The Queen of Tarts

Recession - of the Daring Kind

I never expected it to happen.  I can honestly say that I never saw it coming.  For years I have been so careful with the numbers, and I have reviewed every single step.  I still cannot believe that it happened to me.  It started with the walls.  They held the smallest cracks that grew deeper until they could not support the roof.  Piece by piece they started to fall. Now really, how could this have happened?  I might spend a bit more than I should on certain things, and I do like name brand items, but as I reviewed the history, the steps, the process, and I everything I did along the way to get to this point, I could not figure out the hows and the whys.  I would have to start over - from the beginning, and build it all over again, from scratch.

And that is exactly what I did.  Upon starting all over again, I learned that I should NOT attempt a recipe while recovering from the flu and in the midst of pneumonia - because that is exactly what I did.  And I neglected to count and measure accurately and that is when it happened... the recession affected Gingerbread Land.  Sad, so very sad.  So after I paid the price of screwing up, really screwing up and admitting defeat, I started all over again.  From the beginning, and I yielded a much more promising recipe.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I chose to follow Y of Lemonpi, and here goes (note: follow the recipe EXACTLY!)

Y's Recipe:
Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface (the dough will be tough at first).  Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, etc.  You can do a search on line for houses, and place the paper up against the house and cut around the edges.  I then placed each piece of the house on a cookie sheet and baked.  It will be easiest if you use a spatula to place the pieces on a cookie sheet so that when you pick the pieces up they do not rip.

Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe the icing on the pieces if you want to make windows, a door, siding, etc, and allow to dry before assembling (otherwise it will run down the house!) If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.  If you want to add decorations, use slightly dried (but still wet) icing as this will allow the decoration (candy) to better stick to the house.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Flying Saucers... Also known as the Daring Bakers' Challenge

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I still remember the first time I tasted a French macaroon...  We were in Paris, and I was in grade school.  A trip to Fauchon had my sister and I peering into the windows and staring at all sorts of gorgeous delicacies that we could not even begin to imagine in our wildest dreams.  I still remember pointing to the macaroons and having the woman behind the counter fill a box with the different colored round treats - each one a different flavor.  We bought so many, we had enough to take some back home on the plane with us (this was of course before the airlines restrictions that are now in place, at that point people could bring on full four-course meals!)  Lemon, pistachio, orange, mocha, and on and on.  My sister referred to them as flying saucers, and she had a point.  From that point on, every time I saw these treats, I thought (and still think) of the trip to Paris.

While my attempt to recreate macaroons from Paris was nowhere near as stellar (I never achieved the "feet"), the taste exceeded my expectations.  I filled them with salted caramel.  Instead of a blanched almond flour, I had whole ground almond flour, which made for a nuttier and coarser texture, but the cookie came out soft and as I remembered.

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable) or ziploc plastic bags
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients. (I became increasingly frustrated and stopped sifting and just dumped in the flour/sugar mixture...)
4. You can put the mixture down on the sheet in a few ways...you can spoon the mixture into a pastry bag (fitted with a plain half-inch tip -Ateco #806), or you can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. 
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen - Mine yielded closer to 4 dozen, but I made them a bit too big...

Daring Baker's Challenge for August: Dobos Torte

Each month, I anxiously wait to see what challenge waits from the Daring Bakers.  The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Typically, the Dobos Torte is a five-layer (or more) sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. I spent time looking at various recipes and adapted this to something that I thought would be fun, and creative.  I also have an upcoming dinner party with H, my parents, and one of our best friends.  So, I wanted to make individual cakes instead of one single cake.  There is something about individual cakes that is so elegant and unique.  I also chose to add some chocolate liquor to the buttercream frosting and the layers to give the dessert a little extra kick.  If you have spent any time reading my bog posts, you are probably quite familiar with the fact that I like to add liquor to my dessert.  It enhances the flavor, and if done correctly will make the ordinary extraordinary.  However, many desserts are fabulous as they are, so feel free to omit the liquor if that is your preference.  This recipe is adapted from Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella.

Equipment

2 baking sheets, 

Ramekins, a sieve/sifter, a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)

a small saucepan

a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)

metal offset spatula

sharp knife

Prep times

Sponge layers 20 mins prep

Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.

Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.

Assembly of cakes: 30-45 minutes

 

Sponge cake layers

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided

1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour

½ C Chocolate Liquor

 

Chocolate Buttercream

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar

4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favorite dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used Askonisie 70% with Cocoa nibs to provide intense flavor and an extra crunch)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature.

1/3 C Chocolate Liquor

 

Caramel topping

1 cup (200g) caster sugar

¼ C water

Juice of ½ Lemon

Directions for the sponge layers: This will make 4 large individual layer cakes (4 layers each)

*The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
 Using the ramekin as a template, trace out 18 circles on parchment paper and cut them out, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.  Line one of the baking sheets with 6 circles of parchment paper. Using a small spatula, spread about ¼ cup of batter onto each circle until the batter almost touches the edges. 

Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned, and remove from oven to cool.  Repeat this process with the rest of the circles.  If you have more than one baking sheet, you can place the first sheet on the top rack and the second on the second rack.  After five minutes, remove the sheet on the top rack from the oven, and take the sheet on the center rack, place it on the top rack, and cook for 2 more minutes.  When you remove the cakes from the oven, invert them onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. 

Completely cool the layers. You can use a ramekin or another piece of parchment paper to trim the cakes into neat rounds so that when you stake them, they all match up. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)  Place ramekin upside down, and put the cakes on top of the ramekin.  With the knife, trim the sides of the cake.

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

*This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
When cool, beat in the soft butter, ½ a stick at a time. I use a stand mixture, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill the buttercream while you make the caramel topping.

Choose the 2 best-looking cake layers for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 8 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
Swirl the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved – do not allow the mixture to boil until it is all dissolved.  Once dissolved, bring to a boil over a high heat. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring until the syrup has turned into an amber-colored caramel.
Make sure that you watch this closely as it can burn very quickly.

Using a spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 8 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.  Take the additional caramel to make haphazard shapes.  This is where fun comes in!  Take a spoon, and scoop up some of the caramel.  Drizzle it over a piece of tin foil in a zig-zag pattern.  Allow it to cool, and then break off pieces into shapes that you would like to place on top of the cakes.

When you are ready to assemble the cakes, you should have 3 layers/cake.  Place the layers down, and drizzle a spoonful of chocolate liquor on top of each layer.  

Take the bottom layer, spread some buttercream on it, then another layer or cake, more buttercream, and the top layer.  Then frost the entire cake, making sure that you smooth the sides.  Decorate the top with the caramel. And there you have it…

Mint Milano Cookies

It was time again for the Daring Baker's Challenge from the Daring Kitchen.  I messed up last month.  I posted my lemon-frangipane tart a few weeks too early.  I am trying to play by the rule now, and so here it is, officially posted, on 27 July 2009.  The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

And there I was...choosing between one of my favorite cookies (milanos - as in Pepperidge Farm) and a cookie that had marshmallow.  Since marshmallow is something that makes its way into my kitchen quite often, I stayed with the milano recipe.  I based it off of the recipe given to us, but added mint extract since I am a HUGE fan of mint and chocolate together.  The combination just works for me - and works quite well.  I also wanted to try a different shape for the cookies, so I piped them into squares and used square cookie cutters when they were hot and just coming out of the oven.  For some of the cookies, I went a bit over the top.  I layered the chocolate in between two cookies.  I then covered the cookies in chocolate and layered them in between two other cookies - kind of like a double-stuffed milano.  The result:  absolute minty-decadence!  True love at first bite.

Recipe adapted from Gail Gand - the FoodNetwork site
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies (or more...)

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 lg egg whites
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp peppermint extract

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla extract.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread. (You can also use a plastic food storage/sandwich bag and cut the corner off so that you squeeze the batter out of the corner.)  The batter is quite thin, almost like cake batter.  IT WILL SPREAD!  If you want to shape the cookies into shapes like squares, do so once they come out of the oven with a cookie cutter.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add peppermint extract and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.
11. If you want to make a double stuffed cookie, complete as above, then emerge the cookie into the chocolate, let cool, and place in between two other cookies.  I think the double-stuffed are the best - yes, they are entirely TOO decadent, but if you are going to eat these butter-laden cookies, why the hell not!

Lily's Lemon Frangipane Tart

One taste of the lemon curd and my mouth started to pucker - albeit in.  Tart and sweet, but not too sweet.  Almost like fresh homemade lemonade from the middle of the summer time, the kind that just is not made anymore.  Extra lemons and extra zest is the key to perfect lemon curd (although I should not leave out the patience that is needed for the continued stirring as the butter, lemon juice, sugar, and eggs come together to form this wonderful treat).  This month the Daring Kitchen (hosted by Jasmine from Canada) posted its June Challenge: "Bakewell Tart...er Pudding".  The premise was a tart with frangipane (and almond confection of sorts...) and a homemade jam or preserve (which was optional).  I like the idea of the challenge, especially given the fact that I call myself the Queen of Tarts and had yet to post a tart recipe.  Frangipane was new to me, and I was up for the challenge - almonds are a favorite, especially when mixed with butter and sugar.  I chose to take on the optional homemade preserve and make lemon curd.  I had a Waitrose Magazine tucked away with my cookbooks with a curd recipe that I adapted several times over.

The dessert worked its lemony-almond magic when I presented it for several nights ago.  Give it a try - it is worth the effort.  Yes, there is butter in every element of this dessert, and it is by no means a "light" dessert, but a little goes a long way, and it will not disappoint.

Lemon Curd - adapted from Waitrose Magazine, January/February 2006

1/2 C butter softened (unsalted)
Zest and juice of 4 lemons
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs lightly beaten (at room temperature)
1 1/2 C sugar

In a double boiler, heat the butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.  Do not allow the water in the double boiler to get more than a simmer. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Add about 1/4 C of the butter/lemon mixture to the eggs to temper the eggs and mix.  This will slowly increase the temperature of the eggs so when you add them to the butter/lemon mixture they do not cook!  Then, slowly add the egg mixture to the butter/lemon mixture stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (make sure you get the bottom of the pan as well).  You will stir for about 20 minutes until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.  It might happen that you see pieces of cooked egg in the curd.  If there are only a few pieces, you can rescue the curd.  Once the curd is cooked and thickened, pour into a mesh strainer, and strain.  This will also make for a smoother curd.  If you are going to use it straight away (in recipe below) pour into a bowl, cover, and allow to cool in the refrigerator overnight.  You can also put into a sterilized canning jar if you plan to keep the curd for longer. If you want to put in canning jars, boil a pot of water, place a jar in the water and boil for 15 minutes covered.  When ready to use, CAREFULLY remove the jar from the water (tongs are great for this) and remove excess water from the jar.  Pour curd into the jar, place the top on, and allow to cool completely before placing in fridge.

Crust - adapted from Jasmine's recipe on Daring Kitchen

1 1/4 C all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen
2 egg yolks
1/2 almond extract (or vanilla)
2 Tbsp

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Take the frozen butter and grate it into the flour (use a cheese or box grater - use the large hole side).  Using your hands, mix the butter into the flour until the mixture begins to form into a crumb-like texture.  Set this aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks together with the almond extract (or vanilla) and mix into the flour mixture. Slowly add the cold water one tbsp at a time while mixing the dough (I continued to mix with my hands - had more control that way).  Kneed until all the egg yolk is incorporated.  Form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.  When you are ready to use the crust, use a 9" tart pan.  Roll the dough out with a rolling pin on a well-floured surface until it becomes about 1/4 inch thickness and is about 1 1/2 times the size of the tart pan.  (*if the dough is too sticky, add flour 1 tbsp at a time until it is workable.  You should work quickly however since you have butter in the dough, and it is best if the dough does not get too warm).  Drape the dough over the pan and begin to press it into the sides and bottom of the pan.  You will probably have dough left over, which you can use to fill in any imperfections - holes, etc...  Take the tart pan and freeze for 15 minutes.  Remove from freezer and prick the bottom of the pan about 10 times with a fork (spaced apart) to allow for air to escape while baking.  Cover the dough with aluminum foil pressing the foil into the sides and bottom of the dough.   Then, cover the bottom and sides of the aluminum with pie beads or dried beans (16oz).  This will keep the dough to the bottom and sides of the pan when you put it in the oven for the first 15 minutes of baking.  Place tart pan in over for 15 minutes and bake.  Remove from oven, carefully remove the foil - with the beans - and allow to cool.  Now on to the frangipane!

Frangipane: (again...adapted from Jasmine!)

1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
3/4 confectionery sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 ground almonds
2 tbsp all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture is fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will not appear well mixed - this is fine, let it go!  Add the eggs and the almond extract (scrape down the sides as needed) and slowly add in the ground almonds, the salt, and the flour.  Mix well.  The mixture will begin to become incorporated and start to have a wonderful almond smell.  Yes, the eggs are raw, but it also has a fantastic taste (if you care to taste it...).  Pour into the pie tart pan...

and return to the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.  The frangipane will rise a bit in the pan and begin to brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.  When it is cool, pour the lemon curd on top of the frangipane.  You will probably not need all of the curd - maybe 1 - 1/2 C.  Spread evenly, and place the tart in the refrigerator for 1 hr.  Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.  Decorate with lemon zest or almonds.