Whipped Key Lime Pastries

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I love key lime. I saw a recipe that inspired me to make two pastries featuring whipped key lime (like a chiboust with key lime curd mixed with stabilized whipped cream.)

My first attempt used Pepperidge Farm puff pastry to form the pastry cups. This puff pastry “puffed” up too much. My second try used Trader Joe’s puff pastry which only puffs about 25% of Pepperidge Farm’s. This pastry worked better.

Pastry in pan with cupcake papers and beans
“Sandwiched” puff pastry, cupcake papers, beans and second cupcake pan
Baked puff pastry

Cut the puff pastry into circles (I use hexagons as they don’t waste as much pastry) about 2” larger than the diameter of the cupcake pan pocket. Fit the circles into each pocket. Try not to fold them over along the sides and more than necessary. Place a mini-cupcake paper in each and fill with baking beans (not baked beans,) then cover with an identical cupcake pan. This will retard the “puff” of the pastry.

Raspberry coulis
Coulis filled bottom of shell
Key lime whipped cream piped into shell

Bake about 15 minutes at 400F. Remove the upper pan, the cupcake paper and beans, turn the oven off and return the baked shells to the over to dry the bottoms. This should take ~5 minutes.

Raspberry drizzled profiteroles
Raspberry drizzled pastry shells
Final pastries
I could have done a better job drizzling (should have!) When the first attempt failed I made profiteroles as well.

Key Lime Cream Puff Pastry

INGREDIENTS
• 1 sheet puff pastry (Trader Joe’s preferred)

Whipped Cream Key Lime Curd:
• ½ c white sugar
• 2 Tbl cornstarch
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp lime zest
• ⅔ c key lime juice
• ⅔ c sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Tbl butter
• ¾ c heavy whipping cream

Key Lime Drizzle:
• 3 c confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 4-6 Tbl key lime juice
• ¼ tsp Agar agar.

Alternative Raspberry Drizzle
• 12 oz raspberries – fresh or frozen; about 320g
• ~4 to 6 Tbl granulated sugar – to taste
• ~1 tsp lemon (or lime) juice
• ¼ tsp Agar agar.

METHOD

  1. Curd: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
  2. Whisk in the egg yolks, lime zest, and juice. Bring to a boil, over medium-high heat. Whisk constantly and cook for about 1 minute.
  3. Remove from heat, whisk in sweetened condensed milk, and bring back to a boil.
  4. Remove from heat again and strain the mixture through a sieve. Add in butter and whisk until smooth.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
  6. Puff Pastry Shell: Cut defrosted and pliable puff pastry into circles 2” larger than the cupcake pan pocket. I use hexagon cutters as they are more efficient and don’t waste as much pastry dough.
  7. Fill each cupcake pan pocket with pastry, put small cupcake paper in each pocket, fill with beans and cover with an identical cupcake pan.
  8. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Remove the upper pan, beans and cupcake papers and bake another 5 minutes to dry the bottoms of the shells.
  9. Cool pastry cups to room temperature.
  10. Drizzle: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, key lime zest, and lime juice. Add more powdered sugar/lime juice if needed for the right dripping consistency.
  11. Assembly: Spread a thin layer pf curd in the bottom of each cup.
  12. Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the the balance of the curd.
  13. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
  14. Transfer the whipped cream key lime curd to a piping bag, with a large star tip.

Alternative raspberry drizzle:

  1. Add the raspberries, sugar, agar-agar and lemon juice to a saucepan and bring to a boil while mashing the raspberries to break them down. Once it boils, turn off the heat and adjust with more sugar or lemon juice as needed.
  2. Strain the raspberry sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Press firmly to extract all of the pulp as that is what thickens the sauce.
  3. Thin with a teaspoon of water at a time, (if desired) keeping in mind the sauce thickens as it cools.
  4. Use in place of lime curd where desired.

Harry Potter: “I Love Magic”

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This recipe for a chocolate magic custard cake flew by my Facebook stream and I knew I was going to make it.

Baked in one pan the resultant cake has three distinct layers, hence, the magic. The bottom is a typical, albeit dense, cake. The center is a delicious chocolate custard, much like a smooth, rich pudding. The top has the consistence of a very thin brownie.

The originators of this recipe have a number of “magic” cakes, Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin. Try them, they are worthy.

Ingredients, prepped in advance
Cooled cake
You can see the layers on the left side.

CHOCOLATE MAGIC CUSTARD CAKE

INGREDIENTS
• 4 eggs, room temperature, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 110g butter (½ cup), melted and cooled
• ½ cup AP flour
• ⅓ cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 320F (160C).
  2. Grease an 8×8 inch square (or 9-inch round) baking pan line it with parchment paper.
  3. Beat egg whites in a bowl until stiff and put aside.
  4. Whisk egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar until creamy.
  5. Add melted butter and mix for half a minute.
  6. Add the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix with a whisk (whisk attachment with hand mixer) until well incorporated.
  7. Pour the milk gradually and continue whisking.
  8. Add in the egg whites, one third at a time and gently stir with a whisk. (Full disclosure: I used a hand mixer with the whisk attachment at the slowest speed.) Stir until combined, do not over mix. There will be some small bits of egg white visible in the batter. Don’t worry about it.
  9. Pour this runny batter into the baking pan and bake for 60 minutes. I started checking doneness at 45 minutes, then every 5 minutes thereafter. (I stopped at 55 minutes.)
  10. The centre of the cake will still be jiggly when removed from oven.
  11. Let it cool for about half an hour and then remove from the pan. When it reaches room temperature, chill it at least for an hour. (I couldn’t wait and cut a QC piece in 30 minutes, cooling at room temperature. It was fine.)
  12. Slice it in the size you like and dust with powdered sugar right before serving and/or garnish it with fresh fruit
  13. Store in refrigerator

Apple/Pear Tarte Tartin

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With perfect timing this recipe crossed my FaceBook feed a while ago when I needed a dessert like this for a reception coming up in a couple of weeks.

The first rendition of the original recipe was sampled by QC and me and was subsequently “binned.” There was too much caramel and it was too runny. As I was making in accordance with the recipe I felt, and even told QC that this was wrong, but I persevered and it failed.

Next, I researched several other recipes, combining the parts that I thought were sensible and voila!

Fruit basting in caramel
Puff pastry covering tart with edges tucked under,
Finished tarte tartin, still in frypan

I cut the pears in halves and cut out the cores. I cut the apples in eighths to position three thick slices between each pear half. I did siphon off a half cup of caramel as I felt it was too “soupy”and if I cooked it down too much more the apples would disintegrate.

Apple And Pear Tarte Tatin

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup granulated sugar
100 g butter
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cut in eighths
1 large Bosch pears, peeled, quartered
2 sheets frozen butter puff pastry, slightly thawed
1 egg-yolk, beaten
½ cup water
¼ cup caster sugar
thickened cream, to serve

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to very hot, 425°F.
  2. Heat an 8-inch frying pan on medium. Add sugar and water and heat, stirring, until it starts to bubble.
  3. Then, simmer without stirring, for 4-5 minutes, until it begins to turn golden.
  4. Add butter and swirl to mix.
  5. Add apples, cut side up, firmly packed. Simmer, gently stirring and basting for 12-15 minutes, until beginning to caramelize.
  6. Add pears and simmer an additional 3-5 minutes. The pears will break down faster than the apples so should be caramelized for a shorter time. (I removed some caramel at this point to remove some liquid.)
  7. Brush one sheet of pastry with a little egg yolk. Place second sheet on top and press firmly to sandwich together. Roll out slightly. Place over fruit to cover, tucking excess overhang inside pan.
  8. Cover handle of pan with foil, if necessary, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until pastry is golden and crisp.
  9. Place a rimmed serving dish over pan. Invert pan and carefully lift pan off (remember to use an oven mitt).
  10. Add the water and extra sugar to same pan. Cook, stirring, until sugar and caramel residue dissolves.
  11. Bring to boil and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes, until thickened and golden. Drizzle over tart. Serve warm with thickened cream.

Thickened Cream

  1. Mix cold water with equal parts cornstarch to form a paste-like substance
  2. Blend the mixture with a hand whisk to avoid clumping.
  3. Heat your cream to just below boiling
  4. Add the cornstarch mixture, constantly whisking.
  5. Let it simmer for a few minutes until the desired thickness of the cream.
  6. It will require about 2 tablespoons of the water and cornstarch mixture for about 1 cup of cream to be thickened.

Orange Tart

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Oh, there is so much I could say about an orange tart, but this is neither the time nor the place.

I saw this recipe and decided to give it a try. I changed out the orange custard for another recipe I had, and used my standard tart shell recipe. Actually, all I kept was the orange filling. It intrigued me because it seemed like it would produce an orange jelly without any gelatin (which I never use) or agar-agar (which is my go to “gelling” agent.)

Once one of the small tartlets was submitted to QC we both thought it needed something else. I made a quick batch of basic meringue and piped stars around the perimeter of the large tart. I should have taken the time to make Italian meringue. It would have been firmer and kept its shape longer.

Orange Cream Tart

INGREDIENTS

CUSTARD FILLING
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks (Save the whites for meringue)
• 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

ORANGE FILLING
• 1 cup (250ml) orange juice, strained
• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• ⅓ cup (50g) corn starch
• 2 Tbl (30g) unsalted butter

SHORTCRUST PASTRY
• 100 g cold butter cut into small cubes
• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 60 g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 eggs – 1 for the dough and the other reserved for an egg wash

METHOD
For the pastry shell:

  1. Mix butter with sugar
  2. Add salt then vanilla
  3. Add egg
  4. Stir in flour. Mix by hand until incorporated
  5. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 min
  6. Butter tartlet pan, or use non-stick pan
  7. Roll dough to about ⅛” thick
  8. Lay over tart mold and press into all crevices
  9. Roll top to cut off excess
  10. Prick holes in bottom and sides of formed dough
  11. Fill tart with pastry weights (I put beans in crumpled, then flattened parchment paper and remove 5 minutes before the end of the bake.)
  12. Paint edges of the tartlet with the egg wash.
  13. Bake in preheated oven 350 deg F (175 C) for 15 min
  14. Immediately remove from pan and cool on a wire rack

    For the custard filling:
  15. Heat milk in medium saucepan until hot but not boiling.
  16. While milk is heating, add sugar and cornstarch to mixing bowl. Whisk together.
  17. With an electric mixer or by hand, whisk egg yolks into sugar mixture until pale yellow.
  18. Whisk in orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla.
  19. Remove milk from heat.
  20. While whisking/mixing on low, very slowly pour heated milk into egg mixture. Mix slowly until combined.
  21. Pour mixture back into saucepan and place over medium heat.
  22. Heat and whisk continuously for 5 minutes, until custard has thickened to consistency of thick
    pudding.
  23. Once thick, remove from heat and whisk in butter.
  24. Pour custard into large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic wrap onto top of custard to prevent skin from forming.

    For the orange filling:
  25. Place 1 cup (250ml) water, orange juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to just below the boil.
  26. Whisk cornflour and ¼ cup (60ml) water in a bowl and add to orange juice mixture. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes or until thickened.
  27. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then add butter, whisking to combine. Slowly pour into tart, over cold and set custard filling.
  28. Chill for 1 hour or until firm.
  29. Cut into wedges to serve.

Meringue – Basic

INGREDIENTS
• 3 egg whites (90g), at room temperature
• ¼ tsp ( 1.25 mL )cream of tartar
• ¼ cup ( 60 mL )granulated sugar
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METHOD

  1. Beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer until frothy.
  2. Add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.
  3. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form.

Another Use for my Many, Many Figs

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As I was updating “What’s Up in Dede’s Bakery” this recipe crossed my path. After all, I had fresh figs (but used a previous years fig jam for this bake) and the other scheduled bakes could wait, so it usurped my plans.

The original recipe called for a Bundt or tube cake pan but I opted for two decorative pans that I haven’t used in a while. The small well pan didn’t work great. The crumb was too big for any detail of the pan to be well defined, but it did make nice bite sized mini-cakes.

This is a basic, easy cake recipe with clear directions. The result is a moist, soft, flavorful cake. The glaze adds a bit of sweetness. Sprinkled with confectioners sugar would also work well.

Moist Fig Preserve Cake with Caramel Glaze

INGREDIENTS
For the Fig Cake:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup (4-ounces) unsalted melted butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 Tbl lemon juice in a cup of milk)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup fig preserves, or jam
• 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamias or hazelnuts
For the Caramel Glaze:
• 4 tablespoons (2-ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 dash salt
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

METHOD
Make the Fig Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
  2. Generously grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt cake pan or 12 cup one-piece tube cake pan, making sure to cover all of the nooks and crannies. (Alternatively use cake spray, it released the cakes well. I used a 6 well Bundt cake pan and a 36 well pan for bite sized cakes.)
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, light brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add the melted butter and vegetable oil and beat until blended.
  4. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the eggs to the first mixture and beat until blended.
  5. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
  6. Add the fig preserves and chopped nuts; stir to blend.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. (1/2 cup of batter in each well of the larger pan, 1 tsp in the smaller.)
  8. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the center of the cake reaches 190F. (The smaller pan was baked for 20 minutes, the larger one for 30 minutes.)
  9. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the sides of the cake to ensure it isn’t sticking, and then carefully invert it onto a cake plate and let it cool completely.

Make the Caramel Glaze

  1. Combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and a dash of salt in a small saucepan.
  2. Place the pan over medium heat and cook for 1 minute, or until bubbling, stirring constantly.
  3. Add the cream to the sugar mixture and bring the glaze to a boil. Continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  4. Let the glaze mixture cool slightly; drizzle the warm glaze over the cooled cake.

Blackberry Year End Scones

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My blackberries finally succumbed to the heat. I picked several pints but lost many times that due to dehydration in the 100+ temperatures. Luckily I froze a few pints and used about 175g of them to make scones this morning and have enough to make another couple of dozen scones later. Also Luckily, the scones freeze well and only need to come to room temperature to be as good as fresh.

Berry Drop Scones

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup (67g) sugar
  • Zest of 1 small lemon (or orange or lime)
  • ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
  • 150-175g berries. Use any berries that you like.
  • 1 cup heavy cream + extra if required
  • Coarse or turbinado sugar for topping

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and zest. Pulse a few times to incorporate.
  3. Add the cubed butter and pulse to incorporate. The mixture should resemble very coarse sand.
  4. Empty the flour mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the cream and stir until just barely incorporated. Add additional cream by the tablespoon to help the dough come together
  5. Gently fold in the berries. It’s fine if the raspberries break up a little – it adds a nice pink stain to the dough. The dough should just be moist, not wet, but also not crumbly or powdery looking. If it looks too dry, add a tablespoon of cold water.
  6. Spoon, or use your hands, the dough into 12 equally sized pieces on the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some coarse or turbinado sugar over the top, if desired.
  7. Bake for 16-19 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The scones should be lightly golden and cooked through. I rotate the pan after 10 minutes
  8. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then carefully remove to a cooling rack.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread from White Gold

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This will be my last Gluten Free recipe (at least for now.) It is a sandwich bread from White Gold Gluten Free flour.

I used their recipe with minimal changes (Calcium free milk and butter replacing the original ingredients.) I also use an egg-white wash rather than a full egg wash.

The crumb and texture are excellent and the flavor approaches a wheat flour loaf. Use a digital thermometer and remove from oven when the interior temp reaches 200F.

(Tent the bread when it browns at about 20 minutes of baking.)

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread (White Gold)

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 package (1.1 Lb) Extra White Gold gluten free bread flour
• 1 Tbsp. dry yeast (1 envelope)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 eggs
• 1 c. lukewarm almond milk
• 3 Tbl softened butter (replacing ¼ cup vegetable oil)
• ½ tsp salt (replacing 1 ½ tsp. salt)
• 1 egg for egg wash
• Sesame seeds (optional)

METHOD:

  1. Add the flour, honey and yeast to a stand mixer bowl. Mix for 3 minutes with a paddle attachment.
  2. Add the eggs and almond milk and mix for 3 minutes. (NOTE: I used ¼ cup heavy cream and ¾ c 2% calcium free milk.)
  3. Add butter (or vegetable oil) and salt and mix on low speed for 4 minutes. The dough should be sticky.
  4. Let it rise for 90 minutes, in the mixer bowl, covered, in a warm dry place. (Such as a proofing oven)
  5. Pour/scape the dough in a bread loaf. (A narrower bread pan will help shape the bread.)
  6. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
  7. Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg. Place a shallow dish in the lower part of the oven
  8. Brush the bread gently with an egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds (optional).
  9. Place the bread pan on a center rack and pour 1 cup of water into the shallow dish.
  10. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown. (Don’t over bake!)

Gluten Free Berry Drop Scones

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Continuing the thread of gluten free bakes, this one provides a nice gluten free snack or breakfast without being “breads.”

The only changes I made to the original recipe are including xanthan gum and substituting milk and cream for almond milk.

Gluten Free Berry Drop Scones

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free AP flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 1 ½ tsp xanthan gum (optional)
    • Zest of 1 small lemon
    • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening chilled and cut into cubes
    • 150-175g fresh raspberries
    • 1 cup almond milk (See NOTE below)
    • Coarse or turbinado sugar for topping

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum (optional), salt, sugar and zest. Pulse a few times to incorporate.
  3. Add the cubed Crisco and pulse to incorporate. The mixture should resemble very coarse sand.
  4. Empty the flour mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the almond milk and stir until just barely incorporated. (NOTE: I use ¼ c heavy cream and ¾ c 2% calcium free milk)
  5. Gently fold in the berries. It’s fine if the raspberries break up a little – it adds a nice pink stain to the dough. The dough should just be moist, not wet, but also not crumbly or powdery looking. If it looks too dry, add a tablespoon of cold water.
  6. Spoon (I used my hands, wetted if necessary to form small balls of dough) the dough into 9-12 equally sized pieces on the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some coarse or turbinado sugar over the top, if desired.
  7. Bake for 16-19 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The scones should be lightly golden and cooked through.
  8. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then carefully remove to a cooling rack.

Blackberry Season

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“It’s been a long time comin’ but I know a change is gonna come.“

Blackberry season is in the summer. Summer is when it’s hot outside. When it’s very hot outside blackberries can burn and be damaged.

It’s about 110F today so I went to check on my crop. To my surprise there were many to be gathered and fewer sun damaged. Oh boy!

New “Best Ever” Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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Thanks to my friend Beth here is a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. I can’t even tell you how long Beth and I have been friends. Our parents were life long friends before us and we simply continued the relationship.

This recipe has slightly different ingredient ratios than my “go-to” recipe. Plus it doesn’t use light brown sugar but substitutes turbinado sugar for the white granulated sugar, which adds a light caramel flavor. The author did not specify what kind of sugar to use, but the video showed a non-white sugar. The turbinado would add some of he flavor removed by not using the light brown sugar. (Full disclosure, I didn’t have any turbinado but did have some demarara which is similar to turbinado but a little darker and coarser.)

This author (Emojoie) only made 4 cookies (mine were 123g each) whereas next time I will make a dozen (~40g each) or so.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Best Ever from YouTube

INGREDIENTS
• 100g butter, softened.
• 80g Demerara or turbinado sugar
• 1g salt
• 50 g (1 large egg)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 160g all-purpose flour
• 3g baking soda
• 100 g (3/4 c) chocolate chips
• 50g hazelnuts (optional)

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
  2. Beat by hand: butter, sugar and salt in large bowl until creamy. (Don’t over beat.)
  3. Fork whip the egg and add in two additions mixing to incorporate after each addition
  4. Add vanilla and mix well
  5. Gradually add flour mixture mixing by hand. (Again, don’t over beat.) it should form one large ball between wet and dry dough.
  6. Stir in morsels and optional hazelnuts and mix by hand.
  7. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  8. Divide the dough into 135 g portions
  9. Form into balls with hands and add more chocolate to the top
  10. Bake for 13 – 14 minutes or until golden brown. Do NOT overbake!
  11. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.