person shouldn't share, but mini cakes provide a perfect excuse not to share. These chocolate mini bundt cakes are a simple but indulgent treat. The combination of the milk chocolate cake with a bittersweet chocolate glaze is a delight and the ease of preparation pleases a lazy baker like me. And since the cakes are baked in a fanciful mold like a mini bundt, it appears as if I spent more time in the kitchen than I actually did. Of course that's what I will be telling myself if I give in to temptation and buy more cute molds. They're really a time saver. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes
(adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From My Home to Yours")
(makes 6 mini bundt cakes)

Cake:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick/8 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
7 ounces good quality* milk chocolate, melted and cooled
(*I used Michel Cluizel's Grand Lait 45%)

Glaze:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp light corn syrup

To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter a 6-mold mini bundt pan. (Each mini bundt is about 3.5 inches wide x 1.75 inches tall.)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat for 1 minute more, then beat in the vanilla.

On low speed, add half the flour mixture and mix only until it is incorporated. Add in the milk and mix until just blended. Then add the remaining flour mixture and mix only until it is incorporated. Blend in the melted chocolate.

Divide batter evenly among the 6 molds. Bake at 350F until cake tester comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.

Cool for 5-10 minutes in pan. Then remove the mini bundt cakes from pan and cool to room temperature before glazing.

To make glaze:
Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water or in the microwave on low. Stir in corn syrup. Spread glaze or drizzle over cakes. Allow glaze to set at room temperature, about 15 minutes.

Note: I omitted the nut filling that Dorie had in her original recipe. You can skip the chocolate glaze and just dust the mini bundts with powdered sugar.

0 Rocky Road Bars

My mom always felt that ice cream flavors with vanilla or fruit were better choices than ones with chocolate. So when mom was in charge, it would be vanilla, banana nut or strawberry ice cream for me and my brothers. Orange or rainbow sherbet were acceptable choices as well. But whenever I was allowed to choose (usually when dad was in charge), I would pick rocky road ice cream. Traditionally, rocky road ice cream is a chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and nuts. It was my favorite flavor for as long as anything is a favorite when one is a young child. So I eventually grew out of the rocky road phase and moved on to other flavors like swiss orange chip.

These rocky road bars from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion cookbook really capture the nostalgia of rocky road and will definitely satisfy your inner child. A chocolate cookie base filled with chocolate chips and walnuts, topped with more chocolate and marshmallows and then finished off with a generous drizzle of chocolate. There's absolutely nothing grown up about it, but these bars will please you no matter your age.



Rocky Road Bars
(adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks/8ounces) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1/2 cup (firmly packed) light brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups semi or bittersweet chocolate chips
(or 18 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate, chopped the size of chocolate chips)
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 to 2 cups miniature marshmallows (depending on how much you like)
Optional drizzle: 1-2 ounces chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch pan (or line with parchment).

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and both sugars until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, 2 cups chocolate chips and walnuts.

Pat the dough into your prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes until the edges are set but still soft in the center. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and then marshmallows. Bake about 3-5 minutes more.

Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Allow bars to cool completely before cutting. I cut mine into 32 bars.

0 Buns in the Oven

The month is quickly coming to an end and that means it's Daring Baker time again. The group has already survived ten other monthly challenges to date and for this month's recipe, hostess Marce of Pip in the City chose Peter Reinhart's cinnamon buns and/or sticky buns. I've never made cinnamon or sticky buns before. And I haven't baked with yeast since I made bagels for the June DB challenge (which also happened to be the very first time I've ever used yeast). So I'm glad Marce picked a yeasted recipe. We could make cinnamon buns or sticky buns or both. I chose to make just cinnamon buns.

A couple things worried me right off the bat. For some reason I thought the recipe called for active dry yeast but upon re-reading the ingredients I realized that it said instant yeast. Since I didn't want to run to the store, I hoped the recipe would work fine with the active dry yeast. I used about a third more active dry yeast than amount of instant yeast required.

I wasn't sure if just adding the yeast granules straight into the mixing bowl with the sugar, butter, egg, flour and buttermilk would work. Maybe it's a misconception of mine, but I thought I had to let yeast sit in some warm water for about 5-10 minutes before using it. But since I'm inexperienced with yeast, I just followed the recipe and added it as instructed. I kept my fingers crossed.

I decided to let my Kitchen Aid stand mixer do the kneading for me. During the 10 minute knead, the dough was getting slapped around in the bowl pretty loudly. My stand mixer even slightly moved around the counter top from the force. I hope that's normal when kneading dough with a KA. Otherwise I'm giving KA customer service a call. After 10 minutes the dough was exactly as the recipe said it should be - silky and supple, tacky but not sticky.

While my dough was kneading, I warmed my oven to 150F then turned it off so that I could use it to proof my dough. I put my bowl of dough in the oven and hoped it would rise. It didn't rise too much during the first hour but rose very quickly during the second hour. It had doubled in size in exactly two hours. Yippee!

Rolling out the dough was so much easier than I expected. It wasn't sticky so I hardly needed any flour for the rolling pin and the marble top. The dough was elastic but never "snapped" back when I was rolling it out. My only issue was that I couldn't quite get my dough rolled into a rectangle (just like I can never roll my tart/pie dough into a circle). But I decided to just trim off the ragged ends after filling and rolling it into a log. I must say that I loved working with this dough. I used my oven again for the second rise and it went off without a hitch. Then a quick bake and voila – cinnamon buns! There is nothing like a warm cinnamon bun fresh from the oven. They were absolutely delicious!



By the way, I cut back on the volume of milk and made the white fondant glaze with meyer lemon juice since I didn't have any lemon extract. Also, the recipe made an enormous amount of glaze. Even if I dunked all the cinnamon buns in glaze and covered every centimeter of bun, I wouldn't have been able to use up all of it. The lemon juice really helped to cut the sweetness in the glaze and also complemented the meyer lemon zest in the dough. I also decreased the amount of cinnamon in the filling. Thanks to Marce and the Daring Bakers, I now have a great keeper recipe. I will definitely make these buns again.



I was trying to get a photo of the cinnamon inside the bun, but someone got in the way! If you'd like to see what my cat Hobie does when he's not stealing food, check out this video. Sometimes you have to press play twice. I'm trying out Google video. I hope it works.




Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns
(from Peter Reinhart´s The Bread Baker´s Apprentice)
Yield: Makes 8 to 12 large or 12 to 16 smaller cinnamon or sticky buns

Dough:
6 1/2 tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) unsalted butter
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated zest of 1 lemon
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast*
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
6 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For cinnamon buns:
1 recipe for white fondant glaze

For sticky buns:
1 recipe for caramel glaze
walnuts, pecans, or other nuts
raisins or other dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or dried cherries (optional)

*Instant yeast contains about 25% more living cells per spoonful than active dry yeast, regardless of the brand. Instant yeast is also called rapid-rise or fast-rising.

1. Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening or butter on medium-high speed in an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand). Whip in the egg and lemon zest until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

2. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

3. Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Make filling by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Proceed to fill and roll the dough as follows:

(A) Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don´t roll out the dough too thin or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.
(B)Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough.
(C) Roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns, or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.

4. For cinnamon buns, line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so that they aren't touching but are close to one another.

For sticky buns, coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4 inch layer of the caramel glaze. Sprinkle on the nuts and raisins (if you are using raisins or dried fruit.) You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling. Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.

5. Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.

6. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the oven rack in the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.

7. Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.

8. For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops, while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving. For the sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over into another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.

White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns

Cinnamon buns are usually topped with a thick white glaze called fondant. There are many ways to make fondant glaze, but here is a delicious and simple version, enlivened by the addition of citrus flavor, either lemon or orange. You can also substitute vanilla extract or rum extract, or simply make the glaze without any flavorings.

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.

When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whisk over the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns. (Remember to wear latex gloves.)

Caramel glaze for sticky buns

Caramel glaze is essentially some combination of sugar and fat, cooked until it caramelizes. The trick is catching it just when the sugar melts and lightly caramelizes to a golden amber. Then it will cool to a soft, creamy caramel. If you wait too long and the glaze turns dark brown, it will cool to a hard, crack-your-teeth consistency. Most sticky bun glazes contain other ingredients to influence flavor and texture, such as corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and flavor extracts or oils, such as vanilla or lemon.

NOTE: you can substitute the corn syrup for any neutral flavor syrup, like cane syrup or gold syrup.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
2. Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
3. Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.