Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Desserts

Petits Fours – The Grand Finale

The last (or first) item I prepared for my Downton Abbey finale party was dessert.

Namely, I used the party as an opportunity to make petits fours – small, baked cakes in a homemade fondant glaze. The petits fours were definitely the most time-consuming of my party offerings, with me starting the preparations about 36 hours in advance of the actual finale viewing. While I wasn't entirely pleased with the outcome (more details below), this attempt was certainly a major step forward for my baking career.

My guide throughout this process was the exceedingly clear and helpful King Arthur Flour (KAF) Petits Fours with Poured Fondant Icing guide.

I started the process by baking a sheet cake, and chose the KAF chocolate cake recipe as my base.

The only change I made to the cake recipe was to bake the cake for approx. 31 minutes because the 28 – 30 minutes didn't seem quite enough for the cake to settle.

I then froze the cake overnight, per the KAF guide, to make it easier to cut the cake into the shapes I wanted.

I thawed the cake the next day in the fridge for 15 minutes before preparing the cake for cutting. Per the picture below, I tried to smooth the top of the cake a bit for an even, flat surface to pour the icing over.

And so began the cutting…which was difficult, to say the least. I think the biscuit cutters I used were not the best, most sharp instruments for the cake cutting. The cake itself also had a lot of air pockets, which made cutting even cakes that much more difficult.

I also should have made smaller cakes for better control and consistency (mine were maybe 1.5 inches in diameter). But ultimately, the mini-cakes – from the top at least, turned out ok.

I then began the process of cutting the cakes in thirds to put in some simple whipped cream filling, which also wasn't as easy as I would have hoped because of the air pockets in the cake.

A thicker, sticky filling like a fruit compote probably would have been better then whipped cream to bind the cakes together. With the whipped cream, the cake pieces were a bit slippery and didn't quite help make one, combined cake to make frosting easier.

I then refroze the cakes as I prepared the KAF Poured Fondant Icing, which was relatively straightforward to prepare, but without a handy candy thermometer I had to guess what the best consistency for the icing was. I added a few drops of blue food coloring for a pastel blue frosting.

Now began the hardest part of the process – getting an even layer of the poured frosting on the cakes, without a dipping fork or a plastic fork large enough to hold these slightly too-large cakes. It was a messy, laborious process, though the outcome looked good from the top of the cakes (accented with some sparkly green sprinkles).

The sides were another story…

Before serving is also where the process got a bit tricky. I wanted to keep the whipped cream frosting chilled, but poured fondant is not supposed to go in the fridge. I was ultimately more worried about food spoilage, so refrigerated the cakes a few hours before serving, which ultimately didn't hurt the frosting consistency.

Would I make petits fours again? Maybe. I think I would need smaller cakes, a different cake batter (or more whipped one without the air bubbles), perhaps an altered frosting (the fondant was super, super sweet), and a different, stickier filling besides whipped cream. That may result in both a better looking and less time consuming party dessert.

May 26, 2016
Simple Lightly Flavored Chocolate Cake with Sweet Frosting

My only-cook-from-cookbooks-I-own fantasy continues to be only that as I constantly get distracted by other recipes that come my way, particularly those that enter my email inbox. The latest pretty picture to which I was victim was Pati Jinich's Juju's Birthday Cake recipe, which looked so appealing with a hardened chocolate frosting and colorful sprinkles on top (definitely check out the picture linked in the recipe).

I made the cake for a Chinese New Year celebration this year, and following New Year practice, I decided to accent the cake with a lot of sparkly red hard sugar flakes.

In addition to its festive exterior, the cake was a hit with adults and kids alike at the celebration. The cake itself has a relatively unsweet and light chocolate flavor, which appealed to the adults, while the sweet, chocolatey frosting appealed to the kids. I think it was a great balance of light flavor and sweetness. I may also make the cake in the future with a lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh fruit for a more refreshing adult snack.

The cake itself had a slight different preparation, in that you melt butter and cocoa with water over the stove-top before stirring in the flour and other ingredients.

Overall, this is a pretty simple approach to putting together the cake. The recipe calls for baking the cake for 25 – 30 minutes, but I took it out at the 24-minute mark and it probably could have come out a minute sooner.

As the cake cools, you prepare the frosting, which is also made on the stove-top. Be careful of sampling the frosting too much while you are putting it together – it's a very dangerous sweet treat!

Then it's very simple to pour the prepared frosting on top of the cake (I did this an hour after the cake was out of the oven), and then throw on the sprinkles or other accents. Super easy and delicious!

April 3, 2016
KAF Chocolate Dreams – Great Shortbread Wafers Shaped with My New Geometric Stamps

I have to admit that I've been on a bit of months-long shopping spree at King Arthur Flour's online store. Among my recent purchases have been a Chocolate Butter Cookie Set, huge 16 oz. container of vanilla extract, biscuit cutter set, and a pasta flour blend.

What prompted this rash of (impulsive) purchases? The absolutely delightful geometric cookie stamps that have perhaps transformed me into an actual cookie baking enthusiastic. The first time that I used these stamps to fashion homemade cookies convinced me that I may be starting a new phase in my baking life.

My first use of these tools were on an almost equally awesome KAF recipe, Chocolate Dreams. Chocolate Dreams is a simple chocolate shortbread recipe that produces a slightly crisp and dense cookie. I think their rich chocolate flavor makes them particularly good for adults, though my five-year old niece ate several in succession one afternoon!

I made just a few modifications to this recipe – I made the cookies slightly larger, resulting in 38 cookies instead of 48, and reduced the baking time to 16 minutes to get slightly softer cookies.

Out of the oven, they were slightly soft (yet firm) and crumbled a bit. The next day, they were certainly more crispy and flaky. And thankfully, both days, they were rich with chocolate flavor and delicious!

March 12, 2016
Strawberries with Browned Butter Shortcake – A Summer Sensation

This year, I've been trying to cook even more with seasonal ingredients. We have been visiting the farmers' markets up to two times a weekend, and I've been really attracted to doing more with fruit instead of just focusing on vegetable creations.

Perhaps my most successful fruit-based cooking attempt of the summer was the New York Times Strawberries with Browned Butter Shortcake, which I made at my parents' house in Michigan. This David Guas recipe added a few interesting spins to a standard strawberry shortcake, notably substituting a browned butter spongecake for the traditional biscuits. The spongecake turned out wonderfully, such that it alone may become a staple in our kitchen, as did the strawberry compote.

I documented the attempt below, and note the changes I made to fit what ingredients and tools were available.

You first prepare the strawberry sauce, which I modified by using less strawberries (to fit what was in my parents fridge – approx. 1/2 – 2/3 what were called for in the original recipe) and less sugar to compensate.

You stew the fresh strawberries, sugar and some orange zest on top of a pot of boiling water to cook down and allow the sugars to melt into the berries.

While the strawberries are cooking, you can also start preparing the spongecake, starting by browning the butter.

And also prepare the baking pan for the spongecake batter as well, so it doesn't stick to the pan. Because I used a scalloped cake pan, I couldn't get the parchment to line up completely to the edges, which ended up being fine post-baking.

Next, you prepare the rest of the cake batter, by whipping the eggs and sugar in a double-boiler, or in a heat-proof mixing bowl above a pot of simmering water.

Unfortunately, I didn't much luck getting the batter to triple in volume on the stovetop, so removed the mixture from the heat after 6 minutes or so to prevent the eggs from cooking.

After carefully folding in the dry ingredients just until combined, pour the batter into the prepare pan and bake until also just done and the sides are lightly browned. For me, this took approx. 17 – 18 minutes instead of the 20 called for in the recipe.

Invert the cake and cool completely.

Ok, now the great part – serve!

This spongecake had great texture – light and smooth – and wonderful flavor from the browned butter. Interestingly enough, the pre-baked batter didn't taste that good, but somehow post-baking, the flavors really came together. The strawberries were also a little tart for my taste, which may have been due to a mistake in reducing the sugar ratio to match the reduced strawberries, but in any case, I'll probably just add more sugar next time. Otherwise, I can definitely see this as an annual summer treat!

October 9, 2015
King Arthur Flour Fudge Brownies – Believe the Hype

In a sign of our modern age, my latest recipe attempt was inspired by a beautiful picture on Instagram. The picture in question was posted by King Arthur Flour, the NH employee-owned flour and baking company that is my flour of choice for all of my baking needs.

Not only did the picture look fantastic (such that I wanted to bake this dessert right away), but also a quick google search on my phone revealed many reviews for "best brownies ever!" and the like. And so to work I went on creating my own batch of King Arthur Fudge Brownies.

The recipe was more in depth than your traditional, individual wet and dry ingredient mixing and then combining process – but thankfully not too much more onerous. First, you make a thick, sticky base with the eggs, cocoa, vanilla, espresso powder, baking powder and salt.

While that is solidifying, you melt the sugars into melted butter (be careful to not overheat the butter if you are using a microwave).

Ok, now to some combining.

Then add flour.

And chocolate chips.

Ok, now we are ready for the pan.

And now for the result!

Great, shiny top and the brownies themselves were both fudgy and cake-like, as promised by the recipe description.

The brownies also had a spot-on chocolate flavor, which I attribute to my first-time usage of dutch-process cocoa. I usually ignore the specific cocoa directions for my baking projects, but this cocoa guide on King Arthur's website really helped me determine which cocoas make sense in which recipes. So word to the wise, consult King Arthur for not only recipes, but also recipe tips to make you a better baker!

September 20, 2015
Green Chile Chocolate Tart – The Great Bake-off Continues

Marching through the fantastic Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, I made a wonderful Green Chile Chocolate Tart the same day as my second Maple Buttermilk Pie attempt.

The tart turned out wonderfully – creamy, incredibly rich, and with a perfectly sublime fresh chile flavor. The baking experience also finally taught me what I was doing wrong with my Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie dough construction, and I got the added bonus of using my pretty Williams-Sonoma tart pan for the first time (good thing I made a special trip to buy it 5 years ago!).

Unfortunately, the one drawback of making this pie is that it is definitely a time consuming process – even slightly more so than the other Four & Twenty Blackbird pies. In addition to the standard pie-making steps, you also have to boil the milk and cream, steep the green chiles in the mixture, and then use the hot milk/cream mixture to melt the chocolate pieces. So while in totality those steps aren't that onerous, on top of the pie dough making:

the pie dough kneading:

the pie dough rolling, chilling, and pricking:

the pie dough pre-baking:

the pie dough baking and cooling:

This is a long process! Oh well, onward to the next steps of steeping the chiles:

whisking the milk/cream/chile mixture with the now melted chocolate pieces:

and then baking/cooling:

Unfortunately the baking/cooling process was a bit trickier than I would like because the butter melting and leaking through the tart pan bottom, which made a bit of a slippery mess under the foil wrapping.

The baking process was also a bit more complicated because the crust shrunk while baking (yet, again!) so I had to use some of the excess filling to make individual custard (or fudges?) in ramekins:

Otherwise, though, serving was a breeze – look at this great, guest-ready crust:

And just a small slice goes a far way with this rich tart:

So lots of leftovers, which was great after a day's worth of effort to make this pie:

June 7, 2015
Lessons in Pie Mastery Continue – One Step Forward, One Step Back: Maple Buttermilk Pie

As a long, harsh winter overtook the East Coast this year, I continued to experiment with the wonderful Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. Following my successful attempts at the Buttermilk Chess Pie, I decided to go on to a seemingly more complicated winter pie, the Maple Buttermilk Pie.

I made this pie two weekends in a row, and unfortunately, the Pie #1 turned out better than Pie #2, which was (slightly) underbaked so a bit of a liquid mess.

(Pie #2)

Both pies were also slightly deficient in that the cornmeal crusts that I made both slightly sunk during the baking process, which reduced the amount of custard I could put into the pie pans. I poured the excess custard into ramekins to separately bake and serve. The custard ramekins tasted great even though they didn't look great, per the below pictures.

(Custard from Pie #1)

(Pie #2 and Accompanying Custard – with Green Chile Chocolate Custards)

I realized after preparing the crusts that I was supposed to use all of the water/vinegar mixture called for in the recipe, instead of just using enough of the mixture for the dough to stick together in a ball. I think that lack of moisture helped cause the sinking baked dough, because I otherwise seemed to follow the dough instructions to a T. (A reason to read the entire instructions section before starting work!)

(Dough Ball #1 – Prepared for Rolling!)

(Rolled Dough)

(Pricked and Chilled Dough)

(Sunken Baked Crust #1)

(Slightly Less Sunken Pie Crust #2)

Hopefully the combination of improving my pie crusts with more moisture and slightly overbaking the custard to the eye (so mostly settled instead of very giggly in the center) will help ensure perfect pies. In the mean time, I am glad that Pie #1 tasted and looked like a real, albeit partial, success!

(Pie #1)

May 31, 2015
Thank you Elsen Sisters – I feel like a pie master! Four & Twenty Blackbirds Buttermilk Chess Pie

Although pies have apparently become the "new cupcake" over the past few years, I've never really gotten into pies. Sure, I like a standard winter pie like pumpkin or sweet potato, and custard pies are pretty great, but I have never really become a pie connoisseur, let alone a pie master.

Enter the Elsen Sisters and their wonderful bake shop, Four & Twenty Blackbirds, and even more wonderful cookbook, The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. Four & Twenty Blackbirds is a popular bakery and cafe in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and Emily and Melissa Elsen, the co-owners, also recently opened a new outpost in the Brooklyn Public Library's central location.

I have to admit that while I've had the opportunity to sample Four & Twenty Blackbirds' popular pies, I was never truly blown away by them. Sure, they were probably among the best pies I've ever had, but I didn't feel the intense need to go back for their pies.

My pie revelation didn't come until friends gave us the Elsen sisters's pie book, and boy, oh boy, not only did this book make me feel like a pie master, it also made me feel like a pie aficionado. And this feeling occurred after only attempting one of their pies – the fantastic Buttermilk Chess Pie. The first result was so great that I ended up making the same pie twice in one week!

I modified my two attempts at this pie by using up the remaining graham cracker crumbs from the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake to substitute a spiced graham cracker crust for the cornmeal crust.

I followed the directions for Four & Twenty Blackbirds' gingersnap crumb crust for assembling and baking the crust. I was slightly worried about the small gaps in the crust after pre-baking it, but it ended up being a great holder for this silky pie filling.

The other substitution I made was to use vanilla extract for the vanilla paste, but didn't feel the final pie was missing anything. It was incredibly silky (straining the mixture is a must!), and particularly flavorful after cooling completely or even after settling in the fridge for several hours. The first time we ate the pie, just after it was slightly warmer than room temperature, the flavors weren't as complete as when we ate the leftovers.

The second time I made the pie, I did follow the suggestion to sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar on top of the pie during the baking cycle, and the wonderful aroma that spread through our apartment was definitely a sensation I'd like to repeat when I make this pie again.

I look forward to baking my way through this entire book – hope you all will join me in this 2015 effort as well!

February 16, 2015
Very Stressful Experience But Great Interim Result – Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

For Christmas 2014, I decided to forgo my usual pumpkin pie and instead go for a more ambitious dessert – a pumpkin cheesecake. I haven't made cheesecake since my day-long attempt at the Frankies Spuntino Ricotta Cheesecake in 2013, and I haven't made a pumpkin cheesecake since 2005 (and that was a joint effort with an expert baker friend).

But feeling confident in my baking abilities, I decided to spend Dec. 23rd making the Cook's Illustrated Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, which with its CI recommendations of removing excess moisture from canned pumpkin, spiced graham cracker crust, and make-in-advance directions seemed like the way to go.

Unfortunately, the initial confidence I had for making this cheesecake quickly fell apart as I was actually preparing it. First, the new springform pan I had ordered didn't arrive by the 23rd and I was worried about using my slightly leaky and uneven pans at home.

Second, while starting to follow the recipe, I realized that I was supposed to bake the cheesecake in a water bath in a roasting pan – a roasting pan I did not have. I tried to see if some of my other baking dishes would work, but none would leave room between the outside of the springform pan and the outer baking dish. I decided I had no other choice but to improvise, so reading other approaches online, I decided to put the boiling water in a baking dish a row below the springform pan in the oven to keep the oven steamy and hopefully avoid unevenly baking the cheesecake.

Third, I didn't have an instant read thermometer so couldn't fully tell when the cheesecake was baked and may have overbaked it – oh well. After an hour and a half or so, I decided to turn off the oven, and leave the door slightly ajar with a wooden spatula to let the cool and drier air more gradually reach the cheesecake to avoid it collapsing. I thought that step may take the place of cooling the cheesecake for 45 minutes in the hot water bath outside of the oven.

And for the final act, as the actually beautiful cheesecake was cooling, enough liquid had escaped the pan and into the foil coating I had put on the outside of the pan, so the outside of the pan was quite slippery. As such, I dropped the baked cheesecake on the floor and only about 1/2 of it stayed in the pan and survived so speak. I smoothed out the remaining cheesecake with a knife and decided to serve cheesecake "bars" instead.

The cheesecake bars were wonderful, but definitely still a disappointment to have gone through all of that stress and effort for a less-than-perfect result.

So…next year?

February 1, 2015
Weeknight Chocolate Chip Cookies

While making dinner one night, I decided to put together a quick post-meal dessert. Rather than deferring to what could turn into an all-night Cook's Illustrated effort, I used the AllRecipes.com Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe because it promised a chewy cookie with crisp edges, which are definitely my favorite type of cookie.

True to the promised directions, the cookies took virtually no time to put together. I modified the recipe by halving the portions, omitting the walnuts because of my nut allergy, and probably used less chocolate chips than called for (also a frequent alteration I make to cookies). I also baked the cookies for less than what was called for in the recipe – the first batch at 8 minutes, which was probably a little too undercooked, and the second at 9 minutes, which was perfect.

The cookies were pretty good – chewy and chocolate-y – but not the "best" I have ever had. I can definitely see myself using this recipe again though in a pinch.

November 9, 2014