Les Macarons....ooh.. la...la..

There is no denying the fact that the Daring Baker's this month had a foot fetish! Everywhere on our discussion boards were "I don't have feet"  "Finally I have feet!"  "Why aren't my feet looking nice?" When I removed my first batch from the oven,  I was so sad because they were  footless, then I tried it again with a different recipe.  I spent time lingering around the oven, trying to look through the oven window and  occasionally, carefully opening up the oven door and sneaking a peek.  whispering to my magic oven...please ....please...give me feet...and yes - lo and behold... I had done it...there were feet!  No,  there wasn't anyone around when I leaped around the kitchen like a very happy lunatic cheering about feet on my macarons although that would not matter because Dan  is getting quite used to this behaviour...and Elliot -  he probably wouldn't even blink.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

 Actually I think macarons are a cross between a cookie and a candy. These are NOT the usual macaroons!  This month's challenge were les Macarons (the french version of the macaroons)  and even though the recipe is quite simple the techinque is challenging. The Canadian/American version is usually made with coconut and this European variety is made with ground almonds.   Frequently, two macaroons are sandwiched together with ganache, buttercream or jam, which can cause the cookies to become more chewy. Ok, you are wondering what are feet and how are they related to cookies. The feet I am referring to is this little platform that forms under the cookie - a sign of a well made macaron.  As the cookie rises in the oven, this little platform appears. The challenge is that everything you add to the basic recipe throws the formula off so they may not turn out. A few drops of coloring can make the egg whites too wet! Even humidity affects them - hats off to our Daring Bakers in hot humid climates!

Then there is the argument over aged egg whites and another theory about letting the macarons dry after piping them on a cookie sheet.

 Macarons look quite beautiful in the Patisseries in France - all pretty pastel colors often reflecting the flavors and the masters of the macaron are Ladurée and Pierre Hermé in Paris.

 
For the first batch (that did not turn out) I followed the Daring Baker's recipe.  I followed Tartlettes recipe on the second and third times and it was quite a difference.  After piping the cookies on the second batch and leaving them to dry - a kind of skin formed over them - they actually did dry, where the first batch didn't.

I am not going to talk about my first footless batch.  I am over it. 

I decided to try to make them with a green tea flavour (using Sencha ) and was thinking that they would be a very pale green, but because they almost looked too pale ( before I folded the egg whites into the mixture of almond flour and powdered sugar) I added a couple of drops of green food colouring...YIKES...they turned bright green.  It looked like slime!  I made a pink raspberry creamy filling to attempt to make them look a little prettier.  The last batch I did the same way, but didn't add food coloring and they are a khaki green...I really enjoyed this challenge and can see myself making a gazillion of these in different colors and flavours.

There are quite a few websites with info about Macarons so if you would like a challenge...give it a shot...it is fun!

I used the recipe for the shells (which worked very well!) from our very respected Daring Baker Helen of Tartelette. Thank you... thank you Tartelette!




Here is the recipe:
Notes:  Use eggs that have been preferably aged 3-5 days in the fridge.

For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds
1 tablespoon sencha powder (similar to matcha-found in tea shops or Japanese grocery stores)

Prepare the macarons: (from Tartelette)
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar, almonds and sencha in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. ( I sifted it as well to get them as fine as possible). Add this nut flour to the meringue along with some food coloring if using, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit.  (They will feel dry when you touch them -like a skin forms on them)  In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

Raspberry swiss meringue buttercream (adapted  from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)
Makes 4 cups (can also be used as a frosting!)

4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
1 tablespoon raspberry jam
A few drops of red food colouring

In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Cook , whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 160 degrees F).

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg-white mixture on high speed until it holds stiff, but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition (if the frosting appears to separate after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, 3-5 minutes more. ) Add food couring and beat in raspberry jam. Beat on lowest speed to elimanate any air bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir with a rubber spatula until frosting is smooth.

Now spread a good amount of filling on the flat side of one of the macaron shells and sandwich the other cookie over it. BE GENTLE or you will crack the shells ( I learned from experience).

Now enjoy!
Until we bake again...
Penny

Let them eat cake! No, no, no...it was Brioche - The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge...

And it may not have been Marie Antoinette who said this famous line...but back to Brioche. Brioche is a highly enriched french bread which has high egg and butter content which gives it a rich and tender crumb. In the The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread , Peter Reinhart has 3 versions of Brioche: Rich Man’s, Middle-Class and Poor Man’s Brioche. It’s all about the amount of butter...isn’t it always about the butter? The more butter - the better it is and the fatter you get. I chose the middle-class version for the challenge...still a lot of butter!

For those who know me, Peter Reinhart is my hero. I remember reading the Bread Baker’s Apprentice cover to cover and trying all the breads. I remember the day that I found out I was one of the army of recipe testers taking part in the recipe testing of his new book Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads , Dan didn’t know what happened to me. He thought I won the lottery!

The breads in his new book are fabulous and I can’t wait for the book to come out. Advanced copies are already being sold!
Because the BBA challenge has pretty relaxed rules and really doesn’t have deadlines...I have lagged behind a bit....maybe more than a bit ....but I can’t help it, I have my favourites that I keep going back to and at the end of the day...how much bread can we eat????

Brioche was my next bread in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge and the petites brioches à tête are my favourites. They look so nice and are soooooo good. You can make Brioche in a loaf pan or in a brioche pan. It makes the most delicious French toast in the world!  This isn't a difficult bread to make and well worth the effort.  Because we would do not want to hinder sales of the book, we will; not be posting the recipes, but Nicole of Pinch my Salt has great pictures of all the steps involved.
The next bread in the challenge is Castiello!

Until we bake again ...need to go walk off that butter :)
Penny

Puff Pastry ...Vols-au-Vent ...Let's get rolling....

Puff pastry is a light flaky pastry that is formed by rolling and folding dough in layers so that it expands when baked. A series of folds is called a turn and you need to make several turns in order to get all the beautiful layers to achieve a good PUFF!  When I took my puff pastry class at George Brown College, I was lucky to have a partner Joe, who was experienced at making puff pastry.  Our edges had to be perfectly straight and our folds perfectly neat on each turn.  In class we had quite a large quantity of dough so rolling it out was exhausting but I had Joe!  YAY!!!

This batch was much easier since it was a much smaller quantity, but it didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.  I was rushing a bit and this is not a dough you rush with as it needs chilling between turns.  Oh well....next time it will be better.

See all the layers! 

There is a lot you can do with Puff Pastry - from cheese straws to apricot pastries to delicious appetizers.  They are all very yummy!
The Daring Bakers are making puff pastry from scratch this month but you can cheat ...shhhhhh...and buy puff pastry frozen.  It is fun to make it though because it really does feel like an accomplishment when it comes out of the oven all puffed up. 

The September 2009 Daring Baker's 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.

Here is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show "Baking with Julia" that demonstrates the folding and turning of the dough and here is also a link to the recipe.  

Now get out your rolling pin and start rolling!
Until we bake again,
Penny

Another Delicious Chocolate Cake?

Place a picture of a pretty chocolate cake in front of me and you can be assured I will want to bake it. I love my mom’s chocolate cake, but the chocolate cake from Ina Garten is fabulous too. My mom’s cake is more casual and very easy to make while this one is richer and looks a little more impressive, for special occasions.

I had just taken the cake out of the oven when my friend Sherman came over and presented me with this very special little gadget that I now love! It’s a Wilton cake leveler that evens out cakes, jelly rolls and other baked goods, so you have a flat surface to work with. I can’t tell you how many times I started shaving off the tops of my cakes with a knife until there was no top left. I would have a mound of crumbs sitting beside it...so much for a pretty cake, and what choice did I have but to eat the crumbs! The leveler is about $5.00 and is a great gift for bakers!

After letting the cake cool, I asked Sherman, who is now taking a cake decorating class, to help me level and frost it. Sherman and I took baking classes together and I must say he is very good at frosting...really... really...sometimes painfully precise! I think the cake looked beautiful, but best of all, it tasted amazing!

Here is the recipe
Adapted from Beatty’s Chocolate Cake from Barefoot Contessa at Home.

1 3/4 cups all- purpose flour ( plus more for the pans)
2 cups sugar
¾ cup good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk , shake well!
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs – room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee

Frosting
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 sticks (1/2 Pound) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of mixer with the paddle attachment,
Mix on low until combined.
In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
Continue mixing on low and add the coffee. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it a short last mix.
Pour into the pans and bake 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick (or cake tester) comes out clean.
Cool in the pans for 30 minutes then turn out on cooling rack and cool completely.

Now for the frosting...
Chop the chocolate and melt in a heat proof bowl over simmering water. Stir and cool to room temperature.
Beat the butter on medium high speed until light yellow and fluffy (3 minutes)
Add vanilla and blend in.
Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on medium, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of hot water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended.

Assembling the cake:
Option 1 – smooth version
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate. With an offset spatula or a knife, put a heaping scoop off frosting and spread evenly.
Use the leveller or a knife to cut the top of the second layer (before placing it on the first layer) just enough to make it flat. Eat the cake you cut off to give you energy to continue!
Place the second layer on top of the first. Put a good size scoop of icing on top and using your offset spatula, move it around and spread all over the top and sides. You can make it really even with this icing.

Option 2 – more swirly version
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate. With an offset spatula or a knife, put a heaping scoop off frosting and spread evenly.
Place 2nd layer round side up and put a good size scoop of icing on top and using your offset spatula, move it around and spread all over the top and sides, swirling it around.

Hope you like it!

Until we bake again...

Penny

Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge - Anyone for a Bagel?

In the BBA book, Peter Reinhart talks about different kinds of bagels – chewy water bagels and softer steamed bagels. Peter’s theory is that nothing can top the taste of a memory. So true for me... Every Saturday night we would visit my grandparents and on the way home stop for bagels on St. Viateur, in Montreal. I remember those very very cold snowy evenings, shivering in the back seat and my mom telling me that I would soon have the bagels to warm me up. We would pull up to the little shop. The windows were always steamy and there would be a line up in front of the wood oven. I would go in with my dad and watch the bakers. The bagel workers would be rolling out ropes of the dough and winding it into bagels...incredibly quickly! I was so impressed and still love watching them-even now! After shaping them, they would drop them in the boiling alkalized water (I think) and then place them on the long wooden planks in the wood burning oven. The place was always busy and when you walked into the store, the wonderful smell of the bagels was intoxicating - a memory that will last forever. Perhaps that is one reason that I love baking bread. The bagels were still so hot that they had to be packaged in brown paper bags – plastic bags would have melted. I would run back to the car clutching the hot bagels and my mom would repeat to me many times “you can’t eat them when they are so hot. You will get a stomach ache!” ...hmmm I’m not sure if any of that is true, but the fact is, bagels to me were a way to stay warm and yes, of course I ate them (sneaking them of course). If you ever get to Montreal, you can still go to St-Viateur Bagel. It really hasn’t changed much over time and is worth a visit.

For the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge, bagels were next on my list. I had fun making them and when I tasted them, I closed my eyes and yes they were tasty and chewy and really quite good. But there was no wood-burning oven to give them the look and smoky taste that I remember so well. I don’t have a wood-burning oven though, so I can’t compete with that taste. The first time I made them, I didn’t make the holes big enough so when they baked, they almost completely closed. This time, I made the holes too big...next time I hope to get it right - practice makes perfect! I will be going to Montreal soon and will definitely pick up bagels on my next trip... and I promise I won’t eat them hot Mom!

Until we bake again...

Penny

In support of Peter Reinhart's book, we will not be posting the recipes from The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Nick at Macheesmo is hosting this weeks YeastSpotting.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies...ummmm

When I told my dad what I had baked for the Daring Bakers challenge, he immediately said “those are Whippets!” I believe that Whippets are a commercially made cookie mainly known in Quebec (where my family lives and where I was raised). There are many versions of the Whippet but I do know that these did not have a jam layer in between the wafer cookie bottom and the marshmallow, where many of the others do. I prefer them without the jam layer.

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Thanks Nicole for hosting this month’s challenge of the Daring Bakers! I made the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and have left the Milan Cookies to another day, because I was away on vacation in Italy. You can read about my trip at Sweet Sadie’s on the Road!


Eating Whippets for me was always an event. First I would delicately nibble off the chocolate top, making sure not to disturb the perfect marshmallow resting beneath it….then I sucked the marshmallow in one big swoop out of the wafer,,,,then I finally ate the wafer. This of course went with a glass of milk and I’m sure you know the routine. I would run out of milk and still have my cookie left so fill my glass up then not have any cookie left ( let me emphasize that there was no choice) eat another cookie and so on and so on… As I mentioned in my chocolate chip cookie post, this was always a special time of the day when I was young, because each evening I would have my milk and cookies with my dad.

I was excited about this challenge because this was not just about making cookies, it was also about making marshmallows, which I had never done.
Needless to say, I made a batch of cookies, then couldn’t resist making some peppermint marshmallows as well. I will post about those later….

You can find the recipe for the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies here.

Just for the record, Dan really liked them!

Until we bake again...

Penny

Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits. They are a classic English dessert that you can enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee or just eat it sneaky slice by sneaky slice until, to your chagrin, you realize the whole tart has somehow disappeared despite you never having pulled out a plate, fork or napkin with which to eat it.

Someone once said something like “The Bakewell pudding is a dessert. The Bakewell tart is that girl over there.”

It’s a debate that rages on and we aren’t taking sides on this one. But we will say that many people call this pudding a tart.

This makes one 9” tart or you can make individual little ones.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart

Sweet shortcrust pastry
1/4 cup to 1 cup jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane
One handful blanched, flaked almonds for top
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

And now for my tasters...My dear friend Randy, who always lets me know that he never gets to taste my challenges, finally was the first one to taste it...and he really liked it!

And Dan...hmmm after saying it was jammy - he just kept repeating " a tart er ....pudding" ..." a tart er ....pudding"....and yes he likes it too. He liked the jammy taste combined with the almonds.

Until we bake again...

Penny