Daring Bakers- Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

Another 7 page recipe from the Daring Bakers!  Like many baking projects no particular part was difficult but you do have to think it through and read and re-read the instructions.  I followed the recipe exactly save making a 7 inch cake instead of the 10 inch.

I loved the tip about using baking soda in the water to coax those skins off the hazelnuts.  I have the Cake Bible but like so many other gems of information it is tucked away waiting for those with keen eyes to notice.  Check out the foam when the nuts got added.

I always thought I didn’t really love hazelnuts.  What I learnt is I don’t like hazelnuts with their bitter skins on.  These in the caramel were delicious and lucky to make it to the praline paste stage.  I did contemplate using Sherry Yards method of making caramel which is no fail for me, but in the spirit of trying new things I followed the instructions.  I still don’t like melting the sugar with no water added in as a technique but it worked fine.  For me un-necessary stress in the kitchen.

The hazelnut cake was easy (I went for the half size version)  and after my rather feeble attempt at torte-ing with the Perfect Party Cake, I invested in the Wilton leveller, best $7 I spent this week.

My father in law was fascinated with this humble gadget.

I used the buttercream recipe from Carol Walter and it worked well.  However, given the year round high temperatures in Darwin RLB moussaline still reigns supreme.  

I also used my new cake setting rings (bought overseas) for even sides.  Let’s just say I have room for improvement….

My cake looked pretty good until I started hacking at the sides to bevel the edge.  I should have left it alone.  It is kind of like cutting your own hair, you take a bit too much and then it just snowballs into something worse and worse, until you have to convince yourself you wanted the Prince Valiant fringe anyway. 

And being a girl who does not like waste, I found a good use for the ganache that dripped down to the waiting baking tray.

 

When it came time to whizz the praline powder into a paste I decided to use the rum as my liquid.  That worked well, but like so many others, I couldn’t get the paste fine enough to allow trouble free piping.  Hence I decided rosettes with caramel covered hazelnuts would be as tricky as I got for this bake.

So, on to what I consider to be the important bit, taste.  This is a nice special occasion cake.   The whipped cream layer didn’t add much and it would be skipped should I make this cake again.  I used Bundaberg Rum in the buttercream and that is probably a bit strong in flavour.  However to a Queenslander (where Bundy Rum is made) friend of mine it was perfection.  Now go check out the Daring Bakers blogroll at all the other cakes out there- heavens knows I will be searching for the secrets of a smooth side of cake! 

TWD- Summer Fruit Galette

 

This week for our Tuesday’s With Dorie Bake- Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs selected …

Summer Fruit Galette on pages 366 – 367.

 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love to bake.  But, oh my goodness!  I have been so busy since returning from holidays.  I made the dough for the crust 3 days ago and have just been trying to get an hour or so to knock the rest off.  And to end the ramble, I am so glad I did.

I got a chance to use my pastry bag.  That gadget has some promise.  I am so glad I made this pastry in Europe and have determined that environment has a lot to do with pastry happiness.  There is no way I am lattice-ing a pie crust here unless I get a super air con.

Now, it is not summer in Darwin.  So I thought using some of the apples that my boys have developed TERRIBLE habits in half eating.  Here is an example of their handy work.

So I cut out the nibbled bits and cooked them up a bit (as per Sherry Yards recipe that was used for the Daring Bakers challenge last month.  Dories recipe was based around stone fruit and I was concerned the apples wouldn’t have a chance to cook up properly, I wanted my apples to be tender but not mush.  Then for a summer touch I added a couple of handfuls of frozen blueberries.

The custard firmed up in the 12 minutes suggested but almost melted into the filling to add a lovely mouth feel and taste. 

I used my fancy Jamie Oliver silicone tart pan but the pastry was so flaky it started cracking and breaking on un molding so I gave up and served from the pan.

This was not my most photogenic Dorie recipe.  But, it was very yummy.  The In-Laws who are visiting also gave it the thumbs up.  My mother in law Wendy who does have a history of pushing the pastry to the side ate every last crumb, and for that matter so did I!

TWD- Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

 

This week for the Tuesday’s with Dorie Bake Amanda from Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake selected ….Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler on page 415 of From Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

 

When I saw this recipe I longed for the cherry tree in my parents yard in the Czech Republic.  I am home in Darwin now and very far from a cherry tree.  Yet in this world of imported food there were cherries from the USA in my supermarket.  Now, they did start to go mouldy in my fridge the day after buying them but I pitted them and found some rhubarb (the freshest and pinkest I had seen in Darwin in some time) to be their partner in cobbler.

My in laws have just arrived (more than 4000 km of driving to get here) so this was a nice desert to share.  

I saw some of the comments from others who had made this earlier and since my cherries were not that sweet I popped in another couple of Tablespoons of sugar with the fruit.  I also sliced the rhubarb stalk in half before I portioned it into 1 inch pieces.  My fruit was not going to fit in my 9 inch pie plate so I put it in a 2.5l dish.  The dough was cold enough after the quick blitz in the processor to quickly portion into about 20 little balls.    

I liked this topping more than the Mixed Berry Cobbler from a couple of weeks ago.  It had more texture and some zing (with the wholemeal flour, brown sugar and ginger).  My rhubarb kept its shape, but was tender to the tooth.   The sugar in the sauce was about right (with a couple of extra lovin spoonfuls).  Matthew thinks the only thing to make it better would be crunchy sugar over the cobbler (but those of you familiar with his stance on food would know he almost always suggests more crunchy sugar as a topping!)  The corn flour only slightly thickened the sauce, but it was lovely and syrupy in a tart way.

All in all, a nice desert to make when you feel like a bit of taste bud brightness.

TWD- Chocolate Pudding

This week for the Tuesdays with Dorie Challenge, Melissa from Its Melissas Kitchen has picked… Chocolate pudding! You can find it on pg. 383 on Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  Dorie was kind enough to post the recipe herself here, This was the perfect recipe to come home to.    Easy, lucious, almost a cure for jet lag.  

Thankfully I have a 12 cup food processor so I didn’t have any chocolate pudding disasters (reading through the comments of other TWD participants concerned me for a moment).

There was serious foam after the milk got added.  I used my favourite sauce making whisk bought at Ikea years ago.  It really helps prevent a scorched base.  I cooked it a really low temp for about 5 minutes until the whisk pattern remained on the top.

The texture of this is stunning.  The combination of melted dark chocolate and good cocoa was lovely.  There was just enough corn flour to stabilise and thicken but none to taste.

All in all a winner.  Now, I really must unpack…

A post script.

This was even better the next day.  The silkiness of the texture became more pronounced.

The boys loved it both days!

TWD- Double Crusted Fruit Pie

This week for the Tuesday’s with Dorie Bake, Amy of South in Your Mouth selected…. Double Crusted Blueberry Pie on pages 361-363 from Dorie Greenspans- Baking From My Home To Yours.

I was surprised when I went to find blueberries, they were 60CZK or $US 4 for 150g and they were shipped in from England. Although mixed berries are in the frozen section blueberries all on their own were not. After my use fresh,local, seasonal reminder from the La Palatte Strawberry Tart, I turned to the cherry tree in full fruit just outside the kitchen window. Here it is a couple of weeks ago before the cherries turned deep red.

Above is a photo of my mother picking the cherries (and my father supervising- pointing out the fruit she missed). The tree hasn’t been pruned in years so was a bit tricky to get fruit from.

The cherries I get in Australia are fairly tart and not super ripe. I was surprised at just how sweet these were. My cherry pie filling was pretty simple. For every one cup of pitted cherries I boiled them in 1/4 cup of water for 10 minutes then I added 3 tsp of cornflour and 1/8 cup of sugar and heated until thickened and glossy. (I made gallons of filling which is now in the freezer in 4 cup lots, just enough to fill a pie).

Dories pie crust is really nice to work with and delivers a really flaky lovely pastry. Like some of the other Dorie bakers I wondered about the proportions. However, 3 cups of flour gives you enough dough to play around with. I found working with pastry here in Europe to be so much easier than at home. Even though it is summer here it was only 24C. Year round we only get that as an overnight temperature. Even though I have air conditioning and granite benches which I pre chill before working with pastry it is so much easier here. I think also that because this crust makes a bit more dough I wasn’t tempted to roll it out too thinly. This was the first time ever I had been able to fold the dough over the rolling pin to put in the pie dish.

Mum doesn’t have food processor so I rubbed the butter and shortening (well I think that was what is was, it was a white solid sold next to the margarine and butter and seemed to do the job) by hand. I froze the bowl with the flour, sugar, salt and fats and worked quickly. When it started to feel a bit sloppy I popped it back in the freezer and let my fingers warm up. I tried the 2 knife thing but it just wasn’t working for me.

I made a couple of pies using this crust and filling. The first had a lattice top as per the Perfect Pie Crust 101 on Zoe Bakes.

It was my first attempt at a lattice top and I wish I could say I cracked it. However, to be honest Matthew my husband, demonstrated it so quickly I was well impressed. Among other talents, the man has spatial intelligence.

My second pie had a full crust with a cut out centre for steam. I was more generous with the sugar sprinkle after the egg wash on the second pie. So good.

I do want to try this with blueberries. There is something about fruit pies which makes you feel they are healthy choices (lets just not think about the 10 oz of better in the crust…). I am also interested in how this crust behaves when I am home

As my trip is winding up, I have been engaging in a bit of reflection. I feel really lucky to have been able to continue with the challenges even though I have been traveling. I learned a lot more about Czech food and culture because I had to interact on a much deeper level than ordering from the English menu in a large city. (Traveling with children also means you end up interacting much more with locals, even if it is just trying to return the toy your little darling snatched on the play ground). I also spent some time thinking about what it is like to not able to read labels or understand spoken word.

I’m not sure I will be able to post on time for next weeks challenge. Perhaps once I get back to Australia next week I will try for a slightly later posting.

TWD- Apple Cheddar Scones

This week for the Tuesday’s With Dorie Bake, Karina of The Floured Apron has chosen… Apple Cheddar Scones from page 32 of Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

This recipe touches on some of the differences in what we call things in Australia vs in the US.  In Australia a biscuit is a scone, a cookie is a biscuit.  I had a playful discussion with my Australian husband about what I should call baked goods in front of our children!  (They are baking bilingual, they know what to ask for depending on the parent in front of the bickie/cookie jar).

Anyway my impression is to an American audience a scone is a biscuit that has stuff added in to it.  Stuff like apple and cheddar.

I am still overseas (without my cookbook) so Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes was kind enough to send me the recipe.  This scone is for her…

I made this for breakfast here.  Strangely good with the local sausage.  I measured everything out and left my dry ingredients in the fridge overnight meaning all I had to do was crack an egg and mix in the wet ingredients.  (I think I have already written to my general aversion to too much activity early in the morning).

I needed to make a couple of substitutions.  I couldn’t find butter milk so I used a couple of tablespoons of yougurt in milk.  Also, although dried pineapple was available in the local shop, dried apple was not.  So I used the technique of making pineapple chips from Dorie Greenspan’s/Pierre Herme, Gormandise to dry some apple here in Holysov.  Essentially you just cut the fruit in rings and bake at a very low temperature for a few hours.

I could find Polish Cheddar Cheese (quite good actually).  Here is a shot of all the ingredients (thank heavens for dictionaries!)

My verdict, well they were nice.  I thought they were a tad dry (the cornmeal contributed to that, I feel).  Everyone enjoyed them and they were all gone by miday.  I couldn’t really taste the cheese.  The bits of apple did bring a certain brightness to the scone.

Still feeling very lucky to participate so far from home!