It has been a long, long time since I lasted chatted with you all in the cyber world. Like Shirlie -- life has been unbelievably busy. Funny how we both ended up moving in the same month and both ended up in kitchens that are not our own. Shirlie is in the process of moving to her new place at the moment, and I am still here with my in-laws for a few more months while my new house is being built. Good news on that front -- they start framing the house tomorrow!
Shirlie has been picking up the slack for me lately, so I promised her I would be in charge of the Tuesday's with Dorie post this week. (Thanks to my friend Becca who let me take over her kitchen to make the cake!)
This week's TWD challenge, hosted by Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy, was a Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake. Brownies and peanuts! I had high hope for this dessert. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. I am sure part of it was my fault. Not sure exactly what I did wrong, but I did not think this cake was worth the calories. My cake baked up like a bowl -- the edges rose, but the middle didn't. And, it was dry. The caramel helped, and perhaps a scoop of ice cream would of helped more, but overall the cake tasted more like cake than brownie -- which is not what I was expecting.
So, no ringing endorsement for this cake here, but it looks like other TWD members had better luck, so please go check them out .
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
TWD - Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie: Summer Fruit Galette
This week's TWD challenge, Summer Fruit Galette, was selected by Michelle, of Michelle in Colorado Springs. I almost didn't make this, even though all the stars were in alignment for me to make this dish. My 10 month old daughter was sitting peacefully in her swing, watching me in the kitchen, and my peaches, nectarines, and plums had been ripening in a brown paper bag for the last few days. My college roommate, Whitney, taught me to ripen fruit in a brown paper bag. Her mother would bring her crates of peaches and plums and we would ripen them until they nearly burst; we would devour this fruit, often in lieu of actual meals, while standing over the kitchen sink, juice dripping off of our elbows, neither of us saying a word, as we would revel in our contentedness. This is one of my fondest memories of my old roommate and whenever I eat stone fruits, I think back to those summers.
Now that I've painted a picture of my idyllic youth, surrounded by fresh fruits and good friends, imagine my horror last summer when I was pregnant and suddenly developed some kind of strange allergy to stone fruit. And only stone fruit. My ears and throat would itch, and my throat felt like it was swollen upon consumption of even a single cherry. It became painful to eat cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, and nectarines. I tried to soldier on and just deal with the symptoms, but my reaction seemed to be getting progressively worse, the more pregnant I got. My doctor just told me it was an unlucky coincidence; it wasn't the baby's fault, and I would have just developed this allergy pregnant or not. I didn't believe my obstetrician one bit. I knew this had to do with being pregnant, and as much as the low energy, swollen feet, and shortness of breath bothered me, nothing made me more upset than my new inability to enjoy summer stone fruits. Anyhow, flash forward to this summer. I'm not pregnant any longer, and I can eat stone fruits again, without consequence! Apparently, my allergy to stone fruits was brought on by being pregnant! My doctor still thinks I'm a bit crazy, but those symptoms were real, I tell you. So, I gleefully made this galette, and was so happy with the results. Ms. Greenspan's galette recipe has a custard which you pour over the fruit for the last 15 minutes of baking. I cut the sugar from 1/3 of a cup to 1/5 of a cup, as I felt my fruit was sweet enough. I think this was perfect and her crust perfectly showcases lusciously ripe stone fruits. Please visit Michelle's blog for the full recipe and don't forget to check out what the other TWD'ers baked up this week! Thanks! 
Thursday, July 17, 2008
TWD - Chocolate Pudding
Could it really be better then the boxed instant stuff? That's the first question that popped into my mind when I saw that this week's TWD recipe was chocolate pudding. When I was a little kid my mom used to make me chocolate pudding for dessert. Now she didn't use the complete instant stuff - she at least went for the cook and serve pudding. To me, it was great... only thing that needed to be measured was the milk and if you are like me and prefer pudding warm it could be ready in 5 minutes.
But, I promised Shirlie that I would be be in charge of the TWD blog this week and I was open to the notion that perhaps making pudding from scratch is worth the effort. Here's what I can report back ........ totally worth the effort! And it really didn't take that much effort. The pudding was so decadent. I used super high quality chocolate and it made such a difference. Instead of 5 minutes this may have taken me 15 minutes. The only change I made was to use a stand mixer instead of the food processor. I'm at the beach this week and while I brought many kitchen appliances (including my stand mixer), I somehow forgot the food processor. Still, it worked like a charm.
If you want the recipe, this week's host Melissa from Its Melissa's Kitchen has it posted. Please check out how the rest of my fellow TWD Bakers did here.
Friday, July 11, 2008
TWD Blueberry Pie - Erin's take
I know, I know. I am completely late in posting about the blueberry pie this week that was the Tuesday's with Dorie recipe. Normally I would have just left the Smell the Basil take completely to my on-time partner Shirlie who posted on Tuesday. But, I think the picture I took looked so good I just had to share.
Funny thing about this challenge was that I made the pie a week before the challenge, not even knowing that the recipe for the week was going to be Blueberry Pie. I just stopped by a farm stand on my way home one day and the blueberries looked so good that I couldn't pass them up. So, pie it was!
I kind of combined Dorie's recipe for the blueberry filling, and a Martha Stewart recipe for pie dough that I use all the time. (Unlike Shirlie who has an aversion to fruit desserts, I would take a fruit pie over chocolate any day of the week, so I end up making a lot of pies in the summer.)
My secret to making pie dough is to replace 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablesoon of apple cider vinegar. I can't even remember who told me to do this, or even the chemisty behind it... but it makes a great flaky pie dough every time. One day I will post my "official" pie dough recipe, but I leave for the beach in the morning so I need to pack.
Anyways, the blueberry pie was great. Problem was... Eddie doesn't like fruit desserts. He didn't even eat a bit of this pie! Oh well, more for me... And the friends and neighbors I ended up giving some to so that I wouldn't have to throw it away.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
TWD: Mixed Berry Cobbler
This week's TWD recipe is Mixed Berry Cobbler, selected by Beth, of Our Sweet Life. This recipe is lightening fast to pull together and doesn't taste half bad, either. It's just not that special, unfortunately, which is a shame because Dorie's recipes are always spot on. But maybe it's me and not the recipe, because I've never been enamored with fruit desserts, though, which is a result of my upbringing. My parents are both big fruit eaters and every night after dinner, we'd share a big plate of whatever fruit was in season. It's so easy to put away fruit when it's been lovingly peeled, sliced, and diced by a mom, isn't it? I just learned to associate fruit with healthy, after-dinner snack. In my mind, if you're going to splurge calorically on dessert, might as well make it rich and sinful. Chocolate and cheesecake come to mind. Fruit desserts seem a bit too healthy to me. But don't get me wrong. I don't think I'm capable of turning up my nose at a single dessert out there. I like fruit desserts. It's just not a piece of chocolate cake, you know? I sense that I'm digging myself into a hole, so I'll just get on with my TWD outcome. Many TWD'ers posted that the topping is bland. I took their advice and tried to jazz it up, with the addition of 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and swapped brown sugar for the suggested white sugar. I ended up with a topping which tasted pretty good, sort of like a buttery, flaky sugar cookie which complemented the berries beautifully. Since this recipe took 15 minutes to prep and only 25 minutes to bake, (I used 2 small ramekins & also quartered the recipe), I can't be too upset about the lack of wow!-factor with this dessert. It was a perfectly acceptable dessert and it's probably a good one to keep on hand if you're ever in a pinch and need to throw a dessert together quickly. Please visit Beth's blog, Our Sweet Life, for the full recipe. And, please visit TWD and click on the bloggers to see everyone's results! Thanks! Next week's TWD: Apple-Cheddar Scones 
Monday, June 2, 2008
TWD - French Chocolate Brownies -- Erin's Take
BROWNIES! I do not have a sweet tooth… except when it comes to brownies. My favorite dessert is a brownie sundae. If fact, at my wedding I requested brownie sundae’s in addition to the wedding cake. (And, by the way, they were a huge hit.) Brownies just bring back some wonderful memories. Growing up my friends used to come over all the time to play board games and watch movies. My parents, being as wonderful as they are, always welcomed everyone into our house, never minded how late they stayed, and never came downstairs to tell us to quite down when we were involved in a very competitive game of monopoly.
(As a side note, I am an extremely competitive board game player. In fact, over one game of monopoly my best friend Jenn and I got into an argument and didn’t talk to each other for over a week. For the life of me I can’t imagine what in the heck what monopoly move would cause us to not talk for a week. Although as I type this I think it might have involved her colluding with our friend Matt on how to screw me over some property).
Anyways… usually sometime during those long nights of board games my mom would always make a batch of fresh brownies for us to munch on … and always sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. I am almost 30 years old and my friends and I still reminisce over board game nights with my mom’s brownies. When I have kids I imagine doing the same thing for them and their friends hoping that they will carry the same memories with them as they grow up.
As I was saying… this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie’s recipe was French Chocolate Brownies. So of course, given my love of brownies, I had to make these. I made a few changes to suit my preferences. First, some fellow bakers mentioned that beating the eggs and sugar together for a long time will give the brownies a cake-like consistency. As far as I am concerned, cake-like brownies should be a federal offense. There is just no excuse for ruining such a wonderful combination of sugar, eggs, and chocolate by making it into a cake. So, instead of beating the eggs and sugar together for 2 minutes as the recipe called for I reduced it to 1 minute. Next, I do not like raisins. They are gross. So, I left them out, as well as the rum. Last, I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate so I substituted 4 ounces of semi-sweet and 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate.
The brownies baked for exactly 55 minutes, and then cool completely in the pan.
The result was pure heaven. Chocolaty, fudging awesomeness! Often people ask me if it is worth making brownies from scratch when a box mix can be put together in a fraction of the time. After this recipe the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, I may have to keep a steady supply of chocolate in the pantry so I can make them whenever the urge presents itself.
I took the batch to a friend’s house for dessert. Served them with vanilla ice cream and a fresh rhubarb sauce. In fact, I have been eating these for three days straight with the remaining brownies
Please check out how my fellow TWD Baker’s succeeded with their brownies quest.
French Chocolate Brownies
- makes 16 brownies – (I cut mine into 9 large brownies)
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.
Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden (I left this out)
1 1/2 tablespoons water (Left this out)
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum (Left this out too)
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.
Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.
Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.
Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.
Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Erin's Take on Bill's Carrot Cake
Sorry, I am a little late in posting on this week's TWD Carrot Cake. What can I say... life gets hectic. In general, I am not a cake fan. I would take pie over cake any day. Except for carrot cake. I just have a weakness for carrot cake, or perhaps the cream cheese icing that is always used.
I took the cake over to a party at a friends house on Tuesday and invited constructive critisim to be included in this post. Here's what we came up with:
1. The taste of the cake was great - really hearty and spiced well.
2. The cranberries were a perfect replacement for the much detested raisins.
3. My cake was little bit dry. I kept in the oven for 47 minutes, so next time I take 5 minutes off the cooking time.
4. We all loved not having icing on the sides. This eliminated the common problem of way too much icing on a slice of cake. (I know to some people this is never a problem.)
This cake is definitly worth keeping on the make again list. Thought next time I am going to substitute half of the oil for the same amount of applesauce and see how it turns out.
Here's how the cake looked after we finished with it last night.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
TWD: Part I. Homemade Marshmallows: A Lesson in Failures; Part II. Salvation found in the form of Rocky Road Ice Cream
Judy of Judy's Gross Eats selected Marshmallows, pg: 404-405, for this week’s TWD challenge. I must confess that I was tempted to sit this one out. In fact, I still have serious reservations not only about this recipe, but the entire point of making marshmallows from scratch. I just don’t see the allure. My reasons are simple: 1) I can buy a 1 lb bag of marshmallows at the grocery for less than 2 dollars 2) I think gelatin is really gross and should not be knowingly consumed 3) what on earth could I possibly do with a batch of marshmallows?! I mean, come on! Do you eat them with tea? I read Ms. Greenspan’s description of how she decided to include them in her spoon desserts section. Here’s where she and I part ways. If I were serving a spoon dessert to company, I would not feel comfortable serving marshmallows, even if they are lovingly made by hand. I would select homemade ice cream, crème brulee, mousse, or any of those sorts of spoon desserts. I don’t mean to quibble; I just think marshmallows are a component of s’mores and Rocky Road Ice Cream, and will never be the main attraction in my book. So, I decided to compose my email to the wonderful leader of TWD, Laurie, explaining my beliefs when I looked up and saw my hero, the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, in her immaculate kitchen, making, what else, but MARSHMALLOWS! Did any of you catch that episode last week? She made toasted coconut marshmallows and her lovably snooty description sold me and I decided to take it as an omen that I should attempt this week’s TWD. The outcome? I crashed and burned. I should have just hit “send” to that email to Laurie and called it a day. My marshmallows ended up .000000025 mm thick, that’s 2.5x10-8 mm for you mathmatics majors. (don’t laugh! I’ll troll all the unsuspecting math blogs out there trying to get them to link to our food blog!). In any case, have a look for yourself. 
(If you are wondering why they are a shade of unappetizing tan, it's because I followed Ina Garten's advice and toasted some coconut for the marshmallows.
My marshmallows suck. I honestly don’t see much difference between these and store bought, other than the store bought taste really chalky. But it’s a difference so slight that I’m unwilling to bother with making marshmallows again. After I realized that these marshmallows were content to sink unabashedly to the depths of my pan, thumbing their collective noses at me, I wondered what I could do with these. I asked my husband if he wanted to go camping (so we could make s’mores) and he said no and that he had to do our income taxes. I could have made rice krispy treats but I don’t have rice cereal in the house. So, I decided to make Rocky Road Ice Cream, which I alluded to above. And there you have it. Toasted nuts, chocolate, eggs, cream, milk, and those miserably thin, unsatisfying marshmallows. 
Oh, and these super thin ‘mallows totally disappeared in the ice cream. The only remaining sign of those cursed marshmallows is that delicate, pleasant chew they lend to classic rocky road ice cream. See, marshmallows are best when they assume the role of quiet workhorse, behind the scenes, so the chocolate and toasted nuts can take center stage. 
Please visit the other TWD bakers to enjoy their successful marshmallow experiences!
Marshmallows
From Baking: My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Makes about 1 pound marshmallows
About 1 cup potato starch (found in the kosher foods section of supermarkets) or cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water, divided
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet -- choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high -- with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with potato starch or cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.
Syrup: Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup -- without stirring -- until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.
While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)
Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy -- don't overbeat them and have them go dull.
As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.
Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won't fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups). Dust the top of the marshmallows with potato starch or cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They'll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more. Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you'll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you'd like -- into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they're cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you've got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.
Whatever you use, you'll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you'd like -- into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they're cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you've got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.
Rocky Road Ice Cream
Adapted from “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebowitz
8 ounces milk chocolate, at least 30% cocoa solids, finely chopped
1 (1/2) cup heavy cream
1 (1/2) cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
Pinch kosher salt
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vodka, neutral flavor
¾ cup marshmallows, cut in ¼ inch pieces, or use miniature
¾ cup toasted almonds
1) Combine milk chocolate and cream in large, heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted, then remove bowl from saucepan. Set it aside with a mesh strainer over the top.
2) Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, WHISKING CONSTANTLY, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
3) Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. See Eggbeater for a good description of making the crème anglaise.
4) Pour the custard through the mesh strainer into the milk chocolate mixture. Add the vodka and mix together. Stir until cool over an ice bath.
5) Chill the mixture overnight in the refrigerator. Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last five minutes of churning, add the toasted almonds and marshmallows.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
Mary of Starting From Scratch selected The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie Challenge. This is a dessert that was at the top of my “to make” list ever since I read about how Dorie Greenspan acquired the recipe for lemon cream, which is the filling in this recipe. As it goes, Ms. Greenspan and the famed pastry chef, Pierre Herme were working on their first book together, when he quietly let her in on his creative genius in the form of lemon, egg yolks and butter. Rather than creating a traditional lemon curd, which gently cooks together butter, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice, producing an intense lemon flavored spread; Chef Herme’s lemon cream heats egg yolks with lemon zest, juice, and sugar, which is cooled and then blended with butter, producing an emulsion, which, as we know, is what happens when two liquids which ordinarily do not mix well, are merged together. An emulsion can be defined as a suspension of tiny droplets of one liquid in a second liquid. At any rate, this process of making lemon cream somehow takes it to a wholly luscious new level. It tastes like velvet in your mouth and you won’t ever want to go back to eating plain old lemon curd after this. Paired with Dorie Greenspan’s perfect, never-fail sweet tart dough, I can’t think of a better combination of flavors.
Erin also created this dessert as part of the TWD challenge. Here is what she had to say about her experience: This has been a hectic week and I thought I would not have time to make the tart this week. However, with a few modifications I made it last night. The first problem was that my grocery store had no lemons on Sunday night! Can you believe that, I couldn't find a lemon in site, not even in the organic section. Haven't checked to see is some type of lemon shortage here in Maryland, but I found this rather disturbing. I really love citrus desserts and wanted to try this out, so thought I would create a lime tart. I used the zests of 4 limes, and needed the juice of 5 limes to get the 3/4 cup necessary. I was nervous when making the dough. It just seemed like a fine powder for such a long time. Eventually the dough did come together, but it took longer than I expected. I realized that I only have a 11 inch tart pan (the recipe called for a 9 inch pan), so I had to be careful pressing out the dough so it would cover the entire pan.
Well, I am happy to report that the lack of lemons in Maryland did not make this challenge a failure. The lime cream is heavenly. I would have eaten a lot more of it last night if I didn't know how much butter was in it. Since my crust didn't come out of the oven until 10:30 last night I didn't have time to put the dessert together. I'm looking forward to doing that tonight.
Please visit TWD to vicariously enjoy all the other Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tarts out there! 
The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
"From My Home to Yours", By Dorie Greenspan
1 cup sugar
grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature
(1) 9-inch tart shell made with sweet tart dough, or sweet tart dough with nuts, or spiced tart dough; fully baked and cooled
Getting Ready: have an instant read thermometer, a strainer, and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy, and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.
Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk - you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling- you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point--the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience -depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting the temp can take as long as 10 minutes.
As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender or food processor; discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the blender or food processor on high and with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed to incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going, to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1 minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.
Sweet Tart Dough
"From My Home To Yours", by Dorie Greenspan
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 total tablespoons) very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
Preparation: In the bowl of your food processor, pulse flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt to combine. Scatter pieces of butter over dry ingredients and pulse until butter is coarsely cut in (some pieces will be the size of oatmeal and some will be the size of peas). Stir the yolk to break it up and add it little by little, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses, around 10 seconds each, until the dough forms clumps and curds. Alternatively, you can cut the mixture in a large bowl with a pastry blender until you have clumps and curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead dough very lightly to incorporate any dry ingredients that escaped mixing.
Prepare your tart pan by buttering all inside surfaces. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer prior to baking.
To Bake Crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. The crust can be baked without pie weights since you froze it prior. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Inspect your crust and press down any puffed up parts with the back of a spoon. Bake an additional 10 minutes until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer tart pan to a cooling rack and cool crust to room temperature prior to filling.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie: Gooey Chocolate Cakes
First Up: Erin's Take
So, these little cakes turned out really good, but not exactly what I expected. For some reason I had it in my head that the cakes would be almost molten in the middle. I thought that when you would start eating them that chocolate would ooze out from the middle. However, that's not what happened. Even though there is only 1/3 cup of flour in the entire recipe, my cakes still set up like cakes all the way through. Don't get me wrong, they were full of moist chocolatey deliciousness, but not what I expected. I cooked them in muffin tins like Dorie suggests, just sprayed them when cooking spray and they slide out perfectly. Oh, the recipe called for finely chopping the final ounce of chocolate and sprinkling it on top of the batter before they went into the oven. I used a
One of my favorite aspects of special dishes is the way that making them again can bring back memories of past times you've enjoyed them. Whether it's the smell, the taste, or whichever sense stirs the memory, I'm amazed at its ability to transport me back to that time or place. It's almost as though the memory becomes part of the dish, like an ingredient would. This cake holds a special place in my heart as it reminds me of the night my husband, David, asked me to marry him. We were in New York, and he insisted on a stop-off at the Empire State Building prior to dinner because he was meeting his friends there (so he said). This story was beyond implausible, but I didn't bother questioning because I was cold, tired, hungry, wearing unsensible shoes, and I was ready to go eat already. Did I mention how hungry I was? At any rate, by the time he slipped that ring onto my frigid finger, I was shocked and speechless. Though he was a broke law student, he'd made reservations at Tavern on the Green, and we went on to enjoy one of the most special meals of our lives. The best part of our meal was sharing a molten chocolate cake with my sweetheart. I've subsequently made cakes such as this one for special occasions. It's a very indulgent treat for someone special. This time, however, I added a teaspoon of espresso powder to the chocolate/butter mix as well as a teaspoon of Frangelico liqueur to the final batter for a twist on the recipe. I think both were nice additions to the molten decadence. My husband and I enjoyed reminiscing about our momentous engagement day in New York while we polished off these cakes. Finally, please visit the blogs of other Tuesdays with Dorie participants to see everyone's results.
Gooey Chocolate Cakes
From "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, 4 ounces coarsely chopped, 1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
Preparations:
Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter (or spray - it's easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.Set a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted - you don't want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don't beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.) Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatual to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie: Caramel Topped Flan
makes one 8″x2″ flan
-Put a metal 8″x2″ round cake pan– not a nonstick one– in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel. (If you are using individual molds or ramekins, then skip this step.)
To Make the Caramel:-Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.
-Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.
To Make the Flan:-Bring the milk and heavy cream just to a boil.
-Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.
-Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don’t worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean. (Small, individual molds will take less time– start checking for doneness around the 25-minute mark).
-Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
-When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan–the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.
Storing: Covered with plastic wrap in its baking pan, the flan will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. However, once unmolded, its best to enjoy it the same day.
Serving: Bring the flan to the table and cut into wedges. Spoon some of the syrup onto each plate.
