May 2011 - Daring Baker Challenge - MARQUISE ON MERINGUE

May has been a CRAZY month. CRAZY! It is basically the start of horse shows for the summer. Guess what my job is? Getting everything ready to go to the horse show... And we take everything but the kitchen sink. Once everything is set up, all the curtains are hung and the coffee pot is plugged in and working... It Looks REALLY good - So all my hours of packing and organizing aren't totally wasted. Plus, I get to play real life Tetris - Fitting all the set up stuff into horse trailers - and still having room for the horses.

When I first got this months challenge, I was a little intimidated... It called for 11 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs... And we are only 2 people! But It also gave me a change to go and buy some rum, which I would usually be too cheap to buy and go for the wine that is on sale for $5.99... Major Dilemma... Although, Obviously since I'm writing this post, the Alcoholic in my won out, and I bought a bottle of rum AND the wine that was on sale...

I'll let you get the recipe from the Daring Kitchen site, you can check everyone's amazing ideas out there too. Mine did not go so smoothly, But I got some OK pictures. (My camera seems to be back on board with focusing again!)

Blog-checking lines: The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Things I changed:

• I used Rum instead of Tequila (I bought the mickey instead of the expensive big bottle)
  
• I made hazelnuts with tails instead of spiced nuts (inspired by Bourbonnatrix)
• I burnt my caramel sauce, so just subbed in Chocolate sauce I had in the cupboard... Although, I also burnt my sugar syrup for the hazelnuts with tails too
• I didn't search the city for Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder, so I just didn't dust my Marquise with it. I'm a rebel like that.
  

I'm not in love with this dessert, just because of the huge egg content and It was really complicated to make and get it right (which i didn't really do anyway). But It was yummy and I'm glad I tried it. I can definitely see it as a restaurant dessert instead of a homemade one. The boyfriend doesn't like meringue so I got to finish his (since it is one of my favourite childhood treats) and He finished my Marquise. It was a little too rich for me.

I am going to hold onto the caramel and spiced nut recipes, because I do want to attempt them again sometime in the future. After seeing Bourbonnatrix's plated dessert in the Forums, I HAD to try to make her tailed hazelnuts instead of the spiced nuts. It is something I have NEVER done, and have never seen before, So I wanted to challenge myself with that.
I only made 2 big meringues for our dessert. With the rest I made myself some meringue cookies like I always harass my mom to make for me. I don't have a blow torch like the recipe said to use, So I used the Broiler. I would've used Boyfriend's blow torch out of the garage, but he took it with him to work, So I didn't get to play with fire.


Here are my hazelnuts growing tails. To make these, make a sugar syrup (don't ask me, I burnt mine, so google it, You'll probably find someone who didn't burn their sugar syrup). Stick a toothpick or a skewer into the nut, swirl it around in the syrup and then stick the end of the skewer under something heavy and let gravity get to work. Make sure you cover under where you are hanging your nuts to dry (hehehehe) Because you get this: (ignore the mess on my counter, I didn't have time/energy to clean up)

This challenge isn't so much a "Baking" challenge. Apart from my meringue I didn't use the oven. I (well, my stand mixer) whisked egg Yolks into submission (and egg whites and whipped cream)

I put it all together, and my Freezer Froze it... see:
Also, I may have whipped my cream (that sounds dirty somehow) too much, So it was kind of lumpy in my Marquise, which was kind of a happy accident. We actually ate it while it was still frozen- instead of thawing it like instructed, and it tasted a lot like Ice Cream.



I tried cutting a pretty square cube out of my frozen Marquise, but it just wasn't happening. I kind of salvaged it into an Octagon thing (see above). So for the 2nd plate I grabbed my large biscuit cutter and made a circle one (much easier!)
Since I burnt my caramel sauce, I just subbed in the chocolate fudge sauce. On the blue plate, I attempted to draw hearts, but they just ran together and made a big chocolate puddle. So with the white plate, I just dropped the sauce randomly over the whole thing.




I definitely learned a lot of new skills with this challenge, Thanks Emma and Jenny, and all the other Daring Bakers for the inspiration. Can't wait for the June Challenge.

(these are the meringue kisses I made with the left-over meringue I had... SOOOOOO yummy!)

Cappuccino Cookies

Busy morning in the Kitchen... with 2 doggies underfoot now.... wanting to know what I'm making, and when they are going to get to taste it.
Isn't she cute??

Anyway... Last night I found this recipe on Joy the Baker's Blog... I made it this morning (along with Chicken Soup Stock that i was inspired to make at my friend Erin's Blog: A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures) And I'm going to share it with you now. It is amazing! I've had 3 already, and I think I might have to hide them from myself.
The best part is that they include one of my most favourite flavours: Coffee

Cappuccino Cookies
(from Joy the Baker)

1 cup Butter - softened
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
3 TBSP instant Coffee powder
1 cup White Chocolate Chunks




Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and coffee powder together

In the bowl of a stand mixer (with paddle attachment) Beat together the butter and sugars until Light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and then mix in egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add in Dry ingredients all at once with the mixer at low speed (or else your kitchen (and you) will be covered in flour), until just combined.

Fold in Chocolate with a spatula until well combined.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheets and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Just until the edges are lightly browned.

Wait until the cookies set up enough so you can transfer them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
(except for the one quality-control taste test... my personal favourite part of making cookies)

Happy Valentines Day

Ok, I normally hate this "holiday" even in a relationship, I kind of loathe Valentines Day. If you are in a relationship, Its supposed to be a big deal, and If you are Single, it just kind of serves to remind you that you are alone.... But I'm also, generally, a pretty bitter person... Even if I'm in Love.

However, I like pink things, and I bought myself a mini cake decorating kit this morning, so I made Vanilla Cupcakes, with Pink Buttercream Icing and Chocolate Hearts.
Which may or may not have been a product of talking about making Bailey's buttercream icing for St.Paddy's day all week long.
I used the Vanilla Cupcake (Fairy Cakes) recipe over at Joy of Baking, and they turned out AMAZING! I have actually never made cupcakes with anything other than box cake mix... These are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better... And I think that "so" needs a few more "o's" to emphasise how incredible these were.
I didn't do anything to change the cupcake recipe. However, next time I make these, I won't zest the whole large lemon, like it says to... Maybe a little lemon zest, but they taste more like lemon than Vanilla right now.




My cupcakes got a little round on the top, so i chopped the tops off, and we enjoyed them while I waited for the cupcakes to cool enough to put the icing on them.
I melted some chocolate (2 squares of semi-sweet) put it in a Ziploc bag, and piped some hearts onto parchment paper, then stuck it in the fridge... The "Love" didn't work out, I made it too big, and the chocolate wasn't piped thick enough.

For my Bailey's Buttercream, I used 1/2 cup of Butter, enough icing sugar to make it thick (3-4 cups), Pink gel food colouring, and about 5-6 TBSP of Baileys (the recipe i found called for only 2-3 TBSP, which didn't even give it any bailey's taste at all). Whipped it all up in my Stand mixer with the Whisk attachment and then into my brand new pipping bag with the larger star tip... and attacked the topless cupcakes.


Then stuck my chilled Chocolate Hearts and Voila: Vanilla Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream icing and Chocolate Hearts.
Sooooooo Pretty!

(JOY OF BAKING) Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted Butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white Sugar

3 large Eggs

1 teaspoon pure Vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large Lemon (outer yellow skin)

1 1/2 cups all purpose Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting. If you want to pipe the frosting, I like to use a large Wilton 1M star decorating tip. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are made, but they can be covered and stored for a few days.