Bake 2.20: Iced Fingers

Technical bake curtesy of Paul Hollywood: Iced Fingers filled with whipped cream and jam. The recipe is simple and delicious. Paul would be a touch disappointed that I did overprove mine, so they are more like iced arms, but the taste was spot on. 

I followed the recipe here. The recipe calls for jam, you are more than welcome to make your own, use diced berries and sugar, no need to add pectin as it will be spread in the buns. 

YUM! 

Bake 2.18: Cardamom, Blood Orange and Caramel Croquembouche

I maybe though that this wouldn't work. How in the world could it possibly stand up! With a few tips from Claire Saffitz' new book Dessert Person (use craquelin so the puffs are more evenly round, and her step by step tips for caramel) it did work. Slightly wonky since I angled the cone shape too much the first few rounds and then tried to recover but goodness, it was a success! A delicious success! 
This fancy dessert is definitely a labor, it took a few hours with all the pieces, but you can stop between the pieces too or make the puffs and cream the day before assembly - that is what I did. I used a standard pate a choux, topped with a  brown sugar craquelin, filled them with a cardamom and blood orange diplomat cream, and dipped them in a lightly salted caramel. I could eat the cream with a spoon. I ate the cream with a spoon. We all at the cream with a spoon. 

Ingredients

Pastry Cream

3 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1 tablespoon flour

4 egg yolks

4 tablespoons salted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon blood orange zest

2 tablespoons blood orange juice

1/2 cup whipping cream

Craquelin
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Pinch of salt

Pate a Choux

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup flour

5 eggs

Caramel

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

As the pastry cream can be made ahead of time it is a good place to start, alternatively you could make the craquelin and choux and then make the pastry cream while those cool. 

Put 2 1/2 cups milk, the cardamom seeds, and granulated sugar in a saucepan and heat until a high simmer. In a separate bowl mix the remaining milk, corn starch, flour, and egg yolks until well combined. Once the milk is simmering, ladle a scoop into the corn starch mixture, and whisk, you want to temper the eggs so they don't scramble. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and whisk while the mixture thickens. You can tell that it is thick enough when the bubbles have made it to the middle and are getting larger, you want to see a few large bubbles rather than the bunches of small ones. Remove from the heat, whisk in the butter, vanilla, zest and juice. Pour that pastry cream into a bowl or pan that fits in your fridge (learned that from experience?) and cover with plastic wrap pressing it to the surface to avoid the unpleasant skin. 

While that cools, whip the cream to medium peaks. Once the pastry cream is cool, whisk to loosen the cream and then whisk in the heavy cream. Done! Put it in a pastry bag until ready to fill. 

Craquelin next. Cream the butter (room temp works best of course) and sugar until smooth. Stir in the flour and salt gently until combined. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead a few times until smooth. Divide in half and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper until 1/8" thick. Put those in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. 

Once frozen, cut as many circles as possible, I used a 1 inch round cutter. You want to aim for 75 circles to have enough for all your puffs. If you want to make larger puffs then use a larger cutter and make sure you make your puffs larger too. If I was not making a tower I would do 1 1/2-2 inch puffs. Put the cut circles back on the tray in the freezer until ready to back. 

Dough time! Prep two cookie sheets by using the same round cutter to trace as many circles as you can onto parchment, about 1 inch apart, aim for 35-40 per sheet. I use a permanent marker since that shows nicely, then turn the parchment over so the ink is on the opposite side and set aside. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Add the milk, water, and sugar to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and toss in the flour. Beat the flour in with a wooden spoon. It will form a film on the pan and then reabsorb into the mixture. The goal is to cook the flour so the mixture will seem to be drier than when it first came together. Pour the dough into the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low to allow the dough to cool down. You want to be able to touch the outside of the mixing bowl before you start adding the eggs. 

Add the eggs one at a time, the dough will separate and look funky and then come back together, once it comes back together, add the next egg. I used 5 eggs but test the mixture after the 3rd egg and only add as many as you need. To test the dough, pull the paddle up out of the mixture, you want it to ribbon off the beater forming a V shape. Once the dough is ready, scoop into a piping bag. 

Snip the piping bag to have a 1/2 inch opening (you can be fancy and use a piping tip too), pipe mounds using your template. Place a disc of craquelin on the top of each mound. Place the two trays in the oven, immediately dropping the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, and then swift like a ninja, rotate the trays, bake for another 10 minutes until lovely and golden brown. Since we are stacking these, turn off the oven and allow to sit in there with the door cracked for 10 more minutes. Then pull the trays out and poke each puff with a skewer or knife point to allow a steam hole. You can do a secret side hole just at the edge where the craquelin meets or on the bottom. Allow to cool. 

Once cool, use the hole to fill the puffs with the cream. I did a combination of counting to 6 (completely made up) and feeling that they get heavier when filled. There is no skimping on filling around here. Prepare a base, using a small plate, or cover a removable cake tin bottom with foil - that's what I did.

Set the puffs aside. It is time to make caramel! I loved the look of Claire's croquembouche as she did the craquelin and then dipped them in a thin layer of caramel so I just had to do the same. 

In a heavy bottom sauce pan stir the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Continue stirring until it comes to a boil. Then no more stirring. Brush down the inside of the pot with water using a pastry brush to avoid crystals forming along the sides. Ready a heat proof bowl, pyrex measuring cup or similar to pour the caramel in once completed. Continue cooking the sugar, swirling occasionally, until it turns a deep amber color. Sprinkle in the salt and want pour into the ready bowl/container. Allow to cool slightly, then dip carefully the top of each puff into the caramel, swirling to allow any extra to drip back and then set aside to cool. Be quick, but also, be careful. Wear gloves if needed. If the caramel becomes too firm, heat carefully over a double boiler. 

Once all the puffs have been dipped, begin stacking! If your caramel becomes to firm, heat carefully, or make a new batch, you will only need to do a 1/2 amount the second time. 

I did 10 in the bottom round, working up from there, I chose as similarly sized as I could for each level. Dip in the caramel, hold for a moment and then move on. I found that a jar in the middle to support the first few rows was helpful, though I also angled them in too far. Keep going, reducing the size by 1 each go round. You want to situate the puffs so they are offset. using a little caramel on the sides to ensure they stick on the bottom and sides. Keep on going until you reach the top. Cap it off in style with a few puffs. Now using a fork, pull threads out of the caramel and wrap them around the tower. Ta Da!

SO GOOD!

We also learned there are two people in the world:

people who take the next bit when they stick together,

and people who leave a tiny bit behind... 

serious question, what kind are you?

Bake 2.17: Chocolate Roulade

This episode's technical featured the rolled roulade. I did some research and a roulade is a rolled item, not unlike a swiss roll, however, it can be made of anything, not just cake. So all swiss rolls are roulades but not all roulades are swiss rolls. In Mary Berry's chocolate roulade recipe, she uses a flourless chocolate cake that is rolled with whipped cream. I watch a video of her making the cake and was delighted because she clearly stated that it was OKAY if it cracked. After being truly nervous about my yule log cracking, I am all for a crackable rolled cake! 

You can see the video I watched on YouTube. I love her style because it makes you feel like you can just bake, no stress. I can't image it is like that in the tent! 

I followed her recipe here as there was not one posted on the GBBO website but there is a link to it in the YouTube video too. Mary is keen on a roulade so she has a few variations.

Bake 2.11: Brandy Snaps

There are some bakes that I am just not sure what to think about, Brandy Snaps being one of those. I am fairly sensitive to heat so rolling them sounded hard and I don't like brandy. The good news is, there is no brandy! You are welcome to add a splash to the whipped cream filling if you would like. The name of these lacy gems came about because of the color of the sugar when it is cooked. I followed Mary Berry's recipe of course - this is a technical! Given the location where I reside, I traded out brown sugar for the demerara and used corn syrup instead of golden syrup. They looked like hers so I like to think they turned out well. 

Ingredients
2 ounces butter
2 ounces brown sugar 
2 ounces corn syrup 

1 3/4 ounce plain flour

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep two cookie sheets with parchment and oil the handle of wooden spoon for rolling after they are baked. I used a stainless steel handled spatula because apparently everything else was dirty. It worked well and didn't require oiling. 

Measure the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup into a heavy bottom pan. If you have a digital scale pop that pan on top and measure right into it. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, don't let the mixture boil because then it might crystalize. 

Leave the mixture to cool slightly, 2-3 minutes, and then sift in the flour and ginger. Stir in the lemon juice. Drop 4 teaspoonfuls on to the prepared baking trays and make neat (ish) circles. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes. The mixture will look spread out and lacy, browned. Now once baked you have to wait an awkward period of time until they lift with a offset spatula (or as Mary says "a fish slice"). Then quickly roll the circle around the handle until the join us underneath. Slide off the handle and leave it to firm up on a wire rack with the join at underneath.

While I didn't need to use her trick, if they are too firm then pop them back in the oven to warm up slightly so you can roll them.

You can eat them as is, or fill them with lovely whipped cream. I whipped up 1 cup of cream with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla. Then I piped them full, not too full, but as full as they could possibly be. Yum! Enjoy! 

Bake 12a: Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Time for the pudding showstopper! It involved three different types of puddings: crumble, bread, and suet. You will have to wait a little while for the suet pudding as I can't find suet so have gone to the internet to order some. In a few weeks when that comes and I have worked on the recipe then I will get it posted. In the meantime I will make the crumble and bread puddings!

First up, the crumble. I had a hankering for berries and we had apples so I did an apple and blackberry crumble with walnuts in the topping. You can use most any fruit for the filling and feel welcome to leave out the nuts, or trade them for nuts you prefer. Crumbles and crisps are a super easy summer dessert and love to be topped with a scoop of ice cream or in our case, brown sugar whipped cream.

Ingredients

Topping

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or other spices of your choosing)

1/4 cup flour

6 tablespoons softened butter

Filling

3 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound apples (I used 5 smaller apples, I prefer to peel mine, then cut into small pieces)

12 ounces blackberries

*1 tablespoon corn starch can be added for particularly juicy fruits

Cream

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prep a square baking dish with butter or baking spray with flour. 

 

Mix the walnuts, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour with a spoon. Smush in the softened butter until combined. I realize that 'smush' is not a technical term but just keep working the butter into the mixture until there are no streaks of dry mix that are still dry. Set aside to rest.

Bring butter and brown sugar and salt to a to a medium heat in a saucepan. Add the apples and cook until just beginning to soften, 5-6 minutes. Add the blackberries and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. If the fruit releases a lot of juice, add the cornstarch and continue to stir to ensure it is evenly distributed.

Pour into prepared dish, top with crumble. Bake for 15-18 minutes. 

While the crumble bakes, put your bowl and whisk or whisk attachment (if using a mixer) into the freezer for 5 minutes. Then whip the cream (start on a low speed and work up to high), adding the brown sugar midway through whipping. Pop in the fridge until the crumble is ready.

Allow crumble to cool slightly so you don't have a lava situation, and top with a generous scoop of whipped cream. 

Bake 10: Steamed Butterscotch Pudding

Episode 4, all about Pudding! Now, let's talk about pudding. The British folks have a long history with puddings of all kinds, and that did not seem to make it all the way across the pond, and the rest of the United States the northwest corner of Washington State where I grew up. This is the first hurtle where I feel confident in making pudding, once I figure out what all the words mean. 

In the signature, the bakers were asked to bake their own classic pudding, steamed or baked. Okay, swell. Yes, swell. Yup. Okay. SWELL. 

After much deliberation I have determined that we will jump right in and make a steamed butterscotch pudding. I love butterscotch, it is the more attractive but shy cousin of caramel. It makes a mean milkshake and is a great addition to a blonde brownie. 

I found some basic recipes and made a few adjustments. You will need a large stock pot or dutch oven to use for steaming your pud and don't worry if you don't have a lidded pudding mold, you can still make this!

Ingredients

Sauce 

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup salted butter

1 cup creme fraiche*

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pudding

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1.2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Cream

1 cup heavy cream

*if you don't have creme fraiche you can substitute sour cream, or for a less 'sour' finish 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Creme fraiche is the french version of sour cream and is more subtle. Who isn't more subtle than American's!

Prep your pud steamer first. I used our dutch oven, filled about 1/2 way with water, and a metal trivet on the bottom inside. You don't want the pudding mold resting on the bottom, no trivet? no problem, roll up some foil to make a ring and rest your pudding mold on that. Now, I mentioned that I don't have a pudding mold but I had a number of metal bowls. So I grabbed one that was small-medium sized, greased it up, and when it was time to steam, covered the top with plastic wrap, then foil, and tied baking string around the rim to ensure it was super secure. Rubber bands work well too. 

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Make the sauce by adding sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes until thickened.

Pour 2/3 of the sauce into the prepared bowl. Put the rest in the fridge for later on.

Next mix the pudding by creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs one at a time, and adding the vanilla. Then adding the flour and baking powder (stir the baking powder into the flour to distribute evenly and avoid getting out another bowl). Add milk when streaks of flour remain, and fold until just combined.

Carefully spoon the batter on top of the sauce. Leveling the top and then covering the top. Lower into the simmering water, so the water comes up at least 1/2 way on the bowl/mold. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

While steaming, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks and set aside with the remaining sauce for topping.

To serve, run a knife around the edge of the bowl and turn out onto a large plate or shallow wide bowl. As long as it has a lip you will be good to go. I was worried about loosing the sauce so I used a shallow wide bowl which made serving rather challenging, a lipped plate is advised. 

Serve with a dollop of cream and a touch more sauce if desired. It is a rich pudding so it doesn't need much! 

Bake 9b: Maritozzi con la panna

For our sweet roll, I waffled between making Hawaiian buns or maybe a hot cross bun, something I have not made before or maybe cinnamon rolls, just deciding what to do for the Signature and Showstoppers can take a little while! I decided to go with Maritozzi con la panna, a sweet bun that is filled with whipped cream and common in Rome. 

In undergraduate I spent a semester in Rome to study and doing so involved a lot of walking in order to taste the delicious food. My favorite class during that time was an Art/Architectural class where in the syllabus it listed the 'meeting location' for each class session. We then walked or moved about Rome to experience in person all the history as we learned it. These rolls are not to sweet, filled with fresh whipped cream, and perfect for having with breakfast or tea before a good walk.

Ingredients

1 lb all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 egg yolks (save the whites for glazing)

7 ounces of milk, scalded*

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast (one packet of active dry yeast)

1/4 cup powdered sugar 

2 cups whipping cream

A touch of powdered sugar for dusting

*To scald milk, heat it on the stove or in the microwave until 170 degrees, then allow to cool back down to about 110 before using. It does not mean to burn the milk! Scalding helps the yeast develop and you get a lighter fluffier bun. 

First prep the yeast by adding it to 1/4 cup of lukewarm water (110-115 degrees). Allow to sit until foamy. 

Sift the flour into the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook or a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks, milk) and stir until you have a sticky smooth dough. If using the stand mixer, continue to knead for about 10 minutes. If by hand then knead until a smooth dough has formed.

Transfer to a large container or bowl to prove until doubled in size, nearly 2 hours for me.

Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpat. Lightly oil hands with vegetable or another light oil. Form the dough into small balls (ping pong or golf ball size) and place on the baking sheet. Cover with cling wrap (I spray with cooking spray to ensure it doesn't stick)... and be gentle and loose as you cover them. Allow to prove an additional hour until near doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using your egg whites set aside from the dough, brush the buns gently, but fully. Bake for 20 minutes. Then allow to cool

While cooling, pop your whisk attachment and bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then whip your cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until you have moderate peaks. You can also add a dash of vanilla, and I added a pinch of salt as well. 

To assemble, slice the top of the bun, pipe cream through the middle. Dust with powdered sugar. 

Bake 6a: Key Lime Cream Puffs with Graham Cracker Craquelin

The Biscuit round showstopper was a big one! The bakers were asked to make petit fours: meringues, choux pastry and macarons. I was thinking that we needed a cohesive theme and being summer now, citrus seemed a great idea. 

So on the petit four party menu we have: Key Lime Cream Puffs with Graham Cracker Craqulin, Earl Grey Macarons with Earl Grey Buttercream, and Lemon Meringues. I will break them into three posts for ease of length but am going to bust them all out like they did in the show... here we go!

Have you every had a cream puff? That is where we start. We are going to make Key Lime cream puffs with a crunchy graham cracker craquelin on top. 

The craquelin needs to be frozen before use so that is step one. While I have made cream puffs before, this is the first time I will make one with a craqulin on top. It is usually made with butter, sugar and flour. Since we are going for a key lime pie experience, I traded some of the flour for ground graham crackers.

Ingredients

3 ounces unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

3 ground graham crackers

Cream the butter and sugar, mix in the flour and graham cracker. Roll between two sheets of parchment paper as thin as possible. Cut into circles (we want them to fit the top of the cream puff so the ones I did were 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Then the rolled sheets in the freezer until ready to bake. Do not take all the circles off 

Next the cream! We are going to make lime curd and then fold that with whipped cream for a light and tart filling.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup key lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan cook the sugar, egg, lime juice, and salt over medium heat. Once blended add the butter. Continue cooking over medium until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Cool in the fridge. I have started calling our fridge the (not) blast chiller for fun, and out of a desire to have a fridge I can actually put a sheet tray into! Pop your whisk attachment and mixing bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes, then pull them out and whip your cream, when it reaches soft peaks, add the powdered sugar. I am a light sugar adder, so feel welcome to add more if you want the end result to be sweeter. Fold the cooled lime curd into the whip cream. 

Next the puffs!

Choux is an interesting pastry as it is cooked twice, first on the stovetop and then again the oven. It can take a few rounds to get the feeling of the dough but once you know what texture and density you need, you will be off to the races. You could make eclairs, beignets, Paris-brest, St. Honore, or even a croquembouche!

Ingredients

1 cup water

1/2 cup salted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1 teaspoon sugar 

1 1/4 cup flour

3-4 large eggs 

Line two cookie sheets with parchment. If you are unsure of your ability to pipe all the mounds the same size, turn the parchment over and trace circles with pencil on the back to follow as you pipe. Alternatively if you are making LARGE puffs you can do the Martha Stewart suggestion of dipping a round cookie cutter in flour and marking circles on the parchment sheets to follow as she does in her cream puff recipe here. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Bring the water, butter, and sugar to boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in all the flour as quickly as possible with a wooden spoon. Return to medium heat, stirring constantly (you can skip arm day!) until the flour is cooked through. You will see the mixture pull away from the sides of the pan and a film will form on the bottom. It can take 3-5 minutes. 

Then put the whole mixture in a bowl for your stand mixer or to use a hand mixer. Mix on low, until cooled enough to touch the sides of the bowl comfortably, 1-2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium, adding 1 egg at a time. Each time you add an egg it will look wonky and curdled but it comes together in the end. 

Continue until soft peaks form, if needed, add the 4th egg. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a plain 5/8-inch tip. Pipe the dough into uniform mounds on your prepared sheets. Pull the prepared craquelin out of the freezer and top each mound with one of the cut rounds. 

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and continue baking for 18-20  minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven during baking. The puffs use the stem created inside them to puff up, if you open the oven and release the steam then they will all come out flat and sad. No one wants a sad flat not-puff. 

Transfer to a rack to cool, poking each on the underside with a wooden skewer to create a few steam release holes to ensure they are dry inside. Once cool they are ready to fill.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and filling tip, it looks like this. If you don't have a filling tip, then just slice your puffs in half, add a little filling and sandwich them back together. They will be fabulous either way. Fill all your puffs with cream and enjoy! 

Bake 2: Victoria Sandwich

Our first technical! GBBO went for a Victoria Sandwich which is essentially British and a wonderful cake for tea. Thankfully I was not in the tent for this technical because my first round of sponge sunk like... a less dramatic Titanic. Thankfully the second batch turned out well. 

 

(this is our GBBO goal!)

Ingredients

2 sticks room temperature unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-4 tablespoons warm water (as needed)

Filling:

2 cups raspberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Start with the jam, cook the raspberries and sugar in a pot, smushing the raspberries as you go. Once the mixture reaches 220 then you can put it on a sheet pan or jar to cool. A sheet pan doesn't fit in our fridge so I made the jam the day before so it had plenty of time to cool.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees and prep 2 - 8 inch cake pans. I use baking spray with flour, works like a dream. 

Cream the butter and sugar. Mix your flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Add your eggs one at a time, the vanilla, and then gently fold in the flour mixture. 

At this point, you will need to test the batter before you determine if you need any water. I ended up using a full 4 tablespoons because Denver is dry! You want the batter to be a dropping consistency, so when you hold the spoon up it slides off oh so slowly. 

Then spread the batter in the two prepared pans. Level the batter out with an offset spatula or your finger - no one is looking. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is cooling, put your whisk attachment and bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then beginning on slow speed whisk your cream until it is soft peaks. Then add your confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat to stiff peaks. 

To assemble, put one layer, top side down (no trimming here!) and top with an ample amount of jam. Add the whip cream, and then the second layer of cake. Dust with confectioners sugar. When you are ready to serve cut gently with a serrated knife to prevent the whip cream from jumping ship. 

Next up: a Chocolate Cake Showstopper!