Tangerine's Kitchen: January 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Tuiles for the Daring Bakers

Missed a couple of Daring Bakes and wanted to come back and nothing better than tuiles for a comeback or I like to think so.

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named. The Dutch angle: traditionally this batter was used to bake flat round cookies on 31st December, representing the year unfold. On New Years day however, the same batter was used but this day they were presented to well-wishers shaped as cigars and filled with whipped cream, symbolizing the New Year that's about to roll on. And of course the batter is sometimes called tulip-paste....

The challenge asked for us to:
- use one of the batters given,
- shape it either prior (using a stencil) or right after baking and
- pair it with something light; fruit, sorbet, a mousse, or maybe even a fruit soup, think glazes or dips…..
Bend it, shape it, anyway you want it!

Like always, I scheduled the last week for the challenge. After two failed attempts, the third time luck favoured me. In the first attempt, the batter refused to leave the parchment paper post baking and they broke. The second attempt was better because I could remove it off the paper but it broke while shaping. I had given up on it but last night after I put my little one to bed, I set forth again. This time I greased the pan and poured the batter on it minus the parchment. This seemed to work the best for me. exactly at the 5th minute of baking the edges browned well, and they left the pan real well. Shaping was easy as well.

I made some fortune cookies inspired by a mention on the Daring Bakers Forum. It isn't perfect but will pass.

I shaped it according to this.
According to it, remove the cookie from the baking sheet with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Lay the fortune in the middle of the cookie, and hold it there while folding the cookie in half.

Still holding the the folded cookie in both hands, between your thumb and index fingers, pull the ends down over the rim of a glass or a muffin tin, or the handle of a wooden spoon, until the ends meet. The opened side of the fortune cookie should be facing upward, towards you.

Secondly, I made a tuile bowl to serve white chocolate mousse. For thi, spread a batter into a round shape with the outer edges thicker than the center. When the edges brown, remove them and lay them over an upturned bowl and shape them before they cool.

For the white chocolate mousse:

125g white chocolate
50ml milk
150 ml double cream
1 egg white

Melt chocolate and milk and set aside to cool. Whip cream until it forms peaks. Whisk the egg white separately until stiff. Fold in the whipped cream into the chocolate. Fold this into the egg white. Chill to set.

Thirdly, a cherry sherbet served with tuile shards (for me ofcourse).

For the cherry sherbet:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh cream
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
400 gcherries, pitted and halved
2 tbsp lemon juice

Prepare an ice-water bath and set aside.
Stir 2/3 cup sugar ans 2/3 cup water. Bring this to a boil. Transfer to another bowl and place over the ice bath. Let it cool.

Mik the creams, salt, milk and the cooled syrup. Whisk and transfer to a freezer, and ensure to whisk every few minutes for the next 1/2 an hour or so. In doing so, you get a consistency of whipped cream.

Cook cherries, lemon juice and remaining sugar until the cherries break down. Cool this and gently stir them into the creamy mixture. freeze overnight and serve.

A very fattening dessert...but worth indulging once in a while.

With the remaining batter, two petals that were hand shaped and let to cool.

Making tuiles was something that I wanted to do. So that's done too. Despite the mishaps, it was fun shaping tuiles. Savory tuiles are on to do next list..

Do go over here to see other tuiles

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The so-called forbidden fruit.....

I am lost for time again and Click was something I did not want to miss. So here's something I clicked quite a while ago of the one fruit available through the year and a fruit that finds a definite place in my fruit basket.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Chocolate bars

This month the book we read for "This Book Makes me Cook" was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I hadn't read this book until this. The movie instead was a dear film to me. It is a story about a boy, Charlie who along with his friends win a tour of the chocolate factory owned by Willy Wonka. His friends' fates are decided by their faults,while Charlie wins the factory for himself.
Overall the book kept me entertained as much as the movie did. Can't wait to gift my daughter the book.

This book inspired me to make Chocolate bars with some almonds thrown in. What you need for the bars are:

Butter-100g (Room Temperature)
Plain Chocolate-500g
Condensed Milk-1 tin (400g)
Almonds or any other nuts

Add all of the above except for the nuts in a heavy bottomed pan and stir on low heat until a smooth mixture is reached. Remember to stir constantly and do not let it boil. Remove from the stove and beat well until it thickens. Pour this ina greased pan. Sprinkle almonds. Some tend to sink, some stay on the surface. I used almonds without skinning them or slicing them. Chill this until firm.
Tip on to a board and cut into desired shapes and sizes.

I used an 8" pan. Hence you will have to adjust the ingredients according to the size of the pan so that the texture isn't affected. Do grease your pan well because it isn't too good an experience when you can't get them out, which has been several times for me.

Simran and Sweatha made truffles inspired by the book. Hop over to Simran's place to see what we are reading in Feb.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache

This year's first cake that I baked was for the Cake Slice Bakers and the cake baked for the month of January is a Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache from Sky High:Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alsia Huntsman and Peter Wynne.

What you need are for
The Cake:
makes a 9-inch triple layer cake

3 cups of cake flour*
3 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of ripe mashed bananas
8 ounces of softened unsalted butter
2 cups of sugar
7 egg whites

Praline Filling:
1 cup sugared pecans, cooled
1 and 1/2 cups white chocolate ganache

Sugared Pecans:
1 and 1/2 cups pecan halves
3 cups vegetable oil
1 cup confectioners sugar

White Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces of white chocolate chopped
2 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

CAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper or wax paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside dry ingredients. In a food processor or blender, process the milk and banana into a smooth light puree. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. On medium high speed, beat in egg whites 2-3 at a time until smooth. Scraping down the sides of the bowl between egg additions.
With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and banana puree alternately in 2-3 additions, beating until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 1-minute. Divide the batter among the cake pans.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a wired rack and remove the paper liners. Then cool completely one hour.
To assemble the cake, put one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half of the praline filling, leaving a 1/4"-inch margin around the edges. place the second layer on top, again flat side up, cover it with remaining filling. Finally add the third layer and frost the sides and top with the white chocolate ganache. Garnish with sugared pecans.

Praline Filling

With a large chef's knife chop the pecans. Or pulse in a food processor being careful not to turn into paste.
Add the sugared pecans to the white chocolate ganache and stir to mix well.

Sugared Pecans

Place the pecans in a medium sauce pan, add water to cover, and heat to a boiling. Boil the pecans slowly until they are swollen and soft 5-8 minutes. Drain the nuts well in a sieve for about 5 minutes. (Do not pat dry; the nuts must remain damp.)
While the nuts are draining, heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan or deep fat fryer t0 350F degrees.
Set half of the nuts aside. Dust the remaining nuts in the sieve with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Shake the sieve to coat the nuts evenly, letting any excess sugar fall away. Immediately add the coated nuts to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon scoop the nuts out and drain them on several thickness of paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining nuts.

White Chocolate Ganache

Pu the white chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. In a small sauce bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 1-minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the white chocolate cream stand until cooled to room temperature.
In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters beat the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream and vanilla until softly whipped. Stir in the white chocolate cream and beat until fairly stiff. taking care not over beat, which would cause the ganache to separate.

January until today has been very busy for me and I for certain did not w ant to miss making this.The entire process was easy that is if you have all the ingredients in order. I don't get cake flour where I live, hence I substituted it with AP flour and corn starch. The cake rose beautifully in keeping with the term sky high. The texture was smooth with the flavour of cinnamon blended with bananas.

My ganache came out well infact really well..It did not curdle thankfully. The recipe for the ganache is definitely a keeper owing to the mildly sweet just right flavour.

A perfect sky-high triple layer cake.

DO head over here for other irresistable sky high creations.

And yes, the sugared pecans were a treat by themself!!!!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Cilantro, Scallions and Garlic in my bread.....

Simran had tagged me to bake bread for Breadline Africa, an organization that is attemtping to put a stop to poverty in Africa. I am not tagging anyone, so anyone who would like to take it up, do join in for the good cause..

I made a herb bread, the herb in this bread being cilantro/coriander. They were just not impressive to look at it but create a lating impressiong owing to its different from the usual taste. I was immensely pleased with the results. So here's how I did it:

What you need are:(Adapted from Good Housekeeping Magazine)
AP Flour-2 1/2 cups
Whole Wheat Flour-1 1/2 cups
Yeast-15g
Lukewarm Water-1/4 cup
Sugar-2tbsp
Salt-1tsp
Chopped Cilantro-1/2 cup
Chopped Spring onion with greens-2 stalks
Garlic-3 cloves chopped
Pepper-as per taste

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup pf water and allow it to froth for about 10-15 mins. Meanwhile, sift the flours with salt. Make a well in the centre of the sifted flours and add the yeast mixture and make a rough dough. Now oil you kneading slab and flour it. Then with the required amount of water knead the dough to a soft consistency. Set this ina well oiled bowl and let it rise to double its volume.

Punch the risen dough down and add in chopped cilantro, scallions and garlic. Add freshly crushed pepper and knead them in well.. I wanted to make an S-shaped braid. I divided the dough into two portions and intertwined them and shped them into an S. et this aside covered for its second rise. Preheat your oven to 400F. Bake the bread until it is done and remove and brush with a generous amount of butter and if desired some chilli flakes for an extra zing.

I have a serious weakness for cilantro and a not so serious weakness for garlic and scallions which were in there for the DH's serious weakness for them :) This bread is great to bite on just to while away your time and can be a pleasant surprise on the table as well.

A confession now....I ate most of it :)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A bowl of fruity goodness

On Dec 31, 2008, I lost my grandmother. She had suffered healthwise much more than words can explain for 6 years to be exact. My feelings are mixed, sad yet happy that she's free from all the troubles that her body had to undergo owing to medical negligence a few years back. I pray and hope that none suffer as much as she did...

My grandfather left this world 37 years back to be precise leaving my grandmother and their seven children .. I comfort myself saying 31 Dec, 2008 must definitely be my grandmother's happiest day for the very fact that she is finally with my grandfather.

Back home and striving to get back in routine, I made a something to fend my crave for fruits.. Fruit salad is something that I can never get tired of eating but only if it is made at home. I detest fruit salads that contain tinned or canned fruits. When such cravings arise, which is very often, I pick up fruits from my vendor. This time what he had on hand were apples, oranges, pomegranates and bananas.

You can use any fruit to suit your palate and availability but trust me this desert wouldn't go wrong. The use of sugar is optional. I had to use sugar owing to the tart oranges. I let the skin of the apples remain for the crunchiness. Peel and chop the fruits (I used apples, oranges, bananas and pomegranates). Add sugar and lime juice and stir them in. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

I served them with custard. It is a light desert and perfect when served after a meal. You could also involve your kids.I guarantee you, it will be a treat not just to make but to eat as well.

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