TIH-RUH-MEE-SOO - The Daring Bakers Challenge

Tiramisu - Heaven in your mouth..

Also known as "Tuscan Trifle," the dessert was initially created in Siena, in the northwestern Italian province of Tuscany. The occasion was a visit by Grand Duke Cosimo de'Medici III, in whose honor the concoction was dubbed zuppa del duca (the "duke's soup"). The erstwhile duke brought the dessert back with him to Florence. In the 19th Century, zuppa del duca became popular among the English intellectuals and artists who lived there Consequently, it is also known as zuppa Inglese. They took the dessert to England, where its popularity grew. Zuppa del duca eventually made its way to Treviso, just northwest of Venice, in the northeastern province of Veneto.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

THE CHALLENGE:

We have chosen Baltimore pastry chef Carminantonio Iannaccone’s version of tiramisu for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, his recipe is different from most other tiramisu recipes as he makes a zabaglione, an egg custard which is flavored with Marsala wine (you may use coffee instead). Even more important is that his zabaglione is cooked so there is no risk from using raw eggs.

He also makes a vanilla flavored pastry cream which we haven't seen in other tiramisu recipes.

While both of us do eat eggs, we do have a preference for desserts where the smell and taste do not come through. We found that the coffee in the recipe masked the eggs in adequately.

Just in case you would prefer to make an eggless tiramisu, we are including recipes in the Alternate Bakers section to make eggless ladyfinger biscuits and an eggless and alcohol-free tiramisu.

Note: There are also some links to other alternative recipes at the end of this post. Deeba has also provided step-by-step pictures where possible.

The recipes for this challenge are presented in the following order:

A. Tiramisu (includes zabaglione & vanilla pastry cream)
B. Mascarpone Cheese
C. Ladyfinger/ Savoiardi Biscuits

TIRAMSU

(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from

Ingredients:
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

For the whipped cream:
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

To assemble the tiramisu:
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:
For the zabaglione:
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the pastry cream:
Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu:
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

Usually my Tiramisu Recipe is lighter than this version. I buy the Italian Lady Fingers, it was on my to do list to try the home made version... Thanks very much Deeba and Aprana for giving me the chance to do prepare everything from scratch. Thanks for choosing a delicious dessert recipe.. The flavours are divine...

For the coffee mix I added around 1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur to balance the coffee flavour.

P.S.: I lent my smaller springform pan to a friend, and end up using a square 9 x 9 springform pan. the cake came thinner than intended, only got two layers out of the lady fingers. A smaller pan will be better. Do try the cake its awesome in every bite... use an 8 inch pan or even a rectangular bread pan will do if you line the cake with plastic wrap to make it easy to lift the cake after.

The Winter Olympic Games are coming to BC - Nanaimo Bars Challenge

The January Daring Bakers Challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren Choose Gluten Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars for the challenge. She based her sources on 101 cookbook and http://www.nanaimo.ca/
It was a very nice challenge as I like to do everything from scratch..
though I didn't do the gluten free wafers, I used my own recipe for the wafers. Its an amazing recipe with wonderful flavour.
the Recipe for the Nanaimo Bars was overly sweet to my taste, and because it was a challenge I followed Lauren Recipe and not my own.

a mix of milk and semi sweet chocolate

Dark Chocolate for me

With open arms , we welcome every one to Canada

Homemade Graham Crackers:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1cup unsalted butter - melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp good quality honey
in a food processor mix well to combine. Divide into four sections, roll between parchment or plastic paper to 1/8 inch cut the cookies either with a pizza roller, or rectangular cookie cutter. Bake in preheat 350F oven for 8-10 minutes.

the best Graham Crackers Cookies you tasted. You will stop buying the store brand.
Makes around 877 gms.

if you use lots of flour like me, couple bay leaves between your flour is garuanteed to keep humidity or insects away

Apple Dumpling with Caramel Sauce - My Way

I am sharing with you a simple and elegant dessert, for apple dumpling, which I like to serve when I have a dinner party, or friends visiting . The recipe consists of sable dough and apples, where you can prepare the apples, stuff them, wrap them with the dough and leave them in the fridge until you are ready to eat, put them in the oven and let the aroma fill the house and every one will hurry to be in the kitchen waiting for dessert to come out of the oven.

The recipe was born when I had some leftover sable dough waiting in the freezer asking to be used, and some apples in the fridge .

This is one of the desserts I prepared for Christmas Dinner at my inlaws. I took the tray with the Baked Turkey,Gravy and the stuffing. and bake it when we were having supper.

Dough: Pate Sable

2 cups flour, 3/4 cup + tbsp sweet butter, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg, cold milk to mix

Usually I prepare a big batch , divide it and freeze it .

Apples: Big firm apples to hold their shape during baking, like Red Delicious or Gala.

Stuffing: Any kind of toasted nuts you have I used the leftover walnut and almond mix from the Baklawa. Dried fruits like raisin and apricots , couple spoons of breadcrumbs to mix with the stuffing. cinnamon and nutmeg . If I am short on dried fruit and have homemade mincemeat in the fridge I add it, with some nuts, sometimes I mix pistachios, cardamom, and apricots . The sky is the limit Choose the right combination of spices, nuts and dried fruit which will work with apples.

Thick baking tray: I prefer a thick Pyrex tray or stainless steel If using Pyrex glass tray, use a baking sheet under, so that the caramel doesn't burn before the dumplings are cooked.

Caramel: caramelized sugar (light color) butter and cream, mix with the cooked sugar and pour in the bottom of the tray. .sometimes I use homemade pure maple syrup with melted butter

Egg Wash : to brush the dumplings before baking

Wth a brush grease the tray well up to the top sides, when the sugar starts cooking and bubling up. ... don't worry if the caramel is too much you will have enough to drizzle on top of the apples when you serve them warm, with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

If you don't have the time to stuff every apple then wrap it with a dough, clean and quarter the apples, and roll a piece of dough around a quarter with some stuffing . The taste is the same but its not a conversational piece .
Ready for the tray
Clean , Core and stuff then wrap in the dough

use the leftover dough to design some leaves for the top

Pouring some of the caramel sugar over the dumplings will not hurt

Dayem Dayem - Merry Christmas to All - Happy Epiphany

Epiphany is a Christian feast day which celebrates the revelation of God made man in the person of Jesus Christ. It falls on 6 January or, in many countries, on the Sunday that falls between 2 January and 8 January. Since the Julian Calendar, which is followed by some Eastern Churches, is at present 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar and the revised Julian Calendar, 6 January in that calendar corresponds at present to 19 January in what is the official civil calendar in most countries. On this feast, Western Christians commemorate principally the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, i.e., his manifestation to the Gentiles;Eastern Christians commemorate the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. It is also called Theophany especially by Eastern Christians.

The observance had its origins in the Eastern Christian Churches, and was a general celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ It included the commemoration of: his birth; the visit of the Magi or Majous as we call them in Arabic, ("Wise Men", as . were Persian priests) to Bethlehem; all of Jesus' childhood events, up to and including his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist; and even the miracle at the Wedding of Cana in Galilee.(Turning the Water to Wine - Jesus first Miracle in Cana - Lebanon) It seems fairly clear that the Baptism was the primary event being commemorated.

Some Eastern Churches in Eastern Europe and the Armenian Orthodox continues to celebrate January 6 as the only commemoration of the Nativity.

On this Holy Day, the Earth and everything on this earth is blessed... specially the water. On the 1200 am hour Jesus visit the earth and bless his creation. I witnessed this blessing one year, long time ago, when I was still living in Beirut, I went to attend the Midnight Mass with my younger brother Simon , in the Middle of the ceremony, the Church Bells started ringing loudly and strongly, the women were rejoicing by making voices of celebration (lililililililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii) every one ran outside to see what was going on from the priest, the elderly people were running infront of us, the whole parish were outside, to our surprise we saw the branches of two big trees in the yard of the church are all the way down to the ground , I am talking big thick branches, the priest started praying and the Mass was continued outside in front of the two big tree. I will never forget this glory date and the heavenly feeling every time I remember it.

Two years ago I made a starter dough, and till this date I am still using the same starter, building and adding more flour and water...I use my starter in all my pastries and bread....

Lebanese Sweet Pancakes - Katayef stuffed with walnuts and Ashta

Ingredients:

4 cups of all purpose flour sifted
1 cup semolina
2 tsp of yeast
4 cups of warm water + 1 cup of warm milk or you can go 50/50
1 tsp ground mahleb (Middle Eastern Stores)
2 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt

Direction:

add the yeast and sugar to the warm , cover and let it rise in a warm place.
Add the milk to the flour with the salt and mahleb stir to combine. When the yeast rise
add it to the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon , the mixture has to be liquidy, and not
thick other wise it will not rise and bubble when you cook them, leave to rise for one hour.

Using a tefal or non stick pan, or pancake pan add 2 tbsp or so of the mixture in the medium hot pan and let it bubble and dry, if the pan is too hot the pancakes bottom will burn before they cook, the heat has to be medium low, try with one and see ( # 4) keep stirring , if you want you can use either an ice cream scoop of the 1/4 size measuring cup.... spread a clean towel on a tray and cool your pancakes.

Walnut Stuffing:
2 cups of chopped walnuts
3tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of rose water + 1 tsp of orange blossom water
mix well and stuff your pancakes

stuff the cooled pancakes, and try to close the ends to obtain half a moon, if the pancakes are too dry to close, dip your finger with some water and lightly run it around one edge of the pancakes.

Cheese Stuffing:

1 cup of fresh Ricotta Cheese
1 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese
or 2 cups of sweet Akkawi cheese cut into cubes
2 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp each of rose water and orange blossom
mix well and stuff your pancakes, bake in preheated oven till brown. Drizzle with cool syrup.

Clotted Cream Stuffing (refer to my recipe with Ousmaliyeah)

Cooking: using canola or vegetable oil fry your pancakes ,let them drain on paper towel then dip them in a cool syrup


Syrup: 3 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water cook to thicken add juice of half a lemon stir and when it thickens after 10-12 minutes, take it off the heat, add one tbsp each of rose water and orange blossom

option: you can make you katayef smaller the size of a golf ball, and stuff them with Ashta -Clotted Cream , leaving the katayef half open to show your stuffing, and on top you sprinkle chopped pistachios and a tsp of rose flower jam

I hope you give these Pancake or Lebanese Katayef a try you will be hooked.

Key Lime Pie

One of the dessert that I enjoyed eating when I was living in Orlando is the Key Lime Pie.
Every year around Oct I look forward to see this unique lime fruit on the shelves of my local store , and if I am lucky , I grab couple of bags, and promise myself with a good treat.

the recipe of this pie is not from a book or online source, but its my own testing and twist to it.
I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as we do.

Key Lime Pie Recipe


Crust:
1 1/4 cups of graham crackers (I use whole crackers and ground them myself they taste better)
2 tbsp sugar
5-6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
1/3 cup of coarsely ground almond ( I like the texture and flavour)

mix the ingredients and press it evenly onto the bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie pan - I used a rectangular (12x6) if you have a loose bottom pie pan its ideal .

Bake the crust in a preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes. take it out and leave the oven on.
Note: when I bake pies and specially using a tray under the pan i bake the pie in the first shelf of the oven ... My oven is natural gas with a fan which I don't use for baking pies.

Filling:

1 1/2 cans sweetened condensed milk ( 300 ml each)
3 extra large eggs (some use 4 large)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of freshly squeezed key lime - no bottle juice.(the whole bag which contains 22 lime)

with a whisk whip the eggs and the condensed milk , slowly add the lime juice and combine well you will notice that the mixture will start to thicken)
pour the filling over the crust make sure its well distributed , don't over fill your pan if its smaller than the above... make small tarts in a muffin pan.
bake in the
oven for 15-18 minutes depends on your oven temp. Cool the pie completely before you chill it at least 8 hours to set completely.

To decorate: 3/4 cup heavy cream whipped.

Flavours Variation:

Sometimes if I am in the mood to jazz it up, I use graham biscuits for the bottom, and in the filling i add 1/3 of unsweeted coconut and 1 tbsp of tecquilla or rum, as well as the whipping cream....

Walima Challenge - Representing the Jordanian Cuisine

Jordan (Arabic: الأردنّ‎ al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. It shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, the West Bank and Israel to the west, and Saudi Arabia to the east and south. It shares control of the Dead Sea with Israel, and the coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Much of Jordan is covered by desert, particularly the Arabian Desert; however the north-western area, with the Jordan River, is regarded as part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city of Amman is in the north-west. During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilizations, including such ancient eastern ones as the Canaanite and later other Semitic peoples such as the Edomites, and the Moabites. Other civilizations possessing political sovereignty and influence in Jordan were: Akkadian, Assyrian, Judean, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Jordan was for a time part of Pharaonic Egypt, the Hasmonean Dynasty of the Maccabees, and also spawned the native Nabatean civilization which left rich archaeological remains at Petra. Cultures from the west also left their mark, such as the Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Turkish empires. Since the seventh century the area has been under Muslim and Arab cultures, with the exception of a brief period when the west of the area formed part of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and a short time under British rule.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with representative government. The reigning monarch is the head of state, the chief executive and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king exercises his executive authority through the prime ministers and the Council of Ministers, or cabinet. The cabinet, meanwhile, is responsible before the democratically elected House of Deputies which, along with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes the legislative branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independent branch of the government.

Our Savoury Dish is the Mansaf the national dish of Jordan : lamb seasoned with aromatic herbs, sometimes lightly spiced, cooked in yoghurt, and served with huge quantities of rice. Feasting on Mansaf is taken seriously, and hours are spent in its preparations. Mansaf is cooked in jameed (the Arabic word for dried yoghurt), which is then mixed with water in a tray to produce a creamy sauce. This is poured into a large stewing pot with chunks of lamb meat. The pot is put over an open fire. As the stew begins to warm, it is stirred to prevent the yoghurt from separating. Large trays are covered with the doughy flat Arabic bread and dampened with yogurt. On top of this, a layer of rice is heaped. The meat is then piled on top. Almonds, pine-kernels and other nuts may be sprinkled over the dish, which is then ready for serving.
if you checked http://www.mimicooks.com/ she has a posting about the Mansaf and also a step by step video of a Jordanian Lady preparing the Mansafe. According to Summer this Lady is a great cook.

FAST, EASY AND YUMMY MANSAF

2 Large containers of plain Greek Yogurt
1 kg of lamb meat preferable with bones for more flavour or lamb shanks
Water to boil meat
1 small onion
Salt Cumin, turmeric and any other spices to flavour the lamb
Arabic flat bread (optional)
3 cups jasmine rice
Silvered almond & Pine nuts
1 1/2 Cups butter

Preation:
In a large pot before turning on the heat mix the yogurt.
2: Bring it to boil on high heat , make sure while you cooking the yogurt you are constantly stirring yogurt with a wooden spoon (VERY IMPORTANT) in one direction only. If you started stirring to the left you must keep stirring that way until yogurt starts to boil..
3: Once yogurt boil turn heat off..
4: in another pot cover pieces of lamb with water
5: add small onion.
6: Boil until lamb is tender, skimming the top
7. Remove the lamb meat and strain the broth to remove any small particles.
8: add about 2-3 cups of the broth to the cooked yogurt.
9: add salt to taste and if not tart enough you may add juice from about 1/2 a lemon.
10: add lamb meat to the yogurt and broth mixture (make sure to remove the onion) and let boil one more time.
11: cook rice with 1 cup of butter
12: brown almonds and pine nuts in remaining butter.

When serving put Arabic bread and wet it with some yogurt, then add rice and meat in individual plates and spread cooked yogurt and slivered nuts over it.


Our Dessert Recipe is the Kunafa with sweet cheese..

if you cannot find the Naboulsi or Akawi Cheese in your local store, for sure feel free to use Mozzarella Cheese mixed with Ricotta, also you can use fresh Mozzarella which I find it the best for dessert Another name for fresh Mozzarella I find in Canada is the Boccoccini Cheese they are small Mozzarella Balls soaked in water comes in plastic containers. The recipe is taken from Summer‘s Sweet Blog, it includes a video which shows you step by step instruction

1- Prepare the Kashta (clotted cream) 2- carefully fluff the Katayfeh by hand to loosen the knot 3- drain the water from two containers of Boccoccini Cheese (fresh Mozzarella) 4- grease a springform pan with butter

5- spread a layer of Katayef in the bottom of the pan press by hand to level the thickness and quote all corners

6- bake the dough for 10 minutes, then spread a layer of Kashta over it, and slice the fresh cheese and cover the kashta

7- spread another layer of Kashta , this will premit the fresh cheese from drying out after the Kenafeh cool off, it will melt but stays creamy

8- add the second layer of katayfeh over the kashta and press gently by hand to cover all surface in one thickness and covering all area

9- take a spoon of butter and slice it into small piece and dot it over the dough. bake till golden brown

You can cover the top with chopped pistachios and dollops of kashta

Clotted Cream - Kashta ( this is what I used - and its optional)

1 cup of milk

1 cup of half & half (18%)

1 cup 35% heavy cream (u can use 18% + 35% without adding milk)

3 heaping tablespoons of corn flour

3 tablespoons of sugar

In a pot away from heat, stir all the ingredients with a wisk until the corn flour is dissolved

completely. Return the pot to the heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon till

it start to thickens , cook couple of minutes more, then take it off the heat, add one pound container of smooth Ricotta cheese, stir well to combine. then add one tablespoon of rose water and one table spoon of orange blossom. Empty the Ashta in a glass bowl and cover the surface with a plastic wrap and leave it to cool before you put it in the fridge.

As you see the stuffing is thick and creamy and delicious any time...

I prefer the Kenafeh warm drizzled with cold syrup

Enjoy.

P.S. The Lebanese Kenafeh is prepared almost similar, but we ground the katayfeh in a food processor adding melted butter. the texture should resemble course semolina.

For the stuffing we use only Fresh unsalted cheese. Usually served for breakfast or brunch parties.

if you are serving your Kenafeh as part of a dessert table. you can bake the kenafeh , until its golden brown, then place the tray over a pot full of hot water to keep it warm . Bring it to the table the minute you are serving it , this will insure creamy melting cheese . Drizzle cold syrup.

Baba Au Rum

The original form of the baba was similar to the babka, a tall cylindrical yeast cake. The name means 'old woman' or 'grandmother' in the Slavic languages, and has nothing to do with Ali Baba; babka is a diminutive of the same word.
The modern version "Baba au Rhum" (Rum Baba), with dried fruit and soaking in rum, was invented in rue Montorgueil (Paris, France) in 1835 or before, both in name and in fact pretty much the original baba soaked in rum. Today, the word "Baba" in France and almost everywhere else outside eastern Europe usually refers specifically to the rum baba.
The original Baba was introduced into France in the 18th century via Alsace and Lorraine. This is attributed to Stanislas, the exiled king of Poland . However, legends crediting of Stanislas with the innovation of the "Baba au Rhum" are certainly false, theories giving partial credit to Stanislas seem possible, though partially unlikely: the Larousse Gastronomique reports that Stanislas had the idea of soaking a dried Kugelhopf (a cake roughly similar to the baba and common in Alsace-Lorraine when he arrived there) or a baba with alcoholic spirit. Another version [3] is that when Stanislas brought back a baba from one of his voyages it had dried up. Nicolas Stohrer, one of his pâtissiers (or possibly just apprentice pâtissiers at the time), solved the problem by addition of adding Malaga wine, saffron, dried and fresh raisin and crême pâtissière. Courchamps states in 1839 that the descendants of Stanislas served the baba with a saucière containing sweet malaga wine mixed with one sixth of Tanaisie Licquor.
Nicolas Stohrer followed Stanislas' daughter Maria Leszczyńska to Versailles as her pâtissier in 1725 when she married King Louis XV, and founded his Pâtisserie in Paris in 1730. One of his descendants allegedly had the idea of using rum in 1835. While he is believed to have done so on the fresh cakes (right out of the mold), it is a common practice today to let the baba dry a little so that it soaks up better. Later, the recipe was refined by mixing the Rum with aromatized sugar syrup.
In 1844 the Julien Brothers, Parisian pâtissiers, invented the "Savarin" which is strongly inspired by the "Baba au Rhum" but is soaked with a different alcoholic mixture and uses a circular (ring) cake mold instead of the simple round (cylindrical) form. The ring form is nowadays often associated with the Baba au Rhum as well, and the name "Savarin" is also sometimes given to the rum-soaked circular cake.
The baba was later brought to Naples by French cooks, and became a popular Neapolitan specialty, under the name babà or babbà.
The pastry has appeared on US restaurant menus since 1899,[4] if not earlier.

It has been a while since I made the Baba, and the day has come and I made a big batch of it, and since I didn't have the right baba molds i used ramekins and then parchment papers to extend the length and give room to the dough to rise taller. I even used the popover pans and they came perfect.

the sauce was a combination of fresh orange juice, and Golden Rum.
you can dip the baba in the warm sauce and they will double again when they soak the yummy syrup. Stuffing the baba is up to you , either with pastry cream of whipped cream, and you can use a pastry bag with a fine round tip inserted in the bottom of each baba and fill it with the cream, or you can add the whipped cream on top of the baba and serve with it nuts and dried fruits soaked in the same syrup...

Bakewell Tart - June Daring Bakers Challenge

A customer at the North Bay Farmer’s Market gave me two frozen bags of Sour Cherries, she said use them in your baking, also they make good jam. She will have fresh fruits soon, and if I need more she can pick me fresh ones when they are ready.

Sour Cherry is not a popular fruit in Lebanon, I know that we use the nut inside the seeds for our baking, and it’s called Mahleb, and it’s available in all Lebanese/Middle Eastern Stores.

I wanted to make some jam using the frozen sour cherries, and I searched to net to find 1) an easy way to take the seeds 2) a good recipe for jam without using pectin which we don’t use.
I found a simple way by cooking the cherries for 10-15 minutes then mash them or use a hand mouline to mash the fruit and get rid of the seeds. The result was a red syrupy paste. My first choice was using Quince to the mixture first to add a texture and get the nature pectin but quince is not available in the markets in North Bay, so my second choice went to the green pears, which is almost similar to quince and they do keep their shapes and taste excellent in jams and have pectin. And my two frozen bags turned to exotic jam with beautiful flavour, I added freshly ground cloves, nutmeg and fennel seeds in the mix

I wanted to make some pies for the market, and since the challenge of June was the Bakewell Tart, this became my first choice, and on Friday morning
I prepared enough dough to make 20 - 4 inch pies and 20 - 8 inch pies.
A dozen of each size was made using the Bakewell Tart recipe, and since I made enough frangipane to made fresh fruit tarts with frangipane paste.

There are two types of Bakewell Tart. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich Shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.
The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavored Shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.
Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart or Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich Shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.
Thanks to Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Aneemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar who chose such a delicious and classic English treat. What a fun challenge this was!

Dough recipe for 9 inch pie:
225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rubs the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Frangipane:
Prep time: 10-15 minutes Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep it’s slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Chilled Tart Shells ready for the OvenSour Cherry & Pear Jam is used for stuffing

Fragipane topping over the jam

Dozen 4" tarts & dozen 8" tarts were baked for the market

Tasty and elegant Tart, easy to prepare with a beautiful dough base

A nice color combination

I will definetley make this tart again