Savory Pot Pies to Celebrate "Fall"

Around this time of year, both Sara and I get nostalgic for some good old East coast fall weather. Well, perhaps I do more than Sara, the native Californian, but she kindly plays along. So this challenge was especially appealing, and we got excited about making it and enjoying some warm cider. The Bay Area weather even seemed like it would cooperate... cool, crisp...

... until that weekend, when we were supposed to bake. It got very warm and sunny -- ahh, the much-loved San Francisco summer in October -- which was perfect for watching bluegrass in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, but not so perfect for hot cider on Sunday. Undaunted we forged ahead. We are suckers for a good savory challenge.

The recipe we chose* was relatively easy and totally vegetarian. Lots of chopping.

Then everything into a big dutch oven to thicken up.

And then into individual ramekins.

Then we made the feta scallion biscuits, using our handy butter technique from a previous challenge. I think all of my biscuits should have feta and scallions in them from now on. These were that good.

Delicious biscuits onto delicious filling, and into the oven they went.

Sneak peak inside the oven in the middle of cooking. The house smelled so wonderful.

Ahhh... the finished product. We are in the background trying to control ourselves while they cooled a little.

I think a little drool slipped out of my mouth here. 

What a delectable, if unseasonable, challenge. We loved it. I think it is a meal we will both make again!

All photo credit to my husband (!) TJ.

Hannah of Rise and Shine was our October 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to bake our own double crusted savory pot pies. Using any from-scratch crust and filling we choose, we were allowed to get completely creative with our recipe, showing off the savory flavors and fillings from our own home or region.

* Whoops, not "double crusted," per the challenge, but still worth your while! The biscuits are really, really, really, really good. We also didn't do a very good job of "showing off flavors and fillings from our own home or region." But did I mention that the biscuits are really good? And so is the filling.

Vegetarian Pot Pies with Feta Scallion Biscuits
Annie's Eats

Yield: 4-5 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:
3 tbsp. butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
12 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups veggie broth
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the biscuit topping:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup chopped scallions
½ cup plus 1-2 tbsp. buttermilk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly grease 4-5 ramekins or other small oven-safe serving dishes. (Alternatively, use a pie plate or 2-quart casserole dish). To make the filling, melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released most of their liquid and softened. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the flour and stir so that it evenly coats the vegetable mixture. Cook for about 1 minute. A bit at a time, stir in the veggie broth, mixing each addition until it has been fully incorporated. Once all the liquid has been added, let cook, stirring occasionally, until the filling bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat. Stir in the peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the filling mixture between the prepared serving dishes.

To make the biscuit topping, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend. Stir in the pieces of butter and toss to coat in the dry ingredients. Using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is coarse largest butter chunks are the size of small peas. Stir in the feta and scallions and toss briefly to combine. Pour in ½ cup of the buttermilk and stir gently with a fork until a dough has formed. If necessary, add the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of buttermilk to form a fully cohesive dough. Be careful to avoid overmixing or kneading, otherwise you will end up with a tough dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat to a thickness of about ¾- to 1-inch. Use a biscuit cutter 2½-3 inches in diameter to cut out rounds of the dough and place atop the veggie filling in the serving dishes. If necessary, reroll the dough scraps to make additional biscuits. Lightly brush the tops of the biscuits with additional buttermilk and add a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper. (There may be enough extra dough for 1 or 2 additional biscuits. Feel free to bake them as extra to enjoy with the dish!)

Transfer the baking dish(es) to a rimmed baking sheet, and place in the upper half of the oven. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the biscuits are light golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 20 minutes total. Let cool briefly before serving.

Preztels of Love/Shame

First off, a hearty congratulations to my co-blogger, Erica, and her husband, TJ, on a fantastic wedding - the weekend was such a treat, and I know these two have a long and happy partnership ahead of them.

I know you must be thinking -- didn't Erica just post about a delicious cake? What is that a picture of? Are those pretzels?? And, um, beer?

As I think most of you are well aware, at this point, I am the delinquent blogger. If a post is late, or doesn't have photos, it's probably my fault. This summer has been particularly rough, and I've been sitting on a JULY post until now. and now that I actually went to write it, lo and behold, I have no photos. Good think I have mad skills in paint.  (Jen, where are you when I need you?)

The July challenge was pretty nifty -- we were allowed to pick any prior challenge and give it another go. Erica and I reached far back into the archives, to before we were daring bakers, and selected a early, easy, and delicious challenge -- preztels (I know you're sad we didn't pick suet pie). They became the center of a carb and cheese-centric meal shared with our partners (pretzels, beer, and pizza), particularly once we added a delicious cheese sauce to the mix. Making pretzels is actually quite easy (what, you want a recipe? I tried to find it, I promise, but that disappeared along with the photos, oh look at that -- see below). You throw together a quick dough, roll out into logs and form, coat with a baking soda topping, and pop in the oven. Done!

Fingers crossed for a delicious (fall themed?) October recipe! 

Pretzels!

Dough
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons regular instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup warm water

Topping
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the work bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the water, and process for 7 to 10 seconds, until the dough starts to clear the sides of the bowl. Process a further 45 seconds. Place a handful of flour in a bowl, scoop the slack dough into the bowl, and shape the dough into a ball, coating it with the flour. Transfer the dough to a plastic bag, close the bag loosely, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it'll make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel, as illustrated. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste.

A Moveable Pastel de Tres Leches

As we've done in the past, Sara and I decided to make September's challenge for our book club. We didn't have a nice camera so the pictures do not do it justice, but it was a big hit.

The cake did indeed contain tres leches, although one of the "leches" was really some delicious crema.

We beat the egg yolks.

And folded them into egg whites, along with some flour. The cake really did have a lovely light texture.

We were supposed to let the cake sit in the milk mixture overnight but we couldn't wait. We poured it in -- as seen in the picture above -- and then stuck it in the fridge for a little while. I'm sure it tastes even better when fully absorbed and cold, but it was pretty darn good as it was.

Sara got a little overzealous in whipping the cream for a topping and ended up making some sweet butter, which she saved in a jar for later consumption. Fortunately we had more cream, as well as some fresh strawberries and raspberries.

Yummy. What a cake.

We were reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. Although our book club is not normally thematic, our friend, Emily, cooked a French-ish meal of soup, salad and quiche. We had some French wine. Our pastel de tres leches didn't exactly fit in, but there is a weak connection -- it's popular in Spanish-speaking Central and South America, and Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises in Spain around the same time period that he covers in A Moveable Feast ... where they also speak Spanish ... ... ...

But really, who cares, it was delicious, and Sara and I were happy to be baking again after a bit of a hectic hiatus -- during which I got married! The Baking JDs are back in action.

Inma of la Galletika was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy.. just plain delish!

RECIPE: Classic Three Milks Cake

Notes:

• Whipping cream -- The topping whipping cream must be very cold.
• Sponge Cake:
• You should not over fold the mixture it will lose volume from the bubbles breaking.
• Avoid knocking the cake tin when containing batter
• Add the flour slowly like rain showers.

Preparation time: 1 hour and a half

Equipment required:
• A scale for measuring all ingredients
• Some bowls
• Stand mixer
• Strainer to sift the flour
• Egg Whisk
• Square Cake pan 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan
• Saucepan
• Pastry brush
• Pastry Spatula

Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the vanilla sponge cake
5 large eggs (separated)
½ cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (125 gm) sugar
2 teaspoons (10 ml) of vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) (5 oz) (140gm) all-purpose (plain) flour (sifted)

For three milks syrup
1 can (14 oz) (400 gm) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz) (340 gm) evaporated milk
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream (about 35% fat) or 1 cup of half & half or 1 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons (10 ml) rum (or other flavoring)

Topping and filling
2 cups (500 ml) of whipping cream (about 30% fat)
½ cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (125 gm) sugar
Canned or fresh fruit (to fill and decorate the cake)

Directions 

For the Sponge Cake:
Preheat oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Prepare a square 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan

Separate the egg whites from the yolks.

Beat the egg whites on medium speed, 3 - 5 minutes.

When soft peaks form slowly add the sugar in small batches.

Whip until stiff peaks form about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium bowl beat egg yolks at medium-high speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the egg yolks become pale colored, creamy and puffy. Stir in vanilla.

Pour the egg yolks over the egg whites, gently fold until just combined trying not to lose any volume from the mixture.

Fold in the flour little by little in the form of rain. Mix until just combined (over-beating will result in a denser, flatter cake).

Pour the batter into the prepared 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) square cake pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan.

Bake in the preheated moderate oven for 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean

Let it cool

Once cool, split the cake in half, flip the top of the cake and place it on a base. Poke using a fork holes all over the cake to better absorb the three milk soaking liquid. [We cut slices in the cake to maximize absorption; we didn't cut it in half.]

Three milks syrup

In a saucepan add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove it and let it cool.

Once it is cool, add the rum or any other flavoring you are using.

Gradually brush all the milk soaking liquid into all sides of the cake (including the cut surfaces) until all absorbed. Best to rest the cake in the fridge overnight to complete the soaking process. [We pretty much pour the whole shebang over it (gradually) and then set it in the fridge for ~15 minutes.]

Topping
Whip the cream, when soft peaks form add the sugar little by little, continue whipping until stiff peaks form about 2 mins.

Decoration
Layer some whipped cream on the bottom layer and cover with canned or fresh fruit and decorate the top layer with whipped cream and the fresh or canned fruit. [We just put the whipped cream on top with the berries.]

Addicted to Crack (Pie)

When we saw the options for pies in this month's challenge, Sara and I both independently and immediately knew what we were going to make: crack pie. Although she hasn't had the real deal, Sara had made Momofuku Milk Bar's famous dessert before. I'd only heard it raved about countless times.

Me oh my, the results didn't disappoint. This pie was out-of-this-world delicious and dangerously addictive.

Although the steps took a while, this was a relatively easy recipe. First, we baked the large oat cookie.

We then crumbled this and made it into a simple crust.

The filling was egg yolk-based with lots of sugar and other good things. It turned from a yellowish tan to a darker brown upon baking. Not the prettiest pie ever, especially since we neglected to dust it with powdered sugar.

We were supposed to chill it overnight -- yeah right. We cooled it in the fridge for a bit and then popped that sucker in the freezer for a little longer. So the consistency of the first few slices wasn't perfect, but they were damn good.

And the pie was even better the next day. The following day, it was gone. Only two lucky men got to share the results of this particular challenge with us.

Crack may be whack, but I'm already thinking about my next slice of crack pie. A pilgrimage to Momofuku Milk Bar may be in order, too.

Finally, check this out if you want a behind-the-scenes look at a Momofuku Milk Bar pastry chef making this superstar pie. I think we got it right!

RECIPE: Crack Pie
Source: Bon Appetit

Servings: 12
Preparation time: 20 + 20 minutes
Baking time: 18 + 50 minutes
Cooling time: 1 hour + 2 hours, approx.
Chilling time: overnight

Ingredients

Oat Cookie Crust
9 tablespoons (1 stick + 1 tbsp) (135 ml) (4½ oz) (125g) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided (6 & 3 tbsp; 85gm & 40gm)
5 1/2 tablespoons (85 ml)(2½ oz) (70 gm) (packed) light brown sugar, divided (4 & 1½ tbsp; 50 gm & 20 gm)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) white sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (210 ml) (80 gm) (2¾ oz) old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup (120 ml) (2½ oz) (70 gm) all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon (2/3 gm) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon (2/3 gm) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon (1½ gm) salt

Filling
3/4 cup (160 ml) (170 gm) (6 oz) white sugar
1/2 cup (packed) (120 ml) (100 gm) (3½ oz) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (8 gm) (¼ oz) dry milk powder
1/4 teaspoon (1½ gm) salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) (120mlk) (4 oz) (115gm) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
6 1/2 tablespoons (100ml) heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

Oat Cookie Crust

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Line a 13x9x2 inch/33x22x5cm metal baking pan with parchment (baking) paper. Lightly spray or butter a 9 inch/22cm diameter glass or ceramic pie dish.

2. Combine 6 tablespoons (85 gm) of the softened butter, 4 tablespoons (50 gm) of the brown sugar and the white sugar in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add egg and beat until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.

4. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.

5. Dump oat mixture into prepared baking pan and press out evenly to edges of pan.

6. Bake until light golden, 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to wire rack and cool cookie completely, about an hour.

7. Using your fingertips, crumble the cookie a into large bowl - there should be no identifiable pieces of cookie remaining. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 gm) butter and 1-1/2 tablespoons (20 gm) brown sugar. Rub in with your fingertips until the mixture is moist and sticks together when pressed between your fingers.

8. Transfer cookie crust mixture to pie dish. Using your fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish (about 1 inch/2.5cm up the sides if your pie dish is deep). If your pie dish is shallow, place it on a baking sheet in case of overflow.

Filling

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. If possible, use bottom-only heat, or the filling may brown too quickly.

2. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

3. Add melted butter and whisk until blended.

4. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended.

5. Pour filling into crust.

6. Bake 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble up). Reduce oven temperature to 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3. Continue to bake until filling is brown on top and set around edges but center still jiggles slightly, about 20 minutes longer.

7. Cool pie completely in pie dish on wire rack. Chill uncovered overnight.


8. Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into thin wedges and serve cold.

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie! 

PRINSESSTÅRTA!

I highly recommend that you start saying the word "prinsesstarta" in a slightly maniacal "swedish" accent as you read this post - it will help emulate our afternoon in the kitchen. 

Erica and I, along with some law school friends, spent cinco de mayo weekend down in big sur. Though we failed to find an overlapping weekend to bake April's challenge (a yeasted dough Savarin), we weren't exactly itching to make the complicated, and pretty, princess cake. Something about the tiny little marzipan decorations (see the roses *and inchworm* above) and the interior structure....

So it wasn't until after we consumed copious amounts of carnitas tacos that we started in on the cake.

 

Our first success was ending with a cake that actually rose completely in the middle. Though we aren't above filling in holes with whipped cream (see this success), it makes it much easier to cut when you have a center to cut through. 

We then layered the springy cake with custard and apricot jam.

And finished with a mound of whipped cream. For those of you playing along at home, I think one reason for our success was to get the whipped cream quite hard – you want to be able to form some structure.

Next came the scariest step. You take the middle layer of cake, and add it directly on top of the mound of whipped cream, hoping and praying that it doesn’t end up smushing out the sides or that the cake doesn’t spontaneously crumble into bits.

 Miracles of miracles, we ended up with a near perfect dome. 

But of course, it wouldn’t be a baking-jd challenge if there wasn’t at least one minor mishap. We rolled out the amount of marzipan suggested in the recipe, but it wasn’t nearly enough to cover the cake. We could have started over at this step, but instead we improvised.

See the green ring at the bottom? That covers up the otherwise exposed sides. 

But despite the slightly marred aesthetics, the cake was a success. The structure held up as we sliced into it, and the marzipan flavoring was a delicate balance to the light cake, dense custard, and loads of whipped cream. 

Korena of Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers’ host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Prinsesstårta!

And now, per the request of one of our loyal readers, we’ve included the recipe. Go forth and make your own! If the entire recipe is intimidating, the sponge cake is an excellent place to start - it's simple and delicious.

Traditional Swedish Prinsesstårta

Servings: 8 – 10. Makes one 9” round cake.

Vanilla Custard Ingredients
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, divided
4 egg yolks from large eggs
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) cornstarch
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) granulated white sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and egg yolks. Gradually whisk in ½ cup (120 ml) of heavy cream until smooth.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) of heavy cream and the scraped vanilla bean and bring just to the boiling point. Remove the vanilla bean pod, leaving behind the seeds. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the bowl with the egg mixture to temper the eggs.

2. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it becomes thick like pudding and just comes to a boil. The mixture must hit a boil for the cornstarch to properly thicken the custard, and also to cook out any starchy taste. If it starts to look curdled or lumpy, remove it from the heat and whisk vigorously until smooth, then return to the heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. If using vanilla extract, add it now.

3. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cold. Can be prepared a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.

Sponge Cake

Ingredients
Fine dry breadcrumbs for the pan (such as crushed panko)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) granulated white sugar
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
½ cup (120 ml) (65 gm) (2¼ oz) potato starch (or cornstarch)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Thoroughly butter a 9” (23 cm) round springform pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, then butter the paper. Dust the buttered pan with enough breadcrumbs to coat the bottom and sides, just like flouring a cake pan. Set aside.

2. Place the eggs and granulated white sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed with an electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until the eggs are tripled in volume and very light coloured and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall from the beaters in thick ribbons. Don’t overbeat the eggs – once they form thick ribbons and stop growing in volume, stop beating.

3. Sift the all-purpose (plain) flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, then sift the flour mixture over the whipped eggs. With a balloon whisk, fold the flour into the eggs until blended, keeping as much air in the batter as possible. Use large, gentle yet confident strokes, bringing batter from the bottom of the bowl to the top. Once mixed, the batter should be quite thick and smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread it out evenly, and bake in the lower third of the preheated moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown on top, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes then run a knife around the edge and remove the sides of the springform pan. Don’t worry if it sinks a bit in the middle.

Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper. If the cake is lopsided, press gently to make it level, then allow it to cool completely before continuing. The cake can be made a day ahead and stored, well-wrapped in plastic, at a cool room temperature.

Marzipan Covering and Rose

Ingredients
10 oz (285 gm) marzipan
Green and yellow food colouring
Icing sugar, for rolling
Red food colouring

Directions:

1. Set aside a small amount of plain marzipan (about the size of a walnut) to make a rose for decoration. Knead the remaining marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar until it becomes softer and smooth (the warmth from your hands will help this).

2. Add a small amount of green food colouring (I used 3 or 4 drops of liquid food colouring) and knead it into the marzipan to get the desired shade of green. You might need to add a little more green or yellow food colouring to get the right colour – anything from pastel green to bright spring green (just not neon green!) Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate until you are ready to cover the cake (or store as directed on the marzipan package).

3. To make the rose, tint the reserved plain marzipan with a tiny bit of red food colouring to make it pink. Dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll the marzipan into a log. With a rolling pin, roll it out into a long ribbon, about 1” (2 ½ cm) wide and 1/8” (3 mm) thick. Use plenty of icing sugar so that the marzipan doesn’t stick.

Press one long edge of the ribbon with your fingertip to thin it out slightly. Begin rolling up the ribbon, leaving the thin edge loose to form the petals of the rose. Start the roll off tightly, then loosen up as you go, pinching and gathering the marzipan to create creases and ruffles. Gently flare out the petals of the rose with your fingertip.

When the rose is large enough, cut off any remaining marzipan ribbon. Pinch off the excess marzipan from the bottom of the rose and set aside to dry slightly.

Prinsesstårta Assembly

Ingredients
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream, chilled
granulated white sugar, to taste (scant 1 tablespoon is plenty)
Sponge Cake, cooled
1/3 cup (80 ml) seedless raspberry jam (or regular jam pressed through a sieve to remove seeds)
Vanilla Custard, chilled
Marzipan Covering and Rose
Icing sugar, for rolling and dusting
Optional: melted chocolate, royal icing, or piping gel

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar to taste (keep in mind that the rest of the cake components are sweet, so the whipped cream should be very lightly sweetened at most) and continue whipping the cream until stiff. You want it to be sturdy enough to provide structure to the cake, but not over-whipped enough to make butter. Set the whipped cream aside.

2. With a long serrated knife, slice the sponge cake into three even layers. This cake is very delicate, so do this as carefully as possible. Use a gentle sawing motion to move the knife through the cake instead of trying to pull it through the cake. Use a spatula to help you lift off each layer after you cut it. Set aside the middle layer – this will become the top layer of the assembled cake as it is the most flexible and therefore easiest to bend into a dome over the whipped cream.

3. Place one of remaining layers on a cake board or serving platter and spread it evenly with the raspberry jam. Spread or pipe half the chilled custard over the jam in an even layer, leaving enough room around the edges so that it doesn’t spill over the sides of the cake.

4. Top the custard with another layer of cake. Spread or pipe the remaining custard evenly over it, again leaving some room around the edges.

5. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml) of the stiffly whipped cream. Pile the rest into a mound on top of the custard. Spread it into a thick layer with a thin, flexible spatula or off-set spatula, then hold the spatula at an angle to shape the whipped cream into a dome, piling it up in the middle of the cake as much as possible.

6. Place the final layer of sponge cake (the one cut from the middle of the cake) on top of the whipped cream. Do not press on the top of the cake – instead, gently tuck the edges of the cake layer into the whipped cream, so that they are flush with the cream. This will create a smooth, seamless dome on top of the cake.

7. Gently spread the reserved ½ cup (120 ml) of whipped cream over the entire cake to fill in any cracks and even out the surface. If necessary, refrigerate the cake to firm it up before continuing.

8. Dust your work surface with icing sugar and press the marzipan into a 6-inch (15 cm) disc (knead it a bit to warm it up first). Coat both sides with icing sugar and roll it out into a 14” (35½ cm) diameter circle less than 1/8” (3 mm) thick. Use plenty of icing sugar to prevent it from sticking. Alternatively, you can roll the marzipan out between two wide sheets of parchment paper (still use plenty of icing sugar).

9. Use the rolling pin to drape the rolled-out marzipan sheet over the cake and smooth it around the cake gently with your hands.

If it seems like it wants to fold or buckle around the cake, gently lift and stretch it away from the cake with one hand while smoothing it down with the other.

Trim the excess marzipan from the bottom of the cake with a paring knife or spatula blade.

10. If desired, cut leaves out of the scraps of green marzipan (you can knead in another drop of green food colouring to make the leaves a slightly darker green). Use a paring knife to score vein-like lines, then pinch one end of the leaf to give it some shape.

Dust the cake with icing sugar, then place the marzipan rose and leaves in the middle of the cake.
(You can also use melted chocolate, royal icing, or piping gel to pipe a design on top of the cake, if you wish.)

11. To serve, cut the cake into wedges with a large, sharp knife (run the blade under hot water and wipe it clean after every cut for neater slices). The cake can be served immediately but will be easier to slice after chilling in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Storage and Freezing Instructions/Tips:

The finished Prinsesstårta should be refrigerated until serving, and any leftovers refrigerated as well. Ideally the cake is eaten the day it is made, but will keep in the refrigerator for a day or so, after which it may lose its structural integrity and aesthetic appeal (but it will still taste good!)

Where's the Beet?

We continued our tradition of baking on our annual Tahoe trip this year. Of course, we forgot that it gets tricky baking at altitude but everything turned out OK.

For our recipe we chose Nigel Slater's Extremely Moist Chocolate Beet Cake, which is pretty much fancy red velvet cake. It required us to boil a beet and then, once it was cooled, stick it in a blender. Definitely a novel way to add that red color.

 

At some point I said to Sara, wow, this cake is almost healthy, with the beet, and not too much sugar or flour. Then she pointed to the pile of butter that went into it. OK. Not so healthy after all. But delicious!

Of course the other delicious element was all of the chocolate that went into it -- both dark chocolate chips as well as cocoa powder. And then you had to power a quarter cup of hot espresso over the just melted chips. Even yummier.

Neither Sara nor I were very hopeful about the part of the recipe that required us to beat egg whites to stiff peaks once we found out that the rental house did not have anything electrical to do that for us. In fact, it didn't even have a proper whisk, so I lazily beat the eggs with the most whisk-like contraption we could find.

Do you even know what this thing is? We didn't.

Fortunately our friends Emily and Rachel came to the rescue and, taking turns, managed to beat the eggs to pretty much the right consistency in short order. Amazing!

And the cake turned out perfectly. We opted not to serve it with creme fraiche and poppy seeds, as suggested, but instead with good old vanilla ice cream. The color of the batter was a richer red, very beautiful, but the baked cake was also a lovely red-brown color.

It was a perfect dessert after a hard day of skiing and was well complemented by a glass of champagne.

While Sara and I have no trouble eating vegetables not hidden in sweets, we had a lot of fun with this challenge. Thank you, Daring Bakers!


Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

"Cheezy" Crackers

Well, folks, Erica and I have reached a new low in terms of food photography motivation. All we have for you this time around is this spectacular shot. Why yes, that is a shark eating a goldfish. But of course!

Our lack of motivation might be explained by the general level of un-enthusiasm we felt toward this month's challenge. No offense to our delightful hosts, but making crackers wasn't quite daring enough the third time around. You see, we've already tested the limits of this skill set with the lavash (way back when we were 2Ls, interviewing for summer jobs!), and more recently with the crackers challenge just last July.

To make it a little more of a challenge (and to satisfy my month-long foray into vegan-ness), we decided to try our hand at some vegan baking, complete with nutritional yeast. To our delight, these crackers did approximate the not-so-vegan goldfish crackers we all know and love. However, when compared to the rest of the spread that Erica and I prepared for the super bowl (including Erica's Baltimore Berger Cookies and my Buffalo Girls), the crackers weren't the biggest hit.

So after nearly six years and over fifty challenges in the Daring Bakers community, Erica and I will be modifying our monthly baking just slightly. If the monthly challenge is something we're keen to try, we'll stick with the group - we hope this will be the case!! But if it's something we've done already or just aren't feeling challenged by, we'll pick a different recipe to share with our readers. I promise, both Erica and I have quite the stockpile of baking recipes to try! We hope you'll stick with us in this new phase of adventure....

Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!