Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Be sure to dye your frostings green or bake a delicious Irish soda bread!

Mimosas at the ready!

I'm already dreaming about a Sunday brunch...even though it's only Friday. I do love a deliciously decadent French toast drizzled with syrup and covered in a layer of snow white confectioners sugar...not to mention the side of fresh fruit salad. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I thought I'd share a recipe for challah, the only bread I like to use for this breakfast, to help spark something in you as well.

Almost Grandmother's Challah                 

Bon Appétit, 1995

Yield: Makes 2 loaves Ingredients 1/2 cup plus 2/3 cup warm water (105°F. to 115°F.) 2 tablespoons dry yeast 1 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup sugar 5 large eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon salt 7 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose flour 1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon water Directions 1. Combine 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in large glass measuring cup and stir until yeast dissolves. Let yeast mixture stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes. 2. In large bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat 5 eggs until blended. Add oil, salt and 3/4 cup sugar and beat until pale yellow and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Beat in 2/3 cup warm water. Add yeast mixture and beat until blended. 3. Remove whisk and fit mixer with dough hook. Add enough flour 1 cup at a time to form smooth dough, beating well after each addition. Beat on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding flour by tablespoonfuls if sticky. 4. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 2 minutes. 5. Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap, then with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. 6. Punch down dough. Cover with plastic and clean kitchen towel and let rise 30 minutes. 7. Grease 2 large baking sheets. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Divide each portion into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 9-inch-long rope. Braid 3 ropes together; pinch ends together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough pieces, forming 2 braids. Place each braid on baking sheet. Cover with towel . Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. 8. Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk yolk with 1 tablespoon water to blend. Brush dough with egg mixture. 9. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 35 minutes. Transfer loaves to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature.)

Tip of the day!

As the seasons change, we need to start thinking about what changes we need to make in our kitchens. It's particularly warm around New York City, and warm weather means melty icings. I try to keep my kitchen at cooler temperatures, because the weather makes ingredients and meringues too soft. take care of your cakes by controlling the environment around you. Keep humidity out and cool air in.

BROWNIES!

I wasn't sure what to title this post...but I figured this was appropriate. The past few weeks I've been getting tons of brownie orders! They are, after all, my best sellers. Last weekend I had an order of my classics and some peanut butter. This week I tested a new recipe for caramel ganache swirled into the classics, as well as some peanut butters - another fav. Well, as with all new recipes, I think this one may need some tweaking. It's a drizzle of caramel swirled into dark bittersweet chocolate...a delicious combination. Unfortunately, it didn't feel caramely enough to me...I like bold flavors. I guess I'll need to continue testing the caramel to chocolate ratio until I get it just right. In the meantime, I've got some fabulously rich brownies for another satisfied customer. Another successful day in Lizzy Bee's kitchen!

Frosted tips

In order to get that mountain of delicious frosting, delicately iced atop beautiful bakery cupcakes, you'll need the right tips. Luckily stores like Michaels are stocking up on these kinds of supplies. You will need pastry bags, which come in both fabric and disposable. Fabric are great because you can reuse them, but cleaning them out can be a pain! Frosting gets messy and when it's wet it's worse. Disposable might not exactly be environmentally friendly, but hopefully someone will come out with more green products. You will also need good pastry tips. In order to make that marshmallowy mound, you will need a large plain-style tip as well as a star tip.

To fill the pastry bag:
1. Cut a small hole in the tip. Insert pastry tip into the bag so the it sticks out of the pointed end of the bag, not so much that it comes through, but enough that you can pipe easily.
2. Bend back the top of the bag and fill. Close and twist to keep shut.
3. Pipe with your writing hand, using the other as a steady hand for the bag. Exert only enough pressure to make the frosting come out of the bag. Too much and it will explode!

To pipe the frosting:
1. Start on the edge and slowly work your way towards the middle, going around the entire cupcake, making circles and lifting the bag up. The circles should get smaller and smaller.
2. Alternately, you can start from the middle. The frosting won't be as high but the lines will be smoother.

Test out both tips and see which you like best. The star gives a more intricate design, while the plain tip is more classic cupcake-style. Happy baking! Send pictures to my Facebook page. Just look for Lizzy Bee's Bakery and Like me on Facebook!

Hello hello!

Hello my faithful readers. Sorry for the delay the past few days; I've been a little under the weather. New post coming soon...hopefully today! Keep an eye out!

Chocolatey goodness

Happy March! I hope spring comes to us soon. In the meantime, let's talk ganache! A fabulous cake is elevated to a magnificently fabulous cake when you add a depth to the final product - a layer of ganache cake achieve this beautifully, whether inside or on top of the cake. Ganache is so simple to make, yet people go nuts over it. Essentially you just about boil heavy cream, pour it over chocolate. Let it sit a few minutes and whisk. Voila! Once you've mastered that, try adding different flavors, like vanilla or rum. Alcohol can transform a ganache into a more sophisticated version! Not too much though. Depending on the ratio of chocolate and heavy cream, try adding flavors 1 teaspoon at a time and taste (use a separate spoon each time, please!). Here are some basic recipes to get you started:

Chocolate Ganache
(Gourmet 2001)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

20 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped in a food processor

Directions
Bring cream to a simmer in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Transfer ganache to a bowl and chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened but spreadable, about 4 hours. (If ganache becomes too thick, let stand at room temperature until slightly softened.)           


Chocolate Ganache
(Colette Peters recipe)

Ingredients

1. 24 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2. 2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil over low heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the ganache gently until silky and smooth.
2. To make the filling, transfer 1 1/2 cups of the ganache to a medium bowl. Set the bowl over ice and whisk the ganache gently until thick and spreadable.