Posts

Showing posts from July, 2014

Parmesan Herb Biscuits

Image
I needed some small sized, salty biscuits for an upcoming party. Sweets are always the crown of every party, but they could be overwhelming some times and even boring without some well tasted crackers or other type salty bites. I ended up making quite a few, but here is the recipe for the Parmesan crackers, the idea for which, I got from Ina Garten from Foodnetwork. for the biscuits: 113 g unsalted butter 80 g Parmesan grated 160 g flour 1/2 tsp thyme leaves - finely chopped 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves - finely chopped pinch of salt pinch of black pepper pinch of paprika pinch of cumin Beat the butter with the paddle attachment of a self-standing mixer, or use a wooden spoon to beat the butter in a wide bowl. Add the parmesan. Stir to combine. Sift over the flower, paprika, cumin. Add the other herbs and with hands, form in a bowl. Using two cling foil sheets, roll the dough in between to 6-8 mm thick circle. While well covered with the foil, refrigerate for 60 min. 

Blueberry Latice Pie

Image
the recipe is for a pie 23 cm in diameter for the crust: half recipe of  pâte brisée  will be needed I have been suffering in my attempts to find the perfect blueberry filling for a nice pie. Perfect pie for me is a well balanced combination of crust and filling. It should not be covered completely in attempt to hide the filling. Moreover, the full coverage results boiling fruits instead of baked ones. The filling must be well seasoned - the sugar should only enhance the fruit flavour but not completely overtake the natural fruit sugars. And the more preserved in their shapes the fruits are, the better. I love lattice pie crust - it is a successful marriage between French elegant tarts and American pies.  Blueberry is a very popular fruit in Canada. How I wish I found this recipe from Marian Cooper Cairns for blueberry pie much earlier! What attracts me here, is the bold additions of balsamic vinegar and black pepper. It sounds absurd, but the taste of the filling actua

Chocolate Ganache Brownie

Image
for the brownies: 50 g hazelnuts, roughly chopped 150 g dark chocolate - 75% cocoa 100 g butter soften 80 g sugar 2 eggs 40 g flour Place the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan with simmering water and let it melt. Stir to homogenize well. Set aside.  Beat the butter with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light. Add the eggs and beat.Sift in the flour and stir until smooth. Add the melted chocolate to the batter. Stir it well. Add the chopped hazelnuts. Line a small baking dish with parchment paper. I used a square pan 20 cm. Bake at 180 C for about 15-20 min. Let it cool in the pan. for the ganache: 100 g dark chocolate 100 ml heavy cream - 35% 1 tsp dark honey Bring the cream and honey to boil. Have the chocolate chopped in a heat proof bawl. Pour over the hot cream. Let it stay for 5-8 min. Stir until well homogenized. Leave to cool at room temperature to harden a bit. Tailoring: Have the brownie cake out of the

Poppy Seed Rolls

Image
the quantity of the dough is enough for small pizzas and about 10-12 handful big rolls 750 g flour 12 g sugar 18 g olive oil 7 g dry yeast + 50 g water 420 g water 12 g salt Scale the flour, sugar and olive oil in a bowl of a pelf standing mixer. Dissolve the yeast in the first quantity of water. Add to the bowl. Switch the mixer on the lowest speed and while mixing, add the next quantity of water. Add the salt at the end.  Note: Make sure that the salt does not come in contact with the yeast. The salt would react as an inhibitor to the yeast and the fermentation would not be complete.  Mix for about 5-6 min to develop the gluten. Cover with cling foil and let ferment for 90 min at 23-24C.  Divide the dough in small pieces (handful size) and knead each piece slightly, forming a ball. Arrange on a non stick sheet pan at least 6-8 cm apart. Cover the rolls with a cotton cloth and leave to rest 25-30 min. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 210 C. 

Amish-Style Soft Pretzels

Image
for the dough: 325 g water 4 g dry yeast 500 g flour 3 g salt 10 g sugar 50 g butter melted for the soda wash: 500 ml water 60 g soda 1 egg yolk for glazing coarse salt Dissolve the yeast in part of the water - about 50 ml. Scale the flour and sugar in a bowl of a mixer. Melt the butter on very low temperature and before it is completely melted, remove from the heat - it will melt completely and will not be very hot when it is time to be added. With a paddle attachment of the mixer, mix the flour and sugar, adding the yeast and all the quantity of water. Add the salt. Add the melted butter. Mix for about 8 min. Leave to ferment for 60 min. Prepare the soda wash: Put the water and baking soda in a pot and bring to boil. Stir to dissolve the soda. Remove from the heat. Keep until needed. Tailoring: When the dough is ready, cut in 6 pieces (about 150g each). Roll each piece in thin strips - about 60 cm long, or as desired. Shape in pretzel:

DoughNuts with Nutella

Image
Probably because someone was really "nut" about the dough, here it came the name "Doughnut". I do not know the story of the word and I have not checked. The thing that really interests me is, that now I could prepare them at home. It was a horrible, horrible feeling to know that the delicious doughnuts were sold only in the capital in my home country. Every time my family had a chance to travel to the capital, we stopped at "Dunkin' Donuts" for a bag of doughnuts. Our favourite ones were with "Nutella" filling and powder sugar - simple but irresistible combination of fried dough and liquid gold. Oh, my ...  Here, in Canada is difficult to find one of these. Even if we do, they do not taste that deliciously. So, here is my way to substitute a missing pastry delicatessen we were craving for years. And the bonus part is, that I could always change the filling, depending on what is preferred. Here is the recipe (adapted from John Wiley) for

Walnut Cupcakes with Creamy Lindt Chocolate Ganache

Image
for the cupcakes: (makes 12) 200 g dark chocolate chips 115 g walnuts 140 g unsalted butter 140 g brown sugar 125 g honey 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 6 g baking powder 6 g baking soda 380 g flour 150 ml milk 180 ml cream 10% 110 g raisins for the ganache: 100g milk chocolate Lindt 80 ml heavy cream 35% Prepare the ganache first: Bring the cream to boil. Pour it over the chopped chocolate. Stir carefully until a glossy ganache. Leave to harden a bit. Prepare the cupcakes: Combine the chopped walnuts, chocolate chips and raisins in a bowl. Combine milk and cream in a jar. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda in a bowl. With the paddle attachment of a self-standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale. Add the honey, eggs (one by one) and vanilla. Beat until all the mixture is light and creamy. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk-cream mixture. Stir in the walnuts, chocolate chips and raisi

Chocolate Macaroons

Image
рецептата на български следва I had a couple of unsuccessful attempts of preparing the right mixture for the macaroons. The result was delicious but cracked cookies. Then, I changed one thing at a time, trying to find the right combination of conditions, materials and recipe for a successful macaroon story.  First, I purchased the silicon large size macaroon sheet. It was odd to have seven out of twelve right textured macaroons and five cracked again. Obviously something else must be changed.  I changed the oven settings - instead of convectional baking, I switched to "surround". No ventilation in the oven, just baking. I ended up with nice glossy macaroons.  The recipe was critical, of course. I tried a few - all pastry chefs' recipes. But the one I like the most is Christophe Felder's from his book " Pâtisserie - mastering the fundamentals of French Pastry" . This is the one I follow completely without changing anything. The book is with

Chocolate Tarts with Rainier Cherries

Image
с рецепта на български Tartelettes are very much appreciated at parties and are great accomplishment celebration - an elegant desert after light dinner, shared with friends with the benefit of being served individually.  Tartelettes are convenient also because, in case of differences in taste, they could be filled with deferent filling and would be satisfactory to anyone.  Chocolate Tartelettes with Rainier Cherries for five tartelettes: half recipe pâte brisée is needed for the filling: Chocolate Ganache 175 g dark chocolate 75 % cacao 125 g whipping cream 35% 1 Tbsp dark honey - blueberry 25 g butter at room temperature The tartelettes' shells are baked in advance. Once they cool, reaching room temperature, they are filled with the chocolate ganache. Baked shells could be stored in an air tight container for three days. Bake the tartelettes' shells: Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Try to work with cold dough as much as possibl