21 11 / 2010
Daring Cooks’ Challenge - Souffle!
Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided many of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.
Chocolate Souffle
Adapted from BBC Good Food Recipe by Gordon Ramsay
Ingredients
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, for greasing
Cocoa powder or finely grated chocolate
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1⁄2 tsp cornstarch
1 medium egg yolk
1 medium whole egg
4 Tbsp milk
5 Tbsp heavy cream
3 oz good-quality dark chocolate broken in pieces
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 medium egg whites
6 1⁄2 Tbsp sugar
Directions
Heat oven to moderate 375 ̊F.
Take four 1 cup soufflé dishes and brush them completely with softened butter. Tip a little cocoa powder or grated chocolate into each dish, roll the dish around tilting it as you do so it is evenly lined all round.
For the crème patisserie, mix the flour, sugar and cornstarch into a small bowl. Put egg yolk and whole egg into a medium sized bowl, beat lightly, then beat in half of the flour mixture to give a smooth paste. Tip in the rest of the flour mixture and cocoa powder and mix well.
To make the ganache, pour the milk and cream into a pan and bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and beat until it is melted and smooth with no lumps.
Gradually stir hot chocolate ganache into the paste from step 3, and add the orange zest or chile if using. This is your crème patisserie
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric whisk. Sprinkle in the sugar as you are mixing. Keep whisking to give stiff, firm peaks to give volume to the soufflés.
Stir about 2 tbsp (30 ml) of the beaten egg whites into the crème patisserie. Carefully fold in a third of the rest, cutting through the mixture. Fold in another third (take care not to lose the volume), and then fold in the rest.
Spoon the mixture into the dishes. Run a spoon across the top of each dish so the mixture is completely flat. Take a little time to wipe any splashes off the outside of each dish, or they will burn on while cooking.
Bake the soufflés for 15-17 minutes.
The soufflés should have risen by about two thirds of their original height and jiggle when moved, but be set on top.
27 10 / 2010
Daring Bakers’ Challenge - Doughnuts!
I rarely need an excuse to bake with pumpkin. So when I saw that this month’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge featured a pumpkin doughnut recipe, I practically went running to find the closest deep fry thermometer. For me, autumn is a non-stop race to cook as much pumpkin as I possibly can. Just this week I tackled Pumpkin Cupcakes and Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate, but I had never made Pumpkin Doughnuts before. And come to think of it, I had never made doughnuts… or anything requiring deep frying.
But what I lacked in experience, I like to think I made up for with enthusiasm. The dough came together quickly and soon I was cutting out a huge mass of doughnut holes while my fry master, Sean, fried up a dozen of these doughy, pumpkin munchkins at a time. At first I thought my frying method was flawed, but it turns out I was just so excited to taste the doughnuts I wasn’t letting them cook through. After the last doughnut left the pot, we both clamored to frost these little guys with the super sweet sugar glaze.
The Verdict: Pretty good! At first I was turned off by the smell of the oil. But once the kitchen was clean and the oil properly disposed of, these little munchkins suddenly became a lot more tempting… and even addicting. Sean’s co-workers thought they were store bought, and I later learned that Sean doesn’t like doughnuts. Would I make them again? Yes, but only if I had a lot of time, frying oil already out, and an intense craving for homemade pumpkin doughnuts. My only changes would be with the frosting- substituting the whipping cream with milk for a thinner consistency and halving the recipe since there was just too much.
While I might not make another batch tomorrow, this challenge has left me eager to try baking my doughnuts and, of course, still hungry for pumpkin.
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.
Pumpkin Doughnuts with Powdered Sugar Glaze
Adapted from Bon Appetit.
Yield: About 24 doughnuts & 24 doughnut holes
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
Canola oil
2 cups powdered sugar
Whipping cream
Directions
Whisk together the first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (the mixture will be grainy and not smooth). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.
Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.
Using 1-inch diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.
Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F. Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.
Glaze Directions
Whisk powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze.
17 10 / 2010
Daring Cooks’ Challenge - Dolmas!
Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.
Grape Leaves Stuffed with Ground Meat and Rice with Apricot Tamarind Sauce
Adapted from Aromas of Aleppo by Poopa Dweck and Michael J. Cohen. Published by Harper Collins, 2007.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Filling Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
⅓ cup short grain rice
1 teaspoon all spice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 onion, chopped **optional**
1 cup pine nuts **optional**
Filling Directions
Soak rice in water, enough to cover, for 30 minutes. Combine meat, rice, allspice, vegetable oil, cinnamon, salt, white pepper, and if desired, onion and pine nuts, in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Assembly Ingredients
1 pound filling
36 preserved grape leaves, stems trimmed, drained, rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 dried apricots – or more if you desire
3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate **If you can’t find it, you can omit it**
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon kosher salt **If using regular table salt only use 1 ½ tsp.**
Assembly Directions
Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, vein side up. You can trim the little stem if you would like.
Place about two teaspoons of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge.
Roll the leaf end to end, starting from the stem edge. As you roll, fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center. The leaf should resemble a small cigar, about 2 to 2 ½ inches long.
Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
In a medium saucepan put in the vegetable oil and then place the filled grape leaves in the pot.
Place apricots in between the stuffed grape leaves. Cover and cook over low heat for 5-8 minutes or until the grape leaves begin to sweat.
Using all three tablespoons, place a little of the tamarind concentrate, if using, over the rolls.
Combine lemon juice, salt, and water then add to pan, filling it ¾ full.
Weigh down the grape leaves with a heat proof plate or board to prevent them from unraveling. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes. Alternatively, place the saucepan in an oven preheated to moderate 350°F and cook for an hour.
Spoon cooking liquid over the grape leaves occasionally. You will know they are done, when the grape leaves are neither soupy nor dry.
Tilt pan sideways over serving platter, allowing the grape leaves to tumble out. Try not to handle them individually to reduce unraveling. Alternately you can try spooning them out very gently.
