Daring Bakers-Apple and Lavender Crostata

I finished on time this month, yeah! Ironically, I made the same crostata for Thanksgiving but forgot to take a picture of it, and probably it was for the better as by the time it came out of the oven there was no day light to take a picture of it. I served it with caramel ice cream, and it was devoured. This tart went in the oven that it was almost dark so the pictures are really bad, plus it is really hard to take pictures of brown food, see the difference with the rose photo, taken at the same time.

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Not sure how to fix the following format, I tried everything, short of rewriting the post, not sure how it happened, apologies.....

When people ask me what my specialty is as a pastry chef I immediately say tarts and cookies, so I was happy to have the excuse to make a crostata for the DB challenge, I will never tire of them. A crostata is essentially a tart, in Italy we mostly make two types, the classic version with pastry cream and fresh fruit, and the one with jam and a lattice top. Because of my love for fresh fruit tarts (crostate), I started making them in college whenever I was going somewhere for dinner, soon I was making them all the time, just so I could eat them. Crostate sealed my fate I believe, as I started trying different versions and never stopped. I believe that what attract me of this dessert is the endless variations. The crust can be flavored by adding lemon zest, vanilla, or ground nuts, and it can be baked blind or with the filling, depending on the recipe. The sky is the limit when it comes to the filling, as you can see from the many versions of other daring bakers. You can find the complete recipe here.

Simona, whom I first met in cyber space and then in real life, gave us two versions of pasta frolla to try, and complete freedom when it came to the filling. Pasta frolla is a type of paté sucree, and it is made by just making a mound of flour, adding the butter in pieces, and binding everything with an egg or few yolks, it comes together in minutes and it is delicious. I struggled for few days to decide what to make, since there are so many fantastic flavors I could have used. This particular tart became my favorite for a while, I first saw it in the 1992 book Savory to Sweet: Pies and Tarts, which is no longer published. I have made this tart dozen of times, it is not only stunning but also delicious. This tart comes from Normandie, a region in France where they grow apples and lavender, thus the pairing of the two in this tasty tart. The recipe for frangipane is mine, the one from the book is a little too rich for my taste. You can omit the lavender if you prefer (I used a tablespoon), but I urge you to try it, it goes really well with the apples.

This bad photo reminds me of pre-digital photos from the 60's, but can't do better than this

Pasta frolla

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
• 1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
• 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Note 1: Superfine sugar is often also referred to as ultrafine, baker’s sugar or caster sugar. It’s available in most supermarkets. If you cannot find “superfine” sugar, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.

Note 2: There are different ways of making vanilla sugar. I keep vanilla beans in a jar half-filled with sugar until I need to use them, for example, to make vanilla ice cream. After I remove the split bean from the custard that will go into the ice cream maker, I rinse it, dry it and put it back in the jar with sugar.

Making pasta frolla by hand:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Making pasta frolla with a food processor:

1. Put sugar, flour, salt, and lemon zest in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
2. Add butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
3. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface
4. See step 3 above and continue as explained in the following steps (minus the lemon zest, which you have already added).

Variation for Version 1 of pasta frolla:

If you want, you can make the pasta frolla using a combination of all-purpose flour and whole-wheat pastry flour.

If you choose to try this variation, use 1 cup [240 ml, 135 g, 4 3/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup [180 ml, 100 g, 3.5 oz.] whole-wheat pastry flour.

Frangipane

4 oz. butter, at room temperature
1/2 Cup sugar (100 gr)
1 egg
2 Cups ground almonds (hazelnuts would work as well)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and the sugar until fluffy, add the egg, and beat until well incorporated. Scrape the side of the bowl and add the ground almonds. Spread evenly in the unbaked tart shell. Frangipane keeps few days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for weeks.

Assembly:

Peel, halve, and core 4 apples (I used Golden delicious). Cut each half in very thin slices, keeping the pieces together. Sprinkle one tablespoon of lavender flowers on the unbaked shell, then spread the soft frangipane on top. Add the sliced apples fanning the slices as shown in the pictures. Bake at 350F until the frangipane is set and the apples start to color. Brush the top with diluted and strained apricot preserve to give the tart a beautiful shiny look (warm up few tablespoons of jam with a little water, bring to a boil and then strain any fruit pieces out).

Many thanks to Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice and Lisa of La Mia Cucina, founders of Daring Bakers, and to Simona for choosing this month's challenge.

Squash Doughnut-A Daring Bakers Challenge

I have been a member of the Daring Bakers since March 2009 and sadly I haven't been able to participate every month. October's deadline caught me by surprise while working part time for a caterer. I was working so hard I didn't even realized it was the 27th until I started seeing doughnut posts going up. I really wanted to try participating in the doughnut challenge, especially since there were so many variations to choose from. Doughtnuts have been having a ranaissance lately, recipes have popped up in many food blogs, and Lara Ferroni, a very talented food photographer, just came out with a doughnut book. Since I missed the deadline, I challenged myself to eventually try all the recipes we were given to choose from, and started with the pumpkin doughnuts, which are not leavened by yeast, but by baking powder and soda instead. The recipe is really straightforward and simple. I used roasted Cabocha squash instead of the canned pumpkin for convenience, since I had it at home, and for flavor as well. The taste and consistency reminded me of little doughnuts called Castagnole, normally prepared in Italy during the Carnival. Needless to say, they went fast!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I added the post lines just for the sake of being correct, and presented the recipe as written by Lori. I hope you will try it as it is worth it.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

Preparation time:
Hands on prep time - 15 minutes
Chilling time - 3 hours
Cooking time - 10 minutes

Yield: About 24 doughnuts & 24 doughnut holes

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour 3.5 cup / 840 ml / 490 gm / 17 ¼ oz
Baking Powder 4 teaspoon / 20 ml / 24 gm / .85 oz
Table Salt 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz
Cinnamon, ground 1 teaspoon / 5 ml / 6 gm / .2 oz
Ginger, ground ½ teaspoon / 2.5 ml / 3 gm / .1 oz
Baking Soda ½ teaspoon / 2.5 ml / 3 gm / .1 oz
Nutmeg, ground ¼ teaspoon / 1.25 ml / 1.5 gm / .05 oz
Cloves, ground 1/8 teaspoon / .6 ml / ¾ gm / .025 oz
White Granulated Sugar 1 cup / 240 ml / 225 gm / 8 oz
Butter, Unsalted 3 Tablespoon / 45 ml / 42 gm / 1.5 oz
Egg, Large 1
Egg Yolk, Large 2
Pure Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon / 5 ml
Buttermilk 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon / 135 ml /
Pumpkin 1 cup / 240 ml / 285 gm / 10 oz (Canned pure pumpkin or fresh cooked and pureed pumpkin – DON’T use pumpkin pie mix!) I used squash instead
Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze:
Powdered (Icing) Sugar 2 cup / 480 ml / 250 gm / 9 oz
Whipping Cream (About 32% butter fat) 4 Tablespoon + more if needed / 60 ml

Directions:

1. Whisk together the first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (the mixture will be grainy and not smooth). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.
2. Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch (12 mm to 15 mm) thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) -diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.
3. Using 1-inch (25 mm) diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches (40 mm). Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F (185°C to 188°C). Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

Sugar Glaze

1. Whisk powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze.
2. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead.
3. Add doughnut holes to bowl of spiced sugar and toss to coat.
4. Spread doughnuts on 1 side with powdered sugar glaze.
5. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.

Caramel Ice Cream

I am not in a fall funk anymore, I have embraced the fall fruits to the fullest, and am getting excited by the endless possibilities. Last night I needed an ice cream to go with an apple tart Tatin I made for some friends who came over for dinner. At the risk of almost repeating myself, I decided to try another caramel ice cream, because caramel and apples were made for each other, don't you agree? This time I used a recipe I found in Emily Luchetti's A Passion for Ice Cream, and I want to share it as it is one of the best ice creams I have made (and it was a pleasure to hear how much my guests loved it too, especially Rahel). I have spoken about this super talented pastry chef before, her books are amazing and a constant font of inspiration and awesome recipes. This ice cream recipe is no different, just perfect. I only added some fresh ginger since the ice cream was the closing note on an Asian inspired dinner.

There are two ways to caramelize sugar, a "wet" method that uses water, and a "dry" method where the sugar is melted directly. I have had plenty of wet caramel batches crystallize before my eyes, so I now exclusively use the dry method for small batches of caramel. The recipe calls for the wet method. Whatever method you use, watch the pot and when the sugar starts turning color, lower to flame. The caramel has to be a medium/dark color to have plenty of flavor, but not too dark that tastes burnt.

Most ice cream recipes containing eggs call for heating the egg/cream mixture over the stove to custard consistency. This step is unnecessary if the cream mixture is bubbly hot when tempering the yolks, the temperature is high enough to custard the yolks. By doing it this way, you won't run the risk of overcooking the yolks.

Caramel Ice Cream
adapted from Emily Luchetti

7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 oz of fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cups milk

In a heavy sauce pan, stir together the sugar and water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until the sugar is medium amber in color. Remove from the heat. Slowly pour 1/4 cup of cream until combined. Be careful as the cream will bubble up and splatter. Add the remaining cream, 1/4 cup at the time, whisking after each addition. Add the ginger pieces and cook on low until all the caramel has dissolved. Turn the heat off and let the ginger steep for an hour. Reheat the caramel to almost boiling, pour it into the yolks to slowly temper and custard them. The caramel base should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. To immediately cool the custard, add the cold milk and the salt. Strain the ice cream base and chill completely. Freeze according to your ice cream machine.

Chocolate Thumbprint with Chocolate Ganache

The search for new cookie recipes has started. Even before entering the path of becoming a pastry chef I was making Christmas cookies, something that gives me great satisfaction. My selection consists of some traditional cookies, like ginger cookies, cookies with nuts, and cookies that look good together, a contrast of color and textures. While I have a great collection of recipes already, I am always on the lookout for recipes that are different, interesting, and can work in miniature form as I like the cookies to be small. I saw the recipe for these dainty cookies here, a lovely Italian blog called Brodo di Giuggiole. The recipe originally comes from Martha Stewart and you can find it here. I didn't change a thing as they are delicious, maybe I would try to add some nut flour and some spice. The recipe works out well, the cookies are easy to shape, and they taste intensely chocolate. The only set back was that they lost a little bit of shape as they baked.

Chocolate Thumbprints
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium, and add yolks, cream, and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
2. Roll balls using 2 teaspoons dough for each, and roll each in sugar. Place 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. With the handle of a wooden spoon, press gently in the center of each to create an indentation. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are just set, about 10 minutes. (If indentations lose definition, press centers again.) Let cool slightly on baking sheets. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and let cool.
3. Spoon warm ganache into center of each cookie. Let stand until firm, about 15 minutes. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.

I used a white chocolate macha ganache for the centers. The idea was to have a really green center for Halloween, but it didn't quite work as my macha was an off-green color and didn't really turn the chocolate green enough. Maybe I needed to add more.

White Chocolate Ganache
adapted from Alice Medrich

• 6 oz white chocolate, chopped small
  
• 2 oz heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoon macha
  

Chop chocolate in a food processor. Bring cream to a boil and then pour into the chocolate with the mixer running. Process until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. If it breaks, like it happened to me, remove from the food processor, add some cold cream to the bowl of the food processor and while running slowly pour the broken ganache into the bowl. This should fix it.

Roasted Pears & Pear-Caramel Ice Cream

Autumn has officially arrived in the Bay Area so it is time to switch the dessert repertoire, and since I believe that ice cream should be eaten year round I decided to try this full-of-promises ice cream from The Perfect Scoop. David Lebovitz doesn't fail to deliver another amazing recipe, and if you don't have any of his books, run to the bookstore. David suggests using very flavorful pears to stand up to the slightly bitter caramel flavor, and recommends using Comice or Barlett. I decided to try asian pears instead, very delicate in flavor, and very perfumed. According to this site the variety I used is called JunoSan, with a reddish brown skin. I added fresh sliced ginger to the caramel to add an extra kick, and that worked really well. The ice cream was paired with pears baked with an almond streusel (I used the Taylor Gold variety, which were a little delicate but really good and juicy). The dessert was light, easy, and really tasty.

Pear-Caramel Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

3 medium-sized pears, peeled and cored
3/4 cups plus 2 TBS (180 gr) sugar
2 oz (60 gr) fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups (500 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp kosher salt

Spread the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. As the sugar starts to liquefy, shake the pan to let the liquid sugar heat and melt the remaining sugar crystals. When all the sugar is melted and a deep amber color, add the pear and the ginger pieces (remember to count the pieces of ginger as you want to remove them all before pureeing the ice cream base). Don't worry if some of the sugar solidifies. Cook the pears for ten minutes until softened through, stirring so all the caramel will melt again. Remove from the heat, add the cream and the salt, and let cool. Remove the ginger pieces, then puree the mixture in a food processor. Strain the mixture to remove any tough pear pieces if you wish (I didn't and I liked the extra texture). Chill completely, then freeze according to your ice cream maker.

Baker Pears with Almond Streusel

Peel and core the pears, add three tablespoons of streusel to each half. Bake at 375F until soft and the top is nicely browned. Use either one or two half pears per serving, depending on the size.

Imagine

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

John and Yoko stayed in the house we own for few weeks. The house is very special for a variety of reasons, and the legacy of John's presence makes it even more so. This song is so inspiration, and I wish more people would live by its meaning.
"Ono indicated that the lyrical content of "Imagine" was "just what John believed — that we are all one country, one world, one people. He wanted to get that idea out."

Panzanella-My way

I just spent two hours picking my tomato plants clean of ripe tomatoes, cutting many of the leaves to allow for more sun to hit the remaining fruit, and harvesting lots of basil before the cold weather kills the plants. It is a warm and sunny Autumn day in the Bay Area, so I am hoping for more ripe tomatoes in the next week or so. Every year in July I tell myself that I will not plant that many tomato plants again, but then in September and October I change my mind when I get to eat the fruit of my labor.

Panzanella is a summer salad originated in Tuscany, and like many dishes of the "cucina povera" (literally poor cuisine), it is a way to use stale bread, Ribollita is another example. A little olive oil and balsamic vinegar turn this simple dish into something delicious. I don't know you, but I could eat tomatoes all summer long.

There are many versions of this dish and traditionally the bread is soaked in water before adding it to the tomatoes. I like mine with plenty of basil and a shallot vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar, which is a little French I guess. Sometimes I add cucumber, string beans, or corn to the salad.

Panzanella

2 C bread, cut in cubes
1 T extra virgin olive oil

3 C tomatoes
1 medium shallot
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
Basil, salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle the bread cubes with 1 TBS of oil and bake at 350F until dry and lightly colored. While the bread is in the oven, mince the shallot and add it to the vinegar (this will soften the onion and impart a nice flavor to the vinegar), marinate for 30 minutes. Add the remaining oil to the vinegar, mix well, add to the tomatoes and their juices, toss with the cooled bread cubes, and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Serves two.

Buon Appetito!