Daring Bakers - Ice Cream Petit Fours

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Where to begin? The challenge this month was basically to brown butter and use it in a pound cake that was then used in Baked Alaska or Petit Fours. I have wanted to make both of these desserts for a while now and while I thought about making both I decided that our budget, waistlines, and sanity couldn't handle completing both. Therefore, since the Petit Fours could be divided easily between more people, leaving less for me to eat, I went with those.

I first made the ice cream which was easy enough because I used the same recipe I used last month, Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry from David Lebovitz. I fell in love with this ice cream last month and could literally feel myself biting into the chewy almonds just thinking about it. I didn't have any issues with this step because I felt like I had just whipped up a batch a short time ago and knew the steps, if not the measurements, by heart. (For that recipe, click here.)  

Next up, brown the butter and make the pound cake. I have to say that I have never specifically browned butter to include it in a dessert. I thought at first that this might be difficult for me since I wasn't sure at what point the butter would be browned, etc . . . However, upon making it I realized that I have indeed done this before in the form of making almond roca or toffee or any number of recipes for candies.

Yum! Doesn't that last picture look incredibly appetizing? It's almost like I just cleaned a grease trap or something. Believe it or not, that is my browned butter after sitting in the freezer for a bit. Mmmm, makes you want to stick a spoon in and eat it up. (Did you catch the sarcasm? I hope so.)

On to the pound cake. The batter mixed and baked up beautifully. I didn't exactly cut my cake evenly, but it worked well enough for its purpose.

Up until now I have followed the directions exactly. Notice I said, up until now. This is where I re-read the directions and realized that after reading them the first time about a week prior and then brushing up on the steps the day before I must have left out the middle. You know, the part that explained that you would be freezing and re-freezing overnight and re-freezing for at least an hour to get your Petit Fours to come out the way you want. Unfortunately, I couldn't follow those steps because I had guests who would be eating them a few hours later so I had to improvise.

I froze the cake so it was somewhat frozen when I slathered the ice cream between the layers. Instead of freezing the ice cream in the pan and then removing it and setting it on the bottom layer, I ended up just squishing scoops of ice cream between my hands and then patting them down in a somewhat even layer on the cake. I then put on the top layer of cake and stuck it back in the freezer to firm up before slicing.

I sliced half of the cake into skinny rows and made half of a batch of the chocolate glaze so that I could at least try to make Petit Fours for the guests I was having over for dinner. They were a bit rough around the edges but they still tasted good. The rest of the cake went back into the freezer to harden up overnight so I could play around with the look of the Petit Four the next day.

Ahhhh, the various stages of melting chocolate. Have I mentioned before that I love chocolate? While it was cooling, I was able to slice the cakes a bit more neatly and trim the rough edges away. I also was able to trim the top layer of cake a bit because that was thicker than the bottom layer.

When it came time to coat the cakes it wasn't a smooth process for me. There is a pun in there if you realize that I could not get a smooth coating of chocolate on the outside of those little cakes. It really didn't have so much to do with the ice cream melting and the cake sliding off, it was just that if the chocolate was thin enough to pour it was too hot for the ice cream and if it was cool enough for the ice cream it was a bit too thick to pour. After having some horrendously covered cakes, I made the decision to coat the top and have chocolate drizzle down the sides. Much prettier presentation and actually a nice amount of chocolate for the size of the dessert.

Although it was an interesting process, I love any excuse to make homemade ice cream, and it was on my Top 100 list of things to do, I probably won't be making these again, at least not the ice cream version. It was just a bit too much work, especially right now for our family. Who knows what the future holds though . . .

If you want the recipes for the Brown Butter Pound Cake and Chocolate Glaze, email me. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

Wow! Why in the world did it take me this long to get this post up? The bad thing is that it's been such a long wait and it wasn't even that great of a recipe. I know, kind of a let down, huh.

A while ago we had some fresh berries and some leftover whipping cream so I thought I'd whip up a quick batch of strawberry shortcake. I didn't have the time to peruse the internet for the best recipes out there so I went to my cookbook cupboard, grabbed out Betty, and flipped to page 143. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but in this particular case Betty definitely let me down. While I was whipping up the batter I was mulling over in my brain the fact that it really just sounded like plain old biscuit dough. I got past that and imagined the strawberries and whipped cream would somehow transform this blah dough into an amazing shortcake. Let's just say, it didn't. It tasted just like cut open biscuits with strawberries and whipped cream piled on top. I think there are definitely better shortcake recipes out there, in fact I've made them in the past. I'll post the recipe, but you can keep it mind that it will make better biscuits than shortcake. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake (AKA Strawberry Biscuits)
Makes about 6 biscuits

1/3 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
----
1 quart strawberries
sugar
--------
sweetened whipped cream

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut shortening into flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and salt with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Gently smooth into a ball. Knead 20 to 25 times. Roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch cutter. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Split crosswise while hot. Fill and top with strawberries and whipped cream.

"Mock" Levain Bakery Cookies

Ever heard of the Levain Bakery? Ever heard of their monster chocolate chip cookies? If you have, and you don't live in New York, then you most likely heard about them on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. And if you have not heard of them yet they are monster-monster-monster cookies.

When we were in Hawaii we had some early nights because of our son's bedtime which forced us to watch television more than we normally do at home. Anytime I get the chance to watch a myriad of channels I head straight for the Food Network, Travel channel, and TLC because we basically just get local channels at home. Woohoo to extended channels! Anyway, as I was saying, after watching Throwdown both my husband and I were fascinated by these cookies. So fascinated that he requested that I make them for a meeting where he was supposed to provide the refreshments. That was all the prompting I needed. I headed straight for the computer and typed in my key words but the result was a little deflating. You see, they don't publish their famous cookie recipe, and although I understand the reasoning behind it was definitely disappointing.

I had to console myself with the links they have to "mock" Levain chocolate chip cookie recipes. These are basically other people's attempts to try to figure out their secret combination of ingredients and baking methods. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

I needed to make three batches (since one only makes 14 cookies), so I was actually able to try two of the recipe links. There didn't seem to be a huge difference between the two and unfortunately I didn't keep them separated long enough to get pictures of each side by side. Both recipes are posted below.

I don't think I can adequately portray just how large these cookies are. I had to use my biggest tupperware bowl (which does not get used very often) to hand mix the dough. I also measured the entire amount of my dough and then divided by the total number of cookies I needed so I knew how much each cookie should weigh. You can also see from my picture of the halfway baking time that no matter how good your oven is it still bakes somewhat unevenly and it's always a good idea to turn the pan halfway through.

These cookies were fabulous! They were large and they were yummy. I think the difference with the Levain cookies is that they not only have circumference but they also have height and volume to their monster cookies. You could make a monster cookie out of any cookie dough recipe but you won't get the height and volume like these guys. Click here for the Levain Bakery site with their recipe links. Enjoy!

Just for kicks, here is a cookie comparison between a regular sized oreo cookie and a "Mock" Levain chocolate chip cookie!

Recipezaar "Mock" Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Food.com and Cheeky Kitchen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, cold
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, if desired (not chopped or coarsely chopped)

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Add sugars and stir well, breaking up any brown sugar clumps. Add eggs and mix until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if desired).

Chill dough for one hour (and keep chilled while baking first batch).

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put half of the dough on an ungreased baking sheet in 7 large balls. (I weighed my dough so each cookie was equal.) Bake for 8-10 minutes; turn cookie sheet around back to front and bake until light golden brown on top, another 5-8 minutes. (Mine took about 6 minutes and 5 minutes.)
Remove from oven and cool on sheet for a few minutes, then place on wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the rest of the dough after cookie sheet cools.

If you'd like to make them somewhat smaller, use a 375 degree oven so they don't over-brown. And remember that they most likely won't get as high.


Cheeky Kitchen Recipe
Makes 14 cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups walnuts
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, brown sugar, and eggs until fluffy. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cornstarch until thoroughly combined. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Dump dough on counter and knead to completely mix dough.

Gently pull lemon-sized hunks (or weight them evenly) of dough. Keep the dough loose and with air. Place mounds on cookie sheet.

Bake at 390 degrees (just above 375 but not quite 400) for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies have turned light brown. Remove from cookie sheet, cool.

Daring Bakers - Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Isn't this cake the bomb? I mean, literally it is a bombe, and who can't fall in love with a cake that looks this delectable! Out of all of my Daring Baker's challenges this one probably took me the longest, but I think it just may have been the most fulfilling challenge I have completed as of yet. I absolutely adore ice cream, especially homemade, and if you pair that with cake and hot fudge then I'm over the moon.

I started by going to the library and checking out The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. I was amazed at all the different flavors. Avocado, black pepper, basil . . . wow! But I have to say that as amazing as those flavors sounded I am usually drawn to something right away and no matter how hard I look I just keep coming back to that recipe or item. For me it was the toasted almond and cherry ice cream. I loved the look (as I've mentioned before I'm very visual) and the flavors and textures sounded fantastic. I knew that chocolate would be great paired with that so I knew I was going to make the swiss roll a chocolate flavor as well as the hot fudge for the center of the bombe. I kept wavering a bit on the second flavor of ice cream because I wanted to try something new but I also wanted a flavor to compliment the toasted almond and cherry. In the end I went with a chocolate with mini chocolate chips mixed in.

I first made the chocolate ice cream. It was a great experience and very easy since I had just made vanilla about a week ago. The process was pretty much the same. I chose to make a custard style because I wanted the ice cream to set well and for it to be rich and creamy like ice cream as opposed to ice milk. Once the ice cream was finished churning I mixed in the mini chips and stuck it in the freezer for the few days until I could assemble the whole cake. (See below for recipe) 

Next up was the toasted almond and cherry ice cream. Fresh cherries from the local farmer's market . . yum! Pitting them was an interesting process and a new one for me. After the cherries were candied and the almonds were toasted and chopped, it was time to make the ice cream. This recipe was also a custard style ice cream that required you to steep the almonds in the cream for about an hour. After they were finished steeping you were told to squeeze out the almonds to get all the cream and then discard the almonds. Who in the world is just going to discard over a cup of finely chopped almonds that have been steeped in a sweet, cream? Not me! Those babies went into a ziploc bag and into the fridge where they are waiting to become a crust to a pie or something equally delicious. I probably could have sat there with a spoon and just eaten bite after bite of these almonds. (See below for recipe) 

Never having made a swiss roll cake before I have to admit I was a teeny bit nervous. Especially with how many people were mentioning that their cakes cracked and fell apart. I really didn't want make more than one so I was hoping I'd get it right the first time. Thank goodness it went off pretty much without a hitch. I ended up using pillowcases to wrap the cakes in because I didn't have thin enough dishtowels. That, and you need about six hands: Two to roll the cake, one to hold down the pillowcase while the other is using a spatula to make sure the cake doesn't stick to the pillowcase, and two for taking a picture of it! (Click here for recipe)

The fudge sauce went together quickly. I don't know if mine thickened up quite as much as it was supposed to but it was thick enough once it sat in the freezer overnight. (Click here for recipe)

Although the process to assemble was quite lengthy if you waited for each layer to freeze it wasn't terribly difficult. The thing I wish I could have changed was making sure that the bottom layer of plastic wrap was smooth so that my cake and whipped cream didn't have little wrinkle lines. This was a fantastic challenge, and absolutely perfect for a hot summer's day! Enjoy!

Toasted Almond & Cherry Ice Cream

Toasted Almond and Candied Cherry Ice Cream
Makes about 1 1/2 Quarts

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup candied cherries, coarsely chopped   


To toast almonds:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the nuts in an even layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the nuts in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring them once or twice while baking so they toast evenly. To see if they're done, snap one in half: it should be lightly golden brown throughout. Let the nuts cool completely before using unless the recipe indicates otherwise.

To make candied cherries:
1 pound cherries, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 drop almond extract

Remove the stems and pit the cherries. Heat the cherries, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a large, nonreactive saucepan or skillet until the liquid starts to boil. Turn down the heat to a low boil and cook the cherries for 25 minutes, stirring frequently during the last 10 minutes of cooking to make sure they are cooking evenly and not sticking. Once the syrup is reduced to the consistency of maple syrup, remove the pan from the heat, add the almond extract, and let the cherries cool in their syrup. Drain the cherries in a strainer for about 1 hour (reserve the syrup for another use). Coarsely chop the drained cherries and fold them into 1 quart of ice cream as you remove it from the machine.

To make the ice cream:
Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Finely chop 1 cup of the almonds and add them to the warm milk. Cover, remove the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Strain the almond-infused milk into a separate medium saucepan. Press with a spatula or squeeze with your hands to extract as much flavor from the almonds as possible. Discard the almonds.

Rewarm the almond-infused milk. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir in the almond extract and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. After churning (or during the last few minutes), add the remaining 1 cup chopped almonds. When you remove the ice cream from the machine, fold in the chopped cherries.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Makes about 1 Quart

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.) Once churned, add mix-ins if desired.

Savory Deviled Eggs

Sorry I don't have a great picture of my deviled eggs. I made them quickly (or as quickly as I could) and then we scooted out the door to take them to our picnic at the park. You see, I actually made these deviled eggs back in May for a Mother's Day picnic that we did for my mom down by the lake. Yes, I'm just getting around to posting about them. It's not that I've had so many more things to post about since then, it's just that I kind of saved it in my "if I ever need something to post about" file and that's about where I'm at right now since we spent the whole month of June and some of July out of town. It was more the look than the taste that relegated them to that particular file. I just can't seem to get a great picture of some types of foods so when they look less than appealing I hesitate to put them out there for everyone to see. I guess that's perfectionism in it's worst form, but as I've said before, who cares what it looks like if it tastes good.

I actually had never made deviled eggs before this experience. I always left that task to someone else when we attended picnics and potlucks because I get easily frustrated with shells on hard-boiled eggs that tear off half the egg white along with the shell and I figured if I had to do this for at least a dozen eggs I was sure to go crazy. I managed to stay sane though and most of the shells came off pretty easily. Instead of making the traditional deviled egg recipe, I made one that I saw in a Southern Living magazine that used slightly different ingredients. I had a good experience overall so I think I'll be making more deviled eggs in my future. Enjoy!

Savory Deviled Eggs
Makes 2 dozen

1 dozen large Hard-Cooked Eggs, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chopped black olives
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

**If you don't have a foolproof method to hard-boil eggs, skip to the * at the bottom of this post.*

Slice eggs in half lengthwise; carefully remove yolks, keeping egg white halves intact. Process yolks, garlic, olives, and lemon zest in a food processor until combined, stopping to scrape down sides. (You can see I just used my pastry blender since I don't have a food processor. It worked just fine for me.)

With food processor running, gradually pour olive oil through food chute in a slow, steady stream, processing until mixture thickens. (Again, you don't need a food processor. Just stir it in until completely combined.) Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon yolk mixture into egg white halves.

*Hard-Cooked Eggs
Place eggs in a single layer in a stainless steel saucepan (do not use non-stick). Add water to a depth of 3 inches, and bring to a rolling boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let eggs stand 12 minutes. Drain immediately, and return eggs to pan. Fill pan with cold water and ice. Tap each egg firmly on the countertop until cracks form all over the shell. Peel under cold running water.