TWD: Chocolate Souffle

I've just returned from my monthly quilt guild meeting, where we learned all about thread, so I'm finally able to post about this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe: Chocolate Souffle. I made it late last night, too late to upload and process the photos; too late to write anything remotely coherent.


I only made half a recipe, which fit nicely into my four small souffle dishes. It felt good to use them for their intended purpose for a change.



When they were finished cooking, I had my photographer daughter at hand with camera ready, and I quickly sprinkled them with powdered sugar while she snapped the photos. These things were alive! They were visibly collapsing while we were photographing and sugaring.



Of course, they had to be consumed right away, no matter how hot they were.


Yum. Bowls of lighter-than-air chocolate-y goodness.



And, it's well known that souffles don't keep, so we each had to eat two last night. So sad.


Thanks to Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic for a most delicious choice. I've made cheese souffles for years, but this is my first chocolate one. There will be more!

Tune in to the TWD group to see their results.

YWPWT: Vacation Pies

In July 2001, my older daughter and I took a special vacation together, a Mother-Daughter Girl Trip . It hardly seems possible that it was really 8 years ago! We flew from Los Angeles to Seattle, rented a car, and drove to Vancouver, BC, doing a bit of sightseeing along the way. I was in familiar territory, having grown up near Seattle, but it was new for Emma.

Our ultimate destination, though, was Alaska -- Alaska via cruise ship. Neither one of us had ever been to Alaska before, or had ever been on a cruise, but because my daughter worked for a cruise line, we had an opportunity to have a new and unforgettable experience.

Since that trip, both of us have continued to cruise. In fact, we'll be going on a cruise together, once again, in a little over a month. It will seem like old times!

So, in honor of that memorable vacation, I have made Baked Alaska Pie. It's quite simple really.

First, you make some homemade ice cream.

Blue:




Red/pink:



And white.

The colors, red, white, and blue, celebrate the Labor Day holiday. The ice cream represents Alaska and summer time. You can use store-bought ice cream, of course, but homemade is so much more fun! I used manufacturing cream for my base, with just sugar and flavoring. Simple and rich.

And, yes, I do indeed have 3 ice cream makers, collected over many years.

Next comes the pie crust, pre-baked and cooled.


When the ice cream is firm, but not too hard, place scoops of alternating colors in the pie crust. Place in the freezer for about 2 hours. (Oops -- I almost forgot to document it before covering with meringue.)



Make a meringue using 3 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 6 tablespoons sugar. Beat well until it is stiff but still glossy, then top the pie.


Either place the pie into a 475F oven until the meringue browns, or use a torch, which I did. Then place the pie into the freezer for a thorough chill.


Who knew that meringue would freeze well? That is what I learned from this pie.


Each slice is a surprise, since you never know which color combination will appear.




My daughter thought this pie was weird, but delicious. I guess that's a thumbs up.


Eating a piece of Baked Alaska Pie reminds me of my first cruise and the special time I had with my daughter. Thanks to Jenn at Piccante Dolce for a thought-provoking theme. I bet the other pies and their stories will be interesting as well, so please do stop by You Want Pies With That? to find out.

BBB: Russian Black Bread

There's one good thing about hot weather. It doesn't take long for bread to rise.

This month's Bread Baking Babe/Buddy challenge was hosted by Görel. With some research and great determination, she devised a tasty recipe for Russian Black Bread. This was a multi-step recipe, requiring a sourdough starter, a soaker, and a dough.


Way back in November '08 I had made a rye sourdough starter for another BBB challenge. It had been hibernating in the refrigerator ever since, so I took a chance to see if it could be revived. I'm glad to say that it has returned to life, and is merrily bubbling away and enjoying the hot weather. Probably the only one in this house who is. (By the way, does anyone have more recipes using rye starter? I would hate to relegate back to the big chill.)



Last evening I prepared both the sourdough component


and the soaker. Apparently, I never replaced my caraway seeds, so they are missing from the soaker. However, the large chunks of coffee bean should be a suitable replacement. (Warning: don't grind coffee beans late at night when you are tired and it is dark.)


After mixing the starter and the soaker with the flours, I place the hefty hunk of dough into its rising container. Behold the result after 90 minutes:


I'd say that was double, wouldn't you?

Knowing that the loaves would rise equally quickly, I preheated the oven just after I shaped them and set them aside for their final rise. The dough handled remarkably well and I didn't find it overly sticky. Also, as an experiment, I slashed one loaf and left one untouched. It didn't explode, but both loaves had great oven spring.

Here's the end result.


It took tremendous self-control not to slice a loaf until it had properly cooled.



With some whipped cream cheese spread on top, the bread was declared a winner all the way around, with its earthy flavor and tender crumb.


Thanks again for letting me play along. I'm looking forward to the next challenge.

Check out Görel's blog for the recipe.

TWD: Cheesecake-Brownie combo

Cheesecake and brownies sound like a great combination, but I almost didn't make these. It's been hot. Inside the house, on the main floor, it's 90 degrees. Upstairs, it's candle-melting hot. Why would I want to turn on an oven?

But I did, and I'm happy I did, because these are some delicious brownies.



The swirling part didn't go too well, though. My brownie dough was very stiff, so, as you can see from the photo, there are these brownie lumps with a bit of swirl on the top. I figure the brownie part was already pre-baked from the heat of the kitchen.


You might also notice that there is no sour cream topping. I truly planned to add that. In fact, I still might.




You see, I already had a tub of sour cream in the refrigerator, and, thinking it might not be quite enough, I bought a small additional container. Plenty, or so I thought.



Let's just say, that when I opened the large sour cream container to remove my 1/4 cup for the cheesecake layer, I discovered a Science Experiment in action. Since I don't typically use green and fuzzy sour cream for baking, that container got tossed, leaving only the small container. My daughter suggested topping only half the brownies as a taste-testing experiment, so that is what I will do. But, I had better do it soon, while some brownies still remain.


Thanks to Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell for allowing us to test yet another version of brownie. Stop by the TWD bake shop to see how the others fared.

What's a breakfast without Rum?

Bread baking day.

It's one of my favorite food blogging events. This month, it was hosted by the talented bakers over at Imafoodblog.

This month it was the biggest challenge I've faced for a long while.

The task: bake something you've never made before.

What? What's that you say?

Oh my. What could I possibly bake that fits that category? I spent the whole month trying to come up with some kind of bread-like object that I have never tried. I nearly gave up.

But, the other evening, I was looking through one of my newly purchased cookbooks and came across a bread recipe I know I've never attempted.

Yeasted waffles.

I've made waffles many times, but they've always been of the quick-bread-type persuasion. After all, when you want waffles, you want them now. With yeasted waffles, you have to plan ahead by some 12 hours or so. Hardly a spontaneous meal.

So, I chose these different waffles as my entry for Bread Baking Day #23.


The night before, I prepared the first part of the batter and let it ferment for about 10 hours:



While the waffles were cooking, I prepared the topping:



The end result:


First, I should point out that my daughter, who doesn't care for either cooked fruit or rum, had seconds.

Second, if you like yeasty-tasting, bread-like waffles, these are for you.

They were a nice change of pace from the usual, but, frankly, the quicker, baking powder waffles taste just as good, and I don't have to struggle to remember starting them the night before. The topping, on the other hand, was another story. That recipe will definitely be made again and again.

Bring on the rum, especially for breakfast!

Thanks to Nick, and also to Zorra, the Creator.




Raised Waffles with Warm Brown Sugar Bananas
(from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book)

Waffles:

1/2 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/2 teaspoons)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Brown Sugar Bananas:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
pinch of Kosher salt
1/4 cup light rum
2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced (I used 3)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup


Waffles:

In a large bowl, combine the warm water and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve and proof.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the milk. The mixture should be warm but not hot.

Add the butter-milk mixture, salt, sugar, flour, and nutmeg to the yeast mixture. Whisk until smooth.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.

In the morning, preheat the waffle iron. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs and the baking soda, and immediately whisk them into the batter. The batter will be thin.

Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer's instructions. Store cooked waffles in a 200 to 250 degree oven until ready to serve.


Bananas:

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the brown sugar and salt and stir over medium heat until melted and bubbling.

Remove from the heat and add the rum, then carefully return the pan to the heat. It's possible the rum will flame up, but it will go out in a moment. Cook for about 30 seconds to burn off the remaining alcohol.

Add the sliced bananas and stir to coat. Add the maple syrup and bring just to bubbling.

Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Serve over the warm waffles.

BB: Pizza Bianca with Arugula

Well, why not make pizza on a blazing hot day? The kitchen was already super hot, so it didn't much affect the existing ambient temperature.


The second Barefoot Blogger project of the month was White Pizza with Arugula. There was goat cheese, too, but since I'm the in-charge cook, I overruled that ingredient, using feta cheese instead. We love arugula around here, so that just made the resulting pizza all that much better. Yep.


I also used Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio for the grated cheese. It's a wonderful blend of provolone, parmesan, fontina, and asiago that I always have on hand.


My daughter thought it was a bit bland, but then she loves red sauce and goat cheese. What can I say?


I loved the acidity of the arugula salad in combination with the cheese and bread, and every now and then I got a taste of the garlic-chile oil. I'll have to add that to future pizzas -- it's a great but subtle touch.

Many thanks to Andrea of Nummy Kitchen for a tasty selection. Be sure and stop by the Barefoot Bloggers to read other opinions about this pizza and see what's coming up for September.

Daring Bakers: Dobos Torta

First, the preliminary requirement:

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful
of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.


August has been a particularly busy month around here, so I was finally able to squeeze in this baking project on the reveal day. Not to worry, though, the only difficult part of the process was dealing with the hot weather, which was especially hard on the butter and the resulting buttercream. Frequent trips to the refrigerator were on order during the frosting process.


The sponge cake was easy. It tasted like lady fingers to me, one of my favorite treats. I just drew circles on my parchment, slathered on the batter, and baked the six discs until just slightly golden. During assembly, I brushed each one with sugar syrup flavored with amaretto.


For the chocolate buttercream (which was our favorite part of the cake), I had to find the coolest place in the house for the cooling-down process. That was the laundry room. I also had to re-chill the butter briefly, since it was starting to turn to liquid. In the end, it turned out beautifully.


While the buttercream chilled, I made the caramel. Easy. It helps to have a heavy saucepan with a white interior, though, because you can quickly tell when the caramel is reaching the right color. I played around a bit with the shape of the sponge-layer top and made squiggles with the extra caramel. As much as we like caramel, this was our least favorite part of the cake.


For future reference, I would probably use the sixth layer as a regular cake layer and just make decorative pieces with the caramel alone. Beats having that little "cake top hat" on top, that is challenging to eat.



Overall, we enjoyed the cake. I'm amazed at all the variations from the Daring Bakers -- what a talented group! Can't wait to see what the September project will be.