Daring Bakers June challenge: Battenberg cakes

The June Daring Bakers challenge was so yummy, and was one of the challenges that showcased individual bakers' kitchen personalities to the hilt.  Choose a flavor, choose a color, choose a shape...

Blog-checking lines:
Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Battenberg cakes are essentially a charming combination of two or more types of cake, presented in a neat little checkerboard pattern, with a choice of filling and a firm covering wrapped around. For my first attempt, I made a pink and yellow Battenberg, covered with my first attempt ever at making a fondant.  The cake was so pretty, and the apricot glaze between the layers was super tasty in combination with the almond and vanilla cakes.

My second attempt was a chocolate and coconut rendition of an Almond Joy candy bar.  I simply altered the original recipe by adding some unsweetened toasted coconut to the cake batter, and then adding some unsweetened cocoa powder to one half of the batter.
Yum.

This post has taken just short of three hours to put up. It was due a month ago, but I had do many problems I gave up.  Since I'm hosting Daring Bakers in August, I decided I'd better get caught up. This has been just short of hell.

I'm not in love with Blogger. 

I am in love with Daring Bakers and Battenberg Cakes!

November Daring Bakers: Sans Rival

Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

Hello, my name is Kat, and I'm a prodigal blogger.

Actually, I heard on the radio today, but haven't otherwise verified it yet, that prodigal means to be welcomed back. If they don't take you back with a feast of fatted pig or lamb or whatever, you're not prodigal, you're just back.

Anywho...

We moved.

The internets came on just last night.

My job, after the move was complete, was decreased by 75%.

Things are, shall we say, up in the air?

Oh, and we got a dog.

So tonight, I thought I could just eke out the November challenge. I did the October challenge, and I'll post about that later. I couldn't at the time because all my internet accounts were hacked. That was fun. Don't use one password, no matter how strong, for multiple (or all) your accounts. One site gets hacked, evil people get your password, and they have fun playing with all your other accounts.

Anywho...

I thought I could just eke out the November challenge tonight after a full day's worth of moving. And an oven that doesn't work. I had my ten eggs, I had my almonds, I had a couple of hours before I could justify crashing into bed...

I whipped up my meringue to perfection. Then I added the nuts. Instead of folding the nuts into my beautiful bowl of my last ten eggwhites, I spaced out and turned the mixer back on. Faster than you can say "oh heck," or something similar, the entire bowl deflated into a puddle of liquid.

Did I mention our new house is out in the country? Yeah. No way to convince my little hens to squeeze out another ten eggs, and no way to get back into town to buy any to repeat the challenge.

I poured the slop into a greased cake pan, instead of spreading fluffy layers of meringue onto my carefully drawn circles on parchment paper. I threw it in the oven and walked away. About an hour and a half later, Mr. Boom appeared and asked about the cake.

The cake?

Oh heck! The cake!

(again, the word heck may have been replaced by another, stronger, and perhaps whole string of other words)

I took it out of the oven, tipped it over a cooling rack, and out thumped something that looked surprisingly tasty, if not that pretty.

I added some leftover cranberry sauce (homemade, of course) and called it a dessert.

People, it may be a wreck, but it's tasty.

Hopefully, this wreck of a house and my wrecked job will be at least as tasty. Or whatever.

Oh. To see what a Sans Rival is supposed to look like, and to get the wonderful recipe for yourself, go here.

August Daring Bakers: Candylicious!

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

While I know my entry isn't nearly awesome enough to go for the prize, I had soooo much fun with this project! 

My first candy was a sweet coconut-stuffed candy.  Inspired by recipes from around the web (Joy the Baker and Have Fork Will Eat) I ended up with this combination for the moist, chewy interior:

1 cup sweetened condensed milk (about 7 or 8 oz)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 good dash of salt
2 1/12 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes (I always get this from the bulk section at our market, it's fresher and less plastic-tasting)

Stir the first four ingredients together, then add the coconut.  Cover tightly and throw into the refrigerator for several hours before using.  With your sticky little fingers, form into your desired shapes.  If your kitchen is warm, you'll want to re-chill the shapes before dipping into the chocolate. Also, the harder you pack the mixture into your mold ( I used an oblong Tablespoon measure-er thing), the easier it will be to to dip.  My looser-ly packed shapes tended to fall apart in the bowl of chocolate.  The only way to save the situation was to dig it out with a spoon and eat it.  Chirp-chirp was of great help here!

My second combination was peanut butter and chocolate.  This one was the request (maybe a little more like a demand? How about insistent request? ) from Mr. Boom.  For peanut butter and chocolate, one need look no further than the Brown Eyed Baker for inspiration.  I tweaked her peanut butter cup recipe until we all agreed we'd gone to heaven. 

1 cup cheap creamy peanut butter (the good stuff will separate)

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all the ingredients and chill, just like the coconut recipe above.



Confession here on the marshmallow.  I used store-bought marshmallows. It's just too dang hot to play with melted sugar.  I'm so sorrrrrrrry.  What I should have done was this, from a previous Daring Baker challenge.

This may or may not have been by second breakfast, elevensies, and perhaps first and second lunch today...

You could have it too, just follow this link to the printable directions on tempering chocolate and making all kinds of delicious candies in your OWN (and hopefully cooler) kitchen.



May Daring Bakers Challenge: Chocolate Marquise on Meringue

Required blog-checking lines: The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Oh my goodness.  This challenge was a doozy to create and a doozy to eat.  Emma and Jenny, both accomplished pastry chefs with training and professional time served, challenged us to make one of their favorite confections, chocolate marquise on meringue.  The challenge consisted of four parts--the fourth part that you're not seeing here is a spicy nut topping.  Oh, and I didn't have cocoa nibs available anywhere in my little town, either, so those are missing as well.

But let my tell you what IS here, and you tell me if you think it needed the rest.

First is the meringue, and one the most sensory rich recipes outside of bread dough that you might ever encounter in the kitchen (at least while cooking, ahem!). In a new-to-me-twist on meringue making, the egg whites, a splash of vinegar, and a heaping love of sugar are put into a mixing bowl over a hot water bath.  Then, you use your hands to stir the warming mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost hot.  Go on, I dare you!

Next up is the marquise itself.  Somewhere between mousse and ice cream, this frozen-but-thawing hunk of creamy chocolate is rolled in cocoa prior to plunking down on top of the meringue.  Sweet, but not terribly so.  Smooth, but not without some body.  Oh, and did I mention the little bit of Kahlua flavoring in there?  The recipe called for Tequila.  I demurred.  Worms are for the garden, not for the kitchen, I always say.

Alrighty, see that caramel sauce?  Yum.  Again, the recipe called for Tequila.  Again, I demurred.  Whiskey!  Whisky is good, right?  You betcha! Interestingly, the whisky gave the caramel a fruity flavor--something akin to pineapple.  Not sure what happened there, but it really goes well with the chocolate and meringue.

Are you drooling yet?  I would be, but I'm full.  How much of this were the teenager formerly known as Chirp Chirp and I able to eat between the two of us?

Clearly, we need practice! 

Recipe here (I made a quarter batch)

Many, many thanks to Emma and Jenny for this great dessert.  I see this as a showstopper for a crowd, maybe around the holidays? 

March Daring Bakers: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

Mandatory blog checking lines:  The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.


There's never been a bad Daring Bakers challenge--NEVER--but I'm afraid you guys might get bored if I start off yet another challenge with "this was phenomenal," or "this challenge was so awesome," but the fact is, this challenge was awesome and phenomenal!

And now you're bored, right?

Wake up and smell the coffee caked people!  You're smelling warm, moist, fluffy yeast bread; you're smelling cinnamon  and sugar; you're smelling Sunday morning and flannel sheets, and you're smelling comfort right out of the oven.  Really, it's quite worthwhile to stay awake for.

You're wondering about the meringue, aren't you?  I was, too, when I first read the challenge and began studying the recipe.  Essentially, this is a giant uncut cinnamon roll that uses meringue instead of butter to hold the yummy goodness of cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate into the spiral instead of the more commonly used melted butter. 

How can anything with less butter be better?  Because the meringue all but melts into the bread dough, leaving the goodies suspended in steam, unadulterated and much less heavy than what you're used to in a cinnamon roll.  

Yer just gonna have to trust me on this.

No, wait, yer not gonna have to trust me.  Yer gonna make it yerself and see. 

Right?

Here's the link for the recipe.  The only changes I made were doubling the amount of sugar in the dough (oops!) forgetting the egg wash (oops!) and adding glaze (yummy!).

Other DB'ers made savoury versions, too.  Ham and cheese, pepperoni, and I can't remember what all else.  I drooled a lot this month, watching other creations come to life on the DB forums!  Have fun with this, and let me know how yours turns out!

February Daring Bakers Challenge: Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

First off, thanks for the kind e~mails and support you've shown regarding this.  Things are progressing okay, although we found out on Saturday evening that the sister apparently died from cancer about five months ago.  Her husband didn't seem to think that was news worth sharing.  Like I said--a tight knit family...

 
Moving on!

The February Daring Bakers challenge was a canvas calling for all sorts of self-expression.  I thought that after last month's challenge, no challenge to come could ever come close to calling for the creativity inspired by the joconde imprime.  I. Was. Wrong.  Furthermore, I'm really happy to wrong!  How often is that the case?  Not very, even though I'm wrong a good deal of the time. 

Blog-checking lines: The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

The first part of the challenge, the panna cotta, is a gelatin dessert made with dairy instead of fruit juice.  Think jello, but creamy.  The flavor can be sweet, savory, or anywhere in between.  Like I said before, a blank canvas begging the cook to be creative.  I went with the original version as provided by our hostess with the mostest, and intended to make several more varieties.  I'm not sure what happened, though, but February has ended without me playing with this recipe any further. 

Don't walk away from the stove when heating the cream, or you'll get to do some really fun scrubbing afterward!

The second part of the challenge, the Florentine cookies, was a tasty revelation.  Fast, easy, eminently edible either as dough or as a baked good....mmmmmm!  Seriously, I've thought on more than one occasion over the past month how easy it would be to just make a little pot of the cookie batter and squirrel it away all for myself. 

Butter, oats, sugar, and flour.  What could be better?

Warning, they spread quite a bit when baking!

Chocolate drizzle, baby....

Florentines on panna cotta. Delicious, comforting, and not too difficult!

The recipes are here, so you can see for yourself what a satisfying project this is.

I want to do another with butterscotch schnapps, and another with Kahlua.

Maybe you can test is out and let me know how it goes?

PS Happy 16th elope-a-versary, Mr. Boom.  Go take a look in the shop...there's a brand new little something for you out there on your workbench.  I hope you like it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mr. Boom outdid himself this year.

Theoretically, I don't believe in Valentine's Day.  It's a real trap of a day, which can so easily turn into a crap of a day.  Expectations are raised, attempts are made, hopes and dreams are dashed.  I was once married to a guy who pulled out all the stops on the big days of the year.  Our (three short) anniversaries were epic and public demonstrations of his fiery love for me.  The other days of the year were pretty much hell.  I would have traded the restaurant-full of patrons and staff toasting our love for a couple of turns vacuuming or doing dishes, or at least a little nod of appreciation for me engaging in those activities.

Oh wait, where was I?  Mr. Boom!!!! There for every single little day of the year and pulling out the stops on the big days of the year, too.

Last night, he ran to the grocery store, ostensibly to buy milk.  When he returned, I found he also had brought home flowers and espresso beans.  This morning, he woke me up with a handmade card that he started LAST SPRING!!!!  The piece de resistance?  Four little miniature spring form pans.  How freaking cute!

Obviously, I had to make his favorite dessert, french silk pie.  Miniaturized!  Chirp chirp cut out the little hearts to decorate the tops with.  We forgot to put them on the three we ate, but she remembered in time for the hearts to go on the fourth.

With or without hearts, this dessert is just as sweet.  Which is just nowhere near as sweet as Mr. Boom himself.  I love that man!

FFwD: Michel Rostang's double chocolate mousse

This week's French Friday's with Dorie challenge was a perfect treat for a post-holiday family get-together.  Everyone wants something yummy for dessert, but we're all a bit sick of the heavy December desserts.

The dessert isn't really a cake, and it isn't really a torte.  It's mousse that's baked, and in this case, baked twice.  I've heard of baked potatoes and twice baked potatoes.  But I'd never heard of baked mousse, and certainly not twice baked mousse!

On the day the dessert is made, the taste is something like a brownie that you spent WAY too much time making.  But on the second day? 

Oh. My.

As you're probably sick of hearing me say, we're requested not to share the recipes for these challenges on our websites, but from the photo you can see that this is one treat you won't have to run to the store to find your ingredients. 

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler...

Add the sugar, half the salt (I accidentally added it all),

the butter, and the egg yolks.

I was tempted to stop at this point and just eat the bowlful of warm chocolate goodness.

Fold in the whipped-up egg whites very carefully. 

The mousse needs to remain as thick as possible.

If you don't have an 8" ring, you can use a springform pan without the bottom.  I had a significant gap in places, as my ring (like so much of my world) was warped.  I tied some sturdy string around the pan to hold the ring down tight.  There was still a bit of a gap, so I tightened up the strings by twisting a toothpick round and round until the string was taught.  I poured in 1/3rd of the mousse and put it in the oven to bake.

The contraption still leaked, but this was not a problem.  This was a planned event...so that I'd be able to taste the baked mousse prior to continuing on with the process.

After thoroughly chilling the base, I scooped the remaining mousse onto the top, and then re-baked.

The mousse broke into several pieces during the transition from pan to plate, but the cocoa powder helped hide some of the more minor cracks.

I served this for dessert, and everyone really liked it.  But the next evening, after the baked mousse had chilled for 24 hours (instead of the 4 called for in the recipe), the dessert took on a whole 'nother personality.  It tasted somehow lighter, and fluffier, and silkier...

It went from a brownie to a gift from the gods...or at least from Dorie Greenspan and Michel Rostang!

To see how other bakers' double chocolate mousse (or mousses?) turned out, look here!

Good Enough!

Not the prettiest...

 Not the tastiest...

 Not the most creative use of chocolate...

 

But, you lucky girl...

Wow...

I hesitsated to enter this contest.

I'm so glad I just jumped in and tried!

79 out of 80 miniature sourcream chocolate cakes with

cream cheese peanut butter frosting

and peanut butter ganache were devoured.

And after this shot was taken...

none remained.

July Daring Bakers Challenge: Swiss swirl ice cream cake (by Kat)

Blog checking lines: 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.

As you know by now, each month a different Daring Baker poses a challenge to the rest of us. It's our mission--and we dare not choose to accept it--to complete whatever challenge is thrown our way. This month, Sunita threw a really fun challenge our way. Each of us Daring Bakers made our own flavor of swiss swirl ice cream cake. While many components are required for the assembly, each piece was relatively simple to do and could be modified to suit any taste. Also, it's a frozen dessert, so how perfect is that for summer?

Actually, many DB'ers live in the southern hemisphere, especially Australia, and even though summer is gone for them, some of their creations were the most astounding.

The dessert is comprised of a jelly roll cake (any flavor cake, any flavor filling), two flavors of ice cream (or sherbet, or gelato, or ...), and a fudge sauce (or vanilla, or caramel, or mango, or...).

See? Free reign to grab the bombe by the horns and flavor it as you see fit. The most challenging part of this confection is deciding what flavors to use. The second most challenging is the waiting for the various parts to either cool off or warm up, depending on which part it is.

The cake must cool off before the creamy filling is applied, then the cake should be frozen before continuing. Except that I didn't, and it came out okay, so there's obviously room for error (thank goodness!).

In my case, the ice cream bases had to be heated to make the custard, but cooled before going into my ice cream maker. Subsequently, the ice cream had to go into the freezer to harden off, but then left on the counter to warm up slightly before going into the mold. Likewise, the fudge sauce was cooked to create, but cooled before pouring into the mold.

So, yes, a good deal of time is spent waiting, but that waiting was soooooo worthwhile!

My version used the chocolate swiss roll recipe straight from Sunita's challenge, including the vanilla cream. I also used her fudge sauce recipe. I didn't use the chocolate or vanilla ice cream recipes she provided, however. I wanted to make something a little more reminiscent of a Mounds candy bar. You know, coconut on the inside, chocolate on the outside, in the prettiest little blue wrapper?

Are you drooling? I am.

Anyway, I turned to the first gentleman of ice cream, David Lebovitz. I used his caramelized white chocolate ice cream for one layer, and his toasted coconut ice cream recipe (via the amazing Tartelette) for the other layer.

Some of you just clicked on those links and I'll never see you again. I just know it. I don't blame you either. Please come back???

The verdict on both those recipes?

YUMMY!!!!!


We had company over celebrating the evening I made this. I hastily snuck out the back door to snap a few quick pics and then the bombe was devoured. I wish now I had a few more to show you...but you can always type the blog chekcing lines way up there at the top of the post into Google, and you'll see hundreds of completed challenges from all over the globe.

Here's the recipe as presented to us. As always, feel free to ask any questions! And, as always, Go Sign Yourself Up!!!


Preparation time-

For the 2 Swiss rolls-

30 mins each + cooling time (at least 30 minutes) before filling and rolling. The filling can be made while the cakes cool.

-For the ice creams- 5+10 minutes + freezing time

For the fudge topping- 5 minutes + cooling time

Assembly- At least an hour of freezing time between each layer (I took much more)

The Swiss rolls-

Preparation time- 10 minutes

Baking time- 10-12 minutes

Rolling and cooling time- at least 30 minutes

Filling-5-8 minutes

Filling and rolling- 5-10 minutes

Ingredients-

6 medium sized eggs

1 C / 225 gms caster sugar /8 oz+ extra for rolling

6 tblsp / 45gms/ a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 tblsp/40gm /a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together

2 tblsp /30ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water

a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling-

2C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream

1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

5 tblsp / 70gms/2.5oz of caster sugar

Method-

1. Pre heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans ( 11 inches by 9 inches ) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.
3. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.
4. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.
   
5. Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.
6. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.
   
7. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.
8. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.
9. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.
   
10. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.
11. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.
    
12. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.
    
13. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).
14. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

The vanilla ice cream

Preparation time 5 minutes+freezing

I have made the ice cream without an ice cream maker.

Ingredients

2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream

1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract

½ C / 115gms/ 4 oz of granulated sugar

Method-

Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.

Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

The Hot fudge sauce- I made this just after adding the layer of vanilla ice cream to the cake.

Preparation time 2 minutes

Cooking time 2 minutes

Ingredients

1 C / 230gms/ 8 oz of caster sugar

3 tblsp / 24gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tblsp /15gms/ 1 oz of cornflour/cornstarch

1 and ½ C /355ml /12 fl oz of water

1 tblsp /14gms/ 1 oz butter

1 tsp/5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract

Method

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and water.
2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).
   
3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool .

The chocolate ice cream

Preparation time 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients

2C/ 500 ml whipping cream

1 C/230gms/8 oz caster sugar

3 tblsp/ 24 gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Method

1. Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor .
   
2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.
   Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.
   
3. Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.
4. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Assembly

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices ( approximately 2 cms each ).
2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.
3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).
4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)
5. Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)
6. Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .
7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.
8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Croissants and des pains au chocolate (by Kat)

Earlier in the month, Julie, over at Willow Bird Baking, challenged her readers to attempt to make croissants and les pains au chocolate.

Okay!

Wait, what? What did I just agree to do?!!

Actually, I made croissants once before, I think when I was about thirteen or fourteen. I began very early in the day, and worked away in the kitchen. There was kneading, there was margarine (no butter in our house!), there were muttered grievances (also, no swearing in our house!). It was just me and my mom's cookbook, out to set the world on fire.

The recipe made exactly twelve croissants. The twelve croissants were perfectly aligned on their baking sheet and baking in the oven when Russ and Evelyn, my grandparents of sorts (my grandfather's cousin and wife, to be exact) stopped in. I was thrilled! I loved Russ and Evelyn.

With my brother and parents, the count was now six. Then my other grandparents, who happened to live next door, came over to see Russ and Evelyn as well. The count was now eight. Then and aunt and uncle were on scene. Ten.

So, my twelve croissants were gone in less than ten minutes from oven removal. I was lucky enough to get one, though! I made sure Russ and Evelyn each got the extra one, and they each split half with me. Two! I had two! Still, it felt like an awful lot of work just for that...

So, fast forward back to present, and my wondering why I was doing this again! Russ and Evelyn are both long gone, and no matter how good these smelled I new it wouldn't bring them back again.

Having made puff pastry a few times now, I've got a much better handle on laminated doughs. The trick is to have the dough and butter at just the right temperature. Too warm=butter squishing out everywhere. Too cool= butter breaking through the dough, which then results in butter squishing out everywhere. The trick is to use the fridge as a lifeboat. Every time something seems to be heading south, throw it all in the fridge. After it's cool, take it out, let it warm just a bit, and then continue.

Julie's challenge was to make the traditional crescent-shaped croissants as well as les pains au chocolate. It's the same dough, but rather than being baked in a crescent shape it's formed into a rectangle with a nice melty piece of bittersweet chocolate baked into the center. C'est bien, bien sur!

Here's the photos from my challenge. Look at Julie's site for the recipe and detailed instructions.

Most importantly, have FUN!

three cubes of butter, cut in half the long way, rolled into a rectangle

dough, after mixing

butter centered on rolled-out dough

dough folded into thirds, surrounding butter

two dents indicated two "turns"


after six turns, the dough is split in two and rolled flat

a pizza cutter gives you sharp edges that raise well

raising in my 1910 home's warm upstairs bedroom
(this heat is good for something, right?)

Une pain au chocolate!

Beaucuop des pains au chocolate!

et les croissants....
bon appetit!