0 whole wheat apricot nut biscotti

WHOLE WHEAT BISCOTTI

w/dried apricots, pecans and walnuts...no fat added

0 That Which We Call A Log

...by any other name would taste as sweet.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. My husband and I have been "celebrating" non-stop since the week before Christmas. From the holiday potluck at the office to the annual winter solstice dinner ("tong yuan") at my parents' house and now the Christmas parties, I feel like I've been eating non-stop. And we still have 2 more holiday events to attend before New Year's Eve. I decided that the Christmas Eve soiree at my brother's house would be the perfect place to serve the French yule log that I would make for this month's Daring Bakers' challenge.



The hosts for the December 2008 challenge are Hilda of Saffron & Blueberryand Marion of Il en faut peu pour etre heureux and they chose the most amazing recipe for us to try. It's a French yule log. Well, it's actually an entremets which, according to Hilda and Marion, can be loosely translated as cream dessert. This French yule log is very different from the genoise roll filled with buttercream that we did for last December's DB challenge, but no less decadent. I used 19 ounces (540 g) of chocolate, 4 ounces (113 g) of butter, 7 eggs, and 27 fluid ounces (785 ml) of heavy cream (35% fat content) to make my dessert for the challenge.

We were required to include six components in our dessert - dacquoise biscuit, mousse, crème brulee, praline crisp, ganache and icing. Marion and Hilda let us choose any flavors we wanted for the components and also allowed us to assemble it in any fashion as long as all six components were present in the completed dessert. The recipe document was quite intimidating at first glance but each of the six parts included flavor variations which made the document seem much longer and more complicated than it actually was.



The mold

I wanted to a do a half-pipe. So my dear husband bought a short length of 4-inch diameter PVC plumbing pipe from the hardware store and cut it in half lengthwise to make a half-pipe mold. I cut some cardboard semi-circles to make "ends" for the mold. I didn’t have rhodoid or sheets of acetate, so I cut a sheet protector (from the office supply store) to line the mold. I held it all together with tape. It's not pretty but it does the job.



The dacquoise biscuit

I chose to make an almond dacquoise. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be crisp like a meringue or if it was supposed to be soft like a sponge cake or genoise. Mine was soft which made it easy to line my mold. I had no problems with the recipe. I baked mine in a 10x15x0.75-inch pan and it was done in the time the recipe said it would be done. I had enough dacquoise to line the top and bottom of my half-pipe mold and some leftover too.


Dacquoise on the top and bottom of the pre-iced log.

The mousse

I made a chocolate mousse with 56% Valrhona chocolate. The technique of making a pate a bombe was a new one for me. Pate a bombe is cooked sugar syrup beaten into egg yolks and it can be used to make mousses more stable. Even though the sugar syrup was heated to 244F (118C) before it's added to the egg yolks, I was still a bit worried about using raw egg yolks in my mousse. So I deviated slightly from the recipe given to us. I beat my egg yolks until they were slightly lightened in color and beat in the hot sugar syrup. I then continued to beat the mixture over a low flame for 3-4 minutes to keep the mixture warm. Then I removed it from the heat and beat the mixture with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer until it was thick and cool. My only issue with the pate a bombe was that my KA whisk attachment could barely reach the yolk-sugar mixture at the bottom of the bowl even though I have the small (5 quart) model. So I got a good work out and beat it by hand until it had increased in volume enough for the KA whisk to reach adequately. The chocolate mousse was silky and delicious.

The crème brulee

The only problem with the vanilla crème brulee recipe that I heard from the other Daring Bakers was the very low baking temperature. I've made many crème brulees and I've never baked any at a temperature as low as 210F (100C). So I cheated and baked mine at 300F for 35 minutes. I used a water bath (bain marie) to protect the custard from over baking and it came out perfectly. I baked mine in a lined 9x5-inch loaf pan and it ended up about 2 cm thick. Some other Daring Bakers mentioned that they found the frozen creme brulee to be rather icy, but luckily mine was extremely smooth and creamy.


I couldn't fit everything into my half-pipe mold so I made a small "log" in a 3x5-inch loaf pan with the extras. This small one doesn't have a second layer of dacquoise on top; there's only the base layer.

The praline crisp

I was not able to find gavottes, a French lace crepe wafer cookie, to make the praline feuillete and I was too tired to make the gavottes, so I used crushed Rice Krispies cereal. I also didn’t want to go through the trouble of making my own praline since I only needed 2 tablespoons. I had some candied pecans so I just blitzed some in the mini food processor and used that instead. I used a 70% Valrhona chocolate. I loved the praline crisp and I will definitely make it again.

The ganache

The recipe was very straightforward and easy. I don't know the reasoning behind using caramel. I guess it's supposed to add some depth of flavor to the dark chocolate ganache. I had some ganache leftover so I made chocolate truffles with the leftovers. I even rolled some of the truffles in powdered sugar and made a snowman.



The icing

I was a bit worried about making the icing after reading some comments on the DB forum. Some other DBs were having problems with the icing not setting up properly or having an icing that was like a rubber skin. Instead of using the dark chocolate icing recipe which uses cocoa powder, I used the variation provided for the milk chocolate icing. But in place of the milk chocolate, I used a combination of 56% and 85% Valrhona chocolate. My icing set up properly and tasted delicious. The only problem I had was trying to smooth the icing over the log after having poured it over the log. This left unattractive streaks in the finish. I should have just poured the icing and not touched it.


Decorated with chocolate leaves made by brushing melted chocolate on clean lemon leaves.

Overall impression

Everyone at the party just loved the dessert. Some people thought that I bought the yule log and they were quite impressed that I had made it myself. My favorite part was the frozen crème brulee and the praline crisp. I had no trouble cutting through the log since I took it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator 2 hours before serving.


I couldn’t get a good clear photo of the inside of the half-pipe log during the party. But here's a so-so shot while we were serving it at the party.

I was hesitant when I first learned what we were doing for this month's challenge. The recipe looked a bit overwhelming and time consuming. Turns out it wasn't hard at all and I absolutely loved every minute I worked on the dessert. This is exactly what I wanted to get from joining the Daring Bakers. I learned a new technique (pate a bombe), I got to practice caramel making (I love using the dry sugar method now), and the praline crisp was just genius. I can use all the individual components in a multitude of recipes in the future. This month's challenge showed me the endless possibilities of entremets. A huge merci to Marion and Hilda and be sure to check out our blogroll.



The recipe is quite long. If you would like to see the recipe I used to make my log, please go to my Google document or visit Marion or Hilda's blog for the recipe with all the variations.

Sources:
This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

The source of the December 2008 challenge recipe is Florilège Gourmand.

The author who wrote the original recipe which served as inspiration for the challenge recipe is Flore of Florilège Gourmand.

The hosts for the December 2008 challenge are Hilda of Saffron & Blueberryand Marion of Il en faut peu pour etre heureux.

"BUTTERY PECAN ROUNDS"....

from Martha Stewarts holiday cookies

melt in your mouth, paper thin and crunchy...

"PEOPLE BISCUITS"

classic shortbread...

CHEX MIX...

a "must have" munchie through the holidays...

HOMEMADE DOG BISCUITS.....

X-Mas present for Ruby...all healthy stuff and she loves 'em...

0 protein pumpkin pie..."party bites"

PROTEIN PUMPKIN PIE..."PARTY BITES"

this is simply that yummy protein pumpkin pie that i cut into bite size squares. i had to bring something to a party one night that i knew i would eat....you all know how that is....as i stated in the other pumpkin pie post i really do eat this every morning, so i always have a fresh pie in the fridge. so, why not cut it into bite size and "cute it up" with a pecan and little cany-cup?....they went over big time and no one cared there was no crust and had no idea they were healthy. again...i found the recipe here http://habitsofcontradiction.blogspot.com/2008/11/protein-pumpkin-pie.html

PROTEIN PUMPKIN PIE...

this is absolutely my new favorite! it tastes just like reg. pumpkin pie without the crust...1 piece only has 75 cals, but has 10g protein, 5g carb and 1g fat (without the peacans)..i've been eating it for breakfast everyday since i found the recipie. http://habitsofcontradiction.blogspot.com/2008/11/protein-pumpkin-pie.html many many thanks to habits of contradiction. this bakes up great every time...puffs up really pretty, then plops down like a real pumpkin pie. well, it IS a real pumpkin pie, but guilt free. love that !

0 Perfectly Simple

This almost flourless chocolate cake is the simplest dessert to make for the holidays. There's no layering, filling or frosting. No chilling or rolling. It's just pure chocolatey goodness in an easy single layer cake. The recipe is from the very talented writer and baker, Fran Gage. Since it was printed in the local newspaper a couple years ago I've made it numerous times and it's always a crowd favorite. If they only knew how easy it was to make. Using the best bittersweet chocolate already gets me more than halfway to the finish line. Melt that with some butter, whip some egg whites, a few flicks of my wrist and voila!

Like with many flourless (or nearly flourless) chocolate cakes, the most technically challenging part of the recipe is folding the beaten egg whites into the chocolate batter without deflating the egg whites. Since there is no chemical leavening, the cake's "lift" will come from the air incorporated into the egg whites. The key to keeping the air you worked so hard to achieve is to lighten the chocolate batter with about a third of the whipped egg whites. Mixing in a little bit of the whipped egg whites will make the chocolate batter less dense and that'll make it much easier to gently fold in the rest of the egg whites without losing too much of the volume. But other than that, it really is straightforward. (The other challenge is resisting the temptation to devour the entire cake all by yourself!)

BTW, the recipe says to serve the cake inverted, but I wanted to preserve those lovely meringue-like shards on top of the cake so I served mine right side up. And that is the only change I made to this perfect recipe.



Fran Gage's Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake
(Makes one 9-inch cake which can serve 8)

7 ounces 70% bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup granulated sugar, divided into 2/3 cup and 1/3 cup
5 large eggs, room temperature, separated
3 tablespoons cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder for decorating

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of a 9- inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or a bowl that fits snugly over simmering water. When the two are mostly melted, remove from the heat and whisk together. Cool slightly. Whisk in 2/3 cup of sugar, the egg yolks, then the flour and salt.

Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat them with the whisk at medium speed until they start to foam. Add one-third of the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and beat whites until they become opaque, then add a second third of the sugar. When the whites start to increase in volume and the whisk leaves traces in them, add the last of the sugar and turn the mixer speed to high. Beat until the egg whites form soft peaks, but still look wet.

Using a spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. (This first third will help to lighten the chocolate mixture and make it less dense so you can fold in the remaining two-thirds without too much deflation of the egg whites.) Now gently fold in the remaining two-thirds of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

To unmold the cooled cake, run a table knife around the edge and invert the cake onto a serving plate. Peel off the parchment paper.

Decorate the cake with powdered sugar and cocoa powder: Sift a light dusting of powdered sugar on top of the cake. Put a small brioche mold upside down in the middle of the cake. Lightly dust the cake with cocoa powder, then lift off the mold.

Serve by itself or with sweetened fruit puree or a dollop of whipped cream.

0 Sugar and Spice

I've mentioned my love of pumpkin before and pumpkin pie is a great way to enjoy it. But pumpkin pie isn’t just for Thanksgiving, is it? I like baking pumpkin pies all year round, but mostly from Halloween through the New Year. Especially when it's combined with aromatic spices. In addition to the usual cinnamon, I always like a healthy dose of ground ginger in my pie.

This pumpkin pie was on the cover of November's Fine Cooking magazine. I really liked the use of heavy cream instead of canned evaporated milk in the pumpkin pie filling. The custard filling seems smoother and, in my opinion, filling made with heavy cream just tastes better since it doesn't have that "cooked-canned" taste that the evaporated milk can impart. Although I wouldn't turn down a slice of pumpkin pie just because of the type of dairy used.



Sugar & Spice Pumpkin Pie
(adapted from Fine Cooking Issue #95)

For the crust
1/4 tsp table salt
6-3/4 oz (1-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
5 oz (10 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the filling
15-oz can pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Make the crust

In a small bowl, stir the salt into 1/3 cup very cold water until dissolved. Put the flour in a food processor and scatter the butter on top. Pulse until the mixture forms large crumbs and some of the butter is in pieces the size of peas, about 8 pulses. Add the salt water and pulse until the dough begins to come together in large clumps, about 7 pulses. You'll still see some butter pieces. Shape the dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle 16 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch ceramic, metal, or glass pie plate, easing the dough into the bottom and sides and then gently pressing into place. For a traditional crimped edge, trim the overhanging dough to 1/2 inch from the edge of the plate. Fold the overhang under and crimp decoratively. (Or you can make the fancier edge decoration with the trimmings.) Wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight, or freeze for up to 2 weeks.

Blind-bake the crust

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Line the chilled pie shell with parchment and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until the sides have just set and look dry, 16 to 20 minutes (lift the parchment to check). Remove the weights and parchment and bake until the edges are light golden and the bottom is pale and completely dry, about 5 minutes. If the dough starts to bubble while baking, gently push the bubbles down with the back of a spoon. Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Make the filling and bake the pie

Heat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, cream, and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves. Whisk the sugar mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

Pour the filling into the cooled piecrust. Bake until the pie is set around the outside but still slightly wet and jiggly in the center, about 1 hour. The filling will continue to set as it cools. Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days before serving.

0 A Yuletide Carol

The lovely Anne Strawberry is hosting this month's You Want Pies With That?. The premise behind YWPWT is to make a pie (or anything pie-ish like a tart) inspired by the chosen theme. Then everyone who made a pie can vote for their favorite pie and the baker with the most votes gets to host and choose the theme the following month. Anne Strawberry asked us to make a pie inspired by our favorite holiday song. What a fun theme!



The hardest part for me was deciding which holiday song is my favorite. The local "easy listening" radio station always changes its format this time of year and plays holiday music 24/7 beginning the weekend before Thanksgiving through Christmas. I'm sure you have a radio station in your area that does the same thing. So I've been listening to a lot of holiday tunes. Even though it's not really a Chistmas-y song, I really like "Last Christmas" by Wham! (aka George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley). I was a teenager when MTV first aired and I just loved the fabulousness of the Wham! music videos. The neon. The cheesy dancing. And the saxophone in Careless Whisper. But a pie inspired by heartache didn’t seem to evoke holiday spirit.

So I decided to go with my all time favorite, "The Christmas Song" written by Mel Torme and Bob Wells. It's sometimes known as "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire". The lyrics are heartwarming.


Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight

They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly

And so I'm offering this simple phrase
For kids from one to ninety two
Although it's been said many times many ways
Merry Christmas to you


I know it's not the most inspired choice since chestnuts are a food and could easily be translated into a pie, but it really is my favorite song. Whether sung by Nat King Cole or Tony Bennett or the Carpenters, I always stop to listen when it's playing.



I didn’t find many chestnut pie recipes "out there" on the internet, but I remembered seeing a chestnut and pear tart in my Dessert by Pierre Herme cookbook. I love pears and I love chestnuts. I would've never thought to combine the two but Pierre Herme mentions that they are a natural complement. Who am I to question him? A tart with diced pears and chestnuts nestled in a custardy, clafoutis-like filling sounded pretty good to me. So I forged ahead and made his tart.



The filling had just a hint of sweetness and was creamy. The combination of pears and chestnuts are nice but very subtle. Neither one stood out and tasters couldn't identify what was in the tart unless I told them. I liked the look of the phyllo crown that adorned the tart and I liked the crunch, but the phyllo didn’t really add too much flavorwise. Overall I think my tart looked great but the taste was just okay. I'm sure if I ever had the opportunity to taste one from his bakery in Paris I would change my mind. The Picasso of Pastry can't be wrong.

I don’t believe that the changes I made greatly affected my results. My modifications:
- I used a different tart dough recipe for my tart shell since I had already made some dough a couple weeks ago.
- I didn't want to buy chestnut puree since I only needed 3 tablespoons. So I made my own by simmering some roasted chestnuts in a bit of heavy cream and a pinch of sugar. When the chestnuts were soft, I pureed the mixture.
- I used Greek yogurt instead of crème fraiche.
- My phyllo decoration was made with broken sheets of phyllo because I didn’t plan ahead and thaw my phyllo dough ahead of time. It would've been much prettier if I had used full sheets of phyllo.



Chestnut and Pear Tart
(from Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan)
(makes one 26 cm tart)

Crust:
Enough tart dough to line a 26-cm shell (see tart dough recipe below)

Instructions for partially prebaking the tart shell:

Place a butter tart ring or tart pan on a parchment lined baking sheet. Working with one piece of dough, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/16 to 1/8-inch thick. Fit the dough gently into the bottom and up the sides of your tart ring or tart pan. Cut off the excess dough so that the edges are flush with the sides of the ring. Chill tart shell for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line the tart shell with foil or parchment, fill with beans or rice and bake it for just 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the crust to cool to room temperature.


tart ring lined with dough

Filling:
2 to 3 very ripe medium pears (Comice or Bartlett pears are good here)
Juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons unsweetened chestnut puree (stir before measuring)
2/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup crème fraiche
1 1/2 teaspoons Scotch whisky
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup dry bottled chestnuts

Instructions for filling and baking the tart:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Core and cut the unpeeled pears into small (about 1/3 inch) cubes; you should have about 2 1/2 cups of fruit. Toss the pears in a bowl with the lemon juice to keep them from darkening and set aside. (Pierre likes the extra flavor and texture he gets by keeping the skin on the pears. If the skin on your pears is thick, or if keeping the skin on doesn't appeal to you, by all means, peel the pears.)

Scrape the chestnut puree into a medium bowl and, using a whisk, stir the puree to loosen it, and then blend in the milk and crème fraiche. One by one, add the whisky, sugar and eggs, stirring until the mixture is smooth. There's no reason to be overzealous - you're aiming to make sure the filling is smooth, not airy. With your fingers, break the chestnuts into small pieces and scatter them over the bottom of the crust. Turn the pears into the crust, spreading them evenly over the chestnuts, and then pour in the filling (you might find this easier to do if you put the baking sheet with the tart shell into the oven before you pour in the filling); depending on how much or how little your crust shrank during baking, you may have some filling leftover.

Bake the tart for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a slender knife inserted into the custard comes out clean. Remove the tart from the oven and, keeping it in the pan on the baking sheet, set it on a rack to cool. (You can make the phyllo topping while the tart cools or do it later, at your convenience.)


chestnuts and pears scattered

pour in the custard

Phyllo decoration:
3 sheets phyllo
Confectioner's sugar

Instructions for phyllo decoration:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the outer circle of a 10-inch tart pan on a baking sheet. Working with 1 piece of phyllo at a time, and keeping the other pieces under a damp cloth, scrunch the phyllo to fit it inside the tart ring. Neatness doesn't count here, so just get the phyllo, with all its hills and valleys, into the ring and then pat it down lightly. Repeat with the 2 remaining sheets, piling the sheets one on top of another. Dust the top of the phyllo crown evenly but not too heavily with confectioner's sugar and slide the baking sheet into the oven.

Bake the phyllo for 5 to 7 minutes, or just until the top sheet is shiny and caramelized. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the crown cool to room temperature.

To serve, remove the tart from its pan, transfer it to a serving platter and top with the phyllo.

Keeping: The tart should be served at room temperature - it's really best kept out of the refrigerator - and eaten the day it is made.

Tart Dough
(makes enough dough for three 26-cm tarts)

13 ounces (3 sticks plus 2 tbsp) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp milk, at room temp
1 large egg yolk, at room temp, lightly beaten
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until creamy. Add the milk, egg yolk, sugar and salt and beat until mixture is roughly blended about 1-2 minutes. (It's okay if the mixture looks curdled.) On low speed, add the flour in 3 or 4 additions. There is no need to wait for the flour to be thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Mix until the ingredients come together to form a soft, moist dough that doesn’t clean the sides of the bowl but does hold together. Don't overmix.

Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into 3 pieces. Gently shape each piece into a thick disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

(Note: You will only need 1 of the 3 pieces for the chestnut and pear tart. You can save the other 2 pieces for another use. The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 1 month.)