Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse
The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard
It was one of those challenges where everything went wrong, but still tasted fine in the end. I had dealt much with meringues or mousses much before this challenge so it was a great learning experience.
Here is a link to the PDF of the Daring Baker’s June challenge. I would post it here, but it’s too long this post and I am truly unmotivated to format it to my specifications.
I ended up using Nigella’s recipe for her Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova because I was keen to discover how the balsamic vinegar affected the meringue. (It was amazing - FYI).
Besides spreading out a bit too much whilst pouring onto the baking sheet, I have to say, this meringue made me change my mind about this style of dessert. Double yum. I now know what to do with my whites from making ice cream.
Unfortuantly, I began to run into some when I began making the chocolate mousse. We had invited our friends over to enjoy the dessert with us. It was at this point when I began to feel a bit rush and I don’t think I looked closely enough at the directions. In the ingredients it says to use 1-1/2 cups cream, but it doesn’t specify separated. The first instruction was to heat the cream (but only 1/2 cup). Obviously, after realizing this (but not until I attempted to whip it together) I discovered that it was a lost cause.
Furthermore, I ran into a problem when I realized (1) I didn’t have enough time to make mascarpone from scratch nor (2) could I find it at Woodman’s (a major fail on their part). I sent Robb out in the downpour to find me some mascarpone, but because it cost so much at the Co-op, I only had half the amount the recipe called for. I should have just halved the Mascarpone Cream, but by this point I had already made the full Crème Anglaise.
As you can see, it went from good to bad in a matter of one hour. Thankfully, Eric and Ruthie came over shortly after the catastrophe and soothed my nerves by complementing the finished product. We all agreed that the mousse-turned-ganache would make an excellent ice cream. I think Robb must have secretly planned this because several days prior, he had gifted me a brand new ice cream maker for my birthday. What a guy.
The next day we had plans to play games with some friends so I quickly churned the leftover “mousse” and cream. The leftover meringue was crumbled on top… And once again I received rave reviews from my connoisseurs.
The moral of this story is: when faced with a custard-based disaster … turn it into ice cream.
Starting Something Sour
I fell in love with baking bread my second year at college when my dear friends, Eliz, Megan, Les, Rachael and I formed a little club called the FFA (Food Freaks Anonymous). Living doors down from one another, Eliz and I would often sneak over to the library basement where we would procure Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain from the small rack of our library’s DVD’s and take it back to our suite to accompany us while we made some of our favourite “No Fail Wheat Bread.” There was nothing quite like a hunk of hot bread straight from the oven (although, you’re technically supposed to wait until it’s completely cooled) drizzled with a touch of honey while watching Amélie Poulain and Nino Quincampoix ride off on their moped.
Anyway. It has been several years since my love affair with bread and Amélie began. I am now moving onto trying some new techniques. Well, new for me. Sourdough bread baking (or at least using a natural starter) has been around since the Egyptian times in 1500 BC. Using a starter of naturally occurring bacteria gives breads regional distinction. [Of course we all know about the famous San Francisco sourdough breads (yum!)] After several failed attempts when we first moved to Madison (the bread just never rose) I put the project on hiatus. Thankfully, Clotilde*, of Chocolate and Zucchini, has been writing several posts about sourdough bread products and her little starter named Philémon. Her triumphs in the kitchen inspired me to resume our little fermentation project. Afterall, we should be good at this since Robb has been brewing beer with Eric, of late… and I am getting my Masters in Cheese. One of the easiest and sure-fire ways to have a happy, healthy stater is to procre some from a friend or a bakery. Since the Madison Sourdough Company seems to have their starter on lockdown [aside: they have the most amazing croissants!], I looked elsewhere. After some perusing on the internets, I discovered a nonprofit organization whose entire business is giving away a starter that has a very long history.
For the price of a stamp, Carl Griffith’s Oregon Trail will mail you a 150+-year-old sourdough starter culture that was brought west by a pioneer ancestor:
All I know is that it started west in 1847 from Missouri. I would guess with the family of Dr. John Savage as one of his daughters (my great grandmother) was the cook. It came on west and settled near Salem Or. Doc. Savage’s daughter met and married my great grand father on the trail and they had 10 children. It was passed on to me though my parents when they passed away. I am 76 years old so that was some time ago. I first learned to use the starter in a basque sheep camp when I was 10 years old as we were setting up a homestead on the Steens Mountains in southeastern Oregon. A campfire has no oven, so the bread was baked in a Dutch Oven in a hole in the ground in which we had built a fire, placed the oven, scraped in the coals from around the rim, and covered with dirt for several hours. I used it later making bread in a chuck wagon on several cattle drives - again in southeastern Oregon.
(via BoingBoing)
I sent away for my starter several weeks ago and it arrived just before my birthday (what a great little gift!) Following the set of instructions, I revived my little zombies (see Alton Brown) and now they are happily procreating in my fridge in a little applesauce jar. Here is a photo-log of their revival.
Meet Nino, the starter:
Nino, the starter, in its hibernating (aka-dried) state and its awaiting bowl.
Dissolving Nino, the starter, in 3/4 cup 90ºF water. (This took a bit of time…)
Preparing the ingredients for Nino’s first feeding: 3/4 cup bread flour and 1 tsp. sugar.
Mixing…
Ah, finished mixing. (It’s OK if there are a few lumps.)
An oven with the pilot light on is supposed to be a good incubating space, but my oven doesn’t have that luxury. Instead, our spare room and a desk lamp proved a suitable spot for it. I let Nino ferment for ~48 hours. The room smelled delightful!
Post-fermentation. Look at all that alcohol on the surface. Stir it back in a feed Nino again.
Getting Nino ready for its transition into the fridge.
It now lives in my fridge and I’ve made one loaf using the directions for the Alaskan sourdough bread which can be found here. But, as tasty as it was, it was not sour enough for Robb or myself. This weekend, I am planning to start another batch but this time using the recipe from the King Arthur Flour Blog for Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread. I love that the basis for the lack-of-sourness goes back to simple microbiology:
What makes the sour in sourdough bread? It’s a combination of lactic and acetic acids, created as the dough rises and ferments. Refrigerating the dough encourages the production of more acetic than lactic acid; and acetic acid is much the tangier of the two. Thus, sourdough that’s refrigerated before baking will have a more assertive sour flavor.
(Via King Arthur Flour)
It looks like our dough will be spending more time in the fridge than on the counter. Hopefully this loaf is more to our tasetbuds’ liking. Otherwise, our freezer won’t be able to hold much more bread!! (Or we will be having a French toast party pretty soon…)
Ah, and if you are in the market for your own, already thriving starter… let me know! If you live in the Madison-area I would be more than happy to give you some of Nino’s offspring.
I suppose while the yeast is doing its work, I will go skip stones like Amélie…
* Did I tell you that I once saw her at a book signing in Seattle? That is me in the maroon shirt… har har.
A Sweet Tradition
Nothing is better on a cold Christmas morning. Once a year, we treat ourselves to homemade cinnamon rolls. Well, really it’s twice a year. Since is is just the two of us, I save half of the unbaked rolls in the freezer to have on New Years morning. Maybe that will change once we have a family… or I will just make double the rolls!
I stumbled across Molly Wizenberg’s recipe for her cinnamon rolls while reading her blog in February 2008. I saved the recipe in my little folder anticipating our first Christmas morning last year. (Has it already been two years?!) We made those last year and boy, were they good! I thought I would share with you how we made them this year. Now, I haven’t altered it much, but I figure why keep directing you to other locations when you can just read it here (and now I can just read it off my site next year).
Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze
by Molly Wizenberg
Dough:
Combine 1 cup milk and 3 tablespoons butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed (30 to 45 seconds). Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 large egg, 2 packets of rapid-rise yeast, and 1 tsp salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 2-1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Affix the dough hook to the mixer and let it knead the dough for 8 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky. Form into ball.
Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 (or 3 hours if your house is chilly) hours.
Filling:
Mix 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon in medium bowl.
Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle.
Spread 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room temperature butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter.
Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up.
With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide) OR you can use the method I learned in 4th grade where you use a piece of dental floss (unflavored) to “tie” a loop around the roll and pinch off pieces:
Line two baking dishes with parchment paper (I like to use spring-form pans). Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up. Typically, I store half of the rolls in a zip-lock container which is pop into the fridge and transfer to the fridge in the morning on New Years Eve so that the following day we can have freshly baked cinnamon rolls (yum).
Assuming you are making these the day before you want to cook these suckers, cover with plastic wrap and pop the pan into the fridge. The next morning (typically I wake up a few hours before we want to eat and preheat the oven to 375ºF an set the pan on top of the oven — then I crawl back into bed).
Cover baking dish with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.
Glaze:
While the cinnamon rolls are baking, mix together 4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature), 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature), and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Beat until smooth. Spread onto cinnamon rolls and serve warm (or at room temperature, if you’re into that kind of thing).
I kind of went overboard this year… but they are so yummy.
What are your traditions?
Leftover Pie Dough?
No problem! It’s time for molasses pumpkin pie!
When we had Thanksgiving with Ruthie and Eric, Eric made the most delicious pumpkin pie filling I had ever tasted. The secret? Molasses. Not only did it deepen the rich pumpkin colour, it had an amazingly smooth texture and a richer flavour. Last week, I made enough pie dough for two pies yet only baked one. Last night we decided was the prime time to do something with the leftover dough.
Using the recipe from the Pro Bono Baker for her Molasses Pumpkin Pie I got to work on rolling out my no fail pie crust from the Rose Bakery. The only change I made to the recipe was using evaporated milk (5oz) and skim milk (3oz) to replace the 8oz of heavy cream which we were out of. I don’t think the change in milk products made too much of a difference in the overall product. If anything it was better.
I know the recipes always tell you to wait to slice your pie until it is completely cool, but we couldn’t wait. The smell was intoxicating. We waited to slice only enough time to snap a few photos of the finished product… I actually think it was even more delicious hot from the oven. The only thing we missed was some freshly made whipped cream.
Cupcake Taste-Off
I was inspired to try out a few chocolate cupcake recipes to help me decide what is a critical component in a cupcake. I selected a recipe from Molly Wizenberg’s recent book and a recipe from Nigella Lawson’s earlier book.
The hands down winner was Molly Wizenberg’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet Glaze. Her recipe had an unfair advantage by using yoghurt and coffee to enhance the texture and flavor. Not to mention the bittersweet glaze was nothing less than melted bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate. (Photos of the final product are forth coming). We shared these scrumptious treats with our friends Erin and Tony who agreed, these were the best cupcakes, ever. Who needs piles and piles of too-sweet buttercream frosting? Not I.
Unfortunately it was a one sided battle. Nigella’s cupcakes didn’t even resemble cakes. I must point out that I followed her recipe exactly so that it would be a fair competition. (Usually I tweak recipes as I bake). The poor cupcakes (or fairy cakes) were either over beaten or did not contain enough flour. I am not sure what to do with them now. Perhaps load them up with frosting? Or a scoop of ice cream? But don’t blame Nigella… she taught me to make brilliant cupcakes.
In conclusion, my results do not help me decide what the “critical component” actually is. I suppose one could speculate that having a good recipe is the critical component, but that is just silly. Further research is necessary to better understand this question. (I can’t say no to that and neither can Robb.)