Orange Tian - The Daring Bakers Challenge

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

Note: There are quite a few steps to making this dessert; however a lot of them can be made in advance. The orange marmalade can be made several days ahead of time and the caramel sauce and orange segments preparation should be made the day before you make the dessert. Also, if you have a scale, try and use the weighed measurements as they will be the most accurate.

For the Pate Sablee:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
granulated sugar 6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon; 2.8 oz; 80 grams
vanilla extract ½ teaspoon
Unsalted butter ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed
Salt 1/3 teaspoon; 2 grams
All-purpose flour 1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons; 7 oz; 200 grams
baking powder 1 teaspoon; 4 grams

Directions:
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogenous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.

Using your cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the circles of dough are just golden.

For the Marmalade: (I used my own home made with has oranges, grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon with some slices of citrus segment. I don’t use pectin; I use the old method of cooking until it thickens…

For the Orange Segments:

For this step you will need 8 oranges.

Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.

[See YouTube video in the References section below for additional information on segmenting oranges.]

For the Caramel:

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
granulated sugar 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
orange juice 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons; 14 oz; 400 grams

Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it.

Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.

Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the Orange Tian

For the Whipped Cream

Ingredients U.S. Metric Imperial Instructions for Ingredients
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp Gelatine
1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:

Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out 6 cookie cutters onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circles of dough ready to use.

Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snugly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of each cookie cutter, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cookie cutter in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on each circle of dough.

Carefully place a circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

Place the desserts to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.

Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

To be honest this is not the flavour I wanted to use for this tart... I wanted to try Mango and Peach, toping and mango peach homemade jam .

Also an appetizer tart combines home made mascrapone cheese with Lebanese fig jam, and fresh figs topping...and drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar .

I was very sick the last couple of days, I had a bad sinus infection, all my face with hurting.

I couldn't do much . But keep checking I am going to prepare the new flavours soon, and post them as part two of the challenge.

French Vegetable Tian

Provençal cooking celebrates the earthy traditions of the French countryside and southern France in general, with food as simple and good as bread, wine, cheese. A Tian is a layered, baked vegetable dish that originated in Provence but is also common to city kitchens. The vegetable Tian is a savoury dish to complement the sweet dish for the March Challenge.

Unlike a gratin, a Tian does not include a dough, bread crumbs or cheese, which allows the juices in the vegetables to evaporate in the oven's dry heat, concentrating their flavours.

Summer Vegetable Tian

This recipe calls for aubergines (eggplants). Look for glossy, brightly coloured skins (eggplant with overly dark flesh tends to be bitter). As with many rustic recipes, ingredients are called for by size and quantity but not a measured amount. Try not to worry: If you use the sizes and quantities below, you should have the right amount.

2 medium leeks

4 medium cloves garlic (the recipe calls for 2 cloves)

1 or 2 small zucchini

1 or 2 small aubergines (eggplants)

2 or 3 medium plum tomatoes

2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme (I used 1 tbsp Herb De Provence)

1/4 cup dry white wine (you can use water or vegetable stock-wine gives the acid flavour)

Extra virgin olive oil

Butter (I didn’t use butter, instead I brush the veggies with olive oil)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of a two-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Set aside. Butter the inside of the dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Remove the root ends of the leeks and cut the leeks just where the white part meets the green top. Set the greens aside for another use (such as making stock). Slice the white leek segments in half lengthwise and halve each. Slice leek quarters crosswise into ribbons; scrape into a bowl and fill the bowl with water. Swirl the leeks around until they start to separate and release the grit between the layers. Repeat with one or two changes of water to remove all the grit. Once the leeks are clean, drain them in a colander.

3. While the leeks are draining, peel and mince garlic.

4. Remove the ends from the zucchini and aubergines and discard. Cut each crosswise into coins 1/8-inch thick.

5. Remove the stem ends from the tomatoes and discard. Cut each crosswise into rounds 1/8-inch thick.

6. Coat a small pan with a two-count of olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and swirl to coat. Gently add the leeks, avoiding splashing. Cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks have begun to soften and the garlic has released its fragrance, approximately two minutes.

7. Carefully spread the leek-garlic mixture across the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper; strip the leaves from one of the sprigs of thyme and sprinkle over the mixture.

8. Layer the zucchini, aubergines and tomato on top of the leek-garlic mixture, alternating each and overlapping slightly. If working with a square or rectangular dish, layer in rows; if working with a circular or oval dish, work in fans from the center. Drizzle with a two-count of olive oil and splash with the wine. Sprinkle with salt and a few grindings of fresh black pepper; strip the leaves from the remaining thyme and sprinkle over the casserole.

9. Butter the cut parchment and carefully place, buttered side down, on top of the vegetables. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on your oven, until the vegetables are soft but not mushy while the edges are nicely crisp and brown.

Note: use a pie plate and not metal the acid in the wine will ruin the metal part.

Use a tray with parchment paper to catch the spill out juice.

If you have a convection oven, adjust the setting to convection roast, 400F; otherwise raise the oven temp to 425F. With the pan in the bottom and the paper on top the dish needs a higher temperature to roast and not steam the veggies. The last ten minutes take the paper off and let the veggies roast and caramelize.

I highly recommend this dish, it smells amazing, and tastes soooo good. A healthy side dish with your chicken or roast dinner.