yorkshirepud

Hey Everyone, I'm on the look out for a good coffee ice-cream, ideally using instant espresso. I'm don't mind if there's add ins either, though it would need to pair well with chocolate and almonds. Cheers. Adele

mktye, I'm going to start charting my thoughts etc for each recipe. I was just thinking about it last night - great minds think alike! I agree that the hard part is knowing what is fleible in a recipe or how much flexibility each ingredient has. I'm sure it'll come with time - give me a few years! RebeccaT, RLB does comment on why she uses Lyles (good old Brit stuff! ). I'll get back to you later. Make the real stuff Rebecca. You won't regret it. I had to get over it too - glad I did! sequim, I agree, you can't beat using real Vanilla beans. I got some for XMAS and used them for ice-cream. Yum! Just wished I'd saved it for some real good stuff (ice-cream I mean). I know what you mean about Jamie's stash of beans. Must be nice!

Anna, this is where those chocolate wafers are from that I posted on CL. Enjoy the book.

Oh, I know! Funny you should mention the fallen chocolate souffle cake. I think that will be my project for this weekend, amongst other things. I'm using the recipe from Bittersweet if I do. I have a feeling it's the same one from her low-fat book (I finally remembered to take that back to the library - just a few weeks late! ). Let's hope I remember the almonds and flour this time!

Erin, thanks sweetie. Shame you're so far away or you could sample the goods. And don't hold off on the ice-cream maker too long! Anna, the filling definately wasn't custardy. It was very smooth. Go on, make it woman!

In my baking drawer.

That's true. Good call.

Seth, I saw you mention the spinach tart on another thread which brought it to my attention originally. I've bought the frozen spinach for it. Now I just need to get the cheese. I love quiche so I'm looking forward to trying it out soon.

Overall reviews Creamy Caramel Sauce - different. As I've already said, due to the bitter undertone, this caramel sauce offered a flavour I was unfamiliar with. Personally, I prefer caramel sauce without the bitterness, but I imagine, contrasted against the right accompainment, I would appreciate it more. It certainly won't go to waste though. Vanilla Ice-Cream - wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! It was smooth and creamy. Perfect sweetness. This will become my standard vanilla. I'm looking forward to trying it with an actual vanilla bean. Pecan Pie - very good. Again, perfect balance of sweetness. My only complaint was the filling was a little skimpy. I seemed to have half the amount of height of filling to crust (though this may be due to the amount of filling that seeped out and bled into my crust). Next time I would do it in a pie plate rather than a tart pan to avoid this. I'm also really glad I decided to just go with a simple vanilla ice-cream to accompany the pecan pie. It couldn't of been more perfect.

SethG, yes I've tried the cream cheese crust. I used it for the Rhubarb Custard Tart from the book. Very good. I need to try it again with regular cream cheese as I just used the 'light' I had in my fridge. Any favourites from the book? I highly recommend the Black Bottom Tiramisu Tart! It's fabulous. I overcooked the crust just slightly so you've got to watch it. Thanks for the info on the book. I will keep an eye out for it.

Finally time to finish off my projects. I'll start with the easiest task. Freezing the ice-cream. A little churning action follows. It’s really starting to set up now. And it’s done. Of course, I have to have a taste test before packing if off the freezer. Wow! Fabulous! The cream really shines through and makes this luscious. It’s so smooth and velvety. This is my first time using whipping cream for ice-cream (previously it’s been combos of either milk, half and half, light cream) I’m sold. Okay, I’ll put my spoon down now. Into the freezer we go. As my husband is away fishing, Bosco gets the honor of licking the beater clean. First things first – rolling the dough. As usual, it’s a messy affair and I have a pathetic looking circle. I don’t know how they do it on TV. I use the same trick I learned last week (from The Pie & Pastry Bible) and lay the dough carefully over an 8 inch cake pan. You then remove the top layer of plastic wrap. Next, you carefully place the tart pan over the dough and ease it down. Flip it over. Remove and pan and press the dough into your pan. I still need to work on this part. My presentation isn’t the best but it’s getting better. I had to do a little patchwork here and there but that’s nothing new. I preheat the oven to get it ready for blind baking the dough while it chills. Once ready, I pack it down with weights. I use a combo of rice, dough weights and chickpeas. Blame the lady at the store who told me ONE box of dough weights would be enough. And into the oven. All done! Not bad, not bad. After I removed the weights for the last 5 mins or so of baking, I expected it to puff (they usually do) but it didn’t. I’m a happy chic right now. After 3 mins, I water proofed the dough with an egg white. I let it cool down and then got my ingredients together for the rest of the pie. I have to throw it together earlier than anticipated as we got a list minute invite to a dinner barbecue. So, I’m going to bring it with me along with the vanilla ice-cream. I carefully placed my pecans in a spiral around the shell, nibbling a few on the way (baker’s privilege). Now it’s time to get the mixture on the stove. I decide to be brave and cook the mixture directly in the pan (I was going to do it over a double boiler). It seems to be going well. Off the stove and strained. Much to my annoyance, upon pouring the mixture over the pecans, it disrupted some my hard work. Some of it still remains so I get over it. As I’m about to put the tart in the oven, I realize I forgot to add the vanilla (I anticipated this which is even more annoying). I debate whether to omit it but decide not to and mix it in. Bye bye to the remaining pecan spiral. Next, I add my pitiful foil ring and put it in the oven. After a few minutes, I smell a candy like aroma. Mmm … seems a little soon to be smelling the goods. Take a peak in my oven and am pissed to see my filling dribbling out. So much for water proofing the dough. Anyway, I quickly took it out, put it on a baking sheet and threw it back in. It’s out the oven. I’m a little disappointed with its appearance but I’m happy anyway. I’m not sure if the yellowish tinge is supposed to be there but it’s too late to fret now. It’s seems to be a bubbly froth. I obviously still have to work on my pecan pie - presentation wise that is. Taste wise we’ll have to see. I don’t think I’ll visit it again until later in the year (Thanksgiving perhaps?). I’ve made progress from my first attempt so it’s all good. I’m off to get my rags on for the barbecue!

Thanks foodie. Unfortunately, they are unavailable right now. I'll try back another time though.

I have The Bread Baker's Apprentice. When I first got this book, I was using an electric oven and produced great results. The ciabatta is very good. To be honest, I haven't used it enough. I've had it for over a year. Shame on me. The book is very thorough and detailed. I can't review the other book mentioned as I don't have it nor have I seen it. JerzyMade, good for you on making sourdough. I always skips those pages - regretfully.

I've made the chocolate wafers and the warm mocha tart. The wafers are very good. I now use them in place of the store bought ones for crumbs. You have to make sure you cut them thinly though (if you want wafers that is), as any bigger and then can become a more fudgy cookie. As for the tart. I have some issues with this. Not the recipe (which was very good) but the actual cooking time. Mine did not set up. If I recall you had to put it in the oven and then turn it off. Well I did this and it never set. I'll admit, I did sub half and half for the cream, so perhaps that was why. My other problem might of been my oven (which was a shitty little convection thing at the time). I'll have to try it again in my new oven. Anyway, I just baked it off in the oven for about 20 minutes and it was fine. I did an almond variation, subbing grounds almonds for some of the flour. I have a question about the chocolate nibs. If you can't find them, can you substitute? I'm going to hunt some down one day, but I'm in no rush so to speak.

Now for the second project – Basic Flaky Pie Dough First things firsts - the ingredients. I’m intrigued by the procedure followed for this recipe. The author states to put the flour, baking powder and salt in the freezer, as well as a portion of the butter (2 thirds). The other butter portion (1 third) goes in the fridge. Anyway, I do everything suggested and twiddle my thumbs for 30 minutes. Back to my intrigued state. I understand the butter has to be very cold when making pastry dough. But I have some questions : (1) Why put the flour mixture into the freezer? (2) Why section out the butter and put some in the freezer and some in the fridge? I’m also wondering why there’s baking powder in there. Oh, and what difference will using pastry flour offer me? And while I’m at it, why cider vinegar (I’ve always used a recipe that asked for this, but never questioned why). *grab my book* Here’s what I learned (I’ll admit, I don’t quite get it all. It’ll sink in eventually): RLB doesn’t state why she freezes the flour, she just tells you to. That’s fine. I can live without knowing. She offers more insight into the butter thing. You initially incorporate the two thirds of butter and flour so that the flour won’t sop up too much water and form gluten. You then add the remaining butter (in larger pieces) to create the layers that give us the flakiness. The baking powder helps prevent shrinkage. It also helps to lift, aerate and tenderize the dough. Nice to know. As for the pastry flour that's used because it has the ‘perfect’ protein amount to produce a crust that offers a pleasant stage of flakiness and tenderness. This will be interesting to experience, as I’ve always made pastry dough using AP flour. The reason behind the cider vinegar is because its acidity will weaken the flour’s gluten. Apparently, this will make easier to roll. So, my curiosity is appeased and I can move on. Pastry time. So, in goes the first batch of butter. I’m instructed to pulse the mixture until I get something resembling coarse meal. Now for the second batch of butter from the fridge. I need to pulse it this time until I find myself with dough resembling peas. I think I’m there. I see some bits of bigger butter here and there so break them up with floured hands a little. Time to add the water and cider vinegar. I now have to reach a stage where the dough will only hold together if pinched. Next, I’m to put the mixture into a Ziploc bag. I imagine this is done to prevent the reader from handling the dough and melting the butter. From here, I’m told to knead the dough until it holds together. As I took my dough out of the bag, I noticed some cracks in the dough. So, once wrapped in plastic wrap, as I was shaping into a circle, I’m ironed them out a little. There’s still some but what can you do? Well, my projects are done for the day. Finally, all my hard work will pay off tomorrow when I make the pecan pie and freeze the ice-cream. As a reward, I think I’ll go have a spoon of my caramel sauce.

Thanks jgarner53, I am thoroughly enjoying my kitchen. I'm glad your enjoying the pictures. I'm a designer so I appreciate a visual aspect myself. Thanks for the tip on the hot pad.

On to my first project of the day – Vanilla Ice Cream I’ve overdosed on the coffee and smokes and tended to my zoo (I have a puppy and 2 cats). Time to get my ice-cream base together. Remembering my promise to exercise better preparation, I get all of my ingredients together. I decided to half the recipe and carefully calculate my weights. I have a tendency to only half some ingredients when I’m reducing a recipe. I don’t have vanilla beans so I’m forced (terrible I know) to make a substitute with vanilla extract. I go off on a search for the amount of extract I should use. I find my answer here (thanks nightscotsman) and end up subbing 1 tsp of vanilla extract for ½ a vanilla bean. Sounds good to me. On the stove for my milk and cream. A little whisking action for the eggs yolks, sugar and salt. The time comes to temper my eggs. Now I have an issue with this part. My damn bowl always slides all over the place. I’ve tried the whole wrapping the bowl with a tea towel or placing the bowl directly on a tea towel – neither worked. But I have found a new tip (I don’t recall where). Before wrapping your bowl with a tea towel, soak it first and squeeze out the water. Voila! My bowl didn’t budge. Back to the stove. I set up a double boiler and off we go. Time to make some custard. Boring stirring follows. I decide to attach my thermometer to ensure I don’t scramble the eggs. I’m looking to reach 170°F. Beyond that, apparently the protein in the egg will grip together and produce scrambled egg. My thermometer finally says the mixture has reached 170°F. I should have the texture of cream should I not? My custard should be coating a spoon. Well, it isn’t. I jiggle the thermometer a little. Perhaps I have it too low in the pan? What? Okay, so now the mixture is 165°F. Okay, perhaps I’ll see some custard in the next 5 degrees. Roll on to 180°F; I still don’t have damn custard. Coat the spoon godamnit! It may be morning, but I ain’t up for scrambled eggs. I decide that the thermometer is out of whack and toss it aside and continue. I still see no thickening action. I eye my flour. Hmmm. Would a little flour hurt? Would anyone know if I quickly threw together a little flurry of flour and milk to help me along? Nah I say. It’ll thicken. Patience is all I need. I do the spoon test yet again. I see I’m slightly tipping the spoon as I do so making custard dribble off. I think to myself, perhaps when the author states the mixture should leave a clean trail (with no runs) the spoon is supposed to be level. I try this. Mmm, it’s seems to work. Off the stove we go. And here ladies and gents, I do believe, is a good example of a clean trail (I hope). Time for an ice bath. Oops, I realize I’ve forgotten to strain the mixture. Well, I see no harm in doing it now. Good thing I did. There was a little egg crud lurking within. I am quite happy at the proportion of egg crud as I typically manage to produce more. Au revoir egg crud! I lay some plastic wrap on the surface and off she goes to the fridge for an overnight stay.

fredbram, I did wonder why I had to wait a minute before adding the cream. I’ve not seen other recipes request this. I think next time I’ll just add the cream immediately. andiesenji, Thanks for the pan recommendations. It’s a good idea getting a pan dedicated to candy making only. I’ll see if I can find one locally first (I’m in Canada). I’ve been hoping to hit a restaurant supply store so perhaps now is the time.

CompassRose, sorry to hear of your caramel woes. The only advice I can offer (though I’m sure you know this one) is to use a pan twice the volume of the mixture. Another tip is to slightly warm the cream to 100°F (of my, I’m actually remember all this). While this won’t entirely prevent potential boil over, it does help to tame its temper a little. My recipe also told you to allow the sugar mixture to sit 1 minute (or until the bubbles settled) once it’s off the stove, which at this point, I assume helps too. jeniac42, ah I have great memories of crème brûlée. One was delightfully rubbery and other nice warm egg soup. Crème brulee will definitely be a recipe I will try out for my blog. In fact, I was considering it for next week. I’ve only had the pleasure of tasting crème brûlée via at taste testing at Williams-Sonoma (i.e. a bite), so I’m looking forward to sampling this creamy, luscious delight. FWED, well I just had a skeg at my pans (you’d think I’d know them well after 4 years) and they don’t flare out like you thought. I guess it was just the camera angle. However, I am using gas for the first time (had electric stove before renovation) and perhaps it just a matter of me getting used to it. Thanks for the tip about the heat diffuser. Heyjude, thank you. The Flo Braker book will likely be my next purchase. I perused it a few times and it seems like a great resource. I also see her referenced by other authors a lot. Same with Maida Heatter. I’m yet to see her books available in the bookstores I visit, but they aren’t used books, so I will do a search next time I pass a used bookstore.

Claire, I remember browsing Once Upon a Tart a few times. I does look like a nice book. I remember watching him on Martha Stewart once which is where I found out about the book. Good luck with the pie! FWED, all the books I read recommended a digital - though of course, much of this will be based on personal preference. Maybe I'll pick up a regular one and see if it makes a difference. What's one more gadget? I agree about the pans. I am wondering if my cheapo pans are the reason why I'm unable to take caramel to 350. They aren't super heavy, but the bottoms are somewhat thick. I do plan on replacing my pans later this year.

So, I made caramel. I decided to attempt the Creamy Caramel Sauce from The Secrets of Baking. I chose this one because Sherry Yard states that by adding some acid to the mixture (in this case, lemon juice); the sugar molecules will be deterred from rejoining thus avoiding crystallization. I figured I needed all the help I could get so this recipe was for me. Her recipe also includes a small amount of corn syrup which also helps prevent the crystallization. So, I got myself ready. Weighed out all my ingredients carefully and set them aside. I made sure my puppy Bosco was occupied. Much to his delight he had the run of the house (my poor plant, oh, and yes, of course; he had to do his business while I concentrated on my caramel – oh the joy!). Anyways, I seem to be off to a good start. I’ve mixed the ingredients by hand in the pot to incorporate. I’m not sure why I had to use my hand (clean ones of course), though I do recall reading that if stirring is required, one should use a metal spoon as opposed to a wooden one as they can collect small particles in the pores – which once again could lead to possible crystallization. Everything is going smoothly. Then, my mixture is at approximately 325. I see the edges are turning quite brown. Is that smoke I see? Shit, but my mixture still has to go up another 25 degrees. I’d read a few hours prior that SteveKlc cooks his caramel until he smells the first hint of smoke. Am I at that stage? I think I am. But, I still have 15 degrees to go (at this point I’m up to 335). I just know I’m at that stage where I could potentially have caramel or regretfully eye a bitter caramel disaster once again. So, I take it off the stove. I let is sit for approximately 1 minute and let the bubbles subside. I add the cream and remaining ingredients. I beat like hell chanting to myself ‘this is gonna work, this is gonna work!’ But what the hell – that looks really dark. Oh shit, did I screw it up again? I ponder. Then remember what I’d just read in Bittersweet. In order to test the colour of caramel, you need to offset it against a white surface. I drag out a plate and plop some on. Oh my, I think I did it. I made caramel. Time for the taste test! So, my caramel has a slight, very slight, bitter undertone. Thankfully, it’s not a burned taste so I didn’t screw up. I suspect I actually made (not intentionally) the stage of caramel I was attempting to make a few weeks ago from The Pie and Pastry Bible. Having said that, this isn’t quite the caramel flavour I am familiar with. So, I reread the intro on caramel in the book and learned that there are two states of caramel - golden (which should be taken off the heat at 325°F) and dark (which should be taken off the heat at 350°F). It seems I made a dark caramel. I think I prefer golden, but at least I can now determine the characteristics of each. When I attempt this again, I will aim for golden. It was quite fun seeing my caramel slowly thicken. I’ll admit I spent way too much time blissfully stirring it and allowing it to slowly stream from a raised spoon. Upon reflection, I realise now that perhaps the flavour of caramel would be too much with pecan pie. But, it’s made now, so will reside in my fridge until needed (I do believe it will last up to a month). Tomorrow’s project will include making the pastry dough for my pie and the custard base for my ice-cream. Edited to add latest picture This is my caramel sauce the next day. I'm glad to see I got some good gloopy action going on.

Same here. Though let's face it, how many grams get gobbled as we go along. Cookie dough was meant to be nibbled!

I don't have any bourbon so that idea is out (at least for now). The pie actually has a chocolate drizzle, so I scrapped the idea of peach ice-cream as I wasn't sure it would work with the chocolate and that perhaps there would just be too much going on. I've decided to settle for a vanilla ice-cream. This will be my first time using whipping cream for ice-cream so I think I'll benefit from allowing the cream to shine through.

Yes Claire it is. The dough it wrong though, in her book, she uses the cream cheese one. But that's okay, I planned on using her Basic Flaky Crust.

Katharine, nice to see you! The recipe is from The Pie & Pastry Bible by RLB. Thanks for the recommendation on Cookwise. I will check it out next time I'm in Chapters. I have granite on the other side of the kitchen. I haven't tried it out for baking purposes yet, but I did read that granite is the next best thing for tempering chocolate next to marble. jgarner53, I agree, scales are a must. I couldn't live without mine now. I initially just used it for bread baking, but now that I'm baking on a broader scale, I'm becoming quite frustrated that most books only offer volume measures, not weight. I like the accuracy weighing provides (it appeases the perfectionist in me). I'm now starting to write the weights into the books using the guide found in the Pie & Pastry Bible for various ingredients.