Daring Bakers: Chocolate Valentino

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.


Yay! I'm officially part of the Daring Bakers, a group of extraordinary bakers who "Knead to Bake!".

The challenge they chose for the month of February was an easy task but delicious nonetheless and this is a good thing for a novice baker like me. However, I've been known to do things at the last minute and it didn't help that I've been busy the whole month of February so I decided to bake the cake on the day that I'm suppose to blog about it.

I set my alarm for 5AM the night before but I woke up at 7AM instead. Panic mode kicking in!

I decided to bake half of the cake in a 10 inch tart pan because I thought it looked prettier. (The rest of the cake batter I baked in another pan.)
I filled the tart pan 3/4 full and after a few minutes I went "Uh-oh!" when i saw the batter rise to the rim of the tart pan. I thought it was gonna overflow but luckily it didn't.

The star in this dessert is actually the chocolate so it is important to use really good chocolate when making this cake. Since I used bittersweet chocolate, the ice cream (with generous bits of flourless chocolate cake) and the dulce de leche gave the cake the sweetness it needed. It's not too sweet, not cloying.
Best served with a cup of coffee, I think.


Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe
Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

My sister's spaghetti

Last Friday, i took the 8PM bus to Manila because someone from kitchen aid was coming over to fix my mixer. It was also my bonding time with my sister Gelli. I get to see her, I'd say, only about three times a month. She's taking up BS Biology at the Ateneo. On the otherhand, I'm almost always swamped with work and the five hour trip from Manila to La Union -and vice versa- can be tiring at times. Anyway, she aced her Chem exam so I decided to take her to FullyBooked at Bonifacio HighStreet where we splurged-just a little bit- on books. After paying for our book purchases, we hied off to the new Rustan's Fresh Supermarket to buy some eggs and other breakfast items. While doing our grocery shopping, my sister asked me if I wanted spaghetti for dinner. I said okay. So we added a pack of spaghetti, two kinds of spaghetti sauce, red bellpepper and ground pork to the breakfast items then headed home.

Pinoy style spaghetti unlike its Italian or American counterpart, is on the sweet side. Some people make it using banana ketchup and hotdogs. Some use regular tomato sauce and add sugar later on. Here, pinoy style spaghetti is a staple in filipino homes and is much loved by kids.

My sister's spaghetti is based on my mom's pinoy style spaghetti recipe. It was my grandma's recipe. It's the same pasta recipe that I grew up eating. It is comfort food for me.

Pinoy style spaghetti
spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
1 kilo ground beef
4 red bell peppers, diced
1 pack italian style spaghetti sauce (we use del monte)
1 pack sweet style spaghetti sauce (we use del monte)
garlic, minced
onion, chopped
italian seasoning.
bay leaf
paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBSP butter
sugar to taste.


Cook pasta according to package instructions. (Unlike italian style spaghetti, i think that there is no need to add salt to the water.)
Heat oil and saute onions and garlic. Add ground beef. Saute until beef is browned. Add the bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Pour spaghetti sauce. Let it simmer. If the sauce is too thick, add some water. Add paprika, bayleaf and italian seasoning. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sugar if you want a sweeter sauce. Turn off flame and add a tablespoon of butter. Stir into sauce until melted. You can also add grated cheese to the spaghetti sauce if desired.

Easy Sticky Buns Take Two

I made another batch of Ina Garten's sticky buns.



My dad loves them.



I think I did a better job of rolling the pastry this time.


Although I love this recipe, I think it is still too buttery.



The next time I make these, I'll lessen the amount of butter.

Easy Sticky Buns

I was a bit apprehensive to make these sticky buns. A "bit" is an understatement. I've never used puff pastry before since it is hard to come by in my neck of the woods. I thought I'd make my own puff pastry but that would be taking the "EASY" out of "Easy Sticky Buns" as I would have to make the pastry dough by hand (no food processor). It was a good thing that my mom found a pack of puff pastry at Santis when she went to Manila.
Armed with Ina's recipe, I headed into the kitchen, cleared my 24" x 24" baking space, took out the butter from the fridge and measured brown sugar and cinnamon. When the butter was already at room temperature, I placed it in the mixing bowl along with 1/3 cup brown sugar and let the mixer do its thing while I grabbed the puff pastry from the freezer.
I carefully pried two pastry sheets from the stack then let them rest on the counter while I scooped the butter-sugar mixture onto the muffin pan. I omitted the pecans because of two reasons. First reason: my dad doesn't like nuts. Second reason: I didn't have any pecans on hand anyway. Also, I still had about 1/3 cup of the butter-sugar mixture left so I decided to do away with the extra two tablespoons of butter. Waste not, want not.
Ina's recipe says to "Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter." I stared at my two sheets of pastry. There was nothing to unfold! As in nothing. They were two thin 12"x12" squares. After a minute or two of being perplexed, I decided to go ahead with the recipe even if it meant having to do some downsizing by cutting the pastry half an inch smaller than what was called for in the recipe.
After brushing the pastry with butter and giving it a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and brown sugar, I rolled it into a log and placed it seam side down. I proceeded to do the same with the other sheet of pastry but I made a boo boo and forgot to remove the thin sheet of paper under the pastry . I had to unroll the pastry and repeat the procedure. I ended up with a very messy baking space!
I baked the buns for exactly thirty minutes and I watched as the pastry puffed up and the butter and sugar bubbled and spilled over the sides of the muffin pan. Now I know why the muffin pan must be place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
After thirty minutes of baking, I took them out of the oven and let them cool for five minutes Then I transferred them onto a lined tray and topped them with the sticky goo.

Ending up with a smaller puff pastry is a blessing in disguise after all! These sticky buns are so rich. It's a good idea to make them smaller than what was called for in the recipe. But that's my opinion. You are entitled to yours. If you love them in bigger portions, I guess that's fine too. On that note we can agree to disagree but I'm sure you're with me when I say that these are sticky, gooey, sweet and delicious.

[ i did a lousy job rolling the pastry :( ]

P.S.
My dad loved them. He ate four sticky buns which is a no-no because he's a diabetic. Ditto my mom and I. Still, I'll be making small batches of these gooey yummy pastry for our cheat days.
As always, thanks to Tanya for the photos. I can't take a decent photo even if my life depended on it.

Easy Sticky Buns
(recipe courtesy of Ina Garten, BB)
Makes 12

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

Banoffee Pie

So far my cupcakes and muffins have been well received by my family and friends. Vanilla, orange chocolate and banana. Pies, on the other hand, are my Waterloo. I suck at making pie crusts. So when Gelli, our youngest sister asked me to make her a Banoffee Pie, I did everything to delay making it. But I didn't want to disappoint her, so off to the kitchen I went.





Banoffee Pie was created in an East Sussex restaurant called "The Hungry Monk" and was named after two of its ingredients, "banana" and "toffee". The recipe for this pie has evolved through the years.



I used a Pâte Brisée crust which I blind baked for about thirty minutes or so until the crust turned golden brown. I let it cool for a bit before brushing it with melted white chocolate. Then I spooned some dulce de leche (where have you been all my life?) that I made onto the crust before topping it with sliced bananas. I then drizzled some homemade caramel then blanketed everything with whipped cream. Finally, I topped it with chocolate shavings and then let it set in the fridge.



Although there is much to be desired when it comes to my pie making skills, I thought I did good.
The dulce de leche was sublime! (It took me four hours to make it. by the way.) It married well with the caramel and the bananas. The whipped cream cut through the sweetness of the dulce de leche and the caramel. As for the chocolate shavings, well since when do we have to explain the use of chocolate in dessert making?

Curry Me Away

Two week ago my parents went to this Indian Grocery along UN Avenue in Manila and bought a lot dried herbs, spices, lentils, curry mixes, tandoori mixes, fiery dried peppers and all things Indian. When they arrived from their trip, I placed everything in a huge utility box where they stayed waiting to be opened.
Three days ago my dad opened his loot and made a delicious, super spicy fish curry for dinner which I immensely enjoyed with a generous serving of hot jasmine rice and a dollop of mango chutney on the side.
Inspired by my dad's delicious curry dish, I decided to make my very first curry dish using shrimps fresh from the market. And since we ran out of mango chutney, I decided to add ripe mangoes to the dish instead. I guess you can say that I was "curried" away.

Shrimp and Mango Curry

1/2 kilo shrimps, shells removed
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp curry mix
1 tsp turmeric
1 small onion, chopped
1 small ginger, sliced thinly
1 cup potatoes, cubed
1 cup squash, cubed
1 cup ripe mango, cubed
1 bell pepper, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Remove shrimp heads, tails and shell and devein. Place shrimps in a bowl of water and add salt. Set aside. Remember to wash the shrimps in running water before using to remove excess salt.
Dissolve curry mix and turmeric in about 1/4 cup of hot water. Set aside.
In a pan, saute onions and ginger. Add chicken stock, coconut milk and the curry-turmeric mixture. Let it simmer a bit before adding the potatoes and squash. Simmer until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
When the potatoes and squash are fork tender, add the bellpepper shrimps and mango. Simmer until the shrimps are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with rice and mango chutney, if desired.

Birthday Cupcakes

For my 32nd birthday,

I made 32 chocolate cupcakes at the last minute.




Tanya, Gelli and Beth helped frost and decorate them.



I think they are lovely and festive.

What do you think?