Sweet Sadie's Baking

The Daring Baker's Scones...in search of the best!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

When Camera Guy and I visited England and Scotland in July, we got into the habit of having afternoon scones. Oh yes...we were "Sconeheads" And I mean we had the whole works- clotted cream, butter, jam and some wonderful tea for the finishing touch.... Each afternoon, he would mention " Isn't it time we stopped somewhere for scones?" We considered ourselves experts, rating scones wherever we went- The Isle of Skye serving up the best ...but they would not share the recipe... too bad, because they were really good. We actually had to end this foolishness when I started having difficulty fitting in the car!

And so we declared that every Sunday when we returned home to Canada, we would have scones... We actually enjoyed this every Sunday for a month or so and then we moved and that is another story (Moving is not fun!)

The Daring Baker's challenge this month is scones!

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host.. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Basic scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)

Starring our fabulous ingredients

Add Flour to the sifter over a big bowl

Then Baking Powder

And Salt

Sift 3 times (I must confess - I only sifted once)

Introducing Graeta ! Grate frozen butter....

Doesn't she look proud? We bought her in Vienna.

Rub in the Butter with your fingertips until it looks like coarse bread crumbs

Add the blueberries and 1 tbsp sugar
then add the milk until a sticky dough

Pat into a rectangle 6 x4 inches

Cut out scones (Biscuits) - I had a square cutter

Place on cookie sheet - just touching... so cute!

Bake and serve warm....

with homemade jam...I called this Strawberry Fields Forever...

So you may be saying- but they are blueberry scones why strawberry jam? Because - who cares? Warm scones, butter and jam - any jam! ...simply delightful.
I am going to surprise Camera Guy with breakfast in bed!
He ate four!....He really does love my baking.

Thanks again Audax for hosting this month!
Until we bake again...
Penny

Here is the recipe:
Starring- in order of Appearance!

Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
The recipe can be doubled:

1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) fresh baking powder

¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt

4 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of crisco and butter)

1/4 cup dried Blueberries (or strawberries or raisins etc) (45 gm)

Approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold buttermilk

1 Tablespoon sugar (15 gm)

Optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot

refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)

3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles

very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it

resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

3A. Add the dried fruit and 1 tablespoon sugar

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just

forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter

the scones (biscuits) will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve

an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not

press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead

very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4

times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you

knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10

cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out

without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm)

layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the

extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form

squares or wedges as you desire.

7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place

the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones.

Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you

want a more traditional look to your scones.

8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home

ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are

lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

Variations on the Basic recipe

Buttermilk – follow the Basic recipe above but replace the milk with buttermilk, add ¼ teaspoon of

baking soda, increase the fat to 4 tablespoons, in Step 3 aim of pea-sized pieces of fat coated in flour,

in Step 5 fold and turn the dough, rounds are just touching in the baking dish, glaze with buttermilk.

Cheese and Chive – follow the Basic recipe above but add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, after Step 2 add

½ teaspoon sifted mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon sifted cayenne pepper (optional), ½ cup (60 gm/2 oz)

grated cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives into the sifted ingredients, in Step 3 aim of

beach sand sized pieces of fat coated in flour, in Step 5 knead the dough, rounds are widely spaced in

the baking dish, sprinkle the rounds with cracked pepper.

Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:

Scones are best eaten warm. Scones (biscuits) are really easy to store – bag the cooked and cooled scones and freeze until needed then reheat in a moderate hot for a few minutes.

Les biscuits au citron...c'est si bon!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:47:00 +0000

I fell in love with these cookies because they looked so pretty. I rushed to amazon to buy the little book which comes with the stamp! Here is the link- It is in french though, but I am translating the recipe for you below with some modifications.

It is a little book...soooooo cute.

The ingredients: - makes about 12 cookies

One lemon zested
80 g of butter
120 g of sugar
one egg
180 g of sifted flour
powdered sugar
jar of lemon curd

Grate the lemon zest

In a bowl work the butter with a spatula

Add the sugar and work until incorporated

Add the lemon zest and keep mixing

Add the flour a little at a time to mix in well

If it is difficult - work in with your hands

cover the dough with plastic and let it rest in the fridge for 30 min.

Preheat the oven to 350°

Line a cookie tray with parchment paper

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll with a rolling pin to 5 mm thick

Find a cookie cutter or glass that is roughly the same size as the stamp - if you are using it- you don't have to use these stamps of course and you can just make round cookies...but they are soooo cute!

Cut out the rounds and place them on the cookies sheet about 1 inch apart

I put them in the fridge again for 10 minutes

Remove from the fridge and bake for 10 min.

Let cool on a wire rack.

When completely cooled, I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar

Spread the lemon curd on half of the biscuit and stick it together with the other half

Camera Guy and his cookie...

Until we bake again....
Rendez-vous à la prochaine recette....
Penny

My Mom's Honey Cake...

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:54:00 +0000

It has been a while since I posted my Mom's honey cake and had the pleasure of tasting it last night at my friend's Meredith and Dan, who welcomed me into their home to share a dinner with their family. Meredith has now made this cake every year and pointed out a little confusion in one section and so I have revised the recipe a little. My sister Arlene in Montreal is making it today so I have to make sure she gets it right!
Happy New Year to all who celebrate the Jewish Holidays at this time of year and good luck Arlene...I wish I could be there to taste it!

Here is the link - Sadies Honey Cake
Enjoy
Until we bake again...
Penny

Chudleigh’s Piefest –1st in Crust and 2nd Overall!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:43:00 +0000

I am so excited!!!! I won for Best Crust and 2^nd for overall pie. I am so happy I won for best crust because the crust can be a very difficult component of the pie and has always been a challenge for me.

We had a great day at Chudleigh’s with hayrides and apple picking…ribs and corn for lunch and of course the pie contest. There were about 8 judges and it was quite tense as they sampled the pies – the crust – the filling and the combination. When they presented the awards, I was thrilled.

I would like to thank my friends for coming out and supporting me- it was so much more fun because you were there – Meredith, Dan, Jacob, Jeremy, Anne and Sally! And thank you Dan and Meredith for helping me peel and core the apples the night before.

Because this pie was baked during the apple picking season, we had a variety of types of apples to choose from. I chose Ginger Gold and Red Cortland that I bought from my local market. My goal was to bring out the flavour of the apples and not mask the taste. Even a little flour or cornstarch or potato starch, that some people to thicken the juices, can reduce the flavour of the apples. If I was baking the pie in the middle of winter, I would probably have made it with a combination of Macintosh and Granny Smith’s (more readily available) and maybe even added cream. My son Elliot loves my sour cream apple pie!

This is the recipe I used for the pie contest!

Sweet Sadie’s Apple Orchard Pie

baked by Penny Martin

www.sweetsadiesbaking.com

This recipe was adapted from America’s test kitchen

Pie Dough

· 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , plus extra for dusting

· 1 teaspoon table salt

· 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

· 12 tablespoons unsalted butter , chilled, cut into 1/4- inch pieces

· 8 tablespoons vegetable shortening (chilled)

· 8-10 tablespoons ice water

Apple Filling

· 2 pounds Ginger Gold apples (4 medium)

· 2 pounds Red Cortland apples (4 medium)

· 3/4 cup granulated sugar

· 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 medium lemon

· 1/4 teaspoon table salt

· 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

· 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

· 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

· 2 tablespoons butter

· 1 egg white, beaten lightly

· 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar , for topping

Instructions

Pulse (three 1-second bursts) flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor work bowl fitted with the steel blade. Add butter and pulse to mix in five 1-second bursts. Add shortening and continue pulsing until it resembles coarse cornmeal, four or five more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle 8 tablespoons ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tablespoons more ice water if dough will not hold together. Squeeze dough gently until cohesive and divide into two equal balls. Flatten each into a 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap separately in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling.
Combine 3/4 cup sugar, lemon zest, salt, allspice, cloves and cinnamon in small bowl.
Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-to-3/4-inch slices and toss with lemon juice, then add sugar mixture and toss well. Let sit for 30 minutes. Drain and boil juices with 2 tbsp butter for 5 minutes to reduce. Pour 1/3 cup of these juices back over apples.

Remove dough from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but malleable.

We will be placing the pie on the floor of the oven so if you have a pizza stone, you can place it on the floor of the oven or cover the bottom with foil to catch the pie juices so it doesn't make a mess. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
Roll one dough disk on a lightly floured parchment paper into a 12-inch circle. Rest this parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Roll 2^nd dough disk on a lightly floured parchment paper into a 13-inch circle. Rest this parchment paper on top of first pie disk. Cover with plastic and place this cookie sheet in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble pie.
Gently press dough into sides of 9” pie pan (glass, foil, tin) leaving portion that overhangs lip of pie plate in place.
Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into chilled pie shell and mound slightly in center.
Place next dough round over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to 1/2 inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edging or press with fork tines to seal.
Make 1 medium sized hole in the top crust in the center of pie. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top. Brush egg white onto top of crust and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, (omit if freezing unbaked pie, see below).
Reduce the oven to 425 degrees. Place pie on floor of oven or on pizza stone. (you can also preheat a cookie sheet and place the pie on that) Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes longer.
Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to almost room temperature, at least 4 hours.

· Do-Ahead: Freeze the unbaked pie for two to three hours, then cover it with a double layer of plastic wrap, and return it to the freezer for no more than two weeks. To bake, remove the pie from the freezer, brush it with the egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and place directly into a preheated 425 degree oven. After baking it for the usual fifty-five minutes, reduce the oven to 325 degrees, cover the pie with foil so as not to overcook the crust, and bake for an additional twenty to twenty-five minutes.

IIf you have any questions, please email me at pennymartin1@gmail.com!
Until we bake again...
Penny

Chudleigh’s 2nd Annual Apple Piefest-Baking Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:20:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of Chudleigh's

Chudleigh’s 2nd Annual Apple Piefest-Baking Competition is September 17th, 2011 and I am entered!!!!!

This is my very first pie competition and I am excited to be a part of it. My friends - Meredith and Dan from the haggis and the herring will be there to cheer me on and maybe help me a little in the preparation...after all it was Dan and Meredith who insisted I enter. It is a great day out for the family so if you are around that weekend in Toronto, come on by - win or lose, it will be fun and you can get some terrifc apples and apple treats.

As an added twist this year, Chudleigh’s will hold a Silent Auction for the Apple Pie entries. All bakers will be required to bake two identical pies-one for the contest and one for the Silent Auction. During judging, spectators will get the chance to weigh-in on the best pies and place a bid. The highest bidder for the pie that wins receives a Season’s Pass to Chudleigh’s as well as taking home the winning pie!

All proceeds from the Silent Auction will be donated to the Starlight Childrens Foundation.

Photo courtesy of Chudleigh's

The competition is free to enter and open to the public.

- All bakers must register before September 15 via email to events@chudleighs.com

- Bakers must arrive at 10:30 a.m. on September 17 to enter their pie.

- To qualify, all apple pies must be homemade, have at least a bottom crust, and the only fruit it may contain is apple.

- Bakers must submit two identical pies in a disposable 9" foil pie plate - one for judging and one for the Silent Auction.

- Pies must be able to stand at room temperature (there is no refrigeration).

- Entrants must bring a neatly handwritten note or a typed recipe for the pie and pie crust.

- Bakers and one guest will receive free farm admission.

JUDGING:

Judging will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp. The pies will be judged in the following categories:

Appearance/Creativity
- Judges will rate them before they are cut.

Crust
- Judges are instructed to taste just the crust and rate on flavour, flakiness, and melt-in-your-mouthness.

Filling
- Judges taste the filling alone and rate on flavour and consistency.

Overall
- Judges taste filling and crust together and rate on the symbiosis of the two.

AWARDS:- Best Overall Pie - $200.00 and Chudleigh's Apple Piefest Trophy

- 2nd Place - $100.00

- 3rd Place - $75.00

- Best Crust - $50.00

- Best Filling - $50.00

- Best Eye (Silent Auction) - The highest bidder for the pie selected as "Best Overall Pie" will win a 2012 Family Season Pass to Chudleigh's and the winning pie!

Chudleigh's Entertainment Farm is located at 9528 Hwy 25 in Halton Hills, Ontario. For directions, visit Chudleighs.

Stay Tuned for the results!

Until we bake again...
Penny

Strawberries...Fresh Frasiers, A Daring Baker's Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:43:00 +0000

This month's challenge is a beautiful fresh Fraisier. Mine didn't turn out as beautiful as I would have liked but it tasted good! Elmo and Camera Guy ate it up and I admit I participated as well. It really has that summer berry creamy taste...not too sweet....you just don't taste the thousands of calories!!!!!

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to

make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the

beautiful cookbook Tartine.

You can really do some of the steps ahead of time and I suggest you do, as it makes it a little easier to manage- especially the washing of all your kitchen equipment and dishes.

Here is the recipe!

Basic Chiffon Cake:

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 ml) (5½ oz/155 gm) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) baking powder

3/4 cups (180 ml) (6 oz /170 gm) sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (1½ gm) salt, preferably kosher

1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil

3 large egg yolks

⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (3.17 fl oz/95 ml) water

1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (3 gm) lemon zest, grated

5 large egg whites

¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) cream of tartar

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).

2.Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

3.In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

4.In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.

5.Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

6.Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.

7.Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

8.Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

9.Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

10.To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Pastry Cream Filling:

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) whole milk

1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon (1/2 ml) (¼ gm) salt, preferably kosher

2 tablespoons (30 ml) (10 gm)cornstarch

1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz/55 gm) sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz/30 gm) unsalted butter

3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (4 gm) gelatin

1/2 tablespoon (7½ ml) water

1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) heavy cream

Directions:

1.Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally.

2.Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine

3.Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.

4.When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture.

5.Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon.

6.Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally.

7.Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth.

8.Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.

9.In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften.

10.Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.

11.Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water.

12.Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches.

13.In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula.

Simple Syrup:

gluten free and vegan!

You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons (60 ml) of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) (2⅔ oz/75 gm) of sugar, flavored or white

1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) of water

Directions:

1.Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan.

2.Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup.

3.Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.

4.Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Fraisier Assembly:

Components:

1 baked 8 inch (20 cm) chiffon cake

1 recipe pastry cream filling

⅓ cup (80 ml) simple syrup or flavored syrup

2 lbs (900 g) strawberries

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

½ cup (120 ml) (5 oz/140 gm) almond paste

Directions:

1.Line the sides of a 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan.

2.Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.

3.Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.

4.Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring.

5.Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake.

6.Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream.

7.Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup.

8.Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste.

9.Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

10.To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap.

11.Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

Until we bake again...

Penny

Cherry Season...

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Elliot, my son, also known as Elmo in some circles, has just come in from Calgary which makes me very happy! And since it is cherry season, he has requested one of his favourites, Cherry cheese pie. I think this is a kind of retro pie as you really don't see it around often. You may see cherry pie or cherry cheese cake but not really cherry cheese pie... I have already posted this in the past but just wanted to highlight it in case you are wondering what you can do with your sensational red cherries! Deeliciousssss!

Click here for the recipe!

Dancing with Dough – the Richard Bertinet way…

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:54:00 +0000

July 2, 2011 - This is an excerpt from my Travel Blog - If you would like to read more about our trip to England and Scotland, join us at Sweetsadies on the road!

After a very warm welcome, master bread maker Richard Bertinet began to teach us about bread. I read his first book, "Dough" and tried to use his technique but was not very successful...and that is really saying it mildly.

He works with a very wet dough and cringes at the word "kneading"...no, he doesn't believe in it, and instead works the dough by incorporating air into the dough by lifting and slapping it down etc. ... He corrected my stance and coached me to use my whole body – not just my arms - and truly get a feeling for the dough. He asked me not to look at it and instead made me look in his eyes….hmmm…I must say he isn’t bad to look at ….

Richard started off the day by reminding us how bad the sliced bread in plastic bags sold in the grocery stores is for us. He then described bread bores and I realized I, in fact, was one. When conversation moves to the bread at the table, I use any opportunity to yak non-stop about bread...and every aspect of it. I want to apologize to my friends and family, but especially to those strangers who find themselves innocently sitting beside me at a company lunch or dinner. I just can't help myself – I am so passionate about it.

We learned how to work a simple white dough, which can be used for a "tin" loaf, a fougasse, breadsticks and focaccia. We made them all, prepared the beautiful bread baskets when they were ready and sat down for a wonderful lunch.

I find myself right now wanting to go on …and on…about my class, but I will stop and simply say that I had an absolutely amazing day. If anyone is interested in a class with Richard Bertinet, I highly recommend it! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

While I was in class, Camera Guy (Dan) wandered around Bath taking some fantastic pictures.

Thanks Dan for encouraging me to do this!

And thank you Richard Bertinet for teaching me how to dance with dough!

THE DARING BAKERS’ JUNE 2011 CHALLENGE: FROM PHYLLO TO BAKLAVA!!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:43:00 +0000

I was very excited when I saw this challenge. It seems my grandmother, (Sadie's mom), used to make Phyllo for a romanian type of strudel she often made. Phyllo, which means, "leaf" in Greek, is tissue paper-thin. Homemade phyllo is a lot of work to roll out but is worth it, its delicious! With Phyllo so readily available, one rarely sees it homemade anymore. The video link at the bottom of the page is very good as you can actually watch the technique used in rolling the dough. It becomes so thin...it is actually transparent!
Baklava is quite simple to make but is a little time consuming.

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.
Here is the recipe for the dough
Phyllo Dough:

*Note 1: To have enough to fill a 9” x 9” baking dish with 18 layers of phyllo double this recipe.

*Note 2: Single recipe will fill a 8” x 5” baking dish.

*Note 3: Dough can be made a head of time and put in the freezer. Just remove from freezer and allow to thaw and continue making your baklava

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour

1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt

1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste)

Directions:

1.In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt
2. Mix with paddle attachment
3. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.

4. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water (I had to add a tablespoon more)
5. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.

6. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.
7. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil.

8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest 3 hours and it was very good)

Rolling your Phyllo

** Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough**

Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can. I have included a fantastic video at the end of the post on how to roll out your phyllo dough, using a wooden dowel, which worked perfectly for me. You may also use a pasta machine if you have one, or a normal rolling pin whatever works for you.

1. Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out
2. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.
3. Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out.

Penny

4. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel
5. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel (see attached video for a visual, its much easier then it sounds)
6. Remove; and you will see how much bigger it is!
7.Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.
8. When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine

9. Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flour well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not dry out.

Baklava Recipe - Adapted from Alton Brown, The Food Network

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 (5-inch/125 mm piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) ground cinnamon

15 to 20 whole allspice berries ( I just used a few pinches)

3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) blanched almonds

3/4 cup (180 ml) (155 gm/5½ oz) raw or roasted walnuts

3/4 cup (180 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) raw or roasted pistachios

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm/ 5 1/3 oz) sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225g/8 oz) melted butter ** You do not need this much
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside ( I forgot to put in the sugar and it was fine without it!)
3. Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan.
4. Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet

On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.

7.Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times
8. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
9. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times
10. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top
11. Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. contimue on this manner.

12. Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.

13. With a Sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later.

A 9x9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge 12..
14. Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven)

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, It is better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled

For the syrup:
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) honey

1 1/4 cups (300ml) water

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 (2-inch/50 mm) piece fresh citrus peel (lemon or orange work best)

a few cloves or a pinch or ground clove

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved

2. Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.

Freezing/Storage Instructions/Tips: There are a few ways to store your Baklava. It is recommended that you store your baklava at room temperature in an airtight container. Stored at room temperature your baklava will last for up to 2 weeks. You will notice as the days pass it will get a little juicier and chewier. You may choose to store it in the fridge; this will make it a little harder and chewy, but does increase the shelf life. You can also freeze your baklava and then just set it out at room temperature to thaw.

When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava!

Leave at room temperature and cover well.Next morning all syrup is absorbed.

I think the Phyllo turned out quite well...
Things I would have changed...I should have doubled the recipe as I really needed more layers in between the layers with the filling.
Overall it was pretty good...and surprisingly not as difficult to make as I had thought.

Until we bake again...

Happy Victoria Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:00:00 +0000

The first long weekend of the year and we enjoyed it with friends. The first summer BBQ - dinner outside at Jim and Leslie's was a celebration of summer and all things ONTARIO! Jim has a smoker and yesterday smoked a delicious lamb -superbly done...Leslie made asparagus wrapped in bacon and even the bacon was Ontario...Ontario wild leeks....potatoes and more. Well, maybe the "Best Shrimp in the World" wasn't from Ontario but it lived up to it's name. Even the macarons were from Ontario. We made them once in a Daring Baker's challenge and I must make them again!

Baking has been put on the back burner right now because we are selling our house and the Real Esate Agent has asked us to remove any signs of life from our kitchen...to show off the space...how sad is that?

So here I am, the other love of my life, flour, (Camera guy is ok with this) is nowhere in sight...butter...no need...She wanted me to remove my mixer but I refused. I placed it on a lower shelf, so I can look at it knowing that it is still close by and when I am in the kitchen, I can run my hands along it's tangerine body and reflect on the good times.

It is at times like this that I wish for my Mom's chocolate cake. It's easy and delicious...try it - and send me some?

To my Canadian friends and family, Happy Victoria Day!

Until we bake again....
Penny

A Daring Baker's Challenge- Maple Mousse Served in an Edible Bacon container

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:05:00 +0000

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/!

I never thought I would be making something like this! Just thinking about it is clogging up my arteries...but because I am part of the Daring Bakers, I will give it a shot. After all, I was always the one to say to Elliot
"Just try it" so here we goooooo.

First I want to thank Evelyne as she has brought Maple Syrup to the main stage of the Daring Baker's Kitchen. Being from Quebec, (now live in Ontario) where my first words probably were Maple Syrup, I absolutely took for granted that everyone knew what it was and just had it in their pantries. So it was very surprising watching the entries from the Daring Bakers around the world who had not heard of it and were unable to find it in their grocery stores...the Phillipines is a good example. They were looking for recipes for maple syrup and substitutes. And of course the Daring Bakers responded with suggestions...After reading these entries, I ran to my pantry and hugged my tin of maple syrup!

Here is a little video on Maple Syrup in Quebec.

Just to let you know, in all my years living in Quebec, I never tasted this combination!

On with the recipe...

First I made the Bacon Cups:

Ingredients: 24 thin slices good quality bacon

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C.

2. Take a muffin pan or 6 small ½ cup capacity heat-proof bowls, turn upside down and carefully form aluminum foil covers on the back of 6 muffin cups or the bowls.

3. Taking 2 strips of bacon at a time crisscross the strips over the backs of the muffin cups and cut to size a tad longer then the bottom part of the cup. Now use 1 to 2 more strips to cover the sides of the muffin cups in a weaving fashion. You want a full tight weave because bacon shrinks a lot. For smaller cups I used a shot glass with a square of bacon for the bottom and I wrapped 1 strip around the side.

4. Tuck the ends of the bacon strips inside otherwise they will curl while cooking. A good idea is to insert 4 toothpicks where the crisscrossed bacon meets in the weave.

5. Place muffin pan in a cookie tray to catch drippings. Bake in oven for about 25 to 40 minutes, or until the bacon is golden and crisp but not burned.

6. Cool completely, a good hour, before removing your cups delicately from the foil.

Then the maple mouse

Maple Mousse:
Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240 ml/ 8 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup)

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine

• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml. g/12 fluid oz) whipping cream (35% fat content)

Directions:

1. Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t curdle).

3. Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed.

4. Measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved.

5. Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.

6. Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.

7. Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.

8. Remove from the fridge and divide equally among your edible containers.

By the way Maple syrup will keep, unopened, in a cool dark place indefinitely. Once opened, maple syrup must be refrigerated. If mould appears, discard the syrup immediately.

And now the taste test with Camera Guy...he is nowhere to be found... he is hiding in Montreal...maybe he is avoiding this taste test.

So I guess it is only me! Actually the maple mousse is deeeelicious. I am not too sure about the combination, more because of the textures - not the taste. Maybe the bacon should have been crispier!!! After all, I love bacon with maple syrup drizzled on it. This just looks a little strange....
I'm happy I made it- but sorry to say....I won't be repeating the performance. Thank you Evelyne for being so creative.
Until we bake again...
Penny

Baguettes with Poolish - The Bread Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:11:00 +0000

"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” ~ James Beard (1903-1985), Beard on Bread.

Making bread for me is one of my favourite things to do. When these simple ingredients stand alone, they may not be that appealing - flour, yeast and water - but when combined they are transformed into something so delicious...and the process so satisfying. The kneading of the dough, the exquisite aromas and the pleasure of my friends and family enjoying the results is worth the time and effort that goes into it.

I would like to thank Brian, who welcomed me to The Bread Challenge, a group of enthusiastic amateur and professional bakers of artisan breads who have joined together to bake their way through Jeffrey Hamelman's landmark book, Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes . The challenge is open to anyone ...just go to the site to learn more and join us!

This is my first bread of the Challenge - Baguettes with Poolish on page 101.

First I made the Poolish - it had to stand for 12-16 hours so I made it the night before I planned to bake.

2nd - Mixed the rest of the ingredients for about 6 minutes. The dough should be about 76 degrees F.

3rd - Next is the bulk fermentation - This matures the dough and strengthens it

4th - After 1 hour I folded the dough - Hamelman has a complete section on folding....

5th - After 2 hours...amazing!

6 - Divide the dough into 12 oz pieces and preshape into rounds. Here they are on my floured surface, then I covered them with plastic - about 30 minutes.

7- I shaped the loaves....I am not very good at shaping baguettes. I think I know what I do wrong though. My oven...actually most home ovens, are just not big enough for a regular baguette, so we have to make them shorter which means we need to use less dough to do that. I used the same amount of dough for a traditional baguette and made it shorter which totally destroys the shape and made it fatter! According to wikipedia, a standard baguette has a diameter of about 5 or 6 cm (2 or 2⅓ in) and a usual length of about 65 cm (24 in), although a baguette can be up to a meter (39 in) long.

The bottom line, only use as much dough as you need to achieve this and at the same time, fit them into your oven!

I know I know ...these are toooooo fat!

I placed the loaves between the folds of the baker's linen and let them rest - covered with plastic.

8- Let the loaves rise for 1 t 1 1/2 hours at 76 degrees F. Like Brian, my house in winter, is not 76 degrees as I am in Toronto, Canada....

9- It is not so easy to move the baguettes to a peel (a peel transports the dough into the oven). I finally bought myself the flipping board. Here is how it works! I saw it on Susan's blog at Wild Yeast. I love it and I bought it from TMB.

10- And then I scored the loaves....not well...I need to definitely practice this...I had an off day!

And here they are - don't laugh!!! They are odd shaped!

What I would do next time:

Definitely roll them about 1 inch in diameter as they expand...now that is narrow!
I would roll them into long, slender baguettes, as Hamelman does....
Score them better...practice...practice...practice....

It has been fun...and the bread tasted good! Next up - I am going to make the whole wheat bread with a Multigrain soaker.

Until we bake again
Penny

Creamy Dreamy Panna Cotta with Creme de Cacao and a crunchy Florentine Cookie ...of course

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 03:40:00 +0000

Anything that is creamy dreamy has got to be good! I would like to thank Mallory for hosting this challenge. It was quite easy to make - both the Panna Cotta and the cookies and both were deeeelicious!

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Tangerine gelée layer (adapted from my fellow Daring Baker Mary Mary Culinary)

1 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice

2 tablespoons Creme de Cacao

1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

Panna Cotta Layer

1 cup (240 ml) whole milk

1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin

3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)

1/3 cup (80 ml) honey

1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1. For the tangerine/chocolate layer: Pour ¼ cup juice into a small saucepan and sprinkle 1 teaspoon gelatin over the top. Let stand a few minutes, then heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the rest of the juice and the Creme de Cacao.

Divide amongst 4 small ramekins or pretty glasses (¼ cup in each). Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set.

2. For the Panna Cotta layer: Pour the milk into a saucepan and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the saucepan is cold by placing the in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
3.Pour the milk into the saucepan and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. ( whisk it a few times at this stage).
4.Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.

5.Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin carefully on top of the first layer of tangerine.

5.Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

Recipe from the cookbook “Nestle Classic Recipes”, and their website.
Ingredients:

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate (use good chocolate - it makes a difference!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat
2.To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 6-9 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
4.While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
5.Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
6.Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

What would I do differently next time? I would make 3 layers with the orange in between and make them in much smaller glasses - mine were wayyyyy to big! And I would make some candied orange peel as well. None of this seemed to bother my tasters - Pat, Brenda and Camera Guy who thought it was a nice light dessert after a great winter BBQ!

Camera Guy looked at it suspiciously at first but then loved the Panna Cotta...As far as the cookies go, he thinks I haven't seen him sneaking a few here and there. They were good!

Until we bake again...
Penny

Chocolate Bread....Better than Club Med's!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:29:00 +0000

It really is a Yeasted Chocolate Coffee Cake according to Martha Stewart Living (March 2011) but to me it is

CHOCOLATE BREAD.

Many of you know that I have worked in the travel industry a gazillion years, and so many times I have heard people ask when they were chatting with someone who had gone to Club Med was "Wasn't the Chocolate Bread Amazing?" And everyone agreed. At one time I had the recipe but can't find it now.....Who cares? Move over Club Med...honestly I like this one better.

My friend Ivonne, over at Cream Puffs in Venice, started "Magazine Mondays" back in 2007, and I have been meaning to participate, so here goes. It is very informal and it really is about trying those recipes in Magazines you have hanging around. Go check her out, she has a great Blog.

Susan of Wild Yeast has another blog that I follow religiously. I wanted to mention her since she features all kinds of breads and products made with yeast. I have been shown on her "Yeastspotting" feature on occasion....:)

Now for the Chocolate Bread/coffee cake. Here are the ingredients:

Bread
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus a pinch of granulated sugar
3/4 cup warm milk ( 110 degrees)
1 lg egg plus 1 lg yolk
3 cups All-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
Coarse salt
1 stick unsalted butter - room temperature plus extra for pan and bowl
1 lg egg plus 1 tbsp heavy cream lightly beaten for egg wash

Filling
8 ozs bittersweet chocolate (1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tbsps unsalted butter - cut into small pieces

For the crumb topping
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsps confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsps unsalted butter - room temp

Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar over the milk in a medium bowl and let it stand until foamy.

Whisk together the remaining sugar, the egg and yolk in another bowl, then whisk it into the yeast mixture

Combine the flour, salt in the mixture (whirl it around a bit to mix)

then add the egg/yeast mixture. Beat on low about 30 seconds. Switch to dough hook and add butter and beat until smooth, soft and slightly sticky.

Butter a large bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a little until smooth. Place in the bowl, turn to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled - about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Now let's make the filling!

Coarsely chop the chocolate

Combine chocolate, granulated sugar and cinnamon then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or rub it in with your fingers...that's what I did!

Now let's assemble!

Punch down the dough then transfer it to a floured surface - let it stand for 5 mintes to relax.

Roll it out to an 18-inch square (1/8 inch thick)- brush edges with egg wash. Spread the filling over the dough (reserve 1/2 cup) - leave a 1 inch border - and tightly roll like a jelly roll.

Pinch the seam to seal. Now fold this in half to form a U and twist 3 or 4 times. I forgot to take a picture of the twisted dough...sorry....

Make a crumb topping

Combine confectioner's sugar,flour and butter

Butter a 5x10 inch loaf pan and line with parchment, leaving 1inch overhangs, butter parchment and transfer dough to pan. Brush top with egg wash and sprinkle crumb topping and reserved 1/2 cup of filling over bread/cake. Drape a plastic wrap over dough/pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees....

and let dough stand until risen by half (20-30 minutes)

Remove plastic wrap and bake, rotating half way through, until golden about 55 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until deep golden 15-20 minutes more. Have some foil to cover it if it gets too dark. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

It was good.... Camera Guy

enjoyed it toasted with butter....yummy... and chocolatey....

Until we bake again....

Penny

I have been bad....no baking...no flour....and no butter...what is happening?

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 02:30:00 +0000

I am just going to be up front. I baked so much at Christmas, used so much butter and sugar etc. that I got baked out! I didn't think it was possible. Yes, I have still been baking bread to have in the house but I have been avoiding any desserty type of things. And it's more than that...I gained weight....it was like I took the pounds of butter and simply applied it to my hips, thighs...etc. And now I have been on a diet as well as exercising. When I am on a diet, everyone in the house is...well it is only "Camera Guy" and me now.
And so I missed the last Daring Baker's Challenge - and it was a good one too. But I will do the next one. I promise.

I just baked a delicious chocolate bread. Club Med used to have a great Chocolate bread that everyone would rave about. But this one is BETTER... I will post about it shortly....

In the meantime, I have joined The Bread Challenge, a group of enthusiastic amateur and professional bakers of artisan breads who have joined together to bake their way through Jeffrey Hamelman's landmark book, Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes . The challenge is open to anyone ...just go to the site to learn more and join us! I am off to make the first bread! YAYYYY!!!!

Stay tuned...I really am back.....

Until we bake again....

Penny

2011 - New Year's Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 22:23:00 +0000

Last night, New Year's Eve, started with a tasty spaghetti and meat sauce dinner, the old bolognese sauce recipe my mom used to make. My recipe pretty much follows hers but it is always slightly different depending on the ingredients at hand...no one complains though.

Elliot, home for the holidays, suited up with Nathan, his friend and roommate in Calgary, for the evening's festivities. Jeff and his girlfriend Sam stopped by before their New Years Eve party. I haven't seen Jeff for a long time. Elliot went to Montessori school with him when they were about 3 years old and has remained friends since then. My sister Arlene visited from Montreal to be wiith us this Christmas and pampered us all with her new skills . She just got certified for Thai Yoga Massage. Laureline, a friend of Elliot's, joined us (Elliot, Dan, Arlene and me) for our big christmas dinner along with good friends...Jennifer, Dean, Jane and Sherman. And Dan's daughter Meredith arrives today from Fredericton for a week so we are looking forward to that too. Of course we miss our family who are in Montreal and Saint John...but you were definitely in our thoughts.

Our home, usually quiet, has been filled with life love and laughter...and I feel so thankful.

And so New Year's Eve....Arlene Dan and I stayed at home, watched movies and drank Champagne and of course ate more...our favourite hobby these last few weeks. We talked about being so full and yes when more food shows up in front of us we continued to dig in....eagerly...
We work hard through the year...and it is times like this that we love to relax and reflect on the year that was...and look forward to the Year ahead.

Thank you all for being a part of it.

Happy New Year....and all sweet things...
until we bake again.....

Penny
xxx

Christmas Stollen - My Daring Baker's Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:52:00 +0000

As I started writing about this month's challenge...I started thinking back to the beginning of my blog. It started in 2008 after I met Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, one of the founders of the Daring Bakers, in my baking class at George Brown College in Toronto. She told me about her blog and I was so impressed I decided to join the Daring Bakers and start blogging myself. For over 2 years I have been pretty dedicated each month completing the challenges and yes... I may have missed one or two in that time...and yes there have been failures...

This month I have the honour of hosting the Daring Baker’s Challenge and I chose Stollen. I was so excited and very nervous when I was deciding on my recipe…would the Daring Bakers like it? Find it challenging enough? And so on. I think my friends thought it was all I wanted to talk about ...I drove them crazy....thank you for putting up with me!

Well it has been soooo much fun! The baking community of the Daring Bakers spans the globe. They bake under different conditions – temperature, humidity and all the things that influence the results of a baked product. We have a Daring Bakers forum – kind of like a virtual kitchen where we share our results – the good, the bad and the ugly – and I have been so impressed with the creativity and funny stories. We even had a stollen stolen by a pet and a student who baked it in a toaster oven and enjoyed it while studying for her exams. The stollens were decorated in amazing ways. Ingredients were substituted because of allergies (gluten free, nuts) and some ingredients not loved by some – candied fruits and raisins....were omitted and replaced by new ingredients....but they still did the challenge! We are a pretty dedicated bunch of bakers! Please take a moment and look at some of my fellow Daring Bakers blogs...

Monika is the sister of my friend and colleague Melanie, and she sent me her Stollen recipe, a German tradition in their household. I tweaked it and then Audax, my Daring Baker friend (DBF!) in Australia, helped me test it and we tweaked it more. We added lots of hints and even made our own candied peels as well as changing the shape into a wreath –so we didn’t stay totally with tradition..... but the results have been unbelievable with most DB's thrilled!

Thank you Liz of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne for your hard work with the Daring Bakers and thanks Audax for all your help and always being there – not only with hints about the recipes but reminding me that it should always be fun!

Now I am proud to say my official Blog statement:
The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and a Martha Stewart demonstration.

Stollen is a bread-like fruitcake made with yeast, water and flour, and usually with zest added to the dough. Candied orange peel and candied citrus are often also added. Over the centuries, the cake changed from being a simple, fairly tasteless "bread" to a sweeter cakelike bread with richer ingredients. The Advent season was a time of fasting, and bakers were not allowed to use butter, only oil, and the cake was tasteless and hard, but this has changed and we definitely use butter!
You can watch this little video from Martha Stewart where she demonstrated (along with her mother) a stollen in a wreath design.

Click here for the printable recipe!

For more bread recipes and info, check out Yeastspotting.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a healthy and joyful New Year!
Big Christmas hugs to all!

Until we bake again...
Penny

Almond, Pear and Cream Cheese Crostata - A Daring Baker's Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:12:00 +0000

This month I was lucky enough to travel along the Danube River from Nuremberg to Budapest on the AMADolce, which was fabulous! I even got to bake with the pastry chef, Mitch!
I knew I would be rushed to make the challenge when I returned home from the trip, so I baked it before I left. but figured I would have plenty of time to write it up when I got back....but life gets in the way and I find myself scrambling on the 27th...the deadline!!!! yikes!!!!!.

I baked the crust as the challenge was written and made the filling with almonds, cream cheese and pears. It worked out very well and thank you so much Simona of briciole for hosting this month!

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Here is the recipe for my filling, based on an Epicurious recipe.

1/2 (7-ounce) log almond paste
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package), room temperature
2 small pears, sliced
1/4 cup apricot jam, heated
3 crushed amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons)

Make crust as in the Daring Baker's recipe. Preheat oven to 400°F. Blend almond paste and 3 tablespoons sugar in processor until finely chopped. Add cream cheese, egg yolk, and vanilla and blend until filling is smooth. Unroll crust on heavy rimmed baking sheet. Spread filling over crust, leaving 1 1/2-inch plain border. Arrange pear slices , in a pattern atop filling. Brush exposed pears with warm jam. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake crostata until crust is golden brown and pears are tender and slightly browned, about 43 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed amaretti. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Dan really liked it and I thought it was very good! I was a little disappointed that the pears did not show up on top as planned but it was pretty anyhow.

Christmas baking is around the corner....Tell me your favourite baked item - I would love to hear about it.

Until we bake again....

Penny

Pumpkie Pie...a story and a great recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:36:00 +0000

A long time ago I lived in Denver, Colorado. Trying to impress my hosts, I offered to make a pumpkin pie. I am not sure if I had ever even tasted a pumpkin pie back then...and that is how the story begins. Determined to make it from scratch, I searched for a recipe that used fresh pumpkin –but couldn’t find a thing – only canned... there was no internet then, at least not known to me. And so I thought about it logically ... it had to be the soft part of the pumpkin- right? ...and so I scooped out the SOFT insides – you know the stringy slimy stuff with the seeds. It didn’t look too attractive but it only made sense...and then I carefully picked out the seeds – the stringy mass was left and I scooped it up and laid it softly in the pie shell. Thrilled with my pumpkin pie, I eagerly followed the rest of the recipe as written and proudly brought the pie to my first American Thanksgiving dinner.

After a beautiful dinner, my pie was served. Hmmm ...Maybe I should have chopped up the stringy bit ...The entire insides were strung together and I watched as the group enjoyed this strange pie. It really wasn’t that easy to eat...the pumpkin strings were hanging from their mouths. ....but oh well...everyone SAID they loved it and I didn’t know what it was really supposed to look like. They didn’t say a word to me except that it was delicious. I was so proud!

Years later, friends asked me to help them make a pumpkin pie...from scratch. I started scooping out the middle to use as the filling and they looked at me strangely. I asked why they were looking at me like that and they explained that we had to cut up the pumpkin...and then I gasped! Memories of that dinner rushed back at me...I am so embarrassed...then I laughed!

Anyhow back to this pumpkin pie – I used canned pumpkin puree! Yes I cheated! But if you want to use a fresh pumpkin, get a pie pumpkin because it is sweeter. You can steam or bake the pumpkin and guess what...it becomes soft...Puree this and continue with the recipe.

This recipe is adapted from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky.

I brought this pumpkin pie over to Myfanwy’s (Meredith’s Mom) on Thanksgiving (The Canadian one) She made a delicious dinner, and even though we were all quite full, I think everyone enjoyed the pie. It is creamy and spicy and yummy especially with whipped cream on top! Jacob looked at it a little suspiciously, but I baked him some fun sugar cookies!

As for the pastry that I used , this one is great for everything from Savory to sweet – from pies to turnovers- a good basic dough and easy to work with. I had a difficult time learning how to make a crust, the texture of the dough etc. My son Elliot knows how determined I was back then. I wasted a LOT of dough because I just could not get it right. My mom, Sadie, was a great baker but unfortunately she just didn’t do pies, so I never really watched anyone making them. Now I must say my pie crusts are pretty good! I sometimes find myself admiring my beautiful marbled dough, one where the shortening and/ or butter is not fully incorporated and there are little specks of butter throughout...perfection!

Recipe for a Single crust pastry for one 10 inch pie

It is very IMPORTANT for the ingredients to be cold! I used a food processor to make this dough but you can use a pastry cutter, 2 knives or your fingertips!

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into ½ inch pieces and frozen for 15 minutes

1/3 cup shortening cut into ½ inch pieces and frozen for 15 minutes

¼ cup very cold water

1- Combine flour and salt – pulse a few times

2- Add butter and shortening and process until it looks like coarse meal and just begins to clump together.

3- Sprinkle with water and let rest 30 seconds

4- Process VERY briefly until dough just begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl

5- Turn out on a floured surface and press into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

6- Allow the dough to warm slightly at room temperature if it is too hard to roll

7- Roll to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut a circle about 1 ½ inches larger than a pie plate. Transfer the pastry to the pie plate by folding it in half.

8- Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs about ½ inch over the plate. Flute the edges.

Chill the pie crust while making the rest of the pie.

Pie filling

5 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp salt

2 ½ cups pumpkin puree

1 ¼ cups whole milk

½ cup whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

1- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs lightly.

2- Add the remaining ingredients and whisk thoroughly.

3- Pour into the pie crust and bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is just set and no longer liquid in the center. I turned off the oven – opened the oven door and left it there for about 10 minutes.

4- Cool it in the fridge before serving

Topping

½ cup whipping cream

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp granulated sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat all the ingredients until soft peaks form.

Store the pie up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Serve the pumpkin pie with the topping...lots of topping!

Until we bake again

Penny

Doughnuts! - The October Daring Baker's Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:43:00 +0000

Doughnuts generally fall into two categories: yeast and cake. Yeast doughnuts take a little longer to make to allow for rising time, but they create a lovely, fluffy and airy doughnut. I am not a huge fan of doughnuts and prefer the Louisianna Beignets that I often make for Elliot, but these were quite good and fun to make too!

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I must say these Doughnuts were very easy to make! The dough is meant to be very wet so you have to stop yourself from adding extra flour to work with it. Also it is important the oil be the correct temperature so that your doughnut is nice and crispy on the outside. If the oil is not hot enough, your end product will be too greasy. If too hot, they’ll cook too quickly on the outside and you may have an uncooked doughy centre.

The doughnuts tasted great when they were served fresh from cooking, but after they rested a bit, I didn't love them. They were a little too chewy and they just tasted better hot!

Here is the recipe:

Equipment required:

•A Dutch oven or deep skillet (I prefer using a Dutch oven to reduce splatter)

•Deep fry thermometer, candy thermometer or any thermometer that will withstand and measure temperatures of up to 380 degrees

•Metal slotted spoon, metal slotted spatula or tongs (do NOT use plastic - it will melt!)

•Cookie sheets or a wire rack lined with paper towels to allow doughnuts to drain

•Electric hand mixer or stand mixer, or a bowl and a spoon if you are able to utilize a lot of elbow grease

•Doughnut or biscuit cutters or you can use a glass and a piping tip for the center (I used the top of a vanilla extract bottle)

Yeast Doughnuts:

Yield: 20 to 25 doughnuts & 20 to 25 doughnut holes, depending on size

Ingredients

Milk 1.5 cup / 360 ml

Vegetable Shortening 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 70 gm / 2.5 oz (can substitute butter, margarine or lard)
(I used butter - because I loooovvvvvve butter)

Active Dry Yeast 4.5 teaspoon (2 pkgs.) / 22.5 ml / 14 gm / ½ oz

Warm Water 1/3 cup / 80 ml (95°F to 105°F / 35°C to 41°C)

Eggs, Large, beaten 2

White Granulated Sugar ¼ cup / 60 ml / 55 gm / 2 oz

Table Salt 1.5 teaspoon / 7.5 ml / 9 gm / 1/3 oz

Nutmeg, grated 1 tsp. / 5 ml / 6 gm / ¼ oz

All Purpose Flour 4 2/3 cup / 1,120 ml / 650 gm / 23 oz + extra for dusting surface

Canola Oil DEPENDS on size of vessel you are frying in – you want THREE (3) inches of oil (can substitute any flavorless oil used for frying)

Directions:
1.Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the shortening. (Make sure the shortening is melted so that it incorporates well into the batter.)

2.Place the shortening in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Set aside.

3.In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and shortening mixture has cooled to lukewarm.

4.Add the eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.

5.Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.

6.Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.

7.Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

8.On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).

9.Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.

10.Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 °F/185°C.

11.Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 3 to 4 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side or until golden brown (my doughnuts only took about 30 seconds on each side at this temperature).

12.Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to rolling in sugar, if desired.

Until we bake again...

Penny

Sugar Cookies - The September Daring Baker's Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:18:00 +0000

When the Daring Baker’s challenge was announced, I hesitated a little ... I had just recently made 600 sugar cookies for a friend of mine and the thought of making another sugar cookie...well you can imagine...but the truth is – I love to bake...and after all I AM a Daring Baker....so I scooped up the love (I mean one of the loves) of my life, beautiful soft powdery flour, and made more sugar cookies.

The theme for the challenge was September. September, for me, means back to school, birthdays for some of my favourite people and fall colours. I love this season and can’t imagine living in a place where the leaves remain green all year long. They are starting to change colours now and very soon they will be vibrant and bursting with colours!
Each year we oooh and awwwww at them...we wait for it and then it doesn’t last that long before we get hit with winter. Oh yes, September also means, I am Canadian after all, that Hockey starts – not only the NHL season, but Dan’s hockey as well. He spends a couple of nights a week doing his goalie thing. And therefore I had to make Toronto Maple Leaf Sugar Cookies!!!!!

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

This recipe is very easy but pay attention to the tips! The cookies DID NOT spread at all, so it is a great one to cut out shapes!!!!

Here is a picture of my other sugar cookies. They were made for tea parties with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme in Blue and Orange colours!

Click here for the basic sugar cookie recipe
Click here for the Royal Icing recipe and decorating tips

Until we bake again...

Penny

Baked Alaska! The August Daring Baker's Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:54:00 +0000

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking . For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop.

I remember the Baked Alaskas from when I cruised on Holland America...the lights were turned down in the dining room when it was time for dessert...the music came on... and the waiters appeared each carrying a Baked Alaska with a sparkler lighting up the room! Quite a parade! I am not sure if they do that any longer.

We had the choice of making Petit Fours or Baked Alaska and I chose the Baked Alaska, a very fancy ice cream dessert. I made the brown butter pound cake just as written for the challenge recipe and added a hint of orange extract to the ice cream...it was very good! I packed the ice cream into little glass bowls, lined with plastic wrap, and they turned out well - little domes.

Then I used my new weapon to brown the meringue (Dan looked at me with this thing and backed out of the kitchen!) OK so I couldn't figure it out at first and was waving it around...so what? It all worked out and it looks beeeeuuuuutiful!

Click here for the recipe.

We will take it to Randy and Greg's tomorrow night...I hope they like it!

Happy Anniversary Dan! I love you!

Until we bake again...
Penny

White Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing- Nut free!

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:58:00 +0000

Cupcakes_0329
Originally uploaded by Sweet Sadies

So often, I see pretty cupcakes, but they don't really taste that good. Sometimes they are very dry or the icing just overwhelms the senses. Don't get me wrong, I love icing and I'm the first to lick the beaters, if someone else doesn't get to them first.

This, of course, is after they have finished mixing LOL ...come on... we all want to do that! Somehow batter and icing taste better off the beaters! Maybe it is the anticipation.

I remember waiting quietly (at least I think I was quiet) until my mom started moving the empty bowl and beaters to the sink and I would ask- Can I lick the beaters?

And yes my son, Elliot, would wait eagerly as well.

This recipe is easy, even though it uses a lot of egg whites and butter...I lovvvvve butter.

I believe if you are going to eat a dessert- forget about low fat- bring on the butter or don't have it at all. We made the icing blue...like the sky....

Enjoy

Until we bake again....

Penny

Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake - The July Daring Baker's Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:05:00 +0000

Special occasions....celebrations....children.... summer days and smiles....There is something always wonderful about ice cream. When Sunita, one of my fellow Daring Bakers, announced the challenge this month, I was thrilled!

I love ice Cream cake. Mine didn't come out as pretty as I would have liked because, after making the swiss rolls (you could buy them - to make it easier), I filled them with a little too much cream. We had to also make the vanilla ice cream, the chocolate ice cream and the hot fudge....deeeeeelicious! I added some orange zest to the vanilla ice cream and it tasted like a creamsicle. I almost stopped there - contemplating just eating all the ice cream - but I continued on with the challenge - and it was worth it.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. The recipe for this month’s challenge has been adapted from the Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake from the Taste of Home. Slices of Swiss roll are used to line a bowl and then filled with vanilla ice-cream, hot fudge ice cream topping and chocolate ice cream.

Here is the recipe!

Until we bake again...

Penny

The Very Lemony Lemon Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (Penny) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:24:00 +0000

This cake is a favourite of mine and definitely a crowd pleaser - for those who like lemon of course. It is very lemony and has lemon zest in the batter, lemon syrup added after baking and lemon glaze for a finishing touch....how is that for lemony? The recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook. (I own all her cookbooks!) The recipe makes two loaves and when Fern, my mother-in-law and Dan's brother Bob were visiting us in Toronto, I served it to them...and yes they loved it. I brought a piece to my dad in Montreal this past week too, but, I think he loves everything I bake because I am his daughter! I did put some aside for Leslie but sorry Les...didn't see you... and it got eaten up! I promise I will make it for you again! Isn't it pretty?

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (Divided - 2 cups and 1/2 cup)
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (Divided - 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; Poke holes in bottoms with a wooden skewer or whatever you think would work and spoon the lemon syrup over the loaves. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Now cut into it and enjoy!

Until we bake again...
Penny