The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers & Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks & www.nanaimo.ca.

I’m finally back doing the Daring Bakers Challenges after a couple of months off. I am very glad to be back. Our challenge this month was Gluten-Free Wafers & Nanaimo Bars, a Canadian Bar Dessert.

Lauren tells us that “Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian dessert created in none other than Nanaimo, British Colombia. In case you were wondering, it’s pronounced Nah-nye-Moh. These bars have 3 layers: a base containing graham crackers, cocoa, coconut & nuts, a middle custard layer, & a topping of chocolate.”

Recipe Source: Graham Wafers — 101 Cookbooks (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000126.html) I adapted it to be gluten-free. The adapted recipe can be found at www.thedaringkitchen.com Nanaimo Bars — City of Nanaimo (http://www.nanaimo.ca/EN/main/visitors/NanaimoBars.html)

Here are my adaptations & whoops.

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
1 cup Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup Sorghum Flour
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons Earth Balance (Cut into 1” cubes & frozen)
1/3 cup Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons Soy Milk
2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, & salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter & pulse on & off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk & vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft & sticky. Okay, this is where my whoops came in. For some reason I had 1cup stuck in my head, so I added 1 cup of soy milk, well, it was only supposed to be 5 tablespoons (¼ cup + 1 tablespoon). Soooo…. I had to add more rice, tapioca & sorghum flour & a little more brown sugar. It was still a little soft, but was workable.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour & pat the dough into a rectangle about 1“ thick. Wrap in plastic & chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half & return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface & roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8“ thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4“ squares. Gather the scraps together & set aside. Place wafers on 1 or 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper & lower positions & preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, & reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour & roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in 2 or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned & slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, & the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled, place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out & smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds whipped with ¼ cup water
1 1/4 cups Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup Almond flour
1 cup Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
12 oz silken tofu, firm
2 tablespoons Vanilla Pudding Mix (mori nu)

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Earth Balance

1. For bottom Layer: Melt butter, sugar & cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg & stir to cook & thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts & coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8“ pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream tofu & pudding mix until smooth. Refrigerate until firm. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate & butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer & chill.

Additional Information: These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.

The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

These were really good!  I should’ve used extra-firm tofu for the pudding ‘cuz it was a bit squishy, but sooo good.  I am so making these again.

August’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge has been chosen by Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella & me, Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar. We have chosen the famous Dobos Torta, a Hungarian speciality.

The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

A Dobos Torta is a 5-layer sponge cake that is filled with chocolate buttercream & topped with caramel wedges. There can be up to 24 layers in a Dobos Torta, just in case you were wondering. The Dobos Torta was invented in 1885 by Jozsef C. Dobos who was a Hungarian baker. Check out the full recipe & everyone else wonderful creations at http://www.thedaringkitchen.com.

I halved the recipe to make 2 small round Torta’s.

Dobos Torta

For the sponge cake layers, I made Hannah Kaminsky’s recipe in My Sweet Vegan.

For the chocolate buttercream

6 oz coconut yogurt, chocolate flavored

¾ cup sugar

4 oz dark chocolate

1 stick Earth Balance

2 TBSP silken, firm tofu

I whipped them together in my kitchen aid until combined.

Caramel topping

• 1 cup sugar

• ¾ cup water

• 2 TBSP lemon juice

Finishing touches

• 6 whole macadamia nuts

(from our hosts) Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper & butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife & an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water & lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high & boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally & washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn’t just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time & the cake layer was cold & the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less & you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut & separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back & forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Angela’s note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later & it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into 6 equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 ½” cardboard round & top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

All frosted, doesn’t look too good though.   Okay, now it really looks funny.  Is it supposed to fall over???

We were able to vary the shape, buttercream flavor, & nuts that we used for this recipe. I stayed with all the flavors they gave us except for the nuts. I have discovered that I just don’t like hazelnuts, not sure why. I keep trying to like them, but… I had some macadamia nuts on hand, so I used those.

  After being picked up & set back upright.

Verdict: Great flavor, but I totally tanked on the plating, it completely fell over. I did miss how to do the caramel. We were supposed to cover the top layer of cake, which I did, then cut those into 12 triangles to use on top as decoration. Well, I just covered the top layer & placed it on top of the cake, not as pretty, but since it fell over anyway…um…, I guess it didn’t matter?

I do recommend this Torta, very yummy & really not that hard to make. Thank you so much for such a wonderful challenge.

The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I too am a big fan of Gale Gand, even though I don’t eat much of what she makes anymore. I am still able to take a lot of her recipes & veganize them though. I have actually never had a Milano Cookie before, I know, very sad. I also do not like marshmallows of any kind, I know, very strange. Although this months challenge got me interested. Even though I don’t like eating marshmallows, I really wanted to make some. Not sure why, but I couldn’t wait to get started! You can see the original recipes & everyone elses results here: http://www.thedaringkitchen.com

I started off with Isa’s version of Milanos, printed with my changes. I wanted to make them lower in fat & a little healthier.

Vegan Milanos
Makes 16 cookies

1/3 cup rice milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Scant ¼ tsp orange extract
2 cups flour
2 TBSP cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.

In a large mixing bowl, use a strong fork to mix together milk, sugar, applesauce, vanilla and orange extract.

Add half of the flour, along with the cornstarch, baking powder and salt; mix well. Add the remaining flour and mix until you have a soft dough.

Fill a pastry bag, or zip-top baggie with the dough & pipe onto your cookie sheets so that it is 1 ½” long. Wet your hands a bit with cold water, it will keep your hands from sticking to the dough. You will need to do this after every couple of cookies. Flatten with the palms of your hand to create an oval that is 2“ long and 1“ across, then straighten the edges out with your fingers. You are going for the milano cookie shape, don’t be too perfect with it though, let it have some character. Continue shaping the cookies until you have 16 cookies placed about 1“ apart (they don’t spread much.) per tray.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until tops are firm and edges are ever so slightly browned. Remove from oven and let rest for 2 minutes. Use a thin, flexible spatula to transfer to a cooling rack. Meanwhile, bake your next batch and melt your chocolate.

Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes, then take a cookie and dip the bottom into the chocolate. Then take another cookie and dip it, and place the dipped sides together to form a sandwich. Don’t press them hard or else the chocolate will smoosh out. Place them on a tray & put in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Continue with the remaining cookies until you have 16 sandwiches. Have a wet rag at the ready to wipe your fingers between putting the cookies together, to avoid chocolate fingerprints on the cookies. Bring to room temperature before serving.  I filled half with the melted chocolate & half with my leftover almond-ella.

We only had to make one of the cookies, but who can resist Milano type cookies & I really wanted to make some Marshmallows, so I made both.

For the Marshmallow recipe, I used David Soleil’s recipe that you can find here: http://veganmarshmallows.blogspot.com/2009/04/vegan-marshmallow-recipe.html I followed it exactly (except using Lyle’s Golden Syrup & Barley Malt Syrup in place of the corn syrup), so I won’t reprint it here.

I also used silicone molds to shape the marshmallows.

I made the regular vanilla flavored marshmallows for all. On some, I used chili powder to dust with & some I used cinnamon. On 2 of the big ones, I coated with coconut flakes & 2 of them I mixed in some peppermint, soy cream cheese frosting. The peppermint is yummy!

For the Mallows, I used leftover chocolate shortbread that I had made for pie & made a quick chocolate ganache to pour over the top, yum!

Verdict: Milanos – YUM! I did under cook them a bit, I should’ve left them in for another 2 minutes, but they were still really good, just a little chewy. I also made them too thick, which didn’t help with the chewiness. They sure tasted good though, & I will be making these again.

Mallows – YUM! I had so much fun making the marshmallows. The texture was a little different, but they tasted like marshmallows. This was good though, because the main thing I don’t like about marshmallows is their texture. Once you put them into a cookie & cover with chocolate, well, who could resist!

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict & Annemarie of Ambrosia & Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

Recipe origins: Traditional (UK)
Inspirations & References: Allan Davidson, Tamasin Day Lewis, Anton Edelmann, Jane Grigson, Nigella Lawson & Jamie Oliver
Hostess: Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict
Co-hostess: Annemarie of Ambrosia & Nectar

From our hosts: “Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream & baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam & an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the 2: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane & jam. The term “Bakewell pudding” was first penned in 1826 by Meg Dods; 20 years later Eliza Acton published a recipe that featured a baked rich egg custard overtop 2cm of jam & noted,

‘This pudding is famous not only in Derbyshire, but in several of our northern counties where it is usually served on all holiday occasions.’ By the latter half of the 1800s, the egg custard evolved into a frangipane-like filling; since then the quantity of jam decreased while the almond filling increased. This tart, like many of the world’s great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry & mixed the eggs & sugar separately & poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow. Regardless of what the venerable Mrs. Greaves’ cook did or didn’t do, lore has it that her guests loved it & an ensuing pastry-clad industry was born. The town of Bakewell has since played host to many a sweet tooth in hopes of tasting the tart in its natural setting. Bakewell tarts are a classic English dessert, abounding in supermarket baking sections & in ready-made, mass-produced forms, some sporting a thick sugary icing & glazed cherry on top for decorative effect. Enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee or just eat it sneaky slice by sneaky slice until, to your chagrin, you realise the whole tart has somehow disappeared despite you never having pulled out a plate, fork or napkin with which to eat it.”

I am very glad that I made mini tarts, otherwise I would’ve had the problem of the sneaky bite by sneaky bite & realizing that I had eaten the whole thing! These are mighty tasty. I am going to make this one again, but try to replace the Earth Balance with fruit puree to lighten the fat content a bit.

More from our hosts: “The etymology of pudding is a rather interesting & slightly convoluted one. The naming confusion may come from the British manner of referring to the dessert course as ‘pudding’ (as well as referring to fat babies by the same name, though we don’t think that is what was the inspiration in this case). & so any dessert is a pudding until another name comes along & adds clarity to what it really is.”

For the challenge, we had to make a Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, by hand, please. We also needed to make the Frangipane. We had the option of making a homemade jam or curd, which I sort of did. I used a homemade “almond-ella” which I had made for last months challenge, I also had 2 yummy jams in the fridge that I had bought, so I used those. This recipe comes together quickly & easily. I recommend making the shortbread crust first because it needs to rest in the fridge for a bit. While that is resting, you can make your own jam & the frangipane. You can go here: www.thedaringkitchen.com to see the original recipe. Below is my adaptations & changes:

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Yield: 12 mini tarts
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Flour for dusting
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, sliced almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it warm up for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin & roll the pastry to ¼” thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center & roll away from you), & turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size & thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in & trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. For mini tarts, cut out rounds that fit your muffin tin, or silicone mini tart pan.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam/almond-ella onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top & pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy & brownish. Remove from oven & strew flaked almonds on top & return to the heat for the last 5 minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust & the frangipane will be tanned, poofy & a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven & cool on the counter. Serve warm or room temperature. You may drizzle with a little more almond-ella, if desired. When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy & the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Notes from our hosts:

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes & linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (¼ cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” & strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference & spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out & cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling wrap

8oz whole wheat pastry flour
1oz sugar
½ tsp salt
4oz Earth Balance, frozen
¼ cup soy yogurt
½ tsp almond extract (optional)
1-2 TBSP cold water

1. Sift together flour, sugar & salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater (this really does work best). Using your finger tips only, & working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
2. Lightly beat the soy yogurt with the almond extract (if using) & quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive & slightly sticky dough. I had to use 3 TBSP of water since it was so dry here.
3. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt & vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, 1 tsp of vanilla paste or 1 tsp of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

4.5oz Earth Balance, softened (this is 1 stick and about 1 tsp)
4.5oz powdered sugar
1 ½ TBSP Ener-g Egg Replacer

1/3 cup warm water
½ tsp almond extract
4.5oz ground almonds
1oz whole wheat pastry flour

1. Cream butter & sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl.
2. Whisk together the egg replacer & warm water, add to the butter mixture, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all of the egg replacer is in, pour in the almond extract & mix for about another 30 seconds & scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts & the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) & retain its pallid yellow colour.

For my toppings, I used some leftover hazelnut praline, pine nuts & slivered almonds. For my fillings, I used almond-ella, peach, mango, orange jam, and apricot jam. They were all yummy! Not sure which my fav is, I really liked them all. I think a little peanut butter mixed with the jam & topped with the frangipane would be good too, but I didn’t try it. Enjoy!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Linda & Courtney say, “Making strudel dough has been on my personal baking to-do list for quite a while but I was always kind of scared to actually try making the paper thin dough. And as being a Daring Baker means challenging yourself, making strudel dough seemed like the perfect recipe for this month’s challenge. Not a lot of rules this month as we’re allowing you complete freedom for the filling & shaping of the dough. The only thing that’s mandatory for everybody who’s participating in this month’s challenge, is to make the strudel dough. Hopefully this will suit both the sweet & savoury DB-ers Of course you’re welcome to make the traditional apple strudel that you’ll find below but wouldn’t it be so much more fun & challenging to try something completely different? We’d love to see you get creative!”

  Okay, not so pretty, but it sure tasted good.
My first thought was, “Oh, I really don’t like cooked apples, but strudel sounds like a great challenge.” Then, I kept reading ,”Ooo, we get to fill it with whatever we want, yeah!” I had a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to fill it with. I thought rhubarb, but decided to make a pie with the 10 beautiful stalks I was given from a friend of someone who picked them from her garden! My next thought was blueberry strudel, but then I went to a wine bar & was reading through their desserts & saw a Calzone filled with nutella & bananas. That was the one! You can find the original recipe here: http://thedaringkitchen.com/  Check out everyone else’s amazing creations here: http://thedaringkitchen.com/blogroll/bakers

Preparation time for the recipe
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough

30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out & stretch dough

10 min to fill & roll dough

30 min to bake

30 min to cool

Almond“ella” & Banana Strudel

1 cup chocolate almond spread (from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)
1 banana, in half lengthwise, then quartered

¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
strudel dough (recipe below)

1. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven & preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread the chocolate almond spread over the dough, about a ½” from the edge. Place the bananas over the top of the chocolate almond spread. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips & cinnamon.

2. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

3. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife & serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

I found that it tasted just as good the next day. I also found that I should have used 2 bananas and about ¼ cup more almond“ella”.

  The dough came out great, flaky & crispy.

Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest & Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup bread flour
1/8 tsp salt
7 TBSP water, plus more if needed
2 TBSP warm water, mixed with 2 tsp ground flax seeds
½ tsp cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour & salt in a bowl. Mix the water, flax mixture & vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water mixture to the flour while stirring. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary. Turn the dough out onto a large surface. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough & throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally. Shape the dough into a ball & transfer it to a plate. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36“ round table or a work surface of 23 x 38“. Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour & rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle & roll it out as much as you can. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough & gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch & pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough & stretch & pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch & pull the dough until it’s about 2′ wide & 3′ long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Tips from Courtney & Linda
- Ingredients are cheap so we would recommend making a double batch of the dough, that way you can practice the pulling & stretching of the dough with the first batch & if it doesn’t come out like it should you can use the second batch to give it another try;
- The tablecloth can be cotton or polyster;
- Before pulling & stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands & wrists, & wear short-sleeves;
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you can use your hip to secure the dough against the edge of the table;
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible.

Both Courtney & I did a trial run on making the strudel. Below are our notes:

Courtney’s notes
- I couldn’t get it to stretch to 2′ by 3′, it turned out more like 2′ by 2′. But the dough was tissue thin nevertheless;
- I got some serious holes, but after rolling it wasn’t noticeable;
- I used a large cheese cloth which helped manipulate & stretch the dough more than a heavier cloth would have.

Linda’s notes
- I made the dough by hand, just mixed the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Kneaded it for about 5 min like you would bread dough. This worked as well. Haven’t tried using a standmixer so I don’t know how it compares.
- Instead of cider vinegar I used red wine vinegar;
- I used bread flour
- Picking up the dough to let it stretch didn’t work well for me, holes appeared pretty much instantly. Instead I stretched the dough while it was lying on the tablecloth by putting my hands underneath & stretching it out further & further

What was my double challenge for April?

BOSTINI CREAM PIE

Huh? It’s not a typo. Bostini cream pie is a twist on the traditional Boston cream pie. The dessert is vanilla custard topped with an orange chiffon cake & then drizzled with a chocolate glaze. The Boston cream pie is my m-i-l’s favorite desserts. The recipe is from a restaurant that was later printed in the SF Chronicle newspaper.

We were able to play with the size of the dessert as well as being able to halve the recipe, which I did. We could also use a different custard recipe to make it vegan. This challenge was originally done in October 2007 Challenge #12 Hostess: Mary of Alpineberry.

Bostini Cream Pie (from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni & Scala’s Bistro)

Makes 8 generous servings

I used the pastry cream recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Custard

3/4 cup whole milk

2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch

1 whole egg, beaten

9 egg yolks, beaten

3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 vanilla bean (EDITED: vanilla extract is okay)

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour ¾ cup cake flour

3/4 cup superfine sugar ¼ + 1/8 cup sugar

1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder ¾ tsp baking powder

1/3 teaspoon salt pinch salt

1/3 cup canola oil 1/6 cup applesauce

1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks) 1/6 cup soy yogurt

3/4 cup fresh orange juice ¼ cup + 1 TBSP orange juice

1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest 1 TBSP grand marnier

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ½ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup egg whites (about 8 large) ½ cup warm water mixed with 4 TBSP egg replacer

1 teaspoon cream of tartar ½ tsp cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze I used a chocolate powdered sugar frosting, cuz I didn’t have any chocolate, can you believe it?!?

8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate

8 ounces unsalted butter

To prepare the custard: Combine the milk & cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg & yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean & sugar in a saucepan & carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard & pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.

To prepare the chiffon cakes: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder & salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest & vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar & beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter.

Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven & let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.

To prepare the glaze: Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan & heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate & stir to melt. Pour through a strainer & keep warm.

To assemble: Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

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.

Wendy is at wmpesblog (Arizona) and Dharm is at Dad - Baker and Chef (Malaysia). They both are passionate about baking for our families. 

For the Love of Chocolate Daring Bakers’ February 2009 ChallengeChocolate has many associations – godliness, health-giving, mood altering, & addicting. Bless the ancient Mayans & Aztecs for developing the cocoa bean into the delicious luxurious chocolate drink that the Spanish explorers brought back to Spain. How the Spanish kept chocolate a secret for 100 years is a mystery that perhaps can only be explained by the lack of the internet!
It is no wonder that February, the month for honoring love on St. Valentine’s Day, is best represented first by the heart & then by chocolate or better yet a chocolate heart. The potency & power of chocolate can only be rivaled by vanilla, & then they make a wonderful combination!

February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan What we Want You to Do:
-Use the following recipe
-Serve with - The original recipe calls for the cake to be served with whipping cream. BUT we decided to make this more of a challenge & ask you to make your own Ice Cream. You can choose any flavour you want & any recipe. But we are giving you a little freedom here & will allow whipped cream as a topping as well or of course non-dairy whip. Be as creative as you want with your topping. Any fruit puree or sauce would be lovely with this cake.
- Use your favorite chocolate – the finished cake will taste exactly like the chocolate you use. Be creative with your chocolate, if you like a sweeter cake use milk chocolate or a combination of the semisweet & milk chocolate. If you like bittersweet chocolate use that & add sweetness by mixing the semi sweet with bittersweet. If you are daring, try white chocolate.
- A higher cocoa percentage increases the bitterness of the chocolate.
-Equipment - it is optional to use a heart shaped pan. For a real Valentino, bake it in a heart shaped pan or cut it out into a heart shape. An 8” spring form pan works with great results as do smaller pans or ramekins.
-An instant read thermometer highly recommended.Note on recipe - the recipe consists of 3 simple ingredients & how you interpret them is part of the challenge. The simplicity of this recipe gives credit to the ingredients much in the same way of French baguette.
-This recipe comes together very quickly with a hand mixer.
-This is a very decadent cake that will sink a little as it cools but will still hold its shape.
-Very dense & fudgy cake that tastes divine.
-The top forms a light crust kind of like a brownieChocolate 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 & butter in a heatproof bowl & set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) & melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan & line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites & put into 2 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 & follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan ¾ of the way full, & bake at 375F/190C.
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60F.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie & a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.I used Hannah Kaminsky’s Vegan Flourless Chocolate cake recipe with a couple of changes. Her is her link: http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2008/12/30/a-matter-of-luck/

Lucky Chocolate Cake Adapted from Epicurious

2 Cups Cooked Black-Eyed Peas I used 1 15-oz can black beans
1 12-Ounce Package Extra-Firm Silken Tofu
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Natural Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder omitted
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
Pinch Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan.

Toss both the black-eyed peas and the tofu into your food processor or blender, and let it run until the mixture is completely smooth. Give it a good long time to work, since it would be rather unpleasant to find any whole beans in your cake. Add in the sugar and coffee powder, and pulse to combine.

Separately, melt the chocolate and stir well until smooth before adding into the food processor, and then let it run for a minute until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides to make sure you aren’t missing anything, and give it another minute to process. Finally, add the cocoa, coffee powder, baking powder, soda, and salt, and pulse to combine.

Spread the mixture into your prepared pan, leveling off the top with your spatula as best you can. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. I know that’s a bit vague, but it will still be ever so slightly wet since it’s such a moist cake- Just make sure it doesn’t look like it’s covered in raw batter. Let it cool completely in the pan before serving.

This came together quickly and easily & tastes GREAT!!! Thank you so much to Hannah sharing the recipe. Don’t worry, you can’t even taste the beans and they give you healthy fiber and nutrients.

I debated on what kind of ice cream I wanted to make. One DB’er made a ginger ice cream, another made an Earl Grey & Honey. But in the end I decided on making a Vanilla & Red Hots, & boy am I glad I did. It tastes sooooo good! I started with this base, and just added ¼ cup of red hots. Oh, & thank you to Vegan Ice Cream Paradise for the recipe: http://veganicecream.blogspot.com/2006/10/two-vanillas.html

Fancy Pants Vanilla

2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
2 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 vanilla bean
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer and soy milk together in a saucepan. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the milk. Drop the bean shell into the milk too. Bring to a slight boil, then lower the temperature and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean shell. Stir in the sugar, and bring to a boil again. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

  Soy creamer, milk, & vanilla cooking

  freezing

Okay, so I made the ice cream and put it into my ice cream maker and an hour later, it still hadn’t set up. Mine usually only take 20 – 40 minutes. I was making this at night, and was getting tired, so I didn’t want to wait any longer. I think the problem was that I didn’t have enough ice. Well, I put the mixture into a container & into the freezer it went. I ended up staying up for another 2 hours, stirring the mixture every 20 – 30 minutes & hoping for the best. It actually set up nicely, so you really don’t need a fancy machine to make ice cream (but it usually is faster).

This is a totally make again recipe (the cake & ice cream!), as well as being somewhat healthy.

I am continuing to catch up on the previous Daring Baker challenges & this months extra challenge is: 

Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart!

I had bought a tart pan a couple of years ago, but never used it, so I was excited to get the chance to use it. I actually got to this challenge a little early! Yeah! I always hate putting things off to the last minute & having to cram it in (not sure why I always do it), so I was determined to finish this one early. The substitutions for this challenge were pretty easy, nothing too hard to figure out. This one I will totally make again! It tasted great. A bit rich for my hubby, so he just ate smaller pieces, but he loved the flavor. Next time I would roll the shortbread thinner & use a bigger tart pan (mine was an 8” one), because I had extra filling. At least I have some extra mousse to eat on the side, yum. This one is pretty easy to make as well. You do need to let the shortbread pastry chill overnight, so keep that in mind while you’re planning.

Daring Bakers Challenge #10: Milk Chocolate & Caramel Tart (August 2007)

Hosts: Veron (Veronica’s Test Kitchen) & Patricia (Technicolor Kitchen)

Recipe Quantity: One (1) 9″ Square or one (1) 10″ Round tart

Allowed Modifications:

1. Caramel fragment toppings are optional but make sure that the caramel-cream & chocolate layers are true to the recipe

2. If you have no luck with the dry method of making the caramel, you may use the alternate method shown at the end of the recipe.

3. You may eliminate the cinnamon if you don’t like cinnamon.

4. High altitude modifications are allowed as long as you stay “true” to the recipe.

5. Conversion for certain dietary restrictions like gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan etc. is allowed.

6. Recipe ingredient exception allowed only if allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive in your region.

Chocolate Shortbread Pastry

Note: The Chocolate Shortbread pastry can make 3 tart shells. So, if you want to cut that recipe into thirds then do so but Veron & Patricia are not promising it will scale down properly. (I made all 3 & put the other 2 in the freezer for future use)

Prep Time: 10 min Refrigeration: overnight Makes 3 tart shells: 9 ½“ square or 10“ round

1 cup (250g ) unsalted butter, softened ½ cup earth balance, ½ cup silken tofu

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 g) confectioners’ sugar

½ cup (50 g) ground hazelnuts leftover hazelnut prailine

2 level teaspoons (5 g) ground cinnamon

2 eggs Ener-g egg replacer

4 ½ cups (400 g) cake flour 2 ½ cups cake flour, 2 cups whole wheat

2 ½ teaspoons (10 g) baking powder

1 ½ tablespoons (10 g) cocoa powder

A day ahead:

1. In a mixing bowl of a food processor, cream the butter.

2. Add the confectioners’ sugar, the ground hazelnuts, and the cinnamon, and mix together

3. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing constantly

4. Sift in the flour, the baking powder, and the cocoa powder, and mix well.

5. Form a ball with the dough, cover in plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart

Preparation time: 40 minutes Baking Time: 30 minutes Refrigeration time: 1 hour

½ lb (250 g) chocolate shortbread pastry (see recipe above)

1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar

1 cup (250 g) heavy cream (30-40% butterfat) or crème fraiche soy creamer

¼ cup (50 g) butter earth balance

2 whole eggs 2 TBSP flax meal w/ ½ cup water

1 egg yolk ¼ cup silken tofu

2 ½ tablespoons (15 g) flour

1 ¼ cups (300 g) whipping cream silken tofu

½ lb (250 g) milk chocolate 62% dark chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 325 °F (160 °C).

2. Line the baking pan with the chocolate shortbread pastry and bake blind for 15 minutes.

3. In a saucepan, caramelize 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar using the dry method until it turns a golden caramel color. Incorporate the heavy cream or crème fraiche and then add butter. Mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool.

4. In a mixing bowl, beat the whole eggs with the extra egg yolk, then incorporate the flour.

5. Pour this into the cream-caramel mixture and mix thoroughly.

6. Spread it out in the tart shell and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

7. Prepare the milk chocolate mousse: beat the whipping cream until stiff. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie, and fold it gently into the whipped cream.

8. Pour the chocolate mousse over the cooled caramel mixture, smoothing it with a spatula. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

Alternate Caramel Method: used dry method

If you have problems with the dry method, you may use this method.

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon corn syrup

Set mixture in a pot over medium-high heat and stir slowly. When the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring and leave it alone. Wait till desired color is attained .

Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Caramel Fragments: Melt ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar in a saucepan until it reaches an amber color. Pour it onto waxed paper laid out on a flat surface. Leave to cool. Break it into small fragments and stick them lightly into the top of the tart. (didn’t use)

Verdict: I will definitely be making this one again.  It was easy & super delicious!

Welcome to the December 2008 Daring Bakers challenge! Yeah!

And the Challenge this month is…

A French Yule Log!!!

To start with, our hosts for this month were Hilda of Saffron (http://saffronandblueberry.blogspot.com/) & Blueberry & Marion of Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux (Il en faut peu pour etre heureux (http://ilenfautpeupour.canalblog.com/).

The recipe this months comes from: http://plaisirgourmand.perso.cegetel.net/index.html.

The author is : Flore

Here is what our hosts say about our challenge this month:
“SO, what is a French Yule Log you say & how is it different from the Yule Log we made last December if you were a member then? In France you can buy 2 kinds of Yule log, either the Genoise & Buttercream type that we made last December, or what is more commonly purchased which is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometimes loosely translated in English as simply a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday-specific, it is also just a scrumptious dessert recipe.”

“This recipe comes almost entirely, except for one small labeled portion & some of the variations courtesy of our dear Daring Baker Fairy Tartelette, from the website: Florilège Gourmand (address above) which belongs to Flore (who has not disclosed her last name to me in my exchanges with her) & is unreal. Her website is in French & different portions of the recipe have been pulled from the recipes in the entremets section.”

“So, to the business of our Yule log:
#2 THE CHALLENGE RULE is that you MUST MAKE ALL 6 of these elements for the log:
1) Dacquoise Biscuit
2) Mousse
3) Ganache Insert
4) Praline (Crisp) Insert
5) Creme Brulee Insert
6) Icing
The assembly will essentially be a Dacquoise Biscuit at the bottom, & the inserts inter-layered with mousse, with an icing finish. That’s about it for rules. Oh yeah, please have fun!”

We were able to use different flavor components to our Yule Log, I will only be sharing the ones that I used, you can find all the delicious different flavors of each component at all of the other Daring Bakers sites: http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/
 

FRENCH YULE LOG OR ENTREMETS RECIPE by Flore of Florilège Gourmand
Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)
Preparation time: 10 min + 15 min for baking
Equipment: 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper
Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom & top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.
2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) almond meal
1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) confectioner’s sugar
2Tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about 3 medium egg whites (I used Ener-G egg replacer for 2 eggs, as well as 1 tsp each of baking powder and vinegar)
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

1. Finely mix the almond meal and the caster sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc…) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden.
8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Element #2 Dark Chocolate Mousse I used:
CREAMY DESSERT PUDDINGS This recipe was created by one of our cooking instructors at the McDougall Program, Alex Bury. Prep: 10 min Chill: opt Serves: 4

2 12.3 ounce boxes lite silken tofu (1 box silken, 1 box firm)
½ cup Wonderslim cocoa powder
¾ cup agave nectar (use ½ cup honey)
¼ cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor & process until creamy & smooth. Serve at once or cover & refrigerate until serving time.

Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert
Preparation time: 10 min
Equipment: pan, whisk. If you have an immersion blender, it comes in handy.

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar & then adding the cream. It may splatter & boil.
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content) (soy creamer)
5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened (Earth Balance)

1. Make caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel & stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter & boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds & stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter & whip hard & fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth & shiny.

Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert
Ingredients for the Praline Feuillete:
3.5 oz (100g) milk chocolate (dark chocolate)
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) butter (Earth Balance)
2 Tbsp (1 oz / 30g) praline (Hazelnut pralines from last months challenge)
2.1oz (60g) lace crepes(gavottes)/rice krispies/corn flakes/Special K (Nutty Rice, gluten free cereal)

1. Melt the chocolate & butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline & the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between 2 sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Element #5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert
It is not a crème brulée per see, it’s a recipe for “Pastry Cream” (Custard) a few alternative bakers used this one as a sub. I think it ended up too floury to me, but it wasn’t bad.

From “The Joy of Vegan Baking” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (Highly recommend)
65g granulated sugar (1/3c)
16g unbleached AP flour (2 tablespoons)
32g cornstartch (4 tablespoons)
60ml water (1/4c)
315ml nondairy milk (I’ve used soy & it works well) (1 1/3c)
2 teaspoons lemon or vanilla extract

Beat together sugar, flour, cornstartch & water on high speed until creamy, about 2 mintues. Set aside.
Bring milk to a simmer, pour about 80ml (1/3cup) of hot milk into the sugar mixture & stir to combine. Add the mixture back to the saucepan with the milk. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. It will begin to thicken immediately.
Scrape the bottom & sides of pan as you whisk. Cook until it begins to bubble, then whisk (as vigorously as you can) for 30 secs, and remove from heat. Stir in extracts. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing
Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don’t count softening the gelatin)
Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan
Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.
For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

4g / ½ Tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin (vegan gelatin powder)
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content) (soy creamer)
2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50g) water
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

How To Assemble your French Yule Log
Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.
THIS IS FOR UNMOLDING FROM UPSIDE DOWN TO RIGHT SIDE UP.
You will want to tap your mold gently on the countertop after each time you pipe mousse in to get rid of any air bubbles.
1) Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with rhodoid (clear hard plastic, I usually use transparencies cut to the desired shape, it’s easier to find than cellulose acetate which is what rhodoid translates to in English) OR plastic film. Rhodoid will give you a smoother shape but you may have a hard time using it depending on the kind of mold you’re using.
2) Pipe one third of the Mousse component into the mold.
3) Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute & set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
4) Pipe second third of the Mousse component around & on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
5) Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
6) Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
7) Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
8 ) Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight edge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
9) Close with the Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

THE NEXT DAY…
Unmold the cake/log/whatever & set on a wire rack over a shallow pan. Cover the cake with the icing. Let set. Return to the freezer.
You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc…
Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose.

Completed Log:

This is a tip I got from a fellow DB’er and it helped a lot!

Make these first in this order:
1. Creme Brulee (freeze then cut)
2. Mouse (refrigerate at least 1 hour)
3. Praline insert (freeze then cut)

Then assemble these 3 items & freeze for 2-3 hours until set.
Now make these:
1. Dacquoise Biscuit (allow to cool and cut)
2. Ganache Insert (pipe on previous frozen Yule log)

Finish assembly and FREEZE UNTIL NEXT DAY.

Lastly make Icing, remove log from mold & coat.

I forgot to say how much I liked this one.  It tastes great (although I usually scrape off 1/2 of the creme brulee layer). 

It’s time for my 6^th Double Challenge. What is it? Deepest Darkest Crepe Cake!

I was actually really excited when I saw this challenge, especially after reading all of the comments everyone had. It seems that they all had some trouble with the crepe recipe. Luckily, being vegan, I get to try it with a different recipe since I don’t eat milk or eggs. As long as you expect the first couple of crepes to be trial runs that are fit for snacking but not the actual cake, you should be fine. I was able to make this cake all in one day, but you can take up to 4 days to make it. This cake is rich, but not too sweet. It tastes great, even my hubby liked it (he’s the non dessert lover). I would describe the Hazelnut filling on the buttercream side & the chocolate glaze tastes heavenly made with hazelnut cream instead of heavy cream. I had some problems with my candied hazelnuts. I started out making the hazelnut prailine from the Filbert Gateau, then read the directions. The sugar had started to melt a bit when I decided to add the water, big mistake. I then didn’t cook it long enough. I ended up just putting it back on the stove to heat some more & it turned out okay, not great, but it was salvaged. The other problem I had was impatience. I made my Chocolate Glaze then put it in the fridge to cool down. Well, it wasn’t cooling down fast enough for me, so I put it in the freezer, planning to take it out after 10 to 15 minutes. Well, 30 minutes later, it had started to harden into chips again, so the presentation isn’t as pristine as I would’ve liked, but I actually liked the little bits of chips, it gave a nice texture difference to the smoothness of the cake. Each component of the cake is pretty easy to make, especially after you get the hang of the crepes & it comes together nicely as well.

 first side     flipped over

My changes are in green.

Deepest Darkest Crepe Cake from the kitchens of Martha Stewart

Daring Bakers Challenge #6: April 2007 Host: Brilynn (Jumbo Empanadas)

Allowed modifications:

1. If you don’t like hazelnut filling, you may choose a flavor of your choice but you are on your own how to make the cream filling.

2. You don’t have to do the candied hazelnut topping. You may just do sugar, nothing or the topping of your choice.

3.High altitude modifications are allowed as long as you stay “true” to the recipe.

4. Conversion for certain dietary restrictions like gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan etc. is allowed.

5. Recipe ingredient exception allowed only if allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive in your region.

Crepes

3/4 Cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus melted for pan

8 Ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/3 Cup sugar

2 Teaspoon salt

2 1/2 Cups whole milk, room temperature

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Bring 1/4 cup water to a rolling boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking to combine after each addition. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until completely melted. Set aside.

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Add chocolate-butter mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard lumps. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Lightly coat an 8″crepe pan or nonstick skillet with melted butter. Heat over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove pan from heat; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into pan, swirling to cover bottom. Reduce heat to medium-low; return pan to heat. Cook, flipping once, until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side.

Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed. Crepes can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day.

Place a crepe on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Spread with about 3 tablespoons hazelnut filling. Top with another crepe. Continue layering with hazelnut filling and crepes, using about 32 crepes and ending with a crepe on top. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Spoon ½ cup glaze on top of the cake, spreading to edges. Spread remaining glaze around sides of cake, coating completely. Refrigerate until glaze is firm and set, about 20 minutes. Cake can be refrigerated up to 3 days. Garnish with toasted and candied hazelnuts.

Crepes

2 ¼ cups soy milk

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not substitute ordinary whole wheat flour)

¾ cup oat flour (2/3 cup rolled oats, ground in a dry blender)

¾ cup extra-firm silken tofu

1/3 cup chickpea flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP honey (or agave nectar)

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp baking powder

1. Process all of the ingredients in a food processor or a blender until very smooth. (You do not have to “rest” the batter before cooking, like with egg crepes.)

2. Heat a nonstick 8″ skillet (a shallow skillet is the best, if you have one) over medium-high heat. Use 2 tablespoons of batter per crepe (stirring the batter before you make each crepe), rolling & tilting the pan until it evenly covers the bottom. Cover the pan & cook for a few seconds, or until the top looks dry. Carefully loosen the crepe with a very thin plastic spatula. Stack the cooked crepes on a plate & cover them with a clean napkin. (These crepes are quite tender & it is difficult to flip them over– with this method of cooking, you don’t have to.) - You can cook them uncovered & flip them if you want, that’s what I did.

3. Either fill the crepes right away & serve as directed below, or let them cool & place in a plastic bag or rigid container (with pieces of waxed paper in between each crepe), & refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze them for future use (thaw thoroughly before filling).  I only got 23 crepes. 

Hazelnut Filling

Serving: Makes about 8 cups

2/3 Cup heavy cream – coconut milk

6 large egg whites - ¾ cup extra firm silken tofu & 1 ½ TBSP Ener-G Egg replacer mixed with 1/3 cup coconut milk

1 2/3 Cups sugar – 1 cup

1 3/4 Cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, softened – 1 ½ sticks

1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 Cup hazelnut cream, (available from Whole Foods Market, www.wholefoods.com) – Hazelnut soy creamer

1 tsp salt

Put cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Whisk egg whites & sugar in the clean bowl of mixer set over a pan of simmering water until sugar has dissolved & mixture registers 160 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes.

Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment; beat on high speed until slightly cooled & stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Fit mixer with paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, add butter, several pieces at a time, mixing well after each addition (meringue will deflate slightly as butter is added). Add vanilla, hazelnut cream, & salt; mix until mixture comes together, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Use immediately.

I mixed all of the ingredients together with a hand mixer. Then refrigerated it until I put the cake together.

  Crepes stacked & filled with Hazelnut filling. You can spread the filling a little closer to the edges then I did, but don’t get it too thick on the edges because the weight of the crepes will make it smoosh out the sides.

Chocolate Glaze

Serving: Makes about 2 cups

1 1/4 Cups heavy cream – Hazelnut Soy Creamer

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup – Lee’s Golden Syrup

1 tsp salt

10 Ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Bring cream, corn syrup, & salt to a boil in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; swirl pan to cover completely with cream. Let stand about 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool completely. 

Candied Hazelnuts

Serving: Makes 9

9 hazelnuts, toasted and peeled

1 Cup sugar

Thread each hazelnut onto tip of a long wooden skewer; set aside. Place a cutting board along the edge of a countertop; set a baking sheet on floor next to edge.

Cook sugar & ¼ cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides with a wet brush to prevent crystals from forming. Let boil until syrup turns light amber, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand until slightly cooled, 8 to 10 minutes.

Dip 1 skewered hazelnut into syrup, coating completely & letting excess syrup drip back into pan. When dripping syrup becomes a thin string, secure end of skewer under cutting board, letting caramel string drip over edge onto sheet. Repeat with remaining hazelnuts. Let stand until caramel has hardened, about 5 minutes. Break strings to about 4“. Carefully remove skewers. (Mine were about ¼” long)

 Sliced