September 2011 Daring Baker Challenge = FRESH, FLUFFY, FRENCH

I was so thrilled when the challenge this month was Croissants, As they are on my baking bucket list (see for yourself). So I finally had an excuse to make them. Although, it would've been easier in a cold-weather spell.... Can't wait to try this again in the winter, now that I have done it once, I can learn from my mistakes. Not that there were many mistakes, They tasted AMAZING.

Thanks for the great Challenge Sarah!

Blog-checking lines: The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!



In the recipe notes, Sarah included a link to a Julia Child video on YouTube, which was VERY helpful, and pretty entertaining. I had just watched Julie and Julia a few days before I got this challenge also! Great Timing.



As Usual, I'm going to send you to the Daring Kitchen website to find the pdf file of this months challenge. Sarah included a ton of step by step photo's that were very helpful.




My Croissants didn't last long at all. We ended up eating half of them right after they were done baking, and then the rest for breakfast the next morning. I can't wait to make these again! Again, Thanks Sarah for giving me a reason to finally make Croissants!

August 2011 Daring Baker Challenge - Candylicious!

August 2011 Daring Baker Challenge

Oy.... This was definitely the wrong time of year to try and temper chocolate. Everyday that I got the chance to try, it was hotter in my kitchen than the temperature I was supposed to get the chocolate down to. I have no idea how anybody without air conditioning did it, because I sure didn't.
I will definatly be trying this for Christmas though. and I would also like to thank not only the hosts of the challenge, but all my fellow daring bakers, for the inspiration, and great lessons this month. Very inspiring.

This month has been a little crazy, and today is no exception, so I am going to slap this post together. If I don't write it now, it will not get done...
I also had a complete camera fail while I was trying to get pictures of my failed chocolate experiences.... so I repeat... Oy

Blog-checking lines:

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

Okay, so the chocolate portion of my challenge was a failure... except that I had an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate.
But the second part... AMAZING. and I will be making it again and again... and it doesn't matter how hot your kitchen is, it will still turn out.

SPONGE TOFFEE!... I used the recipe from Wilde in the Kitchen... It was incredible... Still not quite like a crunchie bar, but the closest that I have ever tasted.







I attempted to make Chocolate covered cherries... but the whole chocolate part experience I talked about... left me with cherry brandy and some drunk cherries... and the will to try this again when the weather gets cooler, and my kitchen isn't 40degrees.

I'm sorry, this is all the time I have... I will try and find the time to come back and edit this like a proper blog post, but I can't promise anything. Hopefully things will calm down again soon!
Even if i failed this challenge, i still consider it a Win just because of the sponge toffee.... I'll share the whole sponge toffee experience when i get a chance too.

July 2011 Daring Baker Challenge: Fresh Fraisiers

Blog-checking lines: Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make Fresh Fraisiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

SIDE NOTE: I am trying to be more thoughtful (I don't know if that is really the word I'm going for, but it is the only one that comes to mind right now) about my pictures. Instead of posting them straight off the memory card, I am going to try and edit them a little before I post them... Hopefully this will make a difference and challenge me a little more.

Whew, this was a fun challenge. With delicious results. Since it was the boyfriend's birthday on the 15th, I made this as his birthday cake. Killed 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. I made this on the Saturday (the 16th). I got to sleep in until 8, then started whipping up the Pastry cream, followed shortly by the Chiffon cake (which I love, and will for sure be making again). I followed all the directions closely with the Chiffon cake and didn't change a thing.

With the pastry cream though, I used the recipe over at The Joy of Baking. I didn't really like the idea of the gelatin recipe that came with the challenge, so I wanted something that wouldn't make me cringe with the thought of where gelatin comes from.

Inside, I used strawberries and blueberries... and on the very inside, I just used cut up strawberries and a handful of blueberries. I topped the cake with whipped cream and more strawberries and blueberries, and a few cherries.

I will be making this cake again, although I will probably make it smaller, and use whipped cream in the middle instead of pastry cream. I think the lightness of the whipped cream would suit my taste buds better.

I am really proud of my challenge this month, and can't wait for this post to be posted. Also, make sure you go over to the Daring Kitchen website and check out the other Daring Baker's Creations.

(OH, also, I don't really like Marzipan, so no Almond Paste top for this girl, although the pretty pink top would've been nice)

I would have loved to have used my own strawberries in the cake, But they aren't quite ripe... we do get one or two every few days though, but not enough of a crop at one time for this whole cake.

June 2011 Daring Bakers Challenge - From Phyllo to Baklava

I'm not a huge fan of Baklava, but I've only ever had it one time. What I was most excited about was the challenge of making home-made Phyllo. I even bought a new rolling pin for this challenge (and also because I broke my cheap one I got from Walmart)

Let me just add, that I WASN'T a huge fan of Baklava, but I have now been converted. AMAZING! I'll be making this for my mom next time I go home, because she Loves Baklava. I'm convinced that if she likes the stuff that I could hardly stomach, She will be blown away by this recipe. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Erica!

Home-made Phyllo is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better than the store bought stuff... And sooooooooooo much more frustrating.... But all that frustration is worth it in the end.

Blog-checking lines: Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making home-made phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.


Again, I'm going to send you over to the Daring Kitchen Website to check out all the other Daring Baker's Creations this month, and to get the Recipe.... Although I'm sure I'll be adding the Phyllo recipe at some point because I LOVE it!


I bought roasted Unsalted Sun-split California Pistachios and hand-shelled them. Because of that, I cheated a little and bought Ground Almonds, and I already had Walnuts at home. I split the amount of Walnuts in half and replaced the half with Hazelnuts... (the real reason I bought the ground almonds? They were cheaper)

I ground up the nuts in my Magic Bullet (which sounds dirty, but its not, and if you don't have one, you should get one, because they are awesome... especially if you like smoothies)

I couldn't find whole All-spice Berries, so I just used about 1/3 tsp of the ground allspice, and to save some dishes, I just used ground cinnamon too.



I'm sorry my pictures are not so good, It's been pouring rain all day, and the light is crap. But here they are. I don't have much else to say about this month's challenge, except that I loved it. And I plan on using the phyllo recipe again and again. Thanks Erica for a great Challenge!!!

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!)

April 2011 Daring Baker Challenge

Blog-checking lines: The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!


This month, I was pretty un-inspired... which is why I didn't add my photo of my challenge on the forums until today... I intended to go back and try different things, But Life... She's a bitch sometimes... and she's got puppies..



So I made maple mouse,
and I made bacon cups....
and I put the maple mouse in the bacon cups,
expecting to be very grossed out and never want to eat either again (because I'm not a huge bacon fan to begin with)
and it was actually good...
Honestly, I wouldn't really eat it again, but Maple Syrup on breakfast is a definite Yes (but I do that already on the odd occasion that I actually eat a proper "breakfast"
I might make the mouse again... It was really good, but the bacon cups were not worth the effort, Although they did look good when I made a Salad in them instead

My dad loved the maple mouse bacon cup, and had 3 of them... So whatever floats your boat

OH, HERE is the link for the recipes and info... I didn't try anything new, so I'm not going to claim any knowledge of this one, But I definitely recommend checking out the other blogs and going and voting for the winner of this month's challenge!!!




I'm loving the DB challenges because I have done things that I never would have dreamt up myself. I never would've made Pana Cotta, or Maple Mouse, or the sponge cake thing from January... So even if my effort at the challenge this month was uninspired, I still felt like I learned something new from it. So thank you Evelyne!
Also... Maple Syrup is not as easy to find here in Calgary as you may suspect... We don't have Maple Trees here, I don't think they are fans of Chinook Winds and 4 days of summer

Here is the newest pic of Ava... She's growing like a weed, and has her first vet appointment tomorrow... Pretty exciting!!

March 2011, Daring Baker Challenge - Yeasted Coffee Cake with Meringe

Out of the 3 challenges I have done, this one has been the hardest... I don't know if I would make this again, But I'm glad I tried it. Although, after seeing what fillings the other bakers had tried, I might attempt again.
I also thought that a savory version would probably have worked better, But it has been a crazy month, so I never got to try and make the savory one I wanted to attempt. But onto the challenge:

Blog-checking lines: The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

First of all... Here is the link to the Daring Kitchen, You should be able to find the Recipe there...

Second, I'm going to show you my photos with a little commentary. I think I would've liked this bread a lot more if this month hadn't been so crazy.... And If i had been a little more original and not just used Chocolate and Nuts like the recipe said. Ultimately the only way to know if you will like it, is to try and make it yourself. Its pretty fun, and If you check out the blog roll of what other Bakers made, You will be much MUCH more impressed than with mine...

I love Meringue, I kind of wish I had just make meringue kiss cookies like my mom makes instead of putting it in the bread (because it disappears anyway, and you kind of feel like you wasted a bunch of time beating the egg whites into submission
The filling, on top of the meringue, on top of the rolled out dough.

Rolled into a wreath for the 2nd Rising... I took the advise of some other bakers on the Forums and didn't cut into the thing until after the rising
After the 2nd Rising, with the wash on top, and the slices slashed into the dough (use a SHARP knife!)
After baking... I should have put the blinds down, the lighting is horrible... sorry about that

I also made a braided one...

Which was my favourite one. I think it tasted better, and everything stayed cleaner because nothing leaked out.

I think it may have been prettier if I had used more chocolate.




I would like to thank Jamie and Ria for a great Challenge. (and you can follow the links to their blogs if you want)



This is how Ava sleeps while I bake... Well, this is how Ava sleeps most of the time actually. I wish I could get as comfortable as she does


I'm going to try and be back later today, I need to clean off my memory card so I can put more pictures on it, and I might as well post them here before I move them to my external hard drive and completely forget about them.

Enjoy the weather... unless you live around here... Then stay inside, We are in another snow storm... Is spring ever going to start to show up?