I’ve always wanted to make a Baked Alaska since having it for dessert at Bistro Ortolan. For those who don’t know a Bombe Alaska is a Meringue based dessert that has ice-cream layered with sponge cake, which is then topped with Meringue before being torched quickly to let the Meringue harden. For my version I used a Coconut and Durian ice cream, paired with Pandan flavoured meringue and layered with Brown Butter Pound Cake.

Durian Bombe Alaska - Looks like a durian, right ?

(...)
Read the rest of Daring Bakers Challenge, Pandan Bombe Alaska with Durian & Coconut Icecream (1,366 words)

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Suet?? For those who don’t know, suet is the solid fat surrounding the loin and kidneys of animals, with suet from beef and lamb predominantly used. My initial reaction at the thought of incorporating raw animal fats into my dessert was one of disgust, only because I don’t eat meat. Unfortunately, it appears that many other participants of DBC felt the same way, so Esther was very accomodating and allowed us to use any substitute that we were comfortable with, provided we stick to either steaming or more traditionally boiling our pudding.

The best choice for me was to substitute the suet for butter. However the most difficult part was to figure out what type of flavours or fillings to use. As bananas are currently in season in Sydney, I decided to go with a steamed banana pudding.

Esther was kind enough to provide us with the recipes for variations of puddings, I’ll post the recipe for the one I used. If you’re interested in other options, check out Esther’s blog. 

Steamed Banana Pudding

100gm plain flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

100gm breadcrumbs

75gm caster sugar

75 gm butter

1 large egg

6-8 tablespoon cold milk

2 mashed ripened bananas

1. Sift flour, salt, baking powder in to a bowl
2. Add breadcrumbs, sugar and butter
3. Using a mixer, beat to a soft batter with egg, milk and ripened banana
4. Pour in to a spring form baking tray or a pudding bowl. Cover securely with baking paper or foil.
5. Steam for 2-3 hours.
6. Turn out on to a plate, and serve at room temperature.

I’ve only started experimenting with burnt butter, because of the fragrant nutty flavour that burnt butter oemitted, I decided to make burnt butter ice cream to serve with my pudding. Overall, I served my banana pudding with caramelised banana pieces, freshly whipped cream, cocoa chips, burnt butter ice cream and chocolate powder.

With all products of my DBCs my brother and boyfriend are usually the guinea pigs, they would usually have a bite, then either walk away or stay to eat the plate clean. Luckily this time they both absolutely loved it, with my brother declaring it “the best DBC ever.” With such statements, I couldn’t help but sample it myself. OMG the banana pudding was so moist! The smell of the banana just permeates the sponge cake. The freshly whipped cream helped balance the caramelised banana, while the cocoa chip added that much needed crunch. The superbly rich and creamy burnt butter ice cream really tied everything together.

As previously mentioned, the thing i love most about the DBC is that it encourages you to step out of your comfort zone, to do things that you never thought was possible. Thank you Esther for choosing such an interesting challenge for this month, now I have another accomplishment under my belt.

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Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession. I’m a huge fan of tiramisu, and have often made it from store bought mascarpone cheese and Savioardi biscuit. However, this time, Deeba and Aparna insisted that we make everything from scratch.

This month I created a ‘pyramisu’, a tiramisu filling inside a chocolate shaped pyramid.

For my Tiramisu, I decided to pair it with some cereal milk crumbs and cereal milk ice cream adapted from David Chang’s Momofuku cook book.

Cereal milk ice cream & cereal milk crumbs

Cereal Milk ice cream and milk crumbs

The recipe in the momofuku book was for a cereal milk panna cotta, however I’ve adapted it with the help of David Lebovitz to convert it in to ice cream.

The mixture for the ice cream consisted of cereal (cornflakes), milk, cream, sugar, salt and egg yolk. After the custard had cooled down, it was placed into Mr Snowy, our basic ice cream maker, only to produce a beautiful velvety ice cream. Surprisingly the smell of the cornflake was quite prominent, which was further complemented by the crispy milk crumbs.

The Pyramisu

Different layers and textures of the Pyramisu

Last month while in Japan, I had the opportunity to visit Kappabashi street in Ueno, which is one whole street with stores after stores selling pots, pans, cooking utensils, anything you can think of to do with cooking, except the produce. Whilst there, without knowing it, I somehow spent a couple of hundred of dollars. Once I got back from japan, sifting through all my purchases, I found a Pyramid mould, something I doubt I would use often. To make use of one of my impulse buys, I thought I’d present my tiramisu in the form of a pyramid, hence my Pyramisu.

The top layer, apex, was filled with mascarpone cream, then topped with savioardi biscuit quickly dipped in espresso mixture, then topped with another layer of mascarpone cream, then sprinkled with some savioardi biscuit dunked in espresso which I dried in the oven then crushed, and finally filled to the base with mascarpone cream.

Revealing the Pyramisu

Inside the Pyramisu

On the day that I was making my DBC, the temperature was 35 degrees celsius, making it very difficult to take photos of my final product nefore everything started melting. I presented my Pyramisu with the Momofuku cereal milk ice cream and milk crumbs, accompanied by a slick of caramel and surrounded by left over espresso saviordi biscuit crumbs.

Tiramisu being one of my favourite dessert, I ate the whole thing myself. Overall, I think the rich coffe flavours of the tiramisu went well with the cereal milk ice cream, the combined flavours were further enhanced by the accompanying caramel. I think this is one dessert that I’d be happy to make over and over again to serve to family and friends.

Thank you to Deeba and Aparna for this wonderful challenge. I loved every component of it, from learning to make your own mascarpone cream and Savioardi biscuit, to the flexibility of presenting it however way you like, a blank canvass for your creative outlet.

I would also like to thank Ellie from Almost Bourdain for continuously motivating me to quickly complete my DBC.

TIRAMISU (Recipe source: Carminantonio’s Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 ) This recipe makes 6 servings Ingredients: For the zabaglione:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
• 1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
• 1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the vanilla pastry cream:

• 1/4 cup/55gms sugar
• 1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

For the whipped cream:

• 1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
• 1/4 cup/55gms sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

To assemble the tiramisu:

• 2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
• 1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
• 1/2 cup/110gms sugar
• 1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
• 36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
• 2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Method: For the zabaglione:

1. Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
2. In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
3. Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
4. Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the pastry cream:

1. Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
2. Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
3. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
4. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream: Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside. To assemble the tiramisu:

1. Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8″ by 8″ should do) or one of your choice.
2. Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.
4. Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
5. Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
6. Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
7. Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
8. To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

MASCARPONE CHEESE (Source: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese) This recipe makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese Ingredients:

• 474ml (approx. 500ml)/ 2 cups whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream (between 25% to 36% cream will do)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method:

1. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
2. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.
3. Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.
4. Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

LADYFINGERS/ SAVOIARDI BISCUITS (Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home) This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2″ to 3″ long) ladyfingers. Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 6 tablespoons /75gms granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
• 6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner’s sugar,

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
2. Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
4. Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5″ long and 3/4″ wide strips leaving about 1″ space in between the strips.
5. Sprinkle half the confectioner’s sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
6. Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.
7. Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.
8. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.
9. Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

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The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.  

For this month’s challenge, I wanted to experiment and play around with flavours and textures, so modified the recipe a little. I added caramel and chocolate mousse to the middle, and instead of vanilla custard, I substituted it for cheesecake filling.  (...)
Read the rest of Daring Bakers Challenge, Nanaimo Bars (975 words)

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My problem is that I tend to leave things to the last-minute. Unfortunately my daring baker’s challenge was no exception. From the day that Lisa revealed the challenge, procrastination took the better of me, until it was the weekend before the reveal date. The conditions of the weekend allocated for the DBC couldn’t be any worse. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the average temperature of Sunday was 41 degrees Celsius (106 F). Essentially what that meant was I’d have to make something that I’ve never made before, then deep-frying it and filling it, all on the second hottest day ever recorded in November here in Sydney, Australia. That will teach me not to leave things to the last-minute again.

My first experience which soon developed to an obsession (yes I know, another one) with Cannoli started precisely 4 years ago. It was 4 years ago, that I started a new job at a shop which was directly opposite to a beautiful Italian patisserie. Each morning, my request would be a ricotta filled cannoli with a medium cappuccino. I can remember how the cannoli tasted, with its crispy shell encasing an airy mixture of ricotta cheese, doused in a little sprinkle of icing sugar, seems like it was only yesterday. Regrettably, I left that job 2 years ago, and was forced to leave the cannoli behind. Imagine my joy when I found out that this month’s DBC is cannoli, another thing that I absolutely adore eating, but never had the courage to try.(...)
Read the rest of Daring Baker’s Challenge, Cannoli (1,322 words)

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Pink Macaron with Vanilla buttercream, Macaron with Nutella buttercream

Anybody that knows me well would know that upon the revelation of this month’s daring baker’s challenge, I was shitting myself.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Prior to attempting this month’s challenge, my half dozen past experiences with macaron went something like this.

1. Separate egg whites from yolk

2. Whisk and add ingredients according to instruction

3. Pipe the macronage

4. Kneeling, with eyes glued to the oven for 10-15 minutes.

5. Pull out the failed macarons and discard it.

With such traumatic experiences, you can understand why I was so hesitant in dipping my toes into such a challenge again. Alas, it is the nature of the DBC, over coming your fears, creating things you’d never thought possible and learning from your mistakes.

To prepare myself for the daunting task ahead, I consulted the Holy Bible of Macaron that is Tartelette’s blog. After reading through her macaron posts, I was feeling confident enough to give the macaron one last go.

My fear of failure, and reading about people’s unsucessful attempts at macaron using the recipe provided, I opted for Tartelette’s standard recipe. Imagine my suprise when out of the overn, I pulled out a tray of successful macarons, with feet and all.

I was so happy with my success that I started to get a little obsessed, making another half a dozen batches, each time yielding beautiful macarons and experimenting with flavours.

Since first having mini macarons at Sepia, I’ve come to love these miniature versions. I dabbled with coloured dye, so resulted in blue macarons, and black sesame shells with buttercream filling.

My mum loves coconuts, so I made her a coconut/almond meal macaron with pandan leaf flavoured buttercream. Despite it taking me over an hour to fill up the jar, it took mum and the brother less than half an hour to demolish it. I take that as a good sign.

The obligatory tower of macaron, top to bottom: Black sesame shell with vanilla buttercream filling, coconut and almond meal shell with Pandan flavoured buttercream, and blue shell with vanilla buttercream.

Like any proud parent, I was showing off my little babies. Here’s a hanfdul of the mini macarons.

By this stage, with about 5 succesful macaron attempts under my belt, I decided to give macaron making a break. However, due to left over ingredients I decided to play around with different colours and create something different.

Eiffel Tower

The one thing that comes to my mind at the mere mention of Macaron is Paris.

Using super dooper mini macarons, I decided to diagrammatically present it in the form of the Eiffel Tower.

Nearing completion, Dad commented that it looked like the Eiffel Tower, YAY! I’m glad someone can make out what I was attempting.

My Eiffel Tower macaron in all it’s glory.

Joining the Daring Baker’s Challenge should come with a health warning; WARNING: BEING A DBC MEMBER WILL UNLEASH OCD THAT YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED Since completing my challenge, I’ve noticed that there are a few habits that I’ve picked up or things I’m obsessed about.

1. Looking out for powdered dye at every store that I go to

2. Ensuring that egg whites are aged for 4 days, no more, no less.

3. Looking at feets, whether it be macaron or human.

4. Running around the house looking for spots with the best natural sunlight.

5. Looking out for items that can be used as props for future photo taking sessions

6. The word “Lava like”

After sucessfully churning out about 8 batches of Macaron, I am happy to announce that I’m finally able to move ahead, putting the macaron demon behind me. Once again, thank you to Ami for choosing a great challenge, you’ve helped me over come my failures.

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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.

According to Steph’s fabulous french skills means, Vols au Vent means “After one bite we could die and go to heaven!” I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m a sucker for puff pastry so I totally agree with her definition. What I love about puff pastry is the the fact that it’s flaky, but not dry, buttery but not oily. I also love it’s versatility, whereby it’s  used in millefueille, pies, sausage rolls and strudels; add a bit of yeast, and we get croissants and danish pastries, the list is endless, or so Wikipedia tells me.

So imagine my delight, when this month’s challenge was revealed. Despite my adoration for all things puff pastry, I’ve never endeavored into making my own, fearing all the possibilities that can lead to failure of the pastry. For this month, I decided to brush away all my doubts and delve into making my own puff pastry dough, and hopefully creating some vols au vent.

Throughout the last couple of weeks, the weather in Sydney has been quite warm, ranging from 25 to 30 degrees celsius, which I’m told is 10 degrees higher than September average. Taking this factor in to consideration, I decided to make my dough at night time, when the weather was cooler. I followed the exact recipe as provided by Steph, which was simplified with all the great tips she provided.

Before attempting the puff pastry, I would recommend watching the video as provided by Steph, as it gives insight into what to expect, Puff pastry with Michel Richard.

The recipe from which I cooked from is adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan, as a result, I will not be posting it, however other recipes for making puff pastry is readily available on the web.

Mixing the Dough:

Sifting the cake flour and plain flour

The original recipe called for a food processor, however, because I don’t have one, I did everything manually.

Creating a well so that cold water can be added

Slash dough before resting

Steph recommended that we slash the dough prior to resting it, I think I went a little overboard with the slashing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Quartered block of butter ready for pounding

Flattened butter, ready to be incorporated in to the dough

Baking the Vols Au Vent

Steph’s method for baking the Vols Au Vent was very easy to follow and made baking the puff pastry simple. I’ve included her method to assist those who are looking to give it a go.

-well-chilled puff pastry dough
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d’oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

Baked vols au vent, ready for filling

Assembling my Vols Au Vent

Making the dough for me was quite enjoyable and therapeutic, once I got into the rhythm of it, although I’m sure all the rolling and folding motion more than made up for my weekly exercise routines. For me, the most difficult task of the challenge was coming up with an idea for the filling. So many ideas raced through my mind throughout the last couple of weeks, it was only through a conversation with my brother that the idea striked me. I’ll be making a steak Vols Au Vent. Not just any steak sandwich derative, but a steroidal one.

Layers 1 & 2

The bottom most layer was filled with a medium well cooked piece of steak, followed by a piece of pan fried bacon.

3rd layer

Next up was a piece of gruyere cheese, melted under the grill.

4th and 5th layer

The gruyere cheese was then topped with another piece of steak and bacon.

Top layer

To top it all off, a fried sunny side up egg.

Food porn: ooh runny yolk

Vols au vent with balsamin glaze

Vols au vent: Side View

So lets go through everything again, from top to bottom

• Egg- Tick
• Bacon- Tick
• Steak- Tick
• Gruyere cheese- Tick
• Bacon again- Tick
• Steak again- Tick
• Puff Pastry- Tick

After taking numerous photos of my completed Vols Au vent, both my brother and boyfriend attacked the stack like vultures. With crumbs around their mouth, mixture of egg yolk and balsamic glaze dripping from their chin, the only coherent thing I can make out was, “nom nom nom mummble mummble mummble soo good, mummble mummble best puff pastry.” From the mess they made on the plate and on their faces, I guess the recipe was a success. If I were to make these as an appetiser for a party, I’d only use a layer of each filling, just for ease of handling.

Stay tuned, with the left over puff pastry, I attempted to make an Ispahan millefeuille which will be blogged about in my next post.

Once again, thanks  Steph for choosing such a great challenge, I’m now able to tick this off my never ending “learn to make” list. Bring on the next challenge =D

Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards!

We need your votes …. only if you think we deserve it. Head over and vote on the right hand side of this blog on the voting panel and vote for us in the first ever Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards. You need to vote in every category (eatshowandtell for food) and then press submit for the vote to count. We are up against some stiff competition, but every vote counts! While your there, vote for the other Aussie blogs too (Michael Aulia , Mr Gadget, Super Kawaii Mama, Childhood101, Lady Melbourne)

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Throughout the last couple of months, to alleviate my withdrawal symptoms from Masterchef addiction, I dabbled in a couple of side projects, the Adriano Zumbo Mousse Cake, and the Aria Chocolate tart. I had soo much fun tackling those two recipes that I decided to join the Daring Baker’s Challenge. This month marks my first forray into the secrect baking society that is the Daring Baker’s Challenge (DBC).

The hosts for this month’s challenge was Lorraine of Notquitenigella and Angela from A Spoonful of sugar, they chose the Dobos Torte. Initially, I had no idea what it was, however, with the help of Wikipedia, all my questions were soon answered.

Dobos Torte is a 5 layered cake originating from Hungary. It consists between alternating between sponge layers with buttercream filling, topped with a caramel layer and coated with ground nuts, usually hazelnut.

I’m one of those people who loves to be super dooper prepared when I’m taking on a new task, this was no different. I started the baking process at 9am on a beautiful Sunday morning, and finished by midday, giving me the rest of the day to ejoy the fruits of my labour.

As I had decided on doing mini tortes, the following instructions is catered for my version, however the original recipe will be available for download.

Sponge Cake Layers

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar, divided

1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)

pinch of salt

1. Position the racks in the middle of the oven and set it at 200 C (150 fan force).

2. Cut off a piece of baking paper, long enough to cover the entire area of the baking tray.

3. Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g), confectioner’s (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don’t have a mixer.)

4. In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner’s (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5. Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet, using a spatula to spread evenly. The mixture is adequate for covering 4 large rectangular baking trays. Don’t be concerned if the mixture is not spread out 100% evenly.

6. Bake sponge layer for approximately 5 minutes, or until the top starts to puff up and adopt a golden brown colour. Remove from the oven, place another piece of baking paper to cover the top of the layer and flatten with another baking tray. This ensures that the layer is even. Allow to cool and repeat above processes for the remaining mixture.

Chocolate Buttercream

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (200g) caster sugar 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped

2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

1. Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

3. Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes. (For this process, I would recommend getting someone to help. By the time I was done, my arm felt as if it was going to fall off)

4. Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

5. When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

For the next step, the original recipe called for a caramel layer. I tried the caramel but found that it was too hard to eat, so instead decided to leave it out of the torte, I instead substituted it for spun sugar.

Spun Sugar

With the help of google once again, I was able to locate a site that provided great instructions on making spun sugar.

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup (glucose)

1/2 cup water

1. Prepare your working area, covering the surface of the table and the floor with newspaper. Place two pots/saucepans at the edge of the table, allowing it’s handles to stick out from the table. Cover the handles with oil.

2. Fill a bowl with iced water, and place it aside the pots.

3. Combine sugar, water and syrup into a medium sized saucepan, allow to melt under medium to high heat. Cover with a lid and allow to boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lif, stirring occassionally until the temperature of the mixture reaches 154 degrees celsius (310 F). Add 1-2 drops of yellow food colouring into the boiled mixture and mix well. Remove and place on the iced water to stop the cooking process. leave to stand for 2 minutes, allowing the syrup to thicken.

4. Dip a fork into the syrup and hold it 5-6 inches above the saucepan handle, flicking it back and forth between the two handles. If the strands have too many syrup beads, allow the syrup to cool fof another minute to further thicken it, then try again. If the syrup is too lumpy and therefore doesn’t form strands, quickly reheat the mixture again, however cool for a shorter period of time.

Assembling the Dobos

1. Use a cookie cutter or a round egg mould to cut out circles from the rectagular piece of sponge cake.

2. Place a dap of the buttercream on a plate, then top it with a piece or circular sponge, spread a thick layer of buttercream on top of the sponge. Alternate between sponge and buttercream, until you’ve added 5 layers of sponge. Using a spatula, evenly spread a layer of buttercream around and on top of the torte, covering the sponge layers.

3. Add raspberries on top, and drape the spun sugar around the torte.

4. To decorate, mix melted dark chocolate with heated cream. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the mixture onto the plate, flicking the spoon outwards to form the desired shape. Add a teablespoon of crushed almond praline to one side of the plate, topping it with a quenelle of mascarpone/cream and honey mix

Overall, once again, I had such great fun making this torte that the 2.5 hours of my beautiful sunday invested in baking was well worth it. Not only did I have fun, but the actual torte was delicious. The slightly sour Raspberries did a great job in neautralising the sweet and creamy buttercream. The sponge layer itself was soo soft and fluffy that it actually soaked in some of the buttercream. The spun sugar and almond praline added a different texture to the somewhat soft torte.

This is a recipe that I would definitely consider doing again, maybe next time as a large cake for a birthday. I would recommend you guys give this recipe a go, it might seem daunting, but once you get in to it, it’s quite easy although a little time consuming.

Once again, thanks to Lorraine and Angela for choosing such a fantastic recipe. It definitely challenged me and enabled me to try out new techniques.

© Linda for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 52 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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