A DARING BAKER'S DANISH

Who knew I could make laminated dough. That's the thing about Daring Bakers, you have this whole team of people cheering you on, comforting you, giving you ideas to do the things you wouldnt normally do on your own.

A few years ago I saw Julia Childs make laminated dough with a guest chef. I thought to myself there is no way I could do that. I wouldn't want to spend all that time only to have it fail. But fail it did not. It succeeded. All you need is the Daring Bakers (wink, wink).

Kelly of Sass & Veracity of picked this recipe and worked with Ben of What’s Cookin’?. The two of them provided guidance along the way. Great pick and great job! The recipe is quite lengthy so I will refer you to either of these two lovely Daring Bakers! So click on their site and you will find their yummies and then click on Daring Bakers to go check out all the flavors that are possible.

I made my filling with pastry cream and blackberry puree. My other braid was pastry cream and apple pumpkin butter filled. Most everyone preferred the blackberry one. If I were to do it all over again, and I am sure I will, I would do a frangipan one and a cream cheese one. Oh the possibilites that await!










Roll out the dough and spread the butter.










Even though I folded it wrong my end product was delicious. Who knew?










Starting the braid.










Inserting lots of yummy bling to make your taste buds happy.














The braid and the final product.

Here is what you can do with any leftover dough. I am sure there will be a mouth ready to eat it!!

PROFITEROLES

Sinful, delectable, melt in your mouth goodness, profiteroles. A few days before our get together I made David Lebovitz, mint ice cream. Our group almost always enjoys mint tea at our gatherings. So I knew I could not go wrong with mint flavor.

The puff pastry is from Dorie Greenspan. The chocolate sauce is basicly a ganache. I heated 2 ounces of milk chocolate and about a 1/3 of a cup of heavy cream in the microwave and whisked it periodically until it was warm enough to melt and mix. I had prescooped the mint ice cream into balls so that when it was time to serve, it came together in a snap. Pop open the puff, insert ice cream ball put top back on, drizzle with chocolate sauce. Easy peazy!

RED FEATHER on INDIAN FOOD

This past Saturday I had some friends over for what we call our Four Corners Group. When we first started meeting back in 2000 we called ourselves the Intuition Group. We met to read and practice a book together called Practical Intuition. It's basically about how to really listen to what your inner voice is telling you. Like I am sure you had the experience of thinking to yourself after an event took place, "I knew that was going to happen." That knowing is what we were seeking to develop. The book eventually was completed and we just had this chemistry and wanted to keep meeting. A couple of years ago we decided to go an outing and my friend called me Red Feather. It just kind of popped out. So then we all named each other American Indian type names and called ourselves the Four Corners (representing East, West, North and South and Earth, Wind, Fire and Water). I am Red Feather Swimming (water), my friend who named me is called Sparkling Stone, Earth (yeah, she loves jewels and sparkles), another friend is named Eagle Soaring, Wind (she conquered cancer, is there anything more soaring than that?) and finally my other friend is Dancing Flame, fire (she is a trained dancer).

I had them all over on Sunday and we enjoyed an Indian lunch together. East Indian that is. We had Naan (click here for the recipe), Tandoori Chicken (click here for the recipe, I did add a teaspoon of turmeric to that recipe) and Raita (see below). And for dessert, well, I will tell you all about that tomorrow (I will give you a hint, it's French).


RAITA

2 cups yogurt (I used fat free)
1 cucumber shredded
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 T mint, chopped
1 tomato, coursely chopped and squeezed of excess juice
4 scallions, chopped
1- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on taste)
1- 2 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all and let set in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

You can add any kind of vegetables to Raita. It's so refreshing and so nice dipping Naan into it or cooling off your palate after eating some tandoori chicken.

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER

I made Dorie's cover cake, Devil's Food White Out Cake, for my daughter's end of the school year celebration. It was her first year of school and she did so well. She picked this cake from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking From My Home To Yours.
We liked the cake Dorie, but my daughter and I did not like the frosting. However, five other people sitting at the table loved the cake, frosting and all. I must say that your recipes are so good and explained beautifully. You do a fabulous job. I have just ordered Paris Sweets to show my love! wink wink smile.

Devil’s Food White-out Cake
From: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

For the cake:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
½ cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
½ cup boiling water
4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the filling and frosting:
½ cup egg whites (about 4 large)
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter two 8-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To make the cake: Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minutes after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. At this point, the batter will be thick, like frosting. Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully bakes, the cakes will be springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Don’t worry if the tops have a few small cracks. Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cakes layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

When you are ready to fill and frost the cake, inspect the layers. If the cakes have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. With the same knife, slice each layer horizontally in half. Set 3 layers aside and crumble the fourth layer; set the crumbs aside.

To make the filling and frosting: Put the egg whites in a clean, dry mixer bowl or in another large bowl. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, cover the pan and boil 3 minutes. Uncover and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242° F on the candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, start beating the egg whites.

When the syrup is about 235° F, begin beating the egg whites on medium speed with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer. If the whites form firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and keep mixing the whites until the syrup catches up. With the mixer at medium speed, and standing back slightly, carefully pour in the hot syrup, pouring it between the beater(s) and the side of the bowl. Splatters are inevitable – don’t try to scrape them into the whites, just carry on. Add the vanilla extract and keep beating the whites at medium speed until they reach room temperature, about 5 minutes. You should have a smooth, shiny, marshmallowy frosting. Although you could keep it in the fridge in a pinch, it’s really better to use it right now.

To assemble the cake: Put a bottom layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or on a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a long metal icing spatula, cover the layer generously with frosting. Top with a second layer, cut side up, and frost it. Finish with the third layer, cut side down, and frost the sides and top of the cake. Don’t worry about smoothing the frosting – it should be swirly. Now, cover the entire cake with the chocolate cake crumbs, gently pressing the crumbs in to the filling with your fingers.

Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour before serving. (If its more convenient, you can chill the cake for 8 hours or more; cover it loosely and keep it away from foods with strong odors.)

Cilantro Pesto with Tofu

Yeah, that's right, a creamy, dreamy, low fat pesto made with tofu! How could you go wrong?
It may not be the most traditional of recipes but it sure tastes great. My husband thought it was regular pesto. The fact that he thought that left me with two conclusions, either his taste buds do not know any subtle or major differences in taste or the pesto is so good that it tastes just as divine as the real mccoy. I want to believe the latter of these two statements. I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself.


This is my entry for Equal Opportunity Kitchen's blogging event called, TRIED, TESTED and TRUE TWO. What a great idea for an event!

CILANTRO PESTO with TOFU

1 12oz package soft or silken tofu
2 cups cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup peccorino romano
juice of one lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Spin all ingredients in food processor or a blender. The taste is best when left for at least an hour to marry. A day before is even better. Serve with grated cheese sprinkled on top and a few pine nuts. Bon Appetito!

BOSTON CREAM PIE

My Father loves Boston Cream Pie. Me, I am not a fan. It's okay but not my favorite. It was Father's Day after all and I did my Dad proud. I loved hearing him enjoying it. The last time I made this cake (a different recipe), it was a complete flop. Whatever work was involved in this one, it was well worth it.
Look how light and airy the crumb is. A very nice and light cake indeed.

This recipe from Gale Gand was very light and enjoyable. The pastry cream was easy and tastey. I made two batches and used one for another recipe. Definitely will have that as my go to recipe for pastry cream.

EARLY SUMMER SALAD

Here is one of my all time favorite salads that I dutifully and happily make every year, as summer begins. A quick trip to the market, fresh radishes, green onions, cilantro and sometimes I even get my feta there. One stop shopping at the Rochester Public Market. Yes, I brave the crowds, each and every Saturday, pushing my two year old in her stroller, through the crowds. Ah yeah, no easy task, I tell yah! People get annoyed when you brush past them but secretly they are wishing they had a stroller to carry all that produce home. Apples and potatoes get heavy after a while. Luckily I am blessed with a husband that loves to go there. I like the diverse crowd and he likes how we save a lot of money.

This particular recipe is from a book called, The Periyali Cookbook: New Classic Greek Cooking by Holly Garrison, et al.

RADISHES WITH SCALLIONS AND FETA

2 cups thinly sliced radishes
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crumbled
2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta

Arrange the radishes and scallions in layers in a large bowl, sprinkling each layer with some of the cilantro and oregano. Drizzle with a mixture of the vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle with the feta cheese. Toss just before serving.

Or you could be like me and throw it all together. This recipe will make you love radishes if you didn't love them already.