Tuesdays with Dorie- Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

If at first you don’t succeed…

  

I was so excited when this week’s recipe was announced.  I loved being challenged by new techniques that I haven’t used before.  However, I suppose it is time that I confess something.  I generally cannot successfully complete a new recipe on the first try.  I don’t know what it is, but it usually turns out a disaster.  I can now make mostly any cake correctly on the first try, and most cookies, but when it comes to a new technique that I haven’t used before, I just go ahead and buy double the ingredients because I know I will have to do it twice. 

I have never made marshmallows before, so I knew that this would probably be one of those times that it would take me two tries to get it right.   Everything was going well for a while.  I started cooking the sugar/corn syrup mixture and beat the egg whites.  Things seemed to be going along pretty well until just before the sugar mixture was about to reach 265 degrees, I re-read the ingredient list.  For some reason I thought that the recipe called for 1 cup of corn syrup and not 2 tablespoons.  Who knows why I read that the way I did, but nonetheless, the first batch went down the drain and I started over again. 

I decided to make the pumpkin spice version of the marshmallows.  I love pumpkin anything and any excuse to use pumpkin on a day other than thanksgiving, I jump at.  Also, I don’t really like regular marshmallows and thought these might taste better. 

I was very happy with the way that the marshmallows turned out.  I think next time I would like them to be a little thicker, but they tasted great the way that they were.  I loved the taste of the pumpkin mixed into the sugary, pillowy goodness. 

I also decided to make my husband some pumpkin rice crispy treats.  My husband doesn’t really care too much about desserts.  Most of the things I make, I eat by myself.  However, my husband loves rice crispy treats, and with all these marshmallows lying around, I figured I could make him some.  In order to make the rice crispy treats I just melted 3 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Then I added in my pumpkin marshmallows and melted those down.  Take the melted mixture off of the heat and start mixing in the rice crispy treats.  I just mixed enough in to make the right consistency, I didn’t bother with a measuring cup.  They turned out pretty good, but next time I think I would add a little more rice crispies. 

Marshmallows

Makes about 1 pound marshmallows

About 1 cup potato starch (found in the kosher foods section of supermarkets) or cornstarch

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

3/4 cup cold water

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet — choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high — with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with potato starch or cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.

Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup — without stirring — until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)

Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy — don’t overbeat them and have them go dull.

As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.

To make the pumpkin spice mixture.  Use 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin and wisk in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ginger, a pinch of allspice, and a pinch of nutmeg.  Fold the mixture into the marshmellow mixture until combined. 

Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won’t fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups).

Dust the top of the marshmallows with potato starch or cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They’ll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more.

Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you’ll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you’d like — into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they’re cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you’ve got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.

SERVING: Put the marshmallows out and let everyone nibble as they wish. Sometimes I fill a tall glass vase with the marshmallows and put it in the center of the table — it never fails to make friends smile. You can also top hot chocolate or cold sundaes with the marshmallows.

STORING: Keep the marshmallows in a cool, dry place; don’t cover them closely. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 week — they might develop a little crust on the outside or they might get a little firmer on the inside, but they’ll still be very good.

Tuesdays with Dorie-Creamy Orange Tart

Well I have definately learned something this week; always trust Dorie.  I let my husband pick if I was going to do the lemon or the orange tart, although I knew he would pick orange.  So last week I tured to the creamy lemon tart recipe and read it.  It didn’t look so hard, and I knew I had all the ingredients ready to go.  Well on yesterday I decide to start making the tart and find out that the orange tart is not just the lemon tart with orange substituted for the lemon.  The orange tart requires the addition of one important ingredient; gelatin.  Well, I didn’t have any gelatin on hand, so I figured that I could just make the creamy lemon tart and instead of using lemon juice and zest, I’d just use orange.  Well, I came arcoss a few problems. 

First, I only had an 11 inch tart pan so my crust was thin and didn’t completely go up the sides of the pan.  That didn’t bother me too much, mostly because I was just making this for Monday night dinner with just my husband, and he certainly wouldn’t notice that.  Then, I could not for the life of me get my cream to reach 180 degrees.  If I would have read the comments on the blog first, I would have seen that this was a common problem and I should have used a metal bowl instead of a glass bowl.  Well no big problem, it got it to aboutl 175, and figured that would be great. 

 Well next problem, it just did not set up in the fridge.  Dorie was right, it needed gelatin.  The cream tasted so wonderful however, it was pretty much just liquid.  So, I decide that I am going to fix that by just making some whipped cream and folding my cream into that.  It never really set up completely as I would have liked, but the addition of the whipped cream made it taste just like a dreamcicle and it tasted great.  It wasn’t the way I had intended it to come out, but it tasted great.  Next time I know to trust Dorie, and just go to the grocery store to get the right ingredients.  Sorry Dorie, I will never doubt you again!

 

*I will add the picture as soon as my husband comes home and gets the pictures off the camera for me!*

Daring Bakers #1- Meyer Lemon Raspberry Perfect Party Cake

I am so excited to have completed my very first Daring Bakers challenge.  I had so much fun making this cake and can not wait until next month’s challenge.  When I found out what this month’s challenge would be, I knew that I would make it for Easter.  Dorie made her cake lemon with raspberry filling, and that sounded too good for me not to do it that way.  I know many of the other talented Daring Bakers made some really great combinations, however, I couldn’t pass up lemon with raspberry.  When I was shopping for the ingredients I saw some beautiful Meyer lemons and had to get them for the cake. 

I didn’t really have any problems with the cake.  It came out beautifully and I loved the slight lemon flavor paired with the raspberry filling.  I decided to use some of my new Wilton cake decorating skills with Dorie’s buttercream.  I think that it worked pretty well, however, I didn’t get the right crust to form on the icing that I usually get with the Wilton butercream recipe and that made it a little harder to work with the icing.   I will definately make this cake again, but next time I will play with the flavors.  This is a great basic cake to have and be able to make it into any flavor combinations that you want. 

 

Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Martes con Dorie- Caramel Topped Flan

This is my first week to join the talented bakers at Tuesdays With Dorie.  I had heard that Dorie’s book was a must have for anybody that loves to bake, and as soon as I saw this group, I knew I had to go out, buy the book, and join.  I am so excited to begin this journey through Dorie’s wonderful book.  I have just barely been able to glance through each of the recipes, and there are so many wonderful things in there! 

Every Tuesday, a different recipe is picked and tackled by the members of Tuesdays With Dorie.  This weeks recipe was Carmel Topped Flan.  Now, I’m from Texas, and we are no strangers to flan.  Just about every Mexican restaurant here has flan on the menu.  In fact, its hard for me to even image flan not being served along side a great Mexican meal.  It seems like a great ending to a spicy meal,  however, I just don’t like it.  It may be my aversion to eggs in general, but it’s not something I ever like to order.  But, in the spirit of wanting to learn how to make new things and expand my baking knowledge, I decided I would make it anyways. 

I have never made caramel or a custard or any kind.  I have actually never used the water bath method, so I knew I would be up for a bit of a challenge this week.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well each of those steps turned out.  Making the caramel wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, nor was setting up the water bath.   I had to use a 9 inch pan instead of the recommend 8 inch because my 8 inch pans were non-stick, but I think it worked out just fine, it just wasn’t as thick as Dorie’s.  I was surprised at how the easily the flan flipped out and how the caramel sauce beautifully coated the whole thing.  I thought for sure I was going to end up with half of it still in the pan. 

In the end the flan turned out wonderfully, and I was proud of my creation.  Sadly, I still do not like flan, but at least I know how to make it now and can use the techniques I used making this flan to make something else. 

 Caramel Topped Flan

Source: Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the Caramel
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
squirt of fresh lemon juiceFor the Flan
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1-1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extractGetting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels.  Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.

Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar.  Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla.  Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won’t curdle.  Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk.  Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.

Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan.  Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven.  Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan.  (Don’t worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.)  Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there.  A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it.  Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan.  Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Wilton Class 1

I have always loved being able to make something beautiful to bring to a party or someone’s birthday.  However, as much as I tried to make beautiful decorations on cakes, I just couldn’t do it.  So I decided that I was finally going to sign up for the Wilton cake decorating classes.  I am a perfectionist when it comes to work/school related things, so I knew that these classes would be a challenge for me.  However, I decided that I would go in with a good attitude and know that I wouldn’t be that great starting out.  I have been surprised at how easy some of the steps are and am really enjoying the classes. 

For our first cake, we made a rainbow cake.  We learned how to use a star tip and transfer images to the cake (which is much easier than I ever would have thought).  I am ok with how the cake looks, but need to practice a bit more.  Also, I need to decide which hand I am going to pipe with.  This is just one more instance when being left handed in a right handed world doesn’t always work out so well!  But it’s a learning process, and I am having a lot of fun practicing. 

 One more fun thing about the classes is that you have to bake and bring your own cake to class each week.  This is giving me the opportunity to try out some cake recipes that I usually wouldn’t have a chance to make.  For this week I decided to make a yellow cake with chocolate icing.  I have been searching and searching for a great yellow cake recipe and I think I have found it.  This cake was incredibly fluffy and moist and it will definitely be entering my rotation of cakes. 

Fluffy Yellow Cake

Source: America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. cake flour, plus extra for dusting pans
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. sugar
10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 c. buttermilk, room temperature
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
3 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions:
-Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
-Grease two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
-Grease paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess.
-Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in large bowl.
-In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.
-In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds.
-With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist).
-Transfer to bowl and set aside.
-Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment.
-With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds.
-Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl.
-Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
-Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain.
-Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
-Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.
-Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes.
-Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes.
-Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and peel off parchment.
-Invert cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Dreams of an Aspiring Baker

Welcome to my baking/food blog.  I love baking and learning how to be a better baker.  I wanted to have a place where I can write about my experiences to help me remeber where I have been and where I am going.  I hope to be a great baker one day, however, today I am just learning.  Really, it’s a great place to be in.