Lavash...The Crispy Middle Eastern Cracker

Daring Bakers history was made this month as our September challenge was vegan and/or gluten free for the first time.
The Definitions: Vegan - no animal products of any kind ; Gluten Free - No wheat (including kamut and spelt), barley, rye, and triticale, as well as the use of gluten as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent.

I made mine vegan.  To learn more about health benefits of going Vegan click here.

Our hosts were the alternative bakers, Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl. These were soooo good - I made them twice - the first time maybe a little too hot and spicy. In fact Joanne, a dear friend of mine, said they were quite hot - in fact she was "ON FIRE!" which is unbelievable because she likes her food hot and spicy! Maybe I added too much cayenne. I did notice that a little spice goes a long way with these puppies, so take it easy, especially with the salt.

In order to get them crispy, you need to roll out the dough paper thin and bake them until they are browned (not burnt-browned!). Just when you think you have rolled the dough out thin, you need to roll it thinner. In fact, divide the dough into two and roll each portion out separately. If it becomes difficult, let it rest and cover it with plastic or a towel and walk away for a few minutes...patience... patience... patience.

After I rolled out the dough, instead of spraying them with water, I sprayed the dough with Ontario ice wine, then sprinkled the spices. Another time I brushed maple syrup on the dough before sprinkling the spices. Both were great!

You can bake them in two batches if you would like. The first time I made them, I baked the entire sheet uncut, then broke them into shards. The second time, I used a pizza cutter and cut odd shapes. You just need to make the cuts and after baking, they break apart easily. They are very attractive!

The lavash recipe originally came from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice , one of my favorite bread books. For the actual challenge recipe you can visit Shel’s blog and Natalie’s blog .

These really weren't difficult and can be made the morning of a dinner party -great with Dan's hummus - no, not my husband Dan, Meredith's new husband Dan and no - not my husband Dan's daughter Meredith, my friend Meredith...too complicated...but anyone who knows my husband Dan, knows that he wouldn't have a recipe for hummus.



Dan S's very very good Hummus!

1 can chickpeas, drained
4-6 tbsp tehina
1/4 cup lemon juice (1 squeezed lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves (stem/green part removed)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt
pinch cayenne pepper

With food processor running, add garlic through top. Add all remaining ingredients
and mix on high until smooth. If it's too thick, add a little water.

Until we bake again...

Penny

BZZZZZZZ...Sadie's Honey Cake...

Revised Sept 29, 2011

I have a plastic bag filled with recipes jotted down on scraps of paper by my mom. In this bag was a recipe for honey cake. After seeing the cover of the issue of the Martha Stewart Living June 2008 magazine with the beehive on it, I went on a hunt for the beehive mold and finally found it at Williams and Sonoma. What a perfect home for my mom's honey cake! Great for an outdoor party and for those who bring in the Jewish New Year with something sweet, this honey cake is tasty and fun. It certainly gets the ooohs and ahhhs of the crowd, baked in the beehive mold. And we had fun making the little bees out of marzipan that adorn it...although I cheated a bit the last time and bought the sugar bees on ebay. The bees in the picture below we made of marzipan. For those who are allergic to nuts, the sugar bees are perfect though.

I know my mom would have been impressed with this version of her honey cake!




Sadie's Honey Cake (Delicious even without the glaze and frosting)

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup honey (hint: spray your measuring cup or spoon with oil, and the honey will slip out easy)
• 1 teaspoon of orange rind (optional)
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup nuts (optional)

Honey Glaze ( recipe from the instructions on the mold)
Even if you are not using the mold, this glaze is quite a nice addition

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt

Quick Buttercream - if using beehive mold - ( recipe from the instructions on the mold)
This is really used to glue the 2 sides of the cake together if you are using a mold, so ignore the buttercream if you are not using the beehive mold.  This is probably not a good idea if making for the Jewish Holidays because of the dairy element. 

• 4 Tbs (1/2 stick unsalted butter)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 Tbs milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Royal Icing - if using beehive mold-  (recipe from the instructions on the mold)
Even if making a simple honeycake, this can be nice to drizzle over the top  but totally optional and probably not a good idea if making for the Jewish Holidays because of the dairy element. 

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 to 3 tsp. milk

Marzipan bees -recipe from Martha Stewart Living - June 2008

• 1 ounce of marzipan
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• black gel paste (food coloring)
• yellow gel paste (food coloring)

Directions

Sadie's Honey Cake

1. With the rack in center of oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pans  and lightly dust with flour - either molds or bundt pan ( Use whatever cake pans you have!)

2. Sift the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs , sugar, oil and honey at high speed until light, about 5 minutes. Add rind.

4. Add flour mixture, alternating with orange juice, beginning and ending with flour. Add nuts if desired.

5. Divide batter between the molds (the mold is divided in half) , and place them on a baking sheet. If using other baking pans,  add the batter to the pan.



5. Bake for 50-60 minutes (a tester or toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean). Transfer molds to a wire rack, and let cakes cool in pans for 15 to 20 minutes.

6 Turn out cakes, supporting them with your hand, and place flat sides on rack. Let cool completely. (If not using the beehive molds, go to step 8.)

7. Carefully trim the flat sides of the cake halves with a serrated knife so each is level. Align the halves to make sure they are flush, then separate. Don't cut off big chunks or it will not work.

8. Make the honey glaze: Bring honey, lemon juice and salt and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
9. Brush the cake with the honey glaze including the flat sides of each cake half.  (If not using the beehive molds, go to step 13.)

10. Make the buttercream. In a small bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy on medium speed then add confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla and salt and continue until light and fluffy.

11. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the cut side of one of the cake halves. Place the cut side of the other cake half against the frosted side and gently press the two halves together.
This is the glue that holds the two sides of the beehive together. (if making for the Jewish Holidays, I would suggest just using the glaze to glue it together - because of the dairy element)

12. Let set upright for 5 minutes. (If the 2 sides don't stay together, place a small bowl over top to hold the 2 sides together while glaze sets.)

13. Carefully transfer cake to a rack set over parchment. Spoon remaining warm honey glaze over cake until the cake is completely covered. Let stand until set.
14. Make the Royal Icing. In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar and the 2 tsp. milk until smooth. The icing should be thick but still pourable.

15. Carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter. Drizzle with the royal icing.

16. Make marzipan bees (optional) .

• Divide the marzipan in two and add a little yellow gel paste to one half and black gel paste to the other half. Knead to incorporate.
• Roll each portion into a 1/8 inch diameter rope. Cut into 1/8 inch slices.
• Stack 5 slices together flat sides facing alternating colors, starting and ending with a yellow. Press together gently. For the head roll a yellow slice into a ball and press onto body. For the eyes roll two teensy bits of black into balls and press into head.. For the stinger, shape the tail piece into a slight point. For the wings, press a sliced almond into each side of bee.
• Arrange marzipan or sugar bees on cake, pressing gently to adhere to icing.

Until we bake again....and Happy New Year for those who celebrate the Jewish Holidays!

Penny

My First Daring Bakers Challenge...éclairs!

Oh yes...I waited eagerly to take part in my first challenge with the Daring Bakers. Thank you to Meeta and Tony who chose chocolate éclairs from the book Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé.

I made éclairs in baking class and they worked out quite well, so needless to say I approached this challenge with a “no problem, I have made these before” attitude. That was my first mistake… After throwing the first batch of pâte à choux in the garbage ( they looked beautiful when they came out of the oven and then they flattened out), stamping my fists on the counter and mumbling a few chosen words…I decided to try again. This time, after following some of the pastry tips, they came out quite nice! Next step…the vanilla pastry cream... creamy and delicious and the chocolate sauce…yummy ,yummy (great for an ice cream topping as well)


And then the chocolate glaze. It went downhill here. After removing the cream from the heat, I added the chocolate …and then there was oil and chocolate. The more I tried to mix it the more oil there was. I added the butter, thinking that magically, by some miracle unknown to man, the butter would eliminate the oil. Pierre Hermes would not say to add the butter if this were not the case?
I was sooooo surprised when it got more oily! I thought the oil was somehow coming up through my counter into the bowl! I kept trying to drain the oil and it kept multiplying. I had struck an oil well in my counter!
After shouting at the oil well under my counter, I frosted the éclairs, hoping the glaze would not slide off and skid across the kitchen.

After much deliberation with my fellow Daring Bakers, we think it is because I did not pour the cream over the chocolate in another bowl. Maybe the cream was too hot - perhaps weighing the ingredients would have helped. If anyone thinks it’s something else, please let me know. They may not look fabulous, but they tasted great! At least my challenge tasters, Zac and Dan, ate them all!

You can find the recipe on both Meeta's and Tony's blogs (as well as the pastry tips).


Until we bake again!
Penny