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.

TWD- Madelaines

Thank you to Tara of Smells like Home for choosing this recipe for this weeks Tuesdays With Dorie Baking Challenge.

On the trip a few weeks ago that Matthew brought back Baking From My Home To Yours, he also brought back a couple of silicone madelaine moulds (the Lueke ones if anyone is brand obsessed).  Now, I believe (this is the kitchen junky speaking) that an item is not extravegant if it is used.  So the very first recipe I made from the cookbook was the traditional madelaines and I christened my new pans.

Matthew really likes madelianes so it is a recipe I have made a few times now.

From this experience I have come to some rather firm conclusions.

Brown the butter, it seems to emulsify better into the batter (when I skipped this step I got rice size chunks of butter in the chilled batter they left little dents in the cake like the butter dots on the polenta and ricotta cake), gives a depth of flavour and I achieved the hump when I browned the butter.  I added 10g more butter to allow for evaporation.  The picture below shows the big bubbles that start just as the solids on the bottom of the pan start to brown.  

This batch went very dark brown but was not burnt (I tasted it to make sure)

 

Microplane the lemon zest.  The first time I made this I used my zester.  It was nice but the mini ribbons of zest were a bit over the top for even me.  (Especially in the mini size).

Whip it good.  The more I bake, the deeper my appriciation has grown of the importance of a decent beating!  It makes such a difference for so many baked goods.  Now that I am lucky enough to have a powerful stand mixer I have no excuse.

Don’t underbake.  My hump started to appear after 12 minutes of baking.  After 16 minutes they were golden and had a polite little bump that survived cooling.

I have a bit of a love affair going with silicone.  There are a few reasons for this (humidity rusts pans over night, good heat conduction, funky shapes but the real reason I love silicone comes down to the fact I stack things very badly.  When you stack metal badly it falls on you and has the potential to hurt.  Silicone can be rolled up and left in a plastic container waiting for you (then you just have to worry about the plastic container attacking you).  

Now back to the advise part of this post always grease your pans.  Spray oil is quick (yes it leaves a residue over time but I prefer that to leaving part of my baked good in the pan).  Even with all the butter in this recipe some of them stuck when I didn’t give it a little bit of prep.

Only bake what you want to eat.  These are so good fresh with crispy edges.  Keeping the batter in the fridge means fresh ones are only a preheat away.  I have stretched batter storage out to 4 days, but after that the egg content may not be safe.

 

Now to be fair my madelaines didn’t have the kind of hump that would get them confused with Quasimodo.  However, they certainly out-bumped the picture in the book!

Traditional Madeleines

From Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

 

2/3 cup (85g) all-purpose flour 
¾ teaspoon baking powder 
Pinch of salt 
½ cup (75g) sugar 
Grated zest of 1 lemon 
2 large eggs, at room temperature 
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) (85g)(95g if you plan on browning the butter) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working in a mixer bowl, or in a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl. Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. (my silicone needed the prep) Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don’t worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven’s heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioners’ sugar.

makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies

serving: Serve the cookies when they are only slightly warm or when they reach room temperature, with tea or espresso.

storing: Although the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they’ll keep for up to 2 months.

 

 

TWD- Florida Pie

Florida Pie mmm….  The love child between key lime pie and coconut cream pie.  

Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes has chosen Florida Pie on pages 340 and 341 from Baking From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan for this weeks TWD challenge.

It was Mother’s Day this Sunday in Australia.  Matthew made dinner (the Pepper Crab mentioned in a previous post) and I made a variation of one of his very favourite desserts (Golden Syrup Dumplings rate highly for the man as well).

I spent a large portion of my childhood in Florida and grew up with the condensed milk style of key lime pie.  Matthew grew up in Sydney and rather firmly believes the lemon or lime filling should be a curd or thickened with corn flour.

I made the coconut cream and lime filling the day before.  I substituted Granita Biscuits (about 220g) for the graham cracker crust.

 I used grated fresh coconut from the palm tree in the backyard, and Tahitian lime for the filling.    

Now to the critique.  

The graham cracker crust went a bit soggy after only a couple of hours.  I think sealing it with an egg wash whilst hot or having a shortcrust style crust may be better.

The coconut cream was subtle but got a bit lost.  I liked it, Matt was ambivalent.

The lime filling could have done with some zest for extra zip.  My limes may not have been as tart as some of the key limes I remember.  Another factor may be have developed a taste for tarter citrus fillings.

I was pleased the heating of the eggs got rid of any graininess from the sugar (I used caster (superfine) just to be safe).  I had Patrick wanting a cuddle and Liam wanting to eat the lime filling so I forgot to add the coconut to the meringue. 

I suggested the leftover pie could go to work with Matthew tomorrow. Despite his critique, he firmly stated the pie was his to finish.  I suppose when you have a variation of a favourite your opinions can be very strong. This is a desert that will be made again in some form.

 

1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups (300ml) heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut (I used fresh unsweetened coconut and found it plenty sweet)
4 large eggs, seperated
1 14-ounce (495g) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes) (I only needed 3) 
1/4 cup (50 g) of sugar

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (180C)  Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly.  Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened.  (This took me about 7 minutes). Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk.  Still on low, add half of the lime juice.  When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended.  Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes.  Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:

Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch.  Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown.  (Or, if you’ve got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.)  Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

TWD- Peanut Butter Torte

I love Reece’s Pieces.  For a couple of years they stopped importing them to Australia.  Then they slowly filtered back in in speciality stores (for $3+ for the 2 cups).  When family have gone overseas I have asked for them to bring back as many in the 1 lb bags as they can.  (Matthew not only brought back cooking things he also brought home 4 lbs of Reece’s Pieces, what a darling!). 

Oreos were also not available  for a long time.  My birthday presents as a teenager were a packet or two of Oreos shipped from the US.  Now they are in the major grocery stores.  However, the ones available in Australia are made in China.

So a Oreo crust with a grown up Reeces Pieces filling was a fufilment of my childhood favourite foods (that became even more favourite because they were not available for a long time). 

The food processor bowl was in the dishwasher so I tried the blender for the Oreo crumbs.  It really didn’t do the job.  I then tried my stick mixer with the ’stabber’ attachment.  Tactical error.  Serious crumb flying issues.  Finally I used my mini processor in a couple of batches.  I am not alone in finding that I needed more cookies to make enough crust. 

I had light Philly cream cheese in the fridge and thought with the ingredient list I could get away with the substitution.  The filling firmed up very nicely (and I didn’t have the Australian Heart Foundation raid my house for flagrant use of butter, fat and cream!)

When making the ganache I forgot I was making a half batch, so it was an extra thick layer.  I had a moment of worry when stirring in the hot cream.  It took a looong time for the cream to be incorporated and it looked very close to splitting.  I took my time and stirred slowly and it came good.  I was too freaked out to take a photo, so you will have to take my word for it.  

The bittersweet chocolate does temper the voluptulus richness of the peanut butter mousse.  I also used crunchy peanut butter in the filling and omitted the peanuts in the filling and topping.  I used some rice bubbles (krispies) on top for crunch.  (Trying to keep it kid friendly).  The boys love peanut butter they just don’t like really chunky bits.

This torte is so rich.  We had it at the end of a family BBQ.  I actually organised the gathering around trying to share this with others!  

The crust is a complete winner and that will be made again.  The peanut butter mousse is lovely but I think it is in fact too much of a good thing.  Perhaps it could have a life as a cake filling.  Like a Boston Cream Pie thing with the mousse inside and the ganache dripping down the sides…

I made half batch and I will have to freeze a large portion to allow for slower consumption.

 

Peanut Butter Torte

1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping) (I subbed in rice bubbles for the topping and omitted the extra peanuts in the filling)

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

½ c. (90g) mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)

24 (to 30+) Oreo cookies, (310g) finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender

½ stick (4 tablespoons) (60g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Small pinch of salt

2 ½ c. (600ml) heavy cream

1 ¼ c (140g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

12 ounces (340g) cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Philadelphia light with success).

1 ½ c (400g) salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy) (I used Kraft chunky)

2 tablespoons (60g) whole milk

4 ounces (115g) bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. (180C) Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Scrape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.

When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around 

TWD Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

I think I was about to be escorted from the shops yesterday. I am sure others had a similar moment, squeezing bags of figs to find the softest juiciest ones.

I had it narrowed down to 2 brands and I realised I had closed my eyes as I was feeling the bag and thought it was time to move on before I heard “security check isle 7″.

Seriously soft figs in hand I moved on to baking.

One of the advantages of weighing ingredients is being able to slowly watch the honey drizzle from a spoon into the creamy depths of the bowl. I had to rush for the camera as the unintended swirl looked nicer than any icing tricks I had ever accomplished.

 

I decided I would try my silicone tart pan.  Brave I know, but given I knew I would chill the tart before I turned it out and it was a rather fancy Jamie Oliver one with the metal rings to give it some stability I decided to take the risk.  However given my last sticking to the bottom of the pan experience I did cut a baking paper round.  As I hadn’t seen a picture of the cake I didn’t know if the figs would be seen or not so I laid them out to look pretty.

As just about everyone reading this has made the cake there is no point dragging out the finished product suspense.  Alas, the fruit layout just ensured everyone had a chance for an equal portion of fig.  I generally don’t spend so much time on careful placement and since it didn’t show you are the only ones I can share this with.  My family already think I am quite mad about my cooking (although they rarely complain about the end product).  Too much detail for those not impassioned can take away from the magic.  

However, for those of us with the cooking bug, the beauty is in the detail.

I used rain forest honey in the cake and it was lovely.  I gave the days ripening suggested in the recipe.  It un-molded  with no problems.  (Mental note ALWAYS use baking paper).  

This cake reminded my husband of the honey soaked semolina cakes we had in Morrocan resturants.  On reflection as honey is the most prominent note in both of these cakes.  The texture makes them very different in my mind.  I didn’t taste the lemon at all.  However, I am sure it was there in the background as balance to the richness of the honey and figs.

Matthew, my husband told me I must write that this cake is amazing covered in custard.  I wish I could say it was a creme anglaise with flecks of vanilla seeds, but no.  Paul’s custard from a carton.  Matthew’s favourite.  (Not to say he doesn’t like the ‘good stuff’ he just has a utilitarian view of food

Caitlin of Engineer Baker has chosen this weeks TWD recipe.  Thank you.  Please check out her blog for the recipe or of course Baking from My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan page 200-201.

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake from Baking: from my home to yours.  By Dorie Greenspan.

Makes 8 servings

About 16 moist, dried figs stemmed.  (Woolworths Naytura brand seemed the best in my part of the world.) 210g.

1 cup (130g) medium grain polenta or yellow cornmeal.

1/2 (65g) cup plain flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (225g) ricotta

1/3 cup (80ml) tepid water

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

3/4 cup (250g) honey

grated zest of 1 lemon

8 Tablespoons (112g) unsalted butter melted and cooled.  Plus 1 Tablespoon (14g) cut into bits and chilled.

2 large eggs.

Getting Ready

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F (160C).  Butter a 10 1/2 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (I successfully used a silicone tart pan but I strongly suggest lining the bottom with baking paper, and the rigid nature of my pan made it easy to ‘pop’ it out) and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Check the figs are plump, If they are in the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry.  If the figs are large (bigger than a bite) snip them in half (It seems Aussie figs are bigger as both Sydney based Steph and I cut ours in quarters).

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder and salt together.

Working with  stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water on low speed until very smooth.  With the mixer on at medium speed, add the sugar, honey and lemon zest and beat until light.  Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated.  You will have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs.  Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes (it seems most bakers needed closer to 50 minutes for this, as did I) or until a thin knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.  The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sided of the pan, and the butter will have left light coloured circles in the top (mine left little depressions).  Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes (If using silicone you must let the product cool completely before un-molding, and to be very sure I let mine ripen in the fridge and turned it out fridge cold).  Cool to warm, or cool completely.

 

 

 

 

 

Bills Big Carrot Cake- My First Tuesdays With Dorie Challenge

 

Blogging with purpose.  I suppose that is why I signed up to the Tuesdays With Dorie group.  Also, it forces you to not only enjoy the first blush and excitement of a new cookbook before it goes onto the shelf as a reference.  My cookbooks tend to be bedside reading for some time.  Then when I get the urge for something- or find an ingredient usually not available I can run with it as the recipe is stored somewhere in the memory. 

So, my first challenge.  I had initially planned to bake on the weekend.  Then on Friday my husband brought home some carrot cake left over from an office morning tea.  There is in fact only so much carrot cake that can be consumed at any one time so I did my baking on Monday.  However, the carrot cake brought home (which was quite nice, a bit denser than Bills version and had a lemon and icing sugar gaze over its loaf shape) had walnuts in it.  

My sons don’t like identifiable chunks of nuts.  Patrick who is almost 2 also has a terrible habit of throwing at great force foodstuffs that displease him.  He will also throw food once he is full.  So, I get to sweep and mop my floors a couple of times a day.  Given I did not wish to consume a 3 layer cake all by myself (or clean it up off the floor), I omitted the nuts.  I did add in a few more sultanas though.

I was initially worried about the 3 layer thing, purely because I didn’t have 3 cake tin the exact same size.  However the Shopping Gods smiled upon me and a local home wares store had silicone 22 cm round cake pans on sale (for $7.50 a piece.  Bargain!)  This was especially fortuitous as my mother in law had given 1 of the matching pans for Christmas.  So 3 matching high was possible (without painful dividing up recipe math or carving one layer to match nonsense).  

My gut feeling was to line the silicone pans with baking paper but then I threw caution to the wind and just used spray oil.  Tactical error.  Generally, I cut a few rounds out and store them in the pans (so I am good to go on bake day) but as these ones were new I hadn’t as yet.  My cakes during un-moulding stuck just a bit to the base.  No cracking but it was a bit touch and go with one of the layers.  I ended up using an offset spatula to encourage the cheeky things out.  

I iced the cake and although it was handsome it called out for something more.  One of the advantages of living in the tropics is having a couple of coconut palms in your yard.  (One of the disadvantages is having the clothes line underneath said palm, is living in fear of concussion while hanging out the laundry).  Anyone who has taken a coconut down to the nut meat knows it is hard work.  From one of our coconut working bees, I have some stored in the freezer.  I used a veggie peeler to get ribbons and then popped it under the griller to toast it.  I tried the blow torch but that was taking way too long and I had a disgruntled child hanging off my legs wanting my attention.  You can see the potential for that to go very, very badly.  I was really pleased with the effect and taste.

The height of the cake was another thing that surprised me (I know once should expect a 3 layer cake to have height).  I have a cake stand with a glass cover but the cover was only designed with 2 layers in mind.  Once photos were taken I had to put it in another cake container.  It was a tricky as the heat here had the layers starting to slide around like a drunken sailor.  I had a chance to use my new cake lifter.  I am not sure without it if I could have transported the cake without tears without it.  The coconut on top came in very handy as the tallest cake container I had was exactly the height of the cake.  The coconut stopped the icing from sticking to the lid.

Now to the taste, the cake itself is wonderful.  Really tender and moist, nice balance of spice.  The icing I didn’t love as much.  I remember reading a couple of years ago on Rose Levy Beranbaums blog that she didn’t use icings made with icing sugar as she found them gritty.  I recall thinking “What nonsense, how could someone taste the icing sugar”.  I have only made and eaten cooked sugar frostings for the last year, and heaven help me, I could feel the texture of the icing sugar.  

I have become an icing snob.

The recipe including metric conversion and a couple of notes in italics follows

 

Bill’s Big Carrot Cake Recipe

 

From: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 

Yields 10 servings

 

Ingredients:

 

For the cake:

2 cups or 260g all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

3 cups grated carrots (375g) (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater) I found I only needed 4 large carrots.

1 cup (115g) coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup shredded coconut (75g) (sweetened or unsweetened)

½ cup moist, plump raisins (80g) (dark or golden) or dried cranberries

2 cups (400g) sugar

1 cup (215g) canola oil

4 large eggs

 

For the frosting:

8 ounces (225g) cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) (110g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups(450g)  confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

½ cup (40g) shredded coconut (optional)

Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

 

 

Getting ready:

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (or 160C). Butter three 9-x-2-inch (23cm x 5cm) round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

 

To make the cake:

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.  each layer will weigh about 550g.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

 

To make the frosting:

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you’d like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

 

To assemble the cake:

Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting.  Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

 

Serving:

This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it’s good plain, it’s even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

 

Storing:

The cake will keep  at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it’s firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.