Baking With Dorie: Crème Brûlée

I've always been intimidated by crème brûlée imagining it to be a very complicated dessert that I couldn't possibly make at home. So I was very excited about this months' pick & was looking forward to halving the recipe and trying at least a few of the variations in the 'playing around' section. But then, too lazy to do the math, I ended up making only the classic version. 

Dorie's directions suggest a baking time of 50-60 minutes but the custards were very jiggly at that point and it took me almost double the recommended time to get them cooked. I chilled them overnight and caramelized a few the next morning. How best to describe it? The crème brûlée was wonderfully silky, as delicious as anything I've ever had at a restaurant with its pleasingly contrasting layers of torched sugar and cool custard. 

As usual, this is a winner from Baking from my home to yours. The variations of this recipe can be found on pages 393-4 of the book. I'm including the classic version right here. I'm hopeful that others from BWD will have played around with the recipe! For links to participating blogs this week, please go to the comment section of the related post here. 

Next up we're making the Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, picked by Tina. If you'd like to be a part of our baking group, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us. 

Crème Brûlée

from Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

About 6 tbsp sugar or sifted light brown sugar for topping

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200F. Put the baking dishes on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. 

Bring the cream and milk just to a boil. 

In a 1-2 quart glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk th egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together until well blended but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter or the hot liquid - this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the cream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble the custard, then strain it into the baking dishes. 

Bake the custards for 50-60 minutes, or until the custards are set - tap the sides of the dishes, and the custards should hold firm. Lift the dishes onto a cooling rack and let the custards cool until they reach room temperature. 

Cover each custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The custards can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) For the sugar to be successfully caramelized, the custards need to be thoroughly chilled. 

To caramelize the sugar topping with a blowtorch, work on one dish at a time. Sprinkle the top of each custard evenly with sugar - about 1 tablespoon for each dish - then brown the sugar, cooking until it bubbles and colors. Wait until the bubbles subside before serving the crèmes. 

To caramelize the sugar in a broiler, preaheat the broiler and fill a shallow roasting pan with the ice cubes. Sprinkle the custards with the sugar, put the baking dishes on the bed of ice and run the custards under the broiler. Don't move away from your oven - depending on your broiler, it can take seconds or minutes to caramelize the sugar, and you don't want to miss the moment and ruin the topping. When the sugar bubbles and browns, pull the custards out, remove them from their ice bed and let them settle down before serving. 

Baking With Dorie: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

Last month all of us in the BWD baking group mutually decided that we needed to adopt a slower pace and bake only once a month instead of every other Monday. For those of us who are trying to cut back on desserts, this is a welcome change! 

I made changes to our baking schedule but I forgot to fix a typing error I'd made when listing this months' recipe. This resulted in a little confusion since I had typed 'strawberry rhubarb crisp' and everyone else in the group either baked the strawberry rhubarb double crisp, or planned for it. So this week we have two different recipes, depending on who baked what. 

I baked the cherry cobbler, replacing rhubarb with granny smith apples since I can't find rhubarb where I live. I made it in advance & we were travelling the next day so I did the math and made just 1/4th of the recipe. This was perfect because it made only two servings. And the cobbler was wonderful - as usual I loved the note of flavor that the addition of ginger lent to this dessert. The tartness of the apples married well with & was subdued by the sweetness from the cherries and both were cooked to flawless deliciousness under the little balls of whole wheat biscuit dough. 

Please head here to find links to what all the other BWD bakers made this week. For the recipe, go over to Ryans' blog The Behr Necessities, or Page 415 of Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Next up we're baking Creme Brulee. If you'd like to join our baking challenges please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us! 

Baking With Dorie: Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

I have not done any baking in months.  Thanks to a very long & tiresome renovation and the fact that my oven refused to work. So I've been impatient to bake again and to also fall back in step with all the BWD bloggers who have been carrying on without me for weeks and weeks.

No baking and no cooking means a neglected blog . . I keep meaning to come back here and at least write about my holiday but I've been immensely busy. Too busy to write & too busy to keep up with all the blogs that I follow. Has it really been a whole month since I got back? But that's another blog post . . and I promise to get to it this week.

For now, I bring you crumbly, buttery, melt-in-the-mouth, lime-scented shortbread cookies with a surprising crunchiness.

Who would have known cornmeal could take shortbread to another level? I absolutely love these cookies! I substituted lime zest for the lemon zest because limes were what I had on hand & made only half the recipe. My kids have been sick all week so I didn't expect them to have much of an appetite. Had I known what a hit these would be with them, I would have made double the batch!

Rivki of Kosher Cooking for Ordinary People is the host this week. Please head over to her blog for the recipe, or to Page 130 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. Please check the blogroll here to check out everyone else's posts. 

Next up we're baking Quintuple Chocolate Brownies, picked by Shahieda. If you'd like to join our baking challenges please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us! 

Tarte aux Poires (Pear Tart)

I've never met Paule Caillat, but when I finally see her next month, I'm going to hug her.

Not only is she wonderful, she has also been so patient with my constant queries these past several months. I mentioned earlier that I wanted to book a class with her but all my planning & frequent e-mailing ended in anti-climax when I discovered I wouldn't be able to take one class I was looking forward to because of non-availability and another clashed with something else I will be doing that same day. When I found out the latter, I was sure Paule might want to whack me over the head with a cast-iron skillet for being such a nuisance. But didn't I already establish that she's wonderful?

She really is. For forgiving me. And for being the source of what has become my favorite sweet tart dough recipe.

The last time I made a tart inspired by Paule, I got the creme d'amandes (almond cream) wrong. Well - almost wrong. I hadn't known what creme d'amandes was and had used the first random recipe that I found through google search. It turns out, a much superior recipe was sitting right under my nose the entire time. If only I had bothered to consult BFMHTY. 

So here's my latest attempt at making a tart: I used Paule's recipe for sweet tart dough but entirely substituted the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour this time. The almond cream filling comes from BFMHTY  (recipe can be found on Dorie Greenspan's blog ) & is topped with freshly poached pears d'anjou. I resisted the urge to use either ginger or cloves in the poaching liquid because Paule warned that they might overpower the delicate flavor of the almond cream. But I did use a vanilla pod. 

The tart shell is par-baked for 7-8 minutes at 350F and then cooled before filling with the creme d'amandes & topping with poached, sliced pears. It goes back in the oven & needs to be baked for 45-50 minutes or until the almond cream is puffed and brown on top. 

Taking a bite out of this tart is complete bliss. I especially love the creme d'amandes which came out so much better than my previous attempt!  I told Paule that the first time I ever had tarte aux poires was in Disneyland &, while it may have been better looking than what you see here, I cannot say that it came anywhere close to this one in flavor.

Baking With Dorie: Honey Nut Scones

Monday mornings are my favorite day of the week. It's the only time I have the house completely to myself & so I allow myself the luxury to move about in slow motion; letting dishes accumulate &dust gather while I catch a couple of hours of reading & lazy day-dreaming.

Freezing-cold Monday mornings are perfect for snuggling up on a favorite couch & celebrating the moment with freshly-baked scones and tea.

These scones have just a hint of sweetness & so they'd pair perfectly with any kind of jam. I was out of unsalted walnuts & other nuts so I made mine nut-less. I am sure the walnuts would have added a nice texture & so I'll be sure to make them with nuts next time. I loved them! Soft on the inside with a pleasantly crunchy exterior and barely-there sweetness. A complete winner in my books.

The recipe was chosen by Tina. Please head over to her blog at My Domestic Bliss for the recipe, or turn to page 31 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. This week we were joined by a new member - welcome to BWD Rivki! Please check out the blogroll here to see everyone else's posts.

Next up we're baking Brrrr-ownies (page 103). If  you'd like to join our baking challenges, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Baking With Dorie: Brownie Buttons

It's been a year of Baking With Dorie. And what fun it has been: to get to know everyone in our small group & to bake through this wonderful book that I can't praise enough for the simplicity of its' recipes. It is absolutely, hands down, the best baking book I have ever used. Whether you are an amateur or a seasoned baker, this book is for you & I think everyone should own a copy!

These Brownie Buttons are, in Dorie's words, sensational. Fudgy yet light as air. Perfect for an any-time snack or a kids' party. I made mine with whole-wheat flour today:

Brownie Buttons

Page 106, Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

Grated zest of 1/2 orange (optional)

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/2 stick butter, cut into 4 pieces

2.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

For the glaze:

2 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Lightly butter two mini-muffin pans, each with a dozen cups, and place them on a baking sheet. 

If you are using the zest, combine the zest and sugar in a small  bowl rubbing them between your fingertips to blend; set aside. Whisk together salt and flour. 

Melt the butter, chocolate and brown sugar in a medium-sized heavy bottomed saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula and keeping an eye on the pan so nothing overheats or burns. When the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and cool for a minute or two. 

Stir the vanilla, egg and zest into the chocolate mixture. When the mixture is well-blended, add the flour and stir only till it is incorporated. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. 

Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups, using about a teaspoon of batter to fill each cup 3/4 full. Put 1 tsp of water in each empty cup. 

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the tops of the buttons spring back when touched. Transfer pans to racks to cool for 3 minutes before releasing the buttons. Cool to room temperature. 

To make the glaze: Melt the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir constantly and don't leave the chocolate for even a minute. As soon as it is smooth, remove from heat. 

One by one dip the tops of the buttons in the chocolate, twirling the buttons so that you get a little swirl. Refrigerate 15 mins to set the glaze. 

Happy 1st Anniversary to all my fellow bakers! Thanks for being part of BWD this past year. 

Please check out the blogroll here to see everyone else's take on these adorable brownie buttons. Next up we're baking Honey Nut Scones. If you'd like to be part of our baking challenge, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Baking With Dorie: Apple Coconut Family Cake

There's something so rustic & comforting about the term 'family cake'. And I expected to like this one very much because of the unlikely combination of apples and coconut. As usual, I wasn't disappointed. 

I halved the recipe & used just one large apple for the filling. It may have been too little because my cakes were airy & moist whereas other BWD bakers described theirs as slightly 'mushy'. 

I used unsweetened, finely shredded coconut which lent a nice chewiness to these cakes & coconut was the dominant flavor here because I had subbed water for the rum. Once baked, I brushed my cakes with very little thinned orange marmalade because that is what I had on hand.

Verdict: very simple & delicious cake which, if given the chance to sit overnight, will taste even better the next day. Although this might be more of a 'cake for adults' as Tina said because even though my daughter 'helped' me make it (she layered the apples on top and then sprinkled them with sugar) she didn't quite seem to like it very much. Here's a look at one of her creations: 

If you'd like to get the recipe for this cake, please head over to Mia's wonderful blog Bright Morning Star, or to page 214 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Next up, we're baking Coffee Break Muffins. If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Baking With Dorie: World Peace Cookies

It is so hard for me to describe these fabulous & famous cookies and so I can only summarize by saying that these are the most wonderful chocolate cookies I have ever had.

Closely related to sablés in texture, these cookies are light and sandy but with a stronger burst of chocolate flavor. The tiny bits of hand-chopped chocolate & intense cocoa flavor make them seem almost like a fudgy brownie. In fact the thicker they are sliced the more fudgy-brownie-like they taste because their middles are soft & the edges crispy.  I'd say this is a rather sophisticated, yet unassuming cookie.

Since I have zero will-power, I halved the recipe & wanted to use a Lindt Chili Bar in place of the dark chocolate required but then I discovered I didn't have it on hand like I usually do. So I added in just a little over 1 teaspoon of ground Chipotle Chili Pepper. That may have been a little  bit too much since I had halved the recipe - of course that didn't occur to me while adding it in. 

I had a few problems with the dough - it came together really well because I used softened butter. But after the dough had been shaped &refrigerated and I began slicing it, it would split in half. I pressed the sliced & split rounds together and baked the as they were while I refrigerated the log again. Eventually the problem solved itself when I sliced the cookies very thick which also meant very fat cookies. But I'm not complaining! 

I have to say the chipotle pepper added a deceptive heat to these cookies and, for me, it was an interesting blend of flavors. I should have added a little less chili powder because it pricked a little at the back of my throat. But here's the real surprise: my kids ate them. Not one each, but several - and they think 'the chili pepper is kind of nice' but 'these cookies are so, so good - they would be even better without the chili pepper'. I guess I was really pushing my luck with those chilies, wasn't I?

That said, I'm not done talking about these cookies yet. I wanted to compare them to chocolate sablés and figure out which I like better because I really couldn't decide.

Here are the sablés I used for comparison purposes:

One bite is never enough to decide. I took several: 

 

Was I any closer to deciding? No. 

The verdict: I love them both! The sablés taste far more buttery and were slightly little less sweet than world peace cookies.

The addition of fleur de sel  intensifies the cocoa flavor in the world peace cookies which, along with the hand-chopped dark chocolate, satisfies every chocolate craving I could ever have. They're not really like shortbread but taste more like double chocolate chip cookies with a pleasant saltiness.

Thanks for picking this recipe Rebecca! It was a wonderful way to roll in the new year. You can find the recipe for World Peace Cookies on Rebecca's blog Beurrista or pages 138-9 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Next up we're making Apple Coconut Family Cake. If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Happy New Year to you all & I hope 2011 brings peace to all mankind!

Baking With Dorie: Sablés

I love Sablés - especially chocolate ones. But since we're baking World Peace Cookies  next & they're almost Sablés-like (and may I mention they are the best cookies, ever!), I decided not to tinker with this recipe too much and wait to get my chocolate fix next time.

So I went ahead with the spice version suggested by Dorie Greenspan & while I was fumbling around in my kitchen cabinets looking for coarse sugar, I came across a packet of peppermint candy & thought what fun it would be to roll these cookies in crushed candy . . forgetting the fact that the candy would melt in the oven . . . and so 20 minutes later I was scraping all of this from the bottom of the cookies . . 

Just remind me to stick to the recipe next time! 

That said, the cookie dough was slightly tricky. I haven't made this kind of cookie in a while & Dorie's instructions said to not over-mix the dough. So I was over-cautious but then I was using a hand-held mixer so I had to beat just slightly longer than I was supposed to, and my resulting cookie-dough was just a little smoother than it was probably meant to be. 

I divided the dough and used just one half to make cookies this morning. They're really good: buttery (though not very crumbly because I figure I overmixed the dough), sandy, and taste somewhat like a snickerdoodle. But since I'm not very fond of snickerdoodles, I have a feeling I would have loved the lemon version more and intend to try it out some time between now and the next BWD challenge. 

Please do check out the other BWD bakers here. For the recipe, head over to Laurie's blog Cookin' up North, or page 131 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Next up, we're baking World Peace Cookies, picked by Rebecca. If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Baking With Dorie: Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake

Cheesecake had never been my forte until I discovered Dorie Greenspan. And so I felt pretty confident about tackling this recipe when Jen picked it for this week. Besides, what was not to love about the thought of apples, cinnamon and brown sugar in a cheesecake?

The only thing was - I didn't want to make a big cheesecake, but then I also didn't want to do the math & divide this recipe in half. What's a lazy girl to do? 

I didn't divide the recipe in half but baked 6 mini-cheesecakes in my muffin tin as a trial version & saved the rest of the filling to use later tomorrow. I expected an epic fail once I realized that I was out of sour cream & had to substitute with yogurt. I was sure something would happen to compromise the texture of the cheesecakes & sat around with fingers crossed the entire time they were baking.

I need not have worried because the texture turned out to be everything it promises to be: creamy without being too dense, and  the surprise layer of caramelized apples is deliciously pleasing.

This may not have been one of my prettiest BWD bakes, but whatever it lacked in visual appeal is made up for by its' apple-infused dreamy-creaminess. 

Thanks to Jen for picking this recipe this week! Please head over to Jen's blog for the recipe, or to pages 238-9 of Baking: from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. Do head over to the blog roll & check out how the other BWD bakers' did this week. 

Next up, we're baking Sables (picked by Laurie). If you'd like to join our baking challenges, please drop me a line at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us! 

Baking With Dorie: Applesauce Spice Bars

I finally made these! After looking through everyone else's blog posts this week, I knew I was going to love this bake & I was sure to double the glaze, as suggested by the other BWD bakers. 

These bars came together in no time at all, which made me realize I could have tried to make them sooner. And they were fabulous! Ultra-moist and almost spice-cake like, the glaze is what sends these bars truly over the edge and makes them completely irresistible. 

Thanks for choosing such a winner Chaya ! Please head over to Chaya's blog for the recipe, or to Page 117 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Next up, we're baking the Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake (Pages 238-8). If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Baking With Dorie: Pumpkin Muffins

There's nothing better than sleeping in late on a rare morning, and then heading down to the kitchen to bake up a batch of muffins that you can eat straight out of the oven; snuggled on the couch with your cup of coffee.

That's what I did today - trying to stretch out the quiet contentment of the sunny morning before my toddlers' friend arrived for a play date. I had figured these muffins would be a perfect snack for the kids and so I sprinkled them with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds for toddler-appeal. It worked as far attracting their attention was concerned, but unfortunately I found both kids making a mountain out of crumbs a few minutes after they sat down to eat these muffins.. ! I guess you just can't win them all.

But that is not to say that these muffins aren't good - they are moist and have just a subtle hint of spiciness and mild sugary sweetness with an agreeable blend of textures ranging from the soft chewiness of the raisins and pecans to the pleasing crunch from the sunflower seeds. I liked that these muffins were delicately spiced,  tender and not too sweet - perfect with cup of coffee. And so much healthier than our previous bakes!

Thank you for choosing this recipe this week Elizabeth!

For a gluten-free version of this dessert, please visit Elizabeth's blog Gluten-Free Baking 101. For the original recipe, visit Chaya's blog at My Sweet and Savory or Page 13 of Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan.

To check out the other BWD bakers, visit the blogroll here. Our next challenge is 'My Favorite Pecan Pie' picked by Tina of My Domestic Bliss. If you'd like to join our baking challenge, please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!

Baking With Dorie: Banana Cream Pie

I have to confess that when Rebecca chose this recipe for this weeks' BWD challenge, I groaned a bit inwardly thinking we were tackling yet another super-rich dessert & I have the hard-to-lose weight to prove the damage some of these recent bakes have done!

However, I've never made a banana cream pie before so I was excited to try and started planning my bake over a week ago. I was a little torn between trying the original version & a variation I had dreamed up. I even asked Dorie for advice and she steered me back on track and urged me to try the original recipe and play around with it later, when I have more time. And boy, am I glad that I followed the recipe exactly - because this is not a run of the mill Banana Cream Pie: the pastry cream is layered over sliced bananas and is rich but not overly sweet - the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg take the flavor up a notch without overwhelming it. It is topped with a cloud of barely-sweet whipped cream with a hint of tanginess from the sour cream. All of that goodness scooped into Dorie's flaky good-for-everything pie crust : in one word, sublime. 

I apologize for the late post and am also sorry that despite all my planning, I waited until the 11th hour to make the pie and then I almost ruined it - just look at that pie crust: what is all that speckly stuff??! 

I have made the pie crust so many times for previous BWD challenges that I could probably make it with my eyes closed - but I messed up this time. I over-worked it and kind of burned it because I made the pie in such a hurry. My pastry cream was made a night before but when I got ready to bake the crust and assemble the pie on Monday morning I got a phone call from a friend and had to rush to the hospital within the next two hours : I had promised to be present at her birth & it seemed it was time for her to go. So I baked the crust, assembled and photographed the pie - all on fast-forward - before I ran out of the house. 

And then I went from baking pies to witnessing miraculous birth. What an exhilarating, intense, lovely and emotional day! 

Two sweet endings in one day. Can it get better than that? 

For the recipe, please head over to Rebecca's blog Beurrista, or pages 342-3 of Baking: From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. Thanks for choosing this wonderful recipe Rebecca!

Next up, we're baking Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte (Pages 284-5 of BFMHTY), chosen by me! If you'd like to join us for our baking challenge, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us!