You say cracker, I say pita!

This month was a first for me - the Daring Baker's recipe for September was one I had already baked previously. Unfortunately, it was one that I wasn't particularly impressed with the results. A few months ago I had a hankering for lavash crackers and turned to bread baking guru Peter Reinhart in great anticipation of a cracker that surpassed store quality and didn't break the bank. However, the crackers ended up more chewy than crispy and none of my toppings stayed on the cracker when cut.

So while I was excited to try a vegan recipe this month from Shel (Musings from the fishbowl) and Natalie (Gluten a-go-go), I can't say that the recipe was one I was expecting much from. But the good thing though with having a private DB discussion board is that I got to learn from others' experiences and found out that many had rolled the dough thicker and turned the crackers into pita. What a great idea and I had a much better result. The kids asked to take it to school for lunch for 3 days running!

To complement the pita I made my standby bruschetta dip with the end of season tomatos and basil. Throwing in some green onions, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar makes for a quick and tasty topping for just about anything.

I know I say it every month, but what a great challenge! And thanks to Shelly for her usual great pics.

Kelly

Eclairs in August

August was an especially hectic (but fun) month for us. With all of the birthday parties, camping trips, barbecues and day trips to amusement parks, I never really found the perfect time to make this month's challenge. And it wasn't for the lack of a good recipe - Pierre Herme and chocolate is the ultimate combination. Thanks to Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey? and Tony of Tony Tahhan, August's DB challenge was Pierre Herme's chocolate eclair recipe.

But with the deadline looming and not wanting to miss my first challenge in almost a year, I bit the bullet and decided to make the eclairs this past Thursday and Friday. With a birthday party to host at the same time and packing for the last camping trip of the summer on Saturday, let's just say that I had a few early (really early) mornings before work making all the things that I needed to get done. Luckily the eclairs turned out to be the easiest part of the equation. (Don't even get me started on the birthday cake that started out as a princess cake but ended up a crown. Not my finest baking moment but luckily the preschool crowd isn't judgmental - they love anything pink and sparkley and can use their imaginations to see a crown where the rest of us see a lumpy mess of a cake!!)

I started with the pastry cream and other than using quite a few dishes and utensils during the process, the cream was easy to make and tasted fantastic. It went into the fridge while I worked on the choux pastry (and cleaned up the mess!) I have made choux pastry many times before in baking class and this recipe was pretty much the same that I was used to. I did love a tip found on the DB private website of piping long rows of the choux, freezing them then cutting to the size you want. Made things very easy. I had read how many people found that their eclairs fell after baking. So I followed the advice and cooled them slowly after baking by keeping the oven door open. They came out great. I did find, though, that sitting overnight made them a little soft so I reheated them in the morning in the oven to puff them back up.

The morning of the party turned out to be more hectic than expected so I took advantage of homemade caramel that I had in the fridge rather than making a chocolate glaze. I covered the top with the caramel and swirled in a little chocolate that I also had around. I quickly got my very good and understanding friend Shelly to pull out her camera and take some pics before they were in the fridge ready for the party later. They were a big hit and I must say that the chocolate pastry cream was fantastic. Definitely a filling that I would use again. Can't wait to see what September brings!

Kelly

Celebrating marriage and cake!

My in-laws have great timing. Their birthdays fell during the May Daring Bakers challenge and I was able to present them with a stunning opera cake (if I do say so myself!) in celebration of their special days. This month was their 44th wedding anniversary and Daring Bakers didn't disappoint. Chris of Mele Cotte picked a truly decadent and impressive Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream which was a lovely dessert to mark another milestone in their long and wonderful marriage. As much as my husband is supportive of my baking hobby, I think my father-in-law is my most ardent cheerleader as he has an incredible sweet tooth (though he will deny it!) and loves to be the recipient of my many baking creations.

With their anniversary on a patriotic July 4th (although us being Canadians, our holiday was on July 1st), I didn't have much time to preassemble some of the cake components, only having learned of the challenge on July 1st. Added to this, I had already committed to making a cake for a friend's father for the same day. Luckily, I was able to double the buttercream recipe and use it for both cakes, saving a good amount of time in the process. I also had filberts (aka hazelnuts) already in the freezer and lots of eggs and butter in the fridge.

I started out with the genoise and decided to make a 6" diameter cake. I had my usual problem of not being able to grind my nuts in the food processor as fine as I would like. I wanted the consistency of a nut flour (powdery, dry) but instead got more of a grainy texture. I think it's from chopping the nuts rather than grinding (mashing) them but unfortunately none of the other Daring Bakers were able to provide suggestions for a finer texture other than simply pulsing the nuts more. If I can't find a method that I like, I think I will start buying the more expensive nut flour so that I get a finer texture to the genoise.

The buttercream was a delight as usual. The French and Italian meringue methods are so much better than the American method of icing sugar in shortening (what is typically used for Wilton cakes and are too sweet!) The top was a wonderful glassy mirror but the sides showed every lump in the layers. Next time, I would do a second bath in the ganache to smooth out the layers. Luckily I had some gumpaste roses saved from a previous cake job which saved time with the decorating.

Here's a picture of my friend's cake. Since it had to be transported by car an hour away along bumpy roads to a cottage without the luxury of a passenger to make sure it didn't move, I decided to simplify my original plans and use cookies along the side in hopes that it would survive the journey intact. The cake was made using Dorie's Black and White Cake recipe, the praline buttercream, and store bought cookies (I just didn't have the time to make them myself). Apparently it survived the journey very well and was a hit at the party. As usual my neighbour Jason stepped in to take great pictures while his wife Shelly and I relaxed on the back deck enjoying a refreshing glass of white wine. Summertime and the living is easy!!

Danishes in June

When I first read that the Daring Bakers challenge this month was a danish braid, I have to admit that I didn't have my usual feelings of excitement for the challenge to come. In the baking classes that I took last fall, danish dough was probably one of my least favourite doughs to make. I found that it was one of those rare baked goods that wasn't an improvement over the store bought variety.

But as a good Daring Baker knows, there is always something to be learned with a challenge and being part of the forum discussing the highs and lows of a challenge is worth the price of admission! So I forged ahead with the recipe and boy was I glad that I did. This recipe was awesome!!!! I only wish I could transmit the smells coming from my oven as the dough first proofed (I love using the oven light for perfect proofing temp) and then baked.

I know that some DBers found the dough a little difficult to work in terms of having oozing butter or being too elastic to roll out properly. I actually had a good experience on both accounts. I was in no hurry to make the dough so I had lots of time to let the dough rest in the fridge between turns and let the butter firm up before rolling out again. While it took a good 2-3 hours to complete all of the turns, the actual work during that period was quite minimal. If the dough ever got too elastic to roll, I just let it rest for a few minutes and that seemed to do the trick. When I cut the dough in half to freeze one portion for later use, I was thrilled to see all of the distinct layers and had a pretty good idea that I was going to have a good result this time around.

Choosing what to fill the braid with was a daunting task at first. Our private DB website had so many good options from savory to sweet, seasonal strawberries to fall apples, from nutty and crunchy to honey sweet. With our local strawberries coming into season though, the choice was made for me in the end. I started with a base of cream cheese mixed with ricotta and vanilla bean seeds. I then added a strawberry jam made with our local berries. The layers baked up golden, flaky and gave just a hint of the strawberry goodness underneath.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photographer to take pics early Tuesday morning when I decided to bake the braid. So I ventured outside in the garden myself and did my best with the early summer flowers. I'm hoping that when I get around to baking the second half of the dough (I'm thinking Nutella, dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts) I'll be able to switch these pictures with more artistic shots from one of my talented photographer friends.

Thanks to Kelly and Ben for this challenge - for being so quick to respond to questions on the DB website and for providing the push necessary to revisit a technique that I vastly underrated. Also thanks to Jasmine who was gracious enough to sit down with me one night to go over the ins and outs of starting up my own blog, patiently answer all of my questions (no matter how silly!) and provide inspiration with her beautifully photographed, informative and well written blog. And her recipe book collection is a wonder to behold - her house was an Aladdin's den of written treasures :-)

Kelly

Not your usual birthday song and cake

Thanks to this month’s DB challenge, brought to us by our fearless founders Lis and Ivonne and newbies Fran and Shea, I was able to make my in-laws a special birthday cake for their double birthday. In the spirit of the Opera cake challenge, we brought the cake to the table while singing “Happy Birthday” in our best operatic voices. The singing was hilarious due to our almost tone-deaf rendition, but the cake was a huge hit!

Like what I imagine a well choreographed opera would be to bring to the stage, there was much preparation in advance of the birthday dinner. I was grateful for a recipe that could be prepped and assembled mostly all in advance and I took advantage of that by spreading out the steps over 2 days. I decided to keep the flavours clean by sticking to an almond and vanilla palette.

The simple syrup was flavoured with almond extract and the buttercream had hints of almond as well.

The jaconde was a pleasure to make. I mistakenly bought whole almonds rather than blanched so the texture was a little “grittier” than I would have liked but it still turned out light and moist. The buttercream was fabulous although I did have my first curdling experience. My mixture cooled down too much before I added all of the butter resulting in a disappointing mess in my mixer. Thanks to past DB challenges, I figured out the problem and solution quickly. I reheated 25% of the mixture and whipped it back in to bring it all together. It was silky, smooth and I would double the amount next time to make sure everyone got a generous helping.

The white chocolate ganache/mousse was a wonderful addition to the cake. The delicate flavour was enhanced by the addition of Baileys. I think this was my favourite layer of the cake. My only disappointment was the white chocolate glaze which I found a little too sweet and overpowering – especially covering the delicate flavour of the underlying mousse. I would either make a thinner layer in the future or try to find a substitute.

Thanks again to my talented neighbourhood photographer Jason who took stunning pictures again this month. The DB experience wouldn’t be so much fun if I had to muddle my way through the photography and food styling process with my little point and shoot camera!

Kelly

More is More

Without an occasion to celebrate this month and no dinner party planned, I have to admit that I procrastinated a bit with April's DB challenge. That's not to say that I don't love cheesecake. I often make cheesecake as I find it's one of those desserts that even the most picky dessert eater will like and it looks impressive without having to put much effort into it. The benefit of my late start was that I was armed with the experience of those early DBers who found that a cooking time of 35-45 minutes didn't fully cook the cheesecake base. This is just one of the reasons I love being part of this group - getting the benefit of everyone's experiences, be they good or bad. I haven't had a challenge yet where I haven't learned something; either a new technique, a new flavour combination or just how to relax and enjoy the baking experience.

I decided to make a half recipe and used an 8" square glass dish in the water bath. I cooked the batter for 50 minutes. The cheesecake came out set, there was no cracking on the top and it had a lovely creamy colour. I refrigerated the pan overnight and then formed the balls the next morning. My friends will tell you that I tend to be an everything at right angles, clean lines kind of person. I don't usually gravitate towards dessert presentations that are more rustic in appearance (unless the rustic presentation looks like it was carefully planned to be that way - totally against the rustic philosophy!!!) So I was a little out of my comfort zone when I started to form the cheesecake balls and they weren't coming together in the perfectly symmetrical, smooth round balls that I envisioned in my mind. My hands became coated with cheesecake and the balls were a little "squatter" than the look I wanted.

I ended up freezing the cheesecake and using cooking spray on my hands so that the process was less messy and I had more time to get the desired shape. But since they still weren't as smooth as I wanted I decided to cut loose and go with the "more is more" philosophy. Inspired by those chocolate coated apples that you see at the mall covered in inches of candy toppings, I decided to dip the pops in chocolate and then roll them in cookie crumbs and then drizzled on more chocolate.

Well the pops were a big hit at my moms' group. The presentation was whimsical and the size perfect for those who might feel guilty about eating a whole piece of cheesecake. Would I make them again? I'm not sure to be honest. At the rolling stage I was definitely thinking no - it was just too much work for something that wasn't too impressive. The cheesecake wasn't as firm as I like and they didn't weather well for too long out of the fridge - it's not one of those desserts that you can have out for a long period of time while people talk and snack. But the coating process was fun and it was an unexpected way to have cheesecake. In the end, I think I'll stick with a tried and true classic cheesecake but I'm glad I had the experience of making the pops. Thanks Deborah and Elle for challenging me to try a presentation that I would have never done on my own! Well the pops were a big hit at my moms' group. The presentation was whimsical and the size perfect for those who might feel guilty about eating a whole piece of cheesecake.

Would I make them again? I'm not sure to be honest. At the rolling stage I was definitely thinking no - it was just too much work for something that wasn't too impressive. The cheesecake wasn't as firm as I like and they didn't weather well for too long out of the fridge - it's not one of those desserts that you can have out for a long period of time while people talk and snack. But the coating process was fun and it was an unexpected way to have cheesecake. In the end, I think I'll stick with a tried and true classic cheesecake but I'm glad I had the experience of making the pops. Thanks Deborah and Elle for challenging me to try a presentation that I would have never done on my own!

Kelly

The perfect party cake (truly!)

A wonderful occasion deserves a special cake and Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake delivers and delivers consistently. I've used this recipe many times in the past with great results every time. The cake is moist which I've found is not the case with most other white cake recipes that I've tried. The layers don't bake up very high in a 9" cake pan so I've taken to using my 8" by 3" high pan (the standard cake size in Canada) which results in 3 perfect layers. There's not much more that I need to say about this great recipe so I've simply attached my pictures.

I keep forgetting to take pictures though after we've cut into the cakes - too busy enjoying (hoovering it back!) to remember to pick up the camera! You'll have to trust me that the buttercream and raspberry curd layers are the perfect complement to the sponge layers and pop against the snowy white background of the cake. The chocolate decorations are also fun to make and I think make for a whimsical cake. Thanks Morven for another fun-filled challenge.