Banana Crumb Muffins

A couple of weeks ago I walked into the kitchen and all I could smell was bananas. The bananas that we had were beginning to ripen too and the aroma that they were giving off made me long for some sought of banana cake. I settled on banana bread. I took out my flour and…. no wait… hold that thought.



A few days prior to that I was visiting my SIL and she asked me to make a chocolate cake. Anyone who knows me knows that I love my chocolate cakes rich and chocolaty. All she had was flour and cocoa so I had to settle on a light chocolate sponge cake.


With my niece and nephew fighting over who is going to stand next to the bowl I started baking. I mixed everything up, poured it into a baking tray and placed it in the oven as usual. After twenty minutes or so I decided to check the cake. It had risen only slightly and was unusually flat on top. I pondered over what could have gone wrong and then I took one look to the right and saw the unopened tin of baking powder. No worries though my SIL rushed to the shop to get some fresh cream and we turned it into a good tasting “chocolate brownie” trifle.


I realized that day how important it is to plan and prepare when baking so I paused, took out my little ramekins and for the first time did my mis en place.


The banana bread turned out quite good but I wasn’t satisfied. Being banana bread it wasn’t as moist and fluffy as I normally like my cakes.

With that I decided to give it another go and this time decided to make banana muffins. I searched and found this great recipe for banana crumb muffins. These muffins didn’t disappoint. They turned out moist and fluffy and were great even the next day. A word about the crumb topping… I found that it was great the same day but became soft and sugary the next day. I think it was from the humidity, but if you have sensitive teeth you not going to like biting into the sugary crumb mixture on top.

· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 3 bananas, mashed
· 3/4 cup white sugar
· 1 egg, lightly beaten
· 1/3 cup butter, melted
· 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
· 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
· 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Daring Bakers' Chocolate Flourless Cake with Vanilla Ice-Cream

When I saw the challenge for February I was rather excited, so excited that I finished it 4 days after it had been posted. It was a long wait for posting day and when the day came I was busy helping my brother move so I didn't even have enough time to turn my laptop on. It was disappointing for me since I couldn't wait to share my experiences from the challenge with the rest of you.

As I said I was rather excited when I saw that the challenge was all about chocolate and ice-cream my two favourite things in the world. I was even more excited to finally get the chance to make my very own ice-cream from home.

I started with the chocolate cake since I'm such a chocoholic. I've never attempted a flourless chocolate cake before simply because I've always been afraid to try it. I wish I'd tried it sooner because it is absolutely a divine cake - like eating baked chocolate. The only problem that I had with this cake is that I found it a bit too strong for my tastes. Next time I'll mix in some milk chocolate

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter

5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
   



2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
   
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
   
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
   
   


5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
   



6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
   
   


7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
   



8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C.
   
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
   
   


10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

For the ice-cream I decided to use Dharm's recipe and I don't regret it. The ice-cream was very successful for a first attempt and especially since I made it by hand. Next time I'm going to buy an ice-cream maker since the whole process was too aerobic for me. I was afraid that too many ice crystals will develop in the creamy custard base so I beat it every forty minutes for about 5 times before I left it to set completely.

This ice-cream was decadent, rich and creamy. I'm going to try different flavour variants using this recipe as a base. Absolutely decadent.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe - Classic Vanilla Ice Cream

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

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 lengthways. 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 infuseLift 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.
   
   


Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time.


When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.




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)

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.

Pizza My Heart

Wow..what can I say about this pizza crust. It was more than what I expected it to be and then some. The crust baked up perfectly. Crisp on the outside but tender on the inside. It made me look (and feel) like a gourmet chef. Everyone that had the pizza raved about it.

Because of the nature of my blog I had initially decided to make a dessert pizza but then I thought that it would be such a waste of good dough since I love pizza so much and so does everybody else in my household.

I decided to make a chicken and mushroom pizza but when I realised that I forgot to buy mushrooms I used Hawaiian stir fry vegetables instead. I also found this recipe for a great sauce on the Internet which turned out to be really great.

The first time I read the challenge I somehow overlooked the part where we were required to toss the pizza dough instead of rolling it. I thought to myself I would never even considered this cause I would hate to waste whatever dough ended up on the kitchen floor. It wasn't until I found this great video on YouTube that inspired me to give it a go.

My great intentions of tossing the dough fell flat since my dough didn't seem elastic enough and was on the delicate side. I don't know if I didn't need it long enough or if I needed to add more flour...it was so delicate that I didn't even need to roll it. I just stretched to size and that worked perfect for me.

There were a few good things that I learned about making pizza. Like how it is necessary to brush the dough with a little olive oil (or vegetable oil I suppose) before adding the sauce and toppings as this helps prevent the dough from getting soggy while it bakes.

I also learned the correct order of adding toppings - I didn't even know there was an order. Oil first, then sauce (not too much otherwise your pizza will be soggy), then cheese, then toppings and then more cheese if you want. I also learned that you should use more of the milder cheeses like mozzarella or Gouda and less of the stronger sharper cheeses like cheddar.

This pizza turned out so great and the dough was excellent. After making this I realised that if you want to have a good pizza then you need to have a good crust.

I've fallen in love all over again.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
• 1 3/4 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Instant yeast
• 1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
• 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
• 1 Tb sugar
• Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

Method:

DAY ONE

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
   
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water. NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.
   
3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
   
4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas). NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.
   
5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball. NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.
   
6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.
   
7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.
   
   DAY TWO
   
   
8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.
   
9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C). NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
   
10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss. NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and re-flour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn't as effective as the toss method.
    
11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.
    
12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
    
13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.
    
14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

NOTE ON SAUCE: Your sauce (any) should not be too thick as it will thicken in the hot oven. Less is more but make the less truly more by using quality ingredients.

SAUCE IDEAS: Pestos, white or brown sauce, tomato sauce, sour cream, thick cream, Bolognese sauce, etc…Check here for sauce recipes: http://www.tenspeedpress.com/page.php3?ftr=300

TOPPING IDEAS: Seafood, fish, meat (dry, cured, smoked or ground), cheeses (Gruyère, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Provolone, Ricotta, Maroille, Munster, etc…), nuts, tofu, veggies (tomatoes, bell peppers, artichokes, hearts of palm, zucchinis, pumpkin, red onions, etc…), herbs (mixes, fresh or dried), spices (garlic, gourmet salt, pepper, curry, berbere, ras-el-hanout, za’atar, etc…), nuts (pecans, walnuts, cashew nuts, Brasil nuts, macadamia nuts, etc…)….

All-Purpose Marinara Pizza Sauce

The flavors are fresher and brighter in this sauce than they are in any commercially bottled or canned pizza sauce. Dried herbs are preferable to fresh herbs here, but if you want to use fresh herbs, sprinkle them on the pizzas either just before you put them in the oven or as soon as they come out. Also, if you do not have thyme or marjoram, you can substitute additional oregano or basil to taste. Makes about 6 cups

• 1 can (28 ounces) tomato purée
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons granulated garlic powder, or 10 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pressed, and lightly sautéed in the olive oil, above
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice, or a combination
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

In a bowl, stir together all the ingredients, starting with 1/2 teaspoon salt and adding more to taste. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Thanks to this months host Rosa for a great challenge. Hope you have as much fun as I did.

Decadent Chocolate Eclairs...

...from the great man himself

I was excited to become a member of the Daring Bakers and couldn't wait to start my first challenge.

When I finally saw what the challenge was, I was a bit disappointed because I have made eclairs so many times before and was looking forward to trying something new. My disappointment quickly changed though when I saw that the recipe was one of Pierre Hermé's. I love everything that Pierre Hermé stands for and am looking forward to trying more of his recipes.

I thoroughly enjoyed making these. The choux pastry was easy to work with and turned out quite well. I found that I had to bake mines slightly longer.

The pastry cream....OMG...what can I say about it other than I absolutely loved it. It was the first time that I made chocolate pastry cream and have discovered something else to crave. The chocolate really came through in this recipe so you want to make sure that you use good quality chocolate. It was smooth, silky, chocolate decadence. I'm going to use this as a base for lots of other recipes.

I wasn't too crazy about the glaze since I found the chocolate sauce unnecessary(and a waste for me since I just threw away the leftovers because I didn't know what to do with it). While I think it tasted great I thought that the chocolate sauce weakened the glaze somewhat - maybe it was something that I did wrong. I find a simple chocolate ganache (without the addition of the sauce) perfect for eclairs. I made two batches of these and for the second batch I used the glaze recipe without the sauce.

Overall I enjoyed making these and found them absolutely delicious and quite indulgent. Thanks Tony and Meeta for a lovely challenge. I can't wait until I can get a copy of the book so that I can try other recipes by Pierre Hermé.

Looking forward to the next challenge.