BBD: Small Breads, Biscuits

This months Bread Baking Daily Challenge was Small Breads Hosted by My Diverse Kitchen.

Biscuits are one of the quintessential American small breads. Easy to make, versatile, and presized for the individual. I started 'helping' my mother make biscuits since I was old enough to be trusted not to dump the flour everywhere, I started making biscuits on my own when I was 11. Sadly Bisquick, biscuits in a can and my hectic life has made me let my skills lapse. This is the recipe I grew up with.

Richer Biscuits
from the Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, copyright 1950
It says it makes 20 1 3/4" biscuits, I say you will be lucky to get a dozen.

Shift together
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

cut in finely
6 tblsp shortening

stir in
2/3 cup milk.

roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut. place on ungreased baking sheet and bake til golden brown (about 10 minutes) in a 450 degree oven.

You Bar, Now a Me bar!

Protien suppliments and I usualy get along like oil and water only not that well. Just the smell of the protien makes my stomach roll. Which I usualy take in stride after all I am a dedicated carnivore and definitly not a muscle builder so I really don't need protien suppliments. But occasionaly when I am out and about it would be nice to have a quick snack that was more protien then sugar. Up until now that has been impossible, But the whey protien in You Bars doesn't smell funny or taste funky either. Whoo Hoo!

I signed up for Blake Makes Sooperz, periodicaly he has food items that companies want to get the word out about their products and he shares the goodies with others. This time it was You Bars, personalized protien bars. I got a sampler of 4 bars, two of their creations and two random extra's from someone elses order. All 4 were very good. They were heavy with big chunks of fruit and a rough homemade look to them. They were not to dry or greasy. infact they were so good I didn't share them as I had originaly intended. I also ate them too fast to get a good picture, darn I guess that means I need more. :)

Bedino Nero, or what to do with bad cake

Remember in my last post, failure #2? This is what I did with it. Bodino Nero from Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts. With my own special touches of course.

Bodino Nero is Italian Chocolate Bread Pudding. So the first thing I did was use overcooked pecan gateau instead of bread. Then I tweaked the recipe a Little and added some blackberry / blueberry preserves to the bottom of my ramekins. The results make failed cake something to look forward to. Rich chocolate flavor an almost cheese cake like texture, a hint of nuttiness and the tart sweetness of the berries.

Bodino Nero [my version]

Ingredients for 4 servings
Fine dry bread crumbs, for coating the pan [didn't use]
3 1/2 ounce chocolate semisweet, chopped [2 oz chocolate]
1 cup Whole milk [3/4 cup heavy cream]
2 large eggs [1 large egg]
1/4 cup sugar [2 tblsp sugar]
4 cup (about 3 ounces) cubed (1/2 inch size), day-old French or Italian bread, crusts removed (semolina bread works well) [pecan gateau, 2 cups]
Confectioners' sugar, for serving
Softly whipped cream, for serving

Recipe Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center. Butter an 8-inch springform pan or a 6-cup ring or other mold; coat with bread crumbs, shaking out the excess. Wrap the exterior bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil, forming a tight seal where the sides join; set aside. [ 2 ramekins, well buttered with a tablespoon berry preserves on the bottom]

2. Combine the chocolate and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is partially melted. Remove from the heat and stir until completely smooth.

3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until combined. Whisk in the chocolate mixture; fold in the bread cubes. If the bread is quite dry, let the mixture stand for 5 to 10 minutes, so the bread absorbs some of the liquid.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Cover the top with a buttered sheet of foil, buttered side down. Set the pan in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Pour in enough hot tap water to reach about halfway up the sides of the pan.

5. Bake until the pudding is nearly set, but still slightly wobbly, about 35 minutes (the timing can vary based on the size and depth of the pan; do not overbake). [I overbaked, it was delicious]

6. Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and cool to lukewarm on a wire rack. Run the tip of a knife around the edges of the pudding; remove the sides, if you are using a springform pan. Serve on a platter - without inverting. (If using a ring mold, invert the pudding and lift off the mold.) Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm, with softly whipped cream.

The Pecan Gateau is the one from this months Daring Bakers Challenge. It was my second try and terribly over cooked, which made it tough. It was still good though, and after I ran out of pecan buttercream and ganache to make little finger sandwiches with I still had a fair amount left.

Pecan Gateau
1 ½ cups pecans, toasted
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

Tempers Notes:
This recipe is sooo good!, it was so rich the servings should be 8 instead of 4 and I needed smaller ramekins. It also cured any and all chocolate cravings I had for the day. I am thinking a white chocolate version with toasted pound cake and coconut would be wonderful too, if I ever kept pound cake around that long.

DB: Pecan Gateau with Praline Buttercream

Chris of Mele Cotte chose Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Carole Walters’ Great Cakes for this months Daring Bakers challenge. I chose Pecan Gateau with Praline Buttercream because I am in Texas and what is more Texan than Pecan Pralines?

To put it bluntly I failed. I did this the same weekend as my R2R challenge with about the same amount of luck.

Try 1. I over processed the pecans and didn't add the sugar to the egg yolks slowly. This failure is in the fridge waiting to be 'rescued'

Try 2. Undercooked the gateau and then over cooked it in the microwave. It ended up tough and short and I cut it up and stuffed it in the freezer (see tomorrows post for the results of that).

Try 3. Over cooked the nuts, but hey a little smoke never hurt anyone right? and then the gateau went funky and the bottom 3/4 was inedible (I know I tried). At that point between the two challenges I was down about 2 dozen eggs. So with my 1/4th of a layer I made a mini cake.

I had originally wanted to make a mini cake, just not quite that mini (3 X 2), or at least not just one. Unlike alot of people my pralines came together beautifully and the buttercream was Divine.

This cake was alot of firsts for me, first gateau, first Swiss buttercream, first ganache, first caramelized sugar (I am from TX I am not calling what we did a praline), first mini cake.

The cake was surprisingly easy to assemble even if the instructions were a little long.
step 1, cut the cake in three layers (floss works great)
step 2, spread cut side with sugar syrup
step 3, spread praline buttercream 1/4 inch thick
step 4, spread whipped cream to 1/4 inch of edge
step 5, repeat steps 2 - 4
step 6, gently align layers and trim the sides
step 7, let sit in fridge 30 minutes
step 8, cover sides and tops with thinned Plum Jelly
step 9, let sit again
step 10, cover in ganache,
step 11, Sit again
step 12, decorate
step 13, sit again
step 14, EAT!

You can see the complete recipe on Chris's blog. It is simply too long for me to post here. I will be post select portions of the recipe as I reuse it in the future.

Tempers notes:
Every bit of this cake was good and the bite or two I managed to salvage of it all together was wonderful. I had to make a second batch of the caramelized pecans they were such a hit and keeping Indra away from the Buttercream was a loosing battle. Come fall when our pecans come in season (and it gets cooler inside) I will definitely be making this again. I am thinking for X-mas people may get a jar of ganache and some fancy nuts from me (with other homemade goodies), cause it was just that good.

here are some fellow DB bloggers I wanted to share. Evil Lemons is a riot, and it has one of the best walk thrus I have seen. I added him to my list of blogs to read regularly. PrettyTastyCakes got ambitious and made her cake a dome. And I will admit it I am a little jealous of the smooth finish and lovely circles. Ann of Redacted Recipes has my vote for best looking though. I love the organicness of the buttercream decoration, it reminds me of growing things.

PS: I am pretty sure from looking at other peoples challenges that my problem was i did not whip the eggs enough.

R2R, Thank George's Bank

I was really excited when we decided to do this recipe. Thank George's Bank, it is Cod cakes with Poached eggs and Hollendaise. I love hollendaise but have never made it so I was really looking forward to making it. I was less excited by the poached egg (I like crispy greasy eggs darn it) and the fish, (despite stereotypes to the contrary not all lesbians like fish). But I figured the hollendaise would make it all good.

I have never steamed fish before so I was surprised how easy it was and it smelled pretty darn good (I will admit I also tasted it an except for being over seasoned it tastes pretty good too). One step Down, so far so good. I had mashed potatoes left over from supper and I always have eggs so once the fish was cooled the patties were ready to go. I covered them and stuck them in the fridge overnight.

The next morning bright and early I started the cod cakes cooking (like the alliteration?) I had already read about the problems other people had and armed with my potato patty experience I started Frying them up. I expected the first batch to turn out a little scrambled. But so was the second... and the third, which left me with 12 scrambled patties that taste Great, I mean really really good, but look well horrible. Not to worry cover it with Hollendaise and will all be good.

I am sorry to report that the hollendaise was a disaster. I tried again, still a disaster. It was not the recipes fault. I blame the equipment. The recipe says to use your food processor, and the blades were just not low enough to really mix the two egg yolks and after adding the butter nothing happened. I waited and waited and still no emulsification. I might have tried a third time and used the cooked version but It had been a long weekend and between this and the DB challenge (also failed) I had already gone thru 2 dozen eggs so I decided to call it quits.

I skipped poaching the egg because with out the sauce it just wasn't worth the effort. I will try again to make hollendaise, though I will not use the food processor. And I will probably even try poaching an egg just so I can say I have. But the Cod cakes really stole the show for me and as someone who is ambivalent about fish that is saying alot, I will definitely be trying those again. And maybe next time I will have some photos.

Taste and Create: Spring Ramp Gnocchi

My partner for this months Taste and Create is Maybelle's Mom of Feeding Maybelle. Her blog is lovely and her food fresh and creative, a wonderful blend of her families Indian and Italian heritage. I am not vegan, and I hardly noticed that alot of her recipes were, glorious food does not need meat, there was no working around meat, there just was no meat. Someday I want a blog like hers. pictures, food, savory and sweet, you know things that make others drool.

She is yet another person who has access to an abundance of rhubarb and various other fresh ingredients (I am soo jealous of the rhubarb). It was very very hard to choose what to make and as much as I wanted to make the Rosewater Kulfi with Cherry Juice Steeped Noodles or the Strawberry Tomato Caprese Fusili, I decided to go with something Heartier and more Savory.

I had originally wanted to do the Marrow Bones she had done since they were a sure fire hit with My carnivore. But alas and alack, there were no morrow bones to be had. So I took another look and decided on the Spring Ramp Gnocchi, even though it wasn't spring and I didn't have any ramps (had to look Ramps up in Wikipedia to even know what they were).

According to Wikipedia ramps taste like a cross between onions and garlic and you can eat the whole thing. So I went with a mix of Onion, Garlic, Thyme and Italian Parsley.

Spring Ramp Gnocchi (my way)
2 servings

Combine:
8 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese (that has been drained)
1 egg
¼ C grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup finely chopped ramps (I substitute 1.5 tbls chopped garlic, 1.5 tbls chopped onion, 2 tbls fresh thyme, 3 tbls fresh Italian Parsley)

Add
¾ cup flour

Work gently until a dough is formed

Let rest, roll into long snakes and then cut into bite-sized pieces. You may roll it against a fork to get the characteristic indentations.

Boil until they come to the surface—watch not to over cook them.

Dress with bacon and sautéed ramp bulbs or if vegetarian with ramp bulbs and pecorino. (I used the bacon but felt that sauteed onions and garlic would be a little much so I went with chopped fresh tomato.)

Tempers Notes:
I discovered gnocchi after I moved to TX in the pasta aisle and was intrigued. I have played with it several times but never actually made my own. So I was very excited to try this recipe. It was so easy and soo good, a little bit of Pasta Heaven. It made two perfect portions. Indra even agreed to eat it and indicated she would be willing to have it again (and it wasn't just the bacon talking).

I need to learn the fork trick though. I also want to find out how to make them ahead and store them. I had a bit of a problem with the dough being very soft and the gnocchi sticking together, I am not sure if this is because I needed more flour or if it was their way of telling me to work faster.

Strawberries and Almond Custard.

This was a learning experience, a rich, delectable, lick the bowl learning experience, but still its not quite there.

I took the Almond Custard I made for the Danish Braid and some fresh strawberries and got creative. The strawberries were past their prime for eating (they had been snacked on for the last several days and were starting to dry up) but still good.

I dumped the strawberries in a sauce pan with a half a cup sugar and 1/4 cup apple juice and simmered till the strawberries were soft. And then stuck them in the fridge to cool down while the Almond Custard cooked. They smelled heavenly.

After the custard was brown around the edges I removed them from the oven and drizzled the juice from the strawberries over the top. It soaked in right away which I was not expecting (lesson #1) and made some cool crackly sounds. I let them cool a little and served.

I had forgotten how rich the custard was and the overly sweet strawberries just upped the anti, It really needed something to offset that (lesson #2). I also forgot that just because you take it out of the oven it doesn't stop cooking (lesson #3) and therefore the texture wasn't quite what I remembered.

So for next time here are some other lessons I learned... Fresh strawberries are better than whatever it is I did. If you use a syrup wait til the custard has cooled. Liquids added while hot soak it like a sponge (alcohol might be nice). Patience is a virtue, so make sure you have a good picture before eating.

Vanilla Sugar

One of the side effects of Daring Bakers is Real Vanilla to play with. So I did what any enterprising young baker would do and made Vanilla Sugar.

Let me first of talk of the Vanilla bean itself. It was leathery and oily and didn't smell as sweet / fresh / vanillaish / whatever as I had expected. But I am use to that, I learned the hard way not to taste my ingredients (this is a lesson i keep having to relearn) or judge the finished product by the raw taste.

So I followed directions and seeded the things. They were still oily and I think I ended up with almost as much on me as in the bowl. It was as bad as trying to get cling film to stop sticking to the wrong thing. I kept scraping it off one thing and trying to scrape it where I wanted it and it never quite worked right. I am sure with practice this procedure will get easier (meaning less messy) As a Bonus I smelled nummy!

The vanilla bean added pretty specks to everything and made some very nice whipped cream. I don't think however that the Danish Braid was really the best platform to showcase the vanilla bean. Which brings me to the Vanilla sugar.

The vanilla sugar certainly smells more like what I expected than the bean. But seeing the bean remnants poking up thru the pristine sugar is a little odd. And as much as I would like to tell you that the Kool-Aid I made with my vanilla sugar was raised to a whole new level of Kool-aidness, it was still just Kool Aid. It is possible I need more vanilla in my sugar and eventually as I use more vanilla beans there will be more vanilla in my sugar.

BBD: Sprouted Bread

For the Bread Baking Daily challenge this month we did sprouted bread. Not something I have ever done before and honestly the few examples I have tried were heavy things that I didn't really care for. Still a challenge is a challenge.

Just like when I was a child the thrill of growing sprouts is intoxicating, No sponge was involved this time (which was probably good since mine always dried up), but as you can see my sprouts flourished (they actually did a little too well, but I am not sure if that was a problem or not.) The half a cup of wheat berries I used made enough sprouts for two and half loafs with plenty of left overs for the bird and bunnies (all of whom loved the unexpected treat).

How to Sprout:
Sprout the wheat (takes about two days). Easiest way is to put the
wheat in a container with holes in the lid. Fill it with water and let
it set for a few minutes then drain the water. Repeat this process
several times a day. When the sprouts are about 1/2 to 3/4 the length
of the grain they are ready to use. If the sprouts are ready and you
are not store them in the fridge. If you do not change the water very
often it just takes them longer to sprout.

I did two versions of sprouted bread. The first was a failure and a waste of good dates (even the bird wasn't impressed), the second was a success of a limited nature. I was not at all disappointed though, just chalked it up to a learning experience.

The first loaf was Manna Bread from Barb Beck

Manna Bread

2 Cups of wheat sprouted
1 lb dates
1 Cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
OPTIONAL: 1 T chopped filberts

Drain the sprouted wheat well.
Place in food processor with the dates and buzz until a dough ball forms. You may need to add a little water.
Stir cinnamon and cloves. Note this version is not very spicy.
Stir in raisins.
Shape into two loaves.
Sprinkle the chopped nuts on the outside.

Bake for 2 - 3 hours at 300 degrees.
Note: If you have problems getting the dough because the mixture is too
wet add a little whole wheat flour.

I love dates I just don't care for 'date loafs' like this. I resented the use of my dates on this and will not be making it again, It did smell great while it was baking though.

For the second batch I used a recipe from the Sprout People, with a name like that they have to know what they are doing, right? (and they were the first link to come up on Google for sprout bread.)

Whole Grain Sprout Bread
Makes 2 - 3 loaves

To soften yeast - combine in a large bowl:
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 scant Tbs. active dry yeast
Allow the yeast to proof (bubble) for 5 minutes

Stir in:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbs. salt
2 Cups Sprouted Grains - whole or ground lightly
4 cups flour (any combo of wheat, rye and white you like) Beat well. Cover and let this “sponge” sit 45-60 minutes.
Stir down and gradually add:
3-4 cups flour (any combination)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Place dough into a greased bowl - turn it over and around to coat the whole of the dough.
Cover and let rise until doubled (60-90 minutes).
Knead dough down in the bowl, divide and shape into 2 - 3 oblong loaves. Place in well greased loaf pans and cover.
Let rise 60 minutes or until almost doubled.

Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove loaves from pans and cool on wire racks.

I used wheat sprouts and all purpose white flour for my loafs. The only change I made to the recipe is to assume that the 2 Tbsp of salt was a typo and use 2 tsp, cause that was a heck of alot of salt. In retrospect I may have been wrong.

My leavening action was outrageous. It may have been the salt thing, but then again it might have been me trying to do to many things giving the bread a longer time to expand. Or it could be my hot and humid kitchen making all those yeasts extra happy. Who knows.

The bread turned out beautiful, light and with the best crust I think I have ever had (I used leftover eggwash on it). The honey in the recipe really came through well and the whole loaf was very light. I liked the texture of the wheat berries and sprouts and I could definitely smell them while the bread was raising and baking.

Unfortunately I think the sprouts gave the bread a sort of raw flavor I really couldn't get over. Maybe if I didn't let the sprouts get so long in to tooth, or dried them out a little before use it would have been better. I am going to try some slices with honey and jam tonight and see if that covers the taste.

This is a bread I would make again, just not with the sprouts.

R2R, Confit Byaldi

This is the first month Recipes to Rival has been around. Lori and I choose Confit Byaldi as the first challenge. Basically this is fancy Ratatouille, more specifically it is the Ratatouille from the movie of the same name. You can find the recipe we used (and assorted other information and links) on the Recipes to Rival June Challenge post.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, a first for me, and am very glad I did. The piperade was probably the most time consuming bit. Lots of chopping and peeling and then it is all sauteed in various steps. I had forgotten how much fun it can be to skin tomatoes, just dunk them in boiling water for a couple seconds and then douse them in ice water and the skin just slides off. Roasting the bell peppers did the same thing and made them much easier to chop (they smelled good too).

Fortunately for me the piperade could be made ahead and stored for a couple days. I was very tempted to make a second batch the first smelled and looked so good (ok I may have tasted it too). Everyone agreed the piperade was something we could see ourselves making for lots of other uses as well. Pizza, sandwiches and salads were just a few of the ideas, me, I thought it would make a good french type salsa dip thing (aren't I articulate?).

The actual Confit Byaldi went together easily thanks to my new slicer and dicer (it doesn't really dice but it sounded good) I got lots of extra thin veggie slices very fast. I had several problems with this step however, all of them concerning the ingredients. I could not find a Japanese eggplant and even the smallest eggplant I did find was considerably larger then the squash. One of my zucchini and two of my tomatoes went off before I could use them (I had to wait a week after buying them to use them) fortunately I had plenty left.

The balsamic vinaigrette was a great touch and allowed me to use some fresh herbs from my garden (about all that I can grow). I used thyme, bee's Balm (a mint) and oregano. I had never used balsamic vinegar before (expensive and I am not a big fan of vinegar) but boy was it good.

The end result was gorgeous and delectable. It stored well, heated up well and tastes good cold. It can be done in stages and even done ahead so it is a great dish to make for guests. Serve with some crusty bread, a salad and you have a light and satisfying meal. Unfortunately something caused Indra to have an allergic reaction so she couldn't eat any. We are not sure if it was the sausage I served with it, the Balsamic vinegar or the bee's balm. I however enjoyed it for lunch several days running.

Blackberry Danish

Saturday I went to a pick your own place and got Blackberries. Not as many as I would have liked because we got there late but enough. SO this morning at the Request of my one true Love I made blackberry danish. It is just a Danish Braid with sugar and Cinnamon sprinkled down the center and fresh blackberries piled on top. I placed on top of some stirred custard (also on Indra's request) and sprinkled a little cinnamon on it.

I would have just added this to the end of my DB post but I got some great photos and they deserve a post of their own. I think I may be finally figuring this photo thing out.

DB: Danish Braid

Here is the official recipe. I would have posted it here but it was way way to long. Let me start out by saying WEEEEEE I did it! The idea was lots more intimidating that reality. The recipe is actually pretty simple there is just alot of waiting for things to rechill up. I am thinking once I get a freezer I can make a batch once every several months and take it out as needed for a quick treat.

This is My first Daring Baker Challenge, I have been amazed by everyone's ideas and inspired by there results (not to mention stunning pictures). I was encouraged by what I achieved and it feels good to do this and have this experience (and goodies) to share. I grew up with everything made from scratch, we butchered our own pigs, goats, chicken, rabbits and deer. we grew our own veggies and fruits (we got a 5 gallon bucket of strawberries a day when they were in season). I had forgotten how good that was. So thanks DB for reminding me what a kitchen is for.

I actually made three braids and am making a 4th today. The top one is the Cherry Almond, in the middle is the Apple, and lastly is a savory Moroccan pork. The apple one if the first one I did and I had yet to master the braiding process but once you cut it up no one could tell.

I did the official apple one, with a honey caramel sauce and whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon (Indra Loved it, Me I loved the sauce). I used my fancy new slicer and sliced my apples extra thin. they were beautiful and when done just melted in your mouth.

A cherry almond one (My favorite). I took a bag of frozen black cherries (sugar free) and simmered them, I added almond extract, cardamon, and lemon zest. then just simmered till it was thick and very tasty (I see cherry jam in my future). I made an almond custard to go with it (also easy and oh soo good). Unfortunately this braid suffered the same fate as many other people's and leaked, it still tasted Divine though. I think in future I will A. braid better, B. not fill so full, and C. find a nice sauce to cut the richness of this combo.

The Moroccan Pork one was a failure. It was pretty enough, with salt crusting the outside of a near perfect looking braid, but taste wise it sucked. Starting from the top, To much salt on the crust, to much Moroccan Rub on the meat, The meat needed something extra to up the impact, I am thinking dates and coconut if I do it again. To be honest the real failure was me using a filling I had absolutely no experience with. It sounded good in theory but didn't work out in practice.

Today I am making a Blackberry something for Indra (I have not decided if it will be braid shaped or not). We picked a bunch this morning and it sounds scrumptious. She is angling for more whipped cream but I am thinking a sour cream sauce of some kind will balance the sweetness of the berries just right. We will just have to see what happens. I am hoping for enough dough left over that I can do something with cinnamon, sugar nuts and raisins, something more winter / fall then spring tasting. That may wait another week or two though.

Danish Braid, Recipe

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough (or two braids worth)

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk (milk should be cold we do not want to activate the yeast yet. In fact chill everything, even your work surface if you can, it makes things much easier).
Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.
Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain.
Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even.
Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain.
With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.
When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes.
You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
Combine butter and flour in the bowl and cut together until smooth and lump free. (I used my fingers, it was a heck of alot of fun) Set aside at room temperature.


After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick.
The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour.
Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough.
Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter.
Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third.
The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally.
Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.


Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left.
Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle.
Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third.
No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough.
The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns.

Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight.
The Danish dough is now ready to be used.
If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling.
Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. (gotta love browned butter!)
Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes.
Set aside to cool before use, After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.


For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again.
Place the dough on the baking sheet. (this is important, moving an already filled Danish is messy)

Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made. (these need to be at a slight angle and should be about a third of the width of the pastry.)

Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. (do not over fill, if using a filling other then the apple one remember it needs to be fairly thick so it doesn't all leak out).
Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling.
Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together a whole egg and an egg yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown.
Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Caramel Honey Sauce

Ok this was made spur of the moment and exact measurements were not foremost in my mind. So live on the edge and see what you can make with it. :)

2 Tbsp Butter, slightly browned in pot at very low heat.
add 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp Honey

stir until well mixed and thick, add a pinch of salt, a couple more Tbsp Honey and water to thin everything down, we are making a sauce here not candy.

Add a couple Tbsp of milk until you have the desired consistency.

This was truly lovely. I licked my plate and then Indra's too (you snooze, you lose). The honey really added a nice dimension to the flavor and browning the butter slightly deepened the caramel flavor wonderfully.

My first try ended up a burnt mess; I had forgotten the low heat part of working with butter and sugar and it wasn't pretty.

Almond Custard

I got this recipe off the DB forums from Abba. So I have no clue as to where it originally came from. But it is good. Darn good.

Almond Custard

3 Tbsp plus 1/2 tsp Almond paste
1/4 cup plus 1.5 tsp sugar
4 Tbsp Butter, room temperature and cut into 3 pieces.
1 egg, room temperature and lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp plus 1.5 tsp all purpose flour

Whiz the almond paste and sugar together in a food processor (or do what I did and use your fingers to work it all together).
Then pulse in the butter chunks (once again I used my fingers)
Add the egg vanilla and flour and mix until smooth. (she says it makes a cream but it looked a little thinker then that to me). the almond paste will make it gritty to the touch (tastes great though).
If the eggs and butter are not room temperature they will separate.

I put some of this on top of some cherries I had played with in a ramekin and baked at 350 degrees til slightly brown on top.

Temper's Notes:
Just let me sat OH MY GOD! was it good. Quick and easy too but elegant enough to serve at a fancy shindig. This was what I was expecting the Clafouti to be like. I haven't let Indra try any, that way it is mine all mine! And for the record fingers worked every bit as good as a food processor would in this case. No pictures because I ate it to quick.

Edited for pic 7/11/08 not the best picture but I had it all gone before I realized that, maybe next time.