Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
Categories
Meta
Tuesdays With Dorie – Chocolate Crunch Caramel Tart
Thank you Carla from
for choosing this week’s selection
Chocolate Crunch Caramel Tart
for the baking group:
Chocolate Crunch Caramel Tart
Ken was very excited about this week’s selection as he dearly loves chocolate. I was very excited about this week’s selection because I love caramel. We were positive that combining these two flavours would certainly make up for a delicious tart.
Shortbread Crust:
We placed the flour, butter, sugar and salt into our food processor and literally whirled it up in no time. Like the recipe states, it was so easy to pat this dough into the tart pan, rather than rolling it out. We baked the crust for fifteen minutes. The aroma from this shortbread smelled so delicious – almost like a bakery! We were tempted to use a cookie cutter to cut cookies from this baked crust – however doing so would ruin the possibility of making this tart. So instead of shortbread cookies, we set the tart crust onto a cooling rack to cool.
Caramel:
I have made caramel before and was a little concerned about the boiling time, as I didn’t want our caramel layer to become too candy-like. We melted the sugar in our non-stick pan and added the corn syrup and boiled the two together until these ingredients turned into a nice caramel colour. We added the butter and the heavy cream that we previously brought to a boil in a separate pot. Next, we added the pieces of butter and allowed this mixture to come to a rolling boil. We checked the temperature with a candy thermometer and found that it was already at the required 225 degrees. We poured this thick caramel into our heat-proof bowl and set it aside.
Ganache:
Ken and I have made ganache before, but never with bittersweet chocolate. This recipe rendered a more thin ganache and caused me a little bit of concern that I didn’t use enough chocolate or that I measured wrong on the cream. I called my mother to confirm what eight ounces of chocolate should be. She always seems to know the answer to my questions and with this time being no exception, she confirmed our measurement. After talking to my “chief consultant,” I immediately felt more secure that this ganache would in fact turn out okay. To top it all off, Ken didn’t seem to have that “I’m in heaven” look about him when I gave him the pot and spatula to lick in the end. (Having used bitter-sweet chocolate doesn’t taste too well by itself.) However, this ganache was quick and easy to put together, as the ingredients were few and bringing heavy cream to a boil and then pouring it over the chocolate is certainly very easy to do and then swirling the mixture together with a wisk was fun, as the chocolate mixed with the cream magically reaches a certain smooth and shiny stage that heightens the senses and makes all those who love chocolate yearn for a taste.
Assembling the tart:
This was the fun part – placing Ken’s favourite – the chocolate ganache, along with my favourite – the caramel, that we laced with the toasted pecans into the shortbread crust.
Our tart was beautiful. We carefully placed it into our refrigerator to chill for the required thirty minutes, but discovered that we needed to chill it for an additional thirty minutes as the ganache was still a little giggly in the center.
As a result, we loved this tart. The smooth chocolate and delicate caramel flavours combined along with the lightly toasted pecans and with the buttery shortbread crust all came together very nicely into what Ken and I thought was a ”picture-perfect” dessert. Because of this we could hardly hold back the temptation to taste this splendid looking chocolate tart. Pictures came first! Then! The time was to have that first taste! The whole experience was absolutely sensational! The creamy chocolate ganache along with the thick carmel and the crunch from the pecans and the buttery crust caused a reaction with our tastebuds that immedately caused huge smiles. A final thought was that we decided that our tart tasted like a heath bar. How utterly delicious could that be?
Ken and I will certainly make this recipe again,
but will try using semi-sweet chocolate rather than the bitter-sweet.
If you would like to view this recipe, please visit Cara at Chocolate Moosey or buy the exquisite book – Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.
Posted in Baking With Chocolate, Pies, Tuesdays with Dorie
Leave a comment
Best Ever Challah
This is a delicious challah. I believe it is the honey that makes this loaf so delicious. You may make this by hand or in your bread machine.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 t salt
- 1 to 2 T sugar (or honey)
- 1-1/2 t yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2-1/2 T oil
- 1 egg
Method:
Using a two-cup measuring cup, fill with water and place in the microwave for 40 seconds. Take the water from the microwave and add two teaspoons of yeast to the water. Add 1/4 cup of honey to the water and stir with a fork until mixed. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together with a wisk. Add the egg and mix together lightly. Add the yeast mixture and mix together until it forms a dough. Flour your work surface and pour the dough out onto the floured surface. Knead the dough, adding additional flour as needed to make a nice dough that is not to sticky. Knead the dough for about ten minutes.
Spray your special challah bowl with cooking spray and turn the dough into the bowl until the dough is greased on all sides. Cover this bowl with wax paper and place into an oven that has been pre-heated to 175 degrees and then turn off. Let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, which will be about 1 1/2 hours.
Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down and knead for five minutes or until the dough is nice and elastic in texture.
With a knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into half and let one half rest under the large bowl. With the dough that is in the open, divide it into either three or six pieces. Roll each piece into a rope making sure that they are all about the same length. Pinch one end of the ropes together and braid. Place this braided loaf onto a large cookie sheet that has parchment paper placed onto it.
Do the same with the other half of dough that has been resting.
Spray a large rectangle of wax paper with cooking spray and place the sprayed side down over the braided loaves and place in a warm oven to rise for an additional 45 minutes.
Mix one egg in a small bowl with a fork and add about one teaspoon of water to the beaten egg. With a pastry brush, lightly “paint” the egg wash over the challout. If desired, now is the time to sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds over the challout.
Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake the challout for aoubt 32 minutes or until the loaves sound hallow when lightly touched with your finger nail.
Allow challout to cool slightly before eaten as the flovour of the bread will not be at its peake right from the oven. At this point, you can place each challah into a plastic bag and placing it into your freezer. Editor’s note, you may also freeze the challah when it has been braided and not risen for the second time. When ready to bake the frozen challah, take from the freezer and place onto your counter top until the loaf is room temperature and has risen (about 1 1/2 hours), then bake.
Posted in Breads, Chanukah, High Holy Days, Jewish, Rosh HaShannah, Yom Kippur
Tagged Best Ever, Challah, Jewish
Leave a comment
Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
Two 10-ounce packages frozen corn, thawed (I thawed mine in the microwave)
1/4 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of grated nutmeg
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a 1 and 1/2-quart baking dish. (I used my square corning ware dish)
2. In a food processor or blender, pulse or chop 1 of the packages of corn until coarsely chopped, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the remaining package of corn and sprinkle with the sugar and salt; stir to combine.
3. Whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, chives, flour, and vanilla and combine with the corn. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. I sprinkled chopped fresh parsley over the top. Bake in the center of the oven until the center of the pudding is just set, about 45 minutes.
Posted in Side Dishes
Leave a comment
Smoked Chicken, Balsamic Brown Butter Sauce Ravioli
Ingredients:
- 1 package frozen smoked chicken ravioli
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method:
- Cook ravioli according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
- While the ravioli are cooking, melt butter in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate the ravioli, over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the butter begins to turn golden brown, remove pan from heat and let sit for about 1 minute. Whisk in vinegar, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Place ravioli in butter sauce in pan, turning gently to coat. Warm over low heat, then pour out onto serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings.
Posted in Entree', Pasta
Leave a comment
Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin
Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin
Ingredients:
2 medium yellow squash
4 small to medium red potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese
salt and pepper
1/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon thinly sliced basil, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Method:
Use a mandoline or chef’s knife to slice the squash and potatoes into very, very thin slices, 1/8-inch or less. Toss the sliced vegetables with the olive oil in a large bowl.
Pour a small drizzle of olive oil in a casserole dish (around 8 or 9 inches square) and spread it around the bottom and sides. Place 1/3 of the squash and potato slices in the bottom of the dish—no need to layer them squash-potato-squash-etc.—then season with salt and pepper. Top with half of the goat cheese, scattered evenly in large chunks. Repeat with another 1/3 of the vegetables, seasoning again with salt and pepper and topping with the other 1/2 of the goat cheese. Finish by layering on the final 1/3 of the vegetables and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Pour the milk over the entire dish. Top with the parmesan cheese. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until the top browns. Scatter on the fresh basil, if using.
Posted in Side Dishes
Leave a comment
Popovers – So Quick and Easy
Popovers
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Spray muffin or popover tin with cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons butter melted
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
Method:
Using a blender, mix all of the ingredients together in the order listed, until smooth and contains no lumps. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into alternating muffin holes. Bake for 25 minutes without opening the oven door. After 25 minutes turn down the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional thirteen to fifteen minutes.
Serve immediately with some fresh butter.
Posted in Breads
Leave a comment
Tuesdays with Dorie – Cottage Cheese Pufflets
Cottage Cheese Pufflets – our debut recipe on Tuesdays with Dorie!
Today is Sunday, September 20, 2009 and also the
second day of Rosh HaShannah.
This is a brand new year 5770 and a brand new recipe to try!
Thank you Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for choosing this delicious recipe.
I awakened early with the anticipation of trying out a new recipe! I think I must have dreamed about making these pufflets in my sleep.
From reading the recipe and knowing ahead of time that the dough would need chilling, I wanted to get the dough made early so that it would chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
I found that mixing the ingredients together in the food processor was easy and convenient and only one bowl to clean! The butter and cottage cheese were mixed together and created a smooth almost velvet-like texture.
I added the flour and pulsed the processor just until the mixture formed into a dough. I then wrapped the dough in some plastic wrap and then shaped into a twelve-inch rectangle and placed into refrigerator. This dough was very soft and needed at least least three hours chilling time.
After chilling the dough. I took the dough from the refrigerator and cut the rectangle in half. I placed one half in the refrigerator and the other half I placed between two pieces of wax paper. Ken was home from attending Temple Oheb Shalom’s second day of Rosh HaShannah service and was very willing to help. See what an angel I am married to?
Ken rolled out the dough into a rectangle and used a ruler to measure and mark the dough into two-inch squares. He used a pizza dough cutter to cut the dough into squares.
We placed 1/8 of a teaspoon of raspberry preserves; just off-center onto each square. We were in the process of folding one edge to meet the other edge when we discovered that the dough was almost too sticky and soft to work with. As a result, we only had time to make three completed triangles before we had to place the sheet of squares into the refrigerator to chill again. So we baked three triangles of puffets all by themselves!
We baked the puffets in a 400 degree oven for about twelve minutes. They puffed up nicely, and boasted themselves into a beautiful golden colour with the raspberry preserves seeping from the edges! How beautiful! We took them from the oven and placed them onto a cooling rack where we immediately dusted the pufflets with powdered sugar.
We were so excited at that point that we just has to taste one. They were exquisite! — Ken enjoyed the flavour and it wasn’t even chocolate! The delicate and mild flavour reminded me of cookies that my mother used to make during my childhood. I can’t remember the name of the cookie though, perhaps my sweet and beautiful mother will remember — she always seems to know what I am referring to. Is this a “mom” thing or what? These pufflets were light and airy along with a nice little crunch AND had a delightful sweetness from the preserves and powdered sugar combined that created a delightful soft and delicate taste.
For the remaining half of dough that was chilling in the refrigerator, we rolled out the dough and measured it into three-inch squares. Oh yes! Marking and cutting the dough into these larger squares allowed for a much larger rectangle and was easier to handle while folding the dough over the preserves to make into triangles. We still had to place the dough into the refrigerator during the middle of the process as the dough became very soft and very sticky VERY quickly.
As a variation, we thought we would try using some grape jam and quickly decided that the raspberry preserves were better.
This recipe overall was fun and easy to make, however because of the dough becoming so soft and sticky we thought the recipe was a bit tedious with having to continue placing the dough back into the refrigerator to chill. However the taste of the puffets make up for this and we will definately make these delightful little pufflets again and again.
If you’d like to see the recipe, please check out Dorie Greenspan’s book “Baking, From my Home to Yours,” or stop by Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes blog for the recipe (Jacque’s site is awesome, by the way).
We hope you will enjoy making these pufflets
as much as Ken and I did.
**************************************
Ken is especially looking forward to next week’s recipe
as it is chocolate!
Posted in Tuesdays with Dorie
Leave a comment