Truffle!

In our house, I'm the baker and S is the cook.  While I think I have the better deal in never having to cook, I know S secretly thinks the same about me (he has a sweet tooth).  Thankfully we both love good food so we have every area covered (sweet and savoury).  

Now, since this is my blog, I was a little hesitant to write this post.  My little blog is for all things sweet (or baked) not savoury!  But this savoury dish is no ordinary dish so I couldn't resist (not to mention I really want to stop S from continuously nagging me about it!).

Truffles have become a big thing in Australia in the past few years but I wouldn't say people are cooking with them at home. Truffle oil? Yes.  But it doesn't compare to the real thing. Truffle oil has this distinct burst of truffle flavour, but you don't get all the different dimensions of flavour a real truffle has.  They are much more subtle than the oil, in a good way.  

A place in Western Australia, called Manjimup, has been growing truffles for a few years now, making it much easier to get your hands on one these days.  Well actually, we did have to pre order our truffle and we only just made the deadline for the last shipment of the season (they arrive within 48 hours of being plucked from the ground- across country).  Let's not even talk about price...  Anyway it is great that we can get our own truffles here in Australia; though I am longing to try a white truffle.  

Truffle in hand, it was time to decide what we were going to do with it.  Who am I kidding?  We had planned out the menu long before the truffle arrived and had even cleared our schedule to make sure we could enjoy our truffle marathon.  We chose to do a truffle risotto (cliche?) and truffle scrambled eggs.  We wanted to do dishes where we could really appreciate the flavour of the truffle.  We put the arborio rice into the bag with the truffle to let it infuse.  We also did this with the eggs.  It's amazing how much the scent infused!  We actually had enough truffle left to do an omlette with truffle the next day but changed our mind.  The eggs had only been in the bag with the truffle for 15 minutes so I thought they would be fine to pop back into the fridge to use later.  Well... when I went to make a cake the next day, as soon as I cracked open the egg, all I could smell was truffle!  Luckily it hadn't been in there long enough for the flavour to absorb.

The scrambled eggs were served on homemade bagels.  In Australia all I can seem to find are bread rolls with holes in the middle, claiming to be bagels.

Tuesdays With Dorie 7: Chocolate-Banded Ice Cream Torte

Oh dear... it seems that all of my post titles contain the words "Tuesdays With Dorie" lately!  Between Tuesdays with Dorie and Daring Bakers I don't find much time (or reason) to bake any more than that.  I promise though, I will try my best to add a few of my own things here as much as I can!  

Anyway, this week's recipe was chosen by Amy of Food, Family, and Fun.  Well, when I saw this recipe was chosen I was ecstatic!  I flip through Baking: from my home to yours, quite frequently, and this is something I always drool over.  For some reason I thought it would be on the difficult side to make, but in reality it is very simple (just time consuming).  I love the visual impact of this dessert too and also the endless possibilities of flavour creations!  When Summer comes around I'm sure I'll be making this all the time.

As always, I decided to go with mini sized ice cream tortes.  It would be fine to make the full size torte as you can just slice off pieces as you need them, but mini desserts are just so damn cute.  I also planned to make them for friends coming to dinner, so the individual portions seemed appropriate (even if the minis were still too much for one person; us girls went halves in one, while the boys almost exploded trying to finish their individual tortes!).  

At first I was going to use Dorie's Burnt Sugar Ice Cream, but I wasn't sure if our guests would like the taste (we personally love it), so I went with the original recipe suggested and made Raspberry Ice Cream.  I left out the raspberry liqueur though.  Next time, if I made raspberry again (so many flavours, so little time) I would probably omit the raspberry seeds.  S said they added to the texture but I prefer my ice cream to be as smooth as possible.  I would just make up a raspberry compote and discard the seeds. 

The chocolate truffle layer was so delicious!  I was initially concerned with the recipe but got over that pretty quick once I tasted it.  Yum!  We were saying we would even just like to eat it like chocolate custard.  The only annoying thing with the chocolate truffle cream was that it melted so quickly!  It was hard to get the base of the springform cake tin off the bottom of the truffle cream whilst still keeping it in tact.  Maybe it would work better if the ice cream was on the bottom... wouldn't look as good though!

To get really smooth layers with no bubbles I think the ice cream and the truffle cream need to be quite soft when layering them.  I was worried about melting my ice cream too much as I didn't want it to go icy.  So it was hard to make each layer really smooth.  Dorie suggests you leave at least 30 minutes in the freezer between doing each layer, but because I was quite busy the day I made it, I just kept adding layers when I got home/had time.  So don't feel you need to do it all at once!

Wish I had got an inside shot of the torte but the truffle cream melted too quickly for the slices to look decent.

Might I just add that it was also the first time I have ever used my hairdryer as a kitchen appliance (worked a treat though).

Tuesdays With Dorie 6: Granola Grabbers

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie came around so fast! Usually I've completed it not long after we find out what it is, especially now since we are now finding out the recipes two at a time (which is great might I just say). The Granola Grabbers were chosen by Michelle of Bad Girl Baking.

Even though this is not something I would usually bake, I still thought I would enjoy these since I love muesli (our version of granola?). And I was right! They are really yummy- a great snack. I was positive that S wouldn't like these but I was wrong- he actually really enjoyed them (eating three in a row). Seeing as there is only one egg in the recipe, I thought halving it would be too hard so I made the whole batch, which is far too many biscuits for us! When we found out the recipes, I told my friend D Dogg (there's a story behind that name...) that I would give him some, but he turned his nose up at that idea. Oh well... I think I'll force him to take some when I see him tomorrow. I did take a couple to give my Grandad this morning but he announced to me that he didn't really like it and that his wife would much prefer it (he has dementia so I forgive him!).

After reading some people's ideas, I added some choc chips on top of a few of the biscuits, but I wasn't a massive fan. We love chocolate, but thought it detracted from the other ingredients, which were delicious by themselves. I couldn't find (or didn't know what it was) wheat germ so I added semolina instead. Seemed to work fine.

Maybe I made my biscuits too big but I certainly didn't get 40 like Dorie suggests. I think I got about 25 or so. I imagine they would last longer than the 3 days Dorie suggests too.

Tuesdays With Dorie 5: Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

When I first got Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking: from my home to yours" and flicked through it, the first recipe that really stood out to me was the Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream. It just sounded so delicious. So you can imagine how excited I was when it was finally chosen as this weeks challenge! (Thanks to Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiousity)

When I bought my Kitchenaid, there was a special promotion on and I got the ice cream attachment bowl for free. I have to say that it's really good. We have a normal ice cream machine too (a fairly good one too) but I much prefer to use the Kitchenaid ice cream bowl. Really I don't know why I don't make more ice cream. I guess because it's Winter here at the moment, ice cream isn't really at the top of my list for desserts. So a note to myself... Make more ice cream come Summer!

This ice cream was really easy to make since it isn't custard base. I was concerned it would turn out icy (more on that later). Well the first time I made this (last week) it turned out really great. Not at all icy. The only thing is we weren't patient enough to wait for it to fuly freeze, so it was a little soft. It is incredibly rich though so by the end of it, we were both feeling really sick. I tried telling S that there was actually enough ice cream for more than two serves but he insisted on serving it ALL up at once. He was sorry afterwards. Since we were so eager to eat it and it was so delicious, we didn't bother taking any photos the first time (as we were planning on making it again before the deadline). What a shame...

The second lot was a mess! I'm not sure what happened exactly, because I made it exactly the same way. It was really icy, but not in a granita icy way, it was an icy-gluey mess. I can't really describe the texture properly, but lets just say it wasn't pleasant! Maybe the cream split? Or I churned it for too long? Even though it didn't work I am still going to post pictures of the second batch. So a lesson learned- resist the temptation to dig right in; take photos first!

Tuesdays With Dorie 4: Black and White Banana Loaf

Wow! I can't believe this is my fourth Tuesdays With Dorie! Time is going by so fast, it's a little scary...

I have to say that I was pretty disappointed with this weeks challenge. I am not a huge fan of bananas, especially in desserts. I do love banana bread though, so I was hoping I'd like this too. I made the loaf last week sometime, and half of it is still sitting on the kitchen bench! Obviously S wasn't a big fan of it either... The taste wasn't too bad, but I thought the chocolate really overpowered the banana and created a weird flavour. Also, I know a few people have been complaining about the cooking time etc, and I agree. The outside was really chewy and hard, while the inside was just cooked (even though I used a tent). Some people say it has to do with the number of bananas you use, and also how old they are. Mine were bananas I had in the freezer that had almost gone black. I used 2 small-medium ones and I think that worked well. Anymore, and the cake wouldn't have cooked inside at all.

Thanks to Ashlee of A Year In The Kitchen for choosing this weeks recipe. Although I probably won't cook it again, I am glad that I did. Doing the marbling was quite fun!

I'm Late, For A Very Important Date!

All day yesterday I kept thinking "Oh, I really need to write up my Daring Bakers post", which was quickly followed by "I have all day; I'll do it tonight"... Woops! As you can see, it didn't happen. In my defense, I'm right in the middle of a horrible cold and yesterday was jam packed full of things to do (which I really didn't feel up to). I didn't even end up getting home until 10:30pm, by which time I just wanted to curl up in bed with a bowl of Mi Goreng and watch The F Word finale. So I did. But now I'm feeling really guilty that I didn't just bite the bullet and write a really quick post!

This is my second challenge as a Daring Baker, so I was quite excited that we were making a layer cake. I don't get to make them often, but they are one of my favourite things to bake. Chris of Mele Cotte chose a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream. Now (again) I wasn't completely sure what a Filbert even was (yes I know... cobbler, galette... honestly I'm not as daft as it seems!). Apparently they are just cousins to the hazelnut, which is what I decided to use.

The whole recipe was quite the process, but I enjoyed it nonetheless (even if I was in a major rush to complete the cake in about half the time recommended). Personally, I would not use a 10 inch pan for this recipe as I was lucky enough to be able to slice it in half, let alone 3 layers! My cake seemed to rise enough, and it was light and fluffy- I just think it would work much better with a smaller pan. The second mistake was using 70% valrhona chocolate for the ganache. It overpowered the cake too much. I should have used around 60%. I'm sure there are a few other mistakes, but the third I thought was not reading around to find out the best way to pour ganache over a cake. I wish I had made my cake after reading the tutorial posted on Daisy Lane Cakes. Instead I ended up with some not so smooth ganache. Forgive the decorations- like I said, I was in a major rush to get somewhere!

Unfortunately I didn't get any photo's of the sliced cake, as we took it to S's sisters house and forgot the camera.

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

1 Filbert Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Filbert Genoise

Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10” X 2” inch round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.

Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.

Praline Buttercream
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
1/3 cup praline paste
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum.

Swiss Buttercream
4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a elevtric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Wait! My buttercream won’t come together! Reheat the buttercream briefly over simmering water for about 5 seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon. Be careful and do not overbeat. The mixture will look broken with some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Return the bowl to the mixer and whip on medium speed just until the cream comes back together.

Wait! My buttercream is too soft! Chill the buttercream in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes and rewhip. If that doesn’t work, cream an additional 2-4 Tbsp. of butter in a small bowl– making sure the butter is not as soft as the original amount, so make sure is cool and smooth. On low speed, quickly add the creamed butter to the buttercream, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Praline Paste
1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup Sugar
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.

Apricot Glaze
Good for one 10-inch cake

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer or tube cake

**Ganache can take on many forms. While warm – great fudge sauce. While cool or lukewarm – semisweet glaze. Slightly chilled – can be whipped into a filling/frosting. Cold & solid – the base of candied chocolate truffles.

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt
6 oz. (¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreay, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)
¾ tsp. vanilla
½ - 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ - 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling Cake

Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.

Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-ich blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache.

Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

Leftover cake can be covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Tuesdays With Dorie 3: Not So Summer Fruit Galette

I'm really enjoying making fruit desserts since I usually lean more toward chocolate or creamy ones. This week's Tuesdays With Dorie challenge (Summer Fruit Galette) was chosen by Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs; and it was a great choice at that. Again, like the cobbler, I wasn't too sure what a galette was! I have to say that I am really loving working with pastry recipes so often. Not only do I love pastry of all kinds, but it's really interesting to see how many variations there are; even small changes in quantities or ingredients yield such different results. Now my only concern with the challenge was that it's not Summer in Australia at the moment! What to do... Well I have to say that rhubarb has really grown on me, so why not make the most of it during the season (didn't I just use it last week for the cobbler??) Highly unusual for me to be using fruits so often in desserts let alone rhubarb. Just like the cobbler, the galette was full of wonderful surprises- delicious! I've actually made it three times in the past week (with another serve of dough in the fridge right now...) I'm really looking forward to experimenting with other fruits, especially when Summer hits.

I used homemade strawberry jam (thanks mum!) and rhubarb in all three galettes. The first two contained the custard, but since I couldn't resist serving it with ice cream all three times, I decided to omit the custard the third time and it was still delicious. The custard would really make a difference if you were eating it sans ice cream though (even if it does look a little... green).

Unfortunately, due to my huge scoop of ice cream, you can't really see much of the galette!