baked goods

Aug

31

Daring Baker’s Challenge – Eclairs in August

baked goods / Challenges / desserts / salsa / sauces  Posted by / 2 comments

 

Jasmine really loved the chocolate glaze.

The Challenge: Chocolate Eclairs from Pierre Hermé’s book, Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé.

The Hosts: Tony Tahanand/Meetak

Many, many thanks to our wonderful hosts this month. What a wonderful recipe they chose and how supportive and marvelous they were. (Insert applause here).

Hurry up Autumn, I’m getting a little tired of baking in a 100 degree kitchen and worrying I’m going to drip sweat into dough or something. This month’s challenge was Pierre Hermé’s (swoons  because I worship the pastry laden, rose petal Isapahan ground he walks on) luscious chocolate éclairs.

Did I stay true to my idol’s recipe? Um well, I changed one little thing. The cream filling was not chocolate but something summery and lighter. Lavender-orange pastry cream. The rest was true to Mr. Hermé’s recipes (is it not wonderful that he is not only a pastry God but has the same last name as that vintage buttery leather 72k handbag on ebay)? I’m just saying. Pastry, Birken…ecstasy, heaven. Okay, okay get on with the recipe. No one cares about my obsession with Hermé, both the bags and the chef. And yes, I know the bag is Hermes but its close enough for me.

Marissa dropped the kids off early and we washed up and got ready to bake. The first thing we started with was the pastry cream. It turned out perfectly, smooth, thick and lucious until i put it into its ice water bath. I turned to grab ingredients for the chocolate sauce and Aiden took the opportunity to add about a quarter cup of ice water INTO THE CREAM! Yeah, so. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t. He’s three, he thought he was creating something wondrous and being helpful. I wanted to fix it, but I couldn’t. It was his little creation. So we had runny cream filling, so what?

 

This is when he did it

I took several deep breaths and moved onto the chocolate sauce, which was divine. Mmmmm chocolate. Jasmine and I made the glaze together. She looked at me and said, “Grammy, you’re going to put chocolate in chocolate?” and looked puzzled. When I said yes, she beamed and squealed something about chocolate and more chocolate. I agreed. Chocolate on chocolate is a marvelous thing. When it was all done, I reached for a bowl to pour it in and Jasmine quickly grabbed her favorite Barbie bowl instead. Beaming proudly, she said “Grammy that yummy chocolate can use my bowl.” So it was that Pierre Hermé’s sleek, sophisticated chocolate glaze ended up in a 99 cent pink plastic Barbie bowl. I won’t get into my militant feelings about Barbie because Jasmine can read now.

Next up the Pâte à Choux. Yeah oooooooooh. I was dubious about the whole cooked dough thing and I could tell Jasmine was too. She wanted to know why it wasn’t going straight to the Kitchen-Aid but I just shrugged and started heating the milk. When it was boiling, I handed her the cup of flour and nodded. “All of it Grammy?”, she asked. I nodded. She looked at me, her little eyes wide and then shrugged and dumped it in. Wow. I started stirred and we had a big lump of golden dough. I kept stirring to dry the dough and it did create a little crust on the bottom of the pan. Once it had been dryed enough, I transferred it to the Kitchen-aid and started mixing.

Now the crap part they don’t tell you about. Pâte à Choux is sticky, way sticky. Getting it into the pastry bag was a mess. Working with it was tough. I thought I had done something wrong, so I took a minute to chat online with a chef friend. “Is Pâte à Choux supposed to be stick?” Answer: “it has been every time I’ve worked with it” Great. Back to work. Aiden kept eating the sticky dough and I couldn’t get the gunk off my hands but managed to pipe some éclair-like blobs onto the baking sheet. I popped them into the oven and did the oven door wooden spoon trick later in the baking. They came out beautifully and puffed up proudly. Things were looking up.

 

Jasmine and Aiden were so excited they couldn’t stand it. I could barely fill the mini-eclairs and cream puffs fast enough. The lavender-orange filling was so good with all that chocolate. Marissa came home and ate several in quick succession and we both decided for the sake of our butts to take the rest of the platter over to That Yarn Store for David and the gang to munch on.

We had so much fun making these and I can’t wait till the weather is cool and we can do it again. Next time though, I’ll make cream puffs only. They held much more pastry cream and were easier to pipe.

 

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy?bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice?water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice?water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice?water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

[bNotes:[/b]
1) The pastry cream can be made 2?3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy?bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10-15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

 

Aug

13

Peach Cobbler

baked goods / desserts  Posted by / 0 comments

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Recipe submitted by Darlene Chan

I hate buying buttermilk for one recipe because ultimately I use 1/2 cup and then it sits in the fridge until I throw it out. This time I thought I’d be a bit smarter. I had originally bought a quart to use for buttermilk pancakes, which left me with 3/4 of a carton to use! A peach cobbler recipe caught my eye, it was a hot summer day and voila! Another 2/3 c of buttermilk used up. I still ended up throwing most away, but at least I got the cobbler out of it.

Peach Cobbler

Fillling:
1/4-1/2 c. sugar, depending on fruit’s sweetness
1 T cornstarch
1 1/2 lbs peeled peaches (or nectarines) halved, pitted and cut into 1/2? thick slices and cut in half again
1 T fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1 c. all purpose flour
3 T plus 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 T unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2? cubes
2/3 c low fat buttermilk

Make the filling: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pot of boiling water drop peaches in for a couple of minutes. Drain and peel skin. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add peaches and lemon juice; toss to combine. Take a little bite from a piece of peach and decide if you need to add more sugar. Fill one 2 qt baking dish and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

Make the topping and bake: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3 T sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk; stir just in dough forms. Drop dough onto fruit. Sprinkle dough with remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake until fruit is bubbling and biscuit topping is golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream or as is!

Jul

03

We’re Just a Couple of Challah-back Girls!

baked goods / family recipes  Posted by / 7 comments

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I love cooking and baking and take just about any opportunity to try something new or make something. If I’m cooking, I’m a happy camper. So when my roommate Rachel wanted to buy Challah for Shabbat with a friend, I jumped right in and asked if I could make it.

I had this recipe floating around that belonged to my grandmother Ruth on my dad’s side of the family. Grandma Ruth was a tiny bird of a woman who ruled with the proverbial iron hand in velvet glove. My grandfather Cecil Gleason towered over her at 6’8 and she was a tiny just under five feet woman. He was Irish, she was Jewish/English (or maybe Welsh) I believe. I wasn’t as close to them as I was to my Mexican grandparents but they loved me and they were sure interesting as hell. Grandma Ruth’s father Cornelius Losey was from Holland. I’m not sure when they came over or how the Judaism got left behind but that’s all I have from my dad. If any long lost family members see this and want to fill me in, I’d be grateful. I think my Grandma Ruth gave me this recipe years ago when I was still married and came over for a vist in a little envelope with a few other recipes. I’ve never tried any of them, although I really want to try her oxtail soup recipe.

I dug around for the recipe and there it was on a faded index card and found not too much to go on, no measurements. See I get that from both grandmothers!

The recipe was written as follows: flour, honey, yeast, eggs, oil, salt and water. Braid into six strands and bake. Garnish with poppy or sesame seeds.

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Jun

29

Daring Bakers Challenge #4 – Danish Braids

baked goods / Challenges  Posted by / 12 comments

Brie oozing out

When I first saw this challenge posted, my first thought was, “oh holy crap no, there’s no way I can make that, I’m skipping this month,” but then I shook myself off and started thinking about fillings. The fillings got me going and as I read through the recipe, it actually didn’t seem that hard. Watching the video helped immensely (thanks to our hosts for providing that link) and I found other videos on Youtube that helped as well. I was starting to get excited about this recipe.

I ran into a few small snags. One was the weather here in Los Angeles. It was so hot I was calling in it Hell A instead of L.A. I worried that my dough wouldn’t hold the butter so I kept putting it off, hoping for cooler weather. One morning I woke up and decided to head off to Silverlake for ingredients. I neglected to check the weather and only when I was there did I find it was 110 degrees! Still I was dressed for the weather and determined to get what I needed. It turned out to be quite the odyssey.

For my fillings I wanted one to have something to do with these amazing glazed, roasted figs I had found a few months ago at The Cheesestore in Silverlake. I was lucky and found the one package they had left which caused a bit of consternation. Would it be enough? I quickly decided that chopped Fuji apples would be great with the figs and Brie and would augment my small quantity of the figs. The second braid would be filled with brandied cherries and dark chocolate, a little homage to someone I care deeply about whose favorite cake is Black Forest. To find out more about my crazy day hunting ingredients in 100-degree weather, check out my L.A. Journal.

I also sweet-talked my brother into taking me on a separate day to the Indian store I love in Los Feliz. They have a huge selection of spices and I was happy to find several varieties of cardamom. The proprietress let me snap away pictures at will in the store and seemed to be amused by my desire to do so. I have to go back, I completely forgot rosewater to try my hand at macarons ala Pierre Hermes.

Finally, a cooler day arrived and I was eagerly anticipating my baking. I gathered up my ingredients and three teenagers (my niece Arielle, my nephew Jesse and their friend Debbie who are out on summer break) and set off for last minute ingredients. We put off the dough for one more day and hung out a bit until they went off to the movies. The next day my brother Jesse dropped three sleepy teenagers off at my house and left whistling. I dubbed them Daring Baker Dude and Bakerettes and put them to work. Arielle grated orange rind, Debbie handed me flour and Jesse did a last minute store run for more flour. They all got to sniff the cardamom that I had found in cheaply at an Indian store in Los Feliz and I got to give a little impromptu class on spices, dough, yeast proofing and other fun tidbits. I found I really like teaching teenagers to bake! It helps that they were into it, interested and eager to learn. (If my brother is reading this, it does not mean your kids can hang at my house all summer long).

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Jun

17

Another Party & Peach Trifle

baked goods / desserts  Posted by / 3 comments

Rachel and I throw one hell of a party. She is the event organizer extraordinaire, full of ideas, creativity and excitement. I am the cook and baker who takes her party ideas and gives them the voice of taste, aroma and color from the kitchen. I keep telling her we should go into business designing parties for people.
Rachel B as Carrie Bradshaw

Last Saturday we threw another one of our parties (the last one we say). This one was for the Sex and the City movie. We gathered up a group of girls, dressed up and headed for the movie then came back here for laughter, conversation and desserts. We had New York style pizza delivered as well.

We wanted to do desserts and have fun with them and have one fancy thing. Rachel wanted to use the new trifle bowl she bought so I came up with a fun dessert menu that paid a little homage to Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha as well as the fabulous city of New York that I love so much.

We chose Mini Paris Cupcakes (recipe at Epicurious.com) for Carrie’s time in Paris, Alpineberry’s fabulous Meyer lemon bars for a taste of the sweet and the sour the girls experienced on the show and in the movie, double chocolate espresso brownies for those dark Manhattan nights and a decadent peach trifle because the show was so over the top with fashion that we figured an over the top dessert was in order.

Pretty pink Paris Cupcakes

Alpineberry\'s Meyer Lemon Bars

Cheesecake pops re-visited
I adapted the BBC’s recipe for the Madeira cake, adding more butter and more sugar for a sweeter, richer cake, then used their custard recipe, adding a little lemon zest to it along with the vanilla. I used Montbisou Pêches, an intensely flavored liqueur, I bought at Trader Joe’s a while back to soak my finished slices of Madiera cake in and slathered them with a homemade tart pomegranate jelly instead of raspberry jam. I blanched peaches in white wine and peeled the skins, then sliced them and added them to the third layer. Homemade whipped cream, lightly flavored with Pêches topped the dessert and, as a flourish, I added shaved chocolate and hand poured dark chocolate butterflies. It was as sexy, decadent and hedonistic as Samantha Jones and everyone loved it.

Sexy Sex & the City Peach Trifle

    Madeira Cake (adapted from the Traditional Trifle Recipe, BBC)
    My changes were to add an ounce more butter, an ounce more sugar and the zest of one whole lemon rather than a half. I wanted something a little more intensely flavored and it turned out beautifully.

    Whipping batter
    That\'s a nice thick batter going into the oven
    For the custard, i used the BBC’s recipe to the letter with the exception of the bit of lemon zest I added (about 1/4 of a lemon).
    Mmmm custard is getting custardy
    I brought a mixture of white wine and the Pêches to a soft boil, then quickly blanched whole peaches in it until the skins were easily removed. I let them cool, saving the white wine, mixture in the freezer. I figure it can use it later for a simple syrup or maybe even a peachy vinaigrette. Once cooled, the peaches were peeled and sliced and set aside.

    Peaches happily blanching in Peches
    The skin of the peach slides off easily after its been blanched
    I sliced the Madeira cake into chunks slathered on the pomegranate jelly, then drizzled them with the Pêches to form the first layer in the bowl. That layer was then topped with the cooled custard.

    Finished Madeira cake soaked in Peches and topped with the pomegranate jelly

    The second layer of Pêches soaked cake topped with pom jelly was also covered with the custard and then topped with the sliced peaches to completely cover the custard. Another layer of cake and the last bit of custard and peaches formed the third layer. I then covered it and put it into the fridge to chill for a few hours.

    Almost ready for the cream
    For the whipped topping, I took heavy cream and beat it till stiff, slowly adding drips of the Pêches, crossing my fingers and hoping it wouldn’t curdle the cream. I managed to get about a 1/4 cup of the liqueur into the cream, giving it a nice peachy flavor with a kick. A half cup of caster sugar poured in a bit at a time gave it sweetness.

    The trifle is coming together

    I scooped out the cream and filled the rest of the bowl with it. Topped it with grated dark chocolate and hand poured (a little sloppily but I couldn’t find my piping bag, I think Jasmine or Aiden made it disappear) two fat chocolate butterflies. Back into the fridge it went to chill until the party. This trifle is intensely flavored, extremely rich and a little goes a long way. I’d say it serves about 20-25 people in small servings.
    Now that\'s a trifle sexy

Lots of fun desserts

May

28

Daring Bakers Challenge #3: A Taste of Light Opera Cake – Lavendar, Lemon & Rose

baked goods / Challenges / desserts  Posted by / 12 comments

I’ve been a member of The Daring Bakers for three months now and have really enjoyed the challenges and the community of creatively wonderful people. Each time I visit one of their websites or blogs or our private forum to see the creations, I am amazed and in awe of the beautiful creativity that is out there. I love the challenging of myself and how I get stretched to push for perfection. They’ve been easy on me so far, the first two challenges were good ones and certainly a challenge, but this month really stretched me and I learned a lot.

This month, the challenge was to create an Opéra cake, but one that was light in color and in taste to honor the Taste of Yellow food blog event to benefit LiveSTRONG foundation started by Lance Armstrong. Barbara, a Daring Baker is the force behind the Taste of Yellow event which is held in May this year and I would like to dedicate my Opéra to her and to LiveSTRONG. I have my own personal reasons on why this challenge meant so much to me – cancer and I are old enemies and it has affected my life and that of my family and friends for far too long and in too many insidious ways.

Our lovely challenge hosts were Lis, Ivonne, Fran & Shea.

We were given a recipe and some leeway. I took one look at the recipe and knew immediately that I wanted to use lavender in some way. The problem with lavender though is that I often find it I used with far too heavy a hand and things made with it (it’s become trendy in California) often taste like cough medicine. The challenge I posted to myself was how to use it and compliment its flavor without it being overpowering. I puzzled on it for almost the whole month, shopping and tossing ideas up in the air and rejecting one after another. Finally, I decided that lemon would be a lovely accompaniment but still puzzled over the strong taste of lavender and how to mute it just enough so that I could balance out the lemon and almond flavors of the cake but make sure its presence was felt.

Another challenge was finding the ingredients. Thank goodness for the wonderful Trader Joe’s in Eagle Rock and the equally splendid Sur la Table in Pasadena. I found almond meal, white chocolate, heavy cream, butter and limoncello easily and economically at TJ’s. Trader Joe’s also had a beautiful fresh lavender plant that I bought for garnishing the cake. At Sur la Table, I found lavender extract (yay I had thought to make my own from dried lavender found in the Mexican section of the grocery store. We use it for tea.), as well as superfine confectioners sugar, silver pearl dust, paint brushes and a lovely lemon extract.

In my vision of my cake, I saw a soft green buttercream and glaze lightly flavored with lemon and the white chocolate mousse dyed lavender to match the extract I was flavoring it with. At the last moment, as I rummaged through my baking shelf, I found a little bottle of rose water and it clicked. I’d use rose water to round out and sweeten the lavender as well as giving a hint of rose. That’s when I really began to be excited about this challenge and I couldn’t wait to taste it.

Friday morning it rained and when I woke up I knew it was THE DAY. I gathered my ingredients and the recipe and read it through twice. My original plan was to prepare part of it on Friday and the rest on Saturday. I didn’t count on my crazy compulsion to finish or my excited reaction to each step. I made it all in one day. Lesson learned: Never make an Opéra cake all in one day, it’s completely mad.

I ran into one or two small glitches in my plans. The cream I had bought had soured and I only realized it when I tried to whip it and got clotty goop, which caused a five-minute cursing rant (good thing I was alone). I’d also miscalculated the amount of white chocolate needed and was under about 6 ounces. I ran out in the rain the six blocks to the store and came back armed with fresh cream and a couple of white chocolate candy bars, all I could find at the nearby store.

The almond meal sponge cake turned out perfectly and perfumed the house. I used the host’s change in butter ratio on the buttercream and got a perfectly creamy, lovely green buttercream scented and flavored with light lemon. I was stoked. I made the syrup and used the limoncello to intensify my lemon theme.

For the white chocolate mousse, I didn’t use liqueur, opting instead for the lavender extract drop by drop tasting after each drop to ensure I didn’t get cough medicine mousse, then adding the rose water to the mixture. Tasted it again and added one more drop of lavender extract. I got the result I was hoping for, a light lavender flavor that held up to the lemon but was almost a whisper. The rose water scented the mousse and made it almost ethereal. I then dyed it lavender, hoping the food coloring wouldn’t water it down. It worked. I ended up with a pretty color and the mousse held up.

I ran into problems again with the glaze, which just wouldn’t set properly. I blame the candy bars but it still looked lovely. I put the cake in the fridge at about midnight and left it till the morning. I then dusted the whole thing with silver pearl dust and garnished with fresh lavender and sliced it up. It as just what I hoped – light, airy, delicate and layered with flavor. It tasted like a garden and summery light.

Runny glaze – my one disaster. It worked out in the end.

This is the description from our hosts of L’ Opéra:

For those of you that don’t know about this cake, it’s an extremely elegant and polished French dessert that is believed to have been created around the beginning of the 1900s. Many people credit a gentleman by the name of Louis Clichy with inventing the cake and that’s why it’s sometimes referred to as Clichy Cake.

So what exactly is an Opéra Cake?

Well it’s a cake that is made up (usually) of five components: a joconde (a cake layer), a syrup (to wet the joconde), a buttercream (to fill some of the layers), a ganache or mousse (to top the final cake layer) and a glaze (to cover the final layer of cake or of ganache/mousse).

Finally, the recipe.

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake

This recipe is based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

For the joconde

(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you’ll need:

•2 121?2 x 151?2-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans (Note: If you do not have jelly-roll pans this size, do not fear! You can use different-sized jelly-roll pans like 10 x 15-inches.)
•a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
•parchment paper
•a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
•two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it’s preferable to have two)

Ingredients:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds (Note: If you do not want to use almond meal, you can use another nut meal like hazelnut. You can buy almond meal in bulk food stores or health food stores, or you can make it at home by grinding almonds in the food processor with a tablespoon or two of the flour that you would use in the cake. The reason you need the flour is to prevent the almonds from turning oily or pasty in the processor. You will need about 2 cups of blanched almonds to create enough almond meal for this cake.)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
1?2 cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (11?2 ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1.Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

2.Preheat the oven to 425?F. (220?C).

3.Line two 121?2 x 151?2- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

4.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

5.If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

6.Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

7.Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

8.Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

9.Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

10.Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

For the syrup

(Note: The syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan

Ingredients:

1?2 cup (125 grams) water
? cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of your choice (i.e., vanilla extract, almond extract, cognac, limoncello, coconut cream, honey etc.)

1.Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

2.Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream

(Note: The buttercream can be made up to 1 month in advance and packed in an airtight container. If made way in advance, you can freeze the buttercream. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days after making it. To use the buttercream simply bring it to room temperature and then beat it briefly to restore its consistency.)

(Modified buttercream recipe I used, courtesy of our hosts modified version that had 2 cups sugar, 1?2 cup water and 13?4 cups butter. Yes. That’s right. 13?4 cups of butter. The eggs remained the same)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a candy or instant-read thermometer
•a stand mixer or handheld mixer
•a bowl and a whisk attachment
•rubber spatula

Ingredients:

1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1?4 cup (60 grams) water
seeds of one vanilla bean (split a vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds) or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract (Note: If you are flavouring your buttercream and do not want to use the vanilla, you do not have to. Vanilla will often enhance other flavours but if you want an intense, one-flavoured buttercream, then by all means leave it out!)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
13?4 sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
flavouring of your choice (a tablespoon of an extract, a few tablespoons of melted white chocolate, citrus zest, etc.)

1.Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

2.Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225?F (107?C) [*Note: Original recipe indicates a temperature of 255?F (124?C), however, when testing the recipe I found that this was too high so we heated to 225?F and it worked fine] on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

3.While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

4.When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

5.Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

6.While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

7.With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

8.At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.

9.Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

For the white chocolate ganache/mousse (this step is optional – please see Elements of an Opéra Cake below)

(Note: The mousse can be made ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to use it.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients:

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

1.Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
2.Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
3.In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
4.Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
5.If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.
6.If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

For the glaze
(Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:

14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1?2 cup heavy cream (35% cream)

1.Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.
2.Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.
3.Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling the Opéra Cake

(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 121?2-cm) rectangle.

Step A (if using buttercream only and not making the ganache/mousse):

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about one-third of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread another third of the buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde. Spread the remaining buttercream on top of the final layer of joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.

Step B (if making the ganache/mousse):

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about three-quarters of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache/mousse (if you haven’t already) and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.

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Apr

27

Daring Bakers Challenge #2

baked goods / Challenges  Posted by / 13 comments

This month’s Daring Baker challenge was truly a challenge for me on many levels. I had made cheesecake before but not this recipe. I couldn’t find a roasting pan that my cheesecake pan would fit in so I ended up using a big stainless steel bowl, which was cumbersome but worked fabulously. The cheesecake took well over an hour but I was in no hurry. The grandkids and I hung out and watched movies while the cheesecake baked and baked and baked. I think it was close to 2½ hours but I did use a very
deep pan to bake it in.

My grandson Aiden was just caught sneaking a fistful of sugar from the mixing bowl.
I’ll use this photo for eventual blackmail when he’s grown.

Silky, creamy cheesecake batter. Mmmmmm…cheesecake

Once out of the oven the challenge was in waiting. It took forever to cool and I was just itching to get to it and play. Another few hours went by till it was finally cool enough to cover and put in the fridge. I let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight and then got to forming the balls. That was a challenge too. The cheesecake was sticky and gooey! I found that wetting my hands a bit really helped.

My grandkids couldn’t wait for the pops to freeze (this was going way beyond bedtime for them) so we melted the chocolate in a double boiler and quickly dipped two pops, one for each and then dredged the sticky things into some quick sprinkles. The half-frozen pops took a little bit long to get the chocolate coating hard but the kids didn’t care, they ate them just as they were – goopy and apparently yummy judging from the smiles on their faces.

Once the pops were frozen solid and the kids were gone, I had a blast dipping and decorating. I did some with sprinkles, some with slivered almonds, some plain chocolate and some I just drizzled it and left large bits of cheesecake showing. They were a hit! I’ll be making them again for a party we’re having in June. I hope my cholesterol can handle it.

Introduction from Ellie

These cute little bites of cheesecake, held on a stick and dipped in chocolate and, if you like, decorations, are sure to make you smile. The cheesecake is New York style, the pops can be jazzed up with different toppings, and they are FUN…just right for a party. They are from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor. Isn’t that an alluring title for a cookbook?

Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) – Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Feb

01

Cashew Macadamia Nut Butter Cookies with Nutella Filling

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There are times when I really love just playing with food and experimenting. Take a few weeks ago when I was scrounging around looking for something sweet to make but of course, we’d gotten rid of all the yummy stuff because we’re on this health kick. I managed to find flour, butter, cashew-macadamia nut butter and hidden way in the back of the cupboard, a half-forgotten container of Nutella. Oooh. There had to be something I could make with this stuff. Then my granddaughter Jasmine came into the kitchen and said “Grammy, lets make cookies.” Aiden chimed in, “Yammy, cookies” and that was all it took. We were going to make some kind of cookie and it was going to involve that container of Nutella.

I scrounged some more and turned up brown sugar and an old recipe for plain peanut butter cookies. Hmmm, I thought I could use the cashew-macadamia nut butter instead of peanut butter and make those cookies but I still wanted the Nutella. What to do? All of a sudden, this crazy idea popped into my head. Why not make a sandwich cookie, something on the lines of an Oreo only instead of a cream filling, how about a Nutella filling? Oooh. Double ooh. The idea was becoming an obsession. I had to make them.

We pulled out the Kitchen Aid stand mixer I had gotten for my birthday and started with a basic peanut butter cookie recipe, substituting the Cashew-Macadamia nut butter for the peanut butter. Nothing else about the recipe changed. The crazy stuff started AFTER the cookies were out of the oven.

Once we had the dough all made, I set about cross hatching every other cookie on the baking sheet and added slivered almonds to the unmarked ones. I baked the cookies just like in the recipe and removed from the oven. While they were still hot, I carefully removed a cookie from the baking sheet and gently placed it on a cooling rack. The cookies had a tendency to want to fall apart because they were so hot, so if you try this, be careful. The cookies need to be hot to get the Nutella to melt. I added a teaspoonful of Nutella on every cross hatched cookie, then topped the Nutella with the top cookie, the one with almonds on it. The Nutella started to melt and ooze and the yummy cookie sandwiches were ready to eat. I served two on a plate and oh my God they were good! The melty, hot Nutella combined with the light nutty taste of the cookies was just to die for. A perfect combination. This recipe is going to be a regular, I can tell.

Cashew Macadamia Nut Butter Cookies with Nutella Filling

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup cashew macadamia nut butter (I get mine at Trader Joes, bet almond butter or hazelnut butter would be good too)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter.

Roll into 1-inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten every other ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.

Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown.

Add a teaspoonful of Nutella to the hot cookies and top with another cookie. Serve plain or over vanilla ice cream to really fatten things up.

Jan

27

The Poetry of Food Fruit Tart (dedicated to all my Poetry Friday friends)

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I recently came across an amazing little book called Poems from the Table: The Fruits of the Earth in Verse at my favorite local book store Read Books. It really is the most marvelous little bookstore with the nicest people running it. The book I found is filled with poetry about food by some of my favorite poets. I was inspired to create a poem in food after reading May Sarton’s The Fig. I thought I’d take a poem every so often and create a recipe for it. I’m thinking a fig sorbet or a tart for May Sarton’s poem. I love poetry as much as I love cooking and am part of one of the best little things around the blogosphere, Poetry Friday. The thought of food as poetry made me smile and I set out to create something that would be a poem.

The book is beautifully covered in rich, dark burgundy spine with a black glossy front on which is a painting of the fruits of the earth. The colors are red, black, purple, cream and the palest, muted green. I was so impressed with the colors of the book that I decided to make a tart in the colors of the book to start with.

Off to my local Trader Joe’s I went, rapidly calculating what I would make. I’d use puff pastry and blackberries the recipe voice in my head was saying. Then I walked into the store and just started grabbing whatever called to me. I ended up with blackberries, black raspberries, morello cherries, pomegranate seeds, almonds, puff pastry, cream fraiche, a bar of bitter chocolate and French butter. I didn’t know what it was going to be yet, but I knew it was going to be completely, hedonistically decadent.

Once home, I opened up the puff pastry, brushed it with an egg wash and popped it into the oven. When it was golden brown and glossy I pulled it out to cool. I took a pastry wheel and cut it into small diamond shapes but left it intact on the pan.

I melted some of the French butter with half of the chocolate in the microwave. I was going to pull out the double boiler but was too excited. I ended up with a buttery chocolate syrup that I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar to till it was slightly sweetened. I turned the crème fraiche out into a bowl and spoon by spoon dripped in the chocolate and whisked it in using a wire whisk.

I drained the cherries and started adding cherries and blackberries to the puff pastry once it was cooled. Then added the black raspberries and pomegranate seeds. I covered the whole thing with the chocolate crème fraiche and sprinkled it with slivered almonds.

The result was a fruity, chocolaty, buttery piece of tart heaven that brought the taste of summer into a cold winder night. It was however one heavy piece of tart. It was a good thing I pre-cut the slices before adding all that fruit or I’d never have been able to get a gohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifod slice. The fruit was just too dense and heavy. I served the slice in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and everyone loved it. The next time I make it, I’ll do individual pieces and not go so heavy on the fruit.

The round up is at the Shockingly clever Karen Edmenstein’s on February 1st.

Dec

26

Sometimes I Cheat Red Pear & Cream Cheese Tart

baked goods  Posted by / 0 comments

Sometimes I cheat.

I normally love making things from scratch. I enjoy the process tremendously and take pride in shopping for the freshest ingredients, doing things the traditional way, whipping egg whites by hand instead of using a mixer, etc., but sometimes I cheat.

Today is Christmas day and I needed milk, so I took a walk over to the local store that was open to get some. While there, I wandered to the produce aisle and was immersed in the rich fragrance of ripe pears. It was incredible. The whole store smelled of pears and when I turned a corner and saw the gorgeous red-gold color, I knew I had to bake something with them. I didn’t feel like rolling out dough, I’d already done that for the buñelos I made last night, but the pears were demanding that I bake something. So I cheated.

I filled a bag with pears, already calculating what I was going to make. A roasted pear tart with a cream cheese base. I slithered over to the dairy aisle and surreptitiously snuck a pre-made pastry into my basket, hoping no one I knew saw me. I picked up the cream cheese and made my get-away.

Sometimes I Cheat Roasted Red Pear & Cream Cheese Tart

Pastry dough (store bought, otherwise it won’t be a cheating tart)
About 10 Fresh Red Pears, sliced and cored, but leave the peel on
1 stick of butter
½ c. granulated cane sugar
¼ tsp. ground ginger for the pears
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 package cream cheese softened

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Unfold the pastry dough and smooth out the lines. Lay it into a pastry dish or tart pan. Use pastry weights or beans to cover the bottom of the pan and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. You don’t want to cook the pastry entirely, just enough to get it semi-golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Slice and core the pears, leaving the peels on. Add them to a baking dish and sprinkle on the sugar and ginger evenly. Dot with the butter and put into the oven and roast them at 400 degrees till they are golden and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Let cool.

Add the softened cream cheese to a small bowl and mix in the ground nutmeg well.

Spread on the cooled pastry dough about ½ inch high.

Carefully arrange the roasted pears on top of the cream cheese, making sure to drain off any liquid. Reserve the liquid for later.

Place the tart back into a 350 degree oven for about another ten minutes, just till the crust is a deep golden brown and the cream cheese is bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve slightly warm with a drizzle of the roasted pear liquid. You can also take that liquid and make a simple syrup with using sugar and a pear liquor if you wish. Ice cream is good on this too, as is whipped cream.

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