Peach, Sugar Plum and Blueberry Bavarian - Daring Bakers July 2011

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

Since this is a massive recipe, I'll keep my introduction short and sweet!

This was a very fun challenge for the summer. We no longer have native strawberries available, but there are tons of other options for beautiful summer fruit this time of year in CT so I chose to make a mixed summer fruit bavarian instead of a fraisier. I used juicy peaches, sugar plums and blueberries. Yummy! It made for a very beautiful, colorful cake, but really you can use just about any fruit you like.

This recipe seems very complicated, but if you just break it down and take it one item at a time, it really is just the matter of assembling several very simple recipes into one cake. You can even do it over the course of several days if you like. I hope you give it a whirl!

Chiffon Cake

1 cup + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt, preferably kosher
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp lemon zest, grated
5 large egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

3. In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

4. Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment  until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.

5. Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Can be refrigerated for up to four days.

Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 tsp gelatin
1/2 Tbsp water
1 cup heavy cream


1. Pour the milk, vanilla and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boil, stirring occasionally. 

2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs to the sugar/cornstarch and whisk until smooth.

3. When the milk is ready, gently and slowly pour the hot milk down the side of the bowl into the sugar/egg mixture with the mixer on. Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil, and coats the back of a spoon.

4. Remove from the heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Once slightly cooled, cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream one piece at a time until smooth. Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator.

5. In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften. Put two inches of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

6. Measure 1/4 cup of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit over the sauce pan with the simmering water without the bottom of the bowl actually touching the water. Heat the cream until it is 120F. Add the gelatin and whisk until dissolved and smooth. Remove the cream from the water back and whisk into the remaining chilled pastry cream in two additions.

7. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream.

Simple Syrup

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp dark rum

1. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil until the sugar dissolves.

2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the rum.

Assembly

1 baked 8 inch chiffon cake
1 recipe pastry cream filling
1/3 cup simple syrup
~2 lbs mixed summer fruit (peaches, sugar plums, blueberries were my choice)
confectioner sugar for dusting
1/2 cup almond paste

1. Line the sides of an 8 inch spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom fot he pan.

2. Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two even layers. Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to feel like a squishy sponge, you have enough.

3. Peel and slice enough pieces of peaches to arrange around the sides of the pan to be exposed. Arrange with the slices pressing against the sides of the pan.

4. Pipe some of the cream in between and over the peaches, and a thin layer across the top of the cake.

5. Cut the rest of the fruit into bite sized pieces and arrange them around the center of the cake. Cover the fruit entirely with all but 1 Tbsp of the pastry cream.

6. Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup as you did with the bottom cake layer.

7. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste into a 10 inch round, 1/16th inch think. Spread the remaining 1 Tbsp of pastry cream on top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste, cut off the excess. Pour the pineapple glaze over the top (recipe follows). Chill for at least 4 hours. 

8. To serve, release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap gently. Serve or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Pineapple Glaze

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp rum
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp gelatin

1. Combine the water, rum and lemon juice in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the mixture to soften. 

2. Place the pineapple juice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Pour over the gelatin mixture and whisk to dissolve gelatin. Place over a bowl of ice water and allow to cool until syrupy and beginning to thicken, stirring occasionally. Do not let it gel. When the mixture is syrupy, pour a 1/16th inch over the top of the cake. Chill until set. 

Potato Gnocchi with Peas and Pancetta - Daring Cooks July 2011

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess.  Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine.  She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

Pasta hates me. Or more accurately, pasta and pasta machines hate me. See, this is the second time I attempted to make fresh pasta and the pasta machine gave me the finger. I don't know what I ever did to you, pasta machine... can we kiss and make up?

The last time I tried to make pasta, I took my brand new machine out of its box and began to roll out my dough only to find that a piece of the metal on my machine was bent causing the pasta to clump up and get stuck. Fooey. I could brush that off as a mechanical failure, though.

This time I enlisted the help of my BFF and a different machine, very confident that all would go as planned. The pasta rolled out into beautiful sheets which I liberally dusted with flour and set aside. I was so proud! Then came time to cut it...

Where did I go wrong?! I don't know, but the machine refused to cut all the way through the pasta creating lumps of mangled, angry spaghetti. ANGRY spaghetti. After a couple attempts I decided to just cut it into fettuccine since that was easier to separate by hand at least. But after cutting a couple sheets into fettuccine, I came to the realization that all the rest of the sheets had stuck together despite my best efforts to avoid just that!! Why?!

The  best I can do is blame the humidity. It's always the humidity.

I did end up with a small, but very delicious bundle of pasta anyway, so not all was lost. I still need to settle the score with Pasta though....

In the end I made some gnocchi to complete this challenge. They were light and fluffy and extremely easy to make. Probably what I should have made to begin with!

Potato Gnocchi with Fresh Peas and Pancetta

Makes about 3 servings

For the gnocchi
8 oz potatoes (whole, unpeeled)
1 egg
1/2 cup all purpose flour

For the sauce
3 thick slices pancetta
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup parmigiano 
1/2 cup fresh peas, shelled and blanched for about 2 minutes
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Put potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the water and let cool for a couple minutes, then peel the skin off. (You can then use the boiling water to blanch your peas.) While still hot, put the peeled potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. 

2. Add the egg to the riced potato and mix well. Add the flour in two stages, mixing until a uniform dough forms. Divide the dough in half, and on a floured work surface, roll each half out into a 1/2 - 1 inch thick log (depending on how big you want them). Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the log into 1/2 inch pieces. With the back of fork or your finger, make an indentation into each gnocchi on one side. Refrigerate until needed. 

3. While preparing your sauce, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi - they are done when the float to the surface. Drain.

4. To make the sauce, cook the pancetta over medium heat until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked pancetta from the pan and set aside. There should be about a tablespoon of fat left in the pan - if there's more, drain the excess. 

5. Add the minced garlic to the pan with the fat. Saute for just a minute, then sprinkle in the flour, whisking constantly for about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping up any little brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let simmer until beginning to thicken, then add the parmigiano and peas and cook for another minute. Add the crispy pancetta, reserving a little bit for garnish. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the drained gnocchi and mix gently. Serve immediately topped with the reserved pancetta and extra parmesan if desired.

Southwestern Potato Salad - Daring Cooks June 2011

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana! 

 I love potatoes. I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned that. My Polish blood and all that. 

Strangely enough though, I'm pretty picky about potato salad. This is mostly because I'm not terribly fond of most mayonnaise and I hate it when potato salad is drowning in the stuff. I also don't love German potato salad because I do like it creamy rather than oily. 

The obvious way for me to deal with this is to replace some of the mayonnaise with greek yogurt as I normally do in many mayonnaise based recipes, but I wanted to try something a little different for this challenge. Instead of mayonnaise I chose to make a creamy sauce using one of my favorite healthy fats - avocado! And for the sake of reducing calories and adding some more veggies, I pureed the avocado with sweet peas which added a pleasant sweetness as well as keeping the salad creamy. 

I'll definitely make this little experiment again. It's like guacamole + potatoes! Who couldn't love that?

Southwestern Potato Salad

Makes about 6 servings

1 1/2 lbs baby red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed

1 avocado

juice of 1 lime

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, minced (veins and seeds removed if you don't want it spicy)

2 Tbsp cilantro, minced

3/4 cup frozen corn

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Season liberally with salt, bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. 

2. Meanwhile, add the flesh of the avocado, peas, lime juice and garlic to a food processor and process until a fairly smooth puree forms. Transfer the puree to a large bowl and add the chopped onion, jalapeno, cilantro, corn, salt and pepper and stir until well mixed.

3. Drain the potatoes and let cool for about  10-15 minutes. Once they've cooled slightly, add to the avocado mixture and stir gently until everything is well incorporated. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed to taste. Chill and garnish as desired!

Chocolate Marquise on Meringue: Daring Bakers May 2011

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Oh, you want me to make a decadently boozey, chocolatey dessert? I don't know... doesn't sound like anything I'd like at all...

This was one delicious challenge. 

This is a recipe I could think of a hundred different variations, so I will definitely be whipping it out as an impressive dessert to fit any occasion. 

For this month I made the chocolate marquise in a loaf pan with a layer of speculoos spread in the middle. The spread is made from yummy speculoos biscuits, which are a variety of sweet Belgian biscuits that remind me of a cross between gingersnaps and graham crackers. With the chocolate, speculoos and meringue, the dessert was a play on s'mores!

You can now buy jars of speculoos spread at some specialty food stores in the US, but if you can only find the cookies this recipe at seitan is my motor is a pretty good substitute!

You can find the original recipe here or here. Here is my variation!

Chocolate Marquise
with Speculoos, Toasted Meringue and Tequila Caramel

1/2 recipe prepared Chocolate Marquise

3/4 cup speculoos spread

1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder

1/2 recipe Meringue

1/2 recipe Tequila Caramel

Crushed speculoos cookies for plating (optional)

1. Line a 9x5inch loaf pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang in order to lift the marquise out once it is frozen.

2. Pour enough of the chocolate mixture to fill up half of the prepared loaf pan. To make spreading the speculoos easier, freeze this half for about 45min - 1 hour, or until it is slightly firm to the touch. 

3. Spread the speculoos over the slightly frozen half of the marquise, leaving about a 1/4 inch border around the edge. Pour enough of the chocolate mixture to fill up the rest of the pan and smooth out the top (you may have a little excess of the chocolate mixture). Freeze until solid, about 3-4 hours, or overnight.

4. Once you are ready to plate and serve, prepare the caramel and meringue. Drizzle the caramel over the plate, then pipe or spoon your meringue where desired. Toast with a blowtorch (or a lighter if all else fails!). 

5. Remove the marquise from the freezer and cut into 1 inch slices. Working quickly, toss the slices around in the cocoa powder to coat (you may want to keep some of the slices in the freezer if you are working with the whole loaf as they will melt very quickly.) Arrange the slices on your plates and top with some crushed cookies and more caramel if desired.

6. Enjoy your super swanky s'mores dessert!

Maple Mousse in Edible Containers - Daring Bakers April 2011

Yep, I'm late. I don't have an excuse other than I procrastinated and forgot what the reveal date was, oops! Clearly I need to add these things to my calendar.

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blogCheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

I did have a ton of fun doing this challenge and wish I had started earlier instead of pondering what kind of container I wanted to settle on making, especially since I ended up just making 4 different kinds anyway! I now have many plans for my mini muffin pan and an ice cream tasting party featuring edible bowls.

The spun sugar was especially fun to play with and I loved the delicate snap of sugar against the creamy mousse. I was a little impatient in taking my photos though, so my mousse was a bit soft and oozed out a little. After the mousse chills well it does firm up into a much more pipe-able consistency.

To make the mini spun sugar cups spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 1/3 cup light corn syrup in a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until the mixture reaches somewhere between 310F and 320F. Remove from the heat and and pour into a microwave safe bowl. Dip a fork into the sugar and quickly swirl the fork around inside the wells of the muffin pan. Be careful not to burn yourself! Once the sugar is evenly distributed, allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then gently remove from the pan without smashing them with your meaty fists. If you do smash some, just save them for garnish. Store in an airtight container.

Playing with chocolate is fun too! Who would have thought? I made just a handful of the chocolate cups to experiment, so I'm not sure of the amount of chocolate you would need to yield a particular amount of cups, but here is my method. Begin by tempering your chocolate. Once it is ready, spoon a teaspoon of chocolate into a mini cupcake paper and use a spoon or your finger to spread the chocolate all around and up the sides of the paper. Chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, or until hard. Remove from the fridge and smear a little more chocolate inside the cup to reinforce it. Chill again for another 15 minutes, or until fully set up. Very gently remove the papers from the chocolate, and voila! Little bite sized cups to fill with whatever your heart deisres!

I wasn't satisfied with just one kind of chocolate cup though, oh no. I wanted to try a method I had seen for making chocolate bowls with balloons too! This is a really entertaining and easy little project. I think the hardest part was blowing up and tying the balloons. Turns out I'm really terrible at that.

To make these, pick up a package of water balloons. Blow them up to reach the desired size of your chocolate bowls and set aside. If you'd like to make this as easy as possible you can use candy melts, otherwise begin by tempering white and dark chocolate separately. You'll want a ratio of about 3 parts white chocolate to 1 part dark. Pour your tempered white chocolate into a medium bowl. Drizzle a bit of the dark chocolate artistically! over the top. Now the fun begins - dip your balloons into the (slightly cooled) chocolate and transfer them to a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the desired number of balloons. Chill in the fridge until they harden, about 15 minutes.

Pierce a small hole in a balloon and slowly release the air. The balloon should naturally release from the chocolate. If it doesn't release, just gently pull away from the sides of the bowl. If there's a little hole on the bottom dab a bit of chocolate on it and chill again until it hardens. Use whatever chocolate is leftover to dip some strawberries into, yum!

Last, but certainly not least, were the shortbread cups. They were definitely a hit! They would be a perfect dessert bite for a party since they are easy to make ahead and store. The vanilla bean and bourbon was a perfect compliment to the maple mousse and they would be amazing with some finely chopped nuts added as well.

Vanilla Bean Bourbon Shortbread Cups

(adapted from TheshoeboxKitchen)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and near room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 Tbsp good quality bourbon

1. Sift together the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Cream the butter with the granulated and confectioner's sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape the vanilla bean into the butter and sugar mixture. Add the vanilla and bourbon. Mix on medium low until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixture while mixing on low, and stir until it comes together into a uniform ball of dough. 

3. Shape the dough into a ball and then flatten into a disc. Wrap well in plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for about 2 hours. 

4. Preheat the oven to 350F and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness.Cut into rounds using a circle cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the muffin tins are round. Push each cookie into a well of the muffin tin and smush it in a bit to conform to the shape. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges. If they puff up too much, use a spoon to push the dough to the edge and reform the cup while it's still warm. 

5. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin and cooling completely on racks. Store in an airtight container and fill as desired!

Daring Cooks April 2011 - Edible Containers (savory)

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

This was a fun challenge. I kept putting off doing it though because I had too many ideas and couldn't commit! Everything from parmesan tuilles to potato cups to bacon bowls came to mind. I saw many great and creative successes from my fellow Daring Cooks, so I guess I'll just have to keep exploring this idea and try out some different containers :)

I ended up making bowls out of rice and filling them with a pork and asparagus stir-fry. I really loved the way the bowls came out. The outside of the rice cooked up a little toasty and nutty while the inside was still soft and slightly sticky, so it added a nice textural contrast to the dish. Any stir-fry would be great, but with spring veggies popping up everywhere this tasted just right.

Pork and Asparagus Stir-Fry
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

Serves 4
2 Tbsp soy sauce, divided

1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 tsp cornstarch

1 lb ground pork

3 tsp sesame oil, divided

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 red jalapeno, minced

1 Tbsp peeled minced ginger

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp honey

1 Tbsp orange juice

2 green onions thinly sliced

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp soy sauce, wine and cornstarch until combined. Add the pork and mix gently to incorporate.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the asparagus, jalapeno and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until the asparagus is softening but still crispy, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. 

3. Add the remaining 1 tsp oil to the pan. Add the pork mixture and cook until browned, breaking up the meat into chunks, about 2 minutes. Add the asparagus back to the pan as well as the remaining 1 Tbsp soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey and orange juice. Cook until the pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the green onions.

Rice Bowls

2 cups cooked rice, lukewarm (I used sushi rice)

1 tsp sriracha

salt

1 small egg white

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl mix the rice, sriracha and salt to taste. Gently mix in the egg white until it is well incorporated.

2. Generously spray a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray (even if it's non-stick!). Add 1/2 a cup of the rice mixture to 4 of the muffin cups and pack it down onto the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the rice begins to brown lightly.

3. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes. Gently remove the rice bowls onto plates and fill with the stir-fry!

Daring Bakers March 2011: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake!

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

I love making various breads and working with yeast. I know it's scary for some people, but I'm forever amazed by the way a few simple ingredients can be transformed through yeast, kneading and the heat of the oven. Plus, who doesn't love the carb-y deliciousness of bread?!

This dough was a joy to work with. It was silky, rich and very easy to roll out and roll up. I've never made a coffee cake with meringue in it, but loved the way the meringue sort of melted into the bread as it baked and made it so moist and slightly chewy!

The combination of nuts, chocolate and cinnamon sounded heavenly as it was, so I chose to stay fairly close to the recipe and filled it with a combination of chopped chocolate, hazelnuts, cinnamon and some coconut, yum!

Meringue Coffee Cake

(Makes 2 10-inch coffee cakes)

For the dough:
4 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 package active dried yeast
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup water
½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sugar

For the filling:
1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped chocolate
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut


For the dough:
1. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Meanwhile, combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer (you can do this by hand or with and hand mixer as well). Once the butter mixture is melted, but not too hot, gradually add it to the flour mixture and beat until well blended. Increase the speed to medium and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Next, add your eggs and 1 cup of  flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

2. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.

For the filling and assembly:
1. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling. Have your chopped chocolate, coconut and nuts on hand. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a very clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

3. Punch down your risen dough and cut into 2 equal parts. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time while keeping the other half wrapped in plastic wrap, roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch from the edges. Sprinkle half of your cinnamon/sugar over the meringue, then half of your nuts, chocolate and coconut.

4. Roll the dough up jelly roll style starting from the long side. Pinch the seam closed tightly to seal and very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

5. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 350F. Once the cakes have finished rising, brush the tops of the coffee cakes with an egg wash composed of a whole egg and a splash of water that have been beaten together. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

7. Gently remove the cakes from the pans by sliding them off the parchment paper onto cooling racks and allow to cool. It's best served fresh!

Daring Cooks March 2011 - Papas Rellenas!

This month was my very first Daring Cooks challenge, and I think I started drooling as soon as I read what it was:

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

I decided to make the Papas Rellenas. Do you know what they are? I'm happy I learned of their awesomeness, and I'm pretty sure you will be too. They are basically mashed potatoes stuffed with a delicious filling, breaded, and fried. Well, gee, if you're going to twist my arm about it I guess I'll make and eat them...

Traditionally these are stuffed with a beef filling which sounds delicious, but I decided to make a seafood filling that included lobster, shallots and red bell peppers. I also had some scallions leftover from making champ, so I threw those into the potatoes too. These are definitely forgiving, so get creative!

Papas Rellenas with Lobster filling

Recipe adapted from Kathlyn

 Makes 6-8

For the dough:
2 1/4 lbs russet potato
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste

For the filling:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup shallot, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp dry white wine
3/4 lb cooked lobster, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp Sriracha
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

For the preparation:
Vegetable oil (about a liter)
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup all purpose flour
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
1 cup panko breadcrumbs


For the dough: Boil the potatoes until they pierce easily with a fork. Drain and cool. Once cool, peel them and mash them or put through a potato ricer. Add the egg, salt and pepper to taste, and knead until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

For the filling:
1. In a medium skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, red pepper and garlic and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the flour and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly. Add the wine, stir, and then add the remaining ingredients. Cook for 2-3 minutes just to warm through and to allow the flavors to meld. Cool to room temperature.

Final Preparation:
1. Gather three small bowls: In one, combine the flour, salt, and cayenne. In the second, combine the beaten egg with a splash of water. In the third, add the breadcrumbs.
2. Flour your hands and scoop up a ball of the potato dough, about 1/6th-1/8th of it. Flatten the dough to a round pancake in your hand, making a slight indentation in the center for the filling.
3. Spoon a generous amount of the filling into the center, then roll the potato dough closed, forming a smooth casing. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
4. Heat 1 1/2 - 2 inches of oil in a pan to 350-375F.
5. Roll each formed papa into three prepared bowls: first in the flour, then in the egg, and finally into the breadcrumbs. Allow to rest on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes to allow the breading to set.
6. Fry the papas in batches of 2-3 at a time for about 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown, flipping once halfway through to ensure even browning.
7. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. You can keep them in a 200F oven to keep them warm as you cook the remaining papas. Enjoy!