Seven Layer Bars

April 28, 2010

Jeff

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Seven Layer Bars, sometimes called Wonder Bars, are extremely easy to make. The ingredients are readily available, fairly inexpensive and common. One does not need to be an excellent baker to make these, I hesitate to even call this baking, as they are so simple to make. One warning though, they are addictive. You’ll walk by them thinking you will just have a bite, only to return moments later to finish off another piece.

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need sweetened flaked coconut, graham crackers, unsalted butter, walnuts, semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and sweetened condensed milk. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Place one piece of foil lengthwise and another crosswise, to make a liquid proof covering on the bottom of the pan.

Spread the coconut evenly over a sheet pan.

Sprinke the broken graham crackers over the butter

Place the stick of butter in the prepared baking pan. Put the baking pan and the sheet pan with the coconut in the oven for about 6 to 7 minutes. While the butter is melting and the coconut is toasting, crush the graham crackers in a ziplock bag to achieve a mixture of crumbs, bits, and chunks. You will get better flavor with larger chunks, rather than a powder. Spread the graham cracker crumbs over the melted butter.

Spread the graham cracker crumbs over the melted butter and toss lightly with a fork, directly in the pan, until all the butter is absorbed and the crumbs are evenly distributed over the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the graham cracker crumbs and continue in order with the chocolate chips and the white chocolate chips

Continue to sprinkle evenly over the previous layers the butterscotch chips, and then the toasted coconut. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

removing the bars from the pan via the aluminum

Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars of your desired size.

Recipe: Seven Layer Bars

Adapted from Baking IllustratedPrint Recipe
Yield: 16 Servings

Ingredients

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
5 oz. (one sleeve) graham crackers
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F.
Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil.
Spread the coconut over a sheet pan. Place the stick of butter in the prepared baking pan. Put the baking pan and the sheet pan in the oven for about 6 to 7 minutes. The butter should be completely melted and the coconut lightly toasted.
While the butter is melting and the coconut is toasting, crush the graham crackers in a ziplock bag to achieve a mixture of crumbs, bits, and chunks.
Spread the graham cracker crumbs over the melted butter and toss lightly with a fork, directly in the pan, until all the butter is absorbed and the crumbs are evenly distributed over the bottom of the pan.
In order, sprinkle the nuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and toasted coconut over the graham cracker crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.
Return the pan to the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into bars of your desired size.

Cookies, Recipe

aluminum foil, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, coconut, graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk, walnuts

Fruit Desserts

April 26, 2010

Jeff

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This week’s class covered fruit desserts. In San Diego most types of fruit are available throughout the year, however, that does not mean it’s at it’s prime. When choosing fruit, for a bakeshop or even personal use, it’s important to take into account the fruits seasonality. If the fruit is available, how much does it cost, is it fresh and is the flavor acceptable? In addition to seasonality, its important to factor its effect on the environment and shipping cost.

Depending on where one lives, fruit is available and in season at different times. In addition, many fruits are available in more than one season. It often stretches into two seasons or is available a couple times a year (as is the case with mangos). This is not a complete list, rather a list of fruits used commonly in baking in San Diego:

Spring Fruit

Strawberries (stretches into early summer)
Citrus
Tropical

Banana
Pineapple
Mango
Kiwi
Papaya
Passion Fruit
Star Fruit
Guava
Mango

Summer Fruit

Berries
Stone fruits

Peaches
Cherries
Nectarines
Apricots
Plums
Melons (start at end of spring)
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Honeydew

Lychee
Longan

Fall Fruit

Apples
Pears
Quince
Pomegranates (into winter)
Pumpkins
Squash
Persimmons
Figs (short season)
Grapes
Cranberries

Winter Fruit

Citrus

LemonsLimes
Grapefruit
Oranges
Tangerines
Kumquats
Kiwi

Dragon Fruit

There are also seven fruits, called the “Seven Deadly Fruits,” that have an enzyme that reacts with gelatin so the fruit must be cooked before using them with gelatin.

Seven Deadly Fruits

Pineapple
Kiwi
Papayas
Peaches
Mangos
Guavas
Figs

Lime Mango Sorbet

Pear and Blackberry Crostata with Cornmeal Crust

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisps

Bakeshop Skills Class

Lemon Curd Chiffon Cupcakes

April 21, 2010

Jeff

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These cupcakes are kind of like hard-boiled eggs. They are easy to eat, have to be peeled, and have a yellow center. However, the similarities stop there. The chiffon base makes a very light and airy cake. This is accomplished by making a French meringue and folding it into the batter. Don’t let that scare you off though, this is a very easy to make batter, it’s well worth the effort. The feedback on these was very positive, one of my co-workers who does not like lemon curd, ate three of them in less than five hours. He would have eaten more, but they were all gone at that point.

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need vegetable oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla extract, cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and egg whites. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

Whip the vegetable oil and the egg yolks together until just combined. Stir in the water and the vanilla extract.

Sift together the cake flour, one-third of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt. Stir this into the egg yolk mixture, then whip in a mixer at high speed for 1 minute. Set aside for later. If you don’t have two mixing bowls, place the batter in a large bowl and clean the mixing bowl for the next step.

Whip the egg whites to a white foam (you should not be able to see the bottom of the bowl). Gradually add the remaining sugar, one scoop at a time, and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Be sure not to overbeat the eggs or they will start to separate. This is a French Meringue at this point.

fold the meringue into the reserved batter

Carefully fold the meringue into the reserved batter, turning the bowl a fourth a turn with each fold.

Fill cupcake liners two thirds full. It does not really matter if they are all perfectly filled, however you want them all to have about the same amount of batter in the liners to ensure even cooking. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375°F (190°C). Cool for five minutes in the cupcake tins and transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling and decorating.

All ready to be filled and decorated. See the Lemon Curd and Buttercream recipe.

Using a filling tip, such as the bismarck tip 230, pipe about a teaspoon of Lemon curd into the middle of each cupcake. You won’t be able to see how much you have filled in the cake, so it may take a few tries to get the hang of it. If you’re unsure, cut one of the cupcakes open at this point to see how much of the filling is being used.

Using white buttercream frosting lightly coat the top of each cake. Using a Wilton Decorating Tip (233/Ateco 133) and green buttercream frosting cover the top of each cupcake and put chocolate eggs to top.

Recipe: Chiffon Cupcakes

Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th EditionPrint Recipe
Yield: about 32 Cupcakes

Ingredients

2/3 cup (160 ml) vegetable oil
8 egg yolks (2/3 cup/160 ml)
1 cup (240 ml) water, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
14 ounces (400 g) cake flour
14 ounces (400 g) granulated sugar
4 teaspoons (16 g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
8 egg whites (1 cup/240 ml)

Instructions

Whip the vegetable oil and the egg yolks together until just combined. Stir in the water and the vanilla extract.
Sift together the cake flour, one-third of the sugar (), the baking powder, and the salt. Stir this into the egg yolk mixture, then whip at high speed for 1 minute. Reserve.
Whip the egg whites to a foam. Gradually add the remaining sugar () and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
Carefully fold the meringue into the reserved batter.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375°F (190°C). Cool for 5 minutes in the cupcake tins and transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling and decorating.

Cakes, Recipe

cupcake liners, cupcakes, egg whites, egg yolk, lemon curd, meringue, stiff peaks

Buttercream

April 21, 2010

Jeff

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The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need unsalted butter, vegetable margarine, egg whites, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl at 140 degrees

Thoroughly combine the butter with the margarine in a mixer. Reserve at room temperature. Make sure the butter and margarine are room temperature before you begin – if it is cool, it will not combine with the meringue later in the recipe.

Combine the egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl. Place the bowl over simmering water and heat to 140°F (60°C) while constantly whipping. If this is not whipped throughout the heating process the egg whites will congeal. The heat from this will both pasteurize the egg whites, killing off any salmonella, and enable the egg whites to whip to their highest potential.

Egg whites and sugar being whipped to stiff peaks

Whip in a mixer, with a whisk attachment, set on high speed to stiff peaks. Lower the speed of the mixer, add the vanilla, and gradually whip in the butter mixture.

Recipe: Buttercream

Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th EditionPrint Recipe
Yield: About 1 pound

Ingredients

6 1/2 ounces (182 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces (57 g) soft vegetable margarine
3 egg whites (96 ml)
6 ounces (171 g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (2 ml) vanilla extract

Instructions

Thoroughly combine the butter with the margarine in a mixer. Reserve at room temperature.
Combine the egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl. Place the bowl over simmering water and heat to 140°F (60°C) while constantly whipping.
Whip in a mixer, with a whisk attachment, set on high speed o stiff peaks. Lower the speed on the mixer, add the vanilla, and gradually whip in the butter mixture.
Add coloring and flavorings as desired.

Recipe, Sauces, frostings and fillings

Custards

April 19, 2010

Jeff

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This week in class we covered custards. Custard is rich and thick, consisting of whipped and cooked milk, sugar and eggs. The first part of the class we briefly discussed food poisoning and safe food handling. While not directly related, it is interesting and an important subject. Many times food poisoning is no fault of the restraint or food supplier but the customer, who does not know how to properly cool off and store leftovers.

Tempering is very important with custards. It is critical to add sugar to the eggs, which allows for them to coagulate at a higher temperature. When not mixed with sugar egg white coagulates between 144° and 149°F, egg yolk coagulates between 149° and 158°F (same for whole eggs). When sugar is added and the proper technique utilized eggs can be brought to a boil without coagulating (212°F). Reducing or increasing the amount of sugar will change the texture of the finished product.

Like with most baked goods the quality of your ingredients is important. This is especially true with cream and milk. Grocery stores have all sorts of cream on their shelves, most of them expensive and poor quality. (You can get good quality cream at a much cheaper price at Costco or Smart & Final, the quantity will be much higher so it will need to be frozen). When a recipe calls for cream it’s important to use the right kind of cream. Usually, the cream needed is what is referred to as “heavy cream” or “manufacturers” cream. With milk, if it’s not stated one should use whole milk. Some recipes call for half and half as well (50% whole milk and 50% heavy cream). All other types should be avoided unless called for. Using the wrong dairy will change the fat content, changing the taste, texture, moisture, and mouthfeel of your finished product.

Content of fat in dairy:

36% – 40% Heavy/Manufacturers cream
30% – 36% Heavy Whipping Cream
28% – 30% Whipping Cream
10% – 15% Light Whipping Cream
11% Half and Half
4% Whole Milk
2% Reduced-fat milk
1% Low-fat milk (1%)
0% Skim milk/non-fat milk

Heres what we made (the Creme Brulee shows, starting from the top right clockwise, how brown sugar, white sugar and sugar in the raw melt on it):

Bakeshop Skills Class

Lemon Curd

April 14, 2010

Jeff

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Lemon Curd is a new discovery for me. I had no idea what it was, or how good it is. This is an intensely flavored loose curd that can be used as a filling or a topping. If you’re like me, you may even eat it with a spoon all by itself.

There are several ways to make lemon curd. I’ve combined a couple different techniques to a basic recipe. Don’t be afraid to try different flavors of this as well, be it another citrus fruit or raspberries. Just adjust the sugar amount to your tastes for fruits that are not as strong as lemons or add more for any that are stronger in flavor. Freshly squeezed juice works best.

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need granulated sugar, unsalted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs slowly, one at a time until smooth.

This is a technique I read about online that is supposed to do away with any lumps in the curd. Basically, the eggs are combined with the butter which in theory should keep the egg whites from cooking too fast, which can cause lumps. It worked for me.

Mix in the lemon zest and juice until combined. Pour into a heat-resistant stainless steel or glass bowl. It’s a big mess of separated butter and liquid at this point. Once it is put on the heat it will quickly come together once the butter starts to melt.

Store covered with plastic wrap on the surface

Over a water bath, stirring constantly, heat the mixture to boiling over low heat. Cook for a few seconds, stirring constantly until the curd thickens. Depending on how well your bowl conducts heat this can take from 10 minutes to half an hour. The better the bowl conducts heat the faster it cooks. If your using a metal bowl be sure it’s stainless and not aluminum, or your curd will turn colors.

The color of the curd does change during the cooking process. My camera picked that up a little too well – it was not as intense as it appears in the photos above.

Lemon curd will keep for up to four weeks, covered, in the refrigerator or up to a year in the freezer.

Recipe: Lemon Curd

Print RecipeYield: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 g) granulated sugar
6 ounces (170 g) unsalted butter
4 eggs
1/4 cups (180 ml) lemon juice
Zest of 4 lemons, finely grated

Instructions

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs slowly, one at a time until smooth.
Mix in the lemon zest then the juice until combined.
pour into a heat resistant stainless steel or glass bowl over a water bath.
Heat to boiling over low heat. Cook for a few seconds, stirring constantly, until the curd thickens. Cool, covered with a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd and use as needed.

Recipe, Sauces, frostings and fillings

citrus fruit, egg whites, lemon zest, lemons, lumps

Triple Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie

April 12, 2010

Jeff

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Our friend invited us to go see the French band Air recently. Afterwards, we headed back to our place for dessert, Triple Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie. The chocolate really makes this pie. You can taste the chocolates and still taste the rich creamy pecan pie filling as well. It’s a perfect combination of flavors and texture. I used the Pie Dough for Pre-baked Pie Shell recipe for the crust. Any single pie shell recipe should work, just follow the baking instructions below for the shell.

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need a pie crust, unsalted butter, dark brown sugar, salt, eggs, light corn syrup, vanilla extract, pecans, semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position, and heat oven to 350°. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and roast them slightly, for about 7 minutes. When the pecans are cool, chop them into small pieces.

Line a pie shell with plastic wrap and place pie weights or beans in it. Making sure no plastic is touching the pie pan, bake the shell for 25-30 minutes.

Melt butter in a water bath (or double broiler) with simmering water.

Remove the butter from the heat and using a wooden spoon, mix the melted butter the sugar and salt, until butter is absorbed. Mix in the eggs.

Stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130 degrees

Stir in the corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to a water bath, or a saucepan set on low, and stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130°.

Remove from the mixture from the heat and stir in pecans.

Remove the shell from the oven, taking out the weights and return it to the oven for five or six more minutes.

Remove from the mixture from the heat and stir in pecans. Remove the shell from the oven, taking out the weights and return it to the oven for five or six more minutes. Remove the crust and reduce the oven temperature to 275° and move the rack to the center of the oven.

Fill the pie shell with the pecan butter mixture.

Placed each type of the chocolate pieces on top of the pie, one at a time to ensure they are evenly distributed

Fill the pie shell with the pecan butter mixture. Placed each type of the chocolate pieces on top of the pie, one at a time to ensure they are evenly distributed.

Gently press the chocolate pieces into the filling with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake 55 to 65 minutes (the center should be gelatin like).

Transfer pie to rack to cool completely, at least 4 hours.

Recipe: Triple Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie

Adapted from: Print RecipeYield: XXX servings

Crust recipe

Ingredients

1 9 inch baked pie shell
3 tablespoons unsalted butter — cut into 1″ pieces
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans (4 ounces) — toasted, chopped
2 ounces semisweet chocolate — cut into 1/4″ pieces
2 ounces milk chocolate — cut into 1/4″ pieces
2 ounces white chocolate — cut into 1/4″ pieces

Instructions

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375°
Toast the pecans on a sheet pan for 6-7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Chop the nuts into small bite size pieces and set aside.
Remove the crust from the freezer, line with plastic wrap and fill with pie weights, make sure not plastic is touching the pie pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and weights by gathering the corners of the plastic wrap and pulling up and out. Continue baking five to six minutes more. Adjust oven rack to center position, and heat oven to 275°.
While the crust is baking, melt butter in a medium heatproof bowl set in a skillet of water maintained at just below a simmer. Remove bowl from skillet, mix in sugar and salt with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return the bowl to hot water; stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130°. Remove from heat, stir in pecans.
Pour mixture into warm shell. Evenly scatter the chocolate pieces over pecan mixture. Gently press them into the filling with the back of a wooden spoon.
Bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, 55 to 65 minutes. Transfer pie to rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours.

Pie, Recipe

baked pie shell, double broiler, oven rack, pie dough

Meringue

April 9, 2010

Jeff

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Spring break is over and class has resumed this week, with the topic being meringues. The term is French, but there is some debate as two its origin, whether or not its Swiss or German. Egg whites and sugar are the primary ingredients in the meringue. Egg whites are made up of two proteins, albumin, and ovalbumin. The albumen is responsible for creating a stable air mass when egg whites are whipped. The ovalbumin creates a stable structure when the egg whites are heated and the 85% water content in egg whites is evaporated.

Egg whites at room temperature can expand, when whipped, up to 8 times their original volume. The yolk in the egg contains fat, which is present in egg whites, will inhibit the albumen protein from whipping. If you see any egg yolk in your separated egg whites, the easiest way to get it out is to use the eggshell. The shell will act like a magnet and draw the yolk towards it, allowing it to be scooped out of the whites. The same is true of any fats present in your bowl or whisk. Be sure to use a clean metal bowl to whisk your egg whites. Use vinegar to wipe down your equipment if you are unsure. There is some debate over the effectiveness of using a copper bowl for whisking, the benefit appears to be very little if any.

When making meringue, the more sugar one uses the shinier, creamier and denser the meringue. If one uses less sugar, the meringue will be drier and dull. The sugar acts as a stabilizer and flavor enhancer, during both the whipping process and the baking process. The sugar must be added once the eggs have been whipped to white foam stage in order to thicken correctly. It should be added gradually over several minutes, while whisking, to allow it to incorporate correctly. If its done too soon or too quickly the meringue will not thicken correctly or hold its shape.

Salt is sometimes added as a flavor enhancer at the beginning of the whipping process. This also increases the amount of time it will take to whip the eggs slightly. Cream of Tartar, lemon juice, and vinegar are sometimes added as an acid to the meringue, which decreases the PH level of the albumen, making it more stable and increasing the whipping time slightly as well. None of these ingredients affect the final volume of the whipped whites. It’s important to add only a small amount of acid to a hard meringue or the final product will not get hard and crunchy.

Depending on the meringues use the meringue is whipped to either a soft or stiff peak. Soft peaks have a droopy consistency and hard peaks have a stiff consistency. Over whipped meringue is crumbly and starts to separate. Flavorings should be added right at the end of the whipping process.

Three Styles of Meringue

French: raw egg whites and sugar are whipped together, must be used immediately and must be baked (semolina).
Swiss: Egg whites and sugar are heated over a water bath until they are pasteurized (140°) and then whipped.
Italian: the sugar is heated (usually to 240°) and then whipped into the egg whites that have been beaten to the white foam stage.

Heres what we made:

Angel Food Cake

Lemon Meringue Tart Lemon-Meringue Tart

Marshmallows

Meringues Cookies Meringue Cookies

Bakeshop Skills Class

Pie Dough for Pre-Baked Pie Shells

April 7, 2010

Jeff

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If you have a food processor, this is an easy crust to make. The only thing you need, besides the ingredients and food processor, is time. Not including the cooking time needed for your pie, this crust requires from two and a half to three hours to complete. Much of the time is waiting for it to rest in the refrigerator and freezer, so your not actually working on the crust for more than maybe twenty minutes. Is it worth the investment? That’s up to your taste buds. I enjoyed it and will be making it again when I have the time.

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need all-purpose flour, salt, granulated sugar, vegetable shortening, unsalted butter, and ice water. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

Process the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined

Process the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and process until the mixture has the texture of course sand.

Put the butter pieces in the food processor

mixture is pale yellow with butter pieces no larger than small peas

prinkle four tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture

Put the butter pieces in the food processor and pulse until the mixture is pale yellow with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Transfer the mixture in a medium bowl. Sprinkle four tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture.

With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Fold by starting at the back of the bowl, cut down vertically through the two mixtures, across the bottom of the bowl and up the nearest side. The bowl is rotated a quarter turn with each series of strokes.

Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to one tablespoon more ice water if the dough will not come together. Flatten the dough into a four-inch disk. Place on a piece of parchment paper.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface

Wrap in the parchment paper and refrigerate at least one hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle.

Transfer the dough to a nine-inch pie pan. Working around the perimeter of the pan, ease the dough into the pan corners by gently lifting the edge of the dough with on hand while gently pressing into the pan bottom with the other hand. Trim the dough edges to extend about half an inch beyond the rim of the pan. Fold the overhang under itself; flute the dough or press the tines of a fork against the dough to flatten it against the rim of the pie plate. Refrigerate the dough-lined pie plate until firm about 40 minutes, then freeze for at least 20 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375°. Remove from the freezer, line with plastic wrap and fill with pie weights, make sure not plastic is touching the pie pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until visible crust is lightly golden. Remove the plastic wrap and weights by gathering the corners of the plastic wrap and pulling up and out. For a partially baked crust, continue baking five to six minutes more; for a fully baked crust continue baking 12 more minutes.

Recipe: Pie Dough for Pre-baked Pie Shell

Adapted from Baking IllustratedPrint Recipe
Yield: 1 pie shell

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces/177 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon (12 g) sugar
3 tablespoons (42 g) vegetable shortening, chilled
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick/57 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4-5 tablespoons ice water

Instructions

Pulse the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and pulse until the mixture has the texture of course sand. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and pulse the butter into the flour. The mixture should be a pale yellow and contain butter bits the size of small peas. Place the mixture into a medium-sized bowl.
Sprinkle four tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to one tablespoon more ice water if the dough will not come together. Flatten the dough into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a nine-inch pie pan. Working around the perimeter of the pan, guide the dough into the pan corners by lifting the edge of the dough with on hand while pressing into the pan bottom with the other hand. Trim the dough edges to extend about half an inch beyond the rim of the pan. Fold the overhang under itself; flute the dough or press the tines of a fork against the dough to flatten it against the rim of the pie plate. Refrigerate until firm about 40 minutes, then freeze for at least 20 minutes.
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375°. Remove from the freezer, line with plastic wrap and fill with pie weights, make sure not plastic is touching the pie pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and weights by gathering the corners of the plastic wrap and pulling up and out. For a partially baked crust, continue baking five to six minutes more; for a fully baked crust continue baking 12 more minutes.

Pie, Recipe

fold, pie dough

Cranberry Orange Muffins

April 5, 2010

Jeff

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“Hot muffins to warm the inner man – a wonderful addition to any breakfast,
brunch or coffee break. They are good served with supper too”
~ Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1969 23rd printing.

I wonder if muffins warm a woman’s heart too. Betty Crocker didn’t say.

I looked at about six recipes to makes these. I ended up pulling parts of each and different techniques from each. I have a lot of cranberries in these, feel free to use less if they are not you’re thing. You can also use fresh cranberries if available (just skip the boiling of the cranberries and orange juice and add them at room temperature).

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need bread flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, orange zest, dried cranberries, pecans, butter, white sugar, eggs, and orange juice. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl

Place the pecans halves on a metal sheet tray and toast them for about 7 minutes on the middle rack in the oven. While the pecans are toasting, bring the orange juice and cranberries to a boil in a small saucepan and set aside to cool to room temperature. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

If you want to use fresh cranberries don’t boil them or the orange juice, just add them later when they are mixed into the muffins. You may also want to use fewer fresh cranberries (about a third less).

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar, add each egg, one at a time until smooth.

There is not a lot of butter in these compared to the sugar. When creaming them pay attention to the color, we want it to lighten up a bit, the yellow should dissipate some, the mixture should become a bit like light and fluffy soft sand.

Stir in orange zest and pecans to the flour mixture

Mix in half the flour mixture to the creamed butter, sugar and eggs until just combined

Coarsely chop the cooled pecans. Stir in orange zest and pecans into the flour mixture. Mix in half the flour mixture to the creamed butter, sugar and eggs until just combined.

It’s important to chop the pecans once they have cooled. If you chop warm pecans they will pulverize too much. If you are using fresh cranberries add all the flour in this step. I added half the flour to protect the butter from melting, in case the boiled orange juice and cranberries we not cool enough.

Stir in cooled orange juice and cranberries

Make sure the cranberries and orange juice are room temperature or cool. I stuck mine in the freezer for a few minutes to make sure it had cooled completely. Stir in cooled orange juice and cranberries. Beat in the remainder of the flour mixture until just moistened.

A few weeks ago Starbucks was giving away free pastries. I chose one of there muffins, which came wrapped in a single piece of parchment paper made into a liner. I recreated that here. I cut 5-inch by 5-inch squares and placed them in the muffin tin while filling the muffins. It worked great. My paper is thick and required me to hold it down until a scoop of the batter is placed into the liner. Thinner paper placed in a tin treated with non-stick spray would hold better and not require you to hold the liner in while filling it. You can use regular cupcake tins too.

Bake for 24 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched. Depending on your oven, you may want to turn the tins around at 12 minutes to ensure even baking. My oven bakes fairly evenly, however on muffins and some cakes I need to turn them (the color on the top of a light colored muffin or cake will show any spots in your oven that have temperature variations). Let cool in muffin tins for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. If you want these served warm, put them in an oven at 325° for 5 minutes.

Recipe: Cranberry Orange Muffins

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Yield: 24 Muffins

Ingredients

11.2 ounces (329 g) bread flour

9.2 ounces (260 g) cake flour

1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder

1 teaspoon (4 g) baking soda

1 teaspoon (5 g) salt

2 tablespoons (30 ml) grated orange zest

3 cups dried cranberries

3.5 ounces pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

4 ounces (114 g) buter

12.3 ounces (350 g) white sugar

2 egg

1-3/4 cups (414 ml) orange juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Toast the pecans for about 7 minutes in the oven. Bring the orange juice and cranberries to a boil in a small saucepan and set aside to cool to room temperature. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar, add each egg, one at a time until smooth.
Coarsely chop the cooled pecans. Stir in orange zest and pecans into the flour mixture. Mix in half the flour mixture to the creamed butter, sugar and eggs until just combined. Stir in cooled orange juice and cranberries. Beat in the remainder of the flour mixture until just moistened.
Spoon into prepared muffin tins.
Bake for 24 minutes in the preheated oven, rotating the tins halfway through, or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in muffin tins for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

Quick Breads, Recipe

boil, cranberries, muffins, orange juice