For the Love of Chocolate: Daring Bakers Challenge

I love me some chocolate, the darker the better when baking I'm deciding. So for the formalities that need to be taken care of: The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

I have been interested and in love with Flourless Chocolate cake since the first time I tried it about four years ago at a little dessert shop here is Orlando called the Dessert Lady. She has one that has almond/ amaretto flavoring in it that is to die for. I had been intimidated to try to make my own but I did eventually attempt one recipe that I really liked from All Recipes but I made one error when making it that I didn't let the chocolate cool enough before adding my eggs and ended up with a little bit of cooked egg in my mixture. It wasn't enough to throw out the whole thing, but I didn't share it either. Since then I have learned many things about baking and one of those would be to temper my eggs before putting them in a hot mixture. Just mixing in a little sugar with the eggs first should do the trick.

However, this recipe did not call for sugar. It had three simple ingredients, chocolate, butter and eggs. The instructions did include letting the chocolate cool a little before adding the eggs though. So, the eggs weren't my issue in making this recipe. Everything came together easily enough, although I always second guess myself about beating egg whites as to whether they are stiff enough. But I got the mixture all together without deflating my batter and got it in the oven fine. Then this is when my problem surfaced. I didn't have an instant read thermometer that was suggested to use in the recipe, so I tried going by the time indicated. Turns out it was a bit too long for my cake. I probably should have taken into account that I was using a darker pan. In any case I did get the cake out of the oven before it was totally burned. It did have some crispy edges. I was pretty disappointed in myself for letting them get burned at all since I had finally decided to use my Scharffen Berger chocolate for this recipe.

But enough crying...I still thought the cake tasted good and it really did well with the homemade ice cream that I made. The cake was a little crumbly from being dried out but I found that warming it in the microwave for about 10 seconds helped. As far as the ice cream goes, I stuck with vanilla and used the Philadelphia style ice cream recipe that we received. I know using eggs in ice cream can produce some very good results, but I'm still not completely comfortable using them. More for the extra fat and calories content more than safety issues. But I guess when you are eating this cake with ice cream we aren't really counting calories.

Overall, I loved having this challenge in order to try another flourless cake recipe and also another ice cream recipe. Thanks to Wendy and Dharm for hosting.

Daring Bakers November Challenge: Caramel Cake

Another month has past and another challenge to be had. This month was brought to us by Dolores (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/) with Co-hosts Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/), Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/), and alternative baking help came from Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go (http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/). Our challenge was to bake a caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting in which we had to make our own caramel. The recipe is the author's, Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/), signature cake and it was published on Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/).

I had don't have much experience with making caramel or any candy for that matter. I wasn't really sure what to look for when the caramel starting coming together so I tried to go by looks and test the mixture for stickiness as instructed in the recipe. When I thought the time was right I removed the sauce from the stove to let cool and it got a bit thick but not solid as it came to room temperature. So, when I went to make the cake the caramel was a bit goopy to handle but it still worked in nicely to the batter and the icing.

I really liked the texture and stability of the icing. The taste was a bit on the sweet side. It takes a lot for me to say something is too sweet and this mixture was definitely right up there. I toasted some coconut and pecans to sprinkle on top to help cut some of the sweetness. The icing called for browned butter also and I thought it added a nice depth to the taste of the icing as well.

Overall, I think my cake turend out well. I was really pleased with my pictures this month. Trying to get my creative juices flowing for the photo shoots. I'm happy to have done this challenge and to not be so scared of trying new things. We also got a recipe for homemade caramel candies that I may try closer to Christmas and I'm thinking of attempting fudge also.

Thanks to the host this month and I look forward to the next challenge.

I Did It! Challenge #2 Down

Again, I am proud of myself for rising to the challenge of this month's Daring Bakers recipe. The recipe this month was Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream by Carol Walter. I have to say that this thing pretty much kicked my butt. It was not particularly difficult, just time consuming. I thought I was ahead of the game by doing some of the smaller parts days ahead of time... the praline one night, the glaze another, taking the skins off the hazelnuts another. In any case it still took me another 5-6 hours on Sunday a few weeks ago. Some of that time was inactive waiting for the cake to cool and set up after layering. In any case it turned out great in the end.

This was my second attempt at a genoise and this time worked out much better than the first. I took some things I learned from that first experience and wasn't as afraid this time. My second attempt at a ganache and again with better results. Although I don't think I perfected the technique so I look forward to trying again. I did have issues with the praline paste getting stuck in my decorating tips, but I suppose I could have ground the paste a bit more in the food processor.

I also want to mention that I did not set out to make 4 cakes. I purchased 3 four inch pans thinking this would suffice being that I wanted to half the recipe. But when I filled those pans with batter I still had some left and when ahead and poured it into am 8 inch round. I also ended up torting the small cakes when I decided that stacking them on top of each other might result in too tall of a cake. So, I sliced the small ones for the three layers but the 8 inch only got split once as it was a bit flatter.

In conclusion, I stuck pretty close to the recipe. I used hazlenuts for the nuts, frangelico for my liquor, and blackberry jam for the glaze. I used a different buttercream. Once I got off the Wilton message boards. I was not familiar with the method but after reading more blogs discovered that it was a mousseline (sp?) buttercream. I liked it a lot. Not too buttery and very creamy. I'm not sure if I'd make this cake again. Maybe if I could streamline the process a bit. I did get good feedback from those who tried it. Thanks to Chris at http://melecotte.blogspot.com/ for hosting this month's challenge.

Gosh, there are a few other things I wanted to mention that just came to me while looking at other's masterpieces. I did not use clarified butter as the recipe called for but I didn't seem to have any trouble with that. And I had reserved a cup of plain buttercream (without the added praline) for piping in case I had the problems with the clogged tips (as I did). Oh, and I realize my piping skills could use some help and I did sign up for a Wilton class that starts on Monday. I figured it would help with future challenges and a good way just to learn.

Chocolate overload

I should have posted sooner about the chocolate party I went to last week, but I just hadn't gotten around to it before now. However, it was a lot of fun and I learned some things about using chocolate molds. The party was at a store called Farris and Fosters http://www.farrisandfosters.com/. They sell chocolates by weight but they also host chocolate parties where you get to participate in creating your own chocolate candies. I had done it once before a few years back but didn't get very creative that time and I wanted to do something different this time. I worked with the molds that I didn't attempt before. I had a bit of a heavy hand when filling so I kept overflowing, so my butterflys had some extra edges to them. I made some flat butterflies to be used in decorating future baked goods, but I also filled some other molds with goodies ranging from reeses pieces, to oreos, to rice krispies. They have quite of a selection to choose from. I also made peanut butter cups and completely covered an Oreo with chocolate. Your session gets you a pound of chocolate and if you go over that amount, you get it at a discounted rate.

As far as baking over the weekend...I made two things. I made Dori's Gooey Chocolate Cakes and zucchini bread. My experience for the cakes was much like others who made them for TWD in that my middle wasn't exactly oozing with 13 minutes of bake time. They did still tast fabulous though. If/ when I make again, I will shorten the bake time. I have a little disclaimer that I was on the phone the whole time I was preparing the batter, so I'm just glad they turned out at all.:-)

The zucchini bread was good also. I took the recipe from Allrecipes.com. I did substitute apple sauce for the oil and it still turned out well. Here is the link to the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx I felt like I had to counter balance the fat in the cakes by leaving it out of the bread. That works right?

Had to try the Party Cake

I came across these food blogs while searching for food related reviews. I often read iatepie.net and nutritiousjunk.com to see what grocery store items are being reviewed. Then I happened upon these food blogs. I couldn't believe it. I was engrossed in what everyone was making and their experiences. Then I started noticing how many of the blogs I went to had this beautiful cake recipe and great pictures to go with it. It was the Perfect Party Cake that the Daring Bakers were making for the month of March. It sounded so good that I had to make it. Then I thought, maybe I should try blogging about it too.


I was a little nervous about the recipe in that it worked with lemon zest and whipping egg whites. I have never zested any citrus. I often shy away from recipes calling for it. But I finally decided I should try it. Also, I don't usually do well with whipping egg whites but this time the directions along with the posts I've read helped my confidence in being able to make it work this time.


The cake came together well enough and the zesting wasn't too difficult. I baked the cake in two 8 inch rounds since I didn't have 9" pans. The cake got a nice golden color when done. It did not rise much as others have mentioned. I did use the Swan's Down cake flour though. I used coconut extract instead of the lemon extract for the cake. I'm not huge fan of lemon in my desserts so I was careful about how much I added. I used key lime juice in the butter cream icing. The icing turned out good. It was easier than I thought it would be.





So, when I went to assemble the cake I did have issues with the jelly mixing with the icing and started to get frustrated. I took another blogger's suggestion of spreading the jelly on the top of one layer and the icing on the bottom of another and then flipping over onto the cake. That helped but then I didn't pay close enough attention to how even my layers were, so I ended up with a lop sided cake. In any case I moved on to icing the rest of the project. I discovered I have much to learn about how to ice a cake to look pretty. I had crumbs getting everywhere and then jelly started blending in. But in the end I got it to look pretty enough to eat. I even broke out the piping tools to try my hand at a little decorating.



I had a friend from my neighborhood come down to try it out with me and she thought it was really good. I enjoyed it as well and will share the rest with my co-workers tomorrow. I think if I make it again I will try strawberry preserves.


Now, I'm going to attempt to get the recipe listed and some pictures downloaded. Being my first post, we'll see how it goes. (I got the pictures up but they are somewhat washed out or out of focus. Looks like I need to work on my photography skills where food is concerned)

PERFECT PARTY CAKE

From Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours (pages 250-252)
For the Cake

2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract



For the Buttercream

1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut


Getting Ready


Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.


To Make the Cake


Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.


Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.

Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.

Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.


Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.


Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.


Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean


Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.


Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).


To Make the Buttercream

Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.


The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.


Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.


Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.


During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.


On medium speed, gradually beat in more lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.


You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream.


Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.


To Assemble the Cake


Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.


Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.


Spread it with one third of the preserves.


Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.


Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).


Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.


Serving


The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.


Storing


The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.


Playing Around


Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Party Cake

If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.