Self layering coffee panna cotta for the Daring Bakers February 2011

Your not going to believe it.....this is not a time consuming layered dessert, it is a mix and pour panna cotta which settled into the 3 layers you see in the picture whilst it was setting in the fridge.

Crazy huh! I could not believe my luck when I unmolded the panna cotta and saw the beautiful dessert which looked like I had spent hours slaving away but in reality spent only minutes creating.

The picture for the original recipe did not look like this at all so I am unsure if it was my recipe tinkering that resulted in the layers or it was just luck. I did notice that the tall mini serve glasses did not layer quite as well and wonder if that is because they set faster due to their small size. 

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I had previously made a recipe similar to the one provided before so decided to be a little daring and try out this recipe from the Cuisine Magazine site here. 

But then being even more daring as I am (only where cooking is involved mind you) I modified it a bit as I only have leaf geletine and I hate measuring liquids in anything other than cup increments so I weighed it.

The changes worked well and the finished product resulted in a lovely tasting panna cotta which had a gorgeous wobbly breast effect (which incidentally is what I always think of now when I see panna cotta thanks to one of my favourite blogs Not Quite Nigella)


Then I made the florentine cookies using the recipe provided but substituting golden syrup for the dark corn syrup and omitting the chocolate. They were ok on their own, certainly not something I would rush out and make. To me they seemed more like an ANZAC biscuit I have always thought florentines to be lovely large cookies with cherries, almonds and other treats held together barely by the mixture.



The florentine did however work well with the panna cotta, the crisp and buttery biscuit was a lovely contrast.





Thank you Mallory I enjoyed this challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing all the other Daring Bakers results.

Recipe after jump


Coffee Panna Cotta (recipe modified from Cuisine Magazine) serves 6 and make sure you read all the notes at the bottom of the recipe before you attempt it.

55g caster sugar (1 7/8 ounce)
20g (3/4 ounce) freshly ground coffee (mine was ground for espresso machine)
270gm (9 1/2 ounce) full cream milk
2 and a half leaves gelatin
270gm (9 1/2 ounce) unthickened pouring cream

Place gelatine into a bowl and cover with cold water whilst you heat the milk (I usually ripe the sheets into 2 or 3 pieces so they are smaller and fit into a small bowl).

Pop sugar, milk and coffee into a saucepan and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Squeeze excess water from gelatin and add to the milk mixture and immediately remove from heat. Stir to dissolve all gelatin.

Add cream and stir well.

Get a large jug with a handle and place a sieve over the top lined with 4 layers of muslin. If you do not have muslin you may use clean unused chux type dishcloths or even a coffee filter or paper towels. Pass the coffee mixture through the lined sieve into the jug. Ensure as much of the mixture as possible gets through, you may need to replace the top layer if it becomes clogged.

Half fill  6 X 150ml capacity plastic dariole molds stirring the mixture in the jug between each pour. If you do not have dariole molds you can use glasses or what ever you have at hand. Then carefully add the remaining mixture to fill each mold to the same height.

Allow to set in the fridge overnight (but covered with plastic or in an airtight container).

When ready to serve I ran a knife carefully around the edge as recommended in the challenge and then gently warmed the top with a dishcloth soaked in warm water before placing the plate on top of the mold and then turning both over. When I lifted the mold the panna cotta slid out perfectly.

Notes for recipe - the weights for the liquids are actually weights on a set of scales I use electric scales that can convert between ounce and gram which I love.

Use unthickened cream - in Australia Thickened cream has added gelatin so you are changing the ratios and may end up with a panna cotta that is harder and more set than you intend. I use the blue carton Pauls brand.

The gelatin brand I used says on the front Rheingold schnell-losliche Blatt-Gelatine it is light blue on the front and white with lots of darker blue writing on the back. I believe it is a normal strength gelatin sheet.  If you use a different strength gelatin it will effect how the panna cotta sets but not the taste.


Dariole molds are available in kitchen and baking stores. The ones I use are small single plastic molds, so pretty much it is a fancy way of saying little plastic cups.

When filling the moulds I did it in 2 parts which I think assisted distributing the mixture for the layers.




Nestle Florentine recipe can be found by clicking here



I made half a batch and substituted golden syrup for corn syrup.

Baked Cheesecake with Salted Caramel, Jam Tart and the Daring Bakers Challenge November 2010

 

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Mmmmmm this salted caramel topped cheesecake was super duper delicious

I just wasn't feeling the pie or tart love and went with a cheesecake instead, I though I could get away with using the pasta frolla (pastry) as a base, and it worked but it just felt wrong.


The cheesecake I baked with salted caramel was so delicious it completely overwhelmed the pastry and I felt I was doing the challenge a disservice.


So I went as plain as I could and made a jam tart, using the same pastry base. It was simple, it was sweet and it worked nicely. Not what I would usually bake but that's what the Daring Bakers is about.

recipe after jump

Spring Inspired Bee and Flower cookies - Daring Bakers September 2010

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

 The cookies could be any shape or decoration, the only guide was September which is pretty broad considering that the Daring Bakers come from all around the world.

I chose Spring as my theme and made some busy bee cookies and daisies.

Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Marscapone Mousse - June 2010 Daring Bakers

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

I'll start this by saying yum, it was a very delicious challenge. I'm not always one for creamy sauces or mousses but these ingredients all worked together so well that I was happy to eat the various versions I put together.


I started with a layered parfait topped with raspberries, then used some of the leftovers for a mini version in shot glasses,

and finally tried out a deconstructed plated version, decorated with some gorgeous chocolate modeling paste butterflies.

May 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge - Piece Montee or Croquembouche

For a few years I have noticed on a number of the food blogs I follow the Daring Bakers. They set a challenge each month and the members all make the same item, with significantly varing and wonderful results to post on their blogs.

How wonderful I thought to myself, this will make me grow as baker and challenge me to try things I would never think of. I am a Daring Baker I decided to myself, actually a long time ago and last month I finally signed up.

Except I was pretty busy this month and thought I signed up after the cutoff date and wouldn't have to start until next month........Eeeek I was wrong!!!

Oh well I guess it's called a challenge for a reason.

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.


The recipe provided by Little Miss Cupcake was easy to follow and worked well, so the actual baking of the puffs and making of the cream was relatively easy.

So my first try I flavoured the cream with rosewater and it was a pretty delicious flavor combination.

I had just baked a batch of macarons and decided to try and include them in the decorations so here is my first attempt play around. I used chocolate instead of toffee as I had a 20 month old holding onto my legs during the construction stage and didn't feel comfortable with all that hot sugar flying around.

So here are a couple of variations on my first attempt.

See I made a funny little disk out of the choux pastry to help support it as I didn't want to use the toffee.

Then I decided to get serious and use toffee. Not a big fan of toffee these days, although as a kid I can remember my mum making it for fair sweet stalls at the school and I loved it then.

My dislike of the toffee might have something to do with the fact that I had croquembouche for my wedding cake and I still remember now trying to get one of those hard toffee balls out of the cake. 

I stuck the puffs together using just a little toffee on the bottom of each. I was making some sugar 'Halos' for another project which I posted a couple of days ago so I made some larger ones to pop over the top of this project. I also attempted spun sugar which actually worked but I thought it looked a bit messy when applied.

I took a couple of quick photos outside, it was still only 6ish in the morning and it's coming into winter here so still not much light. All was going pretty good. I planned to take the real photos after school drop off.

Then disaster in the form of my 21 month old son. He ate the top before I got any great shots
.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh well, he did really enjoy it.

Overall the project was a bit of fun, and something I wouldn't have chosen to do myself. The choux pastry and cream are reasonably easy to make and taste great on their own or with a chocolate sauce. I don't like toffee so I wouldn't go to the trouble to built a structure again unless it was for a specific reason, but it was a great challenge. Thanks Little Miss Cupcake :)

Vanilla Crème Patissiere 
 2 cup (450 ml.) whole milk
 4 Tbsp. cornstarch
200 g. sugar
2 large egg
 4 large egg yolks
 4 Tbsp. (60 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp Rosewater
Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.
Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.
Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.
Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla and rosewater.

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)
¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly. Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny.

As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes. It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.
Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.
Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.
Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Toffee for Halos

Instructions for the toffee I used are in my Halo Cupcakes post click here for the link

 Assembly

Group the puffs and do a trial run at arranging them, use the larger puffs at the bottom. Once are happy with how you will be arranging the puffs, pop the bottoms into the toffee and working quickly stack the puffs. Decorate with spun toffee, halo's or ribbon and flowers.