Daring Bakers August Challenge - Milk Chocolate & Caramel Tart

Another month has come to a close which signals that a new Daring Bakers challenge has been completed. This month our feature presentation was a Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart chosen by Veronica of Veronica's Test Kitchen and Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen. I was quite excited to try it out since milk chocolate and caramel are two of my favourite flavours.

The tart consists of three elements - a hazelnut/chocolate crust, caramel filling and milk chocolate mousse topping. All three parts are easy enough to produce on their own. The dough rolled out beautifully for me and did not puff up at all when it was blind-baked. The caramel was fun to make as well and this time I didn't look away at all and the result was a beautiful golden butterscotch colour with taste to match. The mousse was a breeze as well and only required folding together melted milk chocolate and whipped cream.

As I assembled the tart, I realized my caramel was runny and it did not set up overnight. It was a fantastic consistency for pouring over ice cream or dipping strawberries but not for a tart filling. Once it was cut, the caramel oozed out so there are no cut pictures to show.

Despite the flowing caramel, I really enjoyed the flavour of the tart. The crust added a crunch to the smooth caramel and fluffy mousse. I'm not sure if I'd make it again but now I know that I would really like to get myself a proper tart pan! To serve the tart, I just spooned the caramel over the slices when I served them. It's a big sweet tart so hopefully you'll have plenty of people to share it with.

To see the beautiful creations made by other Daring Bakers please go here. To see the complete recipe, check out Veronica's post here or Patricia's post here.

Baci di Dama

Have you ever had a recipe that you've always wanted to make but never got around to? I'm sure most of you can empathize with my sentiment; having a recipe that wouldn't (or couldn't) go away because it was stuck in the recesses of your brain waiting to become real. For me, the recipe was Baci di Dama and finally after years of waiting, these cookies became a reality.

"Lady's Kisses" are a very apt name for these little buttery almond cookies. They're light and sweet, but getting the perfect one can sometimes be elusive. Normally, I don't have a lot of trouble making new types of cookies but these ones were like trying to get a kiss on the lips, failing and settling for a kiss on the forehead instead.

The dough for the Baci di Dama is very dry and crumbly. It requires a lot of squeezing to be able to be rolled into a ball for baking. Once they were all lined up like marbles I baked them for the suggested 12 minutes and got a some darkly burnt ones and some flat cookies. I sort of panicked when I took them out wondering how I could get so many cookie shape variations on one try. For the second batch, I reduced the baking time by two minutes which made a huge difference and picked out the better ones to fill with Nutella. Overall, the cookies were fantastic to eat. They were delicate, sandy and not too sweet. I could have eaten them plain, but filling them with chocolate is what you're supposed to do and it makes for a much nicer presentation. I would definitely try to make these again and if you do try to make them, have patience - it takes a bit of time to roll out all those teaspoon-sized balls!

Recipe: Baci di Dama

How-To: Plum Crumb Cake

As August draws us closer to September and farther from July, the last of summer's fruit makes an appearance ready to be enjoyed before apple season. One fruit that is both versatile and widely available in Ontario is the plum. With it, a veritable cornucopia of delicious desserts can be created and savoured while awaiting the arrival of Autumn.

I decided to make a Plum Crumb Cake because it is the type of cake that my family loves. It also makes a large 9 x 13 cake so there is plenty to share. This cake is fluffy and lemon-scented, topped with juicy red plums and crowned with a buttery brown sugar crumble. For this recipe I've added some step-by-step directions to show the process of making this cake from start to finish. I hope some of you will find this helpful.




Step One




Cream the butter and sugar together. Add your eggs and you should have a pale yellow mixture, close to the consistency of icing.





Step Two



Alternately add the sour cream and dry ingredients into the butter mixture.




Step Three



Your final batter should look like this - thick yet not stiff. Scrape the batter into your prepared pan.




Step Four




Place the sliced plums decoratively over the batter.





Step Five



Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Pop it in the oven and in less than an hour, you'll be enjoying some lovely cake!





Recipe: Plum Crumb Cake

Lemon Tea Cookies

A couple weeks ago, my neighbour, Little Man, turned three and his mom decided to have a small gathering for cake cutting and presents. After making a chocolate cake for him, I wanted to make something non-chocolate for the adults, specifically his grandmother who, like my own mom, loves lemon. As this was a last minute decision, I had to find something lemony, quick and tea-worthy.

I wanted something crispier than a drop cookie and I found the perfect cookies in a seven year old publication from BHG. Essentially, the cookie is lemon shortbread topped with lemon glaze. The recipe does not mention re-rolling scraps which you inevitably end up with if you cut out circles. I hate to waste dough so I re-rolled as gently as possible to max out my cookie output. Normally, I don't find too much of a difference in cookie texture when I do this, but this time I could tell the first rolled cookies from the last. The last lost their easy flakiness and were noticeably 'tougher' or as tough as a shortbread cookie can become. The glaze in the recipe calls for specific items which I didn't have so I used lemon juice mixed with icing sugar and, to punch up the colour, a little yellow paste colouring with hot pink sparkles. One thing I liked was that you could roll out the dough right away without any chilling time. Overall, the cookies were good but not mind blowing. They're quick, easy and perfect for novice bakers.

Recipe: Lemon Tea Cookies

Coconut Almond Macaroons

After using egg yolks for the failed Bavarian cream I made last month, I was left with egg whites that had macaroons written all over them. Why macaroons, you ask? Because I love macaroons! I love the chewy coconut texture and the burst of sweetness that fills your mouth when you bite into one. I especially love them more when they're dipped in glorious, effulgent chocolate.

These macaroons are made by whipping up egg whites and folding them into a dry mixture which consists of coconut, lemon zest and ground almonds. If you're new to whipping egg whites, just beat them with your mixer until they increase in volume, become opaque and the peaks hold their shape when you pull the beaters out. (They don't flop over like the top of a jester's hat. A little flop is okay but not a lot.) Bake them in the oven and soon you'll be enjoying some delicious cookies.

I made these cookies on a hot day with no AC so I had to store them in the refrigerator once they were dipped to avoid meltage. The final product was wonderful - crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside with a hint of lemon. Macaroon heaven - enjoy!

Recipe: Coconut Almond Macaroons

Daring Bakers July Challenge - Strawberry Mirror Cake

And the Daring Bakers are off again! This month the challenge was decided on by the demiurgic Peabody from Culinary Concoctions. She chose to have us all make a Strawberry Mirror Cake and, after reading about the wonderful cakes my fellow DBs made, I was very tempted to not post my final result.

The recipe was long and technical. If broken down into manageable components, this was an easy hurdle to overcome. After planning and buying all the necessary ingredients, I got to work. I was not too worried about the cake but, the cream and mirror held some additional challenges as they contained gelatin, a product I don't use. After finding agar agar, I had to hope it would work just as well as its animal counterpart. I was tempted to use some sort of Jello product but as you can see, I didn't! Sticking to a recipe is one thing I do very well.

After making the cakes, which were thin-ish I tackled the cream, stirring in the agar agar to measure the same as gelatin. I should have dissolved it completely in hot boiling water as there were some hard bits in the final cream. When I layered it in the pan with the cake I was hoping it would keep its shape, which it did. Yeah!

Now I don't know if I should have waited longer before pouring on the mirror but when I did, the smooth strawberry liquid disturbed the cream creating swirls. I was stumped and couldn't take it off so I kept pouring hoping for the best. After refrigerating it, I had a pink-topped cake with a mirror which had mysteriously sunk to the bottom of the cake. I tasted it and it had a gel-like consistency so the agar agar worked, though, unfortunately the mirror was on the wrong end.

Looking back at my experience, I would now modify the cakes to be baked in two round pans as opposed to one large pan with the cake circles being cut out. The rest would stay the same. I was initially hesitant to try it at all because of the ingredients but I'm glad I did. The challenge made me go out and look for ingredients I normally wouldn't have in my cupboard. Making gelatin-based desserts is new territory for me so I'll have to keep plugging away until I can master it.

Overall, I'm not sure if I can appreciate the flavour of the cake. Those who tried it said it tasted good and reminded them of trifle. I'm hesitant to give my version a two thumbs up as I'm sure I could do it better next time. I was also a little bummed about the mirror and the hard flakes - two things which greatly coloured how I saw this particular cake.

Thanks to Peabody for your bold choice! A big thank you goes out to all the Daring Bakers whose support and encouragement cushion the blow of disaster. Please visit Peabody's site for the full recipe and to see what all the other brilliant Daring Bakers created, click here. Looking forward to next month!

SHF 33 - Pineapple Coconut Cookies

Tropical Paradise is the theme for the 33rd edition of Sugar High Friday. Mary at Alpineberry wanted us to come up with something that said 'tropical' to us and write about it. The best way I could bring the tropics home was to make use of island fruits, notably coconut and pineapple.

These cookies come from the book Ripe for Dessert by David Lebovitz. I instinctively looked through this book first because he has organized his book by fruit and chapter two was entitled Tropical Fruit - perfect for this challenge!

The recipe is super simple to pull together and makes use of everyday ingredients. The cookie is sort of like a macaroon, crispier on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I had to decrease the baking time by ten minutes but if you like a more browned cookies, then you can leave it in for the full 30 minutes.

The baked cookies packed a pineapple punch! The caramely flavour of sugared pineapple melded nicely with the chewy coconut. They were moist and small enough to pop in your mouth. David Lebovitz said this was his favourite current pineapple coconut cookie and, although I'm still undecided on this, my taste-testers seemed to like them a lot. If you'd like, dress them up with a drizzle of chocolate or a sprinkling of powdered sugar. No matter what you do, these cookies have Tropical written all over them!

Recipe: Pineapple Coconut Cookies

Bubble Bread

If you want to impress friends and family, making a Bubble Bread is the way to do it. This fun-to-make bread consists of a yeasted sweet dough that is rolled into golf ball-sized chunks, then rolled in butter and cinnamon-sugar and arranged in a Bundt pan. After it had risen, you bake it and devour the sweet cinnamony morsels that have been drizzled (or not) in a sugar glaze.

When making this bread, give yourself enough time to make the dough and let it rise. I think it took me about 2 hours from start to finish with no dilly-dallying. The final result looks really neat - sort a cross between cinnamon buns and a Bundt cake. It is also fun to eat and the portions are smaller so, in theory, the guilt factor is as well. It's like eating a Timbit instead of a whole doughnut, you know? I've included some modifications to the recipe in the recipe link below just for reference. I know some of you may be weary of working with yeast and I totally understand where you're coming from. But, if you're looking to challenge yourself this is a yummy way to get started.

Recipes: Universal Sweet Dough & Bubble Bread

White Butter Cake

Alas, strawberry season had almost come to an end here in Ontario. This past weekend at my local Farmer's Market signs were posted saying "Last Berries of the Season!". I took advantage of this final moment to buy some small, but very red berries to make a Strawberry Shortcake-type cake for a BBQ I had yesterday.

The component of this cake I wanted to post about is the White Butter Cake which I used as a base for whipped cream and strawberries. It is a great cake for filling with pretty much anything you like and has a lovely hint of orange due to the addition of rind in the batter. It makes a 9 x 13-inch cake, perfect for picnics and large crowds. I made it the day before we ate it and it was moist, dense and yummy. The recipe is a little different from the traditional creaming method, but as long as you have a big enough bowl, you shouldn't have any problems.

Recipe: White Butter Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Finally summer holidays are here and I've caught a chance to put a post up. I know, Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins aren't all that exciting but I just wanted to let you all know I was still here and am hoping to do more frequent blogging in the near future. My in-laws are visiting from North Vancouver, British Columbia as well so things have been exciting here in the Canadian Baker household.

These muffins are as you would expect - moist and lemony made slightly sticky with a lemon glaze poured over top. You can whip these up in 10 minutes and you can add more or less poppy seeds to your liking. They're not fancy at all and there are probably better recipes out there but I enjoyed them with some hot tea. The poppy seeds were crunchy and lingered on well after the muffin was finished. They also freeze well wrapped individually in plastic wrap and tucked into a Ziploc bag.

To those of you in Canada, Happy Canada Day! We'll be enjoying fireworks tonight!

Recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Custard-Topped Berry Kuchen

First, let me start out by saying there is no custard on this kuchen. I had a bit of a springform pan mishap in that it popped open when I took the kuchen out to pour on the custard and it wouldn't close. It just kept snapping open - I don't know why. So I sighed and scrapped the topping even though I was really looking forward to it.

Despite that little problem, this kuchen turned out to be a fluffy and moist berry cake all on its own. The lemon-scented batter is surrounded by juicy berries and with a sprinkle of icing sugar, makes a nice light dessert. The batter is make like most other cakes by creaming butter and sugar and then adding the wet and dry ingredients alternately. My mom really liked this cake and suggested that a scoop of ice cream would make it even better.

I have included the entire recipe and hopefully if you make it you'll be more successful than I in the making of the custard. :)

Recipe: Custard-Topped Berry Kuchen

Orange Carrot Bundt Cake

The other evening I went to Starbucks with some friends. If you're familiar with this oh-so-popular coffee joint you'll have noticed they have an orange theme going on right now which includes an orange cream cake. I'm not sure this is the correct name but the cake tastes like a creamsicle popsicle. (Vanilla flavored ice cream on the inside with an orange sherbert flavored shell.) I told my friends I wanted to try and recreate it and they promptly reminded me that there was an orange cake on the cover of Canadian Living that looked yummy. I took the hint and gave it a go.

Just so you know, this cake tastes nothing like a creamsicle. It is a classic tea cake with a good crumb and pretty little flecks of orange from the carrots. The more assertive flavour is the orange and the carrot acts as a compliment to it. It doesn't taste like a typical carrot cake at all. The cake baked up in my oven in exactly an hour and once iced with the yummy tangy glaze, it sure was a sweet treat. Just one note, this cake sliced much cleaner the second day so baking it one day before you're going to eat it wouldn't be a bad idea.

Recipe: Orange Carrot Bundt Cake

Mostaccioli

Do you ever feel more connected to a country after you have visited it? I know it sounds silly, but after visiting Italy last summer I have created a kinship for this beautiful European country. I wasn't there long and can't speak Italian for beans but my time spent there was so memorable that whenever I see recipes with Italian heritage I get excited.

Case in point; these cookies called Mostaccioli (not to be confused with the same-named pasta) hail from Italy. According to the little blurb preceding the recipe, "In Roman times, these cookies were sweetened with the must, or mosto, left over from wine production." I believe that in Italy this method is still used though the recipe from Canadian Living is more accessible for those of us unable to find mosto.

The method for making these cookies is very straightforward. First you create a fragrant and spicy cocoa dough, chill it, roll it into balls, bake them and finally glaze them. I think I made my a little too large or as my friend refers to as "North American" sized. Still a good size for espresso or a latte. So if you're looking to make a cookie with kick try them out and enjoy a little taste of Italy.

Recipe: Mostaccioli

Daring Bakers May Challenge - Gateau Saint Honore

For this month’s Daring Bakers challenge, Helene of Tartelette and Anita from Dessert First asked us to dust off our rolling pins to make a Gateau St. Honore. This decadent confection consists of a puff pastry base topped with Saint Honore Cream (Diplomat’s Cream) and finished off with caramel-topped cream puffs and swirls of whipped cream. Wow, this was French baking at its best. The recipe was long but not complicated and, as long as I gave myself enough time, I would be able to pull this off.

The puff pastry component could be made one of two ways; either store–bought or homemade. I opted for the store made version because I had some in my freezer already. The rest of the recipe required me to do it all myself. I had never made choux pastry before and it wasn’t difficult to do. I think I made my puffs a little too small but they came out okay nonetheless. The Diplomat cream was also straightforward although I ended up with a slightly runny product; something some fellow Daring Bakers also experienced. For this reason, I was unable to fill the cream puffs with the cream though I made a bit of a mess trying. The final product looked impressive and it tasted nice.

Even though the recipe didn’t come 100% perfect I’m really glad I put in the effort to try it. This is the major appeal of the Daring Bakers for me – to make new desserts that I would probably never had made on my own. And the camaraderie of the other bakers is just icing on the cake. To check out all the other creations just click on the sidebar to the right.

Mocha Brownies

Oh my, I can't believe that May is passing by so quickly. Today is already Victoria Day where most Canadians are relaxing or planting flowers on a well deserved day off. It is beautiful and sunny where I am and to celebrate I made some Mocha Brownies.

I remember a time when I was terrible at making brownies. I would always overbake them and would be left with a chocolate brick. I always avoided making them for fear of failure. If you feel the same way, not to worry; these brownies are super simple to make and have a pleasing coffee flavour.

Most mocha-type desserts call for just a hint of coffee flavour but for these brownies I used freshly brewed espresso and coffee granules. They came out great - chewy on the inside and topped with a glossy, crackly crust. For a nice final presentation, I topped them with a dollop of whipped cream and a coffee bean.

Even if you're not on holiday today I hope you're having a great day wherever you are!

Recipe: Mocha Brownies

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

You would think that finding a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe would be a simple task. I've tried many with varying degrees of success and I envy those of you who have had recipes handed down to you. I, however, do not have much of a baking legacy in my family so I rely on my books to help me out.

This recipe comes from Canadian Living and I have tried it many times before with lacklustre results which I why I'm only posting about them now. I never thought they were great, let alone best-ever, but yesterday I made some because I had all the ingredients. I had to refrigerate the dough because dinner was in the oven and this simple step made all the difference.

The cookies came out nicely rounded and definitely not like a flat frisbee. The chilling helped the cookies retain their shape so they were still rounded and nicely puffed. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled then out of the oven and when I sent out two dozen to the kids in the backyard they were gone in 30 seconds. Really, they were. So I've learned not to give up on recipes that don't turn out perfectly the first time. Sometimes all it takes to wreck a batch of cookies is a bad mood and sometimes all it takes to make a good batch is a positive attitude.

Recipe: Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lemon Curd

When I was young, my mom always used to buy the packaged lemon tarts sold at grocery stores - the kind that were in a tray of six and were bright neon yellow. I always wanted the butter tart version (which we sometimes got) but more often than not, the lemon tarts would end up in our cart. I hated these tarts. I thought they were too tart (heh) and I was not a lemon lover at all. Boy, how times have changed.

After making the crepe cake last week, I was left with six egg yolks that I didn't want to waste. I decided to make curd because it was something I'd always wanted to try and, now that I'm older, I appreciate the tangy goodness of the lemon.

Well, the curd was beautiful to make. Slowly it became thicker and thicker until it was ready. I covered it with plastic wrap and chilled it overnight. The next day I tried it and it was rich, thick and tangy - exactly as you think curd would taste. I decided to be English and make scones to have with it. It made the perfect teatime snack though, if you are not fond of strong tart flavours, the curd may be too much for you. So I've learned that as we change, our tastes change with us and, for the most part, this is always a good thing.

Recipe: Lemon Curd

Daring Bakers April Challenge - Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake

Well, I’m finally done. Those Daring Bakers are really putting me to the test and this month’s challenge was no walk in the park. Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas decided to test our culinary skills by asking us to make a Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake from Martha Stewart. As I looked at the four-page recipe, I had inkings that this was not going to be any ordinary cake. I thought the recipe looked a little wacky and perhaps that’s why I procrastinated and left it to the last few days in April.

The cake is made up of three components; chocolate crepes, hazelnut crème filling and chocolate ganache. The crepes were a breeze to make though I had to do a little trimming to make everything circular. They didn’t stick or rip which I am very thankful for. Out of the 36 I made, I only ended up using 18. The crème was a little labour intensive but not difficult. It is a meringue-type hazelnut crème for which I used hazelnut butter instead of hazelnut cream. It was light and airy like a mousse and tasted very yummy. The difficulty started when I began assembling the cake.

After the crepe/crème tower was complete, it started to lean which freaked me out. (Had the filling been more like an icing, this probably wouldn’t have happened.) Filling was spilling out everywhere so I propped it up with 4 straws and put it in the fridge, took a deep breath and made the ganache. I cleaned up the cake as best I could and covered it in the chocolate. The final result is not very even or flat on top. It’s more dome-like but I finished and I was relieved, though slightly frustrated.

Well, the final result (including taste and appearance) turned out okay. The layers are not ultra distinct but you can see them. I also made the candied nuts to put on top. As you can see from the picture, I turned my back on the sugar for a second and it got very dark amber. I thought that since it was just for decoration I would use it. I don’t think I’ll ever make this cake again and I truly believe the parts are much better than the sum product. Everything tasted nice, but perhaps not all together. Overall, I’m glad I tried it. I’m also glad I have a neighbour with family over who I could share the cake with. If you’d like to see what the other Daring Bakers came up with, just click on the links in the sidebar. There are some truly spectacular cakes to behold!

Dutch Butter Bars

Spring has finally sprung in Ontario. Tulips are almost blooming and buds are appearing on my lilac bush. Along with the good weather comes busy times at work and less time to bake. I did, however, find time to make some bars which I will share with you.

Dutch Butter Bars (known in Dutch as boterkoek) are a simple satisfying bar. They're reminiscent of shortbread and have a chewy texture. The almond flavouring compliments the buttery bars very well and the scattered almonds on top add some crunch. Just remember, overbaking will make the bars too crispy. I didn't overbake, but my edges were still well done, almost like biscotti. Also, the consistency of the dough was more like cookie batter. It was not spreadable so I had to pat the dough into the pan.

Overall, the bars were tasty and I would make them again and bake them for a little less time. For some sparkle, sprinkle coarse sugar on top and enjoy with a nice hot drink.

Recipe: Dutch Butter Bars

Maple Nut Upside-Down Cake

This past weekend I found myself with enough free time to get engrossed in baking. The house was quiet and clean - ideal for trying something new. I had already picked out what I was going to tackle - Maple Nut Upside-Down Cake.

After looking through my cupboard earlier, I found about five different types of nuts waiting to be used; macadamia, pine nuts, walnuts, pecans and almonds. A perfect combination for a mix. After reading the recipe, I saw that it was assembled just like any other upside-down cake; by creating a syrup, sprinkling with nuts and topping with cake batter. An interesting thing about the cake was that it used no butter or oil. I couldn't remember the last time I made a cake with no butter but I had a feeling it would be just fine.

Well, the cake didn't disappoint. It looked pretty impressive with the glazed nut top and it was easy to lift off the pan. The syrup soaked into the cake making it moist and sweet. I found that it tasted even better the second day after all the flavours had time to settle. You can use any mixture of unsalted nuts you like and if you top it off with some whipped cream, you'll have a fabulous dessert to share with friends.

Recipe: Maple Nut Upside-Down Cake