0 PANNA COTTA WITH OATMEAL FLORENTINES - DARING BAKERS

When the Daring Bakers deadline approaches I always tend to reflect on how weeks pass incredibly fast and it never fails to surprise me to see that it is impossible to have a grip on it. For fun I decided to count the number of challenges I have accomplished since I joined this group at the end of 2007 (first DB post). It was with much pride that I discovered I have been a faithfull member of the Daring Bakers since 3 years and 5 monthes. Until now I have made 42 treats under high-pressure, spent countless hours in the kitchen sweating and cursing, never skipped one event and as I'm the queen of last-minute baking sprees I was never able to get started before the last moment, thus increasing my overall stess like crazy....

Although it is an activity I enjoy it is sometimes difficult to find the time to bake for the Daring Bakers as the recipes are time-consuming and the weeks go by at light speed. Not forgetting that the post-baking process (taking pictures and writing my posts) cannot be done hastily and demands efforts, at least not in my case. This hobby is quite exhausting and the work we have to provide is generally arduous. One has to be creative, concentrated and well-organize, plan things in advance and have a clear mind in order to succeed. You really have to be a passionate baker to carry out the tasks as it requires skills and lots of determination.

The February 2011 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mallory from "A Sofa in the Kitchen" who chose to challenge everyone to make "Panna Cotta" from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestlé "Florentine Cookies". As you can see, this month's trial was thankfully not intimidating at all and the recipes were no backbreakers. Although it was the first time that I prepared both specialities I was unusually laidback and enjoyed baking casually without breaking into a cold sweat. A first for me!

"Panna Cotta" and "Florentine Cookies" are two Italian delicacies which are very popular with foodies all around the world. The first dessert item hails from Piemont (northern part of the country), but can be found everywhere in Italy. "Panna Cotta" means "cooked cream". It's origin is unclear yet there are theories that suggest that in the mountainous regions unsweetened cream (to which was incorporated fish gelatine made with the bones) was eaten with plain, fresh fruits or hazelnuts (sugar was added to the preparation only lately). Similar versions can be found in Greece/Turkey (Kazan Dibi), Finland (Hedelmärahka) and France (Blanc-Manger). The second goodie is accredited to Austrian bakers, but it owe's it's origin from Florence in Tuscany. Those wonderful round lace biscuits are traditionally confectioned with nuts (generally sliced almonds), candied fruits (orange, cherries, lemon etc...), caramel and chocolate.

I must admit that I was a little skeptical and not really thrilled at the idea of using a Nestlé recipe because I am really not a big fan of this big multinational corporation considering the fact that their methods are far from being the most sustainable (deforestation/palm oil) or humane (baby milk), that what they produce is far too industrial for my taste (junk/plastic/additive-ladden food - yuck!) and not healthy, and that they literally "eat" other enterprises, destroy their soul (what made them unique) and the quality of the original products (for example Cailler Chocolates, Cereal Partner's Shredded Wheats & Rowntrees' After Eights are really less good than when they were not made by Nestlé - and the list goes on unfortunately). I thought that we would rather be making a more artisinal and traditional recipe created by a professinal pâtissier (I mean, aside from being the "guru" of processed food, Nestlé is surely not an authority in the "real" food domain - nothing Slow-Foodish about them).

Anyway, despite a few hiccups when it came to the wetness of the dough (I had to add more flour in order for them to not spread out too much - maybe it had to do with the fact that I didn't use corn syrup), the "Florentine Cookies" turned out pretty well and I have to confess that they were deliciously crunchy, addictively chewy as well as oaty. Giada De Laurentiis' "Honey Panna Cotta" were just flawless, creamy, silky, voluptuous, refreshing, delicately flavored, subtly sweet as well as luscious. The Gourmet Magazine "Coffee Jelly" layer at the bottom of each verrine added a delightfully bitter and seductive toasty note to the "Panna Cotta". A perfect contrast which makes this dreamlike pudding more adult and uplifts it's somewhat faint aromas by bringing character and punch to the whole.

"Panna Cotta" will definitely grace my table again as it is very versatile, refined, yet extremely easy to put together. Even my personal tester (boyfriend) who is not in very good terms with jelly thought that it was terrific. And as we are big oatmeal lovers the "Florentine Cookies" had a short life span. The ultimate dessert combination!

~ Florentine Cookies & Vanilla Coffee Panna Cotta ~

Preparation time:
• 20-25 minutes to prepare the Panna Cotta - at least 6 hours to chill
• 20-25 minutes to prepare the cookies 6-8 minutes to bake

Equipment required:
• Small mixing bowl
• Two medium sized heavy bottom pot or saucepan
• Wooden spoon and/or whisk
• Glasses or ramekins - something to pour and serve your Panna Cotta in
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Silpat or wax paper or parchment paper
• Baking sheet
• Small bowl

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Giada's Panna Cotta

Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients:
1 Cup (240ml) Whole milk
1 Tbs (one packet/15ml/7g/¼oz) Unflavored powdered gelatin
3 Cups (720 ml) Whipping cream (35% butterfat)
1/3 Cup (80ml) Honey (strongly flavored - pine tree for example)
1 1/2 Pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs (15ml/15g/½oz) Granulated sugar
A pinch of salt

Method:
1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta).
2. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
3. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and p lace over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes (I whisk it a few times at th is stage).
4. Next, add the cream, honey, vanilla, sugar, and pinch of salt.
5. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
7. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
8. Add garnishes and serve.

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Coffee Gelée For The Panna Cotta

Adapted from this recipe in Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:
2 Cups (480ml) Good quality brewed coffee
1/4 Cup (60 ml) Hot water + 2 Tbs (30ml) Cold water
1/2 Cup (120ml/115g/4oz) Granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tsps (7½ml/3½g/1/8oz) Unflavored powdered gelatin
2 Tsps (10ml) Pure vanilla extract

Method:
1. Place granulated sugar and 1/4 c. hot water in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tablespoons cold water and let it soften 2 minutes or so.
4. Stir the coffee, sugar, hot water, and vanilla into a small metal bowl, add gelatin mixture and stir well until gelatin has dissolved.
5. Pour into a glass (bottom) or over the panna cotta.

Note:
If pouring over Panna Cotta, be sure that this mixture is no longer hot, it will melt Panna Cotta if it is, let it come to room temperature.

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Nestle Florentine Cookies

Recipe from the cookbook “Nestlé Classic Recipes”, and their website.

Makes about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwhiched Florentine cookies.

Ingredients:
2/3 Cup (160ml/150g/5.3oz) Unsalted butter
2 Cups (480ml/160g/5 2/3oz) Quick oats
1 Cup (240ml/230g/8oz) Granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160ml/95g/3⅓oz) Plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 Cup (60ml) Dark corn syrup
1/4 Cup (60ml) Whole milk
1 Tsp (5 ml) Pure vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
1 1/2 Cups (360ml/250g/9oz) Dark or milk chocolate

Method:
1. Preheat oven to moderately hot 190° C (375° F).
2. Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
4. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
5. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet.
6. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.
8. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
9. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water (make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
10. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
11. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.

Remarks:
You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

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Etant donné que je suis en vacance et que je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps pour bloguer, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)

0 LEMON & PASSIONFRUIT ENTREMET - THE DARING BAKERS

It makes me really angry to NEVER be able to finish my challenges before the deadline. I always promise myself to start early, yet I am by no means able to commit to it. So, this is the reason why I consistently embark on my baking adventure at the very last minute and put myself under a lot of stress. I've come to the conclusion that it is the way I function. Unfortunately, stress will everlastingly be a part of my personality...

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog "Accro". She chose to challenge everyone to make a "Biscuit Joconde Imprime" to wrap around an "Entremets" dessert.

This cold ornate dessert usually has many different layers of cake, mousse (Bavarian cream mousse or simple mousse) and is decorated with either jelly, whipped cream or a fruit coulis. It is one of my favorite sweet courses especially when it is of the chocolaty or fruity (lime, lemon, passionfruit, mango, raspberry, etc...) kind. I particularly like the dainty looks, elaborate details, freshness, lightness and exquisiteness of "Entremets".

At home we regularly ate those refined treats. My mother was not the type of hobby-baker who enjoyed preparing complex goods, she was more a person who liked to keep things uncomplicated. Baking like a pâtissier was never one of her aims. She didn't want to wander out of her comfort zone and wasn't as curious food-wise as me. Luckily for us my father happened to work just a few meters away from a very good "pâtisserie-boulagerie" (how convenients LOL) and came back home at least once a week (before he retired, he was one of their most faithful customers and also bought croissants on a daily basis) with luscious confections which we goobbled voraciously.

The day before his buying spree my father made sure to ask us what we wanted in order for him to place an order early the next morning. I remember that the prospect of eating Confiserie Ducret's amazing creations filled me with the highest joy. I can't recall how many times I ordered their gorgeous millefeuilles filled with three rich chocolate truffle mousses (black, milk & white) and their ambrosial mango or raspberry mini "Entremets". Heavenly and dreamlike, unless you remember that this might have been one of the reasons why you weren't exactly the thinnest girl at school (thankfully, I have lost those extra pounds now)...

Well, although I was looking forward to devour my "Lemon & Passionfruit Entremet", I somehow was not too excited at the prospect of putting it together as even if I'm an audacious person in the kitchen, I'm not exactly the kind of girl who is passionate about all things technical. This challenge's difficulties were concentrated on our ability to draw patterns with the cocoa paste, have measuring abilities and cut our cake with extreme precision. That is exactly everything I hate to do. It makes me panic as I know that I'm not the best in that domain and have no patience for such exercizes!

Anyway, apart from slightly burning my joconde cake (the recipe had certain flaws - the baking temperature and the amount of time during which the cake has to stay in the oven are wrong) which resulted in a not very flexible cake wrappers that tended to break every time I tried to line the mold, the whole process wasn't really as complicated as I imagined. I started baking at 7pm and ended the challenge by 9h30pm. Not a bad timing considering the fact that it was the first time that I baked an "Entremet" and had to continually wash the dishes, pans and make space in my kitchen since it is as small as a rat's hole.

What intense physical activity and mental pressure! I can tell you that after those hours of strainous spinning around the place like a wheel, working like a mad woman on speed and praying the gods of success to not let me down I was wrecked and not capable of funtioning anymore.

Thankfully, the heavens above didn't let me down nor did my "Lemon & Passionfruit Entremet" which turned out to look surprisingly presentable even if it had a few tears here and there. Overall I was satisfied with my creation as not only was it an eyepleaser, but also a delight for the tastebuds.

This "Lemon & Passionfruit Entremet" has a blissfull texture and taste. The joconde cake is pleasantly spongy and nutty, the mousse filling is mindblowingly airy, light and intensely lemony, and the passionfruit jelly topping is constrastingly firm and exhaliratingly fragrant. A combination that cannot fail to bring a smile on the saddest of faces or to uplift the most depressed of souls!

~ Lemon & Passionfruit Entremet ~
Recipe by Chef John O. from The International Culinary School in Atlanta, Georgia USA.

Yields 1x 15cm diameter entremet .

Preparation time:
It takes about 2h30 to 3h30 (2h for the joconde and 30min - 1h30 for the filling).

Equipment required:
. Silpat
. 1/2 Baking sheets or a 13” x 18” jelly roll sheet (rimmed baking sheet)
. Mixer (optional)
. Bowls
. Knives
. Offset spatula
. Regular spatula
. Pastry comb (optional)
. Rulers
. Spring form pan
. Biscuit cutter (or ring mold, or cut PVC pipe, or whatever else you can think of to use as a mold for individual desserts)
. Torte/entremets mold/Springform pan/ Trifle dish (for larger desserts)
. Cling wrap . Parchment paper
. Gel, paste or liquid food coloring (optional)

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JOCONDE SPONGE

For one 33x46cm (13inchx8inch) jelly roll pan.

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup (3oz/85g) Almond flour/meal (You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter) 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbs (2 2/3oz/75g) Confectioners' sugar
1/4 Cup (1 oz/25g) Cake flour
3 Large Eggs (about 5 1/3oz/150g)
3 Large Egg whites (about 3oz 90g)
2 1/2 Tsp (1/3oz/10g) White granulated/castor sugar or superfine sugar
2 Tbs (1oz/30g) Unsalted butter, melted

Method:
1. In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. 2. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
3. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl.)
4. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
5. Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
6. Fold in melted butter.
7. Reserve batter to be used later.

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PATTERERNED JOCONDE - DECOR PASTE

Yields one 33x46cm (13inchx8inch) jelly roll pan (I made the half).

Ingredients:
7 Tbs (3.5oz/100g) Unsalted butter, softened
3/4 Cups + 3/4 Tbs (3.5oz/100g) Confectioners' sugar
3.5 Large Egg whites (about 3.5oz/100g)
5/4 Cup (3.8oz/110g) Cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid

COCOA Décor Paste Variation:
Reduce cake flour to 3oz/85g.
Add 1oz/30g cocoa powder.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder together before adding to creamed mixture.

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (Use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand.)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

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PREPARING THE JOCONDE - HOW TO MAKE PATTERNS

Method:
1. Use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one piping bag.
2. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
3. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
4. Bake at 400ºF /200ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 10-15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully
5. Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
6. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

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PREPARING THE MOLD FOR THE ENTREMET & LINING IT

Method:
1. A biscuit cutter/ cookie cutter- using cling wrap pulled tightly as the base and the cling covering the outside of the mold, placed on a parchment lined very flat baking sheet.
2. Line the inside with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping.
3. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is 1/2 the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
4. Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)
5. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough. (I I lined the base of my entremet with Joconde cake.)
6. The mold is done, and ready to fill.

Note:
If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze.

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LEMON MOUSSE & PASSIONFRUIT JELLY

Method:
I filled my entremet with 1 quantity "Lemon Mousse" and added a layer of "Passionfruit Jelly" that I made with 4 passionfruits (emptied), 2 Tbs lemon juice, 2 Tbs castor sugar (mix all three ingredients together) and 2 sheets jelly (softened in cold water, strained, melted over very low heat and added to the fruit mixture which you can leave pour over the mousse - refrigerate the entremet in order to solidify the jelly).

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Etant donné que je suis en vacance et que je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps pour bloguer, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)