Apparently, it all started in New York, in Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery in Hell’s Kitchen (which I didn’t visit, by the way, as I only discovered this when I got back from my holiday). Then Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist, wrote about it in his NY Times blog, which caught the attention of another of my favourite food bloggers, Tony Tahhan.

And when I read Tony’s post, I knew I had to try it myself. It really is very easy, and the results are fantastic. Midway through the process, looking into that blob of sticky dough, a hint of a doubt may have started creeping up, but good things come to those who wait… And that fragrant loaf of bread coming out of the oven sure was a good thing!

No-Knead Bread, by Jim Lahey

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cornmeal, wheat bran or plain flour to dust

Place the flour, yeast and salt on a large bown, and slowly stir in the water, until uniform.
Cover the bowl with cling film and forget about it for 12-18 hours, while if ferments and gets all bubbly.

Dust thoroughly the work surface and your hands with flour, and then take the extremely sticky dough out of the bowl and fold it a couple of times over it self. Wrap it in a flour coated cotton towel , and let it rise for two more hors.

Preheat your oven and a lidded pan or pot inside to 260ºC - 280ºC. The pan can be metal or ceramics, as long as it can stand the high temperature. When the oven is really hot, invert the dough into the preheated vessel and cook covered for 30 minutes, and then uncovered for another 15 minutes, until golden and beautiful.

Yummy as it may look and smell, don’t be too impatient and let it cool a bit before going for it, or you might burn your tongue and fingertips - don’t say i didn’t warn you!

I’ve been meaning to do my own pizza dough for ages, finally I’d have a chance to try it.And the challenge was very clear, we had to toss it in the air like a real professional. I was so excited I gathered some friends around and called it a pizza party.

The pizzas were declared a success, but in the end I was a bit sad… I didn’t manage to toss the dough as I should. Not that I was clumsy or anything like that. The dough was simply untossable. It was so soft it started stretching as soon as I held it, and looked like it was going to break apart and open holes if I didn’t place it at once on the baking sheet. I did everything by the book, so I wondered if they had just waited outside for too long.

I didn’t get any photos of the party pizzas either… with all the people waiting to be fed, it seemed a bit rude to whisk them away to be photographed first. So on the next day, I gave it another go. Sadly, the result was the same. Even the dough straight out of the fridge was too soft to toss. I had failed.

It was crispy and tasty all the same, and I did get some shots of my 4-in-one pizza, so it wasn’t a waste. But I’ll keep experimenting with pizza dough recipes and I’ll learn to toss them properly, I’m stubborn that way.

Having said that, here’s the link to the dough recipe, from Rosa’s Yummy Yums, who hosted this great challenge. And don’t forget to check all the other daring bakers!

And so you don’t go away from this post empty handed, here’s my super douper recipe for pizza sauce:

Tomato Sauce for Pizzas:

and my secret ingredient:
2 streaky rashers of bacon

Place the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.

Chop the garlic and the onion very thinly and add it to the oil.

When the onion starts to soften, add the bacon rashers and let it cook for a few more minutes.

Finally, add the tomato puree, the sugar, salt, pepper and oregano.

Cook for about five minutes over high heat, and then reduce to low, cover, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste it and correct the seasoning if needed.

Discard the bacon rashers and let it cool for a bit before spreading on the pizza dough. Remember, a little goes a long way…

Regarding the toppings, below are some of the combinations I used:

- Bacon and onions
- Fresh mushrooms and corn
- Ham and fresh mushrooms
- Pineapple and parma ham
- Tomatoes, mozzarella di buffala and basil

Such a cool vegan or gluten-free challenge (which I’m posting late again, sorry!) was hosted by Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl, and you can find the recipe for the crackers here or here.

Guacamole

2 small avocados
1 tablespoon red onion, thinly chopped
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander, chopped

In a bowl, add the lime juice to the chopped onion and chilli powder, and let it marinade for a few minutes.

Halve the avocados, remove the seeds and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Chop them into small pieces to help with the mashing and add them to the ingredients in the bowl.

Mash and mix it all with a fork, until smooth (or leave it course if you prefer) and then add the chopped coriander.

Keep it in an airtight container, and refrigerate it until it’s time to serve.

Apple Chutney

2 large apples, cored and diced
1/2 red onion, thinly choped
1/4 cup apple vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon cummin

Mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and let it simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. Then uncover and cook for a bit more, until the excess liquid evaporates.

Keep it in an airtight container, and refrigerate it until it’s time to serve.

Slow Roast Mediterranean Dip

500g small tomatoes on the vine
1 red onion, sliced
1 garlic head
1/4 cup olive oil
50g roasted pine nuts, finely chopped
A few leaves of basil

Halve the tomatoes. Add the olive oil to the bottom of a baking tray, and spread the tomato halves, sliced onion and non pealed garlic cloves. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

Cook in the oven at 100º for about 2 hours. Peal the garlic cloves, move the mixture to a medium bowl and process it with a blender until smooth.

Mix in the pine nuts and the roughly chopped basil leaves. Keep it in an airtight container, and refrigerate it until it’s time to serve.

As it turns out, if you whip the evaporated milk before incorporating the condensed milk and the fruit pulp, instead of creamy and dense, the mousse is light and fluffy, as if you were using egg whites. My friend, quite an exigent eater, thought it was yummy. Mission accomplished!

Passion Mousse

450g passion fruit pulp
1 can of evaporated milk
1 can of condensed milk

Strain the passion fruit pulp into a small bowl, and reserve the seeds for decorating.

In a large bowl, whip up the evaporated milk with an electrical mixer until it’s all foamy and at least doubled in size.

Slowly incorporate the condensed milk, followed by the fruit pulp and beat until fully blended.

Divide into small pots and decorate with the reserved seeds. Chill for a couple of hours before serving.

As soon as I saw the September edition of Sugar High Friday, hosted by Fanny, of Foodbeam, - one of my favorite food bloggers - I thought I’d try to use Greek Yogurt on the frosting. I’m not really a cupcake person, as I’m laaaaazy and always go for the easier cakes, so this is just a perfect occasion to experiment a bit.

Yogurt cake batter wasn’t a big leap, after the frosting was chosen. The crusty bit around it is the best part, so on cupcake form, it’s even better. (My sweetooth of a brother even recommends upping the sugar amount in the cake, to make it crunchier). And because it’s a dry sort of cake, the bittersweet frosting on top is a real upgrade.

Greek Cupcakes

Frosting:
340g Greek yogurt
Honey to drizzle
24 walnut halfs

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

In a large bowl, mix the yogurt and the eggs using a wire whisk. Add the sugar and then the flour and baking powder, beating until well combined. Finally, add the olive oil, milk and lemon.

Pour into 24 buttered cupcake molds and bake until browned, about 25 minutes.

Remove from the molds and let them cool down a bit. Frost with plain Greek yogurt, drizzle with honey and top with half a walnut.

They will keep for a day or so in the fridge, but to enjoy the crunchiness of the crust and the creaminess of the yogurt, they’re way better eaten straight away.

Mint and pear jelly

6 pears, peeled and quartered
150g sugar
8 leaves of fresh mint
3 envelopes of unflavoured gelatin
Water to cover

Place the pears and the sugar in a medium sized saucepan and cover with water. Cook over medium heat until the pears start to become soft - it depends on how ripe they are, so it’s best to prod them with a knife to test.

Strain the pears from the water, they should not be too mushy. Reserve the liquid. Let them cool down for a bit and then dice them. Divide them into 8 small glass cups.

Place a leaf of fresh mint in each cup, over the pear cubes.

Dissolve the gelatin in a bit of cold water, and then add it to the hot pear water. Stir until totally dissoved and then pour it into a big measuring cup. You need about one liter of liquid, so at this point, add more water if needed.

Pour it in the prepared cups, over the pear and mint. Once cool, refrigerate it for a couple hours, until solid.

If you’re not a great fan of mint, you can leave it out and flavour the jelly by adding a few cinnamon sticks to the pan, right at the beginning.

Although the original recipe, with chocolate glaze and chocolate pastry cream, seemed delicious, the crowd I was cooking them for isn’t too much into chocolate. And to be honest, I’m a bit tired of chocolate myself - not a true chocaholic, I know.

So I kept the chocolate frosting to a light drizzle, and used a simple cream and chocolate ganache instead of the apparently over complicated version from Pierre Hermé - which no doubt is worth all the trouble, but time wasn’t at all on my side this month.

In first batch, I used whipped cream and fresh fruit for the filling, and it was delicious. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it to the photoshoot.

For the second batch, I dreamed up an egg cream. I started with a traditional portuguese recipe of Ovos Moles to which I added a bit of cream to make it lighter and a bit of cornstarch for consistency. Here’s how it goes:

Egg cream

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 table spoon cornstarch
200ml single cream

Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan over in lowI heat until it dissolves.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and then slowly pour the sugar syrup, while you keep whisking.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and keep stirring with a wooden or silicone spoon until it’s think enough to coat the back of the spoon.

In a small bowl (you can reuse the egg one) dissolve the cornstarch in a bit of the cream. Stir the remaining cream into the egg mixture and let it come to a simmer. The add the cornstarch and whisk carefully until it thickens.

Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit before piping it in the éclairs.

As for the the éclair’s recipe, please check Meeta K’s Éclairs’ post.

Tony and Meeta, thanks for choosing something that I always wanted to learn how to make. Great challenge, although it’s not too hard at all.

Please, do visit the Daring Bakers blogroll, to check out all the beautiful pastry done by the other bakers.

Mind you, André isn’t the only fan of this Arroz Doce recipe. It’s got such a legion of fans, I could even open up a fan club. And it’s so simple, I can just prepare it in a whiz in case of an emergency.

Arroz Doce is a traditional Portuguese rice pudding, but there are several variations out there, some of them with condensed milk, some with no eggs at all. This one is a very creamy custardy one. And also very sweet. (Be prepared to cut down on the sugar if you’re not a hardcore sweet tooth).

Arroz Doce

1 cup short grain white rice
5 cups water
1 slice lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter
A pinch of salt
2 cups hot milk (preferably whole)
2 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
Cinnamon do garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil with the lemon peel, butter and pinch of salt.

Add the rice and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When most of the water has evaporated, add the very hot milk. Simmer for 5 more minutes and add the sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and add a few spoonfuls of the rice mixture to temperate the egg yolks. Then add the now warm egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly until even.

Serve in a large dish or small shallow ramekins, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon to garnish.

••• Update •••
I’m entering Arroz Doce in the Got Milk? food blogging event, promoting World Breastfeeding Week. Find out more about breastfeeding on www.breastfeeding.com

A few weeks ago, I decided to use poached pear and frangipane as a filling for the Daring Bakers danish braid, and although it was pretty good, the pear flavour was a bit hidden in all that flaky dough. I had some poached pears left, and some leftover frangipane, so I searched the internet for a recipe to use it.

Of course I stumbled upon countless almond-pear tarts, but they all had something in common: a shortcrust pastry base. And after all that danish pastry making, I didn’t feel like doing any more dough. I remembered I had bought some really cute heart-shaped silicone moulds, so I decided to make individual little tarts, with no crust at all. I didn’t know how the frangipane would hold up, so I added a bit more flour to the mix to be safe.

In the end, the mini tartelettes turned out a success. I ended up repeating the recipe a couple more times, because my dad has a sweet tooth and kept asking for more.

Frangipears
(enough for 10 tartelettes or one big tart)

1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup ground almonds
3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Topping

5 pears
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Water to cover
Slivered roasted almonds for decoration

Place the pears in a small saucepan with all the ingredients and add water until about 2cm of the pear top. Simmer on a medium heat until the pears are soft, but not mushy. You might have to keep checking by inserting a knife, as it depends on how ripe they are.

While the pears are cooking, prepare the filling, by creaming the butter and the sugar with a whisk, and beating in the egg and the vanilla extract. Then, add the ground almond and the flour, and whisk until smooth.

Divide the dough into 10 buttered mini tartelette moulds (or heart shaped silicone moulds if you happen to have them). Alternatively, you can pour the dough into a buttered 25cm round pan. Use a spatula to even out the surface.

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Once the pears are cooked, remove the pears from the liquid, and let it simmer until it looks syrupy and golden. After letting the pears cool down a bit, halve them, remove the core and then slice them thinly. Carefully pick up each half, fan it slightly over your hand and then lay them carefully over the frangipane. If doing a full tart, place every half pear pointy side to the center, as a flower petal.

Brush the pears with the syrup and top with some slivered roast almonds. Bake for about 15minutes, or until the dough starts to brown slightly and the edges of the pears start to golden. Drizzle with the syrup.

Serve either chilled or warm, with some vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream.

When I first looked at July’s challenge, I panicked a bit. After all, a chocolate covered hazelnut cake with buttercream wasn’t quite what I wanted to be doing, because of several reasons. First of all, hazels are my least favourite nuts, specially when combined with chocolate - I hate Nutella! Secondly, after the Opera Cake and Helena’s birthday cake, I have done and eaten enough buttercream for the whole Summer, so the idea of doing it again in this hot weather didn’t please me at all. Same thing for the chocolate frosting, after Filipe’s and Pedro’s birthday cakes, I promised myself I would lay off chocolate ganache for a good while.

Reading the recipe again, i found out, although there was no escaping the chocolate, I could replace the buttercream for whipped cream, and the hazelnuts for any other nut. Almond would have been too easy, so if I was going to do an extravagant cake, why not risk something a bit bolder? I couldn’t find unsalted pistachios, so I ended up buying a great big bag of cashew nuts.

I was a bit apologetic when I presented the cake to my friends, as I wasn’t too sure of how it had turned out. But surprisingly, they all loved it. It has a different and unexpected taste, and wasn’t too sweet or dry, even if I cheated a little and skipped the alcohol, syrup and apricot glaze steps, to avoid too many flavours mixed up.

You can find the original recipe on Melle Cotte, who hosted this month’s challenge. And of course, see what everybody else has done on the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Cashew Gateau with Praline Cream

1 1/2 cups toasted cashew nuts
2/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar (divided 1/4 and 3/4 cups)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
1/4 cup warm, clarified butter

Preheat oven to 250 Grease and flour a 25 cm circular pan

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch until you get a fine mixture.

Beat the yolks with and electric mixer until thick and light in color, then add 3/4 cup of sugar. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until you reach soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, and keep beating. Then add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. (instructions on how to make clarified butter) Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate.

Transfer the batter into the pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula or back of a spoon.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

Praline Paste

1 cup cashew nuts
2/3 cup sugar

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides.

Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle.

Break the candied nuts into pieces. Set some aside for decorations and place the rest in the food processor. Process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes.

Praline Cream

400 ml whipping cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup praline paste

Add the sugar to the cream and whip it up. Place the praline paste in a separate bowl, and add a few spoons of whipped cream. Use a blender to mix the paste and the cream into an uniform paste without any chunks. If necessary, add a few more spoons of cream. Then add this mixture to the rest of the cream and whisk it until smooth and even.

Divide the cake into 2 layers and place the first layer top-side down on a cooling rack.

Spread the bottom layer with a 6mm thickness of the praline cream. Place the top layer cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Cover with a thin coat of the praline cream, in order to even out the kinks and create a smooth surface for the ganache. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Ganache Glaze

170g dark chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium sized bowl.

Heat the cream in a saucepan, on low. As soon as it boils, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla extract. If the surface seems oily, add a bit of hot water. Let it cool a little bit before pouring.

Place the rack with the cake over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 20cm above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Use the spatula to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake.

When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

Garnish the cake with the remainder of the praline cream and the chunks of cashew praline.