Tuesdays with Dorie: Allspice Crumb Muffins
October 13, 2009 at 1:20 am | Posted in breakfast things, groups, muffins/quick breads, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 41 Comments
I’m pretty slow-going in the morning, so don’t do that much breakfast baking. That being said, I was happy to have the lovely Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table chose Allspice Crumb Muffins for TWD this week. It’s good to have my routine switched up every once and awhile. And it’s hard to not like having a fresh, homemade muffin (especially one with streusel topping!) with my morning coffee.
Allspice isn’t a spice that I usually have on hand. In fact, before I made this recipe I had to pay a visit to my most favorite tea and spice shop, Two for the Pot in Brooklyn, to score some. Allspice in hand, I subbed just a bit of whole wheat flour for the AP in both the streusel and the muffin itself. I also added in the optional lemon zest…this muffin doesn’t have bits of fruit in it, so I think the zest went a long way towards amping up the flavor a bit. They baked up with kinda flat tops, but I can overlook that in favor of their ease and pleasant simplicity.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Grandma’s Kitchen Table. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
P.S.: I’m taking a quick trip out of town on my days off this week. I won’t be in front of the computer for a few days, so please forgive my lack of comments!
Pear Butterscotch Pie
October 6, 2009 at 9:49 pm | Posted in pies & tarts, sweet things | 29 Comments
I spent a good portion of today thumbing through some back issues of Gourmet. I’ve been an on-again, off-again subscriber to the magazine for years. I let it expire, I miss it and I come back to it. I took it for granted that I would be able to continue this pattern for years to come, but looks like I was wrong. And that’s such a shame, because even though there’s so much food-related content out there right now, I could always count on Gourmet to have interesting and topical articals, inspirational recipes and beautiful pictures.
I told you yesterday that I’d make you something from the pages of Gourmet, so I leave you with this recipe for a really tasty Pear Butterscotch Pie from the recent September issue. My husband, who also enjoys a good flip-through of each new issue (and bookmarks requests), pestered me to make it all last month. The flavors remind me more of apple pie than butterscotch, to tell the truth, but the dark brown sugar and the big chunks of pear are enough to make it a little more unusual. Spike your whipped cream with a little bourbon, and you’ll add to the butterscotch feel!
Pear Butterscotch Pie– makes a 9-inch pie
from a recipe in Gourmet (September 2009)
Notes: Pie is best the day it is made but can be baked 1 day ahead. The leaf cutouts described below are optional, as they are decorative only.
3 T AP flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t grated nutmeg
1/8 t salt
1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
2 1/2 pounds firm-ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears (about 5)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t pure vanilla extract
double recipe of flaky pastry dough (here’s one, or use your favorite)
1 T unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg beaten with 1 T warm water
1 T turbinado or granulated sugar
– Put a baking sheet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
– Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, then whisk in brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Peel the pears, cut each into 6 wedges, and core. Gently toss pear chunks with brown sugar mixture, lemon juice, and vanilla and let stand 5 to 15 minutes to macerate fruit.
– Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining disk chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 13-inch round. Reserve scraps.
– Transfer filling to shell. Dot with butter, then cover with pastry round. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang (reserve scraps). Press edges together to seal, then fold under. Lightly brush top crust with some of egg wash, then cut 3 (1-inch-long) vents.
– Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining disk chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 13-inch round. Reserve scraps.
– Transfer filling to shell. Dot with butter, then cover with pastry round. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang (reserve scraps). Press edges together to seal, then fold under. Lightly brush top crust with some of egg wash, then cut 3 (1-inch-long) vents.
– Roll out dough scraps about 1/8 inch thick and cut out leaf shapes with small leaf cutters (or a knife). Arrange decoratively on top of pie, pressing gently to help them adhere. Lightly brush top crust and cutouts with some of egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
– Bake pie on hot baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes more. Cool to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Split Level Pudding
October 6, 2009 at 1:00 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 33 Comments
Did you see the news about Gourmet? I am sad. I need something to make me smile. Something like pudding. Maybe coffee pudding. Some chocolate would be good, too.
Oh, ya know– I have just the thing in the fridge right now, since Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla picked Split Level Pudding for TWD this week. Pudding on top, bittersweet ganache on the bottom. This is just the thing to make me feel a little better. Excuse this short post, but now I’m off to make you something from the pages of Gourmet.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart
September 29, 2009 at 1:24 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 55 Comments
Carla of Chocolate Moosey chose one sexy tart for TWD this week– Dorie’s Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart. Soft bittersweet ganache on top of caramel and peanuts…this is rich and decadent. Using a high percentage chocolate and taking your caramel to a deep amber keeps it from being overly sweet. It’s a special occasion tart that’s surprisingly easy to make, especially if you’ve had some chocolate shortbread dough hiding out in the freezer for a rather long while (I used it instead of making a new batch of sweet tart dough).
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Chocolate Moosey. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Daring Bakers in September: Vols-au-Vent with Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
September 27, 2009 at 12:05 am | Posted in daring bakers, groups, other savory, other sweet, savory things, sweet things | 97 Comments
After more than two years as a Daring Baker (it all started with a mirror cake…), I’m so excited that Liz and Ivonne have asked me to host a challenge! Woo-hoo! But oh no–what to pick?? Looking over past challenges, I realized that we’ve covered a lot of territory! One thing we haven’t made since I’ve been in the group, though, is our own puff pastry (aka pâte feuilletée). Puff is something most of us usually buy at the grocery store, but in order to be really daring, we should try to make our own at least once, right?
Puff pastry is in the “laminated dough” family, along with Danish dough and croissant dough. (In fact, if you participated in the Danish Braid challenge back in June 2008, then you already know the general procedure for working with laminated dough.) A laminated dough consists of a large block of butter (called the beurrage) that is enclosed in dough (called the détrempe). This dough/butter packet is called a paton, and is rolled and folded repeatedly (a process known as “turning”) to create the crisp, flaky, parallel layers you see when baked. Unlike Danish or croissant however, puff pastry dough contains no yeast in the détrempe, and relies solely aeration to achieve its high rise. The turning process creates hundreds of layers of butter and dough, with air trapped between each one. In the hot oven, water in the dough and the melting butter creates steam, which expands in the trapped air pockets, forcing the pastry to rise.
I picked a recipe for homemade puff pastry from Michel Richard, as it appears in the book Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. In order to showcase off the hundreds of flaky, golden, buttery layers in the homemade puff, we formed a portion of it into vols-au-vent– little puff pastry cases designed to hold a filling. They can be made large enough for a full meal, or made small for little one-bite canapés. Vols-au-vent are typically served hot and filled with a creamy savory filling (often poultry or seafood-based), but cold fillings, such as chicken or tuna salad, work, too. Whipped cream or pastry cream with fresh or stewed fruit often goes into sweet versions.
Sizes of and fillings for the vols-au-vent were left up to the individual baker. I made three types: a smoked salmon mousse canapé, a larger main course-size filled with tuna salad and a sweet version with vanilla whipped cream and bright red tristar strawberries.
As it’s a little long, here’s a printable link to the recipe for puff pastry, as well as instructions for forming vol-au-vents and some extra tips. Also, there is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). Dont’ be put off by the length of time it takes to make your own puff pastry (most of it is inactive, while waiting for the dough to chill between turns)…it really isn’t that hard to do! I encourage anyone who has never made puff before to take a look at the video, get some good butter, and give it a try!
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this month’s challenge– I know it required a lot of time and a lot of butter, both of which are precious commodities. I appreciate your feedback and advice in the forums…not to mention your fabulous results!! Also, of course, great big hugs go to Liz and Ivonne, not only for starting this group, but for keeping it alive and fun and so well-organized! Check out the Daring Bakers’ Blogroll for more adventures in puff!
The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Cottage Cheese Pufflets
September 22, 2009 at 1:35 am | Posted in cookies & bars, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 31 Comments
This is my second TWD in a row showcasing 45-45-90 triangles. I majored in math back in the day and am seriously thinking of turning this blog into a weekly cooking/geometry lesson (changing the name to “a whisk and a protractor,” of course). But before I start handing out purple-inked dittos to everyone, let’s review these Cottage Cheese Pufflets, which Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes chose for TWD.
I really like cottage cheese, but I also really never buy it. Don’t know why…it just doesn’t pop up on my grocery radar screen very often. I was glad, then, to have a little leftover from these cookies to eat for lunch with carrot sticks. I was also glad that these cookies were fantastic, because while I was curious to try them, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from a cookie with cottage cheese in the dough. But I’ll tell you what to expect…they are puffy and light and flaky, but with a little chew. (You can also expect the dough to be super sticky to work with, so chill it every step of the way and your life will be easier.) The dough itself isn’t too sweet, but it’s complimented by a bit of jam in the center. I filled my pufflets with some of my homemade Easy Plum Jam. Such a pretty color poking out through the steam hole (and through the sides…hmmm), don’t you think?
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Daisy Lane Cakes. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
The Cake Slice: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake
September 20, 2009 at 1:32 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, the cake slice | 37 Comments
Oh…Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake…the last cake The Cake Slice Bakers are making as a group from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes. Sad, but just because the group will be moving on to a new book next month, Sky High won’t be gathering dust on the shelf. After thirteen cakes, it has proven to be one of my favorite books, and I want to make just about every other thing in it!
This cake is like a high-class Ding Dong (although when and where I grew up, they were called “King Dons“). If you were raised, as I was, in a house where such “crème-filled” delicacies were banned, then it will make you very happy. A moist and dark devil’s food-like cake (made with mayo…but don’t be put off, because you’d never know!) is filled with a white chocolate mousse and frosted with chocolate sour cream frosting. A piece of advice…my white chocolate filling seemed a bit too soft to use straight away, so I stashed it, still in its bowl, in the fridge for about half an hour to firm up before using it.
The cake is so rich and good– I think we’re seeing this book off with a bang! Here’s a printable link to the recipe. Better yet, get your hands on a copy of Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne…you won’t be sorry. Cruise through the list of The Cake Slice Bakers to check out all of our sky-high cakes this month, and stay tuned for next month’s new book!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Flaky Peach and Blueberry Turnovers
September 15, 2009 at 1:55 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 37 Comments
This week Jules of Someone’s in the Kitchen chose Flaky Turnovers for TWD. My husband refused to call them “turnovers,” referring to them as “handpies” instead. Whatever you want to call them, these little fruit-filled sour cream pastries are good! Like pie, but so much easier…super versatile, too…fill them with whatever fruit you fancy.
I actually made these back in August, when this month’s recipes were first announced. We were still in prime summer produce season then, so I used peaches and blueberries in mine (yum!). Instead of making turnovers shaped like half-moons, I did triangles (no scrap!). Normally I like my pastry to be a bit more golden brown on top, but I refused to make eggwash for just two turnovers (lazy!), so they got the powdered sugar disguise (really lazy!).
I made a half recipe, and got four turnovers…two of them were baked right away for immediate gratification, and two went into the freezer for a busy day. I had that busy day, and am happy to report that they worked really well baked just out of the freezer, keeping their shape nicely with no leakage.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read Someone’s in the Kitchen. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
Easy Nectarine and Easy Plum Jams
September 9, 2009 at 3:46 pm | Posted in jams & preserves, sweet things | 18 Comments
Before I really get into this, I want you to know that I do realize I’m basically recycling my Easy Apricot Jam post from back in July. But we’re all for recycling, right? Look– I even recycled these old jars…
In a lot of ways I’m ready for fall, but I want nothing to do with apples and pears quite yet…I’m still clinging for dear life onto the summer fruit and veg. Just this morning I went to the Union Square Greenmarket to restock my supply of peaches, raspberries and tristar strawberries, afraid that maybe by next week they’ll have disappeared. I find some consolation in the fact that, if I cook my fruit down with a little sugar and lemon juice, I can trap a piece of summer in a Mason jar and keep it for a few more weeks.
Easy Nectarine and Easy Plum Jams— makes 2 1/2 cups
adapted from Cooks Illustrated (July/August 1998)
Note: To prep your stonefruit, wash (and peel the nectarines…for the plums, you can leave the skins on), halve and pit them. Then slice them very thin. You want to wind up with 1 pound of fruit after prepping.
The jam will continue to thicken as it cools, so err on the side of undercooking. Because of its reduced sugar amounts, this jam cannot be canned.
1 pound prepared fruit, about 3 cups
1 cup plus 2 T sugar for plum jam/1 ¼ cups sugar for nectarine jam
2 T juice from 1 lemon
– Set a bowl over a larger bowl of ice water; set aside.
– In 10- or 12-inch skillet, bring fruit, sugar, and lemon juice to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly and skimming foam as necessary, until mixture begins to look syrupy and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon fruit mixture into bowl over ice water; allow to set for 30 seconds. Tip bowl 45 degrees to one side; jam should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is liquid and runs to side of bowl, return skillet to heat and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes longer; then repeat test. Save the ice bath to cool the finished product.
-Cool jam to room temperature (over the ice bath) before serving or transferring to a clean glass jar or airtight container (you can sterilize first with boiling water, if you are so inclined). It will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to two weeks (I’ve kept mine for up to a month…but that’s just me).
Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Soufflé
September 8, 2009 at 1:57 am | Posted in groups, pudding/mousse, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 42 Comments
I wonder if the bankers in the building across the street ever notice me taking photos of my food on the windowsill. I can see them clearly, so maybe they see me, too? If they do, I’m sure they were jealous that on a Wednesday afternoon, while they were sitting in their offices or in the conference room with the red walls and heinous artwork, I was enjoying a chocolate soufflé with hazelnut crème anglaise. This is all thanks to Susan of She’s Becoming DoughMessTic, who chose chocolate soufflés for TWD this week.
At every restaurant I’ve worked in, there’s been a soufflé on the menu at some point. Every pastry chef seems to make them a little differently, but I’ve picked up a few universal tips along the way. Use soft butter to coat your ramekins well (one chef had us do two coats). Use room temperature whites and whip them until they “look like shaving cream.” (I prefer to whip my whites by hand, if the amount is manageable.) Fill individual molds right to the top, level them off, and clean off any batter that may have slopped on the rims. Most importantly, get your soufflés to the table straight away (in a restaurant, this is actually the hardest part, because when a soufflé comes out of the oven, inevitably there are no waiters to be found!).
I made a few individual soufflés, rather than the larger one Dorie suggests. The principles are the same, but the baking time is shorter. I had mine in the oven for somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes…I like them a little puddingy and creamy inside. They were really very chocolatey, light and delicious….and a little pot of chilled hazelnut crème anglaise served alongside didn’t hurt matters any.
For the recipe, see Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, or read She’s Becoming DoughMessTic. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll!
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