TWD- Perfect Party Cake

June 30- Carol of mix, mix… stir, stir settled on Perfect Party Cake on page 250-252 from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

I am a big fan of this cake.  I have made the original lemon, took it down an orange path for Patricks Humpty Dumpty Birthday Cake last year. Thanks again, Wendy for making Humpty!

This time  I made it with vanilla bean with white chocolate butter cream (7 oz of melted white chocolate whipped through the buttercream).   I am making a wedding cake in a couple of weeks and the bride and groom had he good taste to choose this cake.  Too busy messing about with cream puff towers to get many pictures.  But here is one next to the white chocolate mud cake that came second in the wedding cake race.

Even our winter the ganache becomes runny so quickly.  The buttercream actually copes with the heat much better.

I will have lots of pictures of this cake in about 3 weeks. Until then go and check out the TWD blogroll.

TWD-Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise

Dacquoise sweetie, dacquoise!

This week I got to make the TWD pick.  I decided on Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise on pages 293-295 of Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  I have been baking with the TWD crew for the last year and have had a great time.  Thanks for letting me be part of such a fun group.

This recipe seemed a good fit as a tropical baker from Australia.  Matthew (my good husband) wasn’t terribly excited but all that changed as spoon hit mouth.  I had to ask him to repeat him saying this was his favorite Dorie thing yet (joining the French Pear Tart and Lemon Tart on his personal winners podium).

This is 3 meringue layers (with almonds and coconut ground finely folded through) filled with white chocolate ganache (or for those who know the limits of their families sweet tooth whipped cream with about 5 oz of firm ganache whipped in).  And to bring balance to this creation pineapple that has been placed under the grill until it just begins to caramalise.  I did try to mess around with my blow torch but it was taking forever.  Perhaps maybe just use the torch to touch up the top layer for maximum visual impact.

There are a few steps and a bit of waiting around for this recipe.  I would suggest making the components the day before and then a quick assembly line in the morning or after work and you are good to go.

I am having a Slow Food planning meeting at my house on Wednesday so I made 6 x 6 inch squares to let me make a second one up fresh for the meeting.

For the Dacquoise

1 cup (65g)  unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup (60g) slivered almonds

1/2 cup (75g)  plus 1 1/2 cups (175g) confectioners (icing) sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

8 large egg whites (240g) at room temperature

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the pineapple

1 large (4 1/2 pound) ripe pineapple , peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored and each quater cut crosswise into 1/8 inch thick wedges

Confectioner’s sugar

For the ganache

14 oz premium quality white chocolate finely chopped

3 cups heavy cream

For the final garnish

About 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted, for decorating

Getting ready

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.  Using two pieces of parchment paper, draw 3 rectangles (two on one sheet, one of the other) each 12 x 6).  Turn the sheets over (making sure the outlines show) and use them to line the 2 baking sheets.

To make the dacquoise

Put the coconut, almonds, 2/3 cups of the confectioners’ sugar  and the cornstarch in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, then beat until the meringue is thick and glossy and holds firm peaks.  Using a large rubber spatula, very gently fold in the coconut mixture.  Spoon one third of the meringue (about 2 1/2) onto each outlined rectangle.  Using a long metal icing spatula, spread the meringue into the meringue into smooth, even layers.

Bake the meringues for 3 hours, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 1 1/2 hours.  The meringues should be golden and crisp to the touch.  Let cool completely on the baking sheets on racks.  (The meringues can be made 1 day ahead and kept lightly covered with wax paper at room temp- as long as the room is dry).

For the pineapple

Preheat the broiler and place the place the rack about 4 inches beneath the heat.  Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil.  Place the pineapple wedges between a double thickness of paper towels and pat dry.

Arrange the pineapple wedges on the baking sheets in a single layer and sift just enough confectioner’s sugar over to coat them lightly.  Broil the fruit, one sheet at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the pineapple is slightly charred in spots- turn the sheets as needed for even cooking.  Cool the sheets.

For the ganache

Put the white chocolate in a large bowl.  Bring the cream to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate.  Let it rest for 1 minute, then whisk until the ganache is smooth.  Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill, stirring occasionally, until it is very cold, about 3 hours.

When the ganache is throughly chilled and you are ready to assemble the dacquoise, beat the ganache with a mixer (use the whisk attachment or a hand mixer) until it is light and fluffy, but don’t overbeat- it should be just on the verge of mounding.

To assemble the dacquoise

Set out a serving plate or cut a 12 x 6 inch piece of cardboard.  Place 1 meringue rectangle flat side down on the plate or cardboard and, using a long metal icing spatula, spread 3/4 cup of the ganache thinly over it.  Cover the ganache with a single layer of pineapple wedges (about 24 wedges in 3 rows of 8).  Repeat with another meringue, more ganache and more pineapple.  Top with the third meringue, and cover the sides and top the sides of the cake with the remaining ganache.  Press the toasted coconut onto the sides of the cake.  Arrange the remaining pineapple decoratively over the top of the cake.

Refrigerate the dacquoise for at least 4 hours, or up to 6 hours, before serving.

TWD- Honey Peach Ice Cream

For this weeks TWD, Tommi of Brown Interior selected Honey-Peach Ice Cream on page 437 from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Sorry I have been a bit quiet.  After returning from my holiday to Vietnam we promptly moved house- and didn’t have the internet for a couple of weeks.  I still haven’t finished unpacking the boxes.  Anyway, getting into the groove in the new house and thrilled the broadband is back!

This weeks TWD is a custard style ice cream (my fav).  Peaches (fresh) just aren’t around in my part of the world so I used a 860g tin of peached in juice well drained.

Liam just loved the ice cream maker.  He stood above it watching like a hawk sppon in hand to test as the ice cream firmed up.

I saw the message board and the folk who weren’t up for the peach chunks through the ice cream for our tasting panel we thought the peach chunks were in fact the best bits.  This ice cream was almost too sweet for me- perhaps contributed towards by the tinned peaches.  I also served this with some peach schnapps on the side for the grown ups- also a hit.  I did add a couple of tablespoons of the schapps into the custard to keep it easy to spoon.

Now go and check out the TWD blogroll for the other ice creams out there.  I get to host next week so I should probably get busy now!

TWD- Cinnamon Squares

Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures chose Cinnamon Squares on pages 210 and 211 of Dorie Greenspans Baking From My Home To Yours.

This is a simple lightly mixed batter heavily scented with cinnamon filled with in case you needed to turn up the volume on the whole spiced cake thing- cinnamon sugar, espresso powder and shards of dark chocolate (and in my case a bit of leftover white chocolate lurking in the fridge) and the topped with more of the cinnamon batter.  Dorie suggests going all out and topping this with a dark chocolate glaze.

Normally I’d skip the glaze but I just happened to have a couple of cups of ganache sitting there on the bench teasing me (I had just made and filled a wedding cake).

This cake is not for the faint of (spice) heart.  In the same way some gingerbread hits you over the head and drags you back to the cave this cake has all the cinnamon subtlty of a brick!

Thankfully I like cinnamon (a lot) so this will get sliced up and put in work freezer for when I need a treat to go with a cuppa.  My little boys prefer the caramel mudcake floating around as cupcakes (leftover batter from the top tier of the wedding cake- are we noticing a theme here?) and my good husband is off at a conference.

So now go and check out the TWD blogroll and see how the other cinnamon squares turned out.

Daring Bakers- Apple Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Sorry this is a couple of days late.  The 3 hours needed to make this just weren’t happening for me either before my holiday to Vietnam or for the week of my return.  That said I am so glad I made this!

The paper thin pastry was really quite simple to make.  I made the dough and then had to attend a work meeting- after 90 minutes rest this almost stretched itself out.  You do have to be very careful around the edges though.  Just like stockings once you get a run you musn’t touch it all, otherwise you just make it worse and worse!

I flambed the raisins (in the rum called for) and they smelt so good tossed with the granny smiths and cinamon sugar.  The fresh bread crumbs toasted in butter are lovely and absorbed any of the juice from the apples.

The only thing I would change is more of the pastry.  Most of the studels I had when I lived in Austria 10 years ago had many, many crispy layers.

All in all, a winner.

TWD- Chipster-Topped Brownies

For this weeks TWD Beth of Supplicious decided on Chipster-Topped Brownies on pages 94 and 95 of Baking From My Home To Yours By Dorie Greenspan.

After the (culinary) excesses of my recent holiday to Vietnam I though about making a half batch of this but the 1 egg and 1 egg yolk for the chipster component pushed me over the line towards the whole enchilada.

This is a classic brownie with no leavening except for well whipped up sugar and eggs topped with a chocolate chip cookie dough.

I followed the recipe with only one small tweak to method.  I whipped up my eggs and sugar for the brownie in the KitchenAid and then while the bowl was not covered in chocolate I turned that mixture into a mixing bowl and folded in the chocolate and dry ingredients.  Then I just got on with the chipster dough with no washing up in between.

This was very yummy and was the perfect treat for the nice man who came to replace my car battery this evening.  Thanks Troy!

Now go and check out the TWD blogroll for all the double decker goodness.

Please excuse Andrea for this weeks TWD

I am really keen to try the Mango Bread from this weeks TWD but I am in Vietnam.

Sadly, I am not baking here but the pastry shops are good enough to keep me happy for the time being.  The tuiles shown have a peanut brittle baked in.  Oh so good.

Vietnam is a country where they may be even more food (and coffee) obsessed than me!

The internet connection at the hotel is so slow I will have to make due with only one photo for now.  Now go and check out the TWD blogroll and see how everyones mango bread turned out.

Daring Cooks- Ricotta Gnocchi

At about the time the Daring Cooks was announced my good husband had asked me if I could possibly make a few more savoury things, very auspicious.

The first recipe chosen is Ricotta Gnocchi (recipe from the Zuni Cookbook by Judy Rogers).

In the Daring Cooks forum it was mentioned making your own ricotta was a snap- here is the recipe I used.   It was really eay and very tasty.  The dog got all the whey and fully endorsed the homemade cheese endevour.

The Ricotta Gnocci was quick and easy to make. My homemade ricotta was so much less wet than the commercial varieties available here.  I kept the butter sauce simple and clean, so the ricotta flavour showed through.

I served this with a pear, blue cheese and rocket salad.  It needed something to give texture to this otherwise silky smooth dish.

All in all a success and something to keep in mind for vego friends.

TWD- Tartest Lemon Tart

For this weeks TWD Babette of Babette Feasts picked Tartest Lemon Tart on page 336 of Dorie Greenspans, Baking From My Home To Yours.

This is a ‘pucker up and kiss me I’m yours’ lemon tart nestled in an crisp almond crust.

This is a great tart.  Thus far, I think my favourite thing I have baked with the TWD crew in over a year.  Yep, it is that good.   Not too much more to say without making me think I should stop writing and get busy making another one of these tarts!  

Now go and check out the TWD blogroll and see how many other tarts make you want to pucker up!

TWD- Tiramisu Cake

For this weeks TWD Megan of My Baking Adventures chose Tiramisu Cake on pages 266-268.

Dories take on this is a butter cake (rather than sponge finger biscuits) soaked in coffee syrup, filled with marscopone cream and topped with more of that cream spiked with coffee extract.  If you needed anything more to sweeten the deal there are shards of dark chocolate hidden between the layers.

This is a nice cake.  I like the marscopone cream, in most recipes I have tried there is raw egg.  Usually I don’t worry about this too much but it means I feel less comfortable letting it sit and meld for a while.

I have never managed to get a smooth marscopone cream.  The curd shows through. This happens with minimal mixing as well as going hell bent for leather with the kitchen aid.

I like this cake, I am a big coffee fan.  And I think it is an interesting tweak of a modern classic.

I used unbleached cake flour and think that affected the texture of the cake a bit.  The soaking syrup helped quite a lot and I don’t think I would fancy the cake as much without that bit of TLC.

Now go and check out the TWD blogroll for all the other yummy cakes out there.