Sep.
30

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee – TwD

Posted by Em at: 7:05 am | 32 Comments


No matter where, no matter when, créme brulée has always been one of my absolute favorite desserts. I think it always will be :) It’s Tuesday… we’re baking with Dorie… and the recipe is créme brulée. It does not get better than this!!!

This week’s host of Tuesdays with Dorie was Mari at Mevrouw Cupcake and I’m so glad she chose this specific recipe. I’ll admit I’ve made créme brulée countless times but I could make it countless more and still never get enough. Many people think of this as being a rather high end dessert and feel too intimidated to even consider making créme brulée. If you’re one of them, I encourage you to shake off your inhibitions and give it a try because it’s a lot easier than you think. The basic ingredients are heavy cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract. Not low in calories but it’s a special treat for a special occasion (like, uhm, the last Monday of the month? yeah, that’s the ticket!!) so let yourself indulge just a little :)

Traditionally, créme brulée is a baked egg custard with a caramelized (burnt) sugar “shell” that, if you ask me, is the best part. Breaking thru that crunchy brulée to the silky custard below is just heaven on a spoon :) I’ve previously posted a recipe for Lavender Créme Brulée using a method that differs from Dorie’s. I’m used to baking these in a water bath that keeps the custard from scorching. Not so in Dorie’s recipe as she does not use the water bath. But it’s all good, she bakes them at an extremely low temperature (200 F) so the custard doesn’t burn. The recipe says to bake for 50-60 minutes but realistically it takes more like 90 minutes to reach the correct consistency to remove them from the oven. There are so many variations and flavors that can be created but I chose to go the classic route and use vanilla bean – it just gives such a tremendous flavor.

After the custards are baked and refrigerated it’s time to create the brulée… sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the top and hit it with a blowtorch. As the sugar heats it will liquify, change to a gorgeous golden color and then harden as it cools. If you don’t have a blowtorch, in the recipe Dorie gives instruction for creating the brulée under the broiler. And speaking of the recipe, it can be found at our host’s blog Mevrouw Cupcake. Also check out the other TwD bakers to see their creations as well.

Have a delicious day!

Posted in Dorie Greenspan, Tuesdays with Dorie, creme brulee, vanilla | 32 Comments »

Sep.
27


It’s nearing the end of the month which means it’s time to reveal the Daring Bakers Challenge. This month I stepped completely outside of my usual world of cookies, cakes and all things sweet and back into the realm of breads and yeast. The challenge for September was to make these crispy, crunchy, tasty Armenian-style crackers. Savory or sweet, these crackers are quite the versatile treat!

The hosts for September were Natalie and Shel and they chose a gluten-free recipe… with options for non gluten-free. I chose to go the gluten route :) Making the dough is not difficult at all… flour, salt, yeast, sugar, vegetable oil and water – mix it up, roll it out and let it bake. You can make these in the afternoon to go with your favorite dip or spread that night.

The trick to getting crackers instead of flatbread is to roll out the dough thin… very thin… very very *very* thin… to the point where you can almost read the newspaper through it ;-) Without a doubt the hardest part for me was getting the toppings to stick. The recipe instructed us to mist the rolled-out dough with a bit of water before applying the spices/seeds/etc… and advised that a little seasoning goes a long way. I regret that I didn’t use more because I would have liked a more intense flavor. No problem, it’s a lesson-learned for next time :)

I made a single sheet-pan and used four different kinds of flavorings…
onion
garlic, sesame -&-poppy seed
rosemary, paprika, black pepper, oregano
cinnamon sugar

As for toppings… to be honest, dips and spreads don’t go over well in our household but I still came up with something extremely tasty…

Yup… that’s right… peanut butter and jelly… cranberry-spice jelly to be more precise :)

Say whatcha want, but pb&j on these crackers is M’mmm M’mmm Good!!

Please drop by and visit the other daring bakers and see how they did with this month’s challenge as well. I’m sure they made some fabulous combinations!!! If you’d like the recipe, visit the site of either of our hosts Natalie and Shel

Have a delicious day :)

Posted in daring bakers, food, recipes | 30 Comments »

Sep.
25

Wild Blueberry Cake

Posted by Em at: 7:22 am | 7 Comments


Until recently, wild blueberries weren’t even on my radar. I thought there was only one kind of blueberry – silly me. A few months ago I made my first blueberry pie and just to be different I decided to make it with wild blueberries. Completely different experience – different size and different taste. The other day I promised my coworkers something with lemon since I’ve been baking a lot of chocolate things lately. I decided on a lemon blueberry cake… but… along the way something happened… things just didn’t turn out as planned… and I ended up with a Wild Blueberry Cake (albeit with a Lemon Glaze!).

I wanted something lemony…. really, reeeeeeeeeeally lemony. I’ve had a certain recipe saved for quite a while now but just haven’t made it. I tend to shy away from new recipes that gobble up a lot of ingredients – - – say 4 sticks of butter… 6 eggs…. 4 cups of flour… 3 cups of sugar. Whew, that is a significant quantity of staples if you ask me! LOL! And what if the recipe stinks, even though it’s well rated? I’d be really unhappy to “waste” ingredients that way. But I decided to take a chance and make the recipe…. and….

… and I was not pleased. The original recipe is for a Blueberry-Lemon Pound Cake and I followed the recipe exactly as written with the exception of adding more lemon extract, more lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. Remember I wanted something really lemony :)

The cake took about 30 minutes longer to bake than the recipe indicated – that’s 50% longer and to me a substantial difference in time! I used the precise type and size of pan indicated – but it overflowed :( It’s called a “pound cake” but the texture was off for me… definitely heavier than a regular cake but not dense enough for what I expect in a true Pound Cake. And the lemon taste I so wanted was definitely present in the batter but pretty much missing altogether once baked. I ended up making almost a full cup of lemon glaze to give it something of a lemon flavor. I was completely and totally 100% underwhelmed. I was ready to toss the cake in the bin… but…

… but I had promised my co-workers and I did not want to disappoint. So I took it to work… and it was devoured with high praises and many many thanks. Go figure! Maybe it was the awesome lemon glaze I added that saved it because without that, the cake definitely underwhelmed me. But since it was such a big hit at work, I’m sharing the recipe here… with the modifications that I made. Maybe my expectations were too high, after all, my co-workers really liked it :)

Wild Blueberry Cake with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients
4 sticks of butter (2 cups) at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup milk at room tempterature
6 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 cups all purpose flour
zest of one whole lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice – divided use
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups wild blueberries – fresh or frozen

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F

Prepare a 10″ Bundt pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder – set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugar for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. After all the eggs are in, add the lemon extract, lemon zest and 1/4c of lemon juice and combine well. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in two parts – begin and end with the flour mixture. Don’t overmix, just ensure all ingredients are well incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. The batter will be quite thick, spoon into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour then check for doneness – you will probably need an additional 30 minutes of baking time (at least I sure did). Bake until a cake tester or long thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the glaze, mix the remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice and the powdered sugar and drizzle over warm cake for maximum flavor.

Have a delicious day!!

Posted in cake, lemon, recipes | 7 Comments »

Sep.
23

Dimply Apple Cake – TwD

Posted by Em at: 7:03 am | 18 Comments


Oh yay! Another Tuesday… another Dorie Greenspan recipe :) How awesome is that! This week it’s a cake that’s a great way to use up some of your end-of-summer fruits. While the original recipe is made with plums, I happened to have a few Braeburn apples on hand. And that’s the way this week’s “Dimply Plum Cake” became a “Dimply Apple Cake” :)

Michelle of Bake-En was the host of this week’s TwD. She chose Dorie’s Dimply Plum Cake. Graciously Dorie included several variations so using plums wasn’t required – a very good thing since that’s a fruit which doesn’t go over all that well in our household. I wanted to use fruit I already had and my choices were grapes, raspberries, peaches and the final winner…. apples :)

The cake is named “dimply plum” because laying halved plums on top of the batter gives the baked cake the appearance of “dimples” as the batter bakes up around the plums which sink just a tiny bit. Essentially, the cake bakes up around the plum halves. Well, since I didn’t use halved apples, my “dimples” aren’t round… my apples are sliced in crescent shapes so what should I really cake this cake? “Sunken Apple Slices” cake? “Sinking Slices Apple Cake”? Hmmm… I’m not sure but “Dimply Apple Cake” is just out :) To keep it from looking too boring, and to give the cake a bit more visual interest, I added a handful of drunken dried cranberries in the center. I soaked them in AppleJack for added flavor. As for the apple slices I tossed them in a mixture of cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, a touch of vanilla sugar, a sprinkling of cardamom and a little lemon juice. The result was fantastic!

The cake itself came together quickly and baked up nicely. Dorie’s recipe says to bake for about 45 minutes and this might be right for plums but I baked for a grand total of 1 hour and I’m still not convinced it was done enough but didn’t want it to be dry in parts so I stopped there. Turned out just fine. It’s definitely not an overtly sweet cake but a slice (or two?) is perfect with a cup of tea… or coffee if you prefer. A nice treat anytime of day or night. I’m glad I chose the Braeburn apples (they retain their shape nicely when cooked as opposed to other varieties which have a higher water content and cook down) and left them a little bit thicker. This gave not only great flavor BUT great texture as well.

I would certainly make this cake again! For the recipe, please check Michelle’s blog – and check out the other members of the TwD group by clicking here.

Have a delicious day!

Posted in Dorie Greenspan, Tuesdays with Dorie, cake, fruit, recipes | 18 Comments »

Sep.
21

The Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Posted by Em at: 9:12 pm | 7 Comments


Chocolate chip cookies come in three basic styles… “The Thin”… “The Puffy”… and “The Chewy”.  And it’s a very personal thing when it comes to what you like.  Unless I’m on a deserted island , I’ll not fight you for “the thin”… you can have all of those you want :) While I realize that more than once I’ve said I’m done with testing out chocolate chip cookie recipes but.. but… but… in my own defense, these are from my boyfriend, Alton. I know… I know… {heavy sigh}… the very last thing I need is another batch of chocolate chip cookies in my house. But ya gotta understand…. these are from Alton Brown… and I just can’t resist his recipes. So, purely in the name of research of course, I made them…. and… today, dear readers, I present… “The Chewy”…

One night last week I was catching up on some very old episodes of Alton’s show “Good Eats”. The particular one I was watching involved different kinds of substitutions and in passing he mentioned his “award winning” episode about the three kinds of chocolate chip cookies. I searched the net and found “Three Chips For Sister Marsha” which I highly recommend to anyone  interested in the rationale behind what makes thin vs. puffy vs. chewy chocolate chip cookies. I decided to test out “The Chewy” and I’m glad I did. They certainly didn’t last long because they flew off the platter as if they had wings! I loved them – the hubs loved them – the kids loved them – the neighbors loved them…. I had to set aside and save some for the photos and to do that I almost had to resort to *hiding* them! LOL! I didn’t store them any fancy way, in fact, I purposely let them sit on the counter… uncovered… for three days to see how that would effect them. I’m happy to report they were still chewy and delicious :)  I followed the recipe to the letter, making absolutely no additions nor modifications whatsoever.  Three days later they were still chewy and delicious – I’m not talking “dried out” chewy, I’m talkin “moist-flavorful-delicious” chewy.  Depending on what kind of cookie you like, these might be worth making.  I know they were to me :)

The Chewy
Alton Brown

Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Mixer

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Have a delicious day!

Posted in Chocolate, alton brown, cookies, recipes | 7 Comments »

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