Cakes and mix and match

I've been breading it up big at home lately - I realize just how much I seriously love to make breads.... But on the other hand I've also been playing around with cake ideas. I have my final quarter coming up at school early next year and I have a project called "Chef Of the Day" and I have to make a tart, a breakfast pastry, a chocolate (or a petis four), a bread, and a cake. Needless to say I'm worried about the cake portion as I feel it's something that I haven't really done much of.

As I've been learning more this quarter about cakes I've been liking them a whole lot more. There are so many variations to make, not only that but you can take parts of one cake you like and apply it to another one - it's really easy to integrate, and mix and match.

This cake is one I've been thinking about for a few weeks, sort of a baklava cake: the base is a walnut sponge, this is covered in a honey syrup. On top of this is a roasted pistachio and vanilla bavarian, then a layer of praline, and then a milk chocolate and honey yogurt mousse. I was pretty happy with the way it came out. I do need to work on presentation (it's a tad bland in looks), and also I'm going to change the bavarian layer to a roast hazelnut layer, but it's not bad. Al

so, all the layers are from different recipes, just proving you can make whatever you like as long as you have the basics down (ie. know how to make a sponge, a mousse and a bavarian).

Choc Panforte Candies

These are from the most recent issue of Bon Appetit (December 2008). I just happen to have all the ingredients hanging about so I thought that I'd give them a go. They were an interesting flavor, sort of chocolately, mulled wine, hazelnutty. Pretty good actually - interesting, pretty easy to make. Great gifts for Chissy!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup quartered dried black Mission figs (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 teaspoons grated orange peel, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup (scant) hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
14 standard paper muffin baking cups

PREPARATION
Cook first 5 ingredients and 1 teaspoon orange peel in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat until liquid forms thick syrup that coats figs, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in cinnamon, remaining 1/4 teaspoon orange peel, and nuts. Melt chocolate in microwave-safe bowl on medium power until melted and warm to touch, stopping once to stir, about 1 1/2 minutes. Arrange paper cups on rimmed baking sheet. Spoon 1 mounded teaspoon chocolate onto bottom of each paper cup. Tap baking sheet on work surface to spread chocolate over bottom of cups. Top center of each with about 1 mounded teaspoon fig mixture. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Peel off paper. Let chocolates stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

Taken from: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/fasteasyfresh/2008/12/chocolate_panforte_candies

Lekach: Old-Fashioned Honey Cake

This recipe makes two loaves. This is a dry, slightly sweet bread-like cake. It has some textural differentiation due to the ginger and walnuts (you don't have to have either in this recipe) and as it is a rather dry cake it pairs well with tea or coffee.

Ingredients
6.25 cups of plain flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1.5 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1.5 cups packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup honey

1 Tbs. salt

2/3 cup strong hot coffee

3 large eggs

1.5 cups walnuts pieces

1.5 cups chopped crystallized ginger

Method

1. Oil two 9x5inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and baking soda.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together the brown sugar, oil, honey, salt, and hot coffee. Mix until the brown sugar is dissolved.

4. Add the eggs to the brown sugar and coffee mixture, whisk until well blended.

5. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.

6. Fold in the nuts and ginger.

7. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula, and if you desire sprinkle some crystallized ginger across the top for decoration.

8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

9. Preheat oven to 325F.

10. Bake the cakes for 1 hour (at 30 min turn the cakes around so that even baking is achieved), or until well browned and when a thin knife is inserted in the center it comes out clean.

11. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack, then remove from the pan.

These cakes keep for weeks wrapped in plastic in the fridge.

Taken from "A Blessing of Bread: Recipes and Rituals, Memories and Mitzvahs" by Maggie Glezer pp.153-5.

Almond Custard Buns

These were inspired by one of my favorite German treats: Bienenstich (http://rhid-baked.blogspot.com/2007/07/bienenstich-bee-sting.html). Instead of making it a slice I simply made individual buns. These are both milky and crunchy with a touch of honey for sweetness.

Ingredients: Basic Brioche Dough (use half the dough for this recipe. Make sure to make the whole batch though – as yeast dough is really hard to make in different quantities).
2 packets of active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch milk
3.75 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
3 eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature (but still slightly firm) cut into 2 Tbs pieces

Ingredients: Filling (the custard is good for using the whole brioche recipe – it makes a lot)

80g custard powder

500mL full fat milk

250mL whipping cream

100g sugar

3.5 Tbs. butter cut into small bits

Ingredients: Topping
100g chopped almonds
100g butter
50g sugar
1.5 tsp. honey
1.5 Tbs. whipping cream

Method: Brioche
1. Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved.

2. Add the flour and salt, and fit the mixer with a dough hook.

3. Put a tea towel over the mixer (to prevent the flour from covering everything when you mix it).

4. Turn the mixer on and off for a few short pulses, then remove the towel.

5. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for 1 - 2mins, just until the flour is moistened.

6. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar.

7. Increase the speed to medium and beat for around 3 min, until the dough makes a ball.

8. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2 Tbs sized chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next piece. The dough will soft, and more like a batter then a conventional dough at this stage.

9. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl (around 10 min).

10. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40min.

11. Pick the dough up from the sides, and let it fall back down into the bowl with a slap.

12. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Every 30min for the next 2 hours, slap the dough down in the bowl.
13. Leave the dough in the fridge overnight.

Method: Filling

1.In a saucepan add the custard powder and a little of the milk. Stir to blend in making sure there are no lumps.

2. Add the rest of the milk and add the cream and 100g sugar. Stir well to incorporate.

3. Put the heat of the stove top onto medium-high and with a whisk stir the custard mixture until it becomes thick (the whisk should leave visible gouges in the custard).

4. Take the saucepan off the stovetop and add one piece of butter at a time, making sure to combine the butter well before adding another piece.

5. Leave the custard mixture to cool down to room temp (periodically whisk it to make sure it doesn’t form a skin).

Method: Topping
1. In a medium pan, over medium-low heat combine the sugar, butter, honey and cream.

2.Stir and wait for the mixture to boil.

3.Once it has boiled stir in the almonds.

4.Take off the heat, and allow to cool down (10min).

Method: Assembly
1. Line a two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.Using half the chilled dough, roll it out into a rectangle on a floured bench top (12” X 16”).

3. Spread half the custard onto the dough leaving 1 inch spare around the edges.

4. Sprinkle on a handful of almonds – crunching them in your palms as you do so.

5. Roll the dough from one of the smallest edges towards the other. Roll as tightly as you can.

6. Here you can wrap the tightly rolled rounds in plastic wrap and freeze for later use (to use frozen, defrost overnight in the fridge then take them out and let them rise for around 1.5 hours and bake as directed below).

7. With a sharp knife trim the dough at the ends. Cut the log into 1 inch pieces.

8. Place on the lined baking sheets making sure to leave room around each.

9. Place 1 Tbs. of the topping on each round.

10. Lightly cover the rounds with wax paper and set the baking sheets in a warm place to rise for 1.5 hours.

11. Heat the oven to 375F.

12. Bake for 25 min (they are done when they are puffed, and a light brown).

Dough taken from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking from my home to yours" and topping from "German Baking Today" by Dr. Oetker pp.134-6.