Daring Bakers rising to the occassion

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

This month I got to play with yeast, egg whites, chocolate and cardamom. All things I love to eat and work with. My eaters this month were Monucs and the Vic. Chorale. Joint concerts mean joint rehearsals which means that snacks are required. I'm also planning on taking a batch of cheesecake brownies.

Below is the recipe I used. I noticed on the first one that I had spread the filling too close to the edge and it leaked out when rolling. Yum! The second one I didn't fill as close to the edge and it rolled up much cleaner. You can see the difference in the pictures below. The top one has the cleaner roll.

FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE

Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients

For the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour

1⁄4 cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar 

3⁄4 teaspoon (5 g / 1⁄4 oz.) salt 

1 package (2 1⁄4 teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast

1 tsp ground cardamom

3⁄4 cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk

1⁄4 cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature) 

1⁄2 cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature 

2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature

 1⁄4 teaspoon salt 

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla 

1⁄2 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:

1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped walnuts 

2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar 

1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg

Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

Directions:

Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1⁄2 cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt, cardamom and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. 

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. 

Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 1⁄2 cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the 1⁄2 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes: Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 1⁄2 cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 1⁄2 cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Wibbly with just enough wobble to not fall over

Not only have I completed a challenge but I've also remember to post it! Go me :D


This month was panna cotta and florentines. It was divine and all things nommy. I didn't use the florentine recipe provided as proper Aussie florentines involve cornflakes, nuts and glace cherries. The panna cotta made it all the way to Birchip in my tupperware snack cups. The perfect size! So here we go.


The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Ingredients 
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk *I used skim
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat) *2 cups full cream 1 cup light cream
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey * replaced with sugar and 2 decent tsps of vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes. *I used the cup of light cream and a cup of full cream here. The remaining cup I whipped to soft-stiff peaks.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. *Fold through the whipped cream Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

The florentine recipe came from taste.com.au

• 
  
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 2 cups cornflakes
• 100g slivered almonds
• 100g chopped glace cherries
• 2 tbs mixed peel
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 250g good-quality dark chocolate

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Combine the sultanas, cornflakes, almonds, glace cherries, mixed peel and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl. Place spoonfuls of the mixture on baking trays, leaving enough room between each for biscuits to spread. Bake for 10 minutes until light golden brown, then set aside on a wire rack to cool.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly then spread over the underside of the florentines. Use a fork to make wiggly lines in the chocolate, then place, chocolate-side up, on a wire rack until set.

I served mine with fresh mango puree

Daring Bakers April

I'm late with this one but better late then never right?!


The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.


I've never made steamed pudding before and the thought of having to use suet grossed me out. I don't know why it does. I have no issues with lard, butter or dripping but suet grossed me out. Be proud though, I actually went to the butcher and asked for it. They didn't have any though so I had to use the Suet pudding mix from the supermarket. I halved the recipe on the back of the box and then played around a little as I wanted banana pudding!

Suet Banana Pudding
Ingredients
60 grams of suet mix

2 Tbsp plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup semolina
1 eggs, lighten beaten

2 bananas, mashed

Method
1. Mix dry ingredients together then add wet.
2.Spoon into a lightly greased 600ml pudding streamer. Cover securely with lightly greased, pleated greaseproof paper, aluminum foil and twine.
3.Immerse in pan of boiling water. Ensure water comes half way up the sides of the pudding bowl.
4.Steam 2 hours.

Masterchef season 2 episode 1

!!!!!

It's back! I looove masterchef with a passion. I had some friends demand that I enter in season 2 but I steadfastly refused as I still had another year of honours ahead and as much as I could deal with my life being broadcast on national television, I was not comfortable with my loved ones having their lives invaded.

Today was the top 50 who were about to be whittled down to 24 by the end of the week. Their challenge was to create a nommy bbq dish in 90 minutes. Some looked very tasty. I especially wanted Marian's bbq prawn salad.

The 10 worst dishes had to face elimination where 5 would stay and 5 would go. As their pressure test, they had to make Donna Hay's pavlova. A dish that every Australian has eaten but surprisingly few have attempted. Personally I have only made a chocolate version and even then not very often.

The recipe can be found here.
The tips given were to make sure that the egg whites were stiff before adding the sugar and to add the sugar gradually.

I enjoyed watching this at work whilst communicating with A via sms. We couldn't be in the same room and watch so we smsed instead. It was fun.

Our plan now is to make fructose friendly pizza and pav on saturday night. I think we're using the Donna Hay recipe and maybe the Daring Bakers pizza challenge from a year ago.

Daring Bakers January

So I finally made it back on track and here we have the later challenge. Cue blog checking lines .......... now.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

So I made these late in the month and after reading all the advice from everyone else in the forums, doubled the amount of chocolate topping. I also cheated. The challenge said to make the graham crackers gluten free and from scratch, however due to time constraints I bought the digestive biscuits instead..... Give me a break I've been working the graveyard shift. recipe to follow!

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

I also chopped them up into tiny squares a centimetre or two square. Little mouthfuls of deliciousness.

I promise I'm still alive!

So there is a backlog of posts that are waiting to be uploaded. The only issue is that I have no time at the moment.

I'm also trying to figure out what to serve for Australia Day. One of the bands I play in has 2 gigs on Australia Day, the city parade and then an afternoon gig in the country complete with picnic lunch. I volunteered to do the sweets part. I'm thinking this months challenge, cheesecake brownies and possibly the danish pastry challenge if I can find it.

I've also had a revelation as to my career.

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I'm going to be a teacher

Shocked?

After 3 years of working full time I've decided that I'm really not happy in my profession. I'm bored, unenthusiastic and really just don't care anymore. So my fan is to finish off my honours degree this year and save like crazy so that next year I can quit my job and go back to uni full time to do a Grad Dip Ed.

Oh and I'm also moving out of my current house when the lease is up at the end of the year. Love the house, hate the situation. My housemate and I have known each other for over 10 years but in the last 6-12 months things have gone down hill. The main issue I have is that she is never home. She still pays rent but has essentially moved in with her boyfriend and his family. I hate living alone. More on that later.

Just a taste of what has happened in the last few months

Pretzels that failed

I tried my hand at pretzels on Easter Monday and I think I failed. The recipe is the original Daring Bakers pretzel recipe and mine came out nothing like everyone elses.

No crusty brown tops or intricate weaves of goodness.

Instead I ended up with incredibly yummy, butter drenched rolls.

What have I done??!!

This the recipe I used:

Hot Buttered Pretzels

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

For the dough:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 cup warm water (you may need a little more)

For the pretzel topping:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• kosher salt
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1. Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Work the ingredients together until you can form a ball. If the dough is very dry, add a bit more warm water until it comes together. The dough will look messy, but don’t worry about it.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading by pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand, and then folding it back in onto itself. Push the dough away again and then fold back in. Continue this motion, working the dough until it’s smooth. This should take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough in a mixer with your dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes).
3. Once the dough is done, sprinkle some flour on the dough and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It will rise considerably.
4. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and set aside.

Divide your dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope that’s roughly 24 inches in length. (Don’t make it too long or your pretzels will be too thin.)

6. Taking hold of the ends of the rope, cross the rope over itself to form a circle with about 4 to 5 inches on each end that are sticking out. Twist the ends over themselves and secure each end on either side of the pretzel.
7. Carefully dip the pretzel in the water and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
8. Sprinkle the pretzels with the kosher salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
9. Put the pretzels in the oven for 6 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the pretzels so that they don’t burn.
10. Remove the pretzels from the oven and immediately brush them with the butter. Keep brushing them with butter until you’ve used it all.
11. Serve the pretzels warm with plenty of mustard or another condiment of your choice.
12. Enjoy!

I'm currently deciding which logo to use on the site. So be prepared for random images

How to add zest to your life

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.


That's right its Daring Bakers time again!!! This month was cheesecake. Oh how I lurve cheesecake. My only issue is that it is too rich for me to consume it in the quantities that make my taste buds sing. We were allowed to flavour it however we wanted provided it was still cheesecake. You'll find the recipe below as well as my adaptations. This months target audience were Choristers. We spent Easter Sunday watching movies, eating a fantastic roast veal lunch (direct from the farmers market) and devouring this gooey lime cheesecake with a chocolate crust. It took 2 days to eat and was well worth the urge to hurl (yes, I ate that much of it and no, I did not hurl. the 4kgs I put on that weekend can attest to it.)
The only thing I would do differently would be to alter the cooking time. Mine was still runny in the middle. I think if I raise the temp to 200C and keep the time the same it should fair better.
My kitchen now owns a new scan pan 32cm (read gigantic and just fits into my oven) pot for waterbath and a new 9 inch springform tin to match. It fills a 9inch perfectly too.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs (digestive biscuits work just as well)
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup cocoa (add in with crumbs)

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

Replace last three wth the following

zest of 3 limes

juice of 2

2Tbsp lemoncello

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Light, Crisp and a broken whisk

It's that time of the month again!!

That's right. Daring Baker challenge time. For once I was prepared and got this done weeks ago. It was so simple that if it wasn't for work, I would have made them several times over.
This months challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of Ix umruehren aka Kochtpf. They have chosen Tuilles from The Chocolate Book by Angelique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
The challenge involved making one of the above recipes and matching it with something light. I chose to bake classic Tuilles, as it was my first time, and paired them with the mango mousse from last months challenge. This month was bake off month! Last October the challenge was Pizza which happened to coincide with a friends birthday. So we had a pizza night. It was on this night that my good friend Jess decided that she wanted to be a Daring Baker too! It's taken a few months, admittedly live got in the way, but Jess and I have finally had a challenge bake off.. The organisation was done very professionally. We didn't once refer to what we were doing as 'nudge nudge, wink wink' or 'uber top secret flute things'............we're both flautists............No. Not at all...

So we decided to team up this month and have a crazy night of baking. The result. Many, many, many tuilles, giggles and confusing online conversations with other friends.
You'll find the recipe we used below. I decided not to make butterflies, instead I just grabbed and offset spatula and started spreading. From memory, I used limes, lemons, rolling pins, egg cartons and there were attempts at cones.

The are definitely only so many tuilles one can eat at midnight. The rest were left until the next day where they became much chewier after absorbing moisture over night. Chewy but still good.

I won't spoil what Jess filled hers with however, some of it did end up in my tum tum.

The broken whisk mentioned in the last post was the direct result of trying to make the mango mouse. Sometimes, good old fashioned muscle just doesn't work! There's a photo lurking somewhere....


65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

Caramel Cupcakes of Goodness

Its that time of the month again! Challenge time!!!!

Firstly I must apologise for being late. I had them baked, iced and even eaten by the due date but, with all the hectic rushing around I completely forgot to post! So here I am 4 days late. But hey, better late then never right?

This months challenge was Caramel Cake with Caramelised Butter icing from Shauna Fish Lyndon of Eggbeater. It was chosen by our lovely hosts Dolores, Alex and Jenny.

I decided to make mine gluten free and in cupcake form as they are easier to eat and hold their shape better sans gluten. If you wish to make these using wheat flour, just substitute the gf flour for g flour. These ones came out quite dense which everyone loved. Once of our coeliacs took one home to her sister, who then proceeded to lick the icing off in front of their mum, who was quite jealous.

Many other Daring Bakers said that the icing was way too sweet for them. As I'm really not a big fan of super sweet icings I started with the lower amount of caramel and added more cream for consistency. So I probably ended up with 30ml of Caramel and closer to 90ml of cream. Mine were possibly quite dense because I did everything except the icing by hand. Using electric beaters for the cake would have resulted in a lighter texture.

Still tasted pretty damn good though!

What to do with all that left over syrup.......


CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

142g unsalted butter at room temperature
280g granulated sugar
½ tsp/2.5 ml kosher salt
80ml Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
286g gluten free all-purpose flour (my preferred mix is store bought)
1/2 teaspoon/2.5ml baking powder
240ml milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F/176c/gas mark 4

Butter one tall (5-6/2 – 2.5 inch deep) 23cm/9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

450g cups sugar
120ml cup water
240ml cup water (for "stopping")
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
454g confectioner’s sugar/icing sugar, sifted
60-90 ml heavy/double cream
10ml vanilla extract
30-60 ml caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light

Daring Bakers October Challenge and cake

Last Friday we celebrated a friends birthday by having a gluten free pizza night followed by a trip to the Spiegeltent. The pizza recipe used was this months Daring Bakers Challenge. The recipe can be found here. Seeing as it was a birthday party there had to be cake. The birthday girl's favourite cake is apparently a lemon cake with a lemon curd filling and whilst I have a recipe for a similar cake, coconut cake with lemon curd filling, she can't have coconut. So I did some googling and adapted the following from one found on insert random website here.

2 cups Gluten Free flour – make sure it isn't too heavy, otherwise it won't rise as well
1 ½ cups sugar
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ vegetable oil
7 eggs, separated
¾ cups lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon rind
½ tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 170ºC.

In a mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and add the oil, unbeaten egg yolks, lemon juice and zest. Beat on low speed until blended then turn the mixer to high and beat for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar until stiff.

Gently fold the batter into the egg whites until just blended

Pour into a large ungreased ring tin. If yours doesn't have feet then make sure you have a bottle around when it comes out of the oven. Ideally the tin would also have a removable base.

Bake for at least 65 minutes. Do NOT open the oven door until 55 minutes has past otherwise it will deflate. Mine too an hour and a half, turned after an hour and 10 minutes. My oven is old and fanless :-(

Remove from oven and immediately invert onto the feet. If using the bottle method, put the bottle through the hole. This is so the cake doesn't deflate whilst cooling. Let it cool until completely cold then run a knife around the edges to loosen it.

Dust with copious amounts of icing sugar and serve!!

Apparently, this gluten free cake tastes like real cake.

The pizza tasted fantastic!!! There were concerns about ending up with hockey pucks so some bases were obtained for a pizza shop as well as the phone number of the local gf pizza place. I left the dough in the fridge for two and a half days and was concerned that it wasn't rising like everyone elses was. This is possible due to there being no gluten in the bases.
Tossing was not an option. Instead they got pushed and prodded into a rough circle before being topped with everything from the traditional to the dessert. The dessert pizza was served before cake and was a base of nutella with sliced bananas and slivered almonds. After a trip to the oven they were topped with freshly sliced strawberries. Om nom nom nom.