MO BUTTER

If you want to know the secret to why French Women Don’t Get Fat the answer is “Genoise.”  Genoise is similar to a sponge cake and this weeks building block for “French Strawberry Cake,” today’s recipe for the Tuesdays With Dorie /Baking With Julia baking group.  Dorie describes genoise as a basic French cake used for a variety of French desserts such as petites fours.   She cautions American bakers that the cake is dryer than American cakes, therefore, may not be to their liking. As far as this American baker goes, Dorie is dead on, since, I believe most Americans aren’t lined up outside bakeries longing to gobble up the pettis fours.

Like many Americans, sadly, I am prone to excess. I like my desserts decadent; I like butter and am not afraid to use it. The recipe for Genoise, however, calls for a scant two tablespoons of butter, the equivalent used on the average American’s morning toast. In all fairness, I will say that the genoise is slathered with whipped cream (the other fat) and lightly sweetened strawberries between the layers.  More whipped cream is applied to the sides of the cake and the top, but I still found it dry. Perhaps readers, due to my American palette I lack the sophistication to truly appreciate a good dry wine or a dry cake.  The good news, however, is that given Dori’s description of the cake, how it tends to be dry, I’d say mine came close to perfection.

As for the layers:  The recipe calls for splitting an eight-inch round cake with a height of one and three fourth inches into three separate layers.  I believe it would take a skilled surgeon with a scalpel to get three layers out of this cake.  I didn’t attempt it; I settled for two layers.   Although, I suspect some of the super-skilled, knife-wielding Dorie Bakers will dissect three layers with exact precision.  

As for appearances, like French women, this cake is a looker, a showstopper.  Here’s the money shot:  

Thankfully, French women have the croissant.   Where they to rely solely on pastries made from genoise with its paucity of butter they would be thin as gossamer lace and blow like tumbleweeds past the Eiffel Tower, along the Seine only finally coming to rest when the bumped into Notre Dame Cathedral.      

While I don’t think I will make this recipe again, unless I can borrow a stick or two of butter from last month’s “Pecan Sticky Bun” recipe, I tried some new baking techniques that I may not have tried had I ventured through the cookbook on my own.    The cake was fun to make, and you too can give it a whirl if you go to Tuesdays With Dorie/ Baking With Julia for the recipe or better yet buy the book Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan and bake along with the group.

     

Water, Yeast, Flour and Salt

Water, Yeast, Flour and Salt

The process for making Persian Naan, this weeks TWD recipe, is as simple to make as the four basic ingredients, water, yeast, flour, and salt, used to make the dough.  This simple flat bread doesn’t require proofing the yeast or multiple risings.  You can even mix it up, set it in the fridge overnight, and shape and bake it the next day. Its rustic shape is so forgiving even - and this actually took place in my house - a four-year old can stretch it into a (somewhat ) oblong shape.  This rustic flatbread is a great vehicle for sopping up sauce or salad dressing.  It would be a perfect accompaniment for a lentil salad. The bread has a slightly chewy texture on the thicker outer edges while, as a nice contrast,  some of the thinner interior sections have a cracker like texture.  On a scale of one to ten, this recipe is an eight.  Persian Naan  is tasty, fun, easy, and great recipe to make with kids of all ages.  For the recipe go to Tuesdays With Dorie/ Baking With Julia or better yet buy Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.  

Hungarian Shortbread

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking with Julia recipe is Hungarian Shortbread. Thanks to the tips from my peeps in the group who had already made the recipe, I knew to prebake the crust for 15 mins, reduce the amount of sugar in the dough, use the food processor instead of a box grater to grate the dough, and dust with power sugar after the shortbread had completely cooled.  The recipe calls for a pound, (Yes, you heard me; I said a pound. ) of butter. However, given that swimsuit season is rapidly approaching and I’m already carrying some extra winter weight, to limit my temptation, I cut the recipe in half and only used a scant two sticks of butter. 

If you follow my blog, you know I am a tough critic and don’t hand out complements lightly, so when I say this recipe is “da bomb,” you know this is a mighty good cookie.   This is the shortbread of the gods.  It’s somewhat light, due to grating the frozen dough instead of rolling it. It has a buttery crust and a gooey jam filling. Tasters at my house gave the shortbread rave reviews.  One four-year old taster in particular requested five more pieces.  Given the amount of butter and sugar in this bad boy, that didn’t happen.  You can find the recipe at Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking with Julia or better yet buy the book Baking with Julia.

Lemon Loaf Makeover

This recipe is like the Plain Jane in the talk show audience who desperately needs a make over.  We’ve all seen these shows where the talk show host picks a rather plain woman out of the audience and whisks her back stage for a new hairstyle, makeup, and a snazzy outfit.  Fifty minutes later, the former Plain Jane emerges from backstage, like Cinderella in her ball gown, totally transformed.  Similarly, like the Plain Jane in need of lipstick and accessories, this Lemon Loaf cake needs some help.  Lemon curd, lemon glaze, icing, strawberries, jam, or whipped cream, would certainly improve this plain, rather dry, Lemon Loaf cake.  A good loaf cake, like a natural beauty, should be able to go au natural; this cake, in my opinion, cannot.      

Easy Peasy

Easy Peasy

You could probably make this Irish Soda Bread recipe with one hand tied behind your back, while merrily whistling “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”  All it takes is four simple ingredients, flour, soda, salt, buttermilk, and a handful of raisins or currents if you are so inclined.  I had Craisins on hand so I threw in about ¾ of a cup. 

So, bake this bread.

Bake it for a friend.

Bake it for a potluck.

Bake it with your kids.

Bake it on soup night.

Bake it for your neighbor.

Bake it for your co-workers.

Bake it for your in-laws.

You get the picture. 

Bake it.

Slather it with butter, jam or both and enjoy.

Here’s a few close ups.

Go to Tuesdays With Dorie/ baking with Julia for the recipe.  Better yet, buy Baking With Julia.

Spring Bake

SPRING BAKE

While many of my students are on spring break in Aruba, I’m at home grading papers and, as a much needed distraction, baking. It took me three days, like many bakers in the group, to make this weeks TWD recipe Rugelach.    On day one, I made the dough.  On day two formed the logs.

On day three cut and baked the rugelach. 

The recipe is pretty simple, although, labor intensive.  The full recipe makes a ton of cookies and way too much filling.  My first two cookie sheets came out better than the second two sheets.  

The second two sheets ran more; even though, I carefully watched them. Although, I kept the second batch in the fridge, I think, everything was just warmer.  The kitchen was warmer, the oven was warmer, and the cookie sheets were warmer.  I think this impacts the baking process.  Perhaps next time, and there will be a next time, I’ll make this a four day event and bake half the batch one day and the second batch in a cool kitchen on cool cookie sheets.  That said, these were delish!  I’ll definitely add them to my Christmas cookie list.  Go to Tuesdays With Dorie Baking With Julia to find the recipe.  Better yet, buy the book Baking With Julia.

Baking at the Improv Kitchen

Baking at the Improv Kitchen

(Disclaimer) I baked these tartlets while under the influence of powerful, mind-altering, cold medicine, the kind of medicine that cautions users against operating heavy machinery like Kitchen Aid stand mixers, and motor vehicles.   Consequently, I made a few mistakes/adjustments along the way.  Mistake Number One: I forgot to add the sugar to the crust; I added it after I had collected up the dough to chill.  Mistake Number Two (or what I prefer to call an improvisational baking technique): I eyeballed, rather than weighed, the six ounces of bittersweet chocolate from my various leftover bittersweet chocolate sources. (I don’t own a scale. Perhaps that will be my next baking investment.)  Mistake Number Three:  I forgot to buy the biscotti, therefore, omitted it. I’m sure the biscotti would have provided a nice textural contrast to the smooth filling, but the crust also provides contrasting texture.  I did, however, add the chopped white and milk chocolate to the filling, which delivered some crunch.

Regardless of my various mishaps, I found, this recipe is quite forgiving.  The only way to goof up these tartlets would be to put them on your driveway and cruise your car back and forth over them, and, given that I’m currently on cold medication and restricted from driving, that is not likely to happen.  The recipe is also rather generous. It produced a lot more dough and filling than required for the requisite six, four and one half inch tartlets.  I scored two bonus tartlets from my batch and still had a bit of dough and filling leftover. 

All in all, I had fun.  I shared some of my tartlets with family and friends, tried a recipe I would never have selected on my own, and enjoyed a decadent dessert with my girls on a President’s Day evening.  This recipe is awesome!  On a scale of one to ten, it is clearly a ten for hardcore chocoholics.  The crust is easy to work with (you need the extra water TWD bakers recommend), the filling is a cinch to prepare, and the tartlets release easily for the pans. The crust has a delicate crumb and the filling is silky smooth and intensely chocolate. This is a good recipe to tout out for company, in that, it is relatively easy to prepare and produces a restaurant quality dessert with minimal effort.  Go to TWD, or, better yet, buy a copy of Baking With Julia for the recipe.

Bake on!