Mixed Berry Cobbler

This week's assignment from the TWD group is a Mixed Berry Cobbler found on page 416 of "baking from My Home to Yours" by none other than Dorie Greenspan. This is an easy, quick, fruity dessert. And so many possible variations that this is surely a keeper.

The instructions call for a slightly sweetened biscuit dough as a topping. The butter is worked into a mixture of flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. The technique is the same used for a flaky pie or tart crust. I prefer to work the mixture with my fingers so that the butter is similar to oatmeal flakes; small but flat pieces. Then heavy cream is added to bring the dry ingredients together into a soft and slightly sticky mass. The heavy cream gives the biscuit a rich and wonderful texture.

Now on to the filling. In a large bowl mixed berries and any other fruit you might wish to add is mixed gently with sugar, corn starch, lemon zest, and a bit of fresh ground pepper. The dough is gently patted down and placed over the fruit in a deep dish pie plate. Baked until golden in color and yup, that's it! Simple and oh so tasty. Nor a complaint in this house. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Peppermint Cream Puff Ring

This week's mission from TWD, should we choose to accept it, is a Peppermint Cream Puff Ring. Found on page 290 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking from My Home to Yours". Hmmmm let's see; light, airy, minty, refreshing......I think I'll accept!

Cream puffs, eclairs, Croquembouche, Profiteroles, and Gougeres, are just a few of the pastries that begin with Pate a Choux. Pate a Choux is a dough, or batter that is first made on the stove top then spooned or piped and baked in the oven. As it bakes it puffs into a golden, light pastry that is airy and moist on the inside and nearly hollow. When cooled, the space inside can be filled with any number of fillings, such as whipped cream, pastry cream, ice cream, or even savory salads and cheese.

To make this wonderful dough first; water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar is heated and stirred until it comes to a rolling boil. A single addition of flour is added, and mixed until the lumpy, pasty mass turns into a smooth dough. Off the heat in a mixer bowl eggs are added one at a time. The eggs provide moisture and together with the butter in the oven will convert to steam and cause the pastry to rise (approximately three times its original size). In this recipe Dorie instructs us to pipe the dough into an 8" ring and bake. I have chosen to do two 4" rings just in case I decide to share. This means we eat only half the calories, right? (Yay for sharing!!)

After the rings are cooled completely the filling for this project is going to be a minty cream with the addition of sour cream or creme fraiche. I admit the addition of sour cream sounds a bit foreign to me, but I am always willing to try something new. First things first, back to the cream. Heavy cream and mint leaves are brought to a boil and allowed to steep about 3 hours then chilled. The cold cream is strained and is now ready for sweetening and whipping. Sweetened sour cream is gently folded into the whipped cream. Time to taste (oh, how I love to sample!), the mint flavor can be made stronger with the addition of extract.

The rings are sliced horizontally using a serrated knife and the space is filled with piped rosettes of the mint cream. Now if that is not enough... a chocolate glaze is spooned over the top and a sprinkle of toasted, sliced almonds for a little touch of class. Phew!

Mission results: While the mint cream was very refreshing the addition of sour cream was not as appealing. My tasters preferred the simply sweetened whipped cream on the second ring and happily polished it off! No sharing this time but, all's well that ends well.

Red Jewels

Well, its' Tuesday again and the assignment this week from the "Tuesdays with Dorie" (forever to be known as "TWD") group was a beautiful, jewel like and refreshing summer tart. The La Palette's Strawberry Tart is on page 374 in "Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan.

The sweet dough or pate sable in this case, was buttery, tender, and sandy just as it should be. Since this dough tends to crumble easily I chose to make single serving tartlets (3 3/4 inches) instead of the 9 inch tart. However, I can easily imagine this dessert even smaller, perhaps a single bite size (2 1/4 inch) as well. What a nice presentation that would make on any dessert platter. I made the dough two days earlier since I never know how the work week will go and stored it in the refrigerator. This also gave the dough plenty of time to rest and firm up since the weather in this neck of the woods was sweltering all week.

The dough is pressed into the tartlet pans and docked, to help prevent shrinkage and puffing. I then pre-baked half the batch until they were golden. The other half I just had to play around with! I took a tablespoon of Creme d'amandes (almond cream) and spread it over the pate sable (heavenly all on it's own). Then I baked it in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

The shells without the almond cream are spread with a layer of a good quality strawberry jam. Now the shells are ready for assembly. I tossed cut up strawberries with cherry brandy and spooned them over the shells. A little sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and viola! I'm sure some sweetened whipped cream or fresh churned icecream would be a perfect side.

Simply sublime!

French Chocolate Brownies

Ah, another baking challenge from the "Tuesdays with Dorie" group chosen by Madame Chow's Kitchen. This time it is French Chocolate Brownies on page 92-93. I have decided not to include the project recipes so that I do not deter from the sale of the book by Dorie Greenspan.

Her intension with these brownies was to maintain a soft moist texture, and powerful chocolate flavor of a French fondant cake. As is goes I'm not a chocoholic and definitely not a brownie person. But that just makes it easier for me not to succumb to those voices that usually lure me to dessert. Luckily my official tasters do not share my tastes.

The brownie batter is quick and easy to make so I figured I had the time to do a little twist on Dorie's twist. The little treasures in this batter are rum soaked raisins. Now what would a project be if I didn't tweek it just a little. So I added walnuts for "J" and soaked the raisins in Vanilla Schnapps (yes, very conservative tweeks but, I just love the fragrance of vanilla).

There is no chemical leavening added to this recipe either so beating the eggs as instructed, until they are light and fluffy is essential. It is the reason these brownies are so light and cake-like. It is also the reason the top cracks into a million pieces and is difficult to cut into neat squares. Although I would probably never serve these to guests I gave them a taste (afterall someone had to be first). My conclusion: the raisins and light texture are what makes these brownies a bit above average. My official tasters were very pleased to have something out of the ordinary to test. So, thank you Dorie.

Tuesday's with Dorie

One of the reasons I set up this blog was to share my baking adventures; good and bad. Another reason was so that I could participate in the weekly challenges set forth by the members of the "Tuesday's with Dorie" blog. All recipes from this blog come from "Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan. This week's challenge is "Pecan Honey Sticky Buns" and has a May 27th deadline.

Although I was excited to begin my first ever challenge I was equally hesitant due to the use of yeast. I tend to avoid the "Y" ingredient but, that is the purpose of challenges, isn't it?

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns: (Adapted version)

For the Buns: 1/2 recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves

For the Glaze:

1 cup light brown sugar

1 stick (8oz) unsalted, butter, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbs light brown sugar

3 tbs unsalted butter, at room temp

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 tbs Vanilla Schnapps

Deep breath........you can do it!

Golden Brioche Dough:

2 packets of active dry yeast

1/3 c water (warmed to 105 degrees)

1/3 cup milk (warmed to 105 degrees)

3 3/4 cups ap flour

2 tsp salt

3 eggs, @ room temp

1/4 cup sugar

3 sticks (12oz) butter @ room temp but slightly firm

To make the dough: Put the yeast, water, and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour, salt, and sugar and fit the mixer with the dough hook. Stand back or cover the bowl with a towl to keep the flour from showering you and the kitchen. Turn the mixer on slow just to dampen the flour, increase mixer speed to medium-low, just until the flour is moistened (you now have a shaggy mass).

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time. Increase the mixer speed and beat for 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2 tbs-sized chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have dough that is very soft, almost batter like. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean, buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, about 40-60 minutes. Deflate the dough, recover it with plastic wrap and put it in the frigerator. Deflate the dough every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours. (After my first unsuccessful attempt at this dough I make a slight deviation from the original recipe at this point). While the dough is rising make the filling and glaze.

To make the filling:

Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. Put the cranberries and vanilla schnapps in a small bowl. Put in the microwave for 15 seconds just to warm; set aside to plump for about 15 minutes. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft and spreadable.

To make the glaze:

Generously butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

In a heavy- bottomed sauce pan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heat proof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.

After two hours the dough should be firm. If not leave it in the refrigerator for another 1-2 hours or overnight as Dorie says. On a flour-dusted work surface (or parchment paper), roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Sprinkle the cranberries over the dough. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can.

With a chefs knife (I use dental floss), using a gentle sawing motion, trim the ends, then cut the log into 1-inch-thick buns (you will get 15). Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap. To continue my method: proof in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning place the pan in a warm spot and allow to come to room temperature and contine its final proof about 2 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away. Pull the pan from the oven.

The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after the come out of the oven. Use a rimmed platter or baking sheet lined or buttered. Be careful- the glaze is molten hot.

My official tasters all agree it was worth my efforts. The buns are sweet, sticky and taste heavenly. The pairing of pecans and cranberries compliment each other nicely. My conclusion: I must overcome my fears and work with yeast more often! Enjoy!