Saturday, February 28, 2009

Daring Bakers ~ Chocolate Valentino Cake

This is my first challenge with Daring Bakers and I have to say we are off to a great start.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.  We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.


As it is February and romance is in the air, I decided to bake the cake as individual hearts.  Thrilled to be taking my ice cream maker out of storage I ventured forward with the traditional vanilla ice cream. 


Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)


Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Cookie Carnival ~ Chocolate Fudge, Toffee, Cherry Cookies

To add to the fun of baking I have joined a cookie bake club Cookie Carnival where each month we receive a cookie recipe to try out ~ much to my husbands delight he gets to be the cookie tester !

This months Chocolate Fudge, Toffee, Cherry cookie happens to top the list as a new favourite.


CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIES with TOFFEE and DRIED CHERRIES
makes 40 large cookies

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup plump, moist, dried sour cherries
8 oz. bitter or semisweet chocolate chopped into chunks about the size of the cherries
1 cup English toffee pieces for baking such as Skor Bits

crisp on the outside, soft and chewy in the middle and downright gooey if you get to them still warm. these cookies are great for picnics and crowds and the dough can be frozen until you need it. the contrasting flavours and textures: rich, dark chocolate; sweet, crunchy toffee; and chewy tangy sour cherries, make these totally addictive--and a step up from the average chocolate cookie. make sure the cherries are plump and soft, not dry and hard. i like to make these pretty much fist- sized, but you can make them smaller if you wish. (don’t fool yourself; it just means you’ll eat more of them.) adjust baking time accordingly if you reduce the size of the cookies.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line two heavy baking sheets, not non-stick, with parchment
paper and set aside. sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside.

2. in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,cream together the butter and both sugars until light in colour and fluffy, about 2 minutes. add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.

3. beat in the vanilla. stir in the flour-mixture in 3 additions, blending just until the dry ingredients are moistened. i find this part of the job easier with a wooden spoon, rather than a mixer, as i can see better which parts of the batter need more attention without overmixing. stir in the chunky ingredients and mix until they seem evenly distributed. (the dough may be frozen at this point for up to 4 months: wrap the dough securely in plastic wrap, then in a plastic freezer bag. thaw the dough in the refrigerator without removing its wrapping before portioning the cookies and baking.)

4. drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets and place them in the center of the oven. if you have a large, evenly tempered oven, place the 2 sheets in at once, on two racks positioned close to the middle of the oven. switch the position of the trays once during baking. if your oven is small, or tends to have hot or cold spots, bake one tray at a time so the cookies bake evenly.

5. bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until barely set in the center and just firm around the
edges. rotate the sheets once or twice. cool the cookies on the tray for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before storing. (feel free to eat them at any point.) run the hot tray under cold water to cool it, dry thoroughly and repeat with remaining dough. store the cookies in airtight containers, layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper for up to 5 days.

Chocolate Chip Cookies


Chocolate Chip
Originally uploaded by whimsicalbakery
Trying to decide on a treat to enjoy with friends and a cup of tea ~ I thought of the classic chocolate chip cookie and the perfect recipe from one of Anna Olson's cookbooks SUGAR ~

Bridal Show

WOW, so much has been happening at the bakery we haven't had a chance to post everything to our blog. 



Firstly, thank you to all the brides who stopped by our booth at the Sheraton Four Points in January ~  enjoying a sample of cupcakes. 




~ the cupcake tower is still a popular favourite for all events, perfect for your wedding pictures and cake cutting ~ or a dessert sampler
for the late night buffet at a wedding.

Our cake tasting events are booking quickly, held the first Sunday of each month ~ visit our website to arrange an appointment today ~ www.whimsicalbakery.ca

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Superbowl XLIII


helmet, football
Originally uploaded by whimsicalbakery
Created as a centerpiece for the buffet table ~ Superbowl weekend ~ entire helmet and field is make with cake, covered in fondant ~ helmet featured both team logos.