Daring Bakers Challenge- Danish Braid

This months Daring Bakers Challenge is Danish Pastry.  I have tried my hand at laminated dough before.  I remember making Danish pastry years ago.  What I remember of the recipe was it was most definetly not  laminated (I seem to recall it was a Nigella Lawson recipe involving a food processor…).  I had also tried my hand at laminated dough like croissants (worked fairly well) and puff pastry (why, oh why, did I try that when it was 95 F all day every day, getting down to a ‘chilly’ 85 F at night?)

Thankfully, this challenge was announced over our dry season when the temperature is a bit more forgiving for people trying to make thin layers of butter in their pastry.

This dough is a pleasure to work with.  I used the grating the butter technique (using the food processor for speed) and that was a wonderful revelation.  I wasn’t sure if I was then supposed to process the flour through so i just tossed the butter in the flour and patted it on the rolled out dough (so much like mozzarella, it is not funny).

This bread needs 4 turns (roll it out and then fold it like a business letter) with a chill 30 minutes in between each turn.  Easy enough to do during a morning with the boys.  I used my trusty pastry mat so I didn’t have to clean the bench between turns. 

Please take a moment to admire the lamination…

I struggled a little bit with the instructions for the shaping of the braid (I do wish Sherry Yard had included a simple diagram).  So I turned to the Pastry Bible and Rose Levy Beranbaums (RLB) chapter on Danish.  Her books are my go to guides when I need simple clear instructions and I want to know why…

I used a ruler to mark everything out and then I used my bencher to give me even cuts 

My braid came out pretty well although I didn’t keep perfect even tension.  

I made the apple filling from the Sherry Yard recipe and it was good.  However, being a girl who likes to experiment a little I also made RLB’s Apricot Levkar and her Remonce (almond filling).  One would think I would take it easy on myself given I was about to go on holidays and I still don’t have a functioning oven at home but that’s not very Daring Baker is it…

So I messed around with fillings and shapes.  My stunt kitchen oven was running a bit hot so they got a touch more malliard than I was aiming for.  

My hands down favourite was the bear claws filled with the Remonce.  The almond filling really brought out the cardamon and orange flavours in the pastry.  I have some work to do with shaping and not letting the filling leak out so much, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

TWD- Mixed Berry Cobbler

Bless the fact this weeks Tuesdays with Dories recipe chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life  was Mixed Berry Cobbler on pages 416-417 from Baking from my Home to Yours was posted on the internet and was fairly simple.  

I am on holidays in Europe in the moment.  We are basing ourselves at my parents in the Czech Republic.  Mum has some cooking things but has fairly basic kitchen set up during the renovation of their building.  

Anyway, there is a Tesco (English chain of supermarket) nearby so we could find most of what we needed (without needing a Czech translator in tow).  There was a fair amount of looking at packages for helpful pictures.

Most of the Czech flour is quite a course grind (semolina flour for dumplings).  At the Makro market (catering supply store that you have to show company ID and membership of the store just to get into) we found some Italian 00 flour which was much better suited to the cobbler topping. Mum had been given a box of Gustin which is similar to corn flour by a Czech friend who is a Home Ec teacher.  Baking powder is not always available so you hoard it when you can find it.  The local cream is 12% fat but I could find some German UHT cream which was 30% fat.

The frozen berries were pretty easy to find although One batch had strawberries which when paired with the unfamiliar Gustin lead to quite a wet berry filling.

I was lucky enough to have a little helper in the kitchen.  Patrick will be 2 in July.  He already takes his cooking seriously.  He could say cookie and cake before he said his brothers name!

 

So what was the verdict?  The cobbler topping was a bit thick in places so stayed a bit undercooked.  5 more minutes would have been benificial.  I already mentioned I was unfamilair with the thickening agent and the amount of juice in the berries is difficult to guess at the best of times.  If I was making this again here, I would add another Tablespoon of Gustin and Sugar.  

This dessert needed ice cream.  With just cream there was nothing to temper the rather tart nature of our red current intensive berry mix.

The nicest compliment was it reminded my mother of things her mother and grandmother used to bake years ago.  This recipe with a few tweaks is a keeper.

One thing that was challenging was getting a photo.  My good husband now knows I take photos of my food.  My parents did the sensible thing and dug in!  My mother just smiled at me as I was trying to get a photo of the plated dish.

Holiday Snaps

We had a lovely time in Paris.  The boys loved Disney.  

I spent 33 Euros on a box (20) of Pierre Hermes macaroons, much to the bemusement of my family.  His macaroons were amazing.  The texture and flavours were a revelation.  His store was laid out like a jewellery store.  I will probably write more about my visit to his store later.

 

 

This is not what you want to see while on holiday.

That is my family’s car.  The fact I speak ‘cookbook German’ came in handy when I gathered listening to the mechanic we had cooked our head gasket.  We had to amuse the children for a few hours until my father drove the 4 hours to come and get us.   

We were fine but the car is nict so gut!

No Cream Puffs in Holysov

I did try and do this challenge.  While I was packing for our overseas trip I tried to infuse the cream with the mint.  I got distracted and reduced it by more than half.  I was then out of cream and leaving the country and my husband was saying “Andrea, it is ok, you are allowed to miss challenges for good reasons.”

So after 3 days of traveling with a 23 month old and and 4 year old I am in the village of Holysov, here is the google maps link if you are keen to know where in the world that is.  My Australian parents are living here doing up a pension (bed and breakfast hotel) and opening an Australian art gallery.

We arrived Sunday afternoon and I have already made the no knead cinnamon buns (my dad wants a lesson before I leave), no knead master recipe (my mum now knows how to shape a boule and a batard), a lovely chicken fricasse and an apple crumble.

I went shopping but was too jet lagged to take photos.  To my great joy I found the French butter with flakes of sel de mer, so very good.  I have already been to the catering supply store in Pilzn (the home of Pilner beer) and are planning my purchases.

We go to Paris and Euro Disney today.  (Is it shameful to admit I will be looking for the special rolling pins for adding butter into laminated doughs while in France?)  I have printed out Dories recent post of suggestions for things to eat in Paris for reference.  I want to take tea at Laudree orPierre Herme’s with mum (while Matt takes the boys to a park, I think).

I am keen to try to complete the challenges while here, but in the interest of packing light I have not brought my copy of Baking From My Home to Yours.  And since the TWD members have shared quite a few of the recipes as teasers and encouragement to go and buy the book we aren’t posting the recipes anymore I can’t use that as a reference.

So TWD posts might be on hold for a month, unless any kind soul wants to send me the recipes.

Once organised I will take some photos of local markets and such like to post.

Happy baking!

TWD- La Palette’s Strawberry Tart

After last weeks Paris Brownies the TWD group are all staying near the Seine making La Palette’s Strawberry Tart.

This recipe is simplicity itself. You make a tart shell from pate sucre. (A big sandy textures sugar cookie that you don’t even have to roll out just smoosh into the tin). I love the technique of using a food processor to make pastry. It is so hot here that the speed is brilliant, the butter barely has time to realise it is out of the fridge.

You bake the pastry from frozen so you can get all your prep work done in advance. This time I used my recently aquired 4 inch spring form tins as they were easy to transport.

Then you chop up some strawberries (here comes my grumble) $5.98 for 250g of not completely fabulous berries (the downside of living in the tropics). I fed mine a little sloe berry vodka and sugar to oomph them up. Alternate fruit was suggested but I really wanted to try it with strawberries.

When you come to serving you just cut the slices of tart pastry you need, slather on some good jam and then tumble on the berries.

If you need more going on the plate Dorie suggests creme fraiche, whipped cream- or my own take, some Greek Yogurt.

I like the simplicity of this recipe but it is not my absolute favourite pastry base. However, this is a lovely way of thinking about putting ingredients together. My steadfast yearning for strawberries was not the best idea.  Fresh, local and seasonal would have done more justice to the dish, but I am glad  tried it.

Now, for those who have been looking at my blog for a while you will probably remember I am currently the owner of a slightly fire damaged oven. I have been using a stunt kitchen. What is a stunt kitchen you may ask…

Well a stunt kitchen is the kitchen you use when your own realises it is too dangerous to participate in high risk cooking activities (like baking in my house obviously). My stunt kitchen is in the display house I work in. Hence, it is very neat. I do all my prep at home and then do the final bake off there.

TWD- Paris Chocolate Brownies

Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook has chosen…French Chocolate Brownies on pages 92-93 of Baking from My Home to Yours.  Thanks so much for this treat.

I like the story of how these brownies got their name but, I told my husband these were rum and raisin brownies and- By Golly! That worked for him.

These little treasures of richness really are closer to the fondant cake end of the spectrum, but luckily when baked in individual size molds you really play up the crispy edge thing that brings it closer to its spiritual home of brownie-ness.

I shared these with a dear friend who just doesn’t get my love of dried fruit. I managed to get the sultanas drunk enough that they couldn’t remember they were sultanas, and Mel didn’t pick them until I asked what she thought of them.

Yes, I am the kind of friend that will serve you things you may have said you don’t like, if I think I can sucker you into going “Gee,that’s pretty good”.

 

 

So, one of the things Matt brought back from the States for me were the pyramid shaped moulds. Now, I have a kitch streak a mile wide. I made my Paris Brownies in a pyramid shape to echo the Louvre pyramids. (this links to where I found my lovely picture) That is pretty daggy now I come to think of it.

These came together very very simply. The chocolate melting method is almost exactly the reverse of what I have been doing (generally I melt the butter first and then add the chocolate to that- same result different order).

I think the reason Dorie told us to heat the rum for 30 sec was so we could get our cameras ready for blogging purposes. Trying to capture the excitement of flambe on camera while making sure the rum doesn’t get carried away with itself really should be a 2 person job. But, I like to live on the edge.

One small grumble is the sultanas sink straight to the bottom of the mix. Something that causes presentation problems when using silicone molds like me.

These will absolutely, positively get made again (working oven be willing).  An obvious substitution is dried cherries flambed in brandy. 

It is just mean to tease myself like that with an oven on the blink.

Here is the recipe with metric conversion.

French Chocolate Brownies

- makes 16 brownies -
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 (50g) cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces (175g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces 170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you’re using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It’s important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you’ve got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it’s better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you’ll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated and that’s fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they’re even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.