DB Challenge – Don’t Rush the Vols-au-Vent!

So, here we are my friends… another 27th day of the month… and another lesson learned by way of the Daring Baker Challenge!

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

What you see here is proof that you cannot – I repeat – cannot rush a good thing. I once again made the mistake of putting the challenge off until the last minute… making and turning the dough last Sunday. I ran out of daylight just about the time I finished my turns (after having spent the afternoon fighting the butter that seemed to explode from every part of the dough every single time I touched it). So I decided to throw the dough into the fridge to finish later in the week. The days, of course, slipped away amidst various long days at work and — okay — one or two evenings where wine took priority over baking. Saturday came and I got all hung up in what I’d fill my vols-au-vent with… and so it remained undone.

That brings us to this morning. Posting day. Do or die day. You’re out of time day. And, so… the decision to make a savory, breakfast-oriented vols-au-vent (filled with scrambled eggs and accompanied with fried potatoes). I don’t have a biscuit cutter (do you believe it?), so had to cut and shape my dough with a knife. In my haste, I might have forgotten to do the one last turn I’d intended to do before cutting my dough… and I might have drug my knife here and there when cutting the dough… and I might not have put the dough back into the fridge for ten minutes before baking. Because I was in a hurrrrry.

The result? Puff pastry that didn’t puff quite as much as perhaps it should have. Certainly not as much as I’d hoped it would. Except that I was in too much of a hurry to do it right. The good news, though, is that it still tasted fantastic. Decadently buttery and wonderfully flaky, this pastry will leave you with a world of possibilities – both savory and sweet. Happily, I still have two-thirds of the dough in my fridge… and there will be some more experimenting (without worries about timelines).

Thank you, Steph for a great challenge and another great learning experience (you can’t – and shouldn’t – rush a good thing!). Please visit Steph’s blog for the recipe and be sure to check out how all of the other DB’ers fared over at The Kitchen’s blogroll.

month of cakes finale

Whew. I made it. September is drawing to a close and with it comes the final cake of the big month of birthdays.

This one was for my BFF. She’s been my bestie since the 6th grade and she turned 35 yesterday. Naturally, it was the perfect reason to celebrate!

It didn’t occur to me to take my camera with me to the party until I was out the door, so you’ll have to take my word that this cake was just as lovely inside… and it tasted great! The butter cake recipe came to me from Chris, a reader, some time back. It came with the promise that it was a great recipe — and that was an understatement! Thanks, Chris… and happy birthday, Cat… may the next year be filled with many wonderful surprises!

Yellow Layer Cake
(recipe courtesy of Baking Illustrated by way of Chris G.)
1 3/4 cups (7 ounces) cake flour, sifted
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 16 pieces

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans and cover the pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease the parchment rounds and dust the cake pans with flour, tapping out the excess.

Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla with a fork in a small bowl; measure out 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat the mixture at the lowest speed to blend, about 30 seconds. With the mixer still running at the lowest speed, add the butter 1 piece at a time; mix until the butter and flour begin to clump together and look sandy and pebbly, with pieces about the size of peas, 30 to 40 seconds after all the butter is added. Add the reserved 1 cup of egg mixture and mix at the lowest speed until incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add the remaining egg mixture (about 1/2 cup) in a slow steady stream, taking about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat at medium-high speed until thoroughly combined and the batter looks slightly curdled, about 15 seconds.

Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans; spread to the sides of the pans and smooth with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake tops are light gold and a toothpick or thin skewer inserted in the centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the pan perimeters to loosen. Invert one cake onto a large plate, peel off the parchment, and reinvert onto another wire rack. Repeat with the other cake. Cool completely before icing.

Chocolate Frosting
1 cup butter
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces or chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in sugar and vanilla. Melt chocolate in the microwave (at 50% in 30 second intervals), or in the top of a double boiler. Allow chocolate to cool slightly and then blend into the frosting. Add cream by single tablespoons until desired consistency is achieved. Beat on high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.

a month of cakes, part two of three

I present to you, my friends, September birthday cake number two of three…

The actual cake was for my Dad… but, virtually, it’s also sent out with much love to my unbiological sister in North Carolina and to my father-in-law (also in North Carolina)… both of whom who celebrate birthdays this week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

When I called and asked my Dad what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, his response was quick, and it was just what I expected it to be… lemon! (My Dad is kind of predictable when it comes to cake. See last year’s cake as Exhibit A.) And so… a lemon cake I did make.

This is a positively beautiful cake. Sturdy with a tight crumb… lemony… and with an extra zing of lemon in the frosting to give a nice balance to the sweetness. It was absolutely perfect with a cup of coffee and met with rave reviews all around.

Nathan’s Lemon Cake
(Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine/Serious Eats)

Cake:
Baking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Frosting:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar (approx)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To prepare cake, coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with baking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with spray.

Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and nonfat buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack; remove wax paper from cake layers.

To prepare icing, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add lemon juice. Beat in powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread half of icing on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining half of icing over top of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

another trip around the sun

September has arrived, my friends, and with it comes the onslaught of September birthdays in my world. It begins with my husband early in the month and continues with my dad, my father-in-law, and two wonderful friends. It’s a busy month that brings many baking opportunities along with it!

My husband started it all off this past week with his 35th birthday. It’s usually up to him what kind of cake he’ll get — but thanks to the recent BR ice cream cake advertising campaign,  I’ve had ice cream cake on the brain and it was finally time to satisfy the craving! Enter the café mocha ice cream cake.

Brownie base, modified coffee ice cream, whipped cream to represent the steamed milk, and a chocolate drizzle to finish it all off. Amazing. No, really… WOW. What better way to say I love you?

I pieced this cake together from a couple of different sources, and I really couldn’t be happier with the results. This is the perfect end of summer cake and is easy enough to put together the day you need it. Just plan ahead so that you can allow three to four hours for the cake to set up before you serve it.

Disclaimer: This recipe does contain raw eggs. Therefore it’s important to use very fresh eggs that have no cracks and which have been properly refrigerated. It’s not recommended that people who are of an advanced age, who are under four, who are pregnant, or who have a compromised immune system partake of this recipe.  Use your best judgment here and don’t eat anything that you consider to be unsafe.

Café Mocha Ice Cream Cake
Brownie Base
Mocha Ice Cream
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Drizzle

Brownie Base
Use your favorite brownie recipe, but bake it in an 8″ springform pan. I used a slightly modified version of this recipe. When the brownie has come down to approximately room temp, pop it in the fridge while you make the ice cream layer.

Mocha Ice Cream
(modified from A Cat in the Kitchen)
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons espresso powder
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 fresh egg yolks (see above disclaimer)
3 tablespoons Baileys Irish liquor

Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Add the espresso powder and the powdered sugar. Add the egg yolks and Baileys. Pour the filling over the brownie base and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Put the cake in the freezer while making the whipped cream topping.

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
sugar to taste

Whip the cream to stiff peaks and add sugar to taste. Remove cake from freezer and spread whipped cream onto the top of the ice cream layer and smooth with an offset spatula. Return cake to freezer for 3-4 hours.

Chocolate Drizzle
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter at 50% in the microwave at 30 second intervals until chocolate is nearly melted. Stir until smooth and then pour into a small ziploc bag. Remove cake from freezer. Snip a corner from the bag and drizzle chocolate onto the top of the cake.

Place cake into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to temper before serving. When ready to serve, run a butter knife between the cake and the sides of the springform pan, then release the sprinform ring. Cut and serve, returning any uneaten cake to the freezer immediately (cover with plastic wrap).