Bambi Birthday Cake

So I made another funny cake. After seeing my son’s Car
cake, a friend of mine mentioned that her daughter would really like a birthday cake shaped like Bambi (the Disney deer). I thought about it for a really long time, and this is what I came up with.



She loved it! I loved making it too. I used two batches of Victoria sponge batter, only instead of making four circle shaped cakes, I made three in loaf tins and one in a regular Victoria sponge tin.
The body is made out of two of the loaf cakes, and the head is made out of half of the third one. The circle was perfect for making the legs, and the other bits (ears, tail) were made from scraps from the third loaf, and the circle.

I find that it’s best to make the cakes the day before, and refrigerate them over night. It makes them a little less delicate, easier to cut and manipulate.

These cakes are my new favorite hobby, so hopefully there will be more of them in the future.

Car Cakes

So it was my youngest son’s third birthday party today. They grow up so fast!





He requested a cake in the shape of a car, so I figured I’d give it a go. In the end I decided I’d better make two, just to make sure we had enough. I could have just made a bigger one, but then I couldn’t have used my all time most favorite cake recipe ever.

This is a cool trick. It’s an old fashioned way of making a Victoria sponge. Instead of using set measurements, weigh your four eggs, in their shells. Make a note of how much they weigh, and then weigh out that same amount of flour, butter, and sugar. Equal parts of each.

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is fully blended in before adding the next. Then add a tsp of vanilla, and blend in. Add the flour and a pinch of salt, and fold it in. If the batter is too thick, add some milk to loosen it up.

Pour into two 20cm tins and bake at 180c for 25-30 min.
Test with a toothpick to see if it’s done.

I especially like using this recipe because the cake is even better after sitting in the fridge overnight, so you have a little extra time to work with. You can bake them, cool them, wrap them and put them in the fridge the day before you need them. Then on the day of, just cut them up and stick the bits together with frosting till you get the right shape.



These came out pretty cute, and the birthday boy loved them, which is the most important thing.

Mango, Raspberry and Whipped Cream Profiterole with Mint

By Cookbad

I've had make your own pizza parties & decorate your own cupcakes but next time around, I'm going to do make your own profiterole aka cream puff event.

Because, really, what awesome dessert madness can't you build between two halves of choix.

Here is the line up for just the basics:
ice cream
chocolate sauce
whipped cream
various berries and diced fruit
chopped nuts
creme filling- fluffy and creamy
chocolate mouse
fruit coulis of many flavors
citrus curd
sprinkles
chiffonade some mint

And if you don't like the little puff, just turn in into a sunday.

I plan to build one a foot high someday.
Yeah, I know, I'm wickedly ambitious.

Here is the plain old one I made the other night:
All recipes from various sources:
Mango, Raspberry and Whipped Cream Profiterole with Mint
Pastry:
1 cup water
1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat water and margarine or butter to boiling point. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball when tested in cold water. Remove from heat and let cool. Beat in 4 eggs, one at a time. Drop dough from teaspoon to form small eclairs onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until light brown.

Berry Coulis:
500g fresh or frozen berries, cherries, peaches or apricots
3-5 tablespoons sugar, to taste
fresh lemon juice to taste
Purée the fruit in a food processor or blender add sugar, and lemon juice. Press the fruit through a sieve, tamis or chinois and discard remaining solids.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamis

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=138858
Mango Curd:
1 or two ripe mangos, peeled, pitted, and diced. Perfect for over ripe mangos.
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Puree first 4 ingredients in processor, scraping down sides of work bowl occasionally. Add yolks; puree 15 seconds longer. Strain through sieve set over large metal bowl, pressing on solids with back of spatula to release as much puree as possible. Discard solids in sieve.

Set metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); whisk puree until thickened and thermometer registers 170°F., about 10 minutes. Remove from over water. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Chiffonade up some mint.

Combine into a pile of good.

Any leftovers are fair game for eating with a spoon in front of the fridge at 3 in the morning before anyone else can get to them.

Gougères

Perfectly puffed up choux next to my gougères FAIL

By Cookbad

Gougères are profiteroles cheesy cousin.

You can stuff them the same way you would any choux pastry, but I cannot seem to get mine to puff up as they should.

I used to make these by just adding some grated cheddar or gruyère cheese to a simple choux recipe. They never puffed up and reminded me more of tiny little souffle that anything choux.

I've made this recipe that I am posting 4 times now and they have never ever puffed up the way cream puffs do, and they should. . .they are on the cover of the book they come from looking all golden, puffy and self satisfied. . . mocking me. . .

smug gougères

See what I mean?

They are from this terrific book called Bite Sized by François Payard that is about just one it sounds like. Great stuff, much of it pretty expensive to make.

Anyway. . . .

Why do I continue to make a recipe that fails? Because they taste really really good. They go so fast that I don't think I have ever actually tasted a cold one.

Here is the dubious recipe in question.
Gougères
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
5 large eggs
5 ounces (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) heavy cream, slightly heated so it is warm to the touch
3 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place 1 cup water and the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and add the flour, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook the mixture fro 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick paste and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.

3. Transfer the batter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at low speed, incorporating the eggs one at a time. Do not add an egg until the previous one is completely incorporated.

4. Add the cream to the batter while the mixer is running. Then stop the mixer and gently stir in the grated Gruyère with a spatula, making sure not to deflate the dough.

5. Fit a pastry bag with a #5 or 1/2 inch star tip, and fill it with the dough. Pipe 1-inch rounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Wet your finger and smooth out the top of the gougères. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle grated Gruyère on top if desired. Arrange on a platter and serve warm.

FIRST, I think using a paddle to mix is silly silly madness and maybe a translation error, but this guy speaks perfectly good english, so I don't know what he is thinking. And, I'm also no sure at one point during the paddling the dough turns into any condition in which you would have to worry about deflating it while adding cheese.

SECOND: 10-15 minutes doens't come close. I think half an hour is more like it

Last change for this one. I'm moving on.

How to make Sprouted Wheat Bread: Part 1

The perfect sized sprout for bread

By Cookbad

I'm working on the right proportions to sub in sprouted wheat for wheat flour in bread. Once wheat goes from just a seed to a sprouted seed a whole bunch of it's properties change. They increase in digestive enzymes, proteins, good fats and fiber, overall making a healthier more complex carbohydrate bread.

With all those good things in mind, I'm not sure what replacing regular wheat flour with sprouted wheat will do to the dough. I'm curious to see how the gluten is effected.

BUT FIRST, I need to sprout some wheat, which is pretty much as easy as growing mold on bread.

I invested 8USD in a sprouting jar --it's just a large glass jar with a lid that is made of wire mesh. You can easily improvise one by replacing a large regular jar's lid with either cheese cloth held in place with a tight rubber band. Easier still, poke a bunch of holes in the lid of a jar. Don't use too small a jar. The seeds need room to breath.

Next, I put to use some wheat berries that have been sitting in the back of my pantry for 5 months. Wheat berries are wheat flour before it's ground down and processed.

What I did was:
Throw a handful or two in the jar with 3 cups of water and leave them to soak overnight, 8-16 hrs. Then, empty out the water, and rinse the berries by adding some more water to the jar, swishing it around some and then pouring it out. Do that twice.

Rinse them once or twice a day for the next 48-72 hrs.

In about 48 hours some will show tiny spouts. When most have 1/8-1/4 inch shoots -- like in the picture they are ready for bread making.

I'm going to try 2 different things with my sprouts. I put half in the freezer and the other half, I'm going to mill into flour.

To mill then into flour they need to be dehydrated, which is you can do in an oven at low heat. Spread them on a baking sheet and put them in your oven at 200 max. My oven is ancient and doesn't want to go below 300 no matter how low I set it, so I just left the door slightly open and checked them every 5 minutes, stirring them each check so the ones on the outside didn't get toasted. It took about an hour for them to dry. I checked by taking one berry out, letting it cool and then biting it. If ti was soft, they were still damp.

Eventually, one cracked under my teeth, so I turned off the oven and let them continue to dry. There they sit, waiting to take a turn in my soon to be very cleaned out coffee grinder/ flour mill.

Stay tuned.

S

Super Food Strata with roasted red pepper and tomato coulis

Healthy, hearty, and as simple as popping in the oven in the morning.

By Cookbad

I thought up this one for the Weekend Breakfast Blogging Balanced Breakfast Challenge!

A strata is a kind of eggy bread puddinngish breakfast dish that you make the night before and let sit overnight so the bread becomes almost custardy. It can be sweet, savory or both. It is perfect breakfast if all you want to do is pop something in the oven and don't want to do any prep. in the morning.

I've been working hard at getting my strata recipe down and think I have it.
For any kind of strata you want to make, a good guideline is:

For every 3 eggs you want use 2 cups of shredded bread and 3/4 cups of milk.
For a 3 egg strata use about 1.5 -2 cups of filling, and all the herbs and spices you like.

A couple more strata tips:
Cook your strata in a deeper souffle of oven ready sauce pan, not a flat casserole dish.

If the egg doesn't cover the bread, add a bit more.

If you are going to use a vegetable, cook it down first so it doesn't drown your strata and make it end up soggy.

Stratas do not photograph well.

Here is the recipe:
Super Food Strata with roasted red pepper and tomato coulis
FOR THE STRATA
In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Cook until soft:
4 clove crushed garlic
1 diced onion
Add:
5 oz. cremini mushrooms quartered and browned
Then cook for 3 minutes:
6 oz. baby spinach
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Let it cook a bit then in a souffle dish or deep oven proof bowl mix the vegetables with:
4 cups shredded whole grain crusty bread
1/3 cup of your choice of cheese, grated of crumbled (optional)
Beat together:
6 eggs
1.5 cups of milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper cayenne pepper
ground black pepper to taste
Pour the eggs over the bread and vegetables mixture, cover and set in the fridge overnight.

THE ROASTED PEPPER AND TOMATO COULIS:
Put all of the following into a food processor and pulse to blend:
1 roasted red pepper
1 tomato that has been chargrilled and peeled. You do this by just setting the tomato over your gas flame until the skin pops and turns black.
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
1/4 cup EVOO
1/3 toasted walnuts

Take the strata out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it. Take the coulis out to so it has time to get to room temperature before serving.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Bake 45 minutes covered.
It should be puffed up and starting to brown.
Serve with a dollop of coulis.

That lump of orange stuff is the coulis

I opted out of the cheese, but next time I make this I'm thinking fontina.

Also, the coulis is really good all on its own. I put it on a sandwich and turned it into a dip all while waiting for my strata to get down soaking.

Pizza + Beer = fun

I'd had more than a few spicy & sweets before I got took these less than awesome pictures.

By Cookbad

I made a really good pizza the other night. Maple Chipotle Soaked Pineapple & Ham Pizza and I served it with a beer cocktail that I named the Spicy & Sweet Shannon. the pictures are pretty bad. I'd had a few drinks, I was quivering with hunger. . . .

The Pizza:
Slice up some fresh pineapple. About 1 quarter a pineapple is enough for 1 pizza.
Cut into 1/8s and then slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Put them in a bowl with 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup water and a chunk or two of canned Chipotle peppers.
Marinde for 30 minute or more.
When they have marinaded, put the pineapple in one layer on a baking sheet, pour over some of he marinade and broil until the tops start to brown a bit.
Get some ham and slice it up into strips.
Dress you pizza


Next, go here for detailed directions on how to make grilled pizza or do it however you want. Top with sauce, cheese, the roasted pineapple and ham. We made this pizza on a particularly shitty grill so it took forever and I eventually just decided to finish it up in the oven.


The Spicy and Sweet Shannon:
All these flavors can be adjusted to your taste.
Pour all this into a pitcher:
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of maple syrup
a few shakes of cayanne pepper
Ice
4 light beers

Pour over more ice.
If you are thinking that it sounds an awful lot like the master cleanse with beer, you'd be right.
Sounds gross, but everyone that tried it really liked it.

The pizza, was terrific. I have been thinking about it for days.

Tiny Timballos

By Cookbad

Timballos, timpanos, whatever you want to call them . . . are upsidedown savory pies filled with pasta, sauces, vegetables, anything you want arranged in layers to create a dramatic effect when it is cut into. A couple of years ago I made a crustless one, but more commonly you build one by layering the bottom of a souffle dish or round bottomed pan with a thin dough, add the fillings layer by layer and then bake. Mostly when I try to get the pie out of the pan it has been sticking and falling apart, but it tastes good and the kids will eat it, so I keep trying.

Last night I tried to make tiny single sized versions for The Mini Pie Revolution mini pot pie event. I've made these mini pork pies in the past with great success, but this is the first time I made up a mini (or any) pie recipe.

So here goes:

Makes about 6 small pies in various sized ramekins:

CRUST:
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/3 grated asiago cheese
12 tablespoons (1.5 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water

In a food processor, mix the first 4 ingredients, then pulse in the butter and shortening until it looks grainy. Then add the water. Continue to pulse a few more times. Form the dough into a ball and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

PASTA:
2-4 oz. of penne cooked 2 minutes less than the preparation calls for.
enough sauce to cover pasta

BECHAMEL SAUCE:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons diced onion
2 tablespoons flour
1.5 cups milk
1/4 cup asiago cheese, grated
Sweat he onions in the butter over med heat then add flour and for 2 minutes stir constantly. Add milk, and whisk until fully combined. Set over medium-high heat and whisk till as it simmers. Add asiago and simmer for 8 minutes.
When it is done, add:
1/2 cup of frozen peas

6 hard boiled quail eggs

A bit of extra asiago cheese

TO ASSEMBLE:
Liberally flour your surface and roll out the dough to no less than 1/4 inch. Place the ramakin you are using onto the dough, then cut a circle around it that is 2 inches + bigger than the raminkins imprint. Then, cut a shape directly around the lid of the ramekin. Remove extra dough, then roll the larger circle out some more. The dough should be as thin as you can work with it. Grease, spray or butter your ramakin. Then, gently lift the larger round, place and work it into the ramakin. If there is gross excess in spots, cut it out and seal it.

Take your tomato covered penne and lay them in a row at the bottom of the pie. Fill in the edges with more penne. Then, make another layer.

Scoop about 2-3 table spoons of your peas and bechamel mixture over the pasta. Then very gently press the quail egg down thru the pea mixture. Ideally it will be standing perfectly upsidedown.

Layer some very thin slices of asiago then cover with another arranged layer of penne.

Place the smaller crust on top and seal with the lower crust.

Pop in to oven at 350 for 45 minutes. Check on it, and if the upper crust is burning, take it out.

When you take it out, place it upsidedown on a plate. It may or may not fall onto the plate. Ideally, they fall out of the ramekins after a bit of cooling. If they stick, I've tried chilling it got get it to fall, heating it on the plate to get it to fall, but sometimes it just won't. Then you have a classic pot pie, that will taste just as good.

Leftover bechamel and tomato sauce can be combined and poured over pies if you like.

I'm really sad about the grey circle around the egg yolk, but that comes from over cooking and I can't figure a way around it after 45 minutes in the oven.

flourless chocolate espresso torte

by Cookbad

I've made this so many times, I know the recipe by heart, but I've never posted it. It's from the little known, by worth getting Cafe Pongo Cookbook.

It's my stand-by-slash-and-burn-everyone-loves-it-cake. It is my Brother-in-laws birthday tomorrow night, and as I'm short on time as of late and know this is always good, I'm happy to make it again.

So:
melt 4 oz. of very good dark chocolate with 1 cup of butter.
mix 1/2 cup hot water with 2 tablespoons of instant espresso
mix all that with:
4 eggs large and 1 cup of sugar.

The recipe suggests to line a 8-9 inch cake pan with cling wrap and then pour the mixture into the pan, place in bain-marie and bake in pre-heated oven at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Last time I made it I used target brand cling-wrap and it melted. That was the first time that happened, so I'm using only saran-wrap from now on, which has never melted.

Let it cool, then sprinkle with some cocoa powder, maybe but a coffee bean or two on and you're done.



It serves 8 full people. If you want to make it for more, make 2 cakes, whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar into whipped cream, top one cake with the whipped cream and gingerly place the second cake on top. if it doesn't fall right on top, the whipped cream gives you some wiggle room for adjusting. If the surface cracks, gently rub the crack to hide it and then the cocoa powder should cover any remaining marks.

You can also make them in small individual portions in muffin tins. Shorten the cooking time to 20-30 minutes.

four berry maple and mascarpone strata

stratas do not photograph very well, but are delicious.

By Cookbad

I've been experimenting with stratas a lot lately to see if there is a ratio of egg to bread to milk to filling that would work for any kind of strata be it sweet, savory or in between.

I made this one using my strata ratio of bread:egg:milk being about 6:6:1.5 and if came out splendidly.

4 Berry Maple & Mascarpone Strata
6 eggs
6 cups of ripped up whole grain crusty bread
1.5 cups of milk
1.5 cups of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
4 oz. mascarpone cheese (cream cheese would work too, the cheese it optional)
8 ounces of mixed blueberries, raspberries, cherries and blackberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of maple syrup

Beat together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup.

In a casserole or souffle dish, mix together the bread, the berries and evenly place quarter sized dollops of the mascarpone. Pour the egg mixture over it.

Cover it and stick it in the fridge overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350. Put he strata (covered) and cook for 35 minutes. Take off the cover and cook for another 15 minutes.

During the last 15 minutes of cooking whip the heavy cream with maple syrup into a whipped cream.

Let the strata cook for a bit, then serve with whipped cream and more maple syrup if you like.

Pink Chocolate Fairy Cakes (with creme filling!)

It's a lot of look for one little cake.

by Cookbad

I made these little numbers for a bake sale at my daughters preschool. My only thought was to make them as pink and irresistible to the princess loving, pink adoring, pre-barbi set as possible. So I did a pink cupcake, with pink frosting and toped with some sparkly pink, stuffed with creme.

I made them vegan, although I didn't advertise them as such. It was only implied in the ingredient list I was require to submit with said cupcakes.

And really, why not make them vegan if you can. They are just as delicious. There are a few vegans at the school and I would hate to exclude any pink loving wee vegan from one. BONUS: kids can lick the beaters at any point (if you worry about raw eggs).

Perfect timing to join in on the 2008 CUPCAKE SPECTACULAR!

These were a mash-up of a few different recipes. The cupcakes themselves were from my friend Lacy Sher's book, Down to Earth cookbook- The best vegan cookbook I have ever run across, and I've seen a lot. Anyway, I have sworn to her to keep her recipes in the book and off the internet. Still, there are plenty of vegan cake recipes out there. . . this is one that is similar, but as I haven't made them I ain't vouching for them.

Here is how it goes from there:
Bake them in little paper or silver muffin cups, but don't spray the inside with oil as I read to do someplace. It makes the cupcake slip away from paper and creates a hassle decorating and looks kind of lame.

I wanted mine pink, so out came the food coloring. Admittedly, I over did it in the batter. There is no way to take out color unless you want to double the recipe and incorporate another batch into the over dyed one - which I didn't so, I ran with it.

Actually, maybe you should make the ganache frosting first so it has a chance to cool while you're mixing, baking and creme filling:

Procure a bag of white chocolate chunks, they usually come in 12 oz. packets. Put them in a deep bowl. Next, heat up 1.5 cups of soy milk (this is 1;1 chocolate and soy milk if you want to make more or less). Just as the milk starts to boil take it off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Wait a couple minutes them take the mixer to them. A high sided bowl comes in handy for the first few seconds, because you've got 2 ingredients with very different consistencies and until they start to incorporate, chocolate and milk will fling all over you and your kitchen if you are using a shallow bowl.

Add a bit of red food coloring.

Mix for 5 minutes.

Stick it in the fridge.

While everything cools, make the frosty creme inside:

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
3/4 cup superfine (or caster) sugar
¼ cup plain soymilk powder (don’t use low-fat, it has a “taste”)
pinch salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (get the highest quality you can, the kind that’s thick and syrupy tastes best)

Make sure everything is room temperature and whip like crazy with a hand or upright mixer for 10 minute.

This is directly lifted from the Isa Chandra Moskowitz fauxtess cupcakes in Vegan with a Vengeance. Another superior book.

In the UK cupcakes are called fairy cakes and why not exploit that for further 3-6 yo. girl appeal?

Now, you get the creme deliciousness into the cupcake. Get out your pasty or icing bag with whatever tip you can still find, fill it and simply stick the tip of the bag into the top center of the cupcake, press it in 1/4 to 1/2 and inch and squeeze in the creme. Squeeze just until you see the cake rise a bit. Squeeze too much and it will burst, but still taste goood.

Done?

Time to ice them. I did it by putting the cupcakes face down into the ganache, giving them a twirl and gently lifting them out, repairing any messy spot with a clean finger. Do it anyway that works bet for you.

Now sprinkle very liberally with hot pink colored sugar and pop a white chocolate chip on top. I tried to do a few with little pieces of silver gilding stuff, but they looked messy so I stuck to the chips.

And there you have it.

You can do this over 2 days. They will taste just as good.

music accompaniment: Miss Li.

How to make grilled pizza - the definitive answer.

By Cookbad

I have perfected the grilled pizza technique, and I'm now convinced that unless you have an oven that will go up to 600 degrees, this is the way to do it. The high and dry heat of the grill is the perfect pizza environment.

So here is how I do it:
I cheat and buy my pizza dough at trader joe's, because I'm lazy and it's good dough. In my previous lazy East Coast days I would stop buy whatever pizza shop I was walking by and buy some dough off of them.

Fire up the grill to high and close the cover.

2 doughs looking at the ocean

Get out a rack big enough to put your pizza on.

Slather a some olive oil on your dough and hands then press it out onto a pan, as thinly and evenly as possible. Don't leave the edges that will be the crust thicker. If you end up with a minor hole or two than can't be repaired, it isn't a tragedy.

Go check and see if your grill is really really hot. 500 degrees where you want it. 400 at the lowest.

When the grill is hot, grab a metal spatula and some tongs.

Take the pan that has the dough stretched over it and hold it dough side down. The dough might start to fall to the grill on it's own, or it may need some gentle help with the spatula. This is the hardest part of the whole project and it took me a few times to get it down. If might fall unevenly and if it does, you can either try to reshape with the tongs (don't rip it) or just leave it.

the dough just before shutting the grill

Remove the pan, shut the grill. Count to 30, slowly.

the dough after 30 seconds

Open the grill. If the dough has huge bubbles and it looks like it is browning well, flip it. If you try to flip it and it rips, close the grill and count to 20. If it is lifting well but sticks to the grill, gently take the spatula to the sticking parts.

Once it is flipped, close the grill and count to 30.

It should be done. Take it off the grill and put it right onto the rack-- the most recently cooked side up.

Let the crust cool a bit and turn down your grill to 400.

to chiffonade basil, lie 5 or 6 leaves on top of one another

Then roll it into a cigar shape and thinnly slice.

Toppings:
If you are using sauce, be conservative but sauce all the way to the edges.

Any vegetables should be sauteed, grilled, cooked down so they don't swamp and dampen the dough. Cheese is easy, what you please with it. Same with meats.

Take the rack and pizza, open the grill and using the tongs, grab as far into the center of the pizza and pull it in one swift motion onto the grill.

Close the grill. After 5 minutes, check it. If you have nicely melted and slightly browning cheese, take it off. If not, leave it another 2-3 minutes.

Most likely the bottom will be charred in a few spots when it's done. But is it still completely edible and delicious.

Julia Child's Baguette aka Daring Bakers Challenge 2.2008!

Good webbing is one of the biggest goals of a good baguette in my opinion.

By Cookbad

Good croissants are easier to bake than a good baguette. Of this I am convinced.
Since December I have been trying out recipes.

I started with one from The Cafe Pongo Cookbook. Fine, but with only one rise it isn't tasty pretty much as soon as it cools off.

The second one was from the Crust and the Crumb by Peter Reinhart, which was my first experience using an indirect method for building a dough with pâte fermentée. I was pleased with the results of this bread and would really recommend his book.

The third was this little number.

All told, I think I have made about 25 loaves over the past 2.5 months.

Here is what I have learned:
1. The wetter the dough the chewier inside and crispier outside.
2. The slower the rise the taster.
3. More than one rise will get you far better webbing results.
4. The hardest part is shaping them.
5. A standing mixer makes the process tolerable.
6. Never clean up with a sponge that has an abrasive side. One gluten gets a hold of that stuff it will never let go.


I have made this recipe 3 times now. I love making it. I love the process, checking on the dough and it's progress. Still, I cannot for the life of me shape them properly. No one seems to care though. A loaf of this stuff doesn't survive in this house for more than 3 hours my family loves it so much.

good baguettes ready for a closeup.

One the most rewarding recipes I have ever made:

Julia Child's Baguette recipe
Making French Bread:
Step 1: The Dough Mixture – le fraisage (or frasage)
1 cake (0.6 ounce) (20grams) fresh yeast or 1 package dry active yeast
1/3 cup (75ml) warm water, not over 100 degrees F/38C in a glass measure
3 1/2 cup (about 1 lb) (490 gr) all purpose flour, measured by scooping
dry measure cups into flour and sweeping off excess
2 1/4 tsp (12 gr) salt
1 1/4 cups (280 - 300ml) tepid water @ 70 – 74 degrees/21 - 23C

Both Methods: Stir the yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water and let liquefy completely while measuring flour into mixing bowl. When yeast has liquefied, pour it into the flour along with the salt and the rest of the water.

Hand Method: Stir and cut the liquids into the flour with a rubber spatula, pressing firmly to form a dough and making sure that all the bits of flour and unmassed pieces are gathered in. Turn dough out onto kneading surface, scraping bowl clean. Dough will be soft and sticky.

Both Methods: Turn dough out onto kneading surface, scraping bowl clean. Dough will be soft and sticky. Let the dough rest for 2 – 3 minutes while you wash and dry the bowl (and the dough hook if using a stand mixer).

Step 2: Kneading – petrissage
The flour will have absorbed the liquid during this short rest, and the dough will have a little more cohesion for the kneading that is about to begin. Use one hand only for kneading and keep the other clean to hold a pastry scrapper, to dip out extra flour, to answer the telephone, and so forth. Your object in kneading is to render the dough perfectly smooth and to work it sufficiently so that all the gluten molecules are moistened and joined together into an interlocking web. You cannot see this happen, of course, but you can feel it because the dough will become elastic and will retract into shape when you push it out.

Hand Method: Start kneading by lifting the near edge of the dough, using a pastry scraper or stiff wide spatula to help you if necessary, and flipping the dough over onto itself. Scrape dough off the surface and slap it down; lift edge and flip it over again, repeating the movement rapidly.

In 2 -3 minutes the dough should have enough body so that you can give it a quick forward push with the heel of your hand as you flip it over. Continue to knead rapidly and vigorously in this way. If the dough remains too sticky, knead in a sprinkling of flour. The whole kneading process will take 5 – 10 minutes, depending on how expert you become.

Shortly after this point, the dough should have developed enough elasticity so it draws back into shape when pushed, indicating the gluten molecules have united and are under tension like a thin web of rubber; the dough should also begin to clean itself off the kneading surface, although it will stick to your fingers if you hold a pinch of dough for more than a second or two.

Both Methods: Let dough rest for 3 – 4 minutes. Knead by hand for a minute. The surface should now look smooth; the dough will be less sticky but will still remain soft. It is now ready for its first rise.

Step 3: First Rising – pointage premier temps (3-5 hours at around 70 degrees)
You now have approximately 3 cups of dough that is to rise to 3 1/2 times its original volume, or to about 10 1/2 cups. Wash and fill the mixing bowl with 10 1/2 cups of tepid water (70 – 80 degrees) and make a mark to indicate that level on the outside of the bowl. Note, that the bowl should have fairly upright sides; if they are too outward slanting, the dough will have difficulty in rising. Pour out the water, dry the bowl, and place the dough in it (Mary and Sara Note: Very lightly grease the bowl with butter or kitchen spray as well to prevent the risen dough from sticking to the bowl).

Slip the bowl into a large plastic bag or cover with plastic, and top with a folded bath towel. Set on a wooden surface, marble or stone are too cold. Or on a folded towel or pillow, and let rise free from drafts anyplace where the temperature is around 70 degrees. If the room is too hot, set bowl in water and keep renewing water to maintain around 70 degrees. Dough should take at least 3 – 4 hours to rise to 10 1/2 cups. If temperature is lower than 70 degrees, it will simply take longer.

When fully risen, the dough will be humped into a slight dome, showing that the yeast is still active; it will be light and spongy when pressed. There will usually be some big bubbly blisters on the surface, and if you are using a glass bowl you will see bubbles through the glass.

Step 4: Deflating and Second Rising – rupture; pointage deuxieme temps (1 1/2 to 2 hours at around 70 degrees)
The dough is now ready to be deflated, which will release the yeast engendered gases and redistribute the yeast cells so that the dough will rise again and continue the fermentation process.

With a rubber spatula, dislodge dough from inside of bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, scraping bowl clean. If dough seems damp and sweaty, sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour.

Lightly flour the palms of your hands and flatten the dough firmly but not too roughly into a circle, deflating any gas bubbles by pinching them.

Lift a corner of the near side and flip it down on the far side. Do the same with the left side, then the right side. Finally, lift the near side and tuck it just under the edge of the far side. The mass of dough will look like a rounded cushion.

Slip the sides of your hands under the dough and return it to the bowl. Cover and let rise again, this time to not quite triple, but again until it is dome shaped and light and spongy when touched.

Step 5: Cutting and resting dough before forming loaves
Loosen dough all around inside of bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Because of its two long rises, the dough will have much more body. If it seems damp and sweaty, sprinkle lightly with flour.

Making clean, sure cuts with a large knife or a bench scraper, divide the dough into:
3 equal pieces for long loaves (baguettes or batards) or small round loaves (boules only)
5 – 6 equal pieces for long thin loaves (ficelles)
10 – 12 equal pieces for small oval rolls (petits pains, tire-bouchons) or small round rolls (petits pains, champignons)
2 equal pieces for medium round loaves (pain de menage or miche only)
If you making one large round loaf (pain de menage, miche, or pain boulot), you will not cut the dough at all and just need to follow the directions below.
After you have cut each piece, lift one end and flip it over onto the opposite end to fold the dough into two; place dough at far side of kneading surface. Cover loosely with a sheet of plastic and let rest for 5 minutes before forming. This relaxes the gluten enough for shaping but not long enough for dough to begin rising again.

While the dough is resting, prepare the rising surface; smooth the canvas or linen towelling on a large tray or baking sheet, and rub flour thoroughly into the entire surface of the cloth to prevent the dough from sticking

Step 6: Forming the loaves – la tourne; la mise en forme des patons

Because French bread stands free in the oven and is not baked in a pan, it has to be formed in such a way that the tension of the coagulated gluten cloak on the surface will hold the dough in shape.

For Long Loaves - The Batard: (Baguettes are typically much too long for home ovens but the shaping method is the same)

After the 3 pieces of dough have rested 5 minutes, form one piece at a time, keeping the remaining ones covered.

Working rapidly, turn the dough upside down on a lightly floured kneading surface and pat it firmly but not too roughly into an 8 to 10 inch oval with the lightly floured palms of your hands. Deflate any gas bubbles in the dough by pinching them.

Fold the dough in half lengthwise by bringing the far edge down over the near edge.

Being sure that the working surface is always lightly floured so the dough will not stick and tear, which would break the lightly coagulated gluten cloak that is being formed, seal the edges of the dough together, your hands extended, thumbs out at right angles and touching.

Roll the dough a quarter turn forward so the seal is on top.

Flatten the dough again into an oval with the palms of your hands.

Press a trench along the central length of the oval with the side of one hand.

Fold in half again lengthwise.

This time seal the edges together with the heel of one hand, and roll the dough a quarter of a turn toward you so the seal is on the bottom.

Now, by rolling the dough back and forth with the palms of your hands, you will lengthen it into a sausage shape. Start in the middle, placing your right palm on the dough, and your left palm on top of your right hand.

Roll the dough forward and backward rapidly, gradually sliding your hands towards the two ends as the dough lengthens.

Deflate any gas blisters on the surface by pinching them. Repeat the rolling movement rapidly several times until the dough is 16 inches long, or whatever length will fit on your baking sheet. During the extension rolls, keep circumference of dough as even as possible and try to start each roll with the sealed side of the dough down, twisting the rope of dough to straighten the line of seal as necessary. If seal disappears, as it sometimes does with all purpose flour, do not worry.

Place the shaped piece of dough, sealed side up, at one end of the flour rubbed canvas, leaving a free end of canvas 3 to 4 inches wide. The top will crust slightly as the dough rises; it is turned over for baking so the soft, smooth underside will be uppermost.

Pinch a ridge 2 1/2 to 3 inches high in the canvas to make a trough, and a place for the next piece. Cover dough with plastic while you are forming the rest of the loaves.

After all the pieces of dough are in place, brace the two sides of the canvas with long rolling pins, baking sheets or books, if the dough seems very soft and wants to spread out. Cover the dough loosely with flour rubbed dish towel or canvas, and a sheet of plastic. Proceed immediately to the final rising, next step.

Final rise is also called proofing.

Step 7: Final Rise – l’appret - 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours at around 70 degrees

The covered dough is now to rise until almost triple in volume; look carefully at its pre-risen size so that you will be able to judge correctly. It will be light and swollen when risen, but will still feel a little springy when pressed.

It is important that the final rise take place where it is dry; if your kitchen is damp, hot, and steamy, let the bread rise in another room or dough will stick to the canvas and you will have difficulty getting it off and onto another baking sheet. It will turn into bread in the oven whatever happens, but you will have an easier time and a better loaf if you aim for ideal conditions.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees about 30 minutes before estimated baking time.

Step 8: Unmolding risen dough onto baking sheet – le demoulage.

The 3 pieces of risen dough are now to be unmolded from the canvas and arranged upside down on the baking sheet. The reason for this reversal is that the present top of the dough has crusted over during its rise; the smooth, soft underside should be uppermost in the oven so that the dough can expand and allow the loaf its final puff of volume. For the unmolding you will need a non-sticking intermediate surface such as a stiff piece of cardboard or plywood sprinkled with cornmeal or pulverized pasta.

Remove rolling pins or braces. Place the long side of the board at one side of the dough; pull the edge of the canvas to flatten it; then raise and flip the dough softly upside down onto the board.

Dough is now lying along one edge of the unmolding board: rest this edge on the right side of a lightly buttered baking sheet. Gently dislodge dough onto baking sheet, keeping same side of the dough uppermost: this is the soft smooth side, which was underneath while dough rose on canvas. If necessary run sides of hands lightly down the length of the dough to straighten it. Unmold the next piece of dough the same way, placing it to the left of the first, leaving a 3 inch space. Unmold the final piece near the left side of the sheet.

Step 9: Slashing top of the dough – la coupe.
The top of each piece of dough is now to be slashed in several places. This opens the covering cloak of gluten and allows a bulge of dough underneath to swell up through the cuts during the first 10 minutes of baking, making decorative patterns in the crust. These are done with a blade that cuts almost horizontally into the dough to a depth of less than half an inch. Start the cut at the middle of the blade, drawing toward you in a swift clean sweep. This is not quite as easy as it sounds, and you will probably make ragged cuts at first; never mind, you will improve with practice. Use an ordinary razor blade and slide one side of it into a cork for safety; or buy a barbers straight razor at a cutlery store.

For a 16 to 18 inch loaf make 3 slashes. Note that those at the two ends go straight down the loaf but are slightly off centre, while the middle slash is at a slight angle between the two. Make the first cut at the far end, then the middle cut, and finally the third. Remember that the blade should lie almost parallel to the surface of the dough.

Step 10: Baking – about 25 minutes; oven preheated to 450 degrees (230 degrees C).

As soon as the dough has been slashed, moisten the surface either by painting with a soft brush dipped in cold water, or with a fine spray atomizer, and slide the baking sheet onto rack in upper third of preheated oven. Rapidly paint or spray dough with cold water after 3 minutes, again in 3 minutes, and a final time 3 minutes later. Moistening the dough at this point helps the crust to brown and allows the yeast action to continue in the dough a little longer. The bread should be done in about 25 minutes; the crust will be crisp, and the bread will make a hollow sound when thumped.

If you want the crust to shine, paint lightly with a brush dipped in cold water as soon as you slide the baking sheet out of oven.

Step 11: Cooling – 2 to 3 hours.
(Mary and Sara Note: We know this will be the hardest thing to do for this challenge. But, if you do not let the French bread cool, the bread will be doughy and the crust will be soft. If you want to have warm French bread, re-heat the bread after it has cooled in a 400 degree oven, uncovered and directly on the oven rack for 10 – 12 minutes if it is unfrozen. If it has been frozen see the directions below)

Cool the bread on a rack or set it upright in a basket or large bowl so that air can circulate freely around each piece. Although bread is always exciting to eat fresh from the oven, it will have a much better taste when the inside is thoroughly cool and has composed itself.

Step 12: Storing French bread
Because it contains no fats or preservatives of any kind, French bread is at its best when eaten the day it is baked. It will keep for a day or two longer, wrapped airtight and refrigerated, but it will keep best if you freeze it – let the loaves cool first, then wrap airtight. To thaw, unwrap and place on a baking sheet in a cold oven; heat the oven to 400 degrees. In about 20 minutes the crust will be hot and crisp, and the bread thawed. The French, of course, never heat French bread except possibly on Monday, the baker’s holiday, when the bread is a day old.

delicious gluten driven deliciousness.

Croissants

perfect amazing croissants

By Cookbad

I have never been more proud of anything I have ever cooked.

I couldn't believe that I made them and how perfectly they came out.

A few months ago I bought Nancy Silverton's (Original owner of Campanile) Pastries from the La Brea Bakery.

It is pretty advanced baking and pastry making and many of the recipes call for very specialized tools or equipment that are not easy to procure and hard to find replacements that you would have around the house. I've made a few recipes from it, the rugelah was fine, but I found a better recipe here.

I also made the marshmallows, graham crackers, and a wonderful cookie called Nun's Breasts. I wish I had photos of these cookies. I made them for my xmas cookie baskets. They were keepers.

Anyway, I had been planning on making croissants for a while and either using Julia Child's recipe or Nancy Silverton's. I went with the Silverton one when I found a simplified version of her recipe in Epicurious. The comments and reviews were very encouraging.

The recipes can be found here and here:

BUTTER CROISSANTS
1 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to warm (105°F–110°F)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (from two 1/4-oz packages)
3 3/4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter

Special equipment: a standing electric mixer with dough hook, 2 kitchen towels (not terry cloth), a ruler, a pastry brush
Preparation
Make dough: Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in bowl of standing mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, discard and start over.) Add 3 3/4 cups flour and salt and mix with dough hook at low speed until dough is smooth and very soft, about 7 minutes.

Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand 2 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, a little at a time, to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a roughly 1 1/2-inch-thick rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until cold, about 1 hour.

Prepare and shape butter: After dough has chilled, arrange sticks of butter horizontally, their sides touching, on a work surface. Pound butter with a rolling pin to soften slightly (butter should be malleable but still cold). Scrape butter into a block and put on a kitchen towel, then cover with other towel. Pound and roll out on both sides until butter forms a uniform 8- by 5-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in towels, while rolling out dough.

Roll out dough: Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary and lifting and stretching dough (especially in corners), into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. Arrange dough with a short side nearest you. Put butter in center of dough so that long sides of butter are parallel to short sides of dough. Fold as you would a letter: bottom third of dough over butter, then top third down over dough. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush.

Roll out dough: Turn dough so a short side is nearest you, then flatten dough slightly by pressing down horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regular intervals, making uniform impressions. Roll out dough into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle, rolling just to but not over ends.

Brush off any excess flour. Fold in thirds like a letter, as above, stretching corners to square off dough, forming a 10- by 5-inch rectangle. (You have completed the first "fold.") Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Make remaining "folds": Make 3 more folds in same manner, chilling dough 1 hour after each fold, for a total of 4 folds. (If any butter oozes out while rolling, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.) Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours but no more than 18 (after 18 hours, dough may not rise sufficiently when baked).

Roll out and cut dough: Cut dough in half and chill 1 half, wrapped in plastic wrap. Roll out other half on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary and stretching corners to maintain shape, into a 16- by 12-inch rectangle. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush and trim edges with a pizza wheel or sharp knife.

Arrange dough with a short side nearest you. Cut in half horizontally and chill 1 half. Cut remaining half vertically into thirds, forming 3 rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally in half to make 2 triangles, for a total of 6 triangles.

Shape croissants: Holding short side (side opposite tip) of 1 triangle in one hand, stretch dough, tugging and sliding with other hand toward tip to elongate by about 50 percent.

Return to work surface with short side of triangle nearest you. Beginning with short side, roll up triangle toward tip. (Croissant should overlap 3 times, with tip sticking out from underneath; you may need to stretch dough while rolling.)

Put croissant, tip side down, on a parchment-lined large baking sheet. (Curve ends inward to make a crescent shape if desired.)

Make more croissants with remaining 5 triangles, then with remaining rolled-out dough, arranging them 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting, and shaping procedures with chilled piece of dough.

Let croissants rise: Slide each baking sheet into a garbage bag, propping up top of bag with inverted glasses to keep it from touching croissants, and tuck open end under baking sheet.

Let croissants rise until slightly puffy and spongy to the touch, 2 to 2‚ hours.

Bake croissants: Adjust oven racks to upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 425°F.

Remove baking sheets from bags. Spritz inside oven generously with spray bottle and close door. Put croissants in oven, then spritz again before closing door. Reduce temperature to 400°F and bake 10 minutes without opening door.

Switch position of sheets in oven and rotate sheets 180°, then reduce temperature to 375°F and bake until croissants are deep golden, about 10 minutes more.

Cooks' note:
• Baked and cooled croissants keep 1 month: First freeze them, uncovered, on baking sheets until firm, then wrap them snugly in foil before returning to freezer. When ready to serve, remove foil and bake (not thawed) on a baking sheet in a 325°F oven 5 to 10 minutes.

These took me 3 days to make and were so completely worth it I will make them for every special occasion breakfast that comes along.

The house smelled like perfect croissants as they were baking.

I only have one rather crappy picture of the croissants. I was holding off some ravenous family members.

The dough really does freeze very well. I used half of it to make pain au chocolate a week later. Also, excellent.

Cheese Straws

prebaked cheese straws

By Cookbad

I actually made the entire menu that went along with this, from Jan. 2008 Gourmet magazine, but these were the only part I got around to photographing.

The menu, which you can find here is ridiculously good and terrible for you. The fried chicken involves being fried in bacon fat (GENIUS!) and then is finished off with a bacon gravy and more just plain old bacon. I love a sentence that has bacon in it that many times.

I highly recommend the entire menu.

The cheese straws are wonderful because they take about 10 minutes to make and are very satisfying. If you skip or lower the amount of cayenne pepper kids love them.

They are also fun to make.

Here is the recipe:

CHEESE STRAWS
1/4 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon salt
Rounded 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Pulse cheese, flour, butter, salt, and cayenne in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and pulse until dough forms a ball.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12- by 10-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick). Cut dough with a lightly floured pizza wheel or lightly floured sharp knife into 1/3-inch-wide strips. Carefully transfer to 2 ungreased baking sheets, arranging strips 1/4 inch apart. (If strips tear, pinch back together.)

Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until pale golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.

Devil Dog Cake

To celebrate my one year cooking anniversary, I made this Devil Dog cake. It’s not made out of devil dogs, it’s just resembles one. It got a top score (four out of four forks) on Epicurious, and it used a technique that I haven’t tried yet, so I thought it would be fitting for my last recipe of the year.


For cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process) plus additional for dusting
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups water

For frosting
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour an 8-inch square cake pan (2 inches deep).

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well, then beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and water alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.

Pour batter into cake pan and smooth top, then bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 1 hour. Transfer cake to a cake plate.

Make frosting:
Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Mound frosting on top of cake. Dust with additional cocoa powder.

Cooks' notes:
• Cake, without frosting, will improve in flavor if made 1 day ahead. Cool, then keep, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature. Frost cake just before serving.
• The egg whites in the frosting are not fully cooked. You can substitute pasteurized or reconstituted dried egg whites if salmonella is a problem in your area.


The cake it’s self is pretty straightforward, creaming the butter and sugar, and adding in turns. My square cake tin doesn’t have a removable base, so I made sure to use baking paper for easy removal. The best way to do it is to let it cool for a couple of minutes, then put a dish over the top of the cake and flip the whole thing over. That way you can just lift off the pan, and peel off the paper. If you want to turn it back right side up, just put another dish over it and flip it again.

The frosting was new for me. It was an interesting method. Like making meringue, but in a double boiler. It sounded intimidating, but it was fine, once I got used to having an electric mixer in one hand and an oven glove on the other (the bowl kept slipping in the pot). It took the full 7 minutes, but it came out amazing. It was sticky and frosting-y and tasted just like marshmallows. I loved it.

The recipe mentions that the cake improves in flavor if you refrigerate it over night, and it’s no joke. This cake was good on the day it was made, but it was excellent the next day.

I would make this again, probably for a kids event more then a grown up event, thought it would be fine for either. I agree with the four forks rating, I will make it again.

Goat Cheese and Squash Pie

500g shortcrust pastry
1 small butternut squash
1 red onion, chopped into bite sized wedges
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1tbsp fresh thyme
1 pack soft goat’s cheese
1tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 pack goat’s cheese with rind

heat oven to 190c. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a 1 pound coin. Use to line a 23cm round tart tin. Blind bake for 15 min
Cut the squash into chunks and remove skin and seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, season and put in a roasting tray with onion, garlic and thyme. Roast for 20 min until the squash is cooked
Spread the soft goat’s cheese on the bottom of the flan case. Squeeze the garlic from it’s skin. Mash with ½ of the squash and the sage. Spread over base. Season, then scatter over the onion and remaining squash.
Slice the goat’s cheese with rind into rounds and place on top.
Bake for 20 – 30 min

I usually make my own pie pastry. It’s quick and easy, and I like doing it. Still, for this one I decided to try the store bought kind. I got the kind that comes in a block and you roll it out yourself. Sadly, I loved it. It was really tasty, great texture. I think I’ll still make my own most of the time, because I still like doing it, but it’s good to know that if I’m in a rush, the store bought is there as a reliable back up.
As for the rest of the recipe, from Good Food Magazine, it was not as good as I had hoped.

It could have been great, but it was a bit fussy to make, even with the pre-made dough, and the squash should have been cooked much longer. When I went to mash up the squash and garlic, I kind of guessed at that, but I thought maybe the cooking time of the assembled pie would solve that problem. If it had a really creamy texture, it would have been a beautiful dish, but it wound up with a bit of a grainy/undercooked texture. Not inedible, but not good either.

I’d be willing to guess that if you increased the original squash cooking time (or chopped it much more finely), it would make a really good pie.