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