Zucchini and pumpkin blossoms are delicious lightly battered, fried until golden, sprinkled with sea salt and served with lime. The stems are very handy for battering them and putting in the pan so keep them until the end.
Chick pea flour is essential as it gives it a lighter crispier batter that just clings to the flower.
Batter
Half corn flour and half chick pea flour by volume (ie. 1/2 cup each) Increase if you are cooking many flowers.
Salt to taste
Enough water to make a runny batter.
Dip blossoms in batter and rotate to coat all sides. Add to hot oil in pan.
Turn the blossoms once they are golden on one side. Remove from the oil when they are golden and drain on a paper towel. Salt them immediately and squeeze a dash of lemon or lime over them.
Note: It's important to snip off the stems. otherwise your blossoms look like battered rodents and your pictures are blurry because you and your family cannot stop laughing! Enjoy.
There has been an atomic explosion of zucchini in the gardens which has called for some creativity. Zucchini are best eaten when they are smaller, but I've managed to turn a few large ones into a suitable moussaka dish.
Zucchini Moussaka (Serves 8 – 12)
60 mL olive oil
2 large zucchini
8 minced garlic cloves
1 cinnamon stick
10 mL dried oregano
1 kg ground lamb
60 mL tomato puree
300 mL water
300 mL red wine
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
Potatoes for the bottom, sliced and roasted until tender but not quite cooked
Béchamel
1 L milk
120 g butter
120 g gluten free flour mix (starch and flour mixture)
100 g parmeggiano
4 eggs, separated and egg whites beaten till stiff
Nutmeg, to grate or 5 - 10 mL
Zucchini - Salt zucchini and let them drain in a colander for about an hour. In the meantime, start the meat sauce as you will use any excess fat from the meat to gently fry the zucchini.
Meat – Heat 30 mL oil in frying pan and cook onion until soft. Add garlic, cinnamon stick and oregano and cook a further few minutes. Stir in lamb. Turn up heat and brown lamb well, cooking until mixture is quite dry. If the lamb gives off a lot of fat, like mine did, drain the lamb and reserve the fat. You will use it for cooking the zucchini and potatoes. Push the meat to one side of the dish and add the tomato paste. Cook for a minute or two to reduce the acidity. Stir in the water and wine, bring to a simmer, then turn heat down low and cook for 30-40 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season and stir in parsley.
Zucchini - To fry the zucchini, use a non stick pan a a small amount of the fat. The trick is to fry it until golden marks appear in order to bump up the flavour of the zucchini in the dish. When the zucchini has been cooked, put it back into the collander to drain. Overgrown zucchini give off a lot of water and it's best to drain as much as possible.
Potatoes – Pour some of the fat from the meat into a plastic bag and add salt and pepper. Toss in the sliced potatoes and roast in 450 degree oven. Use the same pan as the one for the final moussaka to save on dishes!
Béchamel – Melt butter in saucepan. Stir flour into butter and cook for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warm milk. Cook until you have a thick sauce, then stir in cheese until melted. Take off heat and allow it to cool slightly, then add in egg yolks and stir well. Fold in beaten egg whites. Salt to taste and add nutmeg. Add a large generous spoonful to the meat mixture to smooth it out.
Arrange Dish – Layer potatoes on the bottom, then zucchini then meat. There should be enough for two zucchini layers. Repeat and top with béchamel and sprinkle with cheese and some nutmeg. Bake for about 45 (hour if larger) minutes until well browned, then leave to cool for half an hour before serving.
Gluten Free Flour Mix - I mix half starches, such as rice and corn and half flours such as millet, corn or brown rice flour to make a total amount.
Like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, I'm late once again for a challenge. But I made it... or rather Jenny and I made it.
The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.
I was pleasantly surprised by this challenge, in fact, everyone around the table seemed surprised. Jenny and I were very laissez faire about the whole thing and no one was expecting too much satisfaction out of the dessert. Surprisingly, the recipe rated a solid eight out of ten.
When I think of tarts, I think of oozing fillings with a pie crust. The frangipane in the Bakewell Tart was more like-cake than custardy. Could this be because it was gluten free? I have no idea.
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, rub 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 a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
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, don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the 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 its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour. Spoon the mixture over the jam.
Assembly Instructions
Place ball of dough on parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and squish down with your hands. Then use rolling pin and roll pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When pastry is to desired size and thickness, transfer it to tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Blind bake the crust for about ten minutes until golden and slightly puffy. It will not puff as much as a wheat flour crust. Remove from the oven and spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking. The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish. When you slice into the tart, the frangipane paste will be firm and cakelike. The crust should be crisp but not tough.
*Gluten Free Flour Mix 2 cups brown rice flour 2/3 cups potato starch 1/3 cup tapioca flour
Lessons Learned
1) Teamwork makes a challenge easy.
2) I may not have time for a challenge, but always will have some time to socialise.
3) The tartiest thing about this challenge were the two cooks.
4) Keep your guests' expectations low. That way they are pleasantly surprised. Keep 'em hungry too and they'll eat anything.
5) I owe some kids bribe money for trying some of the weird food we served.
Hop over to the Daring Kitchen to see the buzz this month. The original recipe will be posted at The Daring Kitchen and on the host blogs.
What was that sound? It was the wooooooosh of a Daring Cook's Challenge being posted around the world and passing me by. Ooops, totally fogot about the date and mixed it up with the reveal date.
This month's challenge was hosted by Jen of Use Real Butter. She chose to challenge us with Chinese Potstickers.
Jen's blog is gorgeous and she beautifully illustrates how to make the potstickers. Although, she pokes fun of how white folks roll out the dough! Well Jen, this whitey used her tortilla press and the dough was perfectly round.... but pleating skills in this house leave a lot to be desired.
We used a gluten free recipe and the dough was very gluey. Our finger tips morphed with the dough until we just pleated finger sticking blobs.
The gluten free recipe can be found on Jen's blog. Since it included wheat starch and I wasn't confident I could find a gluten free wheat starch, I substituted a combination of tapioca starch, rice starch and other gluten free flours.
Note that one of my connoisseurs loved the pot stickers.
Filling chopped and ready to be stuffed into the dough. It looked good but tasted suspiciously like dried out tofu. Wait, it was tofu. Ugh.
My perfectly round dough disks morphed into blobs once they were cooked.
Lessons Learned
1) For perfectly round flat gorgeous disks of dough, just use the tortilla press. I love my tortilla press.
2) Gluten free potstickers cling to fingers like glue so attempts at perfect pleats are laughable. Hahahahaha
3) Substituting tofu for pork in the filling is really not that appetizing.
4) This challenge pushed me way beyond my comfort zone and I loved the introduction to a completely different technique. Would I do this again? Maybe.
Thank you Jen for a great challenge!
Pop over to the Daring Kitchen to see some of the other posts.
Strudel was the challenge this month and visions of bakers stretching their thin glutinous dough filled my head... but not for me. Gluten free meant more research to recreate a thin, flaky crispy dough that would not break when rolled. It didn't look very hopeful.
A round of applause to Karen of Gluten Free Sox Fan - she helped with a recipe that recreated the thin flaky texture of a strudel dough. But the shaping and baking was very different from a traditional wheat flour.
First Step
Mix the thimblefuls of flour mixes (the amounts were very small) into a pasty dough. Not much to look at.
Second Step
Spread pasty dough into even layer on Silpat or parchment. Any wrinkles in the parchment become fissures through which all filling leaks. Silpat would be better.
Third Step
Cook until it begins to release from the paper. Gently fill and roll, then cook again.
Fourth Step
Photograph before devouring.
The recipe for the gluten free strudel can be found here in the book Gluten-Free Baking with Culinary Institute of America.
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
Lessons Learned
1) Baking gluten free strudel is possible with a great team of advisers. I surprised myself. Despite not being hopeful about a great strudel - it was amazing.
2) Gluten free strudel is faster to make then regular - no stretching required!
3) For a thin flexible and flaky dough, this GF dough is loaded with egg, whey and soy protein. Not a problem in this household but loaded with potential allergens for other households.
Thanks to some research, a few comments and an email from Jenny we solved the mystery of the package I purchased.
The package of Yerba Mate was right beside the Pan in the Mexican and South American food section. The label on the shelf was covered by a stack of food but the packages were peeking out over top.
See the resemblance?
What I thought was a bag of coarsely ground cornmeal (the package resembled the same type of packaging) turned out to be a kilogram of loose tea.
Um, we don't drink that much tea. Thankfully the kind cashier took pity on us (snickering all the while) and returned the package.
The first Daring Cook's challenge from the Daring Kitchen and like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, I am late to post about it. Ironically I made the challenge twice because my family liked it so much.
This month our daring founders Ivonne from Creampuffs in Venice and Lisa from La Mia Cucina chose Ricotta Gnocchi from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café.
Two thumbs up for this recipe and only a little tweaking was required to convert it to gluten free. For the original recipe, check out the Daring Kitchen or better yet, buy The Zuni Café Cookbook here.
Gnocchi rolled in a combination of cornmeal and potato flour.
Plump Lumps Ready for cooking.
Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6) Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.
For the gnocchi: 1 pound fresh ricotta (2 cups) 2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter 2 or 3 fresh sage leaves (optional) ½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed) about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt) cornmeal and potato flour for forming the gnocchi
For the gnocchi sauce: 8 tablespoons (227 grams butter, sliced 2 teaspoons water
Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta. If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.
Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough. To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.
Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks.
Step 3: Forming the gnocchi. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.
In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.
Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.... that would be a plump lump.
Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.
If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.
Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them. Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.
You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.
Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi. Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside. In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other.
Once the water is boiling, salt it generously. Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi). When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.
Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.
Lessons Learned
1) Take pictures even if your first batch looks like albino poop.
2) Form the gnocchi using spoons to make quenelles. The dough is very delicate and will stick to your hands.
3) If you like ricotta, fresh milk and parmigiano, you will love these light gnocchi. If you aren't a milk and cheese person these gnocchi will not appeal to you.
4) We prefer the light texture of these gnocchi compared to some heavy pasty potato gnocchi we've tried.
5) Too much butter for the original sauce made the first batch too heavy. A lighter touch with the butter was our preference.
Spring is in full force here and the pink shoots of my rhubarb plants have unfurled into tender green leaves. It's heartening to have a robust plant that won't die no matter how I neglect it, and I do neglect it.
Why can't I appreciate this plant more? I guess familiarity breeds contempt and the bags of cut frozen rhubarb hibernating in my freezer remind me of last summer's bounty.
When we were children, we would grab a young stem of rhubarb and dip it repeatedly into a small bowl of sugar after each puckery bite. Each of us in turn would laugh at the sour faces we made as we gnawed on the pink stalks. Somehow repeating that experience as an adult no longer holds the same appeal, my children don't want to play that game either.
Our rhubarb plants are embarrassingly generous with their productivity and it just seems ungrateful to ignore the frozen chunks of rhubarb before our next harvest.
I must focus on the positive, the things we love to eat... Indian food and HP Sauce.
Our family has fallen in love with the complexity of Indian spice mixes and we generously douse HP Sauce on our food. How could I add rhubarb, Indian spices and the appeal of HP sauce into something delicious?
Experiment anyone?
House Party Masala was the result of adding everything up and cooking it into a sauce.
The sauce earned two thumbs up from the family. It had the appeal of HP Sauce, a touch more of a spicy bite and a lingering shadow of Indian spice. We loved it and the sauce is on our table just in time for barbecue season.
House Party Masala Sauce
11 cups rhubarb, diced (2750 mL) 2 cups onion, chopped (500 mL) 5 cloves garlic, peeled 1&1/2 cups water (375 mL) 15 whole cloves 1 tablespoon hot chili pepper flakes (15 mL) 1 cup white vinegar (250 mL) 3 cups brown sugar (750 mL) 1/4 cup black strap molasses (60 mL) 1 teaspoon salt (5 mL) 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (2 mL) 1 tablespoon garam masala
Combine rhubarb, onions, garlic, cloves and hot pepper flakes in a large stainless steel pot. Bring everything to a boil and boil gently for 15 minutes. The rhubarb will begin fall apart.
Puree the mixture in a blender and return to the saucepan. Make sure the lid of the blender is firmly attached otherwise hot sauce may explode out of your blender when it is running.
Add vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper and garam masala. Stirring frequently, boil gently until mixture thickens - about 45 minutes. Pour into prepared jars.
Yields 4 x 500 mL jars (2 litres or 8 cups)
Note: For safe home canning techniques and food processing please refer to Bernardin's website here.
The Daring Bakers have rolled up their collective sleeves and worked on the lastest challenge... cheesecake! The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
There isn't a lot of cheese cake in this house. Although we find it on every restaurant menu, we don't tend to order it. Usually we find the texture a bit pasty and the cheesecake sticks to the roof of the mouth. But, but, this cheesecake.... well, holy moly the texture was divine!
Jenny would be so proud of her friend for bringing another person over to the cheese cake side of life. The recipe was modified to be gluten free and booze free - booze on the side please, it packs a bigger punch! The original recipe can be found at Jenny Bakes or at the Daring Kitchen where there is a gorgeous slide show of some of the creations of our members.
Rather than contend with a potentially soggy crust, I bought disposable aluminium tins for smaller cheesecakes. The recipe made a total of 8 cheesecakes and each serves at least 3 people. The added bonus was that the baking time was cut in half because of the smaller cheesecakes.
Just Poured Cheesecake
Cheesecake based on Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake
Crust 200 gram (1 & 2/3 cups) sweetened flaked coconut 60 mL (1/4 cup) flax seed meal 60 mL (1/4 cup) coconut flour (can be omitted but I had leftovers.... so in it went) 30 mL (2 tbsp) sugar 125 mL (1/2 cup) butter 5 mL (1 tsp) pure vanilla extract
Cheesecake 3 sticks of cream cheese room temperature 1 cup / 383 g sugar 3 large eggs 1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 1 tbsp liqueur, optional
DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese & sugar in bowl of stand-mixer, cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
Ready for the Oven
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.
Note When cooked in one large pan, the cheesecake does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly! The smaller pans required only 1/2 hour cooking and 1/2 hour cooling in the oven.
Styling my cheesecake turned out to be a gloopy mashed potato mess of a disaster. Even though the worst disasters make the best stories, my strategy was a cover up. The sprinkling of coconut and caramel sauce was my attempt at camouflage.
Quellia, the next time I complain about my heap of cake, I will take pictures!
Oops, my cheesecake had an accident... the shame... the shame...
Lessons Learned
1) Smaller cheesecakes save time and make more sense for portion size.
2) Take pictures of decorating disasters instead of just eating them. That way your friends can laugh with you.
3) Never judge a cheesecake by previous cheesecakes.
4) My new motto for my lack of decorating skills is "I don't play with your food before you do."
Before I launch into our latest Daring Challenge, I have to express my appreciation to the many people who made this challenge possible.
First, to the lovely gracious Melinda of Melbourne Larder in Australia. She transformed all our correspondence into a beautifully written presentation on the private forum. Enza of Io da Grande in Italy, thank you for giggling at me over the eggs and jumping in with all your expertise. A heartfelt thank you to Lynne Rossetto-Kasper for granting us permission to use your beautifully written recipe. The cookbook The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emiglia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food records the rich and gorgeous stories of the traditional table in the Emiglia-Romagna area; we are so grateful to have this cookbooks' guidance. Any mistakes or omissions in the use of the recipe rest entirely on our shoulders.
To all the Daring Bakers, who plunged into this challenge though it scared the dickens out of many of them. Ivonne and Lisa, thank you for encouraging us to push the envelope of what we traditionally consider baking. Alternative bakers a big thank you! You've made the transition to a gluten free lifestyle much easier.
Last but not least, thank you to the nonnas who uphold the pleasure and love of a well tended table for their families. Nonna Giuseppina di Modena and Nonna Dora, you are goddesses among women and your cooking is greatly missed.
It is especially to all the nonnas, that I dedicate this challenge. The videos on this post display an expertise that far surpasses my own in the family kitchen.
Enough of the moosh, as Lisa would say, let's roll up our sleeves and get started!
With spring just launched in the northern hemisphere, and autumn descending in the southern hemisphere, the March challenge is a rich dish that we hope will be suitable fare for Daring Bakers around the world and not cause too much heat or stress in the kitchen!
This month’s challenge has global input, with the three hosts living in three continents: Mary of Beans and Caviar in Canada, Melinda of Melbourne Larder in Australia and Enza of Io da Grande in Italy. All three of us are very keen bakers for our families and friends and very excited to be hosting our first Daring Bakers challenge!
The recipe we’ve chosen this month is Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
Lasagne is a dish that has successfully transcended borders and is today made around the world, albeit with many variations from the Italian original. Even within Italy, there are many variations and each region has its own lasagne tradition. But, as Lynne explains in her introduction to the recipe – and Enza, as our Italian expert for this dish, also agrees - the dish should always be a “vivid expression of the ‘less is more’ philosophy of cooking. Mere films of béchamel sauce and meat ragu coat the sheerest spinach pasta. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese dusts each layer. There is nothing more; no ricotta, no piling on of meats, vegetables or cheese; little tomato, and no hot spice. Baking performs the final marriage of flavours. The results are splendid.”
Sweet pasta is unusual but here is a traditional pasta recipe for our sweetest bloggers Emilia-Romagna Turismo This pasta could be paired with flavours of cream, raisins, pine nuts, orange, rosewater, prosciutto etc.
The most important part of this challenge is the hand-made Spinach Egg Pasta. We’ve also included Lynne’s recipes for béchamel (white) sauce and meat ragu but you can choose to use your own bechamel and ragu (or vegetarian sauce) recipes. Please follow Lynne’s instructions for the final assembly.
Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna Lasagne Verdi al Forno) (Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time
10 quarts (9 litres) salted water 1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows) 1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows) 1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows) 1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Method Working Ahead: The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.
Assembling the Ingredients: Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.
Since my version of the lasagne must be gluten free, I'm relying on "Nonna Video" for guidance in the traditional version.
Cooking the Pasta: Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.
Assembling the Lasagne: Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.
Baking and Serving the Lasagne: Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.
Spinach Egg Pasta Pasta Verde Preparation: 45 minutes
Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.
2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g each or more) 10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry 3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)
Working by Hand:
Equipment A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.
A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.
A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta. Although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.
Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.
A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.
Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.
Mixing the dough: Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.
Kneading: With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.
Stretching and Thinning: If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.
Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.
Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm).
Note: Enza says transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!
Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.
Bechamel Preparation Time: 15 minutes
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred 2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.
Country Style Ragu’ Ragu alla Contadina Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours
Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL) 2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped 1 medium onion, minced 1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced 1 small carrot, minced 4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round 4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel) 8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference) 1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma 2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine 1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible) 2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk 3 canned plum tomatoes, drained Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Meat Ready for the Pan
Working Ahead: The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.
Minced Vegetables and Pancetta
Browning the Ragu Base: Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.
Browning the Ragu Base
Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.
Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.
Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.
Gluten Free Although I have made Lynne Rossetto-Kasper's Lasagne in the original version, and I absolutely love it, this last year has seen a drastic change in the way my family eats. It turns out that three of the five of us are celiac. For a family in love with Italian food, it has been quite a shock.
We have moved from rice cakes to other food but there is still a longing for good pasta with a firm but pleasing texture and a subtle taste... especially lasagne, oh how we miss homemade lasagne! This challenge gave me the shove I needed to explore the gluten free side of lasagne. I was not confident about adding spinach, so my first attempt was the lasagne without spinach in the pasta.
Gluten Free Egg Pasta
The choice of the first flour is a matter of personal taste – please feel free to substitute a different flour for the corn flour.
150 gr corn flour or masa in North America - yellow with a slightly gritty feel (250 mL, 1 cup) NOT a starch 100 gr corn starch* (3/4 cup, 187.5 mL) 100 gr tapioca flour* (225 mL, 9/10 cup or a little over 7 volume ounces) 150 gr of potato starch* (250 mL, 1 cup) 100 gr of glutinous rice flour* (200 mL, ¾ cup) 10 gr of Xanthan powder (1.5 tsp, 7.5 mL) 10 gr of salt (1 tsp, 5 mL)
6 extra large eggs (60 gr each or 2.5 oz in weight, 1 fluid oz in volume) 3/8 cup of water (95 mL) 50 mL of extra virgin olive oil (1/5 cup)
*fine white powder that squeaks when rubbed between fingers
Plastic wrap or parchment paper for your work surface Aluminium foil to cover the lasagne
Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
Whisk together 3 eggs, the water and/or spinach, and the oil. Pour into the middle of the dry ingredients. Mix with a sturdy wooden spoon, gradually drawing more of the flour mix into the wet ingredients. Add each egg as needed. The dough will be crumbly at the beginning but will gradually come together as you add the eggs. You will need to use your hands to squeeze and mix the dough.
The dough will be firm and stick together when ready. It will not have the elasticity of gluten dough therefore it will crack when kneaded and pushed. Form it into a smooth ball, oil it lightly, and cover securely with plastic wrap. Let it rest for an hour.
Put a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. This is very important as the dough will not hold together very well when lifted. Have flour ready for dusting (corn flour etc) and dust the surface lightly. Cut a piece of dough about the size of really large egg – it doesn’t matter the size but start small for the first one to gauge how much space you need. Keep the remaining dough covered so it does not dry.
Roll the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc with your hands. Put it on your work surface and flatten with your hands. Use a rolling pin and gently push the dough down and out ward from the centre. You may have to place one hand on the plastic wrap as you push the dough down and away. Gluten free dough does not stretch like wheat dough therefore it needs gentle flattening and pushing. If it breaks, pat it back together. If it is too dry, dab a little water with your finger.
The gluten free dough will be thicker than wheat dough and you will barely be able to see your hand through the dough. Once it is flattened, cut into strips or squares that will fit your pan.
Set the dough aside on the plastic sheet. There is no need to dry the dough. But if you do dry the dough, it will not be able to hang because it will break. Stack the rolled out dough with plastic sheets in between.
Stack the sheets when dry and wrap securely. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Freezing will make the dough crumbly and difficult to work with – so freeze only as a last resort!
This dough does not need to be precooked before being assembled into the lasagne.
Mixed and Kneaded Dough
Pushing and Squashing Into Shape
Rolling Dough A marble rolling pin was easier to use since a wooden one and Xanthan gum stick together like glue, unless you very liberally flour the rolling pin. Unlike wheat flour dough, the gluten free dough will wick up the sauce even when flattened mercilessly. This greedy slurping up of sauce can easily turn your lasagne gelatinous and mushy.
Tansparency? Bahahaha ... not like wheat dough! But you can barely see the outline of my fingers.
Rolled as Thin as Possible
Gluten Free Béchamel - White Sauce
2 & 2/3 cup milk 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or Extra virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons corn starch (fine white and squeaky) – another starch can be substituted Salt and pepper to taste Freshly grated nutmeg
Mix the corn starch with ½ cup of cold milk. Heat the rest of the milk in a small sauce pan until steaming but do not boil. Add the milk/cornstarch mixture to the steaming milk. Stirring constantly, raise the heat and heat the mixture until thick. Once it is thick, remove it from the heat and add the butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Have the béchamel warm or at room temperature ready to assemble the lasagne. Whisk the sauce occasionally if it becomes stiff or thick.
Assembling the Gluten Free Lasagne
The assembly is the same as the regular lasagne with the addition of water. Gluten free lasagne noodles need a little more moisture for the lasagne, so you will be adding a little bit of water to the lasagne.
Before assembly, pour plain water into the pan, enough to form a thin film of water over the bottom. A 9 x 13 inch or 25 x 33 cm pan required almost ½ cup (125 mL) of water. Once the lasagne is assembled, pour a tablespoon or 15 mL of water into each corner of the dish. Cover the lasagne tightly with aluminium foil. Be careful not to touch the top of the lasagne with the foil. Bake as directed.
Finished Lasagne
I was so proud of this lasagne - the pasta kept distinct layers and had a touch of firmness. Drying the pasta overnight on plastic sheets helped tremendously. But freezing the pasta was a disaster, the sheets crumbled and broke when they were made into another lasagne.
Spinach Lasagne
The gluten free spinach lasagne was a triumph of taste but mediocre in texture since the pasta sheets became too soft. The spinach was too watery therefore the dough could only absorb 4 of the 6 eggs and it needed additional flour to combat the sticky texture. The protein of the eggs is very important to the structure of gluten free pasta. We were hungry, so the pasta sheets went directly into the lasagne without any drying. The texture of the dough when I kneaded it was silky and elastic, just like the wheat dough... I suspected trouble at that point!
I won't give up on the spinach version because the taste was divine, splendid even. The layers melted into each other but reducing the water, drying the pasta sheets and using more eggs should turn out a divine texture as well as taste. Here's a picture of my mediocre "but brimming with potential" lasagne.
Lessons Learned
1) Ask questions and read the private forum for solutions. Together, the Daring Kitchen turned out fantastic lasagnes.
2) Gracious cohosts and authors made this adventure very enjoyable. Thank you!
3) Gluten free pasta making is faster than making homemade wheat dough - a little incentive to keep me attempting for the perfect lasagne.
4) I'm hungry and there's leftover lasagne in the fridge... ciao!
I must be a nightmare for any cook book author. Smells, tastes and texture fill my mind when I sink into a cookbook but imagination takes me far beyond the original recipe into uncharted territory.
Yummm, cinnamon… what if I use cardamom…? Whoa that’s a truck load of oil… what about butter instead? …. sounds delicious but I’m missing one egg…. hmmmm, can’t use wheat flour so I’ll try this or that....what about margaritas ... margaritas?!? Where did that come from? .... never mind.
By the time I’ve mangled the recipe, the original is a distant memory.
It turns out that this apple has not fallen far from the tree. My father is an inspired cook - he skims a recipe, changes most of it and turns out an amazing dish. He introduced our family to Chinese food long before we had ever seen a Chinese restaurant. Inspired by the cooking show Yan Can Cook with chef Martin Yan, my father equipped our kitchen with Yan's cookbooks, a wok and various exotic utensils.
We fell in love with Chinese food. At my first visit to a Chinese restaurant I ordered sweet and sour chicken. Memories of my father's sweet and sour dishes filled me with longing. My plate arrived with perfectly round golf dough balls smothered in electric orange sauce.
I was shocked.
Electric orange golf balls were a far cry from my father's dishes and I realized that a well written cookbook teaches valuable lessons, even when the reader wanders off into dreamy new territory.
I had to chart some new territory myself with this recipe, Sally’s Coconut Macaroons from The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift.
Eggs had to be replaced because of allergies so in went flax seed meal, tapioca starch and water. Oops, there wasn't enough coconut in the house so the recipe was reduced. Couldn't use butter for the dish because of allergies too. Oil didn't sound appealing so parchment paper was used instead.
Dutifully (ahem) I followed the remaining fragments of the recipe and formed lovely coconut mounds on the cookie sheet. After about 15 minutes, I peered into the oven... all my carefully formed coconut mounds had morphed together to form a lovely smooth layer. Ackk! renaming the recipe was my only recourse.
Sally, I’m sorry. I’d gladly eat the originals because they sound amazing. In contrition for mangling your recipe, here are some fabulous Coconut Wafers.
Coconut Wafers
1&1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flax seed meal 2 tablespoons tapioca starch ½ cup water ½ tsp pure almond extract Pinch of salt
Parchment paper (if you do not use parchment paper, butter the cookie sheet generously) Large cookie sheet with upturned edges or 9x13 pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine the coconut and sugar in a small bowl.
Mix together the flax seed meal, tapioca flour and water in a small cup. Microwave the mixture for thirty seconds. The mixture will be thick and gelatinous and maybe a little lumpy. Stir vigorously to smooth the mixture then add the salt and almond extract.
Combine flax, flour, water mixture with the shredded coconut/sugar mixture. Mix until fully combined. Spoon the mixture onto the parchment on the cookie sheet. You can flatten and smooth this mixture onto the sheet, however, it will morph into one layer no matter how much you wish differently!
Since your mixture has an irresistible longing to be together, it will spread to fill the pan with a thin layer; your pan must have edges to prevent it from sliding onto the oven floor!
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are slightly brown and crisp. Remove the pan from oven and let cool in the dish. The coconut crisp will be stiff but slightly gooey. Cut with a sharp knife and a gentle rocking motion so you do not shatter the wafer.
Store in the freezer, tightly covered, with parchment paper or plastic wrap between layers of wafers.
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.
There is nothing better than being apart of a group of people who are passionate about the quality of the food they make and eat. This month's Daring Baker challenge was a decadent doozy of a chocolate cake paired with homemade ice cream.
Everyone had free choice in the flavouring of the ice cream but I decided vanilla cardamon ice cream with a straight up Chocolate Valentino would be the combination. I followed Dharms' recipe and it was decadently delicious.
The Chocolate Valentino was inspired by Chef Wan of Malaysia from his book Sweet Treats. I'm an absolute chocolate freak so I was excited to see this challenge!
We've made a lot of flour less chocolate cakes in our household and this one was a little disappointing. The edges were dry and the middle very very wet. However, the cake was much better the following day after refrigeration. The flavour of the Valentino was very dependent on the chocolate since the only ingredients were eggs, sugar and chocolate. Overall it did not have the wow factor of other flour less chocolate cakes. A hint of orange zest, ground hazelnuts, vanilla or a counterbalance of a pinch of salt would have elevated the taste.
But the ice cream, ohhhhh, the ice cream was divine and a huge hit with our family and guests.....
Dharm, our very own James Bond, created an amazing recipe which I am shamelessly pasting here because the world is a better place with this ice cream.
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 lengthwise. 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)
No pictures yet... I love my hubby. Alot. But he borrowed my camera AND the wire that goes along with it, so no pictures today until I find the wire, or my husband, wherever he is hiding.
Lessons Learned
1) Daring Bakers are the best, most helpful, interesting bunch.
Before we dig into the baking challenge, I have to focus our attention on our lovely hostesses this month.
Karen and Zorra displayed such grace and good humour this month on the forum (especially when we stumbled with blog names) They are everything Daring Bakers should be - helpful, funny and flexible. Deep bows, hugs and a round of applause heard around the world for Karen and Zorra - your work and enthusiasm are much much appreciated.
The original Tuile recipe can be found at either one of the hostesses' blogs. I've adapted Angélique Schmeink's original recipe to be gluten free so everyone in our household can enjoy these lovely cookies... and like all gluten free adaptations of recipes there were some important differences to note.
The substitution of coconut flour for the regular wheat flour made the mixture thick, very very thick. The dough did not need the time noted in the original recipe to become firmer. Another egg white or some liquid could have been added to thin the batter as it was very difficult to spread.
I used pizza stones which lengthened the cooking time considerably from 5-10 minutes to 10 to 20 but the warm stone kept the tuiles soft until they were shaped. The cookies were not as thin as wheat flour cookies and broke much more easily. They did not shape as easily because of the lack of flexibility - perhaps Xanthan gum would have improved the elasticity.
However, after eating all the broken evidence I concluded that they were delicious no matter what shape they took.
............
Coconut Tuiles
¼ cup ounces softened butter (not melted but soft) ½ cup ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar dash of vanilla extract 2 large egg whites ¼ cup coconut flour
Butter to grease baking sheet Parchment paper
Preheat oven to 350F. Using a hand mixer fitted at low speed, cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Add the coconut flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth paste. It will be quite thick and does not need refrigeration to firm up.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use a spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.
Bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again or place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.
The important second part of our challenge was to pair the Tuiles with something light. A lime flavoured sorbet with a gingery undertone was just the ticket for these coconut cookies.
Lime Ginger Coconut Sorbet
Sugar Syrup 1/4 cup lime juice grated lime peel i inch piece of ginger, sliced 2 cups sugar 1 cup water
Heat the above ingredients until the sugar dissolves and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain out ginger and lime peel. Chill in the refrigerator or freeze in ice cube portions.
Combine the following in a blender.
1 can (400 mL) coconut milk, chilled two ripe bananas, frozen 1 cup syrup, chilled or frozen into ice cubes
Pour into serving dishes and eat immediately or pour into a dish to be frozen further. This sorbet scooped well from containers when put in the refrigerator freezer but not the deep freezer!
i.e. Minus five Celsius or slightly below freezing was the perfect scooping temperature.
Lessons Learned
1) Gracious hostesses are worth their weight in gold.
2) My piping skills don't exist and I suffer from Tartlette envy.
3) Short challenges allow more play time with presentation which helped me graduate from unsightly fractured splats on the first batch to acceptable tuile.
4) This recipe is a great candidate for gluten free cookies and further experimentation.
5) Meat grinders look silly with tuiles draped over them.
If you want to see more Tuiles check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll for hundreds of tuile posts worldwide.
