Icing on the Cake

Six weeks ago I could not tell you the difference between a sponge or a chiffon method.  I had never piped frostings and I definitely was not comfortable baking under stressful conditions.  However, once I decided to tackle my initial insecurities I ended up not only improving my technical skills, expanding my recipe box, but also falling more in love with this craft.  I have had to tap into a side of my brain that has been dormant for quite some time.  Managing to  earn an A on my final practical was an incredible feeling, but the icing on the cake is that I have found my niche.   Undoubtedly, I have room to grow, but I am excited for what the future holds.   Currently, I am working on some plans to roll out the business side of Flour Bloom.  I can't wait to share what I have in the works. 

For now, several Flour Bloom fans have requested the recipe for the frostings that were used on the chiffon & black forest cake.  The following recipes are very versatile and can be flavored by adding in extracts, emulsions, or liqueur.  I couldn't think of a better way to end this term than by sharing some "icing" to go on your cakes! 

Swiss Buttercream

Swiss buttercream gets its name from the two components that help make this thick and decadent frosting:  swiss meringue & butter.  In order to create the meringue, the recipe requires that you warm the egg whites and sugar by using a double boiler or by placing a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water.  If using the latter method, be certain that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.   This step can't be skipped and is necessary to create the proper texture and volume  for the frosting.  

8 oz        Granulated sugar

4 oz        Egg whites

14 oz      Unsalted butter, cubed & at room temperature

3/4 tsp  Vanilla extract

* flavorings to taste

1.  Create meringue by warming egg whites and sugar over a water bath or double boiler. Whisk until the mixture reaches 120 degrees F.  

2.  Once meringue mixture is warmed, transfer to a mixing bowl.  Using a whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until mixture has doubled in size and has cooled.   The mixture will become bright white.  You are ready to move to the next step when the bowl is cool to touch.   

3.  Slowly add butter into the cooled meringue.  Once butter is fully incorporated add in vanilla extract (can substitute other flavors).

4.  Whip until smooth.

Creme Chantilly

Another one of my favorite frostings is called Creme Chantilly which is just a fancy way of saying Vanilla Whipped Frosting.  This is another staple frosting that you can use with a variety of cakes.  Like the buttercream, you can change this recipe up by adding different extracts, incorporate a chocolate sauce & coffee to make a coffee flavored frosting.  The recipe produces enough to frost a cake and have extra to pipe borders and rosettes.  If you just want enough to cover the cake you will need to half the recipe. 

16 0z     Heavy whipping cream
2.5 oz    Confectioner sugar
1 tsp      Vanilla


1.  Place cold heavy whipping cream in mixing bowl.  Using a whisk attachment, beat cream on low speed. 

2.  Gradually add confectioner sugar and increase speed to medium.  Beat until cream begins to thicken, then add vanilla.  Be careful not to overwhip your cream otherwise you'll end up with butter (true story!).
 

Week 5: Who says I can't have my cake & eat it too!

I find it amazing that in just five weeks I have learned all the basic techniques necessary to create some delectible baked goodies.  This week I entered the world of cakes & frosting.  I must say that I was impressed at how many different techniques exist and could be crammed into just 5 days.  I learned so much this week it was hard to retain all the information in my brain!


The syllabus focused on practicing the chiffon, genoise, 2-stage and creaming method for cakes. I also learned the technique for making swiss buttercream. In a matter of just four days, my refrigerator became crammed with an extra stash of buttercream frosting, genoise (i.e. sponge) cake,  as well as

Lemon Swiss Buttercream Chiffon Cake

Black Forrest Cake

&

some adorable Petit Fours.

Almond Raspberry Petit Four:  Almond sponge cake filled with raspberry preserves and
marzipan topped with a white chocolate icing & served with a shot of espresso

For those who are just familiar with box mixes, there is no reason to be intimidated by  a "from scratch" process.  When preparing a cake you should have the three goals in mind:

1. Ensure the batter is smooth & uniform  (having ingredients at room temperature is required)

2. Develop the proper air cell formation  (type of fat used in the recipe + mixing method affects this)

3. Create proper texture (over mixing batter & using the wrong flour can cause this)

I know that these three goals sound simple, but spend one day in a culinary classroom and you will be amazed that 30 students can all start with the same recipe and end up with some interesting products! 

For those of you who know me well, the Whole Foods  Berry Chantilly Cake has been one of my newest cake addictions.  Let me just say, it's the kind of cake that continues to linger in your thoughts long after the last bite.  I searched and searched online for the recipe, but could not find the exact one.  So I jotted down the ingredients and description and then stuck it on a Windows 7 sticky note on my desktop screen.   Here's what I read everytime I log onto my laptop:

3 layers of delicate white chiffon cake soaked in orange simple syrup filled with 2 layers of fresh fruit and chantilly frosting (a heavenly blend of cream cheese, whipped cream, mascarpone and almond essence). Covered with chantilly frosting and seasonal fruit.  May be decorated with almond slices.

So, it's pretty accurate to say that I was literally salivating to see that a chiffon cake was on our syllabus.  I have been wanting to learn how to make this cake for awhile.  

What is important to understand about the chiffon cake is that the "fat" in the cake will always be oil.  Since there is not a lot of fat in the ingredients, the structure from the cake comes from egg whites.  As a result, making sure that the egg whites are properly whipped to the firm moist peaks is imperative.  Otherwise, you'll end up with a cake that does not have uniform air cells and possibly a dense texture. 

As usual, we worked in pairs and this time I worked with a new person.  I was responsible for preparing the flour-liquid batter, while my partner worked on whipping the egg whites.   Unfortunately, we miss judged and folded our egg whites in too soon.  As you can see, the cake is a little dense and has a few tunnels that indicate the batter was overmixed.   Although the cake still tasted good, the inside of this cake was a visible reminder that I need to work on the 3 goals of cake mixing.   

Tunneling is a sign that the batter was over mixed.

The cake we made in class was actually a yellow chiffon cake versus white chiffon.  The difference is that yellow chiffon cake also includes the egg yolks.   I'm still on the hunt for a good white chiffon cake, but for now this recipe is a pretty good.  With practice, I know I'll master the chiffon method.  If you'd like to try out this cake, here's the recipe:

Yellow Chiffon Cake

10 oz         Cake flour

8 oz           Sugar

1 1/2 tsp   Salt

.5 oz          Baking powder

5 oz           Vegetable oil

5 oz           Egg yolks (measure by volume, not weight)

7.5 oz        Water

1 1/2 tsp   Vanilla extract

10 oz         Egg Whites (measure by volume, not weight)

5 oz           Sugar

5/8 tsp     Cream of Tartar

Mixing Method:  Chiffon

1.  Sift the first four ingredients and place in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment.  Combine oil, yolks, vanilla and water in a bowl and whisk together.  Turn mixer on low and slowly incorporate egg mixture into batter.  Mix until combined.  Ensure the bowl is scraped down to ensure ingredients are fully incorporated.  Remove from bowl and set side.

2.  Combine remaining sugar and cream of tartar.  In a clean mixing bowl add egg whites and whip using a whisk attachment until foamy.  Slowly add sugar/cream of tartar mix to egg whites and whisk on medium speed until egg whites are firm moist peaks.

3.  Fold egg white mixture into flour-liquid batter.  Be sure not to over mix, but ensure that egg white and batter is fully incorporated.  Batter should be a solid color with no white swirls from the egg whites.

4.  Line pan with parchment paper on the bottom of 2- 9" round cake pans.  Do not grease sides of pan as the cake will need to stick to as it rises.  Divide batter and bake immediately to ensure volume is not lost.   Bake at 350 degrees until center is springing and cake tester comes out clean.  Approximate baking time is 20-30 minutes, but ovens may vary so keep an eye on it.  

5.  Once fully baked, remove and invert cake pan onto cooling rack.  If this step is skipped, the cake will sink in the center.  Allow to cool before frosting.  Because this cake is in the sponge cake family, layers can be brushed with a simple syrup, coffee, or other flavor to give the cake more dimension.    

Baklava

I came across a recipe for baklava as I was reading this month's Bon Appetit magazine  and it reminded me that I promised to post the recipe I learned in class.  The version I am providing is a basic one.  However, there is room to jazz it up by changing out the types of nuts.  Bon Appetit's recipe calls for walnuts & pistachios.  They also sneak in some diced dried apple rings.  Some students in class substituted the lemon peel & juice for blood oranges.  Feel free to be creative and have fun with the filling. Although phyllo dough seems scary to work with, it actually is not complicated if you follow these 2 simple rules.  

1.  Ensure that its thoroughly thawed before handling.  Otherwise, the leaves will tear and you will have one big mess.  

2. Do not allow it to dry out.  If you assemble the baklava immediately then you should not run into any trouble.   But if you're usually interrupted by phone calls, Facebook updates, or easily distracted,  I recommend covering the unused dough with a slightly damp cloth.  

When you see how simple it is to make baklava you may just forgo that trip to Greece.  Well, probably not, but you won't need to travel far to enjoy this fresh, sweet & flaky treat! 

1 lb       Phyllo leaves, thawed
1 lb       chopped assorted nuts 

1 tsp     cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ground cloves

8 oz      melted butter

Syrup:

12 oz     Sugar

9 oz       Water

4.5 oz    Honey

2 strips lemon peel 

1 oz        lemon juice 

1             Cinnamon stick

1.  Prepare syrup first:  Twist & squeeze lemon/orange peels.  Combine all syrup ingredients in medium sized pot.  Place on stove and heat until sugar dissolves and syrup begins to reduce.  Set aside.

2.  Chop nuts in a food processor.  Place spices in a mixing bowl and add spices.  Toss until nuts are fully coated.

3.  Phyllo leaves will be prepped on a workspace, cut and then transferred into a 9x13 pan.  Use a pastry brush to brush butter onto phyllo leaves.  9x13 pan does not need to be greased.

4.  Bottom Layer:   Carefully place one layer of phyllo leaves onto workspace.  Brush lightly with butter. Place 2nd piece on top of buttered layer.  Brush lightly with butter.  Repeat until there are 8-10 layers.  Trim phyllo layers to fit onto baking sheet.  Transfer to baking pan.  Use cut scraps to cover any portion of the pan that is not covered.  

5.  Add 1/3 of the nut mixture to the bottom phyllo layers.  Ensure the layer is evenly covered.

6.  Middle Layer:  Repeat butter process as indicated in step 4, but instead middle layer will have only 3 sheets of buttered phyllo leaves.  Trim phyllo leaves to fit pan.   Transfer to pan.  Sprinkle with  another 1/3 nut mixture.  Repeat this step.  

7.  Use remaining layers to create top layer.  

8.  Using a sharp knife, cut unbaked baklava into squares, but do not cut to the bottom of the pan.  Make diagonal cuts in each square. Butter fingertips to prevent them from sticking to the phyllo layers.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.  Once baked, remove from oven and ladle syrup over the hot baklava.  Let baklava stand overnight to ensure the syrup is absorbed.  Then...enjoy!

A Special Thanks & Fruit Tarts

First things first.  I would like to take a moment to say a special thank you to the regular visitors that read this blog, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and especially those in my life that I get to see or hear from frequently.  I am overwhelmed by your positive feedback, motivating & encouraging words, and most importantly your excitement for me to succeed.  

To date, there have been 387 hits on this site and I'm not including the many times I've obsessively reread posts to make sure I didn't sound ridiculous.  Visitors have been as far away as Qatar, Malaysia and even Russia.  In the blogger world I know that these statistics are nothing to brag about, but I just could not keep my happiness to myself.  I had to share my excitement and gratitude.  I also wanted to add that I'm trying to reach my goal of having at least 25 fans on my FlourBloom Facebook page.  I'm at 14 right now, so if you're reading this, have a Facebook account, and like what you see add Flour Bloom as one of your pages to follow.  


Now, on to this week's reflection.  I have successfully completed my first month of school and can definitely see that I have grown in just this short period.  This past week I have had to endure two practicals and have managed to turn nervous energy into productivity.  I can happily say that my pepper jack jalapeno biscuits & pumpkin bread earned me an A minus; however, the verdict is still out on my creme brulee and tarts.  Monday I will have to assemble everything and then present them for a grade.   Compared to my very first day in class I have unquestionably learned my way around the kitchen, become more organized and methodical in my actions. 


This progress has helped prepare me for this week's lessons.  Week 4 was filled with learning how to make tarts, baklava, and strudel.  Although the days were not void of the Chef's constant tirade, I thoroughly enjoyed practicing the techniques for these desserts.  I had never made any of them before so everything was new to me.   This post will focus on tarts, but later this weekend I will talk about the baklava and strudel.


The tart dough is what is called Pate Sucree (pot-soo-cray) which is prepared by using the creaming method versus the biscuit method that is used to make typical pie doughs.  The dough resembles a cookie crust and is made with butter, powdered sugar, eggs, and flour.  It can be fickle to work with so I'm not comfortable posting the recipe.   If you'd like to try it though, email me at flourbloom@gmail.com and I'll send it to you.   Instead of using the pate sucree as dough, you can substitute a mini graham cracker crust for these tarts.  It's much easier to work with and just as tasty.


My tarts were filled with a lemon curd & marscarpone filling.    The lemon curd is simply to die for and is so versatile.  Recall that last week I used it to top my lemon cheesecake.   It can also be added to buttercream frostings or you can substitute oranges for the lemon.  Since spring is almost near this is a perfect filling to have.  I also made a tart filled with pastry cream.   I have included the recipes for both of them below.

Lemon Curd

6 oz     Lemon Juice

4          Whole Eggs

1          Egg Yolk

12 oz   Sugar

4 oz     Butter


1.  Whisk together all ingredients except butter
2.  Cook on medium heat until mixture become thick.  Stir constantly.
3. Once thickened, remove from heat and add butter.  Using a chinois or metal strainer, sieve the mixture.  This is necessary because the eggs will coagulate as the mixture thickens and sometimes egg white will cook.  Sieving also smooths out the filling.  Place lemon curd in bowl and cool on a ice water bath.  
* For fruit tarts filling, you can also whip in 2-3 ounces room temperature marcarpone into the cooled lemon curd.

Pastry Cream

8 oz     Whole Milk

1 oz      Sugar

1           Whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk

.75 oz   Cornstarch (this must be weighed; otherwise filling won't thicken properly)  

1 oz      Sugar

1/2 oz  Butter

3/4 tsp Vanilla extract

1.  Warm milk and 1 oz of sugar in a saucepan.  Heat until it reaches boil.

2.  With a whisk, beat egg yolks and egg together until smooth.

3.  Whisk together cornstarch and sugar and add to eggs.  

4.  Once milk begins to steam, slowly add milk mixture to eggs, whisking the mixture together until thoroughly incorporated.

5.  Return mixture to pan and heat until mixture reaches a boil and thickens.  Stir constantly

6.  Once mixture thickens, remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  Place on a water bath to cool.  Be sure to cover with plastic wrap.  Plastic wrap should touch the surface of the pastry cream to avoid condensation.  

* To make Diplomat Creme, fold  in homemade whipped cream into pastry cream. Diplomat Creme is used to make creme puffs as well as tart fillings.

Apricot Glaze

Something I have always wondered about tarts was what exactly was brushed on the fruit that made them so shiny and beautiful.  The secret is to brush the apricot glaze over the fruit.  Not only does it make the tart look cute, it's purpose is to keep the fruit in place. Here's a simple recipe for your fruit tarts:


4 oz     Apricot Preserves

1 oz     Water

1.  Combine preserves and water into a heavy sauce pan.  Bring to simmer and cook until the preserves are melted and well mixed.  Simmer until reduced and thickened slightly.

2.  Run glaze through sieve to remove any lumps.

3.  Using a pastry brush, lightly brush glaze over fruit.  

Now that you have filling options and the glaze mixture all you need to do is gather some fresh berries and start assembling your tarts.  I hope these recipes get you in the mood for spring!  Happy baking!

  

Double Negatives Can Be a Good Thing

With Week 3 under my belt, I have settled into a good rhythm and have a better understanding of the Chef's expectations.  Something I am beginning to pick up on is that if the Chef's comments include only one negative phrase...that's not a good thing.  If her comments contain double negatives, I'd consider patting myself on the back.  Let me better explain what I mean by sharing with you some of the things that I made this week and her responses.  

Creme Caramel:  The "caramel" on top is made by bringing sugar and water to a boil until it turns a honey color.  It is then poured onto the bottom of a small baking dish and left to cool.  While that cools, a basic custard made with eggs, milk, and sugar is prepared.    The custard is poured on top of the cooled caramel and baked until it's set.  

The result:  The texture resembled flan.  It was very smooth and mellow in flavor, but it did have a subtle egg flavor.  The caramel disk provided a sweet sugary sauce.  I ate most of it and thought it was fairly good.

Chef's comment after tasting it, "It's not horrible."

I'm assuming that means one notch above inedible.

Creme Brulee:  Many of you are probably familiar with this dessert.  For those of you who have never tried it, it's eggs mixed with heavy cream and sugar.  Without a doubt, this little dish probably has a million calories in it.  


I've used a torch before, but never to "brulee" (which is French for burnt) sugar.  The top dessert had too much sugar which is why once the flame hit the sugar crystals, they immediately caramelized and became very dark.  The bottom creme brulee did not have enough sugar which is why it seems too light.  I really enjoyed this dessert and thought it was pretty good for my first time baking it.  

Chef's thoughts, "Not bad." 

This comment gave me hope...

Cheesecake & Plating:

Keeping in line with making extremely fattening desserts, we baked cheesecakes on Thursday and spent Friday practicing making sauces and plating our desserts.  We are required to work in pairs so my partner and I decided on making a lemon cheesecake topped with lemon curd and then garnished with a raspberry and blueberry sauce.

For our first slice, we had an elaborate plan to make a birds nest out of white chocolate, fill it with blueberries and place the cheesecake on top of a small pool of blueberry sauce decorated with white chocolate. We failed at making the bird's nest so were left to play around with the sauce and white chocolate.  As soon as I poured the white chocolate onto the plate, I knew this wasn't going to look as nice as I imagined.   I immediately realized that the white chocolate was too thin for the sauce and this plate began to look like a spiderweb.  I thought it was so hideous I couldn't help but laugh and make a few Spiderman hand gestures.  I nearly scrapped the design, but then the guys in my class walked by and thought it was pretty cool.  Go figure.   I doubted the Chef would like it, but thought...well, maybe.

The Chef's thoughts, "I liked the stacked blueberries.  I don't like the plating design."   

I whole heartedly agreed with her on this one. 

But alas, the one thing that did receive a positive feedback from the Chef this week was the raspberry plated lemon cheesecake.  My thoughts, "oh my freakin goodness...this is sooo dog-gone cute."   

The Chef's response, "Nice job, ladies.  Very pretty."

Finally!  I couldn't help but walk away with a big smile on my face which so happened to last while I devoured it.

Although on most days, her comments are not quite what I'd like to hear; they are what I definitely need to hear.   Every now and then, she might slip up and toss out a positive response.  For now, I'll assume that her double negative comments are just as good as a positive one.