The Supreme eGullet Baking and Pastry Challenge

[Kouign Aman]

Welcome to Round 14 of the Supreme eGullet Pastry and Dessert Challenge!

Duckduck has bravely accepted the challenge. Due to her schedule, the challenge will run from Sunday to Monday next.

The challenge is to create a layered dessert, using legumes. I could eliminate halo halo, but why?

Good luck and have fun!

For future reference, these were the previous challenges:

Round 1 (Kerry Beal challenges Ling in Vancouver BC)- Take pineapple upside down cake and bring it into this century

Round 2 (Ling Challenges Gfron1 in Silver City NM) - Make a dessert containing an animal ingredient or product other than lard or bacon

Round 3 (Gronf1 challenges Mette in Copenhagen Denmark)- Create a deconstructed beer dessert

Round 4 (Mette Challenges Shalmanese in Seattle WA) - Create a dessert tapas plate consisting of 7 items in 7 days, using local and seasonal flavours

Round 5 (Shalmanese challenges Chiantiglace in West Palm Beach FL) - create a dessert involving smoke that evokes Autumn

Round 6 (Chiantiglace challenges K8Memphis in Memphis, TN) - create a dessert using Southern Sweet Tea

Round 7 (K8Memphis challenges SweetSide in rural CT) - create a desset using 5 kernels of corn representing the 5 blessing of the Pilgrims

Round 8 (SweetSide challenges alanamoana in the Silicon Valley, CA) - take fruitcake out of the land of the misfits and show us the beauty that lies within

Round 9 ( Alanmoana challenges Dejaq in Nation’s Capital) - make a dessert using Champagne and at least three Citrus Fruits, along with Agar Agar.

Round 10 (Dejaq in Nation's Capital challenges Kerry Beal in Ontario, Canada) - make a dessert utilizing white, milk and dark chocolate, along with a tea of her choice and a fresh seasonal pear.

Round 11 (Kerry Beal in Ontario, Canada challenges Chufi, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to make a dessert that evokes the spirit of Sinterklaas, uses speculaas spices and includes a seasonal fruit or vegetable.

Round 12 (Chufi in Amsterdam challenges tammylc in Ann Arbor, MI to make a dessert that incorporates at least 2 wines and 2 cheeses

Round 13 (tammylc in Ann Arbor, MI challenged Kouign Aman in San Diego, CA,to make a dessert from/inspired by an ethnic cuisine she doesn't usually cook and that incorporates at least one vegetable. Bonus points for actually using her "good and accessible source of interesting produce" (reference to 2006 resolution thread))

[Kerry Beal]

This should prove interesting.

[s_sevilla]

there's all kinds of bean pastes, curds, etc that you can use or produce on your own. Do the rules allow the use of products derived from legumes, like tofu?

[duckduck]

Hey, hey, hey now...don't eliminate halo-halo. I was thinking a little shot glass action on the side. Got my sweet red beans, colored tapioca stringy things and my coconut milk. My original thought was asian influence so I combed through FuBonn Market today looking for inspiration. I'm also working from a book I've had for awhile called Desserts with a Difference by Sally and Martin Stone. I think one of the biggest challenges I see here at eG is when people ask for desserts that cater to special dietary needs like no gluten or milk products. I've been meaning to test some recipes and see what's possible. I think right now the pieces I'm working on are not things where I'm looking for an "OMG, this is amazing." What I'm looking for is Shel. If any of you have ever met Abra's dear husband Shel you will know what I'm talking about when I say I'm just looking for Shel's voice in my head saying, "Well...it doesn't suck." My chocolate is melted and I need to get back to my black bean brownies. Will they actually taste like brownies? I'm sceptical. But if the claims that I can make a decent brownie out of black beans turns out to be just a steamed pile of horse duckey, I can always go back to playing with the green pea flour from Bob's Red Mill that Tejon and I found when out shopping the last time I thought I would be challenged. Got lots to play with. Gotta bake now.

[Pan]

Kouign Aman, a point of order: For the purposes of this challenge, are peanuts considered a legume?

[duckduck]

They are according to wikipedia. Beans, peas, lentils and peanuts. And we have achieved Shel status on the brownies. They don't suck. I added pecans and I think without them, I might notice the black bean flavor a tiny bit. They are still warm though. They are soft and cakey and crumbly. I know I need to let them cool but I just had to taste. They're not bad. They might make a nice base. Could use a little spice, maybe a splash of kahlua but they are decent. I'll try a few more recipes from this book tomorrow. There's a flourless chickpea cake that I'm looking at next. I forgot to mention that the basic idea of this book is making desserts with vegetables. I'm thinking of playing with a coconut milk creme brulee for the top and trying to figure out what to do in the center but who knows. Lots to play with.

Black Bean Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x13x2" baking pan.

Rinse a can of black beans really well and puree in a food processor. Melt 1 cup unsalted butter over low heat with 4 oz. unsweeted chocolate. Take 2 cups sugar in the bowl of a mixer beat in 4 eggs, room temp., one at a time until light. Beat in the chocolate and butter. Beat in one cup of black beans and 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

[prasantrin]

Blondies with adzuki beans is quite nice. The beans are whole, not mushed. They're the only blondies I've had that I liked!

[Kouign Aman]

there's all kinds of bean pastes, curds, etc that you can use or produce on your own.  Do the rules allow the use of products derived from legumes, like tofu?

←

Sure. Why not?

Hey, hey, hey now...don't eliminate halo-halo.

←

I didnt.

Kouign Aman, a point of order: For the purposes of this challenge, are peanuts considered a legume?

←

Sho'nuf.

I forgot to mention that the basic idea of this book is making desserts with vegetables.

←

Hmm, I think I coulda/shoulda used that book!

[duckduck]

They firmed up nicely and they look and smell like brownies! Haven't tasted them yet. Whatever has been chasing the last couple days caught me and I'm curled up with 7-up and soda crackers for now. I'll have someone try them tonight. I think one thing that is key is using low sodium beans and rinsing them well. I think that was one of the things that was off when I tried to do the Alford Duguid bean bread was there seemed to be too much salt and it broghtened the bean flavor. I'll try another recipe probably tomorrow.

Edited January 8, 2007 by duckduck (log)

[Shalmanese]

Soybean is a legume which means Tofu should be included right? There should be some interesting things you can do with silken tofu.

[Jisho]

I'm exceptionally fond of asian desserts that use Azuki (red) bean paste. They can be pureed and sweetened and used in a number of ways. The first thing I think when I think of bean desserts is asian dessert and tofu. And remember that a peanut is not ACTUALLY a nut, but is actually a indehiscent legume, although I suppose the challenger could eliminate peanut to make it tougher?

I could think of a few things..maybe a dense and very lightly sweetened cake with a green tea syrup molded with layers of a honey ginger tofu custard and sweetened azuki bean paste, or something incorporating wonton and coarsely mashed azuki, perhaps with coconut milk incorporated. Maybe a tofu crepe to make a mille crepe with a bean paste filling.

And I haven't even gone on to sweet peas...Sweet pea ice cream.

Mmm...endless options!

[dejaq]

Jisho is right on point...

red bean paste and green tea are an excellent flavor profile combo, tried it last summer. Although as of yet, I have not done anything with tofu, it is a good choice also, and will require further investigation later on.

Good Luck to you Duckduck, may the games begin!

Michael

[miladyinsanity]

If you have a Chinatown nearby, you could buy dofu hua and use it as one layer. It's tofu, but it's got a much better texture than silken tofu, and it comes doused in sugar syrup, but you can probably ask them not to pour it in if you have other plans.

But I'm not sure how you can use it in a layered dessert, because it is very soft, and very fragile.

[Jisho]

If you have a Chinatown nearby, you could buy dofu hua and use it as one layer. It's tofu, but it's got a much better texture than silken tofu, and it comes doused in sugar syrup, but you can probably ask them not to pour it in if you have other plans.

But I'm not sure how you can use it in a layered dessert, because it is very soft, and very fragile.

←

I've never heard of Dofu hua, but a quick internet seach found it under a few names, such as Taho and Tawa, with variations all over Asia. In the Philippines it's got a caramel sauce and transluscent sago tapioca balls, and nearer china, it's served with an intense, sweet ginger syrup. They also add local fruit in some locations...I can imagine a dofu hua with ginger syrup and lychee would be very tasty, though off topic.

Edited January 9, 2007 by Jisho (log)

[chiantiglace]

Oh man, I am not a fan of legumes. Good luck with this one Duckduck.

[miladyinsanity]

If you have a Chinatown nearby, you could buy dofu hua and use it as one layer. It's tofu, but it's got a much better texture than silken tofu, and it comes doused in sugar syrup, but you can probably ask them not to pour it in if you have other plans.

But I'm not sure how you can use it in a layered dessert, because it is very soft, and very fragile.

←

I've never heard of Dofu hua, but a quick internet seach found it under a few names, such as Taho and Tawa, with variations all over Asia. In the Philippines it's got a caramel sauce and transluscent sago tapioca balls, and nearer china, it's served with an intense, sweet ginger syrup. They also add local fruit in some locations...I can imagine a dofu hua with ginger syrup and lychee would be very tasty, though off topic.

←

The tofu part itself is usually tasteless, though nowadays they've been coming up with sweetened and flavored ones that are meant to be eaten without syrup.

You'd probably find them called douhua more often.

[duckduck]

After being out sick for a couple days, I'll be back on it tonight. I had thought of red bean paste but felt it was a little too common and too easy. I have a couple of recipes from the Japanese Confections class at the WPF last summer. I felt I wouldn't be challenging myself if I didn't wing it and experiment a little. My first thought was of a restaurant where I go frequently for happy hour that offers salted edamame. I'm wondering about sugaring it with a syrup and pairing it with one the the salts I picked up recently at the Meadow. I also thought about tofu but it makes me think of those recipes that make cheesecake out of tofu and claim it tastes just like the real thing. I'm not so sure. But then again, I was wrong on the brownies. They weren't half bad. I'm not a huge fan of beans or peas either. Tinkering with the idea of using lentils too.

And just so ya' know, my roommate called home the first morning I was home sick just to tell me that those brownies I left on the stove the night before were really good. Score.

Edited January 10, 2007 by duckduck (log)

[duckduck]

Just remembered that I had tucked a couple of those brownies in my bag last night to taste today. I could kind of find a bit of bean taste while they were warm, but I was looking for it. Now that they've set, I'm not noticing the bean flavor at all. Very moist and bit crumbly, very chocolatey. If I pair them up with my coconut custard, I might add a bit of cinnamon. I prefer a chewy brownie but these are nice if you like moist, cakey ones.

[duckduck]

Had a good night last night. Got a little wild and crazy and it actually paid off. A while back Tejon gave me a ride over to Bob's Red Mill and we found this green pea flour. We thought it was really fun looking stuff and figured it was something that needed to be played with. Last night I pulled out the old family shortbread recipe and did a couple mini batches, one substituting 25% of the flour with the green pea flour and one with 50%. The one with 50% smelled really strong, especially when baking and I wasn't so sure about it. When they cooled, the 25% was pretty mild and had a bit of green pea flavor but not a lot. The 50%, which smelled really intense baking, mellowed and was pretty good. It had better balance, as my mother put it. Got up about 1 am hungry and actually found myself snacking on it. Was considering another batch with a little mint and/or meyer lemon zest but was concerned about overwhelming it and not having enough pea flavor forward. Scratching and sniffing at the peel of a meyer lemon while munching reminded me of some vanilla tangerine curd I had left over in the fridge. Gave it a try. They seemed to work well together. Don't know how they'll go with the brownies and other components I'm working on but I think they're a keeper combination.

[Kouign Aman]

Whatever happens to the final product, please post the green-pea shortbread recipe in RecipeGullet. I think I know what I'm making for St Paddy's day A recipe that's sure to pease (sic).

Is it green ? If not, I'm not to proud to dye.

[duckduck]

Whatever happens to the final product, please post the green-pea shortbread recipe in RecipeGullet. I think I know what I'm making for St Paddy's day A recipe that's sure to pease (sic).

Is it green ?  If not, I'm not to proud to dye.

←

It is green but overcooks and browns very quickly You have to keep an eye on it. I'll try to get a recipe figured out by the weekend.

[Kouign Aman]

No hurry, figure it out anytime after the challenge is complete.

Any ideas on the layering portion yet?

[duckduck]

No hurry, figure it out anytime after the challenge is complete.

Any ideas on the layering portion yet?

←

I'm thinking that I'm going with two layers that kinda look like three. At least that's what I'm hoping for in the end. I haven't tried the top layer yet. I tried another cake last night. It's a bean version of an angel food cake. It tested clean like it was done but I don't think I cooked it long enough. It fell when it came out of the oven. When I pulled it apart, the middle was pretty soft. Tasted the edges and it wasn't bad. Not really beanie but not entirely cakey either. Kind of an odd taste. I might add some flavoring if I ever try it again. I'll post that recipe too. It called for lemon zest. I used Meyer lemon since that's what I had in the house. It was pretty mild. Anyway, I think I'm going back to the brownie layer and topping it with a coconut milk creme brulee with forbidden rice and sticky rice. We have a combination of steamed forbidden rice and sticky rice around the house all the time and I've been meaning to play with the coconut milk custard and the two together just sound like really good comfort food to me right now. Doin' a little taking time out to care for me and pulling off my challenge at the same time. I have sweet red beans and the tapioca stringy things for a halo halo type shooter but I was planning on using a fresh cherimoya with it and realized last night that it was moldy. Might run out to find some other fresh fruit to use with it if I find the time. Going to redo the green pea shortcake so it might be a little trio by the time I'm done. That's the plan for now. Custard tonight!

[duckduck]

For next week's challenge, anybody up for it? PM me. I have a them and ingredient in mind. I'll start poking peeps tomorrow if I don't hear anything. It's a very open challenge that can be as tame or as crazy as you want it to be.

[duckduck]

Found some interesting info on forbidden rice if anyone is curious or unfamiliar with it.

http://www.classbrain.com/artaskcb/publish/article_181.shtml