Chocolate Pavarotti with Wicked good Ganache

Well, I guess better late than never would apply to this post, although I really thought I would only be fashionably late.  The best intentions are sometimes just that!  Life has been snowballing lately….Not literally like so many people are experiencing in the east, as I sit outside in the beautiful Northern California weather.  But…the construction going on in our house seems like a never ending storm, or the proverbial can of worms.  One problem begets another!

Thank goodness I thought ahead, and had enough time to bake the Chocolate Pavarotti with Wicked Good Ganache.  And wickedly good it was!  Obviously this title has come from someone in Massachusetts, as that’s the only place I’ve ever heard “wicked” used as an adjective, adverb, verb, noun, you name it.  J

Since it was the week of love, I thought it appropriate to go with a Valentine theme.    This cake is relatively easy to make and if you plan to do it all in the same day, make the ganache first as it needs a few hours to firm up.  

Rose often recommends a food processor for making ganache, but I prefer to use an immersion blender as it's much smaller and easier to clean.  Just pour the heated cream over the broken up chocolate or chocolate pistoles and blend.  (Make sure the blender is completely immersed, otherwise you'll have a very large mess!)

Not only is the flavor wicked good, but the ganache is wicked because it calls for a fair amount of cayenne pepper.  Now, I would enjoy this tremendously, but I really wanted my 7 year old to eat this cake, so I had to forego the heat this time….

Mixing the cake is fairly easy, but one ingredient that was a bit surprising for a chocolate cake was “white chocolate” contained cocoa butter.  Many discussions among my fellow bakers ensued about the variety of white chocolate brands used the importance of using one with cocoa butter and the types of cocoa powders and their respective fat content.

Want to know more about cocoa?  David Lebovitz wrote a nice article on cocoa FAQs

I loved decorating this cake!  I had to double the ganache recipe, but hey that made it twice as wicked good.  :)

Working from the outside in using the dot method, I made certain to have an even number of dots so that I could pull one diagonally over the other to form the heart shapes.  (I used a small wilton offset spatula) As I piped, the ganache would heat up and cause the dots to be less defined.  To avoid this as much as possible, I kept a second piping bag in the fridge and would switch them out as needed. 

To create the red sprinkle heart in the center, place a heart cookie cutter in the center, pressing just lightly to prevent the sprinkles from leaking around the bottom.  Poor the sprinkles on and press them lightly into the ganache before removing the cutter. 

I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture of this step.

While doing the heart sprinkles, the outside rim of the cake will begin to soften, making it possible for the colored jimmies to cling to the ganache.

We’re prohibited from sharing recipes from the Baking Bible, but this week’s recipe can be found here!

Each week one of the Alpha Bakers photos will be featured in Marie’s weekly round up highlighting the thoughts of all 20 some of us.  I was completely shocked and honored to see my picture at the top of her blog!

If you’d like to see everyone else’s beautiful cakes, go here.

BTW, we’ve decided to bake through Rose’s Bread Bible, so look for more bread pictures beginning in March.

Swedish Apricot Walnut Bread

Geez Louis, I'm behind with my posts!  My tardiness has nothing to do with this absolutely delicious bread!  Right on the tail end of finishing this bread, our kitchen renovation started, so things have been "slightly" hectic.  Actually, that's putting it mildly.  My kitchen changed drastically in just 5 short hours...

Nonetheless, we had some great comfort bread to help us through the stress.  ;)  I have only one regret about this bread... I wish it were twice as big!!  Mental note for next time, double the recipe.

A little extra planning is required because a Biga is used to enhance the flavor.  Rose recommends making it 1-3 days ahead.  Instead of using Gold Medal bread flour, I chose to use the recommendation for alternate flour brands and combined equal parts bread and all-purpose flour in addition to the pumpernickel.  I couldn't find any flour specifically labeled as pumpernickel, but I used rye flour, which I believe is the same, or at least very close...

My first go around with this method seemed to be very dry, but I put it in the fridge anyway, crossed my fingers, rubbed a four leaf clover, and waited, and waited...two days,,,, it didn't do anything, but look like a dry lump of dough...  What could have gone wrong?  Is it my dry climate, the flour I chose, or the guestimate I made for 1/16th teaspoon of yeast?  Of all the tools I have, a 1/16th teaspoon isn't one of them!!

So, back to the drawing board.  With only enough time to allow the Biga to sit for 1 day, I started over again with the same alternate flours and yeast.  The only difference this time, I added extra water, about 1/8 cup more.  It still wasn't all bubbly and pretty like some of the other baker's, but it also wasn't a dry lump so, with a deadline over my head and remodel waiting, I trudged ahead, hoping for the best.

Mixing the dough is pretty straightforward.  Using our local walnuts, I toasted and removed the skins using the same towel method I use when toasting hazelnuts for my homemade Nutella.

I'm trying very hard to follow the rules and not change the recipes, but my raisin hating family would not stand for the golden raisins called for.  So....it was a tough decision, but I added chocolate!!  Guittard white chocolate chips to be exact.  Tough decision right?!  In our house, chocolate goes with anything, especially Guittard chips.  Have you ever tried them mixed with hot popcorn??

After shaping and allowing to rise 3 times, baking the bread was quite simple.

 


Unfortunately, when I scored the top, deflation occurred.  :(  It didn't recover with oven spring, so the loaf was a little flat and not pretty, but I didn't notice because it tasted soooooo good.  No kidding.  The chips on top caramelized and created a wonderful and unexpected crunch.

This recipe is definitely a keeper!  While we can't share the recipes, you can certainly run out and by the Baking Bible, or find it on Amazon.

Gingersnaps

When I think of Gingersnaps, I automatically think of Molasses.  So, imagine my surprise when I start seeing my fellow Alpha Baker's cookies and they were all a light golden brown.  It puzzled me until I read the recipe and discovered that we'd be using two special ingredients: Golden Baker's Sugar instead of brown sugar and Golden Syrup instead of molasses.  I have to admit that I had no earthly idea what Golden Baker's Sugar was.  What did we ever do without Google?!  I can't help but wonder why I don't know about this sugar??  Two years of Pastry school and not once did we cover this.  Was I absent that day??  Rose provided an alternate means to achieve the same result, but I was fortunate enough to find it in the local grocery store.

Making the cookies was quite straightforward except for melting the butter instead of creaming it like most recipes.  Proper temperature of the ingredients was also key to keeping the cookies from spreading and obtaining the lovely cracked texture on top.  Chilling the dough before baking is key.

I put these cookies to the test with the picky guys in my family.  The light color threw them a little off, so I didn't fess up to the ginger part and just offered a "nice warm cookie."  Had I mentioned Ginger, which sounds like something healthy and ominous, they would have kindly refused.  My 7 year old always says "nah, I'm not hungry right now Mom, maybe later, I promise!"  What kid isn't hungry when offered a cookie?!!  Good grief, once again I'm that Mom forcing cookies on my child! ;)

The results......

7 year old: "Thumbs up Mom, but something in them made my mouth feel on fire."  (The cookies weren't temperature hot).  Quite discerning for such a young pallet.  I'm impressed!

Husband: Yum!  do these have Ginger in them?  I like that they don't have other spices.

I find the cookies subtle, but good. My mind does a little mental gymnastics trying to reconcile the taste with the name though...I keep expecting the molasses and snap!

As always, we're not allowed to share the recipes, but if you'd like to read more about our baking adventures with The Baking Bible, go here.

Golden Orange Panettone

Whew!  What an arduous process this lovely looking Panettone required.  I must confess, I've never been a big fan of Panettone.  It always seems so dry and a lot of work... Not to mention that I dislike baking with anything orange flavored.

So....I've been kind of dreading this weeks baking...hard to believe I know, as I love baking, but the ROI has never been there for me with Panettone.

As I suspected, the Panettone required a lot of steps, (check out my fellow bakers outlines, and humorous methods of planning!) but I have to admit that I enjoyed a piece of it this evening and it's quite lovely.  I'm not sure if I'll make it again, but for anyone who's a big fan of Panettone, I think they would find this to be a winner. 

You first start with a biga nearly one week before you bake the bread.  It was a little confusing as I expected to see this glorious bubbling sea of flour and yeast, but instead it looked like the lump below.  I questioned myself for hours, before I just decided to go with it.

While the biga brewed for 3 days, I worked on making candied orange peel.  Luckily my neighbor has an orange tree sagging with at least 50 ripe oranges, so no trip to the store required and the oranges are organic and incredibly fresh.  I used the typical water and sugar, but added some vanilla paste to boost the flavor a little.  Tossed them in a little sugar in the end, and they were a hit with my husband.  :)

I've lost track of the number of times I punched down, folded and rolled the dough, but it was several over a couple days.  I've read this recipe so many times the book is now automatically opening to this recipe.  Perhaps I should have mapped everything out like my co-bakers, but like everything else in life, I flew by the seat of 

my pants...that's just how I roll. (Que the eye rolling from my family) ;)

When you don't really like orange, this seems like an incredible amount of orange peel to put in the dough, but I must admit that it's not completely overwhelming.  I must also admit that I skipped the recommended orange oil, but added a very nice pear brandy along with substituting dried pineapple for the raisins.  Adding raisins would have been a 100% guarantee that nobody in the house, except me would have even dared to taste this lovely bread.

After folding a couple times to distribute the fruit, and refrigerating a few times, it was time to shape the dough in a ball and place in the Panettone paper.  The paper looks a little frumpy because I had to dig it out of a box still unpacked from our move.

To aid in the proofing process, I placed it in the microwave with a cup of boiling water and allowed it to remain till fully proofed.

  I forgot to take a picture, but I cut an 'x' in the top and placed in the oven on a hot baking pan lined with parchment.  Baking time was a total of 65 minutes with an internal temp of 190 degrees.  Can you tell I was amazed by the height!  I wish that I had cut the 'x' a little larger to allow the top to open up more, but I was a little concerned that it might collapse.

Rather than drizzle chocolate on top, I went for the dipping method.  Chocolate and orange are just not appealing to me.  I never turn away a chocolate bar, except if it contains orange.  It will sit in my pantry for months, or even years before I would ever eat that bad boy.  Just yuck!

If I ever have to make Panettone again, which I hope there isn't another one in the Baking Bible! (sorry Rose)  I would definitely use this recipe. (but, shhh, I might condense some of the steps into a few days).  I don't want to me known as someone who can't follow directions.  :)

I think the final product has a nice crumb and is quite moist, which seems to be the complete opposite of those you can purchase in nearly every store in the US around Christmas time.

Now, off to bed.  I've started doing an exercise class on Tuesdays to ward off the hundreds of calories I now consume on Mondays testing the final product.  It's so worth it!

Black and Blueberry Pie

This B&B pie has elicited a lot of talk about its juiciness and what went wrong.  Listening to everyone's thoughts and baking methods, I took Rose's advice and tweaked the process just slightly.

The end result....

A beautiful pie that tastes great!  Every bit of its deliciousness made it onto my fork and into my mouth, instead of swimming around the plate.  Thus keeping me from the unseemly desire to lick my plate.  ;)  I know we've all been there, the dish is so good, you don't want it to end, so you find yourself looking around... and wondering...would anyone notice just one quick lick?  LOL

Thank you Ruth for saving me from such a social faux pas!

Seriously though, this pie is pretty straightforward.  The crust has a few steps I wouldn't usually take, but preserving it's flakiness by keeping everything as cool as possible is top priority.  Rose recommends using the food processor first and transferring the mealy mixture into a plastic bag for final kneading.  I'm honestly not sure if I'll do this all the time, as I prefer to place it between two sheets of parchment, but I did try it out, and it works just as well.

 




All the talk about the over abundance of juice from the frozen berries prompted me to take Rose's advice and concentrate the juice.  This consisted of tossing the berries in the sugar and lemon juice, and placing them in a colander over a bowl.  After collecting the juice, it's heated and reduced on the stove and then poured over the berries that have since been mixed with cornstarch and given time to absorb it.  It sounds like a long process, but it really only took about 10 minutes; so don't let this process scare you away from such a good pie.

BTW, need some lemons?  I've got about 50 from my tree.  It's been so good to me!  I'm freezing the juice and trying to decide if it's better to freeze, or dehydrate the zest.  Any advice??

 



The only thing left to do was figure out what I wanted the top to look like.  Rose provides a few recommendations, but anything you want, is really ok.

Unfortunately, I placed the metal ring to protect the crust on waaaay to early.  I think it heated the dough up too much, too early and caused the edge of the crust to flatten out.  :(

See the difference:

Despite the flat crust, the pie is great! 

An important number to remember this week is 212!  

That is...212 degrees Fahrenheit.  It's the temp required to activate the cornstarch added to thicken the berry mixture.

Now, off to get ready for next weeks baking.  It sounds like a doozer!  Wish me luck.  

Prep for this kitchen redo is killing me lately.  The good news: it's pushed back by two weeks, the bad news: it gives me more time to be indecisive about countertops and the sink color....