BB Biscuits

I must admit. It's been a terribly long time since I've participated in the Daring Bakers and I started to feel some sort of withdrawal. No joke. Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens! His recipe is awesome. It's the perfect size for 2-4 people to enjoy fresh, homemade biscuits in about 20 minutes (I made them big). If you're like me, it might be enough for one person. 

As expected, I changed up the recipe a little so that I could use up some fresh fruit I had around. Ripe bananas are not a thing to waste, after-all. Below is Aud's recipe and mine is to follow. I incorporated one very ripe banana with about 1/2 cup blueberries to the mixture. Since I was adding in moisture with the banana, I used half the butter and I cut the milk in half to start. If the mixture seemed dry, I just added a little more milk until it seemed right. I would recommend adding about 1 tsp. of vanilla to the milk mixture. This will bring out the flavor of the banana and blueberries. I baked my biscuits right in a small (6-inch) cast iron pan. This way, I can bring the biscuits right to the table and serve them hot.

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)

created by: Audax Artifex
Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
Can be doubled

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a
combination of lard and butter)
Approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
Optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)

3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2
cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

BB Biscuits (aka Blueberry-Banana Biscuits)

Adapted from Audax Artifex

Servings: about four large biscuits

Can be doubled

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons frozen grated butter 

1 medium ripe banana, peeled and mashed

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, dusted in flour
Approximately 1/4 cup cold milk
Optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the biscuits

Optional 1 tablespoon sugar, for sprinkling the tops of the biscuits

Directions
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F.

2. Mix dry ingredients into a large bowl.

3. Rub the frozen grated butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

4. Add the mashed banana and nearly all of the liquid into the rubbed-in flour/butter mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. Gradually knead the blueberries into the layers as to not squish them, but evenly distribute through the dough. To achieve 

an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch circle by about ¾ inch thick. Using a well-floured sharp knife, form squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a 6 inch greased cast iron pan or baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden color on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes, just in case) until the scones are well risen and are lightly colored on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

Jumbo Gumbo

Whoever thought it was a good idea to make gumbo for ten when only one person will be eating - is crazy. I'm starting to feel like Bubba... gumbo waffles, gumbo lasagna, gumbo quesadillas.... tha that's about it. 

Seriously.

This stuff is pretty dang good though. I was annoyed that I had to drive back to the grocery store just to get okra - because I kept reading that if there wasn't okra, it's not gumbo. If it's not gumbo, then I really didn't complete my challenge now did I?

Our May hostess, Denise of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need from creole spices, homemade stock and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.  *cough I used Paula Deen's recipe. *cough  If you want the real deal, here's a link to Denise's recipes.  I'm not trying to be snobby, I just didn't have the patients to use her recipes. I'm sorry!

Here's a link to Paula's recipe - it says it'll take 2 hours and 40 minutes, but just give yourself 3 1/2 hours. That way, you won't be disappointed when you're eating dinner at 9:00pm.

What did I do differently? You know me too well... I used some tasty chorizo instead of smoked sausage. It really gives a spice and pow that you're really not expecting. POW!

Second, I used skinless, boneless chicken strips - simply because I buy them by the bag, frozen. I didn't feel like buying anything extra special.

Now - watch how much grease your sausage leaves behind, because you may not want to add as much butter as what Paula recommends. Chorizo is pretty greasy, so I omitted the last 3 T of butter.

Nevermind the banana, strawberry chocolate egg and/or pickles...

The most relaxing part was chopping up all of the veggies. I'm trying really hard to improve my knife skills, so this was a great opportunity. I did however, buy pre-cut okra. That stuff is slimy and I didn't want to handle it. (I'm really starting to sound like a snob, I apologize!)

Another tip - when Paula says to let something cook for 10 minutes, she means it. I second guessed cooking the onions, etc for so long, but it's worth it.

Ok - enough blabbing - this stuff is really good. If you have a Saturday afternoon to make it for a group of ten people, it's excellent. Go out and buy some really good bread (or make your own!) to serve with it. I'm not sure if I'll ever make it again, but now I can say I tried. 

Cheese and Salsa; A Perfect Combination

I have this thing about cheese. I don't associate myself with the trending cheesers necessarily, because I like to think I was obsessed before it was the cool thing to do. My life on the dairy farm, as a kid, is what mostly peaked my interest. I knew I didn't want to milk cows morning and night, but I wanted to be on the farm. After learning more about farmstead cheesemaking, I knew it was going to be my next big thing. I was a senior in high school then - I'm now three years out of college and working for my third cheese company. None of which have been my own, but I've been surrounded by the wonderful dairy product that is, cheese.  I can't get enough of it - and I always have a ton of fruit around.

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

I chose to try out the trick of baking cheese and forming it into a shape - to serve as my edible container. I had never done this before and finally had a good excuse to test it out. The trick is to form shredded cheese into a neat little pile and then to bake it for just the right amount of time. I had taken them out too early at first. I could tell because there was no way I was getting the cheese off the sheet without it completely falling apart. After returning it to the oven for another two minutes, I knew it was ready. But you have to act fast! Or the cheese will get hard and you won't be able to shape it. Maybe you're ok with that.

I also chose to make some fresh salsa. This warm weather is encouraging me to make more 'summer-like' foods.  This snack could also turn into a breakfast meal. Just add some scrambled eggs and fresh veggies.

Cheesy Crisps

Serves 4

1 cup shredded Gruyère or aged Cheddar

Preheat oven to 400*F. 

Shred cheese into a neat, circular pile on baking sheet (if you have a SilPat, it works perfectly).

Place in oven and bake for about 5 minutes. Watch closely, as cheese piles and ovens can vary greatly.

These are not ready to take out of the oven - 3 minutes more 

The cheese will begin to brown on the outer edges and work its way in. Once the middle of the pile has started to look more golden, take the pan out of the oven. With a spatula, quickly - but carefully remove a cheese crisp from the pan and form into a shape. This can be done over the bottom of a drinking glass or small dish.  Set aside on a plate and finish the remaining crisps. You must do this quickly or the last crisps will be well.. crisp and you won't be able to shape it.

My Salsa

Makes 1 cup

1 medium tomato, diced

2 T. diced purple onion

1 T. minced garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

2 T. olive oil

1 T. fresh lime juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Filled Meringue Coffee Cake

I apologize for my absence from the blogging world for the past two months. My husband and I have moved halfway across the country - again. Closer to home, but still in foreign land. We are now living in cheese-country Wisconsin. I went from small-scale artisanal cheese world to the next level up. Luckily for me, I'm obsessed with cheese - so it's totally fine with me. Expect more from me this spring and summer - as I have a whole new area to explore!

I have been craving cinnamon rolls for about two months now. As soon as I read this month's Daring Bakers challenge, I instantly knew what flavors I was going to try.  The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Luckily, I had nearly a full Sunday to hang out in the kitchen and watch dough rise - and my husband was working on taxes, so he didn't need my attention. It was a crisp sunny day, so the heat of the oven was welcoming. With the confirmation of my husband, I made two different fillings for my coffee cakes; cinnamon roll and peanut butter and jelly. The PB and J is cake is in the freezer until we finish devouring the cinnamon roll cake.

This is a fairly easy recipe (just time consuming). The more creative you are with the fillings, the more fun it gets. Just be sure to not over fill your dough, or it will come oozing out the ends. 

Cinnamon Roll-Filled Meringue Coffee Cake

Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter

The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients

For the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour

¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar

¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt

1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast

¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk

¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)

½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup sugar

For the filling:

Cinnamon Roll

1/2 cup King Arthur Flour's cinnamon sugar mix

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 T honey

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cubed butter

Peanut Butter & Jelly

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup jam/jelly

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg

Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. 

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. 

Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, sugar, nuts and butter for the filling if using. The honey will get sprinkled on before rolling the dough. For PB & J, combine peanut butter and jelly with a spoon. Sprinkle chocolate over the dough, last.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:

In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Panna Cotta & Florentine Cookies

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I was excited to make Panna Cotta for the first time - as I've seen it all over the blogging world lately. I had intended on making it for the dessert of my next round of the Foodbuzz's blogging contest, but I didn't make it that far. Waa Waaap.

The cookies though? To die for... that is, if you love butter.

 

This is what happens when you use too much dough.

Nestle Florentine Cookies

Recipe from the cookbook “Nestle Classic Recipes”, and their website.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.

   1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
   2. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
   3. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
   4. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
   5. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
   6. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper). {I chose to do neither... simply because I didn't have enough time in the day!}


Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

   1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
   2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
   3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
   4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
   5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.



{Mine didn't get quite as solid as I was expecting, but we enjoyed them a lot. It's a great treat for breakfast and they claim it has a third of the calories as creme brulee.}

Tempura for my Valentines

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com.  

Sadly, I couldn't find soba noodles at my grocery store, so I ended up buying a Pad Thai kit and made that along with my tempura. Had I not just moved half way across the country, I would have considered making the noodles myself - another day.

This was the first meal I made in our new apartment. I mean come on - what's better than deep frying food in a newly cleaned place? Fortunately, it was about 50*F outside all day, so I had the window wide open to prevent a total grease-fest.  Tempura is simply a Japanese dish of deepfried vegetables and seafood. I used the typical frozen shrimp you can find at your grocery store - but I would recommend Tiger shrimp. It's much bigger and tastes great (what you'd typically find at a Japanese restaurant). I chose broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes for my vegetables. I had recently tried some sweet potato tempura in Northampton, MA and thought it was great - so I knew that would be a good choice.

To prepare the vegetables for frying, either boil or steam them ahead of time so they become tender, but not mushy. I boiled mine for about 5 minutes (10 minutes for the sweet potato) and then quickly rinsed them in cold water and stuck them in the fridge. 

Frozen shrimp can be defrosted by simply soaking them in hot water. I bought pre-cooked shrimp, so they were 'ready-to-eat' once thawed. If you buy raw shrimp, it will fry long enough to cook all the way through.

When making tempura, everything must be cold, except the frying oil. 

Once the vegetables are cooled, smother them in flour and then return back to the refrigerator. The flour will allow the batter to stick better to the vegetables.  Do this with the shrimp also.

Next, heat up your deep fryer, or pour oil about an inch deep in saucepan.  Heat the oil to 350*F.  Next, get out a plastic dish to prepare your batter in and a larger, deep dish to hold an ice-water bath. Since we just moved, we hadn't filled the ice trays with water yet - so I improvised with my mini ice pack. 

It's best to get all of the ingredients ready before mixing them together in order to keep everything as cold as possible. It's also important to only mix the batter so much - it should be runny and lumpy.

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk from a large egg 

1 cup iced water

½ cup plain (all purpose) flour 

½ cup cornflour or cornstarch

½ teaspoon baking powder

Place the iced water into the plastic bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring (preferably with chopsticks) and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined.  The batter should be runny and lumpy. 

Place the bowl of batter in the ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables and seafood have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.

You can now start frying your vegetables and shrimp.  Start with the vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, that won’t leave a strong odor in the oil. Dip them into the batter.  Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.

Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.

If you are making a lot of tempura, place them on a cookie sheet in a 250*F oven to keep them crispy and warm until you are done frying.

Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold (but I don't recommend it).

I served the tempura with my cold Pad Thai noodles (made from a kit - easy to find in your grocery store and delicious) along with a small dish filled with green onion and soy sauce for dipping.

From what I could tell, my guests loved the meal. The broccoli and sweet potatoes were a big hit, as were the noodles. Tanoshimu! (enjoy!)

I made small chocolate cheesecakes for dessert - post to follow!

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Backwards Love: Cream Cheese Biscuit Joconde Imprime

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

I'm going to be honest here. I didn't put a lot of thought into this project. In fact, I didn't have enough ingredients to actually complete the entire project. I halved the recipe and used egg white powder, because I didn't have enough eggs.  Egg white powder is pretty nice to have on hand though - this is what I use:

Actually, I did put some thought into this cake, but the outcome was kind of humorous. I spent all night, after work - getting this cake done and ended up writing 'Love' backwards. You see, when creating the outer cake layer, you need to remember that it's going to be flipped around. I must have been tired. ;)

I'm beginning to get more resourceful with my freezer as well - as I created the filling with cream cheese and my leftover pomcranberry sauce. I just added a little powdered sugar, whipped it in my Kitchenaid and filled up the molds. I ended up coming short of filling for the two mini-cakes that I made, but I didn't need more cake to eat anyways.

For the full instructions and guidelines that I followed (sort of) click here. Below are the recipes for the outer layers - these are taken word-for-word from the pdf that I've linked to though, the photos were taken by me.



Joconde Sponge

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients:
¾ cup almond flour/meal - *You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoon confectioners' (icing) sugar
¼ cup cake flour *See note below
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
2½ teaspoons white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve
in a separate clean bowl to use later.
2. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
3. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and
light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand.)
4. Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in
remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in melted butter.
6. Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups plus 1½ tablespoons Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites
1¾ cup cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

1. Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
2. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.

3. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.

4. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.

5. Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.

6. Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.

7. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Preparing the MOLD for filling

You can use any type of mold.
Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.

Preparing the Jaconde for Molding:

1. Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
2. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold.
This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
3. Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a
very sharp paring knife and ruler.)
4. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of
the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You
want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press
the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into
place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.
5. The mold is done, and ready to fill.

*Note: If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze.

Eggs Benedict

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie.


I chose to mess with Alton Brown's Eggs Benedict for the challenge. My husband and housemate were pretty excited to wake up to breakfast this morning. I started to think that maybe I should do this every morning - but then remembered that that would make me a crazy person.


Have you ever made hollandaise sauce? I hadn't either, until this morning. It's A LOT of butter, but I never complain about that.  I remember my friend Jess, from high school who absolutely loved hollandaise sauce. Whenever we'd go to Perkins, he would ask for extra sauce. I'd never tried it and never really cared to, but now that I've made it myself - it really isn't that bad.


I had a problem though. No English muffins and the bread just came out of the freezer. My other option was blueberry bagels, but I didn't think that would be too appetizing. I decided to get a biscuit cutter to cut out some rounds from a tortilla. I then dry fried them in a fry pan after the Canadian bacon and mushrooms.  They added a nice crunch to the meal and very minimal carbs (if you're that kind of person).  I also added some mushrooms, as mentioned above, that added a meaty texture that I like. Top it all off with nice ripe avocado.  If I put an avocado on it - I'm sure to gain points from my husband. It's a given.


The recipe below is from the challenge. I used large mushrooms, so a slice per serving was perfect. I only used one avocado, splitting it evenly amongst the dishes.


Ok, so you want to make breakfast in a half hour for your household. Here's how you do it:


Get out all of your ingredients and prepare them accordingly.


Ingredients
serves 4

4 eggs
2 English muffins
4 slices of Canadian bacon
Chives, for garnish
Splash of vinegar (for poaching)


for the hollandaise
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp water
1/4 tsp sugar
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice


Directions

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a simmer. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and set aside. Whisk egg yolks and 1 tsp. (5 ml) water in a mixing bowl large enough to sit on the saucepan without touching the water (or in top portion of a double boiler). Whisk for 1–2 minutes, until egg yolks lighten. Add the sugar and whisk 30 seconds more.

Hollandaise Sauce in Action

Place bowl on saucepan over simmering water and whisk steadily 3–5 minutes (it only took about 3 for 
me) until the yolks thicken to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat (but let the water continue to simmer) and whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time. Move the bowl to the pan again as needed to melt the butter, making sure to whisk constantly.  Once all the butter is incorporated, remove from heat and whisk in the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper (if using).

Sorry, this isn't very appetizing.

Keep the hollandaise warm while you poach your eggs in a thermos, carafe, or bowl that you’ve preheated with warm water. If the water simmering in your pan has gotten too low, add enough so that you have 2–3 inches of water and bring back to a simmer.  Add salt and a splash of vinegar (any kind will do). I added about a tablespoon of vinegar to my small saucepan (about 3 cups of water/720 ml of water), but you may need more if you’re using a larger pan with more water.

Crack eggs directly into the very gently simmering water (or crack first into a bowl and gently drop into the water), making sure they’re separated. Cook for 3 minutes for a viscous but still runny yolk. While waiting for the eggs, quickly fry the Canadian/back bacon and toast your English muffin. 


Top each half of English muffin with a piece of bacon. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, draining well, and place on top of the bacon. Top with hollandaise and chopped chives, and enjoy!

Yay! It worked.

for a printable version of the recipe, click here.