Monsters and Boston Cream

Well it happened again. I was enticed into baking by another beautiful blog. This time it was pastry studio. I want a pastry studio, been thinking about taking real pastry classes so I can work in a proper kitchen again.

A new experiment for me, I followed the directions to a T, well almost. I didn't have cake flour (I know terrible, I've been baking enough to justify it). I also made my own buttermilk. I didn't zest the entire orange, probably about 2 teaspoons or so. I used regular cupcake pan and a loaf pan (will explain later why). And finally, I didn't use all the corn syrup, I used half a tablespoon maybe next time I'll use less.

always good to start with a little wine

For the recipe check out this website :pastry studio:
My vanilla filling was tasty but a bit lumpy, I don't know why. Maybe I heated the milk too much? Maybe the eggs were supposed to be at room temperature for that part too?

it was a bit messy

 When I cut out the middle of the cupcakes for the filling, I had lots of cake bits as left overs. I took my kerr jars and made a couple special boston cream parfaits for my roommies.

leftover cake, cream and chocolate in a kerr jar!

Alright I'm finally getting to the monster part. My friend, Marcos, designs fun creatures. It was his birthday so I decided to replicate one of his creatures in a mini-cake.

cake creature

I used the cake that I baked in the loaf pan, and cut it into smaller pieces. Then I used cookie decorating white and red frosting and made the mouths. I rolled out orange starbursts and cut them for the tummy piece. The gren hair is made from laughy-taffy, also nuked for 10 seconds and rolled out with a rolling pin. Then cut into the design. The eyes are just dots of icing. Do you see my inspiriation?

more creatures: http://www.marcosrc.com/

Mon Petit Amour

I actually made these a while back but it was such a long process, I didn't want to blog about it. I don't think I'll ever do these again. Though, I did get some rave reviews, so I may be tempted later on when I forget how long of a process it was. I got the idea from this beautiful blog, her pictures are too enticing. Oh and the blog is called, Use Real Butter, so you can imagine it's good. But, I had to change the recipe, as always, (sigh) to fit my reality (what I actually have in my kitchen) and my hopes and dreams (the ideas I come up with)....

The recipe was written for 8500 ft and was written for, in my opinion, real bakers who measure everything. Example: 3.25 oz of eggs. I don't weigh my eggs - just say 1,2, or 3 eggs please!

So I got out my trusty french pastry book, The Roux Brothers on Patisserie. I used their recipe, "Plain Genoese Sponge Cake" for the cake part. You can use any sponge cake recipe out there, I'm sure.

You make the cake in a large 11x17 cake pan. It will be very thin but that's great for the Petit Fours. Half the cake will be the bottom layer and the other half will be cut off and placed on top. In between you'll have a lime meringue buttercream and raspberry puree. You will also dress the cake with lime syrup. I thought about skipping this step, but I think it may be the secret to success in this recipe. The cake was very moist after 2 days in the fridge, I think due in part because of the lime syrup.

Lime Meringue Buttercream
4-5 egg whites (I actually messed this up and used 4 full eggs - the recipe calls for 4 oz of eggs whites)
1 cup of sugar
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 tbsp lime zest
2 tbsp lime juice
Combine egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk constantly over a double boiler until 140F is reached. Place on mixer with whisk and whip until stiff. Turn down whip speed to 3rd and whip until cool to the touch (this takes a while – should be cooler than your hand). Change to a normal type beater and gradually add soft butter by tablespoon pieces. Once desired consistency has been reached, add lime juice and zest.

Raspberry Puree
approx 2 cups of frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar (optional)

Run frozen raspberries under hot water, let them thaw. Blend them in a cuisinart. Since they are frozen, they may be a bit tart, add some powdered sugar to taste.

Lime Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup lime juice
Lime zest - if you have any lime zest left over from the buttercream add it to the syrup too.

Heat water and sugar in a pot until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil and turn off heat. Let cool. Mix in lime juice and zest.

Note: I only used 3 limes in this recipe. 2 for juice but 3 for the zest.


Poured Fondant Icing
2.25 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract
drop of food coloring (optional)
Combine all in double boiler except coloring. Heat until all the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring.

Assemble the Petit Fours

Once the cake has cooled, cut the cake in half, so that you have 2 pieces that are approximately 8.5x11. Brush the lime syrup on the top of the bottom layer. Add all the Raspberry Puree on top of it. Then add the Lime Meringue Buttercream. I think that I messed up when I made this recipe and I used the whole egg and not the egg whites. The lime buttercream didn't stiffen like it should have. So when I put the top layer of cake on it, lots of the cream squeezed out. If this happens to you, wrap it in parchment paper and stick it in the freezer. Once frozen, you can cut the cake in squares without all the filling running out.

Note: for the top layer of cake I put the bottom face up so I ended brushing both sides of the cake with lime syrup. It was tasty, I recommend this.

When cutting the squares, make sure they are at least an inch and a half big. I tried to go smaller but they didn't look as good as they wanted to fall apart. You need a good solid base. Once assembled, you can pour the fondant over top. This was a major pain! I didn't make enough fondant (note: you may want to double the recipe) and it was a mess. I instead served most of them with just a raspberry on top (glued on with the fondant icing). I think it tasted better too, the fondant is too sugary. Good Luck!

Angela's Test Kitchen - Asparagus Tarts

You might be saying, What asparagus tarts?!? But this isn't a sweet recipe, it's a savory one. My first savory recipe on the blog! A quick and easy appetizer or side dish (also vegan!)

I took the idea from a few recipes. One was from a vegan blog called Vegan Yum Yum. I was trying to come up with yummy ideas for a volunteer catering gig that I'm doing for work. The group I'm cooking for is mostly vegetarians with a few vegans. Also got this idea from a white bean dip that I used to make. I lost that recipe but it was similar to this one. Since I couldn't decide what recipe to do, I modified both recipes and put half and half on the puff pastry.

garlic on the left, pesto on the right

Pesto White Bean filling
Half a can of cannelloni beans
1 big teaspoon of pesto
a small handful of almonds
a pinch of salt
tablespoon-ish of water

Combine in a cuisnart!

Garlic White Bean filling (can also be a dip!)
Half a can of cannelloni beans
2 cloves of garlic
a pinch of salt
a splash of lemon juice
tablespoon-ish of olive oil

Combine in a cuisnart! In the future, I'd like to try adding some oregano or thyme or cumin or cayenne pepper or a mix of those! But since this was a test kitchen, I wanted to taste the garlic verses the pesto.

Roll out the puff pastry shell, lay on a lightly greased pan. I use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, they taste good and they're vegan. (don't believe that they are vegan? PETA says so, so it must be true) Since I made both the spreads, I spread one white bean mix on half of the puff pastry, and the other on the other half. Lay the asparagus on top. Brush olive oil on the asparagus. I only had 4 stalks of asparagus in the fridge, but ideally you'd put more veggies on it! Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown on the edges.

Now who's the winner?!

The pesto side was the most flavorful of course. It wasn't as liquidity so the puff pastry was done better on the bottom, was flaky and nice. The downside it was more dry and pasty than the garlic side. I would say that next time adding olive oil to the pesto recipe, would help. The garlic side was good, but maybe I shouldn't add the lemon juice and water so the bottom cooks better. I will also try it next time with some herbs and spices. Try it on your own and let me know what the secret ingredient should be!

Tarts for Easter!

I love Easter. Why? It's my excuse to host brunch and start drinking first thing Sunday morning. :) I purchased a French pastry cookbook from a great second-hand bookstore in Dupont called, Second Story. I've been itching for an excuse to experiment with it - the first selection, Daisy Tarts for Easter!

Tarts and Tulips

The recipe came from the book The Roux Brothers on Patisserie. I'd been looking for a french pastry book for a while. This one has some mouth-watering pictures, instructional pictures and so is well written that I've been reading it like a storybook!

Daisy Tarts:

I used frozen puff pastry dough for the base (yup, I cheated) and rolled it out really thin on a floured surface. Then I googled daisy shapes and printed one off the web. I edited the shape a bit, cut it out and then traced the paper on the dough with a knife. Careful when you take away the scrap dough, the daisy shape can be pulled out of shape very easily.

tracing the tart base

The sides of the tart are built up with Choux Paste. I used the recipe in the book, but I think next time I'll just use the same recipe I used for the cream puffs.

Trace the edges that you'll build up with the choux paste with egg wash. The Patisserie book suggested 1 egg white and 1 tbsp of milk for egg wash. Fill a pastry bag (with a wide tip) with the Choux paste and trace the outside of the daisy tart and the sections. I made some mini tarts too. Here's a pic of this stage. Don't forget to fork the puff pastry so it doesn't puff up!

Then bake at 350 degrees check after 15 minutes, could bake for another 10 minutes or so depending on the size. The oven in my apt runs a bit hot so I might suggest 375 degrees - check the puff pastry box for recommendations.

The recipe calls for filling them with Chantilly Cream. It sounds so delightful but it seems to be just french for whipped cream. The book gives two ways to make it. I made it the traditional whipped cream way but maybe I'll try the other way with sherbert syrup to see if that's any different.

Chantilly Cream
1 cup whipped cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cap full of vanilla extract
Whip ingredients together until you can make peaks in the bowl.

I also liked the idea of cream cheese filling so I made this recipe up.
Cream Cheese Filling
4 oz of cream cheese (half the package)
1/4 cup whipping cream (approximately, add until right consistency)
2 tbsps of powdered sugar (approximately, add until slightly sweetened)
Whip the ingredients until you have a creamy mix and fill in a pastry bag. This recipe makes enough for one daisy tart. The final step is to fill the tart shells with cream and put sliced fresh fruit in the sections!

the minis!

Note: I made the shells the night before and made the cream and fruit the same day. I had some leftovers the day after easter, they still tasted good but same day was better.

Easter brunch was lovely. We had mimosas, tarts, hashbrowns, candian bacon, croissants (not homemade), more fruit and a yummy vegan cramalized onion quiche that Kate made.

the easter spread!

Easter Egg Competition

Each month, my apartment building has a contest to win money off your rent. Yes, it's true! Last year, I went 4 months in a row without paying a full month's rent. This month it was an easter egg decorating contest. Here's what my roommate and I submitted!

hen, owl and penguin

Lost Magic of the Ship - Lemon Cheesecake

The first time I tried this recipe, I was cooking on the Arctic Sunrise. It seemed that everything worked so well on the ship, like magic! (or perhaps it was help from Walter) This week I tried to recreate my fantastic Lemon Cheesecake. The cake part was good but the crust got a little too well done, overall not as magical as the ship. Perhaps I should try the water bath next time?

the finished product

·          

CRUST:

• 1.5 sticks of very soft unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup shortbread cookies – I used butter cookie

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth.

2. Add flour and shortbread crumbs and continue to beat until well mixed.

3. Press into a 9 inch spring form deep pan (bigger pan for ship size) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Allow to cool completely before next stage.

FILLING:

•    4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
•    1 cup sugar 
•    4 eggs
•    Juice from 3 lemons
•    2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, beating on low speed just until combined. Add lemon juice, peel and vanilla; beat just until blended. Pour into crust.

cream cheese! yum

1. Bake at 350 degreesF/180 C  for 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from the oven; let stand for 5 minutes. Make the topping; spread over filling. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Or just let ppl add the topping to each piece of cheesecake. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
2. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight (or for 6 hours) Remove sides of pan. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.

TOPPING: 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 4 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 tablespoon (ish) corn starch

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and on low heat stir until sugar is dissolved and the sauce has thickened.

Serves 10 – 12 (ship size double the recipe 25-30)

I adopted this recipe from Lemoncheesecake.org  I figured if they had their own website for this recipe, it must be pretty darn good.

Dinner for 2 - Sweet Potato Pot Pie

Yesterday, I invited a friend over to dinner, but didn't know what I was going to serve. After some googling and looking at 101 Cookbooks for inspiration, I decided to make us Sweet Potato Pot Pie along with salad and chocolate mousse!

baked in a Kerr canning jar!

Sweet Potato Pot Pie  - from one of my favorite food blogs, 101 Cookbooks
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 to 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilies (or more to taste) The Soviet Safeway near my house didn't have this so I had to make it on my own.
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 cups cold whole or low-fat milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 box puff pastry dough (allow 20 to 30 minutes to thaw)
1 egg white

AZ's adobo recipe:
2 tbs of green chillies from a can
a dash of cayenne pepper
a dash of oregano
a dash of thyme
a pinch of sugar
a dash of ground pepper
a dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon of vinegar
I mixed all this up with a hand blender. It seemed like a spicy concoction when I made it but there wasn't any spice to the pot pie. I think either I need to get hotter chillies or add more cayenne next time. 

Directions
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil, onion, garlic, sweet potato and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the adobo sauce and corn.
In a small bowl, combine the milk and cornstarch, then pour the mixture into the sweet potato pot. Leave the heat at medium-high for a few minutes to bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the filling starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with more salt to taste. Pour the filling into small ovenproof bowls, each three quarters full.

Cut a piece of puff pastry dough to fit over each bowl, with some overlap. Place the dough on the bowls and fold over the edge of the dish. Brush the dough lightly with egg white (this creates a golden crust).
Using a fork, poke a few holes in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape, and bake until the crusts are tall and deeply golden, about 15 minutes. Tip: Bake the potpies on a baking sheet lined with foil in case some of the filling bubbles over. Serves 4 as a main course.

SP for sweet potato PP for potpie :)

I loved the idea of putting the pot pies in Kerr jars. But thought it might not be a good enough portion for a dinner meal, so I made a bigger one and a kerr jar one for myself just to see how it'd turn out - cute! I never baked in a canning jar before. But I got the idea from this pie in a jar recipe from not martha. PS canning jars are a lot cheaper than the normal baking ramekins.

Puff Pastry dough is amazing, I love how forgiving it is. Though, it makes it tough to keep any designs on the top of the pie. I think the reason the big potpie kept it's design was because I used too much egg whites on it in the middle. Perhaps next time I can cut out letters from the left over pastry dough and put them on top for a design.

Ella's inspired salad

Every time I go to Ella's in DC, I always have their Italian vegetable salad with grilled chicken. My favorite part are the cannelloni beans in that salad. I swear they soak them in the champagne vinaigrette before serving. This was my attempt to recreate those beans and dressing. It turned out pretty good. I might try fresh beans next time, think it would be so much better.

I made this dressing how I season most food. I start by smelling the spices and add in what I think fits. For this recipe, it started at the grocery store with me smelling the different options in the herb aisle. Fresh dill was the winner this time around.

Note: I came up with the below measurements after the fact cause I usually just dump things in until it tastes right. Those using my recipes should be in the mood to experiment.

Ingredients

3 tbs olive oil

3tbs vinegar

2 tsps honey

1 tbs lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh dill

¼ tsp ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can of cannelloni beans washes

Fresh herb salad mix

red pepper diced

carrots shaved

pumpkin seeds

I combined the first 8 ingredients until I thought it tasted right. Next time I might use one less tablespoon of vinegar because I had to add a lot of honey to mellow out the lemon juice and the vinegar. I might experiment with the types of vinegar, perhaps use champagne vinegar or balsamic. Comment on my blog if you tried something new and it worked! Then I washed the cannelloni beans and dumped them in the dressing to marinade for a couple hours. Just before serving, I put the the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. I added some beans, tossed and then added some more of the dressing. I think it would be good with a crisp green apple and pine nuts but this is what I had in my house. Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse

I used the same recipe as I did last weekend but only added 1/2 tsp of vanilla. I also used 3/4 cups of the whipping cream and left out a couple dollops from the mousse mixture. I put the chocolate mousse in martini glasses to sit for a couple hours. From the extra dollops of the whipped cream, I added a bit more sugar (used powder sugar this time too) and had that sit for a while. Just before serving I put the whipped cream on top of the mousse and shaved a bit off a dark chocolate bar for some nice chocolate sprinkles. A fast (prep time, at least) and easy way to have a decadent dessert!