on it!

i was actually getting things done this weekend as i kept in stride with the pack while we finished the last of our traditional european style cakes. next weekend is all about the edible ornaments of matrimony, which should be challenging, but i'm feeling more comfortable with my decorating skills. just look at that opera cake, i've come a long way from my cursive in grade school. even so, it pales in comparison to some of the female members in class. women typically have better handwriting. i have never figured out this mystery.

the cakes in the order they appear are the black forest, kirsch torte, and opera. black forest is a chocolate chiffon with whip cream and cherries. the kirsch torte is a genoise soaked in kirsch and simple syrup sandwiched between two almond meringue discs with buttercream icing. the opera cake is a layered sponge of coffee buttercream and ganache. you may now check your shirt for fallen saliva.



oh yes, i forgot, i also made cupcakes dipped in ganache topped with a rosette of peach buttercream. i'm not sure about the chocolate peach combo, but it was the closest icing in reach and the colors just look so nice together. why couldn't all foods just be paired based off color.

blah!

this is how i currently feel. its a combination of confused, anxious, and pessimistic. there are more descriptors then that, but pairs of three look nice and writing down too many feelings might bring about more unwanted emotions. i'm not actually getting along all that bad, but as can sometime happen the chemicals in my lab aren't balanced properly today. don't worry, antidepressants will not be prescribed.

lets redirect the focus of this post back to more digestible topics, like these three cakes that were made recently. the first of these desserts is a sacher cake. sacher was an austrian baker who came up with this recipe for a visiting count or some other royalty and claimed ownership of the new torte by signing his name on it. its a dense chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam in the middle, finished on top with a coating of ganache.

when finishing with the decorations i really wanted to focus on my pipping and penmanship, but was rushed to get the final design complete before the end of class. i hope to practice tempering and pipping chocolate at home to strengthen these abilities. there was a recipe for homemade girl scout cookies i just saw, thin mints and tag alongs to be exact. i think this would be the perfect application for practicing tempering or at least a good excuse to make such treats.



the next cake is a dobos. named after another baker who wasn't as cunning when it came to claiming his creations. this cake was mustard up during the mid 1800's as new possibilities of shipping prepared foods started to lay tracks. it was dressed with a new type of ingredient for the time called buttercream, which had the advantage of keeping quite well when transported. these first icings were french buttercreams, which unlike other buttercreams contains egg yolks, making a much more dense and rich product.

this is a six layered cake, with an almond flavored base. there is no real explanation to why there are so many layer, but i'm sure there was some air of competition around it.





last is a princess cake. it was made in sweden for a princess who was about to enter into the swedish court and was depressed about moving to, what she perceived as, a cold inhospitable environment. to pull up her attitude the royal chef produced this cake to signify the coming of spring, hoping to relieve the princesses concern by informing her that spring happens in sweden too.

i really like this cake a lot. it has a light crumb and a nice amount of filling in the form of whip cream, pastry cream, and a subtle bit of raspberry jam. this is all covered in a thin sheet of marzipan. mmm! yum!

solid crackers, broken body

i fell yet again on my bike. seriously whats my deal. i somehow managed to fall chest first onto my handlebar, bruising my sternum and spraining my ankle. i'm seriously damaged goods, you couldn't get pennies for me at this point.

while limping around and in between icing my wounds i went ahead and made crackers. it must be their brittle composition that inspired me with all my injuries to go ahead and undertake these square munchies.

crackers are one of the easiest things to bake at home and can be spruced up thousands of ways by incorporating herbs, seeds, or grains into the formula. even with all these options i went ahead and made a simple whole wheat butter cracker.

i have made crackers in the past with just water, flour, salt and maybe a bit of oil. this produces something very similar to those pale round crackers (water crackers) that can be found on cheese plates at any social event. this time i wanted to see if i could get a nice crumbly texture by rubbing in some butter the same way pie dough is made. I was fairly happy with the results, but i'd like to hear some other opinions, so give this recipe a try.

what you'll need:
-6oz (1 1/4c) whole wheat pastry flour (use regular whole wheat flour if you can't
find pastry flour)
-1/2tsp salt
-1oz (2tbsp) cold butter
-1.5oz (5tbsp) cold water

1. sift flour and salt together.
2. using a cheese grater, grate butter.
3. with your hands rub the grated butter into the flour until the flour has the consistency of corn meal.
4. when the butter is fully incorporated drizzle water over the flour and slowly bring the dough together until just combined, making sure not to overwork it.
5. flatten down the dough and let it rest in the fridge for 20min.
6. roll out dough into a rectangle, keeping it within the size of your baking sheet, until its an 1/8in thick.
7. cut into squares or keep dough whole and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
8. poke holes all over dough with a tooth pick (this is especially important if the dough is left in one piece).
9. place in a 425 degree oven for 8-10min rotating the pan halfway through (because of the whole wheat it will look a little dark when done)
10. remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

little sleep, another spill, and playing with chocolate

this weekend my friend sue was in town, so like all weekends when someone is visiting i stayed out too late on a school night. both nights actually. add another fall on my bike and some very intricate cake construction and you have the summary of my life this past few days.

in school on sunday i actually was keeping on schedule with the rest of my classmates for once. at times i almost felt like i had taken up the reigns as fellow students asked my advice on tasks i had completed before them. then my horse broke its leg. my over perfecting self leaped forward to steer me off a cliff.

we were working on creating a chocolate band to go around one of the cakes. a chiffon cake to be exact with a whipped chocolate ganache. the construction of this band involved tempering chocolate, which in short requires heating then cooling the chocolate in such a way that crystals are formed in the chocolates structure allowing it to set and take shape while keeping a glossy finish.

in order to make the band, a sheet of acetate (a plastic film) was cut to the length of the circumference of the cake. then a design in white chocolate was pipped onto the band. once this began to set a thin coat of dark chocolate was spread evenly over the entire piece of acetate. the whole things was then lifted off the table to insure clean edges from where the chocolate ran off the plastic. as the chocolate began to set, but was still malleable, it was quickly wrapped around and adhered to the outside of the cake.

with this level of intricacy and the constant washing of our hands for sanitation, i wouldn't be shocked if a trauma victim ended up on one of the tables in class. if this ever did happen i believe my patent would flat line from the constant resewing of the suchers as they bled out. which in essence is what took place in class as i continued to redraw my design over and over again until next thing i knew time was nearly up. at which point i quickly squirted down a pattern and managed to wrap the cake just as students shuffled out.

well, that is enough rambling, now on to some photos. pictured is a mouse cake, charlotte royale (a roll cake cut into pieces and molded to shape a dome filled with a bavarian cream), and chiffon cake with the troublesome chocolate band. i really enjoyed making the filigree (the designs stuck into the whipped cream) on top of the mouse cake.

polenta, morning gold

although the past few days have been rainy here it doesn't mean my mornings have to get off to a dreary start. a little sunshine can be prepared to combat those depressing skies with nothing more then some corn meal, water, and a bit of salt. i'm talking about polenta or as we call it in the states grits. the ingredients are pretty much the same, its is the preparation that results in the name difference.

the corn meal i buy is called polenta meal, so this is how i describe it. depending on the market place the product could be labeled in either fashion, or simply "corn meal". it should be course ground not corn flour or what would be used to make corn bread. sometimes polenta will be sold precooked in a log form, this can be tasty, but not appropriate for this recipe.

these measurements are for a single serving. for a group just increase the quantities by multiplying by the number of people to be served.

what you'll need:
1/4c polenta/corn meal
1 1/4c water
salt to taste

toppings:
whatever your crazy mind can think up!

1. in a sauce pan combine cornmeal, water, and salt.
2. bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat, so that its barely simmering. (sometimes i just start with the burner low and allow it to gradually reach a simmer. i find this reduces the need for adding more water while cooking.)
3. allow cornmeal to cook for 15-20min stirring every so often to prevent sticking. if the mixture begins to dry out too much, just add in some more water. (5-10min before the cornmeal is fully cooked is a great time to incorporate dried fruits allowing them to rehydrate)
4. when done the cornmeal will be cream and soft.
5. mix in or sprinkle on any toppings and serve immediately

i added a tbsp of heavy cream to mine and topped it all off with some marionberries i had in the freezer left over from summer. i highly recommend adding a bit of fat in the form of butter, cream, olive oil, etc. even a small amount really helps heighten the dish.

so tasty!

pita and pancakes

i must be feeling a little flat lately, pun totally intended, because the other day i decided to make both pancakes and pita bread. i really don't have any clue why. i mean the pancakes were an attempt by me to start using up some of the frozen blueberries i still have from summer, but the pita i guess is just too easy of a way to get your hands quickly on some homemade bread.

after making the pancakes from my school textbook i am now determined to explore the world of these flat spongy delights and develop my ideal recipe. the textbook recipe created fairly thin, light pancakes, which would have been fine had the blueberries not been freakishly big. the few cakes i made with the berries looked as if a game of hide and seek was being played and the berries choose the most indiscreet spot under the rug. i thought maybe i had done something wrong, so i made them again the next day with the same result. i liked how light these pancakes were, but desired more volume. i've gotten thicker pancakes from recipes in the past, but it usually came at a dense cost, so my goal is to create a tall, fluffy, light cake. stay tuned.



the pita is really quite a simple thing to make and if you have a pizza stone it makes things all the easier. i will have to document the procedure next time they're made, so that i can give a step by step tutorial on the subject. with that said i need to start posting recipes, so readers can attempt some of this stuff at home. hopefully i can start inspiring some kitchen workouts instead of always talking about my own.

now back to me. look, look, look! isn't flat beautiful?

can cake solve this recession..?

probably not, but if it could i would be well on my way to personally bringing the nation out of this slump. i'm not gonna talk at ya with my sad face on for too long, but i need to vent and if i talk to myself anymore it might bring out the crazy.

this employers market has made obtaining a job simply impossible. the experience required for most jobs has become so tight it could balance on a knife blade. no risk, is the motto. only a simple guarantee written on paper in the form of your resume is all that eyes can see. this makes me wonder what good school will do in a market of high experience cravings. i don't know, but in the mean time i'll just keep making everything delicious and maybe one day i'll bake batter into gold.

now let me introduce lemon buttercream roll, pineapple upside cake, and a very un-cake, but an equally eye catching cinnamon pecan danish. sampling took place before i could get a shot off on the last two.

durian (smelly shoe melon custard)

ah, durian. i've seen it many times in china towns and asian markets, but never knew what it was until after watching an episode of no reservations with anthony bourdain. as he eats the mucus filled cavity of the melon he explains this guilty pleasure of having an awful odor and a creamy texture that one loves or hates.

a few weeks later i found myself in a thai market staring down one of these giant fruits wondering if the adventure was worth such a commitment when i spotted a less daunting package of frozen durian nearby. it was already removed from the spin ridden exterior and nearly ready to eat. all that was needed was a bit of thawing explained the clerk who issued my second warning of the melons intense aroma and viscous attribute, remarking that he personally couldn't get past the smell.

so, home i rode eagerly awaiting the chance to consume what could possibly make me vomit or grin disgustingly from ear to ear like a child that enjoys the taste of glue paste. well, all i can say is grin i did. it exuded all quality described to me, but in someway i appreciated this fruit, even knowing the smell might nauseate my roommate and leave me worse off socially then eating a handful of raw garlic cloves.

i will admit that even though i liked it, the flavor is one that i must be in the mood for. if not it really can shake me the wrong way, but when the stars are aligned it is a delicious custard like treat. if your ever ready for a blind date with the edible and spot some of this stuff, pick it up and for the sake of those around you consume alone.

sourdough experiment three

this was the most fruitful attempt at making bread with my sourdough starter to date. i was even pretty quick with the lame, so the scoring came out fairly clean.

i strongly recommend everyone try making bread at home. as i think i've mentioned before its a tad time consuming, but damn tasty. effort always increases flavor, even if that flavor may be burnt.

i think the knife i cut bread with is a little over qualified for the job.

a fond farewell with tarte tatin

last night we had a going away dinner for our friends nathan and kaede, who are about to embark on a amazing/ridiculous cross country bicycle trip. along with some delicious lentel burger, made by my buddy/landlord dave, my friend maria and i attempted to create tarte tatin. this is a french apple tart that is cooked upside down in a pan, partially on the stove and then finished by covering with blitz dough (similar to a long flake pie dough) then baking in an oven. when it is done it is flipped over out of the pan to reveal what you hope are delicious caramelized apples. it could be equated to the french version of apple pie.

i had made this once in school, but couldn't remember exactly how it was done. in the end it needed cooked a bit longer. ours was a little juicy, which caused the blitz dough to become soggy when turned over. regardless it tasted delicious and i don't think there was an upset person at the table.

these pictures aren't the best, our kitchen isn't well adapted for photos. i really need to make everything earlier and in front of a window to try and cash in on some of that natural light, but hopefully these images get those taste buds sweating all the same.

it nice to see we aren't the only ones to have trouble with this recipe. watch julia child attempt the classic desert in the french chef episode la tarte tatin.

have your cake! in fact have three!

this weekend in class was the start of our learning about cakes. when it comes to a good cake it is all about respecting your different mixing steps and making sure not to overwork the ingredients. this is true for all items that desire a nice crumbly texture. flour contains gluten and this is what gives a lot of baked good their structure. if you think about it the gluten is like loose thread, moving it around a little bit will knot it up only slightly, really stirring it up will get it all in a bundled. this is what you want to avoid, for it will produce a very dense tough and unplesant cake. there is obviously other factors that effect the final results of cake making, but they very depending on the formula (recipe) you are using.

these were high fat cake formula's we worked with this week, with the exception of the chiffon, which is more of a sponge or egg-foam cake (think angel food cake). there was a carrot cake, chiffon with butter cream icing, and a boston cream pie, which isn't a pie at all, but is baked and served in a pie dish.

decorating the carrot cake, even though i was rushed to do so, was quite fun. we used modeling fondant (a sugar mixture) to make the shapes. dressing the cakes totally kicked in my ocd especially when icing, which was a very delicate affair. what a completely different beast it is making items for a profit and not just to bring to your friends potluck, where merely the attempt is admirable.

it was also beautiful for my ride into school saturday morning. here is my attempt to capture the scene on the broadway bridge. it doesn't really do the experience justice.