Daring Bakers' Challenge: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

I had to make this challenge early, because guess what? I'm going on another little trip. Yup, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, as one of my friends asked me if I wanted to go with her to Las Vegas. After my trip to London, I realized that these little getaways were just what I needed to stay refreshed and not feel completely over-worked... so I said yes, and now I'm packing for the flight that leaves on the 27th. Vegas for 5 days!! WOHOO!! But now, on to the recipe.

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Filled Meringue Coffee Cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

- 4 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dried yeast
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature

For the filling:

- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate

For the meringue:

- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ cup sugar

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and butter is just melted.

3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 mins.

Prepare your filling:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Make the meringue:
1. Do this once the dough has doubled. In a clean mixing bowl beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

1. Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

3. Roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

4. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inchintervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

5. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

6. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

8. Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

9. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

10. Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

This recipe is definitely a winner! It was ooey-gooey, chocolatey and moist. I have a serious addiction to bread, and since this recipe allowed for me to practice baking with yeast and improve my bread making skills I was very happy to whip this up. All in all, this Daring Bakers' Challenge was pretty easy to complete, and a perfect light snack for tea.

Daring Bakers: February 2011

Sorry I'm posting late, but I didn't get around to making my Daring Bakers recipe until I returned from my trip to London. I spent 10 days in that amazing city and, although I've just come home, I want to go back already. I can finally check some things off my "to-do" list, such as... go to London, watch an Arsenal game in a London pub, and watch an Arsenal game at the Emirates. But all that aside, let's move on to this month's Daring Bakers challenge.

Blog-checking lines: The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

Coffee Gelee

Ingredients:
2 cups (480 ml) good quality brewed coffee
1/4 cup (60 ml) hot water + 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cold water
1/2 cup (120 ml) (115 gm) (4 oz) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (3½ gm) (1/8 oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place granulated sugar and 1/4 c. hot water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tablespoons cold water and let it soften 2 minutes or so.
3. Stir the coffee, sugar, hot water, and vanilla into a small metal bowl, add gelatin mixture and stir well until gelatin has dissolved. If pouring over Panna Cotta, be sure that this mixture is no longer hot, it will melt Panna Cotta if it is, let it come to room temperature.

Nestle Florentine Cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
2. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
4. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
5. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
6. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

Both the panna cotta with the coffee gelee and the florentine cookies were delicious. The cookies were wonderfully buttery and crisp, and the panna cotta was lusciously rich and creamy. I really enjoyed these comforting dessert, especially after watching the Arsenal v. Birmingham Carling Cup match as it took some of the sting away *sniff*, if you stay up-to-date with association football you'll know what I'm talking about, otherwise... sorry for bugging ya. Well, until next month's challenge ^_^ (or sooner if I find I have some free time to do some baking).

Daring Bakers Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet

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

My version is a vanilla sponge, filled with berries and a banana custard filling.

Joconde Sponge

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

Ingredients:
- ¾ cup almond flour/meal
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup cake flour
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg whites

- 2½ tsp white granulated sugar or superfine sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

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

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

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

Ingredients
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups + 1½ tbsp confectioners' sugar
- 7 large egg whites
- 1¾ cup cake flour

- Food coloring gel, paste or liquid

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

1. Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approxim ately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet mak es spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
2. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock ba g and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
3. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
5. Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
6. Cool. Do not leave too lon g, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
7. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Preparing the MOLD for entremets:

1. Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.
2. A biscuit cutter/ cookie cutter- using cling wrap pulled tightly as the base and the cling covering the outside of the mold, placed on a parchment lined very flat baking sheet. Line the inside with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping.
3. Cut PVC pipe from your local hardware store. Very cheap! These can be cut into any height you wish to make a mold. 2 to 3 inches is good. My store will cut them for me, ask an employee at your store. You can get several for matching individual desserts. Cling wrap and parchment line, as outlined above.
4. Glass Trifle bowl. You will not have a free standing dessert, but you will have a nice pattern to see your joconde for this layered dessert.

Preparing the Jaconde for Molding:

1. Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
2. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
3. Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)
4. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.
5. The mold is done, and ready to fill.

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

Daring Baker's Challenge: December 2010 - Stollen Wreath

I know it's been a while since my last post... a month to be exact, but don't worry, I'm still alive and kicking! I've just gotten a bit distracted by another blogging side-project. Tumblr's got a hold of me and while I haven't been posting a lot of my baking adventures, if you check out my Tumblr blog (www.silverrock.tumblr.com) you can take a peak into my other obsessions.

But, even though I haven't been blogging recipes recently, I will always do my best to keep up to date with the Daring Baker Challenges. So, here's my Stollen Wreath for December's challenge.

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

Stollen Wreath

Ingredients:
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract or orange extract
- ¾ cup mixed peel
- 1 cup firmly packed raisins (I substituted 1/2 a cup with cranberries)
- 3 tbsp rum
- 12 red glacé cherries (chopped) for color & taste (optional)
- 1 cup flaked almonds (I didn't use these, as my sister is allergic)
- Melted unsalted butter for coating
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Method:
1. In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside.
2. Pour ¼ cup warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
3. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 10 tbsp butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
4. Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.
5. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
6. Then stir in the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. 7. Add in mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with hands to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries, if using. Be delicate or your dough will turn red
8. Sprinkle flour on counter, transfer dough to the counter, and begin kneading to distribute the fruit evenly, add additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for ~8 minutes. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.
9. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
10. Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want. Shaping The Dough
11. Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly. 12. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
13. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
14. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches and ¼ inch thick.
15. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.
16. Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape. 17. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.
18. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
19. Proof for ~2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
20. Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. 21. Transfer to a cooling rack; brush the top with melted butter while hot
22. Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sifter.
23. Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over-top.
24. The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
25. Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar 3 times, since the many coatings help keep the stollen fresh.
26. When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.

This recipe was challenging for me, as I'm not that gifted when it comes to baking with yeast. As my regular readers may know, yeast and I do not get along very well... we're fair-weather friends, one might say. But thanks to my patience and sticking to the recipe to a "t", I was able to produce a Stollen Wreath which I was most proud of sharing with my family and friends for a Christmas potluck. The wreath was wonderfully moist and sweet, thanks to the many layers of butter and icing sugar, and it was the perfect addition to our holiday banquet. I will definitely be making this recipe again, come next winter-time.

Daring Bakers: November 2010 - Crostata

I've been feeling rather guilty having not updated my blog for practically a month. I swear to you I've been in the kitchen quite a few times, and just this past week I whipped up a tasty batch of cookies. I just didn't get around to posting any of my escapades, but thankfully I baked up something for this month's DB challenge. I'm so glad that I joined this group... it's keeping me in-check, and making it so I have to post at least once a month.

I don't know where my time's been running off to. I have been working, but that part of my weekly routine seems to have settled itself out, and I'm getting use to my work schedule... maybe it's because I've been really engrossed in catching up with Arsenal FC's 2010/2011 season (The Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Carling Cup). These guys play brilliant football, and I can't help but be enamored with their dedication to the sport and great team play. I'm sure they'll take the top of the table by the season's end, and with the number of injuries the team's had to endure they're doing amazingly well. The team's last EPL game, they topped Wigan Athletica and like a winter fairlytale, lovely white snow began falling on the pitch.

But anyways, here's my long-awaited blog post for November's DB Challenge: Crostata. The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Pasta Frolla (crust)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. minus 1 tbsp superfine sugar or a scant 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 and 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 stick [8 tbsp] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• grated zest of half a lemon
• 1 large egg + egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Method:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.
8. Roll dough, and form into a baking pan. Add filling, and bake in 350degree oven for 45minutes.
   

Berry Filling

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour + additional 2 tbsp flour for roux
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup mixed field berries
• 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl
• Enough milk to make a thick batter (1/4 to 1/2 cup)
  

Method:

1. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, add in the sugar and 2 tbsp flour to form roux.
2. Add in the berries, and heat over medium until berries become macerated.
3. Add 1/4 cup milk to the mix and continue stirring mixture.
4. Add in the flour + baking powder mix, stirring until well combined.
5. Slowly add in the eggs, mixing well to ensure that the eggs do not begin to cook; and if batter remains thick, add in additional milk to form a batter with pudding-like consistency.
6. Pour into the pasta frolla crust and bake at 350degrees until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
   

Yay!! The crostata was tasty, and with the winter-ish weather doing it's business outside (seriously, I can't believe it began snowing already) my family enjoyed the warm pie with a big dollop of whipped cream. Mmmmm... I cannot wait until Christmas rolls around, it seems so close yet so far!

October's Daring Baker Challenge: Doughnuts

Eeeee! I know I haven't posted anything in what seems like forever, and yes you can blame my work on that one. I simply haven't found the time to get back into the kitchen! When doing shift-work, it seems like your "days on" are so busy you can't get anything done when you get home... and then on your "days off" you're simply too exhausted to even contemplate doing anything (even the things that you love). But, hopefully I'll get into a good routine soon.

In regards to work, all I have to say is that I'm very glad I have the co-workers I do. Although the work is extremely exhausting and frustrating at times (seeing as how none of us get decent breaks and it's always go-go-go) my team at work is just amazingly supportive and they always offer a hand (even when they're swamped too). Without them, I'd seriously have a complete melt-down... and came so close to it, let me tell you. But for now, I'm good... enjoying my restful days off and finally stepping into the kitchen to do some Daring Baker's work.

Blog-checking lines: The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Boy do I love doughnuts... and I could hardly wait to get cracking on this challenge, so without further adieu. Here's the recipe:

Yeast Doughnuts

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 milk
- 1/3 cup butter
- 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 2 eggs, large [I substituted one egg for 1/3 cup pumpkin puree]
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp nutmeg, grated [I also added 1 tsp ground cinnamon]
- 4 2/3 cups all purpose flour + extra for dusting surface
- Enough canola oil to create THREE (3) inches of oil within your frying vessel

Method:

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)
2. Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.
4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.
5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.
6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).
9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.
11. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).
12. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

[NOTE: I halved my portion of dough so that I could fry one half, and save the other half of dough to shape and bake. For my baked donuts, I placed them on a well greased baking tray, brushed the uncooked donuts with melted butter and baked at 350degrees for 8-10minutes. Once baked, I then brushed them with a little more butter and dipped them into a mixture of granulated sugar + cinnamon. For my filled donuts, I simply poked a hole in the middle and filled with raspberry preserve]

Yay, for DB challenges! These doughnuts were simply divine! Both the baked and the fried versions were super tasty and they actually weren't that difficult to make. There are times when I look at the DB challenges and think "OMG! I don't have any time to complete this challenge", but then when I look back on it again, it's actually a good thing that these challenges are monthly because then I'm almost guaranteed to enter at least a blog-post a month! So thanks DB's for keeping me on track!

Daring Baker's August '10: Sugar Cookies

I love sugar cookies! So I was ecstatic to see that this month's DB challenge would be featuring the simply delicious and tasty treat. I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to decorate the cookies, but I realized that in this challenge it was mandatory that we had to use decorate the cookies in a "September theme" (whatever September means to you). So, I chose to do this challenge in two parts. The first day, I made a bunch of little square cookies (each 1 square inch in size), which gave me until day two to decide what my "September theme" would be.

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Basic Sugar Cookies
(Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies)

- ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose
- 1 cup Caster Sugar
- 1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Method:
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavorings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 30mins - 1 hour.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.

So... again, with the theme... hmm... that was a tricky one to figure out. After making the cookies, my mind started running trying to figure out how to theme my cookies for September. Then, after a long hard think, I remembered that September 13th, 2010 was the 25th Anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. So, I used the cute little squares as "bits" and created an 8-bit Mario by using various colors of icing sugar to decorate the cookies with the outline-fill/flood


Royal Icing
- 2½ - 3 cups Confectioner’s Sugar, unsifted
- 2 Large Egg Whites
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.

Note: 3 cups of confectioner's sugar is good for piping the outline, and by adding a little bit of water to the mixture the icing is perfect for flooding the outline)


Look at all the cute little colored squares! They were a bit time consuming to decorate, but in the end I think they were worth every bit of effort. If I were to do this again, I'd probably pipe the icing a bit closer to the borders of the cookies so that there would be less cookie visible when the 8-bit character is put together. Other than that, the cookies and icing were delicious and my sisters really enjoyed picking apart Mario, piece by piece ^_^

August's Daring Baker's Baked Alaska

I've always wanted to try my hand at making a real baked Alaska. I say real, because I've made a baked Alaska once before... a long time ago in my High School Home Economics class... it didn't turn out so well :P But with this month's Daring Baker challenge asking us bakers to try out hand at this finicky dessert I new I had to have my "A-game". My variation for this DB recipe was to make a banana-rum baked Alaska. The cake base would consist of a brown-butter banana bread pound cake, and the ice cream would be a cinnamon, maple, rum flavor.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Individual Baked Alaska
Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 cup (250ml) whole milk- A pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup (165g) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream
- 5 large egg yolks- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- My Variation: substitute 2tsp vanilla with 2tsp rum extract, add 1/2tsp ground cinnamon and 2tsp maple syrupMethod:
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean (or extract if using) with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If making cinnamon-maple ice cream, add in the powder and syrup now!)
2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.
4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine.Brown Butter Pound Cake
- 19 tbsp (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
-- or if making banana brown-butter cake, use 8 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup mashed banana
- 2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sifted)
- 1 tsp baking powder- 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
- 1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extractMethod:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter (if making banana-brown butter cake, add mashed banana now), light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)
- 8 large egg whites
- ½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 cup (220g) sugar

Method:
1. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.


Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska
1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. (For my banana-rum baked Alaska, I sliced pieces of banana and layered it on top of the ice cream after I pressed it into the bowls/cups)
2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.
3. Make the meringue (see above.)
4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.
5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.

I attempted to use my hand-held long-ended lighter to brown the edges of the meringue but I suppose the flame wasn't hot enough for the browning effect to be properly seen. Note to self: invest in a good quality hand-held torch (justify the need for one by making creme brulee and baked Alaskas at least 2 times a week :P). So, with the failed attempt at browning with my lighter, I decided to just put the baked Alaska in the oven as the recipe had described. In the end, there was a little bit of a mess on my pan. I must have missed a spot during the meringue piping process, leaving a part of the ice cream exposed. This resulted in a little bit of a melty, leakage of ice cream through the meringue layer... but, thankfully, I pulled the dessert out of the oven before any real damage was done. And my sisters, my parents and I decided to just enjoy the dessert communally, straight off the pan. I cannot describe the taste, only that it was deliciously sweet, cakey and fluffy (thanks to the meringue). I will definitely be trying this recipe again.

Mmm... the aftermath of the melty, fluffy, sweet dessert! What a nice treat on a warm summer's day.