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Category Archives: Dessert
The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.
We were both on the same page that I was crazy for taking on this project for Thanksgiving, especially since I have never made cannoli, we knew it would be a big risk. Working as a team, made it so much easier. One person was in charge of rolling and cutting circles, while the other gently fried them to perfection. Keeping with the Thanksgiving theme we made a pumpkin filling, which was light and not overly sweet. Move over Mike’s, there is a new cannoli in town! An amazingly easy recipe.
* we had leftover filling which froze nicely into a creamy ice cream
Recipe: Pumpkin Cannoli
Equipment:
Cannoli forms/tubes – optional, but recommended if making traditional shaped cannoli. Dried cannelloni pasta tubes work just as well!
Deep, heavy saucepan, enough to hold at least 2-3-inches of oil or deep fryer
Deep fat frying thermometer. although the bread cube or bit of dough test will work fine.
Metal tongs
Brass or wire skimmer OR large slotted spoon
Pastry bag with large star or plain tip, but a snipped ziplock bag, butter knife or teaspoon will work fine.
Cooling rack
Paper bags or paper towels
Pastry Brush
Cheesecloth
Sieve or fine wire mesh strainer
Electric Mixer, stand or hand, optional, as mixing the filling with a spoon is fine.
Food Processor or Stand Mixer – also optional, since you can make the dough by hand, although it takes more time.
Rolling pin and/or Pasta roller/machine
Pastry or cutting board
Round cutters – The dough can also be cut into squares and rolled around the cannoli tube prior to frying. If making a stacked cannoli, any shaped cutter is fine, as well as a sharp knife.
Mixing bowl and wooden spoon if mixing filling by hand
Plastic Wrap/Clingfilm
Tea towels or just cloth towels
Lidisano’s Cannoli
Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes
CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar
Note – If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough.
DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.
2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.
3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.
4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.
5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.
8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.
9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.
Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through
2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.
3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.
For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).
2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.
ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.
2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.
Pumpkin Filling
2 cups ricotta cheese, drained
2 cups mascarpone cheese
2 cups canned pumpkin, drained
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 whole vanilla bean seeds
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight. Do the same with the pumpkin.
2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, spice and vanilla bean seeds and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl. Chill until firm, several hours or overnight.
Nanette got herself an ice cream maker for her birthday and ever since (it has only been a couple weeks) we have been chatting about ice creams and gelatos. She made a cinnamon gelato that was sweetened with honey and said it was to die for. Since we were pretty sure a big bowl of it would not make the flight over from Melbourne, she passed along the recipe.
I decided to remake a Portuguese favorite, the Malassada, to serve with it. Instead of the traditional big piece of “fried” dough, I gently fried small little pillows of the batter and then rolled them in unrefined sugar that I barely kissed with orange essence. The sightly sweet fried dough went so well with the warm honeyed ice cream. The only thing missing was a friend to share this with.
You will not want to miss Nanette’s Gelato, she served hers with a warm sugary plate of Loukoumades – she gives you the easiest recipe for making Loukoumades as well; guess what I will be making next time!
Recipe: Milk, Honey & Cinnamon Gelato
*Adapted from Falling Cloudberries Cookbook
300ml full fat organic milk
300ml organic cream
3 organic egg yolks (optional) * I did use them
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup organic raw honey * I used a deep amber
Bring milk, cream, cinnamon and honey slowly to the small boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and temper your egg yolks into the mixture. Once tempered slowly add to the milk mixture and whisk to incorporate. Return to a very low heat and slightly simmer, while stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. It is very important to continue to stir and to do it over low heat or you will scramble your mixture. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. When it’s cool, place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (I left it over night). Put the mixture into your ice cream machine and process according to the instructions included. Serve. Eat. And save some for others!
Recipe: Portuguese Malassadas
2 1/4 cups All Purpose (AP) Flour – sifted, I usually do it about 5 times
1 tsp. yeast
3 T. sugar
1/8 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 tsp. lemon extract (I did not use for this recipe)
Canola or Vegetable oil for frying
Mix yeast with 1 T. of sugar and warm water, set aside in a warm place until foamy. Heat milk with butter and salt until hot but not boiling. Take off of heat and let cool slightly. Mix flour with 2 T. of sugar. Mix in 4 eggs and extract. Add the milk mixture slowly and mix. Add the yeast mixture and stir well. Let sit about 20 minutes. Then knead, may need to add more flour, if the dough is too sticky. Do this process 3 times. Then let rise in a warm place, until doubled, about an hour. Heat canola oil until very hot. Drop small handful, stretched slightly, into the hot oil. cook and turn until golden brown. I like to lay them on a paper towel to absorb extra oil. While still warm, roll them in sugar until coated. Serve. Eat.
Tart Granny Smith apples and sour quince are lightly sprinkled with raw sugar and finished with a cardamon topping made of oats, sugar and pecans.
Lenny loves apple pie. I, on the other hand, could really care less about it. In fact, I was never a big apple dessert fan, until a couple years ago. We were in Paris and stumbled upon Au Gamin de Paris and their apple tart with a caramelized topping. They only make a few tarts, daily, so when you go you have to order dessert first, it is amazing! From that point on I was a converted apple fan!
I picked up a few apples and quince at the market last week with an intention of recreating a tart that would be similar to Au Gamin de Paris but instead, due to a lack of time, I make a crisp. I have never used quince before but have had it in the form of a jam, which was served with cheese. I had no idea what to expect. The quince was rather dry, somewhat astringent and a little sour as well. I was a little worried. I mixed the tart apples and sour quince together with a little raw sugar and cardamon and then made a topping out of some oats, butter, sugar, cardamon and pecans. The sugar and butter melted together to form a nice caramel coating that gripped the oats and pecans, the flavors screamed “FALL” when mixed with the quince and apples. It was perfect and the only other thing that would have made it more perfect would have been a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Don’t forget about your Thanksgiving Gift Away - you have until midnight on the 31st of October to enter!
Recipe: Apple Quince Crisp
4 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
2 quince, peeled and cut into chunks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cups oats
1 cup pecans, broken into pieces
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon caradmon
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, cut into chunks
Heat oven to 375. Butter a baking dish. Toss the apples, quince and 3 tablespoons of raw sugar together in a mixing bowl. Pour into your baking dish. In the same mixing bowl, add dry ingredients and lightly stir. Cut in the butter until it is crumbly. Pour over the top of your apples and quince. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes. Serve. Eat.
This recipe is a classic pumpkin pie with a twist! This is definitely the best pumpkin pie recipe I have ever had, the secret to this pie is the fresh slow roasted pumpkin, it makes all the difference. You will never go back to canned after eating this!
This recipe has been in the family for years and I really cannot believe I am letting the secret be known. My step-mom, Kathie, came up with this recipe years ago and we have never gone back. Plan on roasting the pumpkin a day or two before you make the pies as well you can change around the spices and liquor to suit your personal preference. I serve it with a very small amount of whipped cream, that has been slightly sweetened with a little brown sugar and a fresh vanilla bean.
 I picked up the Williams Sonoma Thanksgiving cookbook a few months ago and enjoyed it so much that I have decided to give away, not one, but 2 copies. All you need to do is leave a comment below, sharing with us, one of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions. We will draw the winners on November 1! * Sorry this is only open to US readers **the photo of the book is not that good, sorry, it really is only a glare on the side, these are both new books!!
Recipe: Pumpkin Pie
Pie Crust
Makes one 9” pie shell, with extra for garnish
1 1/2 cups pastry flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup ice water
Combine flour, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulse until pebbly. Add water and pulse until it comes together. Form into a disk and chill for 1 hour. To line pie dish, place disk of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll until 1/8” thick, rolling from the center toward the edge in all directions. Lightly dust the work surface with extra flour as needed to prevent sticking. Carefully transfer the round to the pie dish, easing it into the bottom and sides and gently pressing into place. Trim the extra dough even from the rim of the pan. Use extra dough to cut out garnishes if desired.
Pie Filling
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
6 medium eggs
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup cognac
Preheat oven to 450.
Combine all ingredients, except pie shell, in the order given and beat until thoroughly blended. You can also blend in a food processor. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Garnish if desired with left over dough cut outs. Egg wash the pie crust and any garnish. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 45 – 50 minutes. You may have to cover with foil, if it is getting too dark. Pie is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool. Serve. Eat.
This is a lovely late summer/early autumn tart made with a Pate Sable pastry which is filled with fragrant frangipane and luscious black Turkish figs.
 
I made this wonderful tart for a dinner party with our friend’s Chelsea and James. We love figs and use them very often from the beginning of the season until the very end. You will often find a big bowl of them on the counter, just for noshing on throughout the day. I normally make a savory tart of blue cheese and figs but wanted something sweeter for this event and thought the figs would go nicely with a light frangipane; I was right! Dorie Greenspan’s pate sable recipe is by far my favorite one, as it is lightly sweet and flaky as well it is not too buttery, just prefect. The recipe is in Dorie’s book Baking From My Home to Yours, you should own this book, it will be the baking cookbook you will ever need, Dorie includes every recipe you will ever need from the basics to the perfect party cake and all the recipes we have tried have been perfect! I wanted the tart to have a nice shiny glaze, so I melted a little of the marmalade that we have left from Chez Pim’s amazing Bouquet des Fleurs Marmalade collection and I glazed the top during the last 5 minutes of baking. This my friends, was a wonderful addition to the tart, not only was it shiny but the finished tart had a beautiful floral under-note.
Recipe: Frangipane Fig Tart
1/2 cup almonds, raw, organic
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, organic
2 eggs, organic, cage free
1 your favorite pate sable
1 pint of figs, cut in half
I use a Dorie Greenspan recipe for the Pate Sable, using a rectangle tart pan and following her instructions for baking. Preheat oven to 375. In a food processor combine the almonds and sugar, pulse until coarse. With the processor running, add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Add the extract and the eggs with the food processor on until mixed. Pour into a pre-baked tart pan and smooth the top. Lay the cut figs in the pattern of your choice, on top of the Frangipane. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before removing the tart from the baking pan. Serve. Eat.
The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
We got a wonderful invite over to John & Michelle’s home for an amazing dinner. John is the chef and creative food genius behind Food Wishes. Food Wishes is an amazing site that is full of cooking video recipes. We knew he was working on some “dry aged beef” and that they would be the star of the dinner, so I had to bring a dessert that would be just as fantastic – Dobos Torte!
“The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners’ and Gingerbread Makers’ Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.” quoted from the Daring Baker’s Forum.
The recipe is fairly easy. The sponge cake was very simple to make and came out very light and springy. I decided to make individual tortes so I cut the cake into 24 small circles. The butter-cream was also very light but I was very disappointed as I used a very dark chocolate and it came out very light in color, this was not what I had wanted. The topping to the torte is a caramel topping that is made with lemon juice, I used orange with a touch of cardamon added. The topping was suppose to be some sponge cake that was drizzled with the caramel topping, I was not sure about this, so I practiced on some extra pieces of sponge cake. I was glad I did as I thought the caramel would make the cake too chewy. Instead, I attempted to spin the caramel into “spun sugar”, which ended up being a very fun process and I spent a good part of the afternoon spinning away! The end result was light and very flavorful dessert. I would make this again, but I would try to use a different butter-cream as I would have preferred it to have a much darker look and taste.
A big thank you to Angela and Lorraine for being our wonderful hostesses this month and for picking a great challenge. Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers blogroll for more tortes as well as Food Wishes to see what else we had for dinner that night!
Recipe: Dobos Torte
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- 9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
- mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
- a sieve
- a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
- a small saucepan
- a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
- metal offset spatula
- sharp knife
- a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
- piping bag and tip, optional
Prep times
- Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
- Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
- Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
- Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes
Sponge cake layers
- 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
- pinch of salt
Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
- 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
Caramel topping
- 1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
- 12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
- 8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches
- a 7” cardboard round
- 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
- ½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts
Directions for the sponge layers:
NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.
1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9″ (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn’t touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner’s (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don’t have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner’s (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8″ springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)
Directions for the chocolate buttercream:
NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.
1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.
Lorraine’s note: If you’re in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you’ll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!
Directions for the caramel topping:
1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn’t just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.
Angela’s note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.
Assembling the Dobos
1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.
I discovered the Gourmet Worrier a few months ago when I stumbled upon a post titled Snot Blocks, the name alone had me intrigued! I was further enticed into Nanette’s home through her beautiful site where she writes about not only food, but family, love and travel. Then we found each other on Twitter. For me I felt like I had just found my twin, we were so much alike, this was simply pleasurable! The past few months, we have shared numerous tweets, emails and I am noshing, very often over at her site. A couple weeks ago, I got a message that her charming husband, Stephen, was going to be out in San Francisco and she wanted to know if I could recommend some places for him to visit. So, I dusted off my very rusty restaurant list, gave it an update and sent it on. Literally, minutes after sending, I get a message from Stephen, thanking me for the list and asking if we would like to get together with him – BUT OF COURSE! We knew there was only one place in the city that he HAD to eat at, it was a must …….. Chez Us.
We love entertaining but we don’t do it as often as we would like, so we were pretty excited to be having a guest for dinner. Now we needed to plan a delicious but casual meal. There were so many dishes that we thought about making, from grilled pork tenderloin to a Moroccan Lamb dish, we decided to let it simmer in our minds until Sunday morning. The weather was beautiful when we woke up so we decided it was a must to light up the grill and dine al fresco. We wanted the meal to have freshest ingredients that are available in the bay area, sort of the season’s bounty. The menu we decided on was:
Sazerac
Spicy Walnut Spread
Warmed Olives over Goat Cheese
Toasted Baguette Rounds
Fig, Melon & Prosciutto Salad
Grilled Porterhouse Steaks with Warmed Cherry Tomatoes
Hasselback Potatoes
Mixed Berry and Passion Fruit Brown Sugar Cardamon Pavlova
Now we have never met Stephen in person. I know of his blog (check out the work he has done with UNICEF) and we follow each other via Twitter. I know him through Nanette as well. I like her and was sure we would like him. Upon arrival Lenny wanted to serve cocktails. Instead of offering the usual cocktail of choice, the vodka tonic, Laudalino decided on making his favorite drink, the Sazerac. Lenny has not made one before so it was trial and error; this drink may not be the drink for trial and error either! The drink came out smooth and delicious but not quite the Sazerac he is use too drinking. Either way the cocktails were a great way to start the evening and were enjoyed equally by all.
As soon as Stephen walked through the door, we all hit it off. It was like a long lost friend was back in our lives. We had so much to talk about, from food to business, to just getting to know each other. Lenny and Stephen had lots of laughs commiserating over being with partners who are foodies and how they use to have “six pack abs” but now they get baked treats – Nanette, no worries, they love it, it was all in good fun & I completely stuck up for us!!! Thanks to technology, Nanette was able to join us via Skype, it was wonderful to be able to have her there with us. It was such an enjoyable evening, that we completely lost track of time and food, the evening flowed as smoothly as the wine. Okay Okay, I know you all love that we loved each other’s company, but where is the food!? Here are some highlights and recipes.
Recipe: Fig Salad
*adapted from David Tanis
figs
prosciutto
melon
fresh mint
Lay prosciutto on platter. Cut figs in half, scatter onto the prosciutto. Cut melon into thin slices and add to the platter. Thinly slice mint and scatter on top.
Recipe: Warm Olives with Goat Cheese
assorted olives
handful of fresh herbs – we used rosemary and thyme
zest from one lemon
sprinkle of olive oil
4oz goat cheese
Put everything into a frying pan and heat just until warmed. Flatten the goat cheese into a disk and put into a swallow serving bowl. Pour warmed olive mixture over the goat cheese. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Mixed Berry and Passion Fruit Brown Sugar Cardamon Pavlova
*adapted from Food & Wine Magazine
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon cardamon
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
6 large egg white at room temperature
1 cup chilled heavy cream
strawberries
blueberries
2 teaspoons sugar
passion fruit pulp, if you can’t find fresh use frozen
Heat oven to 275 with rack placed in the middle. Lightly butter 2 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper. Pulse sugar and cornstarch in food processor until well combined. Beat egg whites with the pinch of salt at medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Increase speed to medium-high and slowly add sugar, a little at a time. After all sugar has been added beat for another minute. Add vinegar and vanilla bean paste and beat at high speed until the meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks, about 6 minutes. Spoon meringue between the two pans, smooth the tops. Bake meringues for 1 hour, until they have a crisp crust and feel dry to the touch, the insides may be slightly soft inside. Turn the oven off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Let meringues sit in there until cool. Run a knife along the sides and carefully turn meringue out of the pans. Carefully remove the parchment paper. They will be very fragile, hand carefully.
Combine the berries in a bowl with two teaspoons of sugar and let sit for at least an hour before serving. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Put one meringue onto a serving plate, spread half of the cream over it and spoon half of the fruit onto the cream. Drizzle spoonfuls (to taste) of the passion fruit pulp over the fruit. Top with other meringue and repeat the process. Serve. Eat.
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