Filled Pate A Choux Swans Daring Bakers August 2012

Yesterday morning when I got up I really thought it was 27th and suddenly I remembered that I still not have made my Daring Bakers.
And I was like oh noooooo I am going to miss DB again as I havent's done Daring Bakers for last 2 months and I didn't want to miss it again.
So I send Hans to the shops to buy Cream as that was then only ingridient I didn't have at home for making this.
So instead of having a relaxed morning I was busy in my kitchen making this months challenge so that I could post it.
And in the hurry I did burn my first batch of swan necks and also while assembing I did break few of then as they were so delicate, all in all it is not a good idea to do something in a hurry.

So after evening dinner I sat down infront of the computer , and clicked to my blog and clicked new post and then I looked down to the right corner of the computer and saw it was only 26 th !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I said to myself you Idiot, why were you in such a panic.
I guess I am getting old or it is the summer holidays that one doesn't have a clue what day it is.

Kat of  The Bobwhites is our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!
I used the same  recipe for the Choux Buns  which I use always when ever I make them, so I sticked to my trusted recipe and I filled half with whipped cream with vanilla essecna and the other half with coffee flavoured whipped cream.



 

Orange Berry Muffins

I did think while it was summer holidays I won't be able to take pictures of the baking and dishes I make. But have to say I did manage to click some delicious food pics which I am so proud of, even if I myself say that :-)

There are lots of dishes I want to post here but so little time.

Here blueberries are seasonal, ok I will re phrase it, they are cheaper when it is this time of the year. It is available whole year around but in smaller packs and atleast triple the prize, so I only buy them when it is in full season.

I do love them and they do say it is one of the super food.

In our place it is opposite, Shyama likes them in bakes etc....but she is like there is not that much taste in them when you eat it fresh.

Recipe from Baking by Dorie Greenspan.

Grated Zest and Juice of one orange

About 3/4 cup of butter milk

2 large eggs

3 tablespoon honey

1 stick (8 tablespoon) unsalted butter melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups of all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup bluberry - fresh, preferbly or frozen ( not thawed)

Decorating sugar for topping (optional)

Getting ready:Line a muffin pan with paper cups.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour the orange juice in a large glass measuring cup or bowl and pour in enough butter milk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the egg, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl , rub the sugar and the zest together with your fingertips untill the sugar is moist and the fragrance of the orange strong.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.Por the liquid ingridients over the dry ingridients and with the whisk or rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.Don't worry about beeing thorough, the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that is just the way it should be.Stir in the bluberris. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.Bake for 22 to 25 minutes.If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes.When fully baked the tops of the muffins, will be golden and springy to the touch.Tranfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carfully removing each muffin from the mould.





Strawberry Cream Cake

It is still summer holidays and we are enjoying having Shyama at home ( ok not the she is continues home as she is doing her summer job for one month in the library here )

And as Hans is in holiday too he and I have been going to place here around but then cycling, the longest we have cycled till now is 25 km. I don't thing it will get longer than that.

I know I have been missing out on you lovely posts and I will have to miss it till the begning of september .
I had plans to post something healthier, but after seeing the pictures of the cake both my sisters have been asking for the recipe.

Ok this is a cake I made to take to my inlaws place for a sunday coffee and we all loved it.

If yor are a vegetarian you don't have to use the gelatine in the cream, I use it as it as i have heard the bakers use it so that they can keep the cake for longer so the cream does'nt run.

You should moist the cake with the liquour of you choice if you don't have strawberry liquour, but what ever you are using you must moisten teh cake otherwise the cake might be too dry.

For the Sponge:

Sugar 150 gm ( I used 120 gm)

Eggs 250 gms ( usually 5 eggs, depending on the size)

Flour 150 gm

Vanilla Extract 1 tbsp
Baking powder 1/2 tsp

1 pinch of salt
(There are times when I melt butter and add to the batter to make the cake more moist this time I didn't do )

Preheat the oven to 200° c.
Line and grease 9 inch round cake tin, when it comes to inches I have no idea aobut the measurement , I used a 22 cm cake tin.

In a large bowl add he eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat together ( I used a hand mixer)  till it gets very thick to a ribbon texture, this will take 8 to 10 minutes.
Sift the flour and baking powder together, do this twice so that there is no lumps.
Fold the sifted flour mix into the egg mixture using a metal spoon or spatula ( I used a spatula) you should be carefull when you fold just be gentle, don't be in a hurry.
Pour tha batter into the tin.
Bake fro 25 tà 30 minutes , to know if it is baked insert a toothpick and that should come our clean, then you know it is done.
In my Oven the cake was done in 24 minutes so I guess it depends on your oven.

 Let the cake cook for atleast 10 minutes in the tin and then remove it from the tin and leave it to cool completley before you decorate the cake and do the filling.

 500 gm strawberries
750 ml full fat cream cold
3 tbsp powder sugar ( if you like a sweeter cake you ave to add more powder sugar here at home we don't like that much sugar on a creamy cake so add the sugar according to your taste)
4 to 5 tsp water (Only use this water if you are using gelatine)
3 tsp gelatine powder
Combine water and gelatine and MW for few seconds and mix everything well.
Few tbsp of strawberry liqueor ( if you don't have this you can use rum or any other drink )
Few drops of red food coloring.

In a bowl add the cream, food color and sugar and using a hand mixer whipp the cream when it is a bit thick add the gelatine in a small stream, whipp the cream till it is really thick.

Assembling the cake
Slice the cake horizontally .
Sprinkle both the piece wtih the strawberry liquer.
Slice 300 gm strawberries and mix with couple of table spoon of the whipped cream.
Spread this mix on top of a cake layer.
Take the other piece of the cake and press on top.
Use the rest of the whipped cream for spreading the whole cake and also for decorating the top of the cake.
Slice the rest of the strawberries and decorate the side of the cake.
Keep in the fridge for one hour and then slice and enjoy the cake.



Strawberry Mousse

I know it is w while I posted something here or that I have visited your blogs, not that I have forgoten aobut my or your blog, just  thaat as I mentioned in my earlier post that it is summer holidays and Shyama is home and I am busy with other things.

It will be like this till the begning of September.
Shyama became 20 years last week , years seems to go so fast.
So this is the dessert I made for the dinner party.

For 4 glasses ( Depending on the glass size)

12 Biscuit rose de Reims if you don't get this you can use savoiardi biscuits, ladyfingers.

2 gelatine leaves ( or 1 coffee spoon of agar agar) I used gelatine

300 gm strawberries
60 gm sugar

1 eggwhite

250 ml cream

Few tbsp of strawberry Liquor or strawberry coulis ( i used Liquor )

Powder the cookies.

Puree 250 gm strawberries in a blender
Add the puree in a pan and bring to boil.
Add the gelatine leaves in cold water for few minutes. When they are soft take them out from the water, squeezing hard so there is not water left, add this to the hot strawberry puree and stri well untill they are mixed good. Leave this mix to coolk a bit.
In the mean time add the sugar in a pan together with 2 table spoon of water and bring to boil till it gets to 120°c.
Beat the egg whit stiff, add the sugar syrup into the egg white and continue beating timm the egg white is cold.

Fold  egg whites into the strawberry puree carefully.

Whipp up the cream thick and add fold this to the strawberry mix carefully.

Divide half of the powdered biscuits into the glasses. Add 1 to 2 tbsp of the liquor or couli.
Spoong the strawberry cream mix into the glasses. Top it up with the rest of the powdered biscuits . Top up with the rest of the liquor or the couli and leave in the fridge for atleast 3 hours.
Before serving slice the reamining strawberries , top them on the top of the glasses and serve.