Sometimes simple is best.  Probably more often than not, right? I have had an itch to make a sweet and simple 6″ cake.  I thought an all-American classic of yellow cake with chocolate frosting would be perect! Unlike the past layer cakes I’ve done, I decided that this time I would bake three small separate layers.  This was so much easier than hoping I would be able to torte 3 slices out of one layer.  It worked beautifully!  Not only saving time, but it drastically reduced the crumbs that I had to battle with since there weren’t any created other than what happened to fall off the layers themselves. Each layer was just the right thickness.

Matt and I brought this cake over to a couple that recently moved into our neighborhood and just had a baby.  So, although I have no pictures of the inside, I hope they’re enjoying this as I type!

Both of these recipes came from Nick Malgieri’s Perfect Cakes.  This was the Golden Cake recipe, halved and placed into 3-6″ cake rounds, and the frosting was the Rich Chocolate Ganache that was cooled to spreading temperature and aerated slightly to smooth out.

I know this is a baking site.  This fact is not lost on me as I post this un-baked (savory, not sweet!) Thai coconut shrimp.  Charity and I are taking a hiatus from our SOB adventures and instead alternating picking ingredients and then making a recipe with that.  It can be sweet or savory, main feature or subtle flavor - the only rule is that the ingredient’s gotta be in there!

I was picking first, and I decided to go with coconut!  I love coconut - and ironically enough, that hasn’t always been the case!  I think its been in the last 2 years that I’ve come around.  I think it was helped along with Ina Garten’s Coconut cupcake recipe.  Hmm…

In the last 6 months, I’ve actually started hacking into my own coconuts.  I wouldn’t have even considered it in the past - I wouldn’t have known where to acquire them except the Caribbean.   When my interest was piqued by raw foods for a short while I was quickly acquainted with where to find them and how to break into them.  Let me clarify that I use young, white coconuts, not the brown fuzzy ones.  The difference being: maturity.  They are the same plant, the white ones are just younger, and the meat is more tender and less oily.  Whole foods carries both.  The young white ones already have their green husks whittled away, and that’s why they have a carved appearance.

Here’s pictures of me breaking into the coconut: All I suggest you use is a kitchen towel to stabilize and keep things tidy, and access to your husbands tool chest  :)

After shaving off some of the husk with a chef’s knife, I then drive a flathead screwdriver in the the tough part of the shell.  I wiggle it around until I get enough leverage that it finally cracks and that’s when I’m able to extract the coconut water out of it.  At that point, I carve of most of the narrowed opening of the top and then I have a much wider access to the rest of the meat.  The best way to get the coconut off of the shell is with the back of a spoon.  You can see that the flesh comes off in chunks and I’m left with a really clean shell that could be used to serve froo-froo drinks in :)

To make the coconut milk, I have to combine the coconut water with the coconut flesh in a blender and then sieve it to separate the solids from the milk.  Technically this “first press” is called coconut creme but I didn’t want to bother with blending and sieving again to get the proper “milk”.

In this last photo you can see the difference between the coconut water at the top right, and the sieved solids and the coconut milk/creme.

Whew. Now finally on to the recipe!

Thai Coconut Shrimp

(adapted from Essentials of Asian Cooking by Williams-Sonoma)

3 cardamom pods
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 small cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano chili, ribs and seeds removed, minced
1 cup coconut milk
1 lemongrass stalk, tender midsection only, smashed with side of chef’s knife
salt
1 1/2 lb prawns, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Carefully split open the cardamom pods and remove the seeds.  In a small dry frying pan over medium heat, combine the cardamom, coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds, and the cinnamon stick.  Cook, shaking the pan constantly to toast the spices evenly and prevent burning, until fragrant and turn a shade darker, about 2 minutes.  Transfer immediately to a plate to cool.

Once the spices are cooled, transfer to a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Set aside.

In a large frying pan or wok set over medium-high heat, warm the oil.  Add the shallots, ginger, garlic and chili and saute until fragrant and lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the entire spice power mixture, the coconut milk, and 1 cup of water, and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the lemongrass stalk and 1 teaspoon salt and reduce the heat to low and simmer until the curry thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 10-15 minutes. Discard the lemongrass stalk.

Just before serving, stir in the shrimp and lemon juice and simmer until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 3-4 minutes.  Transfer to a warmed bowl, garnish if desired, and serve at once!

Don’t forget to head over to Charity’s place to see what she’s crafted out of coconut!

I like to think of myself as someone who embraces challenging recipes… and I think I usually am that person.  But this latest edition of SOB that Charity, of Sweet Charity Pie, and I bring you had me seriously procrastinating.  I was scared of laminated dough.  I mean really scared. So I just put it off. And put it off some more.  The whole recipe seemed pretty daunting at first, too… two days, with frequent folds on day 2, proofing and baking… sounds just like bread.  And I DO bread… but still… this was LAMINATED DOUGH. I knew that I would eventually have to do it. So in my latest email to Charity, I promised her that the Pain au Chocolats would be completed by Thursday.  And there (or maybe here?) you have it - I was true to my word!

They were every bit as incredible as I had hoped they’d be.  And my dough was really a mess - really! The “dough” itself was beautiful - it had a lustrious feel to it and was just a dream to work with.  But when I added the butter  block to it - all that changed.  It ripped and tore, the butter separated from the block that it once was.  When chatting with Charity yesterday, I kept telling her how concerned I was about the butter being very uneven within the dough.  She kept saying “don’t worry! I’m sure it’ll turn out just fine!” By golly it did.  I was so impressed!  And truth be told, so were my coworkers.  They ate every last morsel up! I had one croissant last night just after they came out of the oven (Sherry Yard meant it when she said “cool serve”) - they are not yummy when the taste of melted butter takes over everything.  Just like bread, it needs to cool to really savor the nuances within the flavor.  Once it cooled… wow. WOW. Truly good stuff.  I was tickled that everyone at work agreed!

Thankfully, Charity did the work of typing up this recipe - I didn’t like how Sherry had the recipe actually scattered among three - there was a lot of turning between pages and getting a little lost.

Be sure to stay tuned for the next installment, and make sure you check out Charity’s Pain au Chocolat as well, where the lengthy recipe is so nicely typed up and organized!

This was the very first time I’ve ever attempted parisian macarons, and I’ve wanted to try to make them for a long long time. In our latest SOB installment, the pick was mine and I jumped on the chance to make these. Charity was game from the get-go, and we were off running!

I regret that I did this very last minute, as all things in my life have been lately.  To say life is crazy is by FAR an understatement!  I’m in the middle of changing jobs and its an all-consuming process, not to mention a lot of all-nighters at work lately, too.

These macarons were good.  They weren’t exactly as I wanted them, which just means I’ll be forced to tweak the recipe/technique.  Oh shucks!  I think they just were undercooked.  I thought I’d let them develop enough of a skin, and I thought I’d let them bake long enough.  I should’ve known when they were IMPOSSIBLE to remove from the parchment.

As I looked at the bowl of dry ingredients versus the bowl of meringue, I wasn’t sure that the meringue would take all of the drys.  I was amazed to see that it combined just beautifully… and after running to the computer to look at Helen’s tips, I realized that the profound deflation was to be expected. WHEW.  The main things I want to play with are flavor combos and cooking times.   I’m happy with the recipe!  Thanks, Helen!

For the recipe, I used sweet Helen’s basic macaron recipe, simply adding 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.  For the filling I went back to the peanut-butter chocolate truffle recipe I did not too long ago, and I do think that was a raving success!  They just need to have been baked more…

So Charity, what are we tackling next?!

In our latest SOB installment, Charity chose - and lemon curd it was!  I won’t point out for too long that this was chosen around November or something (??) but with the holidays and other craziness, I just couldn’t get on the ball.  But the New Year is well underway and we’re back!  :)

I am only a honeymooner to the world of lemon curd, having only been involved in this love affair for about a year or two.  I would have to say that I am a real sucker for only a few things in the sweets world - deep chocolate flavor (duh), key lime, coconut, and anything with an amazing deep lemon flavor.  And maybe cheesecakes, and truffles, and pumpkin when the season is right… and … and… OKAY - so maybe not just a FEW things… but its fair to say that my love of all things lemon is way up there.  This curd definitely lit the palate.  It was outstanding!!  I made this, along with some mini cranberry and orange scones to give as a gift to the family that is watching our zoo of animals for us while we’re in San Fran.  As you’ll see in the pictures I upload once I return, I put the lemon curd in a cute wide mouth mason jar and plated the scones with it - so cute!

I’ll finish the post when I get back home and can load the pics - but wanted to get this up so I would have something already started when I return, and so Charity would know that I’m LEGIT!

I’ll also be posting the pics I take at my wedding cake decorating class while I’m here - SO EXCITED!

Have a great day!

Melissa

Oh my - was I excited about this one.  Here’s the next installment of SOB starring Charity of Sweet Charity Pie and myself :) It was my pick this time, and although we both already did a creme brulee for Tuesdays with Dorie, and although we had just done a vanilla sauce for the ice cream I was just so wanting to do this pumpkin creme brulee - since Thanksgiving was JUUUUST around the corner.  We had my in-laws over for a pre-thanksgiving dinner since we wouldn’t be spending the holiday with them, and this was the perfect dessert.  Everyone really enjoyed it.  It was fantastic!

I made two batches of 4 - the first batch was consumed with the in-laws, and the 2nd batch was awaiting their photo shoot in the fridge  :)  I didn’t want my in-laws to get concerned that I was asking their dessert to smile for the camera, so I just decided to photo a different batch all together and leave the odd looks for another occasion.  :)

Both batches were baked at the same time, this batch being baked in standard ramikens, and the other batch baked in standard creme brulee ramikens (the shallow, oval kind).  Because of the greater surface area, I’m sure that those baked much quicker, but I still took them all out at the same time, and so that left these a little runnier than the ones we actually enjoyed.  NEVERTHELESS! These ones were still just as great tasting as the others, but I definitely liked the more custardy texture.  So, FYI! If you bake these in the round ramikens, they will likely need to cook longer - just keep checking for the uniform jigglyness that the directions talk about.

Be sure to check out Charity’s Creme Brulee and out next pick is being decided by Charity as I type this, so stay tuned!

And last but not least, have a very very happy Thanksgiving :)

In our third SOB installment, Charity (of sweetcharitypie) and I bring to you vanilla ice cream!  I was surprised about a few things -

1. I had NO idea how many egg yolks went into ice cream
2. How bad for you the-real-thing-from-scratch ice cream really is for your arteries
3. How cream colored the real thing is, and,
4. how much I enjoyed the taste of it.

You see, I’m not a vanilla ice cream kinda gal.  If you mix in some cookie dough or butterfinger, I’m fine, but I really like chocolate ice cream - the more chocolate the better.  I see now why Sherry Yard says that this is her favorite dessert.  (like of them all). This was so decadent.  Even my husband was blown away with the taste.  His words were “this is definitely the best ice cream I’ve ever had”.

And much to my surprise, it was really easy to make.  The only variation I made of the recipe was to use a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste in place of the vanilla bean and seeds.   Be sure to check out Charity’s ice cream! She’s also got the recipe typed up over there.  I’m feeling particularly lazy today :)

Like most things I attempt for the first (or second) time, the results are mediocre.  Sometimes I get lucky, and sometimes I get persistent.  The latter was the case with the truffles.  You see, Charity and I had chosen truffles to kick off our SOB baking bonanza.  I did the first batch exactly according to her directions.  And they were a hopeless failure.  The ganache never set up firm enough to withstand the warm (90F) melted chocolate, and I felt more like a child in the kitchen, making more of a mess than an edible creation.

I did some research in other books I have, including Truffles by Dede Wilson, and on youTube, and I got a few valuable lessons.

*It is now my experience that I need more than a 8oz chocolate : 1 cup heavy cream ratio for the ganache to be firm enough to withstand the rolling and subsequent melted chocolate.

*instead of keeping the ganache in a bowl to cool in the fridge, put it on a cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  This will give more surface area to the cool fridge air, and allow for a more stiff ganache.

*if the ganache is too soft as to not even hold a real ball when rolling, then it definitely won’t withstand the warm melted chocolate.

*Its easier to cut the ganache into even squares (to then be rolled) by using a pastry cutter dipped in water.

*Lastly, I definitely like the crunch of the chocolate coating than without.

Peanut Butter Truffles (adapted from Truffles by Dede Wilson):

1 cup heavy cream
1 lb plus 2 oz milk chocolate
6 Tablespoons natural, lightly salted smooth Peanut Butter

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, crushed into small pieces
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Place cream in a 2-quart wide saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer.  Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle milk chocolate into cream.  Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes; the heat should melt the chocolate.  Stir very gently until smooth.

2. Stir in peanut butter until well blended. Pour mixture into a half-sheet pan that is covered with plastic wrap, and cover the top in plastic wrap as well.  Let sit out at room temperature for 2 hours to cool, then place in fridge for 4 hours to firm up.

3.  Melt 8 oz bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler until it reaches 90F, not letting it go above 115F. Gently stir until temp is reached.  Once at 90F, place in a shallow plate or dipping dish.

4. Combine the chopped nuts and finely chopped chocolate into a shallow dipping bowl or plate.

5. Using a pastry knife, cut the ganache into 60 even squares, and roll each into a ball.

6. It will certainly be messy, but roll each ball in the chocolate by hand and then drop the ball into the crushed peanut and chocolate mixture, then place onto a parchment lined sheet pan or in a mini muffin liner.  It helps to keep the water of the double boiler at a simmer the entire time so that when the chocolate cools to the point of being too thick, you can just warm it up right over the warm water.

7. Be prepared to lose your mind with the incredible flavor! These went in a flash at work, with people often eating over 6 each!!!

Be sure to check out Charity’s truffles! She’s deciding what we’re baking next, and I can’t wait to find out!

]]> http://www.bakingasweetlife.com/2008/11/02/peanut-butter-chocolate-truffles-finally/feed/ http://www.bakingasweetlife.com/2008/10/21/twd-pumpkin-muffins/ http://www.bakingasweetlife.com/2008/10/21/twd-pumpkin-muffins/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:09:05 +0000 Melissa http://www.bakingasweetlife.com/?p=373

Dorie may have gotten it right this time.  I’m willing to consider changing my opinions.  These pumpkin muffins were everything she promised.  They were fantastic.  I had hoped these would be sweet - but not too sweet; perfect for breakfast with a little butter and maybe a dab of honey.  I couldn’t trust myself with these, so I decided to make them as a thank you gift for my neighbors for dog-sitting.

Kelly of Sounding my barbaric gulp picked these for our weekly TWD recipe, and I’m so glad she did.  You can find the recipe at her blog.  I made only a few minor adjustments to the original recipe - I had no ground allspice on hand, so I withheld it.  Also, instead of using pecans I used candied walnuts, and lastly, instead of raisins, I used dried cranberries (I’m sorry - I’m just really head over heels for fall right now - sue me.) I also had leftover pumpkin puree that I had prepared from scratch when making my pumpkin cake, so it was nice to throw that in instead of the canned stuff that I’ve relied upon so heavily the last few years.

I was also impressed with the fact that I need not alter the baking time or temperature ONE bit!  It was dead on and I was dead shocked.  They were perfect just as the timer went off and they were just stunning.  Beautiful golden crown with a crackly surface, just like I like ‘em! And they popped right out of the muffin tin - I didn’t want to use paper liners - I liked they way they looked in Dorie’s picture, just as they were.

And much to my surprise, the sunflower seeds added a really nice touch flavor-wise.  They give you a very unexpect saltiness that seems to pair so nicely with the subtle sweetness. Be sure to head over to TWD headquarters to check out the other fancy-pants muffins.  And Kelly, nice pick.  Very very nice pick.

We both thought the idea of a mini interview would be fun so that’s what you’ll see here.  Charity’s answers are listed below, and my answers are at her blog, Sweet Charity Pie, so feel free to check them out!

And without further ado, here’s Charity!

1)Why do you want to undertake this project?
I want to do this for a number of reasons: First, I want to become a little more well-rounded in the professional kitchen. I know the savory side of things from stocks and sauces to butchery, and can improvise with ingredients. I would like to me more familiar with pastry/baking and have the same ease in the bake shop as in the rest of the kitchen. Second, I sometimes need a little motivation when doing things, so having a buddy project will keep me baking… kinda like how I have an easier time going to the gym when I have someone to go with. Third, I thought it would be nice to be involved in a small group, where I can actually do some of the picking.

2) What is your first memorable baking/cooking experience?
I remember making pies with my mom and dad when I was like 3 or 4. I didn’t want to use a pie plate for my mini pies, and insisted on making little rectangular strudel-type pies… hmmm, I wonder if the hot apple pies from McDonald’s had anything to do with that one. I think I just liked the idea of being able to pick up the pie to eat it, because for as long as I can remember, I’ve found those pies to be absolutely disgusting.

3) Best thing you’ve ever made:
The best thing may have been the wild mushrooms in phyllo deal I made for an appetizer & pairing competition in January, 2004. The judges like it enough to give me first place, which meant a free trip to San Francisco and Mendocino. Sweet!
Personally, I am always really happy when I make something like a whole roasted chicken or apple pie. I have extremely high expectations when it comes to “comfort foods” so when these things turn out for me, I feel like it’s a huge success. And I was really proud of the olive-oil poached rach of lamb I did a while back.

4) Worst thing I’ve ever made:
It’s a toss-up between the Saskatoon Berry Barbeque sauce used at River Cafe and a lime-coconut pie I attempted a couple years ago. The barbeque sauce was just intensely messy and purple, and somehow I became covered from head to toe, in addition to covering my entire work space… seriously, any recipe that requires scrubbing the walls as part of clean-up is evil. The lime coconut pie is the only thing I ever remember making where I took one bite and threw the whole thing out. It was awful.

5) If you had unlimited funds and were to take a trip, where would you go?
I like to take vacations to places where I can try new foods. I would love to travel around Asia, eating as many noodles as possible.
I would also love to travel around the Mediterranean- this would be a 21-country tour including Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco. It would be neat to discover similarities in cuisine from country to country.
If I could only pick one city to go to, I would choose either Paris, New York, or Hong Kong.

6) If you had to choose your last meal, what would it be?
I might choose fish tacos, or cassoulet… flip a coin, both would be good.

7) What are 10 ingredients you can’t live without?
In no particular order: 1. Kosher salt or sea salt- the iodized stuff creeps me out and tastes weird; 2. Freshly ground black pepper; 3. Vanilla- either the pure extract or the beans… if I’m making something sweet, you can bet it’s going in whether the recipe calls for it or not, and if I’m making something savory, well chances are there’s a little in there too; 4. Cinnamon- it’s part of my secret ingredient duo, along with vanilla; 5. Garlic, shallots and ginger, aka, the holy trinity. I know technically this is three things, but I use them together as the base for so many things; 6. Good quality cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, preferably of the fruity variety- *sigh* good olive oil is so hard to find; 7. Good quality butter (sweet butter is my favorite); 8. Bacon/speck because it’s so versitile; 9. Dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 80% or greater- I like it slightly bitter; 10. White truffle oil- I’m addicted. I put it in everything I can, sprinkle it on popcorn even. The smell of it is intoxicating, and actually just thinking of it now makes me salivate a little…

8)Favorite kitchen gadget?
Definitely my microplane rasp.

9) Favorite band/album of all time?
This seems to change a lot for me. Currently I am fully stuck on The Slackers: Close My Eyes. It hasn’t been out of the rotation in at least 6 months. I also really love Jeff Buckley’s Grace, Radiohead’s In Rainbows, and Dap Dippin’ With Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

10) Favorite guilty pleasure movie or TV show?
I really am diggin’ Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and have also managed to get into Heroes and Battlestar Galactica, both of which being shows I never thought I’d like.

11) Favorite book(s)/authors?
Current favorite book is The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Authors I love include Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Philippa Gregory, and Russel Banks.

12) What super-power would you most like to have?
I would love to have the ability to teleport- would make it so much easier to get around…

13) What are your hobbies outside of the kitchen?
Aside from baking and cooking, I like doing lots of physical activity- biking, hiking, yoga, dancing. I also do a lot of reading (fiction and non-fiction), and generally have 2 or 3 book on the go at the same time. I love going to see live music, and checking out local art exhibits. I love to travel whenever my budget can allow it.

14) Who from the past would you like to meet?
I think I would like to meet my grandmothers as young women.

15) Favorite quote?
“Cook with love”. I’m not sure who to attribute this to, because it’s been said to me since I started cooking, and I’ve read it in countless places, most recently in the introduction for SOB.

16) As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? is that what you do now?
When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher or a ballerina- I actually have a picture I drew in kindergarden illustrating this dream. Now, technically, I’m neither, but in a way I’m sorta both. With my job as a cook, I do get to teach people things, and you always hear about cooks having to “dance”…

17) Favorite restaurant and entree there?
One of my favorite restaurants is a place I used to work called River Cafe- some favorite entrees which have been on the menu in the past include a mirin and soy marinated seared sablefish (black cod), served with oyster mushrooms, bok choy and soba noodles. I also really loved the pan seared Manitoba pickeral, though I have no idea what it came with. On the cheaper side of things, my favorite restaurant would have to be this little Vietnamese place called Co-Do. I usually get #11A, medium, with extra vegetables. It’s medium rare beef pho. Sometimes I switch it up and go for a lemongrass chicken curry on vermicelli instead.

18) Favorite dessert?
I live for apple pie, and I’ll take it any way. Hot, cold, a la mode, in galette form, with cheese, whatever.

19) What are your vices, if any?
I love a good glass of medium bodied red wine at the end of a long night… or a rum and coke, dependng on my mood. I have a thing for expensive shoes, and often go into boutique shops to salivate. I like watching sappy romantic shows (in secret, shhhh! nobody is supposed to know!). Once in a while (a very long while, mind you) I get the urge to smoke clove cigarettes- this is strange as I’ve never been a smoker, and the urge usually passes after  less than half a smoke.

20) One thing you would change about yourself if you could.
I’m pretty satisfied with myself- don’t think I would just magically change one thing… there’s a few things I’m working on, but I think the actual work is very valuable in and of itself.

Stay tuned to see what we whip up!