Chocolate Tart

Because I made the chocolate tart for a dinner party last week, it's already a hazy memory. My overall impressions - it took a long time to make - probably because I also made the biscotti to go in it - and although tasty, didn't have a "wow" factor for me.

However, I found it an interesting recipe; I learned a new technique - fraisage - and I gained more experience working with pastry. The dough seemed to be unworkably dry, and I was frantically considering my options for an alternate dessert for my dinner guests. But after watching an instructional video on YouTube, I managed to get the crumbly mess into a coherent mass.. and added a new technique to my arsenal.

In retrospect, I didn't roll the dough out thinly enough, because the finished crust was a little dry and, well, too obvious.

My sense is that this dessert is all about the filling and mine just didn't come out that way. And of course, as is my wont, I overbaked it. The result - a somewhat tough crust. I didn't think it was a good sign that everyone wanted to put vanilla ice cream on it. (Unfortunately, I also overcooked parts of the dinner, so my reputation, at least with these guests, is seriously compromised!)

So, what about the filling? It was very tasty - fudgy, certainly not like mousse - more like a soft brownie.

But I just couldn't figure out the point of the biscotti. My husband, who doesn't like crunchy bits unless they are on their own, was particularly disturbed by "hard things" in the filling. He's a texture guy. I am sure lots of folks liked the mix of soft and hard; we didn't.

Would I make this again? No. Although certainly my mistakes detracted from the final product, I don't think I'd like a properly rolled and cooked one enough to justify the investment of time. I kept thinking about all the work this particular recipe required and knowing that I could have made something else in half the time and been twice as pleased with the result. I'm glad we made it, however, because it was a good learning opportunity - and for me, that's really what this is about.

I am very excited and somewhat intimidated by the rugelach recipe - so many different steps and ingredients. Although with all those nuts, I suspect I'll have to find another "official" tester who isn't biased against crunchy things :)
Bake on!

The Week in Between

Our next Tuesdays with Dorie post is not due until the 21st, but I made the next recipe, chocolate tart, this past Saturday because my husband (and official taster) is off to Florida for the next 10 days.

In the meantime, I have the following to report. I made biscotti for the tart filling. It was typical biscotti - hard, crunchy and cinnamon flavoured - but seemed to make up more quickly and with less hassle than other recipes that I've tried. And it's just what I need - a nice treat with a cuppa but not good enough to call me away from my desk to sneak one or three.

In the course of making the tart, of course, I was left with 8 egg whites. I already have many of these in my freezer, from making ice cream, so it seemed like a good idea to spend my Sunday using them up....which meant more baking. I know, I know - I've could have had a healthy egg white omelet. But, you know, I am neither a good nor an inspired cook. I simply love to bake (usually while listening to a book!)

So, I turned to one of my favourite books, David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert and decided to try his chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons. I substituted almond meal for the flour (just in case I feel the need to eat something gluten-free). Also, I only had 3 of the 5 required cups of coconut so I added oats. I don't know if these changes accounted for the extreme mess that resulted... or if it was just me (I am not known for my precision in the kitchen). Additionally, the melted chocolate was far too thick for dipping - despite the addition of an impressive amount of Kahlua. And the cookies were so soft that I could not even spread the thick chocolate with a spoon, so what the heck! I used my (very clean) index finger and it seemed to work OK. After cleaning up large amounts of sticky crumbs, cookie parts and chocolate, I had about 2 dozen intact cookies that taste surprisingly like a Bounty bar - yummm. Gooey, sweet, coconut and chocolate - they taste far better than they look!

So, that's it - no more baking for me - at least until early March when the Tuesdays with Dorie group tackles rugelah. I have 4 pcs of chocolate tart left and I'm going to take my chances and freeze them. They, the macaroons and biscotti will join the frozen output from my other baking days - Danish, stollen, brownies, hot fudge pudding, homemade ice cream, lemon curd, etc. Even I am beginning to feel ill after reciting all this - and I'm fairly sure I've forgotten something.

In retrospect, I should have named this blog "Sweet Tooth" or "There's a 250 pound woman inside of me trying to get out!"
Til next time...

White Bread - first week of Tuesdays with Dorie

So this week, I'm trying to be gluten-free, which means my husband is my official tester. It takes a certain kind of insanity to bake bread and then not eat it. However, this bread was very easy to make. The recipe is quite correct in that you can start it after breakfast and eat it for lunch. The dough is lovely - supple, silky and easy to handle. When fully kneaded, it passes the "window pane test"

It bakes up beautifully and slices nicely.

That's the good news.

The less good news is my husband's reaction: "It's ordinary". Let me put this in context. I have been baking bread regularly for about 4 years and my go-to recipes are from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. My freezer is always stocked with loaves of pain de campagne, so we're accustomed to lean bread, with a full, aged taste. Still, an enriched bread like this has its charms - sweet, soft, melting in your mouth. This bread has a great texture

but not much taste. My husband, shamefacedly, pronounced "It's just a cut above Ben's (aka Wonder) Bread". He was fairly embarrassed to be dismissing fresh, warm, homemade bread in such a manner, but nevertheless, was not impressed by the taste. We have both been enamoured of Peter Reinhart's white bread, which is truly enriched. It uses buttermilk in place of water, an egg, and a little more sugar. It mixes up almost (but not quite) as easily and tastes amazing. So, bottom line, for me this recipe is not a keeper; when I make white sandwich bread, which is rare, I'll stick with Peter. But, as a concluding comment, let me say, that this recipe is so easy and successful, that there's little need to ever buy white bread again... but I'm probably preaching to the choir. Bake on!

The first week

This week the recipe is White Bread - a sandwich loaf. I am not anticipating any trouble with this one, since I make bread regularly. Most of what I make is from Peter Reinhardt's Bread Baker's Apprentice. I'm pretty comfortable at this point working with starters, wet dough, etc., so a straightforward sandwich loaf should be OK. The following week, however, we're doing chocolate tartlets - so I'm quickly out of my comfort zone. And some of the other recipes sound fairly intimidating. However, that's what it's all about, I guess - stretching oneself. Far more interesting than trying to get a manuscript published - at least you can eat your failures :)