Tuesday's with Dorie July Catch-up!

Well, all I can say is that my free time seemed to disappear over the summer...  I did a lot of baking, but never managed to set aside the time to edit photos and post to the blog.  Summer is a busy time with two kids!  Better late than never, though! 

The first recipe in July is the White Chocolate Patty Cake from Baking with Julia.  What appears to be a simple white cake, above, is actually a rich, velvety cake made of white chocolate and lots of eggs.  It was fluffy and velvety and scrumptious.  I am not generally someone who jumps for joy for white chocolate, but it really made this cake something special!  The cakes themselves collapse a bit when taken out of the oven, but that's totally fine.  You sort of smoosh the cakes together anyway!  There is a layer of "raspberry crush" in between the layers, and also some on top of the cake (that's the red sauce you see).  It was supposed to be made with frozen raspberries in a light syrup, but my raspberries were simply frozen - no syrup involved.  That worked fine with me though, as it was not too tart by any means.  Plus, the cake itself is sweet (all that white chocolate!) so the contrast between the sweet cake and the tart sauce was perfect!  Once the sauce is spread over the bottom layer, the top layer is placed and then the edges are smooshed together.  Then more sauce is put on top, with fresh raspberries.  This is a delicious summer treat!  It looks and tastes like you worked really hard, and it is actually quite simple!  Try it!  You can find the recipe here! 

Ready for some more raspberries?  I am!  Truly, when raspberries start showing up in the grocery store, I am thrilled.  My kids love them (call them "finger berries") and I could easily eat an entire tray (no matter the size!) in a sitting.  If you are a Costco member, go there for your summer raspberry fix.  They are AWESOME and like everything at Costco, comes in a bigger container than in the grocery store, for about the same price!  Win! 

This particular recipe is from Baking Chez Moi, and is the Apricot Raspberry Tart.  You can find the recipe on page 145.  This recipe was supposed to have a layer of stale cake crumbs or brioche between the sweet tart and the fruit layer, to absorb the juices.  OR, Dorie suggests that you create an Apricot-Almond Cream Tart and spread a layer of almond cream over the bottom of the tart.  Yeah, HELLO?  I'll take that option, thank you very much!  But I didn't see the purpose of losing the raspberries in the process (Dorie leaves them out in this version) so I used them anyway.  Are you with me here?  Sweet tart dough, almond cream, apricots, raspberries, and pistachios on top.  NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS!  Delicious.  This is totally my kind of dessert.  I tend to lean towards the fruity pie-ish type desserts and this baby is right up my alley! 

Finally, in July we made Vanilla-Mango Panna Cotta.  This recipe is also from Baking Chez Moi and can be found on pages 370-372.  This I made at my parents house, where the kids and I went to help my mom after a minor surgery.  Surely delicious food and love from grandkids helped her heal well!  I like to think so, anyway!  This is another recipe that looks like a million bucks but is actually fairly simple to make!  If you've never made a panna cotta, you really need to give it a try.  It takes minimal time to prep and can (in fact has to) be made in advance, so at the right time you just have to get it out of the refrigerator and BAM an amazing dessert is served! 

The panna cotta sits on a puree of mango and lime.  You could also add honey to the mix, but my mangoes were sweet so I didn't add any.  The puree goes on the bottom and into the refrigerator.  Then you make the panna cotta, which is made by infusing vanilla bean into heavy cream and milk, then adding bloomed gelatin.  Pour this on top of the cold puree, refrigerate at least 2 hours, and there you have a beautiful dessert!  If you don't care for mango, you could use a different fruit puree or use NO fruit puree, set the panna cotta in a lightly oiled mold, and then pop them gently out to serve on a plate with berries or some sort of syrup.  Panna cotta is super versatile!

Oh, and I can't believe I took this picture.  I probably couldn't do it again if I tried but I love how it turned out!  I'll take my successes where I can!

There you go for a July catch up...  There is still one recipe that I haven't gotten around to making yet, but I'll get there.....  eventually.....

TWD: Baking Chez Moi June Catch-up!

More catching up to do!  The first recipe for June was Chocolate-Cherry Brownies, found on pages 322-323 of Baking Chez Moi.  Though I do have a favorite brownie recipe, I am certainly willing to try new recipes, especially when in a cookbook written by Dorie!  And this recipe certainly did not disappoint!  Truly, if you use good quality bittersweet chocolate and tart dried cherries that have been soaked in port wine until nice and plump, you cannot go wrong!  Mmmm.  I love tart cherries and when paired with bittersweet chocolate, it is just divine.  These brownies are a one-bowl recipe, which makes them quick to both make and clean up!  Oh, and they will quickly disappear as well!
 

See the nice crackly top?  That is an important brownie element for me - the nice crackle top before the moist and chocolatey inside.  Mmmm.  Kinda makes me want to bake these again...  Good thing they are so easy!


Our second June recipe was Strawberry Shortcakes, Franco-American Style, on pages 338-340 of Baking Chez Moi.  Instead of using a biscuit, Dorie uses round ladyfingers.  They are nice and light and crunchy and elevate the dessert to something elegant! 

In addition to the ladyfinger substitution, Dorie also recommended using roasted strawberries in lieu of traditional macerated or plain strawberries.  This recipe can be found on page 458 of the book, and essentially involves mixing sliced strawberries with sugar, cloves, olive oil and thick balsamic vinegar and then roasting them in the oven until nice and soft.  I used the roasted strawberries in the middle of my shortcakes, but only for the adults.  I figured the kiddos were better off with typical plain strawberries.  The roasted strawberries provided a nice fancy taste to the dessert.  It was like a surprise with each bite as I don't generally associate those flavors with strawberry shortcake, but it was so good! 

This is definitely a dessert to be eaten as soon as it is made.  I am not sure how the ladyfingers would last, maybe okay in an airtight container for a day or so?  But you might as well just eat it up at once.  Strawberry shortcakes are too good to be left around! 

My summer baking is way off schedule, but I'm catching up, slowly but surely!  Hope you've been enjoying whatever summer treats come your way!!

TWD: Baking Chez Moi - Marquise au Chocolat

It's Tuesday's with Dorie time again!  This week our recipe was from Baking Chez Moi, and we made Marquise au Chocolat.  That is fancy French for frozen chocolate mousse.  Sounds fancy, yes?  I served mine with vanilla creme anglaise (another recipe in the book) and some fresh raspberries.  The raspberries are actually crucial, in my opinion, as they add a nice tart zip to a sweet dessert.  Which is not to say that the dessert is too sweet.  No.  It is not.  It is absolutely delicious and divine.  But I do l like a little zip to cut the sweet sometimes, just me.

This recipe is really not difficult at all, and it even includes FOLDING ingredients (a word that makes me tremble with anxiety).  It simply involves melting a large quantity of bittersweet chocolate (my fave) with some butter (how could this possibly go wrong?).  In the mean time you whip some egg yolks with sugar and some fleur de sel or sea salt.  Fold the chocolate in to the yolks then whip up some lightly sweetened heavy cream and fold that into the mixture as well.  Pour it into a plastic wrap lined loaf pan, wrap it up and put it in the freezer.  You are done.  It needs to freeze for at least 6 hours, so it is best to think ahead a bit with this dessert.

Here is where some bakers got stumped, though.  If you look closely to my abbreviated instructions above, you will see that in no place do the egg yolks actually get COOKED.  Uh, huh.  You mean this includes RAW EGGS?  Yep, essentially that is the case.  There are things you can do to change this up, which some bakers in the group tried, but I didn't go there.  I just bought some pasteurized eggs and called it a day.  Those eggs are safe enough for me.  The percentage of eggs that contain salmonella is very small and since my eggs were pasteurized they were theoretically safe from being part of that small percentage anyway.  Plus, if you added up all of the raw cookie dough/cake batter/etc. that I have munched in my entire life, I have probably eaten about a zillion raw eggs already!  Maybe this was chance-y, but it is the route I took.  If you follow this blog, you might recall that while I was pregnant I made a tiramisu for a birthday celebration that included 2 other pregnant gals.  Tiramisu (at least my recipe) also involves uncooked egg yolks and I took the pasteurized route that time too.  You have to bake/cook in a manner that makes you comfortable, and this works for me!

Anyway, back to the dessert.  Since the mousse freezes overnight, you can also make a creme anglaise to go with it, which is refrigerated overnight.  Then the next day, at dessert time, you can just grab these two pre-made amazing items, plate them, and you are ready!  No sweat! You can see in the photo below that my plastic wrap had some wrinkles, which were sort of carved into the marquise, but I don't mind.  I am actually not sure how to line the pan without getting wrinkles?  Maybe one of the other bakers did a better job and will have some tips to share!

This dessert was made as part of my very dear friend H's birthday dinner.  Happy birthday, H!  Your friendship is an amazing blessing in my life.  What would I do without you?  It is just too dreadful to contemplate!

The recipe for Marquise au Chocolat can be found on pages 357-358 of Baking Chez Moi, and the creme anglaise can be found on page 441.  

Juliana's Brazilian Milk Pudding

Earlier in the school-year, the clever girl's school had a "Hispanic Heritage Day" in which we were all asked to bring appropriately Hispanic foods and the kids would have these items for lunch while they theoretically gained some appreciation for another culture.  I say "theoretically" because other than eating, I didn't see many other cultural activities.  However at one point, someone brought out a stereo and turned on some music...

That is when I turned to the mom next to me and told her that I didn't realize that '80s Madonna was, in fact, Hispanic.  Huh.  After a while of playing random non-Hispanic music, the music was turned off.  I am not sure why appropriate music was not played, since we live in Houston and there are several radio stations that would have worked just fine.  But what do I know?  I was there to help with the food.  I stationed myself at the dessert table (if the shoe fits...) and happened to be near this heavenly concoction called "Brazilian Milk Pudding".  It just so happens that my lovely friend standing next to me made this particular dessert so I was able to taste and quiz her about the dish!  First of all, let me assure you that it is AMAZING.  You can't tell from the photo above, but the bottom of this pudding (which is the TOP when it cooks) gets all nice and caramelized and so, so delicious.  You can sort of see this in the photo below.  See how the bottom is nice and dark?  Oh, my, this creamy pudding just melts in your mouth with that yummy caramelized sugar flavor.  I caution you.  Your eyes will roll into the back of your head.

And since we were feeding kids, who were WAY more interested in the store-bought cupcakes with freakishly bright icing instead of trying this truly divine dessert, I was able to have more than one sample.  Yeah for me!  Too bad for those silly kids!  Oh, but  make no mistake, Juliana's son returned repeatedly to the table for additional helpings of this dessert.  He knows what's good!

I, of course, begged for the recipe so I could make it at home and share it with you!  Let me tell you, YOU CAN MAKE THIS.  And you should.  It is super easy and uses 4 ingredients.  4!  Unless you count water as an ingredient, in which case it takes 5 ingredients.

According to my friend, the Portuguese originally created this dish and brought it to Brazil.  My friend had to translate her recipe from Portuguese in order to send it to me, so this is legit, my friends.

Brazilian Milk Pudding

Caramel:
Ingredients:

½ cup of Sugar

1/5 cup of water  (3 TB plus a scant teaspoon)

Directions:

Pour the sugar into a small sauce pan and sprinkle with some drops of water.  Place the pan on the burner on high.  Let the mixture boil without mixing it.  Once the sides start to get dark, wait until it reaches the caramel color you like, then turn the heat to low and mix it with a spoon.  Once completely mixed, add the 1/5 cup water.  BE CAREFUL when you pour the water, as the heat will make the water and the caramel boil and pot at once; so it is recommended that you use a kitchen glove when you do it.  After pouring the water mix it for a couple minutes and remove from the heat.  Immediately pour into a bundt pan.  Twist the pan around so that the caramel will stick to the sides and the raised middle part.  Let it stand to cool.

Milk Pudding:

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 cans of condensed milk (the best brand is Nestle’s La Lechera)

2 cans (use the condensed milk can to measure) of milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F. 

In a blender, blend the eggs by themselves first.  Add the 2 cans of condensed milk and blend. Finally, add the 2 cans with milk.  Once blended, pour the mixture into the bundt pan and place it in a roasting pan.  Pour water into the roasting pan until it reaches at least 1/3 the height of the bundt pan.  Bake for about 40-60 minutes.  Since ovens vary, once it gets to 40 minutes, check the consistency.  You want it to be firm (not hard), so if you move the pan a little bit and you see the content move too much it is still liquid, so check every 10 minutes after that.  Once firmer, you can stick a tooth pick in it to confirm it is done.

Remove the bundt pan from the oven and water bath and allow to cool completely before refrigerating for at least 6 hours.  When ready to serve, you will want to warm the bottom of the bundt pan a little so the caramel loosens.  To do this, put your hottest tap water into the roasting pan and let the bundt pan swim around for a few minutes.  Move it around and wiggle around the sides a bit so all of the caramel gets soft enough.  You will see the caramel soften around the sides of the pan.  Once this happens, you can flip it onto a serving platter with a lip.  That lip is important - it catches the running caramel!

Dive in to yummy bliss!

Printable Recipe

I made Juliana's Brazilian Milk Pudding for church one day and it was a big hit.  I got lots of recipe requests.  I hope they all make it!

Baklava! Opa!

When we moved into our new house a year ago, we had no idea the blessing that we were being given.   You never know what you'll get when it comes to neighbors, and we really lucked out by having two neighbors that are really super.  We have started having dinners together periodically, so we can have the chance to chat more than the wave from the driveway, the "hey, can I borrow X" text, etc.  It's awesome.  We are so lucky!  So when our neighbor decided to have Greek food for our dinner recently, I decided to bring Baklava to share!  I also brought homemade pistachio ice cream, which will be described in another post!

This was my first endeavor into Baklava, and though I had some phyllo-fear going into the experience, it was not that bad at all!  Yes, you have to take some precautions when it comes to phyllo, and you have to be super gentle, but it wasn't so bad!

I found the recipe on allrecies.com, and of the over 1800 reviews, 1600 love it, so I figured that was a good sign.  Crazy, right?  I read SOME of those reviews (a very small percentage, considering) and took a couple of suggestions that were made.

Baklava
adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 16oz. box phyllo dough, containing 2 packages/rolls of dough
1 pound chopped nuts (I used pistachios)
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
3/4 cup honey

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325F.  Butter a 9x13 inch pan and set it aside.

Make the sauce:   Boil the water and sugar until the sugar melts.  Add the vanilla, zest and honey, and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool and then set it in the refrigerator while the baklava bakes.

Chop the nuts and toss with cinnamon.  Set this aside.  Melt the butter in a separate bowl and set this aside as well, with a pastry brush nearby.  You are creating an assembly line for when you start! If your box of phyllo dough came did not come with two rolls, unroll the one roll and cut it in half so the sheets will fit in your pan.  Cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent the dough from drying out as you work.  (The towel keeps it moist, the plastic keeps it from sticking to the towel!) 

Place two sheets of phyllo in the dish, and brush with melted butter.  Repeat this until there are 8 pieces of phyllo in the dish.  Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top of the butter.  Top with 2 sheets of dough, butter, nuts, and repeat this process until you are about out of nuts.  You want to have 6-8 sheets of dough left for the top, which you will butter between every two sheets, just like the bottom.  Butter the very top sheet of phyllo. 

Using a sharp knife, cut the uncooked baklava into diamond or square shapes, STOPPING about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the pan in each slice.  This helps so the bottom doesn't get as soggy.  Bake for about 50 minutes or until the top is golden and crispy.

Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the COOL sauce over the top.  Let it cool completely, then cut the slices through the rest of the way.  Serve in cupcake wrappers. 

You can freeze leftovers.  Or put it in your refrigerator uncovered (again, to prevent sogginess). 
Printable Recipe

This tasted just like the baklava we get at a local Greek restaurant!  Delish.  Don't fear the phyllo!  It really isn't so bad, especially since you can get it in the boxes with two rolls so you don't even have to cut it! 

My neighbors know I'll always show up with dessert.  It works out for all of us!  I get to try out  new recipes and they get to enjoy a great (hopefully!) dessert.  Win - win! 

Thank goodness for great neighbors.  What would we do without them??

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

We made Mr. Clever Mom some Toasted Coconut Ice Cream for Father's Day!  This is part of the clever girl's and my summer initiative to become ice cream pros.  Thus far we have had good success, with an amazing chocolate ice cream for the clever girl's birthday.  Since Mr. Clever Mom loves coconut desserts (see coconut cream pie and coconut cake for more options), we decided to try Toasted Coconut Ice Cream.

Yum.  Again, success.  Honestly, I think this is solely due to the fact that I am using David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop, wherein he describes the ice cream process in detail.  The toasted coconut flavor is perfect - not too much, just right, just like Baby Bear's porridge in Goldilocks!  You toast the coconut and then let warm milk and cream steep with the coconut and vanilla beans for a while, to really get as much flavor as you can.  Then you toss the coconut bits, so the ice cream is still perfectly creamy.  Mmmm.

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
big pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1 teaspoon rum

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spread the coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.  When it is golden brown and smells incredible, take it out of the oven and allow it to cool.

Warm the milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, sugar, salt and coconut in a medium saucepan.  Once it is warm and steamy, remove the pan from the heat.  Use a small paring knife to scrape the vanilla beans from the pod and into the saucepan, and put the pod in as well.  Cover and allow to steep for at least one hour at room temperature.

Re-warm the coconut/milk mixture.  Strain the coconut/milk mixture through a mesh strainer set over another medium saucepan.  Press on the coconut with a rubber spatula to extract as much of the flavor as possible.  Remove the vanilla bean pod, rinse and save for another purpose (like adding them to your sugar bowl for vanilla sugar!)  Discard the coconut.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set the empty (rinsed) mesh strainer over the bowl.  Whisk the egg  yolks in a separate bowl.  Using a ladle, slowly pour the warm coconut-infused mixture into the egg yolks, whisking briskly the entire time.  Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and return to the stove. 

Warm the custard mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the custard is thick and leaves a line on the spatula when you wipe it with a finger.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the remaining cream.  Stir in the vanilla extract or rum.  Set this bowl in an ice bath  and stir until cool. 

Chill overnight in the refrigerator and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the maker's instructions. 
Printable Recipe

I wonder, instead of throwing away the soaked coconut, if I could dry it out in the oven again and use it to sprinkle over the ice cream when serving??  Maybe something to try next time! 

Another success on our ice cream journey.  What should we try next??

TWD: Baking with Julia - Phylloccine Ice Cream Sandwiches

 

Our recipe this week for Tuesdays with Dorie is Phylloccine Ice Cream Sandwiches.  I have to admit that the entire time I thought about and prepared this dessert, I was pronouncing the name wrong.  I didn't actually read the intro to the recipe (oops), otherwise it would have been very clear.  The bed of the "ice cream sandwich" (which you can admittedly barely see at all in my photo) is a nest made of phyllo that is cut into ribbons like fettuccine.  Thus, phyllo-ccine.  Duh.  Good job putting two and two together on that one.  Ahh well...

 

I actually altered this recipe a bit.  I made it an open-faced ice cream sandwich, as I thought that the phyllo nests were too big to use two.  I wonder if I actually made them bigger than they were supposed to be.  In looking at the photo in the book (again something I did AFTER making the dessert), the phylloccine nests look much smaller.  The recipe calls for "one box of phyllo dough".  Is it possible that there are boxes that come with less dough?  The boxes I buy always have two packages/rolls of phyllo inside.  Since I halved the recipe, I used 1 roll of phyllo and made 8 nests.  Had I used only half of the phyllo roll, or made 16 nests instead of 8, I think the nests would have been a better size.  Does this make sense?  I only wanted to make 4 sandwiches, not 8.  Anyway, since the nests were large, I used only one, on the bottom.

 

The layering of this "sandwich" is as follows:

• blob of brown sugar/rum flavored whipped cream
• phyllo nest
• raspberry/blueberry salad made with pureed raspberries, blueberries, and a little sugar
• homemade toasted coconut ice cream (look for recipe in following post)
• another blob of whipped cream
• homemade hot fudge sauce
• sliced figs and peaches around the sides of the nest

The sandwich was supposed to have two layers of the phyllo nest, the whipped cream on the side, and have a skewer of fresh berries coming out of the sandwich.  I changed it up simply due to the fruit I had on hand.  Peaches and figs aren't as skewer-able as berries!  And I added the hot fudge sauce because, well, what isn't better with hot fudge sauce??

 

Honestly, I thought this dessert was just ok.  There is a lot going on.  And I felt like all that extra fruit and whipped cream detracted a bit from the deliciousness of my homemade ice cream.  However, if you used a nice vanilla ice cream (as the recipe suggests), this would be a really elegant dinner party dessert that is pretty easy to make.  I'd still leave out the whipped cream though, I just don't think it needs it - which is a lot to say, as I do love whipped cream!

 

You can find the recipe on pages 405-406 of Baking with Julia, or by going here.  And be sure to check out what the other TWD bloggers thought of this one, by going here!

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Ice Cream

While the clever girl is out of school for the summer (She just finished Kindergarten!  So hard to believe!!) we decided that we would learn how to make our own ice cream.  And let me tell you, we got off to a fantastic start!  We purchased the book The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz, for recipes and inspiration.  Actually, we first checked it out from the library.  But almost as soon as I opened the book, I knew it was a "cookbook" that I needed to own. 

David Lebovitz describes this chocolate ice cream as "perfect", "irresistible", "you won't be able to wait to dig in", and he is RIGHT.  Wow.  We all agreed that this is the best chocolate ice cream we have ever had, and I MADE IT!  I can do this!  The clever girl did not help with this one, as I made it over several nights as a surprise for her birthday.  With Rainbow Cake, also a surprise. 

She ate the ice cream and then ran around the house singing "I'm in love with the Ice Cream Girl", which is a song by Brady Rymer, a kids band that she enjoys.  She also informed Mr. Clever Mom that he was in love with the Ice Cream Girl as well.  Honestly, I think anyone who makes this ice cream will have people falling in love with them.  It's that good.  I know there are dishes out there called "engagement chicken" and such, that supposedly if you make for your love they will propose within days or something.  Forget the chicken.  Serve your love some of this ice cream and they will be forever yours.  I promise. 

Chocolate Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop
makes 1 quart

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
3 TB unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (or semisweet, if you prefer), chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Whisk 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.  Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate pieces.  Stir until smooth.  Stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream.  Pour this mixture into a large bowl.  Scrape the saucepan with a rubber spatula as well as you can, but do not rinse it out.  Set a mesh strainer over the bowl, and set the bowl in an ice bath.  Set aside.

In the same saucepan, warm the milk, sugar and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Once the milk is hot and steamy, use a ladle to very slowly pour it into the bowl of egg yolks, whisking constantly.  This will keep the eggs moving around so you don't end up with scrambled eggs!  Make sure the sauce pan is no longer on the heat when you do this. 

Once all of the milk is whisked into the egg yolks, scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.  Use a heat-proof rubber spatula and stir constantly over medium heat.  Make sure you are scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir.  Stir until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  It is done when you can run your finger down the spatula and you leave a trail that does not fill in. 

Pour the custard over the strainer (which is over the chocolate/cream mixture, which is in an ice bath), and stir until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract and stir until it is cool.

Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.  Then freeze it according to your ice cream maker's instructions.  It is generally best to freeze the ice cream in the maker, transfer it to an air-tight container, and then allow it to freeze overnight in your freezer. 

Get ready to taste the best chocolate ice cream ever!
Printable Recipe

This ice cream is amazingly creamy and SO chocolaty.  It's a deep, rich chocolate.  Mmmm.  It is very difficult to resist eating the entire batch at once.  And would that really be a bad thing?  Aren't there supposed to be tons of antioxidants and stuff in chocolate?  We'll go with that.  Yep.  Go ahead and eat as much a you want.  It is good for your soul!

TWD: Baking with Julia - Tropical Napoleons

Our recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie this week is Tropical Napoleons.  I just have to say, "YUM" to this recipe!  It is light and fresh and feels super healthy even though it does contain meringues and whipped cream.  And we used a fun technique for the meringues, so that is always fun.

You might be looking at the picture and saying,  "what meringues?"  See, the thin layers between the fruit ARE the meringues.  I always thought that meringues were puffy things, but not this time!  This time they are wafer thin!  They contain the usual meringue ingredients, i.e. beaten egg whites and sugar, but less sugar than a typical puffy meringue.  These also include some sweetened flaked coconut, to add to the "tropical" part of the recipe.  Once you have the meringue ingredients together, you make a little template to help make these thin circles.  The template is made from a plastic lid.  The author of the recipe, Charlotte Akoto, suggests using a large sour cream or yogurt lid, but I didn't have one of those at the time.  Instead, I used the plastic lid from a spinach box container. 

First, you trace something that is about 4 inches in diameter on your piece of plastic.  Look in your pantry and grab a big can of tomatoes or something like that.  Trace around it with a marker and carefully cut around that line, and then cut about an inch or so around that circle, leaving a tab at the bottom so you can hold it in your hand.  This next picture shows the tab better:


If you look closely, you can sort of see the tab poking up at the bottom left corner.  It is tricky, since this plastic is clear!  Anyway, you gently spread a thin layer of meringue on a BUTTERED AND FLOURED baking sheet, filling your little circular template.  Peel the template away and you have a perfect (mostly) circle of meringue!

According to Ms.Akoto, the meringues should cook for about 5-7 minutes and start to turn lightly golden.  I found that it took MUCH longer than that.  Regardless, when they came out of the oven they were thin, light wafers.  I used a thin, metal spatula to immediately wiggle underneath each one and place it on a parchment-covered pan to cool.  These are supposed to be fine to keep air-tight until use.  I found that mine became a bit sticky, so I popped them back into the oven for a few more minutes before plating the dessert.  I made the meringues in the morning and served them in the evening, so there was a time lapse there.  And I live in Houston, where it is already humid and summer-like, so it is possible that others in a non-humid climate will not have this problem! 

The rest of the recipe is simple.  You slice up whatever fruit you intend to use and make the whipped cream.  And OH GOODNESS this whipped cream!  It includes vanilla and DARK RUM, something I have never put in my whipped cream before.  WHY NOT?  It is heavenly.  I was seriously missing out on something amazing by NOT adding rum to whipped cream.  Note to self:  whipped cream + rum = delight! 

Each little napoleon includes the following layers: 

• a small blob of whipped cream deliciousness to hold down a meringue
• meringue
• amazing whipped cream
• fruit of your choice
• meringue
• whipped cream
• fruit
• meringue
• whipped cream
• small bit of fruit

Are you salivating yet?  You should be!  Here is the recipe so you can make them too!

Tropical Napoleons
adapted from Baking with Julia
serves 6

The Wafers
Ingredients
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:
Move oven racks to divide the oven into thirds, and preheat to 325F.  Butter and flour 3 baking sheets, and line a sheet pan with parchment.  I buttered and floured a piece of parchment and put that on the baking sheets - less clean up! 

Prepare a circular template:  Trace a 4-inch circle into the center of a plastic lid from a large container of yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, greens, etc.  Cut approximately 1-inch around the circle you made, including a tab from the edge of the container lid.  Now carefully cut the inside of the circle, on the line you traced.  Make sure you cut all of the marker part away and do not cut through the side of your ring. 

Make sure the bowl of your electric mixer is very clean - any greasy residue will make for poor meringues.  You can wipe it down with white vinegar to make sure it is nice and clean.  Put the egg whites and salt into the bowl, and whip with the whisk attachment for about 3 minutes, or until they hold medium-soft peaks.  Leave the mixer running, and slowly add 3/4 of the sugar.  Continue to beat until the peaks are shiny and firm, about 4 minutes.  Add the remaining sugar and beat for 2 more minutes.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/2 cup of the coconut flakes into the meringue.

Place your handy template onto one of the floured/buttered pans and spread a thin layer of meringue into the center.  It helps to use a thin, offset spatula.  Lift the template and continue making meringue circles on the pan.  You can place them close together, as they will not spread.  Sprinkle the meringues with the remaining coconut flakes and the sesame seeds.

Bake at 325F for 5-7 minutes (according to the recipe, but closer to 10+ minutes for me).  Check frequently, as they can go from golden to burned quickly.  Remove them from the oven as soon as they start to color.  Immediately remove them from the baking pans by wiggling a thin spatula under the edges, keeping the meringue wafers flat as you do this.  Transfer the wafers to the parchment-lined sheet pan too You can stack the cooled wafers between layers of parchment in an airtight container for a day or two, keeping them at room temperature.  If they get sticky, put them back into the oven for a few minutes to crisp up!

The Cream
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
3/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 1/2 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups (approx.) assorted fresh berries and small slices of tropical fruit, such as mango or kiwi, for layering

Directions:
Whip the cream in a chilled bowl, using with chilled beaters, until the cream holds soft peaks.  Add the rum and vanilla and beat until the peaks are firm.  Fold in the powdered sugar using a rubber spatula. 

Constructing the Napoleon
Place the whipped cream into a pastry bag with a star tip, or just use a spoon.  Place a dot of cream in the center of each of 6 dessert plates and gently press a meringue on top.  The cream acts as glue so the napoleon will not go sliding off of the plate!  Spoon or pipe some whipped cream on the meringue and arrange fruit over the cream.  Top with another wafer,  more cream, and more fruit, and then another wafer.  You can either dust this top meringue with powdered sugar or place more cream atop this last wafer finish with a small dab of fruit.  Serve immediately.
Printable Recipe


This is a really beautiful dessert that takes a tiny bit of patience for a really fresh and delicious result.  We served these at a dinner party to rave reviews!  If only I could bring some more tropical things to my life... like the beach, the ocean, a nice hammock, a cabana boy bringing me a pretty drink with an umbrella...   I dream large, I know.  For now, I'll settle for this dessert and the brilliance of adding dark rum to whipped cream. That is a fantastic treat in itself!

To see what others thought of this dessert, head to the TWD blog and click on "LYL: Tropical Napoleons".  You'll find links to the other blog posts there!

Tart Apple, Ginger and Basil Granita

Just before Valentine's Day, we held a dinner party at our house.  Hence, the rose petals on the buffet above.  Between dinner and dessert, we served a Tart Apple, Ginger and Basil Granita.  And man, was it good!  The perfect palate cleanser!  Now, I made mine with my fabulous new juicer, however I think I know of a way to make it without a juicer too, if you are interested!  I'll provide both methods for you!

Homemade Mascarpone Cheese!!!

Yes, you read the title of this blog post correctly.  HOMEMADE Mascarpone Cheese.  HOMEMADE.  As in made in your kitchen.  And SO easy.  There are only TWO ingredients.  Yep, two.  I am so thrilled that I found this.  Mascarpone is fairly expensive, especially if you need a decent quantity for your recipe - think tirimisu....  To  know that I can make this at home with very little effort, well, it is like a shining light from heaven just appeared in my kitchen!  I had to tell you about this as soon as possible!  This cannot be a secret any longer!

Double Dipped Pretzel Rods

We received a yummy gift basket from some friends that, among other treats, included some dipped pretzel rods.  So when it was time to think up something to bring for the clever girl's holiday party for her kindergarten class, I thought pretzel rods would be a fun treat!  I mean, who can resist the combination of salty and sweet, plus there are fun sprinkles all over them!  Perfect!

These fun treats are easy and relatively fast to make.  Depending on your sprinkle choices, they could be used for any occasion!  Birthday parties, spring flings, halloween, anything you want!  Or for no occasion at all, as they are pretty tasty...

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

These fall days have my mind going crazy with ideas.  The biggest question might be "why on earth does someone who loves autumn so much live in Houston?" and trust me, I ask myself the same thing all the time.  However since we just finished building our beautiful new home, I think we are going to be here for a while so I just have to continue bring fall into my home, even if fall doesn't really exist outside.  Mind over matter!

When I was little we went apple picking every fall.  Did I mention that I didn't grow up in this crazy autumnless state?  I grew up in St. Louis, a place that actually has FOUR SEASONS.  Crazy, I know.  Ah, I digress.  You cannot go apple picking in Houston, so I have been buying up all sorts of apples in the grocery store to create autumn at home.  And with numerous bags of apples on my counter, I decided to make apple butter, something my mom used to do when we were kids.  I have no idea what recipe she used, but the one I found turned out pretty darned tasty, I must say.  I found it at My Baking Addiction, and it is yummo!  You can probably use any mixture of apples for apple butter, but I recommend a mix of sweet and tart apples to get a more rounded flavor.  I used Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp and Jonathan. 

For reasons that can only be contributed to temporary insanity, I did not get out my apple peeler/corer/slicer gadget for this undertaking and instead used my trusty paring knife.  For 6 1/2 pounds of apples.  Yes, 6 1/2 pounds.  Why did I do that?  Who knows.  Regardless, it is totally doable if you do not have an apple peeler gadget, but if you do have one, by all means drag that bad boy out and put it to use!    Good gracious.

Oh, and lets talk about sugar.  The amounts in this recipe are only a suggestion.  I used less, as I tend to like less sugar in things and I did use some sweeter apples.  The recipe calls for 1 cup each of granulated and of brown sugar.  I used 3/4 cup each and could probably have used a bit less, for my tastes anyway.  Do an amount that makes you happy!

You have to have some patience for this apple butter. It cooks in the slow cooker for about forever.  But it is WORTH IT.  And I did sort of speed up the process a little bit.  You are supposed to cook th apples on low for 10 hours, but by the time I finished peeling and coring and slicing all those apples (see, crazy over here) had I waited for 10 hours, it would have been done in the middle of the night.  So, I cooked it for 4 hours on high and then 3 more hours on low.  After the 10 hours you are supposed to have a thick, dark brown mixture and that is what I had!  Then you add some vanilla and let it cook for another 2 hours.  Yes, patience is much needed here!  Trust me, you will be rewarded in the end.  You'll have lots of delicious apple butter that you can freeze/gift/eat.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter
adapted from My Baking Addiction
yield - 4 pints

Ingredients:
6 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored, sliced
1 cup granulated sugar (or amount to your taste)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed (or amount to your taste)
1 TB ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 TB pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
Place the apples in the slow cooker.  In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, spices and salt.  Pour the mixture over the apples and mix well.  Cook in the slow cooker on low for 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and is dark brown.  Play with the time here - I cooked it on high for 4 hours and low for 3...  Other combinations probably work too, you just need it to be thick and brown at the end!

Uncover the slow cooker and stir in the vanilla extract.  Continue to cook on low, uncovered, for an additional 2 hours.

Puree the apples with an immersion blender until smooth.  Spoon into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze.
Printable Recipe

If you have never had apple butter, either come on over and try some or get out your slow cooker and make some anyway.  It is sort of like a creamier kind of applesauce.  Put it on toast, on a peanut butter sandwich, cook it with a pork tenderloin, spoon it over vanilla ice cream... the uses are endless.  I guarantee you will be sad when it is all gone!  Yum.  It is so good!

TWD: Baking with Julia - NOT Espresso Profiteroles

Our recipe this week for Tuesday's with Dorie was Espresso Profiteroles.  I am not a huge coffee fan and since I would be sharing this dessert with my 5 year old, I didn't fancy the idea of the extra caffeine for her right before bedtime.  Caffeine + 5 yr old = bad idea (in my house anyway).  And, to be honest, I just didn't feel like espresso. 

So I used water instead of coffee (boring, right?) and left out the espresso powder.  I could probably have jazzed it up more, but my creativity level was low at that moment.

These profiteroles were filled with ice cream.  YUM and EASY.  The recipe suggested cinnamon ice cream, which I admit would have been super delicious, however I didn't make homemade cinnamon ice cream (lazy) and I didn't find cinnamon ice cream in the crappy grocery store by my house.  (I decided to make these in the spur of the moment one day so the ingredients were not purchased at my regular fabulous grocery store.)  I found some salted caramel ice cream and, I must say, they were pretty tasty!

In addition, I was supposed to use Grand Marnier in the chocolate sauce.  I thought we had some but I couldn't find it and used Amaretto instead.  Did I deviate too much from the original recipe?  Maybe... 

Okay, this reminds me of a funny story about Grand Marnier that I just have to share.  Many moons ago, I visited my sister and she was making chocolate truffles for some event for work.  And she needed some Grand Marnier.  So we drove around to MANY liquor stores asking for Grand Marnier.  No one had it.  It was crazy!  How could this be?  Finally, I told my sister she should ask for "Grand Mar-i-ner" (pronounced totally wrong) and low and behold, we found that secret treasure!  We still laugh about this story together!  Ahhh...

Back to these profiteroles.  Easy and yummy.  That is all I have to say.  They LOOK like they should be hard but they aren't at all.  I love recipes like this!  Oh, and messy.  Messy is definitely a big component to these treats!
 

 A messy messy girl...

But a yummy dessert is worth getting a bit messy for!

This recipe can be found on pages 411-413 of Baking with Julia.  Be sure to check out the Tuesday's with Dorie blog and click on the LYL tab to see what the other bakers though of this recipe!

Espresso Profiteroles
adapted from Baking with Julia
makes 12-16 servings of 3 profiteroles each

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup brewed coffee (or water)
3/4 stick unsalted butter
2 TB sugar
1 TB finely ground espresso beans (optional)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5-6 large eggs
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water, for egg wash

Instructions:
Position the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 400F.

Put the milk, coffee/water, butter, sugar and espresso (if using) into a 2-quart sauce pan and bring to a full boil over medium heat.  Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the butter is melted.  Continue to stir and add the flour all at once.  Stir energetically and without stopping until the flour is thoroughly incorporated.  Continue to cook and stir for another 30-45 seconds, while the dough forms a ball around the spoon.  A light crust will be visible on the bottom of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the dough into a medium bowl.  Immediately beat in the eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate each egg before adding the next one.  The first couple of egg will be most difficult, but it will get easier with each egg.  After you have incorporated 5 eggs, take a look at the dough. The dough is ready when, as you lift your spoon, it pulls up some of the dough and then detaches and forms a slowly bending peak.  If the dough is too thick and doesn't do this "peak", add the 6th egg.

You must pipe the dough while it is warm.  Spoon the dough (it is called choux paste) into a pastry bag fited with a 1/2 inch plain tip (or a star tip will work fine) and pipe quarter-sized puffs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between puffs.  If you do not have a pastry bag, a zip-top bag would work too, just cut off a corner and twist the top like a pastry bag.   Finish piping each puff with a small twist at the end, so there isn't a point on top.  It is like writing the letter C.  Or, give your puffs a point on top!  If you get a point, just dab the point with a moistened fingertip and it will go down.  Brush the pastries with the egg wash.   I forgot to do this!

Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until the pastries are golden and feel hollow.  Halfway through the baking period, rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back.  Transfer the sheets to cooling racks and allow the puffs to cool completely before cutting and filling.

Chocolate Sauce
(I halved this recipe and had PLENTY)
Ingredients: 
11 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups whole milk
6 TB light corn syrup
2 TB unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 TB Grand Marnier or other orange liquor (or other liquor of your liking!)

Instructions:
Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set nearby.  Put the milk and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Slowly pour the hot milk over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.  Add the butter and continue to stir until the butter is melted and thoroughly incorporated into the sauce.  Stir in the liquor and serve while warm. 

You can make this sauce up to 1 week in advance, just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Warm the sauce in a double boiler or slowly in a microwave. 

To serve, cut each puff in half crosswise and fill with ice cream.  Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.  Serve 3 puffs to each person.
Printable Recipe

Fresh Peach Ice Cream!

Remember those fabulous peaches?  Here is my next peach adventure!  I found this recipe and it is scrumptious.  And simple.  And did I mention it is delicious?   

Fresh Peach Ice Cream
adapted from Make and Takes
5-6 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar
juice of 1 large lemon
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy cream

Mix the peaches, sugar, lemon juice and extracts together in a large bowl.  Let this sit for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the peaches release their juices.  Mash the peaches with a potato masher.  Measure out 2 cups of mashed peaches and puree in a blender or food processor.  Reserve the remaining peaches in a small bowl and refrigerate until very cold.  Add the heavy cream to the blended peaches and pour into a clean bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours, or place in a freezer for about 20 minutes.  If you freeze, whisk the peaches well in case it freezes around the sides of the bowl. 

Pour the peaches/cream mixture into the ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers directions.  Mix in the reserved peaches with the ice cream after the churning is finished, and place in an airtight container.  Allow to harden a few hours before serving.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts.
Printable Recipe

Mr. Clever Mom went on and on about this ice cream.  The peach flavor was so pronounced, and the texture was creamy and delicious.  Yum.  I recommend doubling this recipe.  You will be sad when your container is empty!