Showing posts with label Daring Bakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daring Bakers. Show all posts

March 27, 2011

Daring Bakers: Meringue Coffee Cake

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Meringue Coffee Cake
yeast coffee cake filled with meringue, garam masala, cashew nuts, and chocolate chips


The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Jamie of Life’s a Feast and Ria of Ria’s Collection. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Thank you Ria and Jamie for a delightful challenge. The sweet and delicious yeast coffee cake is a pleasure to make and to eat. The dough is very easy to work with and the soft fluffy moist cake resembles brioche but with less butter and eggs. I specially loved the crispy chewy nougat-like meringue that oozed out while baking. I didn't make any changes to Ria's dough and filling recipes, except for the additional spice (bay leaf) in the garam masala.

Meringue Coffee Cake
Ria's version
dough

4 cups bread flour
¼ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ teaspoons active dried yeast
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup water
½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
10 strands saffron

meringue
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sugar

filling
1 cup chopped cashew nuts
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

egg wash
1 beaten egg

garnish
confectioner's sugar
  • Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup flour and beat for 2 more minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.
  • Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In the mixing bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
  • Prepare the filling: Mix the sugar with the garam masala.
  • Assemble the Coffee Cakes: Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lightly knead the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about ½ inch from the edges. Sprinkle half of the sugar/garam masala mixture, half of the nuts, and half of the chocolate chips evenly over the meringue. Roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down.
Meringue Coffee Cake
  • Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F . Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool. Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar.
I was inspired by the beautiful cakes with savory fillings on the DB forum and made individual cakes/buns filled with Spanish sausages, blanched baby spinach, roasted red bell peppers, and scrambled egg. The sweet and salty buns are perfect for Sunday brunch.

Savory Coffee Cake Buns
filled with fresh butifarra sausage, roasted bell pepper, spinach, and scrambled egg


June 27, 2010

Daring Bakers Chocolate Pavlova

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Pavlova
pavlova with light chocolate meringue topped with dark chocolate mousse, kiwifruit, and candied mandarin oranges

The June 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Dawn from Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

I've seen recipes and photos of pavlovas but have never eaten nor tried to make them. I love meringues whether they are crispy, soft, or mixed with ground nuts and it was good to find out that the Daring Bakers are challenged to make pavlovas.

I changed the original recipe using just a quarter of the cocoa powder, omitted the confectioner's sugar, and baked it for a little over 1 hour which is half the recommended baking hours. The meringues came out crispy but still a little soft inside. I liked it. The recipe also calls for a mascarpone sauce that has 6 eggs yolks but I thought it was too rich. I'm sorry Dawn for not making the sauce this time. I will make it for another dessert because it sounds absolutely divine.

I made another one with slightly more chocolaty meringue but made a lighter mousse. I topped the cake with sliced mango and blueberries. This one has a more pillowy interior. I liked it too.

Chocolate Pavlova

This one is my favorite, a plain vanilla meringue shell topped with sweet strawberry halves and slightly sour sliced kiwifruit. I followed Audax's recipe which is very similar to the one in my British desserts cookbook. The shell has a crispy almost crackly exterior with soft marshmallow innards, is light as feather and has melt-in-your-mouth quality. Super-duper delicious!

Pavlova

Thanks Dawn for a thoroughly enjoyable challenge.:)

 
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