TWD- Cake Perfected

There was a time when I was willing to settle...for mediocre desserts. Boxed cookies, over-refrigerated restaurant cakes, and I'll admit to eating more than a few chocolate bars past there prime. That white stuff is safe right? Well friends, those days are over. Baking classes, awesome blogging groups like Tuesday's With Dorie, and a whole lot of Food Network have made me quite the dessert snob these days. Why settle for old grocery store cake when I have a Perfect Party Cake recipe in my arsenal?!
This is the second time I have successfully made this cake and despite many previous white cake disasters I thinks I am finally getting the hang of this thing! I'm not so over confident as to branch out just yet so I followed this recipe almost exactly, save for halving it to make a 4 inch mini cake and replacing the lemon extract with vanilla.

For the layers I used homemade raspberry pan jam and and I totally heart pressing coconut into the buttercream. Especially since it covers up my less than stellar icing job.
Finally being able to bust out darn good dessert from my kitchen is enough to make me want to celebrate. For more Party Cake perfection, head on over the blogroll.

Bakewell Tart- The Name Says It Best

June's Daring Bakers challenge, the Bakewell Tart, is a classic English dessert with a bit of an identity crisis. Some call it a tart, other a pudding. Admittedly, I had low expectations for this little pastry. Shortbread crust with jam and frangipane, topped with slivered almonds, it was easy to throw together but not much to look at.


Until you take a bite.


Soft gooey frangipane giving way to sweet tart raspberry jam, it knocked my socks of people! So whatever you want to name it, I just call it delicious.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Raspberry Bakewell Tartlets

For the Pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

For the Frangipane
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. I used raspberry pan jam based on Jasmine's recipe found here. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

Flying Solo

Due to a family crisis, I was unable to attend my last Pro Baking 1 class, croissant and puff pastry. The makeup class won't be until the fall and I was feeling a little nervous about starting Pro 2 without those skills under my belt. I'd already learned to make the croissant dough in class so I took out my notebook and got to work. Initially I was sure I had failed because the dough was way stickier than I remembered but since I'd already invested half my household supply of flour I soldiered on. After adding more flour and a few minutes of kneading I felt I had something I could work with and ultimately I was happier with this dough than the one I had made previously. The butter didn't even squish out the sides when I rolled and turned it- very encouraging. I refrigerated the dough overnight and got an early start this morning in the hopes that they'd be done in time for breakfast. I formed my plain and chocolate croissants and let them rise for 1 1/2 hours, popped them in the oven and crossed my fingers. 20 minutes later...


Success! I couldn't believe it. They looked really great and tasted even better. 2 months ago I never would have attempted croissants at home and now I can't wait to make them again. Sweet, buttery, flaky victory!
For great croissant tutorials and recipes, go here and here.

TWD- Oh The Humidity

Flying cross country from LA to West Palm Beach can be grueling, unless of course you get upgraded to first class (thanks Continental!), but it's worth the for the hugs. The first and best one coming from Mom, and next the embrace of the soft, humid Florida air. Yes, I love humidity. It makes my skin glow, my hair curl, it makes me happy. That old SoCal excuse, well sure it's 9o degrees but it's a dry heat, just doesn't do it for me. However, it is hell on baking. Whenever I go to Florida I try to recreate the desserts I make in my own kitchen, often to less than stellar results. Mushy eclairs, tart dough that keeps cracking apart- I blame my friend humidity. It's a good thing I waited until I got home to attempt this week's TWD, Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise.
Getting those meringue layers to the crisp stage, and keeping them there, was quite an adventure. Unsure of whether or not I would enjoy this, I halved the recipe and made the meringue layers 6x3. Plus I was hoping it would cut down on the 3 hour baking time. 2 1/2 hours in they were still sticky and I was running late for a tennis lesson. I shut the oven off and left them in there while I was gone. One hour later they were perfect so I took them out and left them on the counter but by the end of the day they had started sticking to the parchment paper. I put them back in the oven for 20 minutes then shut off the heat and left them in there overnight. Even after all that, just sitting on the counter this morning while roasting the pineapple and whipping the ganache, the meringue had already begun to soften. I quickly assembled the Dacquoise and put it in the fridge. From the cook's treat I left my self (a spare piece of meringe dredged through ganache and coconut scraps) I can tell this is going to be swoon-worthy and well worth the effort.
For more Dacquoise fun, check out the TWD blogroll.

TWD- Keeping It Real

I had grand plans. After years of wanting an ice cream maker, trying to convince myself I needed one, jealous of how everyone else seemed to be casually throwing together awesome ice creams to accompany all their desserts, Mom finally sent us one for our anniversary- just in time for this week's TWD, Honey Peach Ice Cream. Boy was I excited. Would it be ice cream sandwiches? A topping for that peach cobbler recipe I've been wanting to try? Maybe topped with caramelized peach sauce?
I made the peach puree and the custard base, and turned on my new toy. 25 minutes later I scooped the ice cream into my new, adorable little pint container, popped it in the freezer and waited. 2 hours later I checked on it and it was still soft. An hour later, still too soft, and I had tell my husband to have a mango for dessert instead of the delicious ice cream I had previously promised. Finally by the next night, after spicy drunken noodles, the we could wait no longer. We dove in to perfectly peach scented, velvety soft ice cream and it was good. So good I was planning a second helping when I realized that not only was there not enough for seconds, but I hadn't taken any photos yet. Oops.
So, instead of artfully arranged scoops in cute bowls, or stacks of little sandwiches, give you the dregs of the carton...which will be consumed as soon as I've taken this last photo.

Yeah I feel a little guilty, guess you'll just have to get your own. Go here to find out how.