Sugar Cookies

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking


I have always admired those beautiful sugar cookies you see in magazines.  I never had the patience to make them though.  I still don't think I have the patience.  But I must say, I may try and conquer this again.


Part of the challenge was to make something that reminds us of September.  And September always reminds me of the beginning of school which means the beginning of Football.  Luckily there was a baby shower for a friend who happens to be having a baby boy.  The shower was a surprise, and we decided to make it a sports theme.  So I volunteered to make cookies.


They didn't turn out like the ones you see in the magazines, but I sure did learn a lot. 

 

       

Baked Alaska and Petit Fours

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

I was so excited to make Baked Alaska.  I have always wanted to make it.  My Mom and I always planned to make it, but that never could happen.  BUT I did get to now.  It was lots of fun.  And mighty tasty!

The Recipe as I received it:

Directions:

Vanilla Ice Cream

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

3/4 cup (165g) sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract

2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If you do not have a vanilla bean, simply heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.)

2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.

3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.

4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.

5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine. See instructions from David Lebovitz:http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/07/making_ice_crea_1.html

Brown Butter Pound Cake

19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter

2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See “Note” section for cake flour substitution)

1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt

1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar

1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.

2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.

3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.

5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.

6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze (For the Ice Cream Petit Fours)

9 ounces (250g) dark chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup (250 ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream

1 1/2 tablespoons (32g) light corn syrup, Golden syrup, or agave nectar

2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract

Stir the heavy cream and light corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the dark chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds, then stir to completely melt the chocolate. Stir in the vanilla and let cool until tepid before glazing the petit fours.

Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)

8 large egg whites

½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar

½ teaspoon (3g) salt

1 cup (220g) sugar

Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Instructions – Ice Cream Petit Fours

1. Line a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) pan with plastic wrap, so that no sides of the pan are exposed and so there is some extra plastic wrap hanging off the sides. Spread 1 ¾ to 2 cups (450ml to 500ml) ice cream into the pan. Cover with more plastic wrap and freeze several hours.

2. Once the brown butter pound cake has completely cooled, level the top with a cake leveler or a serrated knife. Then split the cake in half horizontally to form two thin layers.

3. Unwrap the frozen ice cream. Flip out onto one of the layers of cake and top with the second layer of cake. Wrap well in plastic wrap and return to the freezer overnight.

4. Make the chocolate glaze (see above.)

5. While the glaze cools, trim ¾” (2cm) off each side of the ice cream cake to leave a perfectly square 7.5” (19cm) ice cream cake. Cut the cake into twenty five petit fours, each 1.5”x1.5” (4cmx4cm).

6. Glaze the petit fours one at a time: place a petit four on a fork and spoon chocolate glaze over it.

7. Place the petit fours on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the freezer for one hour.

Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska

1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid.

2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.

3. Make the meringue (see above.)

4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.

5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.

6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

I made a strawberry ice cream. I made the meringue, chocolate sauce, and brown butter pound cake exactly as written.

Finger Paint

Recently I have wanted to do more art projects with the kids.  I LOVE doing them.  I also feel a responsibility to share art with my kids.  I always had it around me when I was growing up and I have always wanted it for them.  But unfortunately the two best art teachers I ever had in my life can't be in theirs. One being my Grandmother the other my Mother.

Since the kids are still little and I am a little behind on their exposure I started with something simple.  FINGER PAINT!  Good thing I did.  Anna really didn't want to touch it.  She liked seeing me draw int he paint, but preferred not to touch it herself.

I cut a "comb" out of an plastic food lid.  (It happened to be an ice cream lid since I was working on an ice cream cake) The recipe was great for the finger paint.  It cleaned-up so well.  I wish I had known about it back when we painted my belly for maternity pictures. It would have made clean-up a bit easier... although it was pretty easy then as well since I took so many steps to prevent heartache. I did drip some in the carpet, but it pretty much came out.  There is a slight blue left, but I think if I made a little effort it would come out.  I will probably just use the SpotBot carpet cleaner with some water.

Another great thing about this recipe is it is so easy too.
2 parts liquid Tempra Paint (1/4 cup)
1 part liquid dish soap (1/8 cup)
This made more than enough paint.


So this is where the fun ended.

Eli said it was a river, so I added the wave like effect.  He just wanted it solid blue.

Swiss Roll Ice Cream C ake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.-

I was kinda excited to make this cake.  I really do like ice cream cake.  Maybe it is because my birthday is in June and it was always starting to get hot around my birthday.  Who knows.  But I was having some ladies over to my house for a Mother's Group meeting, so I thought it would be a good time to make the cake.

I made the batter for the cake as directed.... but instead of making 2 smaller roles, I make one big role on my half sheet aluminum pan.  I used a silpat and cake release to keep it from sticking.  Otherwise I followed the directions for the cake part of the desert.  I used a different filling.  Mainly because my ice creams took up more dairy than I bought.  When I went shopping I wasn't sure which ice creams I was going to make. I thought for sure I over bought, but I was wrong.  So I made a buttercream frosting.  I actually paired very nicely.

For the ice creams I broke out some recipes of my mom's.  I am not sure where she got them.  Somewhere in the abyss of the Internet I am sure.  She must have printed them some time ago because she really couldn't eat ice cream after she had cancer.  It was just one of those things.  She had some fun flavors that I really contemplated.  Lavender being one of them.  Since I do not have access to the AMAZING lavender in my parent's yard right now, I had to pass.  In stead I made sour cream ice cream and chocolate velvet ice cream.  They were great.  Chris didn't much care for the sour cream ice cream... I know, isn't everyone shocked?! No, we are not!  But he did like the Chocolate velvet.  The sour cream ice cream tasted almost like cheesecake.

My cake wasn't picture perfect, but it tasted good.  I took the pictures the next morning... since the meeting was at night and so the lighting wasn't great.  

The recipes for Ice Cream:

Sour Cream Ice Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I used vanilla instead)
6 egg yolks
2 cup sour cream

In a medium saucepan combine the cream, sugar, and lemon juice.  Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl.  Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks.  Whisking, gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream to the hot cream.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream in 4 additions.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.

Remove from refrigerator and pout into the bowl of an ice cream machine.  Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
2 cups well chilled heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a bowl, combine the cocoa and sugar.  In a metal bowl with the mixer beat well the egg yolks, milk, and cocoa sugar mixture and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into another bowl.  Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and with the mixer beat the mixture for 7-10 minutes, or until thickened and double in volume.  Set the bowl in a bowl of ice and cold water and with the mixer beat the mixture until cold.  Beat in the cream, salt, and vanilla and beat until thickened and almost double in volume.  Transfer the ice cream freezer and freeze it according to manufacturer's instructions.

The recipe as I received it:

The Swiss rolls-

Preparation time- 10 minutes

Baking time- 10-12 minutes

Rolling and cooling time- at least 30 minutes

Filling-5-8 minutes

Filling and rolling- 5-10 minutes

Ingredients-

6 medium sized eggs

1 C / 225 gms caster sugar /8 oz+ extra for rolling

6 tblsp / 45gms/ a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 tblsp/40gm /a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together

2 tblsp /30ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water

a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling-

2C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream

1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

5 tblsp / 70gms/2.5oz of caster sugar

Method-

1. Pre heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans ( 11 inches by 9 inches ) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

1. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

2. Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.

1. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.
2. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

1. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

1. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.
2. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.

1. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.
2. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.
3. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

1. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

The vanilla ice cream-

Preparation time-5 minutes+freezing

I have made the ice cream without an ice cream maker.

Ingredients-

2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream

1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract

½ C / 115gms/ 4 oz of granulated sugar

Method-

Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.

Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

The Hot fudge sauce- I made this just after adding the layer of vanilla ice cream to the cake.

Preparation time-2 minutes

Cooking time-2 minutes

Ingredients-

1 C / 230gms/ 8 oz of caster sugar

3 tblsp / 24gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tblsp /15gms/ 1 oz of cornflour/cornstarch

1 and ½ C /355ml /12 fl oz of water

1 tblsp /14gms/ 1 oz butter

1 tsp/5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract

Method-

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and water.

1. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).
2. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool .

The chocolate ice cream-

Preparation time- 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients-

2C/ 500 ml whipping cream

1 C/230gms/8 oz caster sugar

3 tblsp/ 24 gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Method-

1. Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor .
2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.
3. Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.

1. Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.
2. 5. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Assembly-

1. 1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices ( approximately 2 cms each ).

1. 2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

1. 3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

1. 4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)

1. 5. Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)

1. 6. Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .

1. 7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

1. 8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.