a Piece of Cake...

Daring Bakers August Challenge: Dobos Torte

2009-08-27T13:07:00.006+05:30

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.

This cake was a deceptive challenge. I think the biggest hurdle for me was mental, the cake looks so intimidating. But when broken down into steps, it's laborious but not overwhelming. The cake is delicious. But as much as I like caramel, I was not a fan of the little caramel cake wedges on top -- partly because they did no favors to my braces! And I am not quite sure what texture they were supposed to have turned out... chewy or crackly? Mine were a bit of both, and I felt that they made the cake hard to eat.

The recipe itself is broken into three parts... the cake, the icing and the caramel. I made the icing first, a day ahead... chocolate buttercream. It's very rich, but delicious. The cake wasn't hard, again laborious, baking six layers. Instead of a offset spatula, I used a method I've seen dosa makers use -- I used the base of a rounded cup measure I have to smooth out the batter on the rounds of parchment paper. Hooray for precut papers!
I refrigerated the layers to help with the layering and slathering of buttercream. It's pretty hot out here and the buttercream did not do well outside. the cake layers were sliding here and there. And the wedges kept sliding off. I didn't use any nuts, in the hopes that my daughters might have some.

Daring Bakers May 2009 Challenge: Raspberry strudel

2009-05-27T12:54:00.010+05:30

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I have to say that I was initially quite hesitant about attempting this challenge. Stretching dough paper thin, in fact even thinner, given my misfortunes with rolling out dough in general, seemed impossible. But my friend and fellow Daring Baker Shirley of What About Second Breakfast? tried the challenge early on. And then she made it again, and again and again. She raved about it and claimed it wasn't so hard. So I had to give it a shot. And she was right!
I would never have imagined it, but once I rolled it out about 15 inches square and began stretching the rest came easily. It practically stretched itself. I do recommend trimming any thick edges, as they tend to turn out a little tough or chewy.
I went with a simple filling of 12 oz raspberries tossed with 1/2 cup sugar. I sprinkled the dough with about 1/3 cup of almond meal, in line with the apple version, which has breadcrumbs.
And you know what, I ended up making the apple version, and a cherry cheese filling from Martha's Baking Handbook. I was planning to take them to work, but my husband pouted, so I left it home. That means I will probably make this again soon to take to work, using all those wonderful cherries California is getting now.
I think this may be in my regular repertoire now. The effort compared to the wow factor is well worth it!

My creation

Type rest of the post here

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Don't forget to check out the other Daring Bakers' wonderful creations.

Daring Bakers February Challenge: Chocolate Valentino!

2009-03-01T08:12:00.017+05:30

What's challenging about chocolate cake, you say? Well this isn't any old chocolate cake, it's a flour-less chocolate cake... rich and decadent. And part of the challenge is to make your own ice cream to pair with it (believe me, as rich as this cake is, you need ice cream to help it go down!)
So, I've been off the blogging wagon for a while, but I'm hoping with this post I can get back on!
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They've 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.
Do check out other Daring Bakers amazing takes on this challenge!

Since I was determined to get back on the wagon, I made the cake, though I had no time (or equipment) for the ice cream.
I made the cake in a 6-inch round spring form and saved some of the batter and baked it in these heart-shaped foil cups (ostensibly for jello) that I had found on sale.

The recipe is super easy:

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes 16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped ½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter 5 large eggs separated 1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often. 2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment. 3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls. 4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). 5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together. 6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate. 7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration} 8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C 9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet. 10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

If you are so inclined, here is one of the ice cream recipes:

Dharm's Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Dubbu's Paneer

2009-01-04T15:44:00.004+05:30

I'm back! And I seem to have forgotten the b of blogging so I will be glad when am through with this post! This rich gravy with paneer pieces floating (also tomatoe pieces because we don't have mixer-grinder) is one of few things which I can still make coz it doesn't need a Kitchenaid, oven, beaters, etc etc, none of which I have in my new place :(. Anyway I 'm learning to live.

People have often asked what this paneer is 'Butter Paneer?, Shahi PAneer?, etc' and our answer is Dubbu's Paneer, coz we got this recipe from a close family friend (more family than friend) Dubbu, which is what my now three-year-old nephew calls her!

Its a foolproof damn easy recipe. And what set its apart from the usual indian dishes is that it doesn't have the usual tumeric and red chilli powder and still when you eat it you don't miss anything.

Dubbu's Paneer (enough to feed ten tummies)

400gms Paneer (Indian Cheese)

8-9 Juicy Tomatoes

1 medium Onion (finely chopped)

1tsp Zeera (Cumin seeds)

0.5tsp Kalaunji(Black Caraway/Nigella)

1tsp Oil

2tsp Ground Kali Mirch (Black Pepper)

1tsp Adrak-Lehsan (Ginger-Garlic) paste

1 Tez Patta (Bay leaf)

1tbsp Kasuri Methi (a kind of dried fenugreek leaves)

4tbsp Butter

1.5 cup Cream

Salt

1. Skin the tomotoes (I do it by dipping them for a few seconds in boiling water) and make puree, or chop them up fine.

2. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the Zeera and the Kalauji, immediately add the onion. Fry the onions the best you can in that little oil.

3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes till the tomatoes look cooked and are simmering gently.

4. Add the Paneer, and all the remaining spices. Keep an eye on the salt if you intend to use salted butter.

5. Add the butter and the cream. Cook till the whole thing starts simmering.

6. Its done!

Note: I mentioned juicy tomatoes. I usually use the ones my mother calls the desi ones. These are usually round rather than oblong, and have more juice than flesh. These have a more tangy taste.

You can easily increase decrease the ingredients according to your taste without affecting the recipe much. Specially the tomatoes depending how much gravy you want.

I like it best with rice.

Daring Bakers October Challenge: Basic Pizza dough

2008-12-18T05:42:00.006+05:30

Better late than never, as they say! The October challenge was hosted by the lovely Rosa, who gave us a recipe from Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice." I used roasted veggies, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions. And I swear I did toss the dough, though not with great results!

Some more pics and the recipe after the jump.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar - FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.
3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.
5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.
6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.
7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.
9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.
11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.
12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.
13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.
NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.
If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.
14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Catching up

2008-12-06T02:01:00.007+05:30

It's been a long time since either Aamena or I posted. She has a good excuse... no oven in her new digs. I don't, since I have been baking and cooking, and even taking photos... but have just been too *busy* to post. Now I hope to make up that shortfall.
Let's begin with my first try at red velvet cake, inspired by Shirley's luscious cupcakes. I should have known better than to try a different recipe, but I didn't, and went with this one from Bon Apetit, sans the berries. It tasted great, but the red velvet cake was more a ruddy brown.

Red Velvet Cake
For the cake
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon red food coloring (i used 1 tsp gel coloring, which is more concentrated)
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs

Frosting
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. I used a 9x15 cake pan, but the recipe calls for 2 9-inch round pans. Butter and flour pan(s). Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Beat buttermilk, coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended. Beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions.

Divide batter between prepared pans, or pour into single sheet pan. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 27 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

For frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over top of cake. Top with second layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. (Can be made a day ahead; cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature for an hour before serving.)

Daring Bakers August Challenge: Chocolate Eclairs

2008-08-31T01:04:00.010+05:30

I've sat out the last few challenges, but this month's -- Chocolate Eclairs -- was absolutely irresistable. Thank you Meeta and Tony for the great selection, and the delectable recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé.
The challenge was perfect because I love eclairs, but my one attempt to make them was a bit of a flop and I'd shied away from pate choux since. Well now was time to conquer my fears. After reading through other Daring Bakers' experiences and plenty of tips, I finally hit the kitchen this past week. I decided to go the whole chocolate hog, making the chocolate pastry cream and the chocolate glaze.
And I'm proud to say the results were great, even if I do say so myself. Well actually, a bunch of my colleagues said so too! Truthfully I could have eaten all those eclairs by myself but I thought the better of it and took more than a dozen to work. (I made the eclairs just before I headed to work -- I start in the afternoon. So while I was able to bring in the eclairs while they were still fresh, I did have to rush to get to work on time. Hence I didn't get a chance to review my photos, otherwise I would have caught those awful fingerprints in the glaze. Oh well.)
Oh, and my super picky 4-year-old ate two. That's a success in my book!
The leftover pastry cream, glaze, not to mention sauce, means I'll be making the eclairs again sometime very soon.
Do check out other Daring Bakers' creations!

The only real issues I had were while making the pastry cream, even after straining the yolk mixture, I found some scrambled yolks at the bottom, and I ended up straining it again. And it seemed a little runny, but a few hours in the refrigerator helped it firm up. I did feel like I could taste the egg in the final cream, but I think I'm a bit oversensitive. Nobody else complained.
The other was with the actual baking. I didn't have the common deflation problem. But the eclairs seemed a bit soft, so I stuck them in the oven again for a while.
And I know lots of people commented on the number of pots and bowls needed. I was able to cut back on that slightly by using one pot to make the sauce, emptying it and making the glaze in it, and you guessed it, emptying it and making the cream in it (thought at this point I did have to rope in one more pot).

Anyway, I highly recommend this.
Here's the recipe
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Cream Puff Dough
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly  in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Another chiffon cake

2008-08-27T22:35:00.001+05:30

Can you tell I've become a convert to the religion of chiffon! What amazing results and taste with such little heartache. After my first attempt convinced me it wasn't hard, I thought I'd give it another go, for dinner
with friends. I knew the kids for sure would be happy. The only problem was our water being cut off from 10 am to 4 pm... yes six whole hours while the plumbing system is overhauled in our apt complex. This is the third day it happened. What sucks is that you don't know when it might happen. You have a few days of no problems, you're complacent and the next day they hit you. Only another four weeks. *crossing fingers*
So as you might guess, I started at 4 pm. Wrong. Due to various other emergencies (DH+work) I didn't start till 6.
At which point I also got started on a chicken curry I had promised to bring to the dinner. *Sigh*. I was using a bigger, 9x15 pan, so instead of Aamena's adaption, I went with Orangette's version. I managed to get the cake into the oven within 20 minutes... Waiting for it to bake were the longest 35 minutes ever!. And then cool.

I had no patience. Instead of letting cool all the way down, I pried it out of the pan. Then I halved it down the middle since I planned to do one side with cream and strawberries and the other with cream and chocolate sauce. Then I thought if I halve the two pieces horizontally, they'd cool faster. I was right, but a thin layer got stuck to the rack. I was able to cover it with cream, and it tasted great anyway. Phew!
Oh, here's the chicken curry:

Mango chiffon cake

2008-08-21T12:00:00.015+05:30

So I recently made this yummy Mango chiffon cake. For a few weeks now, what with California flooded with mangoes, I'd been day-dreaming about mango cake, one that incorporates mangoes in the batter, not just as garnish or mousse, which I'd already tried. At last I put thought to action and using my Google muscles, found that those clever folks in Southeast Asia had already been there, done that. So I used this apparently tried and tested recipe that I found at Cook Bake Legacy.

I liked the result, though I think my oven was acting up and it didn't rise as well or cook through as much as it should have. But I will be making this again. I also plan to try using mango puree in place of buttermilk in a regular cake. I think the mango should provide enough acidity to replace the buttermilk and should be about the same consistency. Watch this space for updates!

Recipe and more photos after the jump.

Mango Chiffon Cake
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 tsp Mango essence
1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
1/3 cup (80 ml) Whole milk
1/2 cup mango puree
1 cup sifted cake flour (110 g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (100 gm) sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of tartar
Method: Set oven at 350 degrees F (180 degree C)
Separate egg yolks from whites. In a bowl, beat yolks with the mango essence (I didn't have any and used vanilla)
In another bowl, mix the oil, milk and mango puree. Sift the flour and baking powder together.
In the bowl of a mixer, whip the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar until stiff peak forms. Now add the yolk mixture and beat well, then add in the oil/ puree blend and and also stir well. Fold in the flour mix gently till well blended. Pour batter into a 20 cm. chiffon cake pan. Bang the pan on a hard surface to release the bubbles. ( a step I forgot, which may have contributed to the results)
Bake for 35-40 mins. When the cake is ready, remove from the oven and give it a bang on a hard surface.Then invert the pan and cool the cake.When the cake is completely cool, remove cake from the pan.
Well here are a few pictures of how I cut the mangoes.

The cake after taking it out. It seemed kind of OK to me, then I realized it was underdone and put it back in the oven, but evidently not long enough.

Bet it's a record!

2008-07-30T20:26:00.002+05:30

So how much time did you take to make your Filbert Gateau?

I made it in a record time of four hours! (Confession: I ignored the sugar syrup and the apricot glaze).

Soon after Chris of Mele Cotte announced the challenge, I, like hundreds of other Daring Bakers took a print out. I had been planning to try the recipe for my sister's birthday, which is in mid-July. But that day we went shopping, came back after 5 p.m. and I was too tired, so I asked my brother to buy a cake. But my sis' long face at this made me change my mind, and I rolled up my sleeves.

So sometime after 6 (after having tea, I have a mental thing about tea) I started. Of course the b'day girl helped me a lot, and we somehow managed this feat!

And you can understand why I skipped the sugar syrup and glaze... I was too tired! Well, what after the praline, swiss buttercream, whipped cream, ganache, and of course the cake!

But the cake was amazing, it was air! And the whole combo, though very rich, was well worth the crazy four hours! One other change I made was that I used almonds; for two reasons: first, that's what I had at home, and second, buying hazelnuts, if available, would have meant a huge hole in my pocket.

And though I love decorating, I was running out of time, so I just spread some of the praline buttercream and sprinkled some nougat on top! I think it looked pretty.

And another thing, I just LOVE swiss meringue buttercream, it was amazing the way it incorporated the praline paste!

Plums galore!

2008-07-18T23:55:00.008+05:30

There is so much lovely summer fruit to choose from these days. The other day I bought several pounds of plums and thought I should use them up before they got too soft. So I made this easy peasy plum tart from the Contessa herself. Her recipe called for a lot of plums, and I found I didn't have enough to get a tightly packed tart, so I added some apricots I had on hand.

Then I got my hands on some Italian prune plums, which the Contessa's recipe had called for, and I thought I should take a shot at clafouti.

Clafouti had always seemed something mysterious and unattainable for some reason. And then I read about it again recently at the LA TImes food blog. And after reading that plums are often used in clafouti, second only to cherries, I was sold. The Italian prune plums are really juicy and the flesh is a delicate green color, they reminded me of damsons that I had long long ago. IN fact they were so tasty, that by the time I got to making it the next day, I found my husband had scarfed down a pound or more. So I had to supplement the scarce fruit with strawberries.

I used this recipe from Orangette for the clafouti. It was really good, but I couldn't get my fussy 4-year-old to try any.

Very berry cake

2008-07-11T12:46:00.005+05:30

I made this cake a few weeks ago, but never got around to posting about it. I used a victoria sponge recipe and topped it with a little leftover white chocolate ganache and lots and lots of raspberries and blackberries, to cut the cloying sweetness of the white chocolate. I always get excited when I see blackberries -- partly because the sightings are so rare and I love the fruit. But also it brings back childhood memories of a hardy little blackberry bush we had in a house we stayed in for a few years. I loved eating them half-ripe -- so tart and sweet at the same time. hmm.

My mother used to make victoria sponges every now and then, along with her staple madeiras, when we lived in England. But I hadn't made or had one in years.
Looking around for recipes, I learned that basically a victoria sponge, named for Queen Victoria, consists of equal weights of flour, eggs, sugar and butter, with eggs counting for about 2 oz each and of course baking powder as leavening. I found this recipe on the BBC, but because I was using larger tins, i went up to 6 oz of AP flour, butter and sugar, plus 2 tsp baking powder and 3 eggs. I used the creaming method, and added the eggs one at a time. And I used strawberry jam to sandwich the layers.
I liked the result, but I'm not a fan of white chocolate, and next time I'll make the classic, sandwiched with jam and dusted with confectioner's sugar.

Chiffon cake - two halves make it whole

2008-07-10T06:16:00.005+05:30

This is my first attempt at Chiffon cake -- I had shied away from it so far because I hate making things that require separating the egg whites and yolks, and I especially hate it if I have leftover yolks. But I finally bit the bullet, and I must say it was easy-peasy and so delicious! I am mentally kicking myself for not trying it sooner. I divvied up the cake to make two variations -- one the classic strawberries and cream, and the other with mango mousse, using a delicious ataulfo mango a friend at work brought in for me.

Some more photos after the jump.

Thrice as nice!

2008-07-08T14:45:00.009+05:30

I missed my niece's first birthday coz of my darn exams... and it's not like I am going to do very well because I was good and studied... I didn't. But I just couldn't bake a cake because that was like admitting that I'm not going to study.. so I just sat and didn't bake a cake and didn't study... But you see I did not want to give myself the opportunity to say that I didn't study because I was baking! But then I scraped thru my exams somehow and I'm enjoying my holidays (:D) now and i felt it was time I put things right.

I was first planning to make a huge four-layer cake, two layers of vanilla cake and two layers of madeira. but then instead of making one huge cake that I wasn't sure what it would taste like, I changed my mind at the last moment and made two two-layer cakes hoping that at least one would taste good.

The reason behind this last-minute decision was that the vanilla cake was pretty flat. I had chosen recipe because How to Eat a Cupcake had paired her Vanilla Cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream and I really wanted to make some swiss meringue buttercream (hehehe) -- because then I get a chance to use homemade white butter, yeah!

The recipe was a bit strange, calling for the dry ingredients and the butter to be mixed and then later incorporating the wet ones. the cake did rise, but it was dense. A lot denser than my madeira. At that time i panicked. looking back now I guess that the madeira batter gains a lot of volume during the creaming stage and also while adding the eggs. The only rise the vanilla cake got was in the oven.

Anyway at that time i was panicking, right? So I split the madeira in half, layered it with the buttercream and topped it with some milk chocolate ganache I had in the fridge (I always have some ganache in the fridge). What you see at the top is what it looked like.

Then I split the vanilla cake in half, layered it with buttercream and covered with the same and then spent sometime making it look horribly pinky and purply... well guess what, it tasted good.

And the cupcakes? I got them from the leftover madeira batter... topped them with leftover buttercream and the leftover ganache...

not quite danish...

2008-06-29T20:11:00.010+05:30

Of all the crazy things I have done, this has to be the craziest. Trying my luck at danish pastry in the middle of Indian summer (did I say trying, oops, i meant pushing!). But then that's what the Daring Baker's are all about. Making you do things you won't normally even think of. I do make croissants sometimes, but never never in summer. I also happen to have bad case of hot hands. And man, did this challenge drive me up the wall or what! If the heat and humidity don't kill you, they sure can finish off your Danish.

Ok, I guess am exaggerating, but the result wasn't anywhere near perfect. But it was good. And it did fill my kitchen with a nice aroma! I used peaches instead of apples.

As soon as I braided it up, the juices started leaking, so the poor braid was in a pool of its juices, which later got burnt black in the oven.

I managed to roll up some extra pastry croissant style. Just for fun.

Thanks to Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’? for a fun and challenging challenge.

Zebra cake

2008-06-21T01:17:00.005+05:30

Zebra cake

So finally, here is the photo of the zebra cake I made using Farida's recipe and technique. My ladle wasn't big enough, hence the thin whispery "stripes" -- really more like veins. I will definitely be making this again soon.

a Birthday and an Anniversary...

2008-06-03T16:33:00.008+05:30

My sister's anniversary and my brother's birthday fall on consecutive days in May, so I decided to make some cupcakes for my sis (as she has a small family) and a regular cake for my brother, from the same batter of Martha's One Bowl Choc Cupcakes recipe.

As you can see the cake was rather tall, because I used slighter smaller round tins, as I wanted to make the cupcakes as well. And thats Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I think am getting rather good at it, thanks to the Daring Bakers, I don't think I would have ever tried it again after my two flops.

Daring Bakers May Challenge: Opera Cake

2008-05-29T08:43:00.012+05:30

When I read what the Daring Bakers challenge was for this month was, I mentally said "yeah, right" and thought I'd be sitting this one out, leaving Aamena to do her creative work. But she's tied up in final exams so it fell to me.
The challenge was chosen by lovely hosts Ivonne and Lis, along with co-hosts Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful.

An Opera Cake consists of the joconde - an almond sponge; the syrup, to wet the cake, buttercream, ganache (optional) and a final glaze. I'm not good at complicated things, so I read the recipe about five times, but I only made it today because I was away for a week visiting in-laws. I only got back yesterday, and I was too tired to even think about making even the base. So I had to do everything today. A recipe for disaster, or at least some last minute problems. Like the store being out of blanched almond meal, so you end up using unblanched. And not finding the right size jelly roll tins and not having any two of the same size at home.

A Taste of Light: Opera Cake

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

Joconde
(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)
Ingredients:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) blanched almond meal
2 cups icing sugar, sifted (220 gm)
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.
2. Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).
3. Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.
4. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the flour and beat until just combined (do not overmix).
7. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg white into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly.
8. Bake until light brown and springy to the touch, 5 to 9 minutes.
9. Run a sharp knife along the edges of the cakes to loosen. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.
10. Peel off the parchment, then turn the paper over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

Syrup
Ingredients:
½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of a flavoring of your choice (I used lemon zest)

1. Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Buttercream
Ingredients:
1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 grams) water
seeds of one vanilla bean or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract (I used a vanilla bean paste I found at Surfas)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Flavoring of your choice (I used lemon zest)

1. Combine the sugar, water and vanilla in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.
2. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) Remove the syrup from the heat.
3. While the syrup is heating, whisk the egg and egg yolk at high speed until pale and foamy.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin very slowly pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment.
5. Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).
6. In a bowl, mash the softened butter in a bowl with a spatula.
7. Add the butter in 2-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been added, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.
8. Add flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.
9. Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

White chocolate ganache/mousse (this step is optional – I skipped it)
Ingredients:
7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liqueur of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

1. Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
2. Stir and add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
4. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
5. If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable and you're ready to use it.
6. If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

The glaze
(Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)
Ingredients:
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

1.Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.
2.Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.
3.Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling
(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.
Obviously, I didn't need to to do this, since I used 9-inch round tins.
Step A (if using buttercream only and not making the ganache/mousse):

Moisten a layer of the cake with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about one-third of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square, or whatever shape. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread another third of the buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde. Spread the remaining buttercream on top of the final layer of joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.

As is clear from the long instructions, this is was quite a challenge. But truthfully each step went quite smoothly. My only problem was was that the buttercream was a bit runny, after I put on the glaze, the top layer of buttercream started to slip a bit. And the layers of joconde are a bit thick, I wish i had had a fourth 9 inch tin to make thinner layers.

Lemon tea cakes

2008-05-18T12:14:00.009+05:30

Lemon tea cakes, originally uploaded by khangengis.

A friend at work brought on little lemon tea cakes a few weeks ago, and I thought immediately that they'd be great for my daughter's preschool bake sale. She brought in the recipe, and kindly lent me her tea cake pan too. The only change I made was to add baking powder, because I wanted a lighter texture. These little beauties are addictive! My daughters chowed them down like grapes, so though the recipe made 108, yes, that's right 108 cakes, they're really not that much! But I've pared it down by 1/3, to keep it manageable. If you'd like, you can find the original recipe here.

Lemon tea cakes, originally uploaded by khangengis.

Lemon Tea Cakes
from Taste of Home magazine Feb-March 2002,
a recipe from Charlene Crump of Montgomery, Alabama

Makes six dozen

1 cup butter, softened

5 1/2 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tbsp lemon juice

11/2 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp lemon zest

2 cups flour (10 oz)

2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven at 325 degrees, and prepare all the mini muffin tins or tea cake pans you have! I used baking spray with flour. And I only had two 12-cup mini muffin pans and the tea cake mold which makes 30. So I made it in batches, without any problem.

Sift the flour with the baking powder. Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the lemon juice, lemon and vanilla extracts and lemon zest. Fold in the flour (I found it easier to do a third at a time) until just combined.

Fill mini-muffin tins about two-thirds full (about 1 heaping teaspoon). Bake at 325° for 10-15 minutes or so. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Meanwhile prepare a glaze: 3 cups confectioner's sugar, 1/4 milk, 2 tsp lemon extract.

When the cakes are cool, dip the tops in the glaze, and let it set for five minutes or so.

Pandan butter cake

2008-05-16T23:23:00.015+05:30

I've been wanting to try pandan, sight unseen, ever since I saw this gorgeous jelly dessert a few years ago. All I knew about pandan was that it was related to the delicious kewra essence that is used in north Indian cooking to add a heady, complex aroma to curries or a rose-like flavor to desserts. Kewra is extracted from the flowers of a different screwpine species, whereas pandan uses the leaves.

So I was quite excited to see some pandan extract at a Thai grocery not far from my house, Bangkok Market. I looked for pandan essence too, but unfortunately it was artificial.
Anyway, in the meanwhile I had seen all kinds of complex Malaysian and Indonesian cakes flavored with pandan at various blogs, especially Aunty Yochana's. So I decided my first foray into pandan territory would be a cake. But I didn't want to make the traditional kind that pairs pandan with coconut milk, because i really wanted to taste the pandan. So after some googling, I decided on this recipe from Angie of My Kitchen: My Laboratory.

Pandan Butter Cake

adapted from My Kitchen:My Laboratory

2 scant cups cake flour (8oz or 225g)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, softened (3 oz or 85g)
3/4 cup sugar (180g)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt ((240ml) (I used regular)
2 tbsp pandan extract (juice)
¼ tsp pandan essence (lacking this, I added an extra 3tbsp of juice)

Preheat oven to 350 degree farenheit (180C) and butter a bundt pan or 8”x4” loaf tin. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. I didn't have any cake flour on hand, or regular AP, so I microwaved King Arthur unbleached ala the ingenious Kate of A Merrier World. However, I didn't follow the procedure precisely, just did two batches of flour and then weighed the results and substituted a scant 4 tbsp flour with cornstarch.
Combine the yogurt, pandan juice and pandan essence if you're using.
Cream the butter with the sugar and until light. Add the eggs in a slow stream, beating constantly for about 2 mins. Now fold in one-third of the flour mix, beat in half the yogurt and then repeat, ending with the last third of flour.
Bake for about 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 mins. Unmold and cool completely.

Pandan butter cake

So, how did it taste? Well at first when I opened the can, the liquid smelled very grassy and musky and I was shocked that it had barely any resemblance to Kewra. A few tablespoons appeared to do nothing for the batter, and because I didn't have the essence, I added 3 more. The color of the batter barely changed, but I could smell the grassiness and I was getting really nervous!. When it came out, I could barely smell or taste it... I think I was already enveloped in the aroma and unable to distinguish it in the cake. Panicking, I took another 2 tbsp of juice and mixed it with some confectioner's sugar to make about 1/4 cup syrup which I dribbled over the cake, which actually gave it a slightly greener hue.

A few hours later (at work!) I began to feel the flavor coat my mouth and throat, almost as if I'd swallowed a bottle of perfume. It was very unusual, floral, musky, sweet without being heady. When i tried a slice later that night, I was able to appreciate the taste. Though over the next few days I felt that the taste became more muted.
So while it wasn't what I expected, it was delicious, and I plan to try it again soon!

Almond mini cakes

2008-05-10T23:21:00.013+05:30

I wanted to bring in something nice to work, using the pretty tea cake pan my friend had lent me. And I also wanted to try the almond paste I had picked up at Surfas a while back. So a little poking around on the web, and I came upon this recipe from Gourmet. It looked easy and delicious. And boy was it. Even my picky daughter loved it.

The recipe is for 12 mini cakes, so I quadrupled it. I got enough for the 30 mini cakes in the mini bundt pan, and 2 mini muffin tins, plus about 4 more (because the mini tea cakes are little smaller than regular mini muffins).

Almond Cakes

Adapted from Gourmet

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1/2 tablespoon, melted

3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting molds

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons almond paste (not marzipan; 4 oz)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180c). Butter and flour the pans (I used baking spray).

Sift the flour and salt together.

Place the butter in a large bowl and cream with the sugar with electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in the almond paste. I'd recommend crumbling it in with your fingers to prevent lumps). Add the vanilla, and then one egg at a time. Finally add the flour and beat until just combined.

Spoon in to the pans (about 1 tbsp each) and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden at the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack. And dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

These taste better after an hour or so (or after you've given your nose a break from the almond smell) otherwise they somehow don't taste as almondy. Not that the taste is overpowering. I'd say it's perfect.

Dundee Cake

2008-05-09T00:31:00.005+05:30

If you feel like a nutty delight.

Dundee Cake
Adapted from McDougall's Better Baking Handbook

150g butter
150g granulated or soft brown sugar
100g self raising flour
100g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp mixed spice (I use cinnamon and nutmeg)
3 eggs
1 tbsp milk (increase it if the batter seems too dry)
around 2 cups of dark chocolate drops and chopped nuts of your choice,
(I use almonds, currants and walnuts, and chocolate is optional)

1. Grease and line an 18cm round tin. And prepare by creaming method.
2. Place the batter in tin and smooth level it.

3. Bake at 180C for half an hour, then lower it to 150C, bake for a further 10-15 minutes before checking with a toothpick. Take it out when your comes out clean.

I doubled the recipe and the yield was two round cake tins, one big cupcake and one small loaf! Also the original recipe calls for 350g of chopped nuts (no chocolate) and a further 50g of almonds for decor. I don't follow, I just throw in handfuls till I feel the batter looks sufficiently lumpy. Also the original recipe calls for a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes of baking (first 1 hour at 180C and the rest at 150C). Maybe its supposed to be a very dry cake but I could never, for the life of me, do it.

A little spice

2008-05-03T12:25:00.008+05:30

So, for some strange reason, I suddenly began craving Delhi-style choley -- aka chickpeas or garbanzo beans -- with kulchas a leavened flatbread.

Luckily I had a large can of beans in my pantry and made the choley in no time, it was waiting for the kulcha dough to rise a bit that was harder. Nonetheless the wait was worth it. And the best thing, both DDs loved it. Phew.

Spicy choley

1 28 oz can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 cup plus 1 tbsp yellow or white onion chopped finely

2 green chile such as a jalapeno or serrano, deseeded and sliced thinly

5 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp vegetable oil (such as Canola)

1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)

1/2 tsp or less cayenne powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder) optional

1/2 to 1 tsp garam masala (available in indian stores, substitute below)

3 tbsp cilantro chopped

First, combine 1 tbsp of the chopped onions, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1 chopped green chile and 1/2 the ginger and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl. the mixture will likely turn pink. That's OK! This will give an added layer of flavor to the beans, a trick I picked up from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking.

In a saucepan or saute pan, heat the oil and add the chile, shake a bit and add the onions, cook on medium-low heat until soft and brown on the edges. Add the tomatoes and remaining ginger cook for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are mushy, add the turmeric, coriander and cayenne and cook for another 3 minutes, then add the drained garbanzo beans and 1/ cup water and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about five minutes. Now add the amchur if using and the garam masala and lemon juice. Let the flavors meld for a minute or so, check and adjust seasoning to taste and then stir in half the cilantro and half the onion relish. Remove to a serving dish and garnish with the remaining cilantro and relish. Serve hot. You can eat it plain, with rice or any bread. Truly versatile. And it tastes even better the next day.

Kulchas

1 cup chapati flour (sold as Aata, durum wheat in indian stores, or substitute white wholewheat)

1 cup unbleached AP flour

1/2 tsp active yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1/3 cup yogurt

2 tbsp soft butter for brushing

Stir in the sugar and yeast into the warm water in a large bowl and let it rest 5 minutes. When bubbling add the flours and then stir in the yogurt. The flour should come together in a rough dough, add a little water to get a soft pliable dough, knead five or six times. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours, till it increases by half. Knead the dough and divide it into about 10-12 balls. Heat a frying pan or flat griddle, cast iron is great. Keep it on medium heat. Working one by one, roll out a ball to about 6 inch diameter and place on the hot griddle.

Flip within 30 seconds (as soon as you see the color change), when you start seeing bubbles of air, flip it again and use a small dishcloth to push on the kulcha to make it puff up. Brush both sides with butter and remove to a plate or other container. repeat 11 times!

I'm no expert, but I do try to roll out another kulcha after doing the first flip on the preceding kulcha. But be careful, you don't want them to burn.

Once you're done, wrap it in foil or place in an insulated dish to keep warm. You can freeze them while still warm and just heat on a griddle.

Cheesecake cupcakes

2008-05-03T12:22:00.002+05:30

cheesecake cupcakes

Well out of my cheesecake pop near-debacle have emerged these cute cheesecake cupcakes, inspired by the good folks at Cooking for Engineers. If you may recall, I was left with a liquidy center, which I saved, added one egg and some leftover white chocolate frosting (!) and baked. They were a huge success, even though I wish I had taken them out maybe 15 minutes earlier.

Daring Bakers April Challenge: Cheesecake pops

2008-04-28T04:52:00.018+05:30

I was excited by this month's challenge, chosen by our lovely hosts, Deborah of Taste and Tell and Elle of FME, especially because my husband loves NY style cheesecake. But I've only made cheesecake three or four times in the last seven years, it's always seemed a little complicated and time-consuming!

Well, I actually started on the challenge yesterday. Things got off to a great start, the batter looked, and tasted, divine. I took the recipe down by 1/5th as I happened to only have 32 oz of cream cheese. I still got a lot of batter! I filled one 7-inch springform tin almost full, and had more than enough for a mini 4-inch cake with crust for hubby dear.

The white center should have been clue no. 1

The cake appeared done in about an hour, it wasn't jiggling and I let it cool for a while, but i think here is where I made mistake No. 1, I popped it into the fridge while still warm before I headed to work, because I didn't trust the other adult in the house to remember to. Anyway, I come home about 9 hours later, ready to scoop out, and I found that the top and sides were fine, but the center was liquidy! Panic set in. I managed to scoop out the liquidy bit and then make about 12 with the firm parts. I plan to use the liquid part to make individual cakes as shown here. I'm not sure whether this is because I overfilled the pan, whether the water bath somehow retarded the cooking (the parts done were mostly the ones above the water) and of course the genius of refrigerating the cake while still warm.

The scooping needless to say was not easy. As you can see they weren't so smooth!

Anyway, this afternoon I took them out of the freezer and finished them up. My husband needless to say loved it. My 4-year-old liked the chocolate and sprinkles, but wasn't too keen on the cheesecake... she's very fussy.

Well, I think I might try this again, when I have a larger freezer, and my husband has more self-control!

Be sure to check out the really creative and beautiful pops from other, more Daring Bakers!