Archive for the ‘Cookbooks’ Category

It’s the day before my Tuesdays with Dorie contribution is due and my oven is empty. My inner Dorista doesn’t want to make chocolate cake. My outer Dorista’s pants are too tight. Sigh. Such is the life of a baker.

I remind myself that life is too short to be skinny so I suck it up, grab my favorite knife for chopping, and start hacking away at some good, dark chocolate. By the time the smell of the melting chocolate from the bowl of the double-boiler reaches my nose, my inner Dorista has shaken her anti-baking funk and we’re ready to roll.

Looking back, I don’t see how I couldn’t have forgotten about the egg whites whipping away in the mixer. Sure, my mixer isn’t whisper-quiet but between the melting chocolate and the smell of buttercream that already filled the first floor of our home, my senses were pre-occupied. And so, the egg whites were forgotten.

Over-beaten egg whites don’t “gently fold in” to anything. The foam is dry and the only way to get the chocolate and egg whites to play is to fold until your arm falls off. By the time they’re actually incorporated, the egg whites have pretty much deflated. There are far worse fates for eggs to meet than a dense chocolate cake – like a travertine floor. So it’s a good thing that we have nothing against a dense chocolate cake.

How I served the dense gâteau: I used buttered round pastry cutters to cut the cake into circles. I leveled the rounds and spread warmed blackberry preserves over the top of the “bottom layer.” I topped it with a second cake round and spooned ganache over the top of the cake. I used an offset spatula to coax a bit of the rich ganache down the sides of the cake.

Absolutely divine.

Almost-Fudge Gateau
5 large eggs
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
2 Tbsp coffee or water
1/3 cup AP flour

Ganache (optional)
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar, butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy, and that’s fine. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.

Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you’ll think it’s done, but give it a few minutes more, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn’t shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature right side up. As the cake cools, it may sink.

To make the optional glaze:
First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack so you’ll be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips. Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven – the chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny.

Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Don’t worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake – it will just add to it’s charms. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you’re impatient, slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Source: Baking, From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (2006)

Last week: Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake
Next week: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

“The last cookbook you’ll ever need,” was how the professional chef-turned Baptist pastor referred to the 60th anniversary edition of The Gourmet Cookbook during the cooking demonstration of our marriage prep course. He presented his theory on what he believed to be the relationship between a happy life built around the heart of the home, the kitchen.

The cooking demonstration was fun, lunch was yummy, and we walked away with tons of useful tidbits:
- Why it’s okay to cook with butter (my favorite)
- The best pieces and brands of cookware for a starter kitchen
- Understanding how large a role food plays in life, beyond “just” nutrition

There are a handful of “real” newlywed cookbooks out there but The Gourmet Cookbook immediately became our Kitchen Bible. The first time that we cooked together, Jason and I made Macaroni & Cheese (pg 223). The Basic Pizza Dough (pg 120, recipe below) has become our go-to recipe on pizza nights. Jason presses garlic, makes guacamole, shuts off annoying timers, and in general controls the chaos that I inherently bring to the kitchen.

Our Yellow Bible offers a wealth of information that goes far beyond recipes, from “How to throw a cocktail party” to a “who’s who” of items like salad greens and Asian noodles. It might not be the only cookbook that I’ll ever need, but it’s definitely in my top 5 that I’d never want to be without.

Basic Pizza Dough, adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook
1 pkg dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 3/4 cups flour, divided plus more for dredging and dusting
3/4 cups warm water (110-120F), divided
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp olive oil

Stir together yeast, sugar, 1 TBSP flour and 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Pour out and start over if your yeast doesn’t get frothy.

Add 1 1/2 cup flour and salt in a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture, oil, and remaining 1/2 cup warm water and mix until smooth. Add remaining flour and knead on medium-high for 8 minutes (the dough will be sticky and might not completely come off the bottom of the bowl).

Form into a ball, place on flour-dusted surface and cover. Let rise until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

Preheat oven to 450. Remove all racks and place pizza stone in the oven to heat (if you’re using one – we have one but don’t always use it).

Do not punch down dough. Carefully dredge ball in a bowl of flour to coat and transfer to a dry work surface. Hold one edge of the dough in the air with both hands and let the bottom edge touch the work surface. Carefully move hands around the edge of the dough (like turning a steering wheel) to stretch the dough to 10-12 inches. Lay dough on a lightly floured surface and gently stretch into a 14-inch round.

Lightly brush dough with oil and bake for 7 minutes. Remove pizza from the oven, top, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

I love me some shortbread. Sandy, melt-in-your-mouth, buttery shortbread. I’ve been dying to make Dorie Greenspan’s Pecan and Brown Sugar Shortbread for a long time. I finally remembered light brown sugar on my last trip to the grocery store so we were in business!

I followed the directions exactly, refrigerating the dough for nearly 5 hours before baking. My shortbread spread quite a bit – they’re not supposed to spread at all. They didn’t look like the picture in Baking: From My Home to Yours, and didn’t have the texture or taste of shortbread that I was looking for but they still tasted really good, nonetheless – think crispy, pecan-sandy wafers. (After doing some online research, I found others had the spreading problem, too.)

The cookies are going to make fabulous ice cream sandwiches this weekend when we crank up the ice cream maker for some French Vanilla!

Pecan and Brown Sugar Shortbread
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
pinch ground cloves*
8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup lite brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pecans, finely ground
Confectioners sugar for dusting, optional

*I used nutmeg

Sift flour, cornstarch, salt & cloves. Using a stand mixer w. paddle, beat butter & brown sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes or until smooth, reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients just until they disappear, add pecans – (don’t overwork the dough).

Transfer dough inside a gallon sized ziploc & roll out to a 9 x 10 1/2″ rectangle and 1/4″ thickness. Turn and lift bag occasionally to avoid creases. When its the right size and thickness, seal bag (press out the air) and refrigerate dough at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets w/parchment or silpat. Place ziploc on cutting board and slit open. Turn dough onto board. With a sharp knife, (and ruler as a guide) cut dough into 1-1/2″ squares. Transfer to baking sheets and prick each cookie two times with fork, pushing tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

Bake 18-20 mins. rotating from top to bottom and front to back midway. They should be very pale and not take on much color. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Optional: dust with confectioner’s sugar while still hot.

Cool to room temp. before serving.