Tarte, part deux

So, my sister is pregnant, and apparently kiwi is good for women that are soon to give birth. So being myself, I decided that just eating straight fruit is meh. Thus another tart was born (and no, I really didn't intend on the pun.) I love blackberries, so I had to put some on there; I saw some juicy-looking strawberries and added those too. I used Gran Marnier rather than kirsch, and it actually was a bit flat. I need to try yet another liqueur to see if it's a good middle of the two. Perhaps I can just add a little less kirsch, and it won't overpower the flavor of the custard quite so much. At least it's easy to make...

sukiyaki ga suki

(So, I know this is a baking blog, but Japanese food is too good to pass up.)

Mm, sukiyaki is so very tasty and simple. Chop up some vegetables, get yourself some thinly-sliced meat, and you've got a substantial, filling dinner! After Alexandra showed me this wonderful youtube channel, I started craving some Japanese food. Instead of going out for it, I decided to make my own. After all, isn't that what Francis is encouraging me to do?

Sukiyaki sauce:
2 parts sake
1 part mirin
1 part soy sauce
sugar to taste

Suggested vegetables/fillers: Beef, tofu (seared, fried, etc), napa cabbage, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, green onions, konnyaku, udon, komatsuna, mustard greens, shungiku, soba noodles. Basically anything that doesn't take too long to cook can be thrown in.

Clearly there's lots of variety to be had. Get yourself a pan, add some meat, pour some of the sauce over it. Cook the meat a little. Add veggies. Add more sauce. Simmer! Cover! Eat when ready. Quick. Yummy. So tasty. Delectable. Wonderful. Did I mention yummy? And easy?

That picture above isn't the most glorious. It was last minute, forced upon me by Lauren and Micah. I had picked up the pan and the food had all moved so it wasn't as regal. OH NOES. I'm sure you'll forgive me.

I also made some strawberry daifuku. I've always wanted to try it, and now I have it. Yummers.
I love Japanese food. mmmm daifuku.

Mmmm. Food.

The Merchant of Venice

I dunno. If I were the merchant of Venice, I wouldn't have demanded a pound of flesh. Why insist upon that when you can have yummy pound cake instead? At least pound cake has some sort of use! What was he going to do with his pound of flesh anyway? Not like he was gonna eat it... What's the point in that?

This is my favorite pound cake. I've been working on the recipe a while, and I think I finally got it how I like. The outside is crusty and slightly crisp, and the inside is crumbly but moist. If you want extra flavor, up the amount of vanilla extract. As listed in this recipe, it makes a good base for something like strawberries+cake. (I mean, you can use blueberries if you want, but why ruin a perfectly good cake?!) But if you plan on just eating the cake alone, I would add a little extra something.
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Pound Cake
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c milk
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the sour cream and milk. Mix together. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add the flour to the liquid mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg one at a time. Add vanilla.

Pour into a prepared loaf pan. Bake 50 mins to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

raspberries are too pricey

But they're oh so yummy! I had been taken to this Swiss bakery somewhere in Norcross I think, and I bought a most exquisite pastry from this French lady. I decided to see if I could imitate it! That's a long way to drive. So yesterday, I made a most tasty raspberry tart. If I just cook the custard a little longer next time, I daresay mine is better than hers. However, I didn't have my actual camera with me before it was promptly devoured. Enjoy the wonderful camera phone picture that is so blurry you have no idea what's up!


A good quality picture would have looked like this one that I blantantly stole from the intarwebs.
On to the recipe!
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Tarte aux Framboises
1lb raspberries
1 pastry dough
3 egg yolks
2 c milk
½ c + 2 tbs sugar
1/3 c + 1 tbs flour
2 tbs butter
1 vanilla bean, split (or vanilla extract if not available)
1 tsp kirsch or other cherry/raspberry liqueur
1 c whipping cream
Powdered sugar

Place pasty dough in a tart pan and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some sugar on the dough so that it caramelizes and does not absorb the pastry cream added later. Bake another 5 minutes.

Beat the yolks with the sugar. Add the flour slowly, mixing well. Carefully heat the cream and vanilla together until the flavor is transferred. Temper the egg mixture, and then add the rest of the milk to the egg while continuing to stir. Be careful not to overheat the egg and let it scramble.

Place the mixture in a saucepan, add the kirsch, and cook over low heat for a few moments. Remove from heat at first signs of boiling, add in the butter and stir. Reserve the mixture. Allow to cool.

Fill a sink with water and ice cubes. Place a chilled bowl into the water. Fill with the cream and whisk until whipped. Sweeten to liking. Alternatively, you may use a stand mixer, but be sure that the whipped cream remains cold.

Gently fold the pastry cream in with the whipped cream.

Pour the cream over the dough and arrange the raspberries to your liking. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

talk of the town

The brioche turned out loverly. I ended up with three pieces I had shaped that were too small for the mold. I took the three of them and placed them in the larger pan; I was very pleased with the result. I like it especially because you can bake it all at once, but it splits evenly among multiple people and becomes a nice time saver if you don't have enough brioche pans.

On to the recipe! This one came from my favorite bakery in Boston, Flour. Admittedly, I haven't been to a ton of bakeries there, but I know from their food that I would be hard-pressed to find one I liked more. Plus, the atmosphere was a nice retreat from the chilly winter. They are publishing a cookbook eventually, and I can't wait to get it. If anyone wants to buy me a present... ;)
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2 1/2 cups high-gluten flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-ounce yeast
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup ice water
5 eggs
11 ounces butter, softened

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients except for the butter, and beat on low with dough hook for 10 minutes. Add the softened butter and knead for another 20 minutes until dough slaps on the side of the bowl.

Place in a container and cover well.　Proof in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

Shape, cover, proof for several hours at warm room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Egg wash and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. (Brioche is done when interior temperature reaches 200 degrees F.)

shocked

Well, my intention was to make brioche dough last night, proof it overnight, and then shape the dough and bake it this morning. However, that didn't happen because I fell asleep too early. Instead, I got up early this morning and began to make the dough. When I cracked the eggs, I was rather surprised. The yolks were the most wonderful orange! I haven't seen eggs as pretty outside of Europe. While I know the color won't impact taste significantly-- and certainly not in a dough--, it's still nice because it's obvious that the farmer takes great care in raising their chickens. So at the very least, they're excellent quality, woo! That never hurt anyone. What's even more surprising is that they came from Publix! I saw this nice carton on the shelf and thought to myself, "Self, that is a pretty carton. You should buy those eggs instead of the styrofoam-packed ones." I didn't have a clue that the eggs would be so pretty. Well, I'm glad I'm a sucker for nice packaging. Oh, I forgot to mention. They're from "The Country Hen". So if you find them and buy them, may your eggs be as lovely as mine.

The brioche dough is in the fridge. Here's to hoping it turns out beautifully (and tastes decent as well).

whoops

So it's been a while since my last post, but I had good reasons! But now I'm back to my normal baking self. Today, I made a Sour Cream Apple Cheesecake that Alexandra makes. However, I forgot to take a picture! But I can assure you it was quite pretty and even more delicious. One day I will make another and I shall include a picture then. For now, I hope the recipe suffices!
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9x3" cake

Apple Layer
6 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
3 ounces unsalted butter (3/4 stick)
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 3½ whole 5x2½ inch graham
crackers), processed in a food processor
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F. Prepare one 9x3-inch pan with
cooking spray and parchment paper. To make the sautéed apples, melt
the butter in a large sauté pan. Add the apple slices and toss to
coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to soften, 1
to 2 minutes. Add the sugar and continue to cook; the sugar will melt
and being to caramelize, with about 5 minutes cooking time. (May take
longer) Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon; set aside and cool
until room temperature. You may do this step one day ahead. Store in
an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring completely to room
temperature before using.

To make the crust, place the crumbs in a small bowl. Add the sugar and
cinnamon. Blend them briefly with a fork. Pour the melted butter over
the dry ingredients and toss together to blend thoroughly. Pat evenly
into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 7 minutes. Remove from
the oven and cool pan on a rack. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile, to make the cheesecake, place the cream cheese in your
mixing bowl and use a flat paddle to beat the cream cheese until
smooth on a medium-high speed. Add the sugar gradually and beat until
light and fluffy. Scrape the mixture down several times during the
mixing--it will probably fill up the entire mixing bowl. This will
take about 5 minutes of beating at a high speed.

Beat in the vanilla and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well
after each addition. Beat until well blended and smooth, scraping down
once or twice. Fold the sour cream in by hand with a few broad strokes
of a large rubber spatula.

To assemble, scrape the apple mixture onto the crust and spread to
cover the entire surface. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the
apples so that the fruit remains in an even layer, under the
cheesecake batter. Smooth the top of the batter with an offset
spatula.

Check that the oven temperature has dropped to 325 degrees. If it is
still high, prop the oven door open for a few minutes. Place the pan
in a larger pan filled with 1 inch of hot water, or however much is
enough to make it come even with the cheesecake when placed in the
water. Bake about 1 hour 10 minutes, until the edges are barely tinged
with color and the cake center, when shaken very gently, is still
soft. Leave the door closed and turn off the oven; the cake cools in
the oven and continues to cook slowly. After 1 hour, prop open the
oven door to release remaining heat (do not open all the way,
however). Let the cake cool inside until the oven is completely cool.

Cover the cake top with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, still
in the pan. Store in refrigerator until ready to eat. Serve chilled.