Daring Bakers - L'Opera ~ the scent of coconut

What a challenge!

When I read about this month's challenge - a traditional French Opera cake - I nearly clapped my hands in glee. Now this was the stuff I wanted to make - beautiful, elegant, complex, a multi-stepped whirlwind of a challenge. There were the layers of jaconde soaked with syrup, buttercream, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache, all with the potential to go terribly wrong. Because May is liveSTRONG month, the cakes were suppose to be yellow or light in color. I decided to go with coconut, almond, and vanilla.

The jaconde, an almond genoise made with almond meal and leavened with beaten egg whites, was light and delicate. I made my own almond meal, so the texture was perhaps not as fine as it should have been. But I rather like slightly coarse feel of the cake. I left this base flavored simply with vanilla, choosing to incorporate my flavorings into the other components. My problem with this portion of the recipe was that it stuck horribly ot the pan. I accidently forgot to put down parchment paper, and despite having buttered the pan generously, the cake needed a lot of coaxing to come out. Note to self, next time a recipe calls for parchment paper, don't forget it. I brushed on a syrup flavored with coconut cream.

The French buttercream didn't come out as well as the Swiss buttercream from Dorie Greenspan's party cake recipe. While smooth on the palate, it was too loose coming together. I prefer a firmer buttercream to work with. I flavored this with also with coconut cream and vanilla.

The white chocolate mousse was just plain delicious. Melted Ghiradelli white chocolate lightened with freshly whipped cream, flavored with coconut - it tasted like a Ferroro's Raffaello. I also made a white chocolate ganache to top the cake. However, I felt the combination of the mousse and ganache was too much. Because the traditional L'opera cake is made with the darker chocolates and flavored with coffee, it is less cloying, with the bitterness of the chocolate and coffee balancing the sweetness of the other ingredients.

Overall, I felt very proud of myself for accomplishing this challenge. I like producing something delicious from my kitchen, but I also love the entire process - making the different components, tasting as I go along, assembling.

mmm...chocolate

I love Ina Garten and her show, Barefoot Contessa. I find her incredibly intelligent and very engaging, even if she seems to overly dote on her husband. Her emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients is what makes her simple recipe so good. With that said, I tried my hands at her, or rather, Beatty's Chocolate Cake. Her recipe makes a 2-layered 8-inch cake, but I went with cupcakes instead, with a yummy almond buttercream toffee frosting adapted from Gale Gand.

The cupcakes were moist but didn't taste very chocolatey when they were warm. However, the flavor intensified as they cooled. The texture was light and fluffy, not greasy at all. They were excellent paired with the buttercream frosting.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake from Ina Garten

makes about 24 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cups cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, and stir to combine. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combine. Add in coffee and mix, be sure to not overbeat. The batter will be thin. Divide the batter into a prepared (buttered) cupcake tin, filling to about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Frost with favorite frosting.

Almond Buttercream Toffee Frosting from Gale Gand

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp whipping cream

1/2 cup toffee bits

Using a hand-or standing-mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter, starting at low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes. Add almond extract and cream and continue to beat for 1 minute more. Frosting should be thick and fluffy. Fold in toffee bits.

Orange and Cranberries

I'm out of brown sugar and I'm still cutting weight, the combination of which rules out baking a lot of my favorite things. So no more gooey chocolate chip cookies, chewy oatmeal raisin, moist banana bread...But I did come across this recipe on Nicole's blog Baking Bites for Orange Cranberry Bread. With no butter and only 1 egg and 2 tbsp of oil, I thought it was a fairly good compromise.

Despite the lack of (a lot of) fats, the bread came out moist and delicious. The crumb was brilliantly golden, dotted with pops of red from the cranberries. The orange flavor was surprisingly pronounced, pairing well with the tartness of cranberry. The crunch from the walnuts and pecans added an extra layer of texture. I ate almost the entire loaf myself (what did I expect when I leave it out on the counter with a knife next to it) so I'm planning on baking another one next week to take to Stanford for post-weigh-in snacking.

I highly recommend using fresh orange juice and orange zest for this recipe, since it is such a major flavor. I also reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and found the bread to be just sweet enough. The batter was quite thick when I followed Nicole's recipe, so I added a tablespoon of milk to it to loosen it slightly. It will still be stiff going into the pan, but just spread it out in an even layer, and it'll bake up beautifully.

Orange Cranberry Nut Bread - adapted from Baking Bites
Makes 1 9x5 inch loaf

2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk
1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped if large
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts and pecans)

Rub sugar and orange zest together until orange zest is distributed well. Add to flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well to combine. Add in orange juice, oil, milk, and egg. Stir until just mixed. Fold in the fresh (or frozen) cranberries, dried cranberries, and nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan. The batter will be slightly stiff.

Bake in a 375 degrees preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool, slice, and enjoy

Daring Bakers - Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

I had a great time with this recipe. It was simple, straightforward, and most importantly, delicious. The cake itself was light and buttery, with the gentle whisper of vanilla and lemon. The swiss meringue came together beautifully. It was rich but not cloying, silky on the tongue, and sweet on the palate. I made some alteration to the original recipe and those are in parenthesis.

Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

Perfect Party Cake

For the Cake:
2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt (omitted because of the salted butter)
1 ¼ cups whole milk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature (salted butter because that was all I had)
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract (omitted and replaced with vanilla extract)

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look frothy and like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.


To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Storage
The cake is best eaten at room temperature a few hours after assemblage, since it loses all subtlety of flavor if eaten cold. If you used whipped cream, store in the refrigerator and bring it out to warm to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.


My notes:
Originally I had planned to use freshly whipped cream for the layers and frost the outside with the buttercream, but somehow my whipped cream refused to stay stiff and fell apart in a liquidity mess (not very appetizing). Since I only made half the buttercream recipe, I had to skimp a little on the frosting. I also layered in sliced fresh strawberries and covered the sides of the cake with shredded coconut. Another thing to note is that the cake does not rise very much. When I went to slice it in half horizontally, I was met with complete disaster. I already knew I pretty much suck at doing that, but I tried anyways, and ended up with a hole in one layer and too much cake in the other. So I did some patchwork and used those as the middle and the top layer. I intelligently decided to not slice the other cake, and used that as the bottom layer.

All in all, it was a successful challenge. The cake was well-received and I had a great time.

Japanese White Chocolate Almond Cheesecake

I'm so glad I stumbled across this recipe. It makes a really unique and tasty cake, reminiscent of the airy sponge cakes you get at Chinese bakeries. The recipe for a 9-inches cake only has 3 tablespoons of flour and 1 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch. It's lightened with beaten egg whites, and baked in a water bath. The first time I made it, I simply flavored it with vanilla, and found that it tasted too much of cream cheese and egg. I adapted the recipe this time by adding in melted Ghirardelli white chocolate and almond extract. It got the approval of me and some of my friends. It doesn't rise very much and comes out smooth and flat on top. I'm thinking of tripling the recipe and making a layer cake next time.

Japanese White Chocolate Almond Cheesecake
Makes 1 9" Cake

3 ounce package of cream cheese
1/3 cup milk
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp white sugar, divided
3 tbsp all purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, sifted
2 egg whites
1/3 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup white chocolate chunks
1/2 tsp almond extract

Combine cream cheese, milk, and white chocolate chunks in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until cream cheese and chocolate has melted. The mixture wouldn't be completely smooth, but try to get out the big lumps. Let cool.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and 2 tbsp sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the cooled cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add in almond extract. Stir in sifted flour and cornstarch until combined.

Using an electric mixture with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add in 2 tbsp of sugar until white whites reach stiff peak stage. Gently fold egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. The mixture should be smooth and look like clouds. Pour into a 9" parchment-lined pan, or a greased springform pan with a removable bottom. If using a springform pan, wrap the pan in foil so that water will not leak in.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven in a water bath for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 300 degrees and continue to bake for 15 minutes. Allow cake to cool before removing from pan. If using a springform, simply remove the side of the pan. If using a regular baking pan, invert cake onto a plate, peel off the parchment and re-invert onto another plate.

A few notes:

• When beating egg whites, make sure there are no fats coming into contact. That means no bits of egg yolk and clean beaters and bowl. Any amount of fat would prevent the egg whites from reaching stiff peaks. Since they are the leavening agent (in a sense of speaking) in this recipe, it is very important that they are well beaten.
  
• A water bath is used to maintain a moist environment so the cheesecake doesn't dry out. To make a water bath: place the cake pan inside another larger baking dish. Pour hot water into the baking dish until it comes about halfway up the side of the cake pan. Be careful to not get water into the cake mixture itself. It is best to set the baking dish on the oven rack first, place the cake pan inside, and fill with water from a kettle. You can prevent a lot of grief and potential burns this way.
  
• The top of the cake never takes on much color. If you like it pale yellow (which is still pretty) you can just follow the baking instructions above. I like to turn on the broiler for about 30 seconds at the end to brown the tops. Just a matter of preference.
  

for Perry...

Since I'm trying to cut 5 more pounds before the end of the month, the urge to bake is proving problematic. I usually have the best intention beforehand to set aside some of the goods to eat later. Well that doesn't always work out. So instead, I've decided to just bake for other people. These chocolate chunk banana crumb muffins are for my friend Perry. They came out moist and delicious, not too dense, with a great banana flavor. The semisweet chocolate chunks are wonderfully melty when the muffins are warm, and the crumb topping adds a contrasting texture component. Too bad I could only eat one :(

Chocolate Chunk Banana Crumb Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Muffins:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chunks

Crumb Topping:
2 tbsp cold butter
4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp raw or turbinado sugar

Blend mashed bananas, brown and white sugar, oil, and egg until combined. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until moistened, being careful to not overbeat. Fold in chocolate chunks. Pour into greased or lined muffin pans to about 3/4 full.

To make crumb topping, cut cold butter into the flour, cinnamon and sugar until coarse. Add a spoonful on top of each muffin. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

My friend Helen gave me a book titled Homemade Muffins by Carol Tennant a few years ago. I've flipped through it a few times but never got around to making the recipes. I thought I'd try the recipe for Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. I used the sweeter meyer lemons because I had those on hand, but you can use regular lemons or even oranges.

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Makes 12

Muffins:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp poppy seed
zest and juice of 2 meyer lemons
1 tsp lemon extract

Lemon Syrup:
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
zest and juice of 1 lemon

In a bowl, mix lemon juice, egg, milk, butter, lemon extract, and lemon peel. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined, being careful to not over-mix. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, about 3/4 full. Bake in a 400 degrees preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. The muffins should be golden and risen. In the meantime, mix the confectioner's sugar with the lemon juice and zest until well blended. Spoon over hot muffins and let cool in the pan.

I actually made these without the lemon extract and found that the muffins weren't lemon-y enough. I figured the addition of the extract would help with that. The soaking syrup on top was a nice touch, though it's very important to soak the muffins when they're right out of the oven. I found it helpful to remove the muffins from the pan and dip the entire top into the syrup.



I had these the next day with a bit of vanilla yogurt and blueberries. Just split the muffin into top and bottom and heat in the microwave. Spoon on some yogurt, add in a few blueberries, and top with the muffin top. Yum.