Chocolate

Baking with chocolate day in Baking class….

Chocolate decadence (flourless)

Cupcakes with whipped ganache

Buttersctoch Pie, 1

This is a long one folks. But it is because I want to learn, and master the art. I attempted to make a pie the other day that I had about 20 years ago, in a German restaurant in Spokane, Washington. It was one of the most delicious things I had ever tasted, and I have always been on the lookout for a recipe to recreate it. The restaurant did not exist a year later when I returned, so I just wondered where/when/if I might ever come across that pie again.

Some notes: The crust - I used the standard double pie crust that I had just used a couple days before in class. Right away, I noticed a difference. The butter I bought was a superior butter (I think… grass-fed cows, etc.) from Ireland. It was much creamier. I wasn't sure if this was going to mean that it just tasted better, or that the cooking time would vary or what, so I just proceeded.

After resting it for an hour in the fridge, I turned out one of the discs on a 9" glass pie plate, and blind baked it in the convection for about 10 minutes. I wasn't sure how long the pie weights needed to be there. The last time I did this, it was managed by the assistant in my cooking class, and it was a sweet tart, which would then go on to be baked for a few minutes with lemon tart filling in it. The goal was a little different with this one; I needed it to be fully cooked. After the first 10 minutes, it seemed a little raw. I took the pie weights out and let it bake for another 5 or so minutes. I was concerned that it would rise up and break in the middle without the weights, so I stabbed the bottom with a fork. At this point, I really should have googled blind baking. Back in for about 3 minutes, I noticed it had risen, and contemplated putting the weights back in. Nervously, I circled the oven, and just let it go back in (without weights) for another few minutes and pulled it when it looked lightly golden. It had puffed up a bit, but I had to go with it.

The pudding. I felt pretty confident about this because we had just covered puddings and custards in class, and I had done pretty well. The puddings in class were chocolate, lemon for a tart, vanilla infused creme brulée. I had read several recipes and it seems, there are many ways to make butterscotch pudding. One recipe had geletin in it, another said to add scotch, while another said to add bourbon. There is more that one way to caramelize sugar too! I chose the Mozza budino recipe, but had to make one change of adding Bourbon instead of Scotch, because we were fresh out. The first step, letting the sugar, salt and water caramelize until a "lava-like" consistency was probably the hardest part, because I didn't want it to go too far (burned caramel) and I didn't want to pull it before it had fully developed. I think I may have pulled it a couple of seconds too soon, as it wasn't quite the rich amber color I had wanted. After adding the cream and putting it back on the stove to thicken, just like I had expected, it went from liquidy to thick like gravy within seconds. Just when you start thinking you need to turn up the heat or something, the thickness suddenly happens, and you get that big lazy bubble (bloop!) which says, I'm done! I stirred in the liquor and butter, strained it, and put it away to chill for a couple hours.

When it came time to put the whole thing together, my plan was to cut the banana on the bottom of the crust, fill the rest of the pie with pudding, then whip some cream for the top, and maybe throw a couple of decorative banana slices on top. I had left the cream out on the counter (couldn't remember if room temp was a good thing for whippped cream, or right out of the fridge was best). It was immediately obvious that leaving it out in my hot kitchen was the wrong idea. It became waxy chunks almost immediately, and it was obvious it needed to be tossed. A creamy element on top would have been nice, but not having it didn't ruin anything. I served it without.

The final product was good, but not great. It could use some improvement. The crust was a little too hard. Not in an overworked-the-dough kind of way, but in a dried out, baked for too long kind of way. Also, the flavors: while the combination of butterscotch and banana is excellent, the whole thing didn't flow as well as I had hoped. Did it just need time to meld? Would an additional caramel drizzle on top have brought it all together? Would sea salt have done anything to make it more delicious? Was bourbon just not the right flavor?

Lots of questions to ask my teacher next class. All in all, I think my dish/experiment was a total success. The pudding was delicious, the crust was pretty close to perfect, and bananas are bananas. The challenges I faced were honestly exactly what I was looking for. As in, the reason I decided to bake this myself was to put the lessons to use, and see if I could do it myself. The more experience I have, the better baker I will be. Having everything go well in class is one thing, but in my own kitchen when I'm trying to figure it all out, and I can't fall back on an expert next to me, THAT'S when the real learning happens! I will try again, and it will get better and better. I think my teacher will be proud of me, that I tried to put it all together at home, with successes and failures.

Notes: Refresh my memory before blind baking again on how to do it properly. Use regular butter, that I'm used to working with. Figure out- does my light colored butterscotch mean that I pulled the caramel too early? Also- buy some Scotch! Figure out whether caramel sauce in addition to the pudding would be excellent. Pick only one recipe and stick to it

P.S. My teacher gave me the recipe from the school's pie-making class for this pie, which is the one I will try next. And funny, THIS one has RUM in it (yet another variation!)

protein and veg

Bean-less chili (thank you Jimmy Fallon) and roasted vegetables to last a week. Prep for the cleanse.. bring it on!

Baking 4

Pies, crisps, cobblers and tarts! Oh my!!

One of the best days in baking class! What is not to love about these? I haven't tasted my apple pie yet, but it looks like perfection. I also made a lemon tart which I gave away to the neighbors, save for a piece for myself. It was so tart and delicious!
It's funny, every week in class we get a handful of recipes and because of time constraints, we don't make them all. This week, our teacher demonstrated Berry Crisp, which we got to taste, but did not make ourselves. I have made apple crisps aplenty, but have never even thought to make a berry one. I think it's a good thing to branch out, and this class has given me the confidence (as well as the suggestion and recipe) to try something new - and especially to pay attention to what is fresh in the market now.
I've made pumpkin pies, cream pies and berry pies before, but never apple, so it was cool to have that be our assignment this week. I brought the pie to work, and everyone was raving about how perfect it was- the crust, the level of sweetness, etc. I am proud to have done right by this American Classic!
Next weekend is starting to get busy, but because it is a holiday, and there will be no class, I will have some free time, and it would be smart to keep up my baking. Perhaps make one of the recipes that we merely were shown, but did not make in class. Cobbler? Ice cream? Not sure yet...

Creative

I put together a succulent pot for a friend the other day and really liked the way it turned out. See the shells? I might have to add a few items like this to some of my already potted plants. I just love it!

Baking 3

Soufflés, pate a choux, and pastry cream. This class was fun, and different -- because I could not try anything that I made. I have been put on a cleanse (by my nutritionist) and I knew that meant I would not be able to taste anything this week. It was fun, just cooking, without the anticipation (or anxiety) of the outcome going into my belly. The cleanse is only for 7 days, and knowing that it would present a problem over the course of this once a week baking class, I chose accordingly which week would be OK for me to skip tasting. It's strange because I pretty much like all sweets, but I'm not a huge fan of puff pastry, eclairs, etc. So I knew it wouldn't kill me to pass this time.
This week, I felt more confident, more at ease, just sort of playing in the kitchen. Often I try so hard to do well, make everything perfect, with the outcome in mind, that I don't put the energy into the process, which would ensure a good outcome (right?). It seems that sometimes, when you ease back a little and just let things flow, it all works out (even better) in the end. And so it was.
I made eclairs, filled with pastry cream, topped with chocolate ganache, and chocolate soufflé with a melted chocolate center. I understand both were excellent! Hooray.

Baking 2

This week was custards, bread pudding and ice cream. I made creme brulée, chocolate pudding and bread pudding. It's funny, I have made all of these desserts before, which sort of made me wonder if taking a class on these is really worth it. But then I realized, it is because I have made these before, that I'm going to get so much more out of this. I always question what I'm doing during preparation, or during cooking (how fast should this be coming to a boil? when is it ready for the next step? what is the best technique? what are some of the tricks?). So, being in class, I was able to ask those questions in real time. Super helpful.

The creme brulée and bread pudding were great. But the big surprise was the chocolate pudding. Oh my! I would never have chosen to make it on my own, nor would I be likely to order it on a menu, but WOW! Done right, it is so decadent and delicious. Forget that Jello stuff. It had a depth of flavor that made me think there was liquor in it, even though I knew there wasn't. I know we used good chocolate, but I don't think it was anything terribly extravagant. It must have been the technique! The pudding was so dense with flavor, a little went a long way. Thankfully, there were leftovers to take home. Every night, a heaping spoonful was a great sweet treat after dinner.

A couple days later, I was sifting through my recipe cutouts, and I found the recipe for Butterscotch Budino from Mozza. One of the best things I've ever eaten in my life!! I remember reading over the recipe a year or so ago, thinking it sounded so difficult. After Baking 2 Class though, I reread this recipe and the technique was the same as what I had just done. Easy, really. I can't wait to make Budino at home!

Veggies

Baking 1

I started taking a new cooking series: BAKING. These were week one's accomplishments: Blueberry Streusel Muffins and Orange Currant Cream Scones. Plus the teacher demonstrated how to make and rustic-ly dressed carrot cake, which was delicious. I like the open sides (the rustic part), and will have to try it this way on the family recipe.

First time for scones

I have been a fan of the Orangette blog for years, and really enjoyed reading her book A Homemade Life. It was a lovely memoir, where food and family and memories intersect. The stories were endearing, and many of the recipes are included. One for Scottish scones had been on my to do list for months. I finally gave it a try and they were wonderful.

By the way those chunks of butter were brought home from Cheese-making Class. Fresh butter is so delicious!