After a two month hiatus, the Daring Bakers have returned to the sweet side of things! This month’s challenge comes to us courtesy of Dolores at Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, Alex (or Brownie) at Blondie and Brownie, and Jenny at Foray into Food. The challenge – a dense, buttery caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting - comes from a recipe made infamously popular by Shuna Fish Lydon at Eggbeater. Garnishing the cake with golden vanilla bean caramels (from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert) was an optional component to this challenge, (of which I opted out of).

The recipe is actually very similar to Maya Angelou’s caramel cake, which she published in her cookbook Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes. Martha Stewart even featured this cake on her show. I’m not sure how Maya Angelou’s cake tastes in comparison to Shuna’s, but I’m willing to wager that both the taste and texture are different. Some of the major differences include: 4x as much baking powder (2 tsp vs. ½ tsp), whipping the eggs before incorporating them into the cake batter, and less butter and sugar overall.

Early on in the month, several of the Daring Bakers had remarked that the frosting was overpoweringly sweet - even for some of the more serious sugar lovers. With this in mind, I decided to offset the anticipated sweetness with a mocha sauce that didn’t add more sugar to the picture – and some dark chocolate-covered espresso beans.

After our first bite into this lovely confection, Señor Habanero and I knew we’d found a keeper. I’ve already made this recipe three times this month, including once for Thanksgiving dinner with the Señor’s family. This recipe has quickly gone into my aresenal of home-baked desserts.

A big thanks to Dolores, Alex, and Jenny (and Shuna!) for hosting such a sweet and satisfying challenge!

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Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting

as published in Bay Area Bites by Shuna Fish Lydon

10 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

1¼ c granulated sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

â…“ c Caramel Syrup (see recipe below), at room temperature

2 eggs, at room temperature

splash vanilla extract

2 c all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 c milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan. (I used two cake pans to make a layer cake. I also made 18 cupcakes with this recipe.)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt, and cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs and vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

In another mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients.

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate pan and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

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CARAMEL SYRUP

2 c sugar

½ c water

1 c water (for “stopping” the caramelization process)

In a small stainless steel saucepan with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until mixture is smoking slightly and a dark amber color.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so use oven mitts, wear long sleeves, and be prepared to step back. (I covered the saucepan with a lid and, lifting it just a tad, poured the water in through the gap.)

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. (Obviously, wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.)

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

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CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 lb (or 3½-4 c) confectioner’s sugar, sifted

4-6 Tbsp heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

2-4 Tbsp caramel syrup

Kosher or sea salt, to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool. (Another option is to let the solids settle as the browned butter cools, thus allowing for an efficient decanting.)

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl. Add vanilla extract.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner’s sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky or dry, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner’s sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month. To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.

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MOCHA SAUCE

adapted from an epicurious.com recipe

8 Tbsp strong brewed coffee

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp cornstarch

¼ tsp cinnamon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook, whisking, over moderately low heat until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and cool to warm before serving.

Note: Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. Reheat before serving. 

They say time flies when you’re having fun, right? Well, I must have been having a grand old time, because I made (and happily consumed) this pflaumenkuchen, or German plum cake, about a month ago, and didn’t get around to posting about it until now.

Toward the end of the plum season, I was compelled to bake something with plums – especially after I saw the beautiful pictures of pflaumenkuchen in these posts. Andrea, author of the Cooking Books blog (from which the second post originates) kindly shared with me her family’s heirloom recipe for this cake, which she understandably has a preference for. One look at the ingredients (butter and shortening top the list) and I knew I had to make it! The only problem was that I had no idea where to find Italian prune plums, which are crucial to the recipe. (Other varieties of plum don’t bake up the same way!)

Oddly enough, I found a lady hawking these very plums in Chinatown a few days later. I wasn’t sure if these really were the coveted Italian prune plums – hence, the following exchange between the vendor lady and me:

Me (in broken Cantonese): What kind of plums are these?

Vendor Lady (rolling eyes slightly at the sound of my accent): They’re sweet plums, very good taste! How much do you want?

Me: Uh… are they from Italy? (My lame attempt.)

Vendor Lady: I don’t know where they’re from, but they’re very sweet! How much do you want?

I couldn’t say no.

The plums’ greenish-yellow flesh bloomed into a lovely ruby color during the baking process, and also became noticeably sweeter. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any shortening on hand and had to subsitute with (more) butter, so it probably didn’t turn out the way it’s supposed to. Still, it was a delectable dessert that not only showcased the plums, but also was easy to make.

Check out Andrea’s post (and also another version by Micha) for more about German plum cakes. Also, don’t forget that ubiquitous plum torte recipe by Marian Burros, which was published almost every year in the NYTimes for a good stretch.

October brought another (mostly) savory challenge for the Daring Bakers, thanks to Rosa at Rosa’s Yummy Yums. This is also her way of honoring the late Sherry of What Did You Eat?, who passed away suddenly in July, and who was supposed to co-host this month’s challenge (along with Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food, who quit the DB earlier). It was Sherry’s idea to make pizza dough the challenge, after all. So, thank you for hosting, Rosa – and here’s to you, Sherry.

The pizza dough turned out wonderfully – a thin crust that was soft and chewy on the top but crisp on the bottom. (It stayed crisp even after refrigeration!) The Señor has long since converted me to being a fan of thin-crust, authentic NY-style pizza, and looking back, the only explanation I can give for my previous thick-crust pizza preference is simply, sheer ignorance of anything better. Anyway: you can find the recipe for this divine crust at Rosa’s blog. (It’s yet another one of Peter Reinhart’s recipes from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.)

I ran out of flour on the first day of preparing the dough (i.e. before it proofed in the refrigerator), and so my dough was more sticky than it should have been. Below, you can see that the result of using a dough that’s too moist is that it kind of looks like a blob on the attack… and that it sticks to everything!

Ultimately, because it was so wet, the dough would naturally stretch out in a more rectangular shape, rather than a round one.

Thankfully, regardless of its consistency and shape, the dough baked fabulously – especially with the sauce and topping combinations we tried!

Our first pizza had a homemade wild arugula pesto sauce, topped with roasted red pepper, shiitake mushrooms, and shredded mozzarella.

Next, we combined a rosemary-infused olive oil “sauce” with smoked mozzarella slices, shiitake mushrooms, and chopped prosciutto.

The third pizza featured a crème fraîche sauce under slices of boiled new potatoes, caramelized onions, bacon, and scallions.

Lastly, we made a simple dessert pizza: nutella generously sprinkled with salted roasted almonds.

These pizzas were so good, we were hard pressed to pick a favorite. (The best we could do was decide on our least favorite one, the nutella and roasted almond pizza Рthough it was by no means unenjoyable.) Maybe it was the dough (did I mention how amazing it was?), or maybe it was the sauces and toppings Рor maybe it was the confluence of all three components: regardless, Se̱or Habanero and I happily devoured our slices while reminiscing of our favorite pizza place in the city and devising a plan to open a pizza restaurant in our nabe if we should one day leave our current jobs.

Check out some more Daring Baker’s pizza creations here!

Yes, I dare to bake!

Don’t be fooled by my apparent boldness, though: my first steps as a member of the Daring Bakers were something of an emotional roller coaster.

First: intimidation. Let’s just say that last month’s challenge (a filbert gateau with praline buttercream) produced a lot of incredibly beautiful results, and likewise was an incredibly complicated recipe. Just to give you an taste of what these talented bakers created, check out these images (click to see the post):

From top left: Aran of Cannelle et Vanille, Michelle of Greedy Gourmet, Marija of Palachinka, Linda of Make Life Sweeter, Melina of Sweet Dreams, and Ann of Redacted Recipes.

(Chris of Mele Cotte, host of the July ’08 challenge, posted the recipe and her results here.)

These ladies – among other Daring Bakers – certainly give me a lot to aspire to!

Second: disappointment. I’m not a big fan of cream puffs, or anything with a huge gob of creamy filling (e.g. twinkies and their manifold preservative-pumped relatives) for that matter, so when I found out that my first challenge as a Daring Baker was to make eclairs, I was a little less than excited – but only initially. After all, does not the title Daring, which is to be “venturesomely bold in action or thought,” by definition assume a fearless foray into the vast wilderness of the unknown – even if the unknown necessarily involves gobs of creamy filling?

Thankfully, Señor Habanero was here to remind me of the truth about being a Daring Baker (“it’s supposed to be fun”) and keep my imagination in check. And so, into the unknown I went.

Third: a wee bit of courage (and a lot of heavy cream). Taking full advantage of my culinary liberty, I chose to make a gianduja (chocolate hazelnut) mousse filling instead of the usual heavier pastry cream. I also made my own crème fraîche for the first time!

Despite my aversion to creamy fillings, the eclairs tasted excellent. (A little Nutella goes a long, long way.) The Señor and I loved the mingling flavors of dark chocolate, hazelnut, and that small kick of whiskey (in the mousse), and the pâte à choux (cream puff dough) was the perfect canvas for them. (I can also envision using a savory filling for this choux pastry!)

Thanks to Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? and Tony of Olive Juice for hosting this month’s challenge! (You can see the full original recipe for these eclairs at Meeta’s blog; Tony’s blog delineates his adapted version, which incidentally also incorporates Nutella.)

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Crème Fraîche
From www.joyofbaking.com. Super easy to make, and way cheaper than the store-bought stuff!

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk

In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the cream to 105°F (40°C). Remove from heat and stir in the buttermilk. Transfer the cream to a large bowl and allow this mixture to stand in a warm place, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until thickened but still of pouring consistency. Stir and taste every 6-8 hours.

This process takes anywhere from 24-36 hours, depending on your room temperature. The crème fraîche is ready when it is thick with a slightly nutty, sour taste. Chill cream in the refrigeratorfor several hours before using. Crème fraîche may be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

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Gianduja Mousse
adapted from a Food and Wine recipe

½ cup chocolate-hazelnut paste, such as Nutella
¼ cup crème fraîche
1½ teaspoons brandy or hazelnut liqueur
(I substituted whiskey, since I wasn’t going to buy a whole bottle of liquor just for this!)
½ cup heavy cream

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the chocolate-hazelnut paste with the crème fraîche and brandy at low speed until smooth. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until firm peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate-hazelnut mixture until no streaks remain. Spoon the mousse into small bowls and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until ready to serve.

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SOME THOUGHTS ON…

The pâte à choux:

I didn’t find the choux too eggy, as other Daring Bakers had mentioned on the forum. (I’m wondering if it has to do with how long the dough is beat between the addition of each egg, as Amelia A. pointed out in the forums?)

I did have issues with some of the eclair shells deflating after the baking them for the recommended duration. I ended up baking them for a good bit longer (though I didn’t keep track of how much longer), and they not only held up better, they took on a lovely golden shade. Still, a few of them went flat. Next time, I’ll let bake them for the recommended time and let them cool in a slightly-open oven.

The chocolate glaze:

It went on smoothly the first time, right after it was made. I found that, even though the recipe said it could be refrigerated and warmed back when ready to glaze the eclairs, it just wasn’t the same – especially after multiple refrigerate-and-rewarm cycles. The butter tended to separate from the rest of the glaze, and wasn’t easy to reincorporate, even after much stirring.

The gianduja mousse:

Seriously, who could resist a mousse that has Nutella as a major ingredient? This decadent but light filling has a number of uses, both inside and outside a pastry shell. (Food and Wine, which published this recipe, also suggests freezing it between two chocolate wafers for an ice cream sandwich.)

The only (minor) fault I found with using this mousse as an eclair filling is that it would start to melt after a few minutes. This problem was easily remedied by either refrigerating the assembled eclairs (or freezing them, as the Señor prefers) and bringing them out just before serving.

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Many thanks to Lis and Ivonne for their creativity and hard work in managing the Daring Bakers group! I never thought I’d be baking and blogging alongside hundreds of others. You guys rock!

Restaurant Week – a.k.a. two weeks of expensive food made accessible to general populace - can really be a hit or miss thing. Only a handful of the participating restaurants are truly worth dining at during this biannual event, and some of these don’t put their signature dishes on their Restaurant Week menu. Still, it’s one of my favorite events in the city, because sometimes, (pending a few informed choices about where to dine and what to order), you can actually get a high quality three course meal at a very affordable price.

Unfortunately, this was not the case for our experience at One if By Land, Two if By Sea (OIBLTIBS) (17 Barrow St.).

[piclens-lite-link]

The interior of OIBLTIBS. (From wheretodineonline.com.)

Se̱or Habanero and I had dinner there with two of our friends, and upon entering the converted carriage house that comprises the restaurant, we were immediately taken in by the warm, glowing ambiance. Melodies wafted softly through the dining room from a baby grand by the entrance, while multiple fireplaces, original brick walls dating back to the 18th century, and paintings appearing to be from the same period Рall bathed in lush candlelight Рmade it easy to see why this place has long held a reputation as a romantic dining destination.

Our evening got off to a slightly rocky start with our server. We were not aware that we had to select our dessert with our appetizer and entrée, and this error was communicated to us in an openly haughty manner. That, and a few other not-so-subtle subtleties, sent the message that either Restaurant Week diners were not welcome at OIBLTIBS, or perhaps all patrons were subject to this supercilious treatment. (Or, maybe this particular server was just having a bad day, and took it out on us.)

My meal began with the diver sea scallop carpaccio. Smooth slices of fresh scallops were laced with chipotle oil, dotted with basil puree, and finished with a sprinkle of diced mango and a spoonful of basil seeds. Pristine, balanced flavors made this appetizer a standout. (If only we could have said the same thing about the courses to follow.)

The Señor chose to start with the sautéed rock shrimp, which came on a bed of linguini, snap peas, and mint – a seemingly standard execution that, sadly, didn’t make much of am impression. Even though the Señor didn’t care for the mint, I think the overall dish would have made even less of an impression without that hint of coolness.

Our friends chose better in ordering the grilled bavette steak, which the Señor and I felt we couldn’t order (for reasons mentioned here and here). This was another take on the classic steak and potatoes, as the bavette  steak (French for skirt steak) was paired with a potato chip “salad” (let’s use the term loosely) atop a mound of spring onion kim chee. The beef was rich with flavor, and the Korean-style fermentation a neat twist on the spring onions.

Dessert brought things back up a notch for the Señor and me, but still wasn’t anything to write home about. My sloppily presented bittersweet chocolate fondant came with a coconut mousse that really was more of a foam. Plus, after having baked molten chocolate cakes at home before, I wasn’t as wowed by this dessert as I might have been otherwise. (The Señor said he liked mine better, but I think that’s because he’s partial to desserts with a higher sugar content.)