Monday, September 01, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Daring Bakers Challenge #10
Why I am a Daring Baker
I've been thinking lately about this so, I thought I'd share. I am a daring Baker for a few different reasons. Allow me to elaborate.
~The first and most obvious reason is that I love to bake. It’s in my blood. Really. I love to see puff pastry come together and magically transform in the oven. I love to know why you can make truffles with heavy cream and not whole milk. I love making cakes a myriad of different ways. I love how the same cookies can be wafer thin or puffy and chewy just by tweaking the ingredient amounts. I love baking seasonally. There’s nothing like a light, fluffy lemon cake in spring or dense gingersnaps in late fall. But I digress.
~I’d be baking something anyway. The only difference is that I take pictures of the challenges as I go along.
~My husband loves for me to try out new recipes on him. He especially love this month's pastry cream.
~Our family schedule (with fellowship meals, 2 Bible studies a month, and not to mention our household hospitality) allows me to be baking regularly, and the Daring Bakers give me the opportunity to make something out of the ordinary and out of the box. Also this is a wonderful opportunity to bless others and not have temptation for our waistlines sitting out on the counter.
~My kids love to help me in the kitchen. They love to stir and watch things bake through the oven window, and of course they love to taste. The 2 older ones follow me into the kitchen and ask with grins on their faces, “What are we making today, Mom?”
~I want to become a better baker. The Daring Bakers challenges you to use new techniques and new ingredients every month. Also, seeing what the other bakers do with the same recipe is motivation to be original.
~It gives me the opportunity to bake something that I’ve always wanted to do. Like the Buche de Noel. Or this month’s eclairs. I’m still waiting for the croquembuche, though.
So, without further ado, I give you the August Challenge:
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.
2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.
3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
I had to whisk really hard at this point, I also loosened the cream with some more milk.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love this pastry cream and I will use this recipe again.
Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts
Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
I've been thinking lately about this so, I thought I'd share. I am a daring Baker for a few different reasons. Allow me to elaborate.
~The first and most obvious reason is that I love to bake. It’s in my blood. Really. I love to see puff pastry come together and magically transform in the oven. I love to know why you can make truffles with heavy cream and not whole milk. I love making cakes a myriad of different ways. I love how the same cookies can be wafer thin or puffy and chewy just by tweaking the ingredient amounts. I love baking seasonally. There’s nothing like a light, fluffy lemon cake in spring or dense gingersnaps in late fall. But I digress.
~I’d be baking something anyway. The only difference is that I take pictures of the challenges as I go along.
~My husband loves for me to try out new recipes on him. He especially love this month's pastry cream.
~Our family schedule (with fellowship meals, 2 Bible studies a month, and not to mention our household hospitality) allows me to be baking regularly, and the Daring Bakers give me the opportunity to make something out of the ordinary and out of the box. Also this is a wonderful opportunity to bless others and not have temptation for our waistlines sitting out on the counter.
~My kids love to help me in the kitchen. They love to stir and watch things bake through the oven window, and of course they love to taste. The 2 older ones follow me into the kitchen and ask with grins on their faces, “What are we making today, Mom?”
~I want to become a better baker. The Daring Bakers challenges you to use new techniques and new ingredients every month. Also, seeing what the other bakers do with the same recipe is motivation to be original.
~It gives me the opportunity to bake something that I’ve always wanted to do. Like the Buche de Noel. Or this month’s eclairs. I’m still waiting for the croquembuche, though.
So, without further ado, I give you the August Challenge:
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate ÉclairsRecipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.
2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.
3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using yourhandmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
I had to whisk really hard at this point, I also loosened the cream with some more milk.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love this pastry cream and I will use this recipe again.Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts
Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Vacation Favorites
I thought I'd show a few of our favorite pictures from our vacation while I'm uploading them to be printed. I took a record number of pictures this vacation~ maybe later I'll show some of the amazing ancestry photos I copied while I was there...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Great Flood of '08
Did I fool you? We've been on our long awaited vacation for the last few weeks. Our trip to the south was wonderful and it flew by, as fun times usually do. On the other hand, it is so good to be home and to have the kids (and ourselves) in our own beds. I have a mountain of laundry (clean, and finally folded) upstairs ready to be distributed to the appropriate drawers and closets.
We arrived home in the late evening last Saturday to our happy home and noticed that the lawn looked quite nice~ we had heard that our area got good rain in the last few weeks. The next morning, on the way out the door headed towards church, Tim went downstairs to turn on the outside water for the sprinklers and I heard those dreaded words.
"Mandie, I think we have a problem."
The carpet section closest to the sump pump was very wet and the sump well was filled to the brim. We overrode the sump sensor, which obviously wasn't working, and manually turned on the pump. Out the side of the house spewed probably over a hundred gallons of water. Since we only saw water on one side of the basement and we were already late for church, we decided to tackle the problem later.
So, later, after church and dinner and the kids were in bed, Tim and I went down to the depths to remove the wet carpet. We got the carpet a few months after we moved into our home after we saw an advertisement on Freecycle. Someone was getting rid of carpet in good condition and we were looking for free carpet, so God was very gracious to us in supplying such a nice addition to the cold hard basement concrete. The people we got it from even gave us carpet padding and everything. I went to grab a soda from the other end of the basement, which we thought was dry, and discovered that it was wet also. All of the basement carpet. All of the carpet pad. The carpet under the pantry shelves. The carpet under my craft table. The carpet under the bookshelves that hold our homeschooling books. The carpet under the craft shelves. All of the basement carpet. At that point my eyes grew really wide and I started mumbling to myself "It'll be ok. It was only free carpet. It was ugly carpet anyway. Don't panic! Our things will dry!" Only as we scrambled to remove everything off the carpet (which was pretty much everything in the basement)I realized how good God's mercy was to us. There was hardly anything not waterproof sitting directly on the carpet! I had all of the pantry items except one 10lb bag of sugar on the shelves or on top of Rubbermaid boxes. I had all of my scrapbook supplies and pictures on the craft shelves or on my work table. All of the books were off the floor and on the shelves. All my yards and yards of fabric were safely tucked in their plastic see-through boxes. Remember how I've did all that work trying to organize the basement? Praise God for His excellent providence!
Yes, that was a long night for Tim and me. We did have to rip up all of the soggy carpet and the wet sponge-like carpet pad. That was a lot of work and our backs are still aching. As we ripped up the carpet, we had to sweep and squeegie the water to the big sump drain in the corner of the basement. As I type this now, our household fans are drying out the concrete. The basement contents are in a state of total upheaval until the concrete dries completely, but how amazing that the only real loss in the flood was a 10 lb bag of sugar!
We arrived home in the late evening last Saturday to our happy home and noticed that the lawn looked quite nice~ we had heard that our area got good rain in the last few weeks. The next morning, on the way out the door headed towards church, Tim went downstairs to turn on the outside water for the sprinklers and I heard those dreaded words.
"Mandie, I think we have a problem."
The carpet section closest to the sump pump was very wet and the sump well was filled to the brim. We overrode the sump sensor, which obviously wasn't working, and manually turned on the pump. Out the side of the house spewed probably over a hundred gallons of water. Since we only saw water on one side of the basement and we were already late for church, we decided to tackle the problem later.
So, later, after church and dinner and the kids were in bed, Tim and I went down to the depths to remove the wet carpet. We got the carpet a few months after we moved into our home after we saw an advertisement on Freecycle. Someone was getting rid of carpet in good condition and we were looking for free carpet, so God was very gracious to us in supplying such a nice addition to the cold hard basement concrete. The people we got it from even gave us carpet padding and everything. I went to grab a soda from the other end of the basement, which we thought was dry, and discovered that it was wet also. All of the basement carpet. All of the carpet pad. The carpet under the pantry shelves. The carpet under my craft table. The carpet under the bookshelves that hold our homeschooling books. The carpet under the craft shelves. All of the basement carpet. At that point my eyes grew really wide and I started mumbling to myself "It'll be ok. It was only free carpet. It was ugly carpet anyway. Don't panic! Our things will dry!" Only as we scrambled to remove everything off the carpet (which was pretty much everything in the basement)I realized how good God's mercy was to us. There was hardly anything not waterproof sitting directly on the carpet! I had all of the pantry items except one 10lb bag of sugar on the shelves or on top of Rubbermaid boxes. I had all of my scrapbook supplies and pictures on the craft shelves or on my work table. All of the books were off the floor and on the shelves. All my yards and yards of fabric were safely tucked in their plastic see-through boxes. Remember how I've did all that work trying to organize the basement? Praise God for His excellent providence!
Yes, that was a long night for Tim and me. We did have to rip up all of the soggy carpet and the wet sponge-like carpet pad. That was a lot of work and our backs are still aching. As we ripped up the carpet, we had to sweep and squeegie the water to the big sump drain in the corner of the basement. As I type this now, our household fans are drying out the concrete. The basement contents are in a state of total upheaval until the concrete dries completely, but how amazing that the only real loss in the flood was a 10 lb bag of sugar!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Bathroom Hooks
I needed a solution for all the lovely hooded towels that my kids love so much and I saw these great cast iron hooks one day at Hobby Lobby and I really like the result.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Teller County Flowers
Indian Paintbrush
What beautiful colors!
Columbine, our state flower. But you probably knew that.
Lovely Black Eyed SusansFriday, August 15, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Slow Growing Season
After last year's garden sort of bombed, I wasn't so excited about planting this year. I really need to find a system that works~ whether it's small established plants to put in the beds or starting from seed. If anyone has advice for the high-altitude, sandy/clay gardens, please let me know.
Baby lime buds. Grow babies, grow!
Baby lime buds. Grow babies, grow!
Hmm. Don't know what this is. My guess is dill.
Sorry it's blurry, but this is new growth on one of our lilacs.
Ok, here's what happened. Dabney wants to garden very badly. I found some seed packets from a few years ago in the basement and Dabney was overjoyed. She scattered and hoed and scattered more and watered. To be honest, I didn't expect anything to come up, but check it out! She is happier than a clam.
Not sure about this one either, but I'm really hoping it's a pumpkin plant!Sunday, August 10, 2008
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