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Nn, M.D.

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Everything posted by Nn, M.D.

  1. Hello eGullet, it's been some time since I've posted anything on here, and I have spent the greater part of 2023 in high experimentation. I recently moved to a new place with a bigger kitchen, and my job now affords me a lot more free time, so I have spent most of this time throwing my entire imagination at my bakes. A few things have worked, but the vast majority have not. However my experimentation has not been in vain; rather, I would say 2023 was a year of meaningful exploration that will echo throughout my bakes for years to come. But towards the end of the year I could feel myself becoming fatigued. I had wanted so desperately for my bakes to all of a sudden be the exact flavors and textures I had been looking for, but when you experiment in baking, there is no guarantee of success. And where I would triumph on flavor, there would be poor textures, or vice versa. Needless to say, by the end of 2023 I was deeply frustrated with the yields of a year of experimentation. So in 2024, I have committed to recreating classic recipes. These are bakes that I like, reasons I started baking in the first place. I want to revisit recipes that inspired me to tie on my apron, recipes that will hopefully propel me forward in my journey of baking self-actualization. I am hoping that I can share this journey with the eGullet community and continue to learn and grow throughout the process. My first dalliance with classic recipes is--to me--the essence of baking. I cannot think of a more inviting treat to walk into than a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. So many birthdays, parties, and gatherings with loved ones happened around vanilla cakes with chocolate frosting, and a cake like this feels like the perfect place to anchor my 2024 resolution. My goal with this cake was not to add any gimmicks or novel twists; if anything, I think the combination is perfect as it is. I wanted to express myself through this recipe, both to honor the ingredients and flavors themselves while also acknowledging my own experiences. So I have opted for a vanilla genoise sponge, adapted from this recipe and method (which I highly recommend for anyone new to the genoise sponge), and my proprietary chocolate frosting, which lies somewhere on the spectrum between a German buttercream and Russian buttercream. Vanilla Genoise Sponge Cake - 8 jumbo eggs - 280 g granulated sugar - 260 g cake flour (or 65 g cornstarch + 195 g pastry flour) - 80 g ghee - 40 g half and half - 10 g salt - 10 g vanilla extract - 10 g vanilla bean paste (optional) 1. Preheat your oven to 355˚ F. Line 3-8" baking tins with parchment paper. Sift your cake flour (or cornstarch + pastry flour) 2-3 times and set aside. Combine ghee, half and half, salt, and vanilla in a heat-safe bowl or cup and set aside. 2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add eggs and granulated sugar and whisk to combine. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is warm to touch and sugar is dissolved. Transfer bowl to your mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on highest speed until you reach ribbon stage. Then whisk an additional 5-6 minutes on lowest speed to break down large bubbles. - Remove saucepan from heat and place ghee mixture in the warm water. 3. Fold in sifted flour in two additions, making sure to scrape the sides and the bottom and thoroughly combine. There should be no streaks of dry flour remaining. 4. Pour over the warmed ghee mixture and fold to combine, again making sure to scrape the sides and the bottom. 5. Distribute batter between 3 tins (each should have about 350 g of batter). Use a skewer to pop large air bubbles; drop tins on the counter a couple of times as well. 6. Bake cakes for 28-30 minutes. Check the cakes around 25 minutes: press the top of the cake and if the top gently springs back, the cake is done; if the fingerprint stays, leave the cakes for another 5 minutes and check again. 7. Remove cakes from the oven and drop tins on the counter again to release the steam. Allow to cool completely upside down on a wire rack before removing from the tins. Chocolate Buttercream - 454 g butter (4 sticks: I used 3 sticks unsalted and 1 stick salted butter) - 115 g bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled - 360-390 g sweetened condensed milk (1 can) - 2 jumbo eggs - 15 g buttermilk powder (1 tbsp) - 45 g Dutch process cocoa powder (3 tbsp) - 10 g salt 1. Allow butter to come to room temperature before handling. Using a whisk or a hand mixer, whisk together the butter until it is light and fluffy in texture. In a heat safe bowl, melt your chocolate and allow it to cool to room temperature. Set both aside. 2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add your remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture comes up to 165˚ F. Transfer bowl to your mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on highest speed until the mixture reaches room temperature. 3. With mixer on low speed, add 2 tbsp portions of your whisked butter and allow each addition to incorporate before adding the next. 4. Once all the butter has been added, mix manually and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Pour in the cooled chocolate and mix the frosting together on medium speed for a minute. 5. Again, scrape sides and bottom manually and then mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes. To assemble the cake, I made a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar) and added about 50 g to each of my sponge layers once I had trimmed off some of the caramelization. Using a 2 oz scoop, I added about 3 scoops of frosting between each layer of sponge and then put a thin coat on the outside as my crumb coat. I chilled the cake for 15 minutes and then added my final coat of frosting. I decided to try a decorative rim on the top of the cake with what I had left. Overall, the cake is exactly what I was looking for. It has been a long time since I've had cake I enjoyed this much, and from something so simple too. Making this has confirmed to me that I am on the right path, as I am now more excited than ever to revisit my favorites and re-learn the joys of baking.
  2. I've been thinking about this one. I may try to do a DIY cake strip and see if that might address the doming issue. If that's not enough, then I'll start messing with the temperature.
  3. I'm using pastry flour cut with cornstarch, which is essentially cake flour. Thats a really interesting idea, do you have a link to this specific method? If not, what changes to my recipe would you suggest?
  4. Working on my chocolate genoise recipe and running into an issue with my sponge. For reference, I am using an 8x4" aluminum cake pan. My genoise makes 3-4 layers. I baked my batter at 350˚F for 40 minutes, mostly based on visual cues. As you can see, the top slice had underdone batter that I was able to remove like a tumor. There's underdone batter in both the top slice and middle slice. However, the periphery of the middle slice, and the entire bottom slice, are overdone and dry. Does anyone have a fix for this? Specifically: - How to bake the sponge so that the bottom isn't overdone and the center isn't underdone - Bonus if you can help me get a flat top so that I can salvage a 4th slice from this recipe My recipe: 7 eggs (430g) 215g granulated sugar 43g cocoa powder 8g kosher salt 86g cornstarch 172g pastry flour 43g ghee, warmed 8g vanilla paste Add eggs, sugar, cocoa, and salt to mixer bowl and heat over double boiler while constantly whisking. Heat until hot to the touch, then remove from heat and whisk on high until doubled/tripled in volume. (I wasn't able to reach ribbon stage, probably because of the amount of cocoa, so I will be reducing the amount in the future.) Sift together cornstarch and flour, then fold into batter until nearly combined. Add ½-1 cup batter to the ghee along with vanilla paste. Mix vigorously until combined and smooth. Gently fold this portion back into the whole cake batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350˚ for 40 minutes. [UPDATE] Thank you for your suggestions! They were incredibly helpful, and because of your input, I was able to make a huge breakthrough. Please ignore the tunneling...I was in a bit of a time crunch and should have been more thorough. My two changes were: I mixed my cocoa powder with just enough hot water to make it into a homogenous paste. Once my eggs and sugar were at ribbon stage, I took a portion and folded in my chocolate paste, then poured that mixture back into the batter while it was mixing at low speed. I let the mixer run until the mixture was homogenous, then folded in my dry ingredients and ghee/vanilla like normal. Reduced the oven temperature to 325˚F and baked the cake for 50 minutes. Because of these changes, I got a sponge that was as moist on the top slice as it was on the bottom, however there was no underdone batter. The cake rose nicely and I was able to get 5 layers from i, which exceeded my expectations! Updated recipe below: My UPDATED recipe: 7 eggs (430g) 215g granulated sugar 43g cocoa powder 75g boiling water 8g kosher salt 86g cornstarch 172g pastry flour 43g ghee, warmed 8g vanilla paste Add eggs, sugar, and salt to mixer bowl and heat over double boiler while constantly whisking. Heat until hot to the touch, then remove from heat and whisk on high until the mixture reaches ribbon stage, 5-6 minutes. While the batter is mixing on high speed, dissolve the cocoa powder into boiling water and mix to a smooth paste. Turn the mixer speed down to medium-low. Take ½-1 cup of the batter and fold in the chocolate paste. Gradually add the chocolate batter to the main batter and allow mixture to mix until homogenous. Sift together cornstarch and flour, then fold into batter until nearly combined. Add ½-1 cup batter to the ghee along with vanilla paste. Mix vigorously until combined and smooth. Gently fold this portion back into the whole cake batter. Bake in preheated oven at 325˚ for 50 minutes.
  5. Hello all, I am hoping to get feedback on a variation on chiffon cake that I have been pondering. I recently tried my chiffon recipe (listed below) again after leaving it alone for almost 2 years, and really liked the way it came out. I am wondering if, by adding buttermilk, I can get a little more moisture and a little more flavor out of the cake? Ultimately, the goal will be to substitute some of the cake flour for Dutch-process cocoa (to obviate the need for a neutralizing agent) and get a European style chiffon cake with a very American chocolate-and-buttermilk flavor. My basic chiffon recipe: 6 large eggs, yolks and whites separated 2g cream of tartar 237g sugar, divided 190g pastry flour 8g baking powder 3g salt 78g neutral oil 68g whole milk Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have ready 2 ungreased 8" cake pans lined with parchment. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add about 80g of the sugar and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Set aside. Whisk or sift together the remaining sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the oil, milk, and egg yolks until pale yellow. Add the dry ingredients to the oil/milk/yolk mixture and beat until well blended. The mixture will appear stiff; this is normal. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites with whisk in 3 additions, then fully combine with rubber spatula. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so the batter is well-blended. Distribute between the two pans. Bake for 40 minutes at 325°F, then 6-8 minutes more at 350°F. Cool the cake upside down for 1/2 hour before removing it from the pan. From the variations of chiffon cake that I have found that use buttermilk, they do one of 3 things: Use a small amount of buttermilk and use a slightly lower ratio of yolks:whites Keep the ratio of yolks:whites equal and simply add a large volume of buttermilk Use a large amount of buttermilk + baking soda, and use a higher ratio of yolks:whites Truth be told, I'm most interested in trying the second method, particularly because it remains egg neutral (yolks:whites = 1:1), but I have my concerns. Adding such a large volume of acidic liquid to a batter that normally has pretty close to neutral pH, and then not adding in baking soda, I worry that will cause the cake to lose any potential rise. The only method that accounts for that acidity is the third method, but I don't want to sacrifice the use of the additional egg whites. The first method seems feasible, in that the buttermilk is added in a small quantity and seems more to be a flavor agent rather than a major component of the cake batter. I also wonder if the first method could be made egg-neutral without any additional modifications to the recipe. I would greatly appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. I am hoping to try out some recipes later this week so I look forward to hearing back from you all very soon. - Nn, M.D.
  6. Hey, thanks for trying it out! I'm glad you liked it! I actually just made a huge batch of the salted chocolate flavor this past weekend and I have some thoughts: Regarding the sweetness, I have tried to lower the sugar content in the meringue to around 200g, but have found that the meringue did not have the same pillowy set at the lower sugar level. The original meringue recipe called for 300g, so I felt like 250g was a good compromise. But if you want to try a lower sugar level, be my guest. I might suggest if you were going to use less sugar that you go with a Swiss meringue instead of an Italian meringue. Without the additional water from a sugar syrup, the Swiss meringue may be a way to preserve the pillowy meringue and use less sugar. One minor edit I would like to make to the original recipe is that I now exclusively use half-and-half, and no longer add butter at the end to the custard. I have found that H/H gives me the best balance between richness and smoothness, where all milk would be smooth but not rich, and majority cream would be rich but not smooth. H/H has enough fat in it that I have found adding butter is not necessary. Also a technical change, I no longer aggressively add the meringue to the custard as I did in the written recipe. I have realized that I like the minimal amount of lift I get from having the meringue folded in in about 2-3 additions, so I have been more gentle with bringing the mixture together. If you like that denser gelato-esque texture, then continue to combine the custard and meringue as before. If you want something a little lighter, try folding in the meringue!
  7. Hey eGullet community, I've got a question for you all. I'm considering making a...very unique tart, and I'm hoping to use nougat as the base on which to put some decorative toppings. From the recipes I've seen, the sugar and honey are typically cooked to hard crack (300˚F) before being added to the egg whites, which yields a chewy but still relatively firm texture. For a tart, I feel something a little softer and easier to cut through might be a better fit. I'm thinking something in the hard-ball stage (250-265˚) might be the way to go, but I worry that if my sugar is too cool then the meringue won't firm up enough. Does anyone have experience with a softer-set nougat?
  8. Thanks! The butter could be an applesauce if you stopped simmering earlier, but I wanted to limit the amount of moisture I was adding to the pie given that the sliced apples would be raw going in.
  9. I always bake with whole grain flour, just a personal preference. The apple butter is the layer of mush underneath the apples. I left the peels on so that I could a nice color, and the peels naturally thicken the butter. In the instructions I say to peel the apples on the top layer of the pie, so the ones you see on top are peeled. I used Gala apples.
  10. Mustard is an interesting thought, I like the idea of the sharpness and slight briny flavor. I'm not a huge fan of mustard myself so maybe you could do a version of this recipe with it and let me know how it goes!
  11. I'm very excited to share with you all a recipe that I developed for a double crust apple pie. I had been inspired a few weeks ago to come up with a series of 3-ingredient recipes that would focus on technique and flavor but still be simple enough for the unseasoned chef. I decided to make an apple pie as a challenge to myself--never having made one before--and as a way to show those who might find pastry intimidating how easy and adaptable it can be. Basic Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients: - 300g flour - 227g salted butter, cold - 2 lemons, zested with juice reserved 1. Cut butter into small chunks. Beat butter, zest of the 2 lemons, and flour together with an electric mixer OR combine with pastry blender OR rub together with fingers OR blitz in a food processor until it resembles sand. 2. Add just enough water to bring the mix together into a dough (about 20g for me). You'll know your pastry is ready when you can press it together and it stays in one piece. 3. Divide dough in two and wrap tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. 4. When ready to use, roll out each portion to 13 inches in diameter. (I do this between two sheets of parchment paper. Don't worry too much if the parchment sticks to the pastry. I periodically placed mine in the freezer to help keep everything cold, and the butter will separate from the parchment when frozen.) 5. Take 1 portion of rolled dough and place it in a 9-inch tart tin with a removable bottom. Gently press into the sides to ensure even coverage. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Freeze the other portion of dough in-between the parchment pieces. Apple Filling (and Assembly) - 1 kg apples (I used about 7 apples for this recipe.) - 220g dark brown sugar, divided - 1 egg, separated Making the apple butter: 1. Cut and core 500g of your apples, but do not peel. Add cut apples, juice of the one lemon, about 100g or so of water, and 170g of sugar to a large saucepan. 2. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer and cover. Let the apples cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender. 3. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. 4. Return puree to saucepan and simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for an hour. Color should deepen and the mixture should thicken slightly, but do not allow it to scorch. 5. Remove from heat and refrigerate until cool. Apple filling: 1. Peel, quarter, and core the remaining 500g of apples. Slice on a mandolin to about 1/8th inch thickness. Place sliced apples in a large bowl of cold water while slicing remaining apples. 2. Once apples are sliced, drain water and add the juice from the remaining lemon, as well as the remaining 50g of sugar, over the apples. Stir to coat. Assembly: 1. Remove pie base from the freezer. Dock with a fork and brush on egg white. Place back in the freezer and allow to set for for about 5-10 minutes. 2. Pour the entire recipe of apple butter into the pie base and even out with an offset spatula. 3. Arrange apple slices over the apple butter. 4. Remove remaining pie dough from the freezer and cut designs in while still cold. Transfer to the surface of the pie and seal overhanging edges. Trim excess dough. 5. Brush top pastry with egg yolk (beaten with any remaining egg white) and bake in a 365˚F oven for 60-70 minutes. Crust should be shiny and golden brown. 6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from tin. Some notes: The reason for using salted butter is I think the flavor incorporates a little better into the mix than if I were to use unsalted butter and added salt. That being said, you could do that instead, though your recipe would then have 7 ingredients The addition of apple butter here takes the place of the normal apple pie filling, which is usually thickened with cornstarch and is typically quite sweet. By using the apple butter, I push the flavor of apple forward beyond what you would find in a typically apple pie. Also, the apple butter acts as a glue of sorts so that my slices are always clean, so no need to resort to adding thickeners or extra sweeteners. I'm always looking for a way around blind baking, and using an egg white seal has worked out very well for me. The egg white creates a water-tight layer between the crust and the filling, so no matter how wet my filling is, the crust will always bake crispy and won't get soggy for as long as the pie is around. Feel free to change this up as you see fit. Obviously you can spices to this (I recommend cinnamon, clove, and cardamom) but the beauty of this pie is that it's really not necessary. Although at first blush it may seem one-noted, the harmony between the flaky, almost savory crust and the bright and refreshing filling is one that doesn't need any help, in my honest opinion. So there you have it! My 6-ingredient apple pie, sure to become a go-to for me, and hopefully for you as well!
  12. Technical question here: I have tried Anna Olson's chocolate cantucci recipe several times to great effect. What I like about her recipe is that the proportion of the individual cookies is larger and thinner than the typical biscotti, and I'm all for a crispy snappy cookie. As for the technique, I wanted to know if there's a way to swap out the cocoa powder but keep the integrity of the recipe. I have a couple theories on how this might work, and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience in this arena: Simply take out the cocoa powder. In this recipe the ratio of cocoa powder to flour is so low that it would be hard to believe the cocoa powder serves any function aside from flavor. 2 cups of flour is a sizable portion, so I don't think you'd necessarily need to replace the ½ cup of cocoa powder with anything. Swap for an additional ½ cup of flour. In the event that the cocoa is a significant contributor to the dough matrix and can't be eliminated, you might posit that it must be replaced 1:1. This seems to be the most logical path, but I do worry about adding potentially more gluten to the recipe and ultimately altering the structure of the cookie. Swap for an additional ½ cup of cornstarch. Cornstarch is my fix-all for everything lol. I figure if volume is the issue, and you need to match the dry ingredients in proportion to the wet ingredients, cornstarch can bridge that gap without adding any additional gluten. I think this might work, since cocoa powder and cornstarch are the same weight by volume. Swap for ⅓ cup of flour. This is my best compromise. This volume of flour 1) weighs almost as much as ½ cup of cocoa and 2) prevents the need for an additional ingredient while 3) preserving the relative ratio of wet to dry ingredients in the recipe. I also think this might work. In a perfect world, I would do a series of experiments on each of this riffs, but I don't have the time or the resources unfortunately. So I'm asking for expert opinion or to hear from anyone with experience.
  13. I know what you mean. I recently grilled some delicata squash and although there was some caramelized sweetness going on, there was a lot of savory overtone that I think would not work in dessert applications. But pumpkin is a little sweeter naturally, and the addition of spices, particularly nutmeg and cloves, help to bring out the natural sweetness. Brown sugar and orange are both slightly acidic as well, and that sharpness when paired with the earthiness of the pumpkin makes it taste balanced.
  14. I love seasonal baking because I feel very connected to the world around me, commemorating our shared experiences through my food. And so, this October, I challenged myself to encapsulate the feeling on Spooky Season with a series of applications featuring the main attraction: pumpkin. To be honest, I am not a fan of pumpkin, as it is a worse sweet potato in my opinion. However, making it into something I would like was part of the fun of this challenge, and I think it went quite well. To get the most mileage out of my gourd, I opted to make it into a jam. This is a fairly common route for me to take when it comes to fruits/vegetables. Since it's difficult to incorporate the fruit flesh into a baked good without altering the texture, a jam gets around that by having a much smoother texture and some added sweetness, so at the very least you can add less sweetener. You'll notice the complete absence of spice here. Although I did spice everything else I added to the pumpkin jam, I wanted the pumpkin to speak for itself here. So all I added was some brown sugar, orange juice, and salt to complement the natural sweetness, freshness, and umami of the pumpkin flesh. Nn, M.D.'s Pumpkin Jam - 2 pie pumpkins, halved with flesh/seeds scooped - brown sugar - juice of one orange - pinch of sea salt 1. Place pumpkin halves face down on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes until fork tender. Remove and leave to cool on pan for 1-2 hours until completely cool. 2. Scoop out flesh and pass through a metal strainer to remove fibers. I got about 450-500g of pumpkin puree from 2 pie pumpkins. 3. Add pumpkin and an equal weight of brown sugar to a medium saucepan. Squeeze in the juice of one orange and add a pinch of sea salt. 4. Turn on stove to medium-high until you reach a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and keep boiling until thickened to your desired thickness. I boiled mine for about 15 minutes and got a nice pliable texture. From here, the possibilities are endless. Below I have a few examples of how I styled my jam, but this is by no means comprehensive. Really, the jam is the starting point and what you do with it is up to you! 1. Pumpkin-spiced angel food cake with pumpkin buttercream-cheese frosting "Pumpkin spice" is no more than cinnamon : nutmeg : ginger : clove in a 4:2:2:1 ratio. So that is how I flavored my cake, along with some vanilla bean paste. The cake was airy and light and beautifully tender, a perfect compliment to the frosting. It's based on a French buttercream, where I used the pumpkin jam to provide all the sweetness as well as the remaining egg yolks left over from the cake. For fat, I used half butter and half cream cheese, as I wanted the tang along with the richness that cream cheese provides. A beautiful cake with beautiful contrasting flavors. 2. Pumpkin bread cookies Using the remainder of the frosting and an additional dose of the pumpkin spice blend, I added some flour, baking powder and baking soda to the mix and rolled each ball of dough in sugar. The resulting cookies where wonderfully spiced with the earthiness of the pumpkin in the background. And because of the cream cheese and egg yolks in the frosting, the cookies remained beautifully tender with an interior closer to pumpkin bread than cookie. 3. Pumpkin & peanut butter blondies The blondie base was fairly basic, just adding about the same amount of peanut butter as I did regular butter to the batter. I also shaved in some fresh nutmeg and added some vanilla extract. The pumpkin jam was swirled into the batter and left to bake for about 45 minutes. The result was a rich, decadent morsel that drew you in for seconds and thirds and fourths. 4. Pumpkin buns with cream cheese frosting Trust me, there is pumpkin jam in there. I added the famed pumpkin spice blend to the dough base and then rolled it up with the pumpkin jam in the middle. While warm, I covered the buns in a simple cream cheese glaze and devoured almost the entire lot. *5. Vegan pumpkin-spiced tacos Ok hear me out, I know this isn't baking but I'm still quite proud of how delicious this was. To use the last of my jam, I made some basic seitan (mock meat made with wheat gluten) that I ground up using my food processor. It has a strikingly similar texture and taste to ground meat and can fool most meat eaters. I sautéed this on medium heat with some onion, jalapeño, garlic, some fresh ground nutmeg, cumin, coriander, paprika, and my pumpkin jam, as well as a little unsweetened soy milk to deglaze everything (soy milk contains glutamic acid and can amplify the umami of whatever dish it's added to). The onions were pickled in a brine of vinegar, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and whole clove to give a sweet but unctuous depth to them. The greens are actually a simple slaw of baby kale, cilantro, powdered crystalized ginger, lime juice, and salt (which I recommend making ahead of time and tossing every so often to let the juices come out). As you can see, the pumpkin spice blend is reiterated, this time deconstructed [cinnamon & clove + nutmeg + ginger]. I made a chipotle mayo using silken tofu as the base in place of egg yolks. I added 3 chipotles and some of the sauce for some extra kick. Served on some warm tortillas with some avocado slices, this is both comforting and satisfying vegan eating. So that is it, my treatise on pumpkin jam and it's many uses. I hope that I have inspired you to take a theme and beat it to death. All jokes aside, this type of baking helps push my skills to the next level, so I relish in the opportunity to do things like this. I hope you will find a similar joy.
  15. Not to fault any of the replies so far, as I have also done these methods and got great results. I am asking more of a question of principle, simply if you think a slow low oven method would work. I've tried each of the methods linked in the original post (except for the pressure cooker), so I'm just seeing how far this can be extended.
  16. I don't know if you all have seen the many shortcuts to making dulce de leche from canned sweetened condensed milk, but if not, there's a microwave method, a stovetop method, a pressure cooker method, and a slow cooker method. These are each great, but require either constant attention or special equipment. I've seen a few techniques for an oven method, which would be an ideal compromise for a low-maintenance recipe. The issue is that of the methods I have seen, all require the transfer of the milk into a separate container, which invites the possibility of product loss. In an effort to save every last drop, I was wondering if there was some way to re-create the slow cooker method, which is essentially just a long low simmer in a water bath, in the oven. In theory it seems reasonable, but I haven't seen anyone try it. My proposed method: Submerge can(s) of milk in enough water to cover + additional 1-2 inches in a dutch oven. Cover with lid and place in the center of the oven. Set oven temperature to 190˚ F and let bake for 10 hours. Turn off oven, remove pot and allow to cool completely on the counter. It seems reasonable, but if anyone has any reason why it wouldn't work, let me know!
  17. This is a recipe that I came up with when I was making choux au craquelin and wanted to fill them with a pastry cream. I had made the pastry cream using the egg yolks but didn’t want to let the egg whites go to waste. I decided to make the egg whites into an Italian meringue, which I thought would be fairly stable. But rather than folding it in to preserve that stability, I was impatient and whipped the pastry cream into the meringue. The result was this loose, soupy mixture that I couldn’t get to stay in a cream puff if I tried. So I gave up and, rather than throw it away, stuck it in the freezer to save it for another recipe. One day I got curious and decided to give it a taste. That was the single best bowl of ice cream I had ever had. I knew I had stumbled onto something, so I’ve tried it with many other flavors and it works almost every time. The texture is kind of somewhere between a gelato and a semifreddo, and for some reason it takes forever to melt. Just remember to abide by this formula and you will always have success: Pastry cream: - 8 oz (1 cup) whole milk (or you can use 6 oz milk + 2 oz heavy cream, 6 oz half/half + 2 oz milk...anything but skim) - 3 extra large egg yolks - 2 tbsp cornstarch - 2-4 tbsp butter, sliced 1. Place butter slices in bowl and set a wire strainer over top. Set aside 2. In a medium saucepan, place your milk (+/- cream) and bring to just below a simmer 3. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl set over a towel, whisk egg yolks and cornstarch together until smooth 4. When milk has heated, temper into egg mixture, whisking constantly 5. On medium-low heat, add the custard to the pan and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes. Custard will go from loose -> shiny and thick -> matte and set. Do not stop whisking as long as mixture is on the heat 6. Once custard is set, scrape out of pan into bowl with strainer. Push mixture through and scrape remaining custard off the bottom of the strainer. Stir the custard into the butter constantly until butter disappears. Set aside. Meringue (apologies in advance for switching from standard to metric): - 300 granulated sugar - 75g water - 100-115g egg whites (from 3 extra large/jumbo eggs) 1. Place egg whites in bowl of a clean stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Set aside. 2. Over medium-high heat, place water and sugar in saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. 3. Turn heat down to medium-low. When mixture hits 115˚C, turn on mixer to medium-high to make egg whites frothy. 4. When syrup reaches 118˚C, remove from the heat and pour into egg whites between the edge of the bowl and the whisk. Do so in a steady stream to avoid splashing. 5. Once syrup has been added, turn mixer to high and whisk until you reach stiff peaks, about 6 minutes Bringing it together: 1. Once meringue is stiff, pour in custard over the top. Turn on the mixer with the whisk attachment to high speed and whisk for 1-2 minutes 2. You’ll know you’ve finished when you pull the whisk out of the mixture and a string of the cream follows it. If you still see peaks when you pull of the whisk, keep beating until flattened and loose. 3. Pour mixture into a bowl and place in a freezer to set up for at least 6 hours. Then, enjoy! As you can see, it’s a straightforward process that is egg-neutral and has a lot of area for customization. My only recommendation is that whatever add-ins you choose, make them 6 oz. That’s just how I did it the first time and every time and the proportion always works. Here's a few variations on the theme that I've done, as well as stupid names I came up for each of them: - Salted Chocolate: add 6 oz of bittersweet chocolate to the butter and mix into custard base. Also add ½ tsp of salt - White Winter: Add 2 tsp vanilla extra/paste to milk and bring to just below simmer. Add 6 oz good-quality white chocolate and 1 tsp white pepper to butter and stir into custard base - Glacé Guac: Add 6 oz mashed avocado and zest of a lime to the butter and mix into custard base. Substitute fresh-squeezed lime juice for water in meringue - Raspberry Romance: Add 1 oz pulverized freeze-dried raspberry and 5 oz homemade raspberry jam1to the butter and mix into custard base. Add 1 tbsp rosewater to meringue 3 minutes into whipping - Lemon Leisure: Grind 1 tbsp lavender buds with spice grinder/mortar and pestle and steep in milk while bringing to just below a simmer. Add 6 oz homemade lemon curd2to the butter and mix into custard base - Citrus Sunrise: Grind 2 tsp fresh cardamom in mortar and pestle and steep in milk while bringing to just below a simmer. Substitute fresh squeezed grapefruit juice for water in meringue. Once custard and meringue are mixed, fold in 6 oz candied grapefruit peel3, chopped - Country Cornbread: Use 4 tbsp butter for custard base and add ½ tsp of salt. For meringue sugar syrup use: 154g honey, 125g sugar, 34g water. Once custard and meringue are mixed, fold in 6 oz gluten free cornbread4, cubed - The Diplomat: add 6 oz dulce de leche and 1 tbsp of soy sauce to custard base, substitute 3-4 tbsp of brown butter - Waterme-ricana: Add 1 tbsp liquid smoke and ½ tsp cinnamon to custard base. Use watermelon juice for meringue liquid and add 6 oz chopped grilled watermelon after combining custard and meringue - Chocolate Chunk: Substitute 30g cocoa butter for the butter in the custard base and add vanilla bean paste to steep. Use 6 oz coarse chopped bittersweet chocolate - Cocoa-Sesame Swirl (pictured below) is the most complex flavor to date. I take the ice cream base and split it in half, one half being sesame-strong, the other half being chocolate-dominant: To make the sesame half, add 2.85 oz of tahini and 0.15 oz untoasted sesame oil to the custard base, and substitute 35g cocoa butter instead of regular butter. A few grinds of fresh sea salt is optional. Heat the mixture in a double boiler to melt the cocoa butter. You will add one half of your pastry cream base to this. To make the chocolate half, make a black sesame praliné with 1.50 oz of black sesame seeds and 1.50 oz of sugar (praliné refers to the process of taking a caramel-nut bark, praline, and grinding it until a paste forms). You should get about 2.50 oz of paste, to which you will add an additional 0.50 oz of cocoa powder and 35g cocoa butter as well as a few grinds of sea salt, not option. Heat the mixture in a double boiler to melt the cocoa butter. Add the remaining half of the custard base to this mixture. Make two separate meringues (this is more accurate and time consuming than making 1 meringue and dividing it in half. But I have 2 stand mixers so :P) and and mix in your custards to each batch in the usual way. I added a little black gel food coloring to the black sesame half. Add dollops to a bowl and swirl with 2-3 figure-8's. 1. Raspberry jam: Take 12 oz frozen raspberries, 2 ½ cups sugar, juice of ½ lemon, and 2 tbsp cinnamon and place in medium saucepan with high walls. Bring to boil on medium-high and then reduce heat to keep mixture at steady boil, around medium heat. Using instant-read thermometer, heat mixture to 215˚F , which should take about 15 minutes. Check gelling by dropping some jam onto chilled plate and look for jam to set up rather than run. Optional: sieve jam to remove seeds. 2. Foolproof lemon curd recipe can be found here 3. Candied grapefruit peel: This recipe is not exact at all. Take grapefruit peels and clean all grapefruit flesh and membranes away from pith. Chop into strips and place into medium saucepan. Cover with water, bring to a roiling boil and boil for 10 minutes. Empty water and repeat 2 additional times. After 3rdboil, measure water needed to cover peels and add the same amount of sugar (to create a simple syrup). Bring mix to boil over medium-high heat, then back head down to keep consistent boil for 45 minutes. Peels should be opaque and look like gems. Drain syrup and lay peel down on wire rack. Sprinkle granulated sugar on both sides and allow to air-dry overnight, best at 24 hours. Store in an airtight container. 4. Gluten-free corn-cake-bread: Based on a genoise sponge: grind coarse cornmeal in food processor and pass through fine mesh sieve to get 125g of fine cornmeal. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Whip 4 room temperature extra large/jumbo eggs (~230-250g) with 125g granulated sugar and 10g honey on high speed until you reach the ribbon stage. Fold in fine cornmeal and 1tsp salt, then 15g melted and cooled butter. Make sure not to be too aggressive so as not to lose volume. Pour batter into 9-inch cake tin lined on the bottom with parchment. Bake for 25 minutes at center rack, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Run palette knife around cake edge, invert, and allow to cool completely. 5. Easy dulce de leche: put can of sweetened condensed milk in slow cooker and cover with water; place on high for 8-10 hours
  18. thank you! i still think about this cake haha
  19. Day 3 and still moist. Might be one of the best sponges I’ve ever made.
  20. I thought about trimming each layer down more, but in the end it seemed like more hassle than it was worth. I didn’t want to butcher the cake, and in the end the crusty layer provides a contrast between the yellow cake, yellow jam, and yellow frosting. I’m not sure this cake would look as good without the crust.
  21. Hello all! I am excited present a cake that has taken weeks of mental planning and troubleshooting. What I will say is that making this cake has taught me so much about mastering a technique rather than a recipe, and I think that lies at the heart of what it takes to be a good baker. I wanted to re-create the flavors of ginger ale by making a cake that was very ginger-forward, but that also that was balanced and scrumptious. The start of the recipe is the crystallized ginger. ¾ cup ginger, peeled and sliced to 1/8th in thick 3 cups water ¾ cups sugar Peel about 8 oz fresh ginger root. Slice the ginger on a bias; I used a mandolin to get my slices even thickness. Add to saucepan with high sides, and pour the water over top. Bring to a boil and reduce to a strong simmer for 30-35 min. Take off the heat and drain the broth, reserving 3 tablespoons (I saved the rest of the broth in ice trays, and it will go in teas and shakes). Add sugar and water to drained ginger and place on medium high heat. Stir constantly until water dissolves and sugar recrystallizes on ginger's surface, about 10 minutes. Pour onto sheet pan to cool completely and dry, at least 1 hour. Since I was already peeling ginger, I went ahead and peeled some more for my ginger jelly. Shout out to the eGullet community: I asked*** about how to create some sort of jam or jelly to fill the cake, and you guys provided such great help. I adapted some techniques from a few recipes to come up with one of my own, and I think it came out quite well. ⅔ cup ginger, peeled and grated or chopped in food processor 5 cups water 2 cups sugar 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced seeds from lemon 1 packet liquid pectin Add ginger and water to saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add sugar, lemon juice, and zest to pan and increase heat to medium high. Allow to boil for 15 minutes, then add pectin and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes and then remove from heat to cool completely. Consider using a piece of cling-film on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. When cooled, run through a fine mesh strainer to remove ginger chunks. I went with a genoise sponge because it's my favorite sponge to make. It's very simple, very elegant, and very easy to customize. I tried replacing 1 egg with 3 egg yolks and I think this is going to be new baseline genoise recipe. Also sorry for switching to grams from here on, I just always do cakes in metric 7 whole eggs, extra large or "jumbo" 3 egg yolks 250 g sugar 200 g whole wheat pastry flour 50 g corn starch 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground turmeric 30 g butter, melted and warm but not hot Separate 3 eggs and reserve the whites. Add yolks to additional whole eggs and sugar and whip on medium-high speed for 8 minutes, until you have reached ribbon stage. In the meantime, sift together dry ingredients, pre-heat your oven to 350˚F, and line two 9-inch tins with parchment. Do not grease the tins as the cake needs to climb the sides of the pan. Once eggs and sugar are whipped, add dry mix, one heaping tablespoon at a time, with mixer on lowest possible speed. Once flour is almost completely incorporated, add a few dollops to butter and mix vigorously. Add buttered batter to main batter and fold in with rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the batter. Once fully mixed in, split between two tins (roughly 500g mix each if using "jumbo" eggs). Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove, allow to cool for 10 minutes, and release by running offset spatula on outside to free from sides. Invert cake, remove parchment, and place back on cooling rack to cool completely. When ready to use, split into 2 layers each, 4 layers total. Brush each exposed side with milk (or simple syrup). This buttercream is special to me because I have been learning about confectionary lately, marshmallows in particular. This was a recipe I developed that was inspired by marshmallow fluff + Italian meringue buttercream. The idea of the barley malt syrup is that it has a strong, malty flavor that feels very ale-y when added to sharp ingredients like ginger. 200 g barley malt syrup 100 g water (I used ginger broth from crystallized ginger!) 210 g sugar 3 egg whites ½ tsp cream of tartar 1 ½ tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp sea salt 350 g butter, at room temperature Heat syrup, water and sugar over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to medium and bring temperature up to 118˚C (I got to about 115˚ and my pan started scorching, so I aborted there. Try swirling the syrup every now and then and use a pan with quite high sides). Once at temperature, remove from heat and whip eggs and cream of tartar until frothy. Pour syrup into egg whites while on medium speed and then increase to medium-high speed to whip until room temperature. While whipping, add ginger, turmeric and salt. Once cool, add butter 2 tbsp at a time on medium-low speed. Stop mixer, scrape down sides, and whip on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth. To assemble, place a small dollop of frosting on the cake stand and place one layer of sponge. Make frosting border and fill with half the jam. Place next sponge on top and using large ice cream scoop, add 3 scoops frosting to the top of the sponge. Even out layer and take remaining frosting out to cake edges. Place next layer on top, repeat border and jelly, and finish with the final cake layer. Add 5 scoops to the top of the sponge and even out to thin layer, taking remaining frosting out to the edges and covering the sides. Once crumb coated, place in fridge for 20 minutes. Then take out and frost with remaining buttercream. Smooth out sides and top of cake and adorn with candied ginger. Such a nice result and such a tasty cake. Using milk as my soak has really improved the texture of the final sponge, which is super supple and moist. I think 3 egg yolks might be the key to the cake being so moist. It's a sturdy sponge with a tender crumb, and the turmeric actually calms the fury of the ground ginger and produces a very mellow fragrance that you smell right before you take a bite.
  22. I like the idea of the pre-made applesauce, certainly cuts down on the work I have to do. Does the flavor of apple come through? I haven’t worked with it much before but I don’t want the jam to taste of apple.
  23. I think that Pomona’s recipe is just what I’m looking for. I assume the calcium water refers to the package that comes in the pectin box? And do you have any experience using natural pectin (e.g. lemon seeds)?
  24. And generally I find that to be the case. It depends, of course, on the context. For a birthday cake, usually cake + frosting is fine. But for something sort of special, I like to have some textural play. I usually go for soft + creamy + crunchy, or crumbly + gooey + crunchy. I find that doing it that way produces something that isn’t monotonous and has 4 potential texture combinations.
  25. As a southerner I adore pound cake! So I will absolutely check it out. And thanks for the warm welcome
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