Chocolate Cream Pie
Nicole Spiridakis, Flourless
Ingredients
Hazelnut-Cocoa Crust:
Directions- 2 1/2 cups whole hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 cups whole milk
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Coconut Milk Whipped Cream or regular whipped cream for topping
To Make the Crust:
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Have a 9-inch pie pan ready. To make the crust: Place the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the oven until the nuts are lightly browned and release a nutty fragrance, about 15 minutes. Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and set aside to cool. When nuts are completely cooled, use your hands to rub off as many of the skins as you can. Don't worry if you can't remove all of the skin; a little bit is OK.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the hazelnuts, sugar, and cocoa powder until fine. Place in a bowl and add the melted butter, stirring to combine. Press the mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. Bake the crust until slightly crisp, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
- In a medium, heavy saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until well combined, then add the milk in a steady stream, whisking continuously. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking, then decrease the heat and simmer, whisking, for 1 minute more (the filling will be thick).
- Force the filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in the chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Cover the surface of the filling with a buttered round of waxed paper and cool completely, about 2 hours.
- Spoon the filling into the crust. Chill the pie, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for at least 6 hours. Top with a thick layer of whipped cream.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the pie into slices and use a cake server to gently place the slices on plates to serve. Note that the crust will be a little crumbly, so go easy.
Caramel Layer Cake
Lisa Donovan
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 3 sticks unsalted butter
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
MAKE THE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour two 10-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk the 4 cups of flour, the baking powder, salt and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the 2 sticks of butter with the sugar and vanilla seeds at medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time until incorporated, then beat until very pale and billowy, 3 minutes. At low speed, alternately beat in the dry ingredients and buttermilk until just combined.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Transfer to a rack; let cool in the pans for 30 minutes. Unmold the cakes, peel off the parchment and let cool. Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or serving platter.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over moderately high heat. Stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture foams up and then subsides, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring steadily, until the caramel mixture is very dark brown and reaches 240° on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Carefully pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, add the vanilla and beat at low speed for 3 minutes, until thickened but still pourable.
- Using a rubber spatula and working quickly, scrape about 1 cup of the frosting onto the cake layer on the stand and spread it to the edge. Top with the second cake layer. Pour the remaining frosting on top. Using an offset spatula, quickly spread the frosting over and around the cake to cover completely. Let the frosting cool for at least 2 hours before serving.
Sfinj (Moroccan Doughnuts)
Leetal Arazi
Ingredients
Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 cardamom pods
- Pinch of saffron threads
- 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons yeast
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 to 4 cups water
- Canola oil, for frying
Directions
MAKE THE SUGAR SYRUP
- In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the syrup is the consistency of honey. (To test, place a few small plates in the freezer and drizzle a bit of the syrup on them throughout the cooking process.) Remove from the heat and let cool.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add 3 1/2 cups of water and mix thoroughly; the dough should be loose and sticky and doesn’t need to hold its shape. Adjust the consistency if needed with the rest of the water. Cover the dough with cling plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
- In the bowl, using your hands, fold the dough over onto itself few times. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes, or until it doubles in volume. In a deep pan, heat 3 inches high of canola oil.
- Wet your hands and cut a piece of dough the size of 2 golf balls. With 2 fingers quickly make a hole in the center and stretch it a little to form a ring shape. Repeat to form the remaining doughnuts.
- Immediately and gently put the doughnuts in the oil and fry over moderate heat until golden on both sides. Drain the doughnuts on paper towels.
- Serve the sfinj immediately and let your guests drizzle them with the sugar syrup.
Happy baking!
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