THE UNOFFICIAL BAKER

Rainy day of baking - Part II - Apricot Crostatas

Yesterday I posted the first part of my hibernation baking, so here are the apricot crostatas.  Ideally I’d always use fruit that is in season and from BC…these apricots measure up.

Dough

• 1 3/4 cups white flour
• 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons cold water

Filling

• 13-15 apricots, cut into wedges (about 6 wedges per apricot)
• 1/2 white sugar for dusting
• Egg wash - 2 eggs + 2 tablespoons milk, beaten

Method

For the dough, combine flour with sugar and salt. Cut in butter and mix with your hands until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with water and gather dough into ball. Shape the dough into a disk and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Slice the apricots into wedges, about six wedges per apricot.

Make the egg wash by beating the eggs and milk together in a small bowl. 

Once the dough is chilled, flatten it out a bit and then cut into 8-10 pieces…see the picture below. Take one piece and roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick. The edges are not supposed to be perfect.  Brush the top with the egg wash, then put a small pile of apricot wedges in the centre…about 5-6 wedges. Fold the dough around the fruit, the egg wash makes it stick. Place on a baking sheet, then repeat these steps until all of the crostatas are made. Save the egg wash for a little later.

Chill the crostatas in the fridge for an hour…comme ça:

Once chilled, place crostatas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the dough with the egg wash, then sprinkle the fruit with sugar to the sweetness you want. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. 

Verdict - Love the idea but I think you could do more with the fruit for enhanced flavour.  Next time I’ll toss the fruit in a bit of fresh lemon juice, cinnamon and white (or brown) sugar, before they are wrapped up in the dough.  

Baking on a rainy Saturday - Part I

If you live in Vancouver you probably hibernated today like me because it was raining so hard. July didn’t get the memo that it’s supposed to be summer, so we’re all waiting in anticipation for August. 

Not having any particular craving, I chose two recipes I’ve never made before: walnut pumpkin bread and apricot crostatas. It felt like fall today so pumpkin seemed fitting, and I found BC apricots at the grocery store that looked pretty tasty. 

Up first was the walnut pumpkin bread. I switched out the white flour for spelt flour, and the whole wheat flour for a combination of ground up flax seed and almond meal (ground almonds). I also cut out some sugar. This is what I used:

Ingredients

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 3/4 cups almond meal (ground up almonds)
• 3/4 cups ground flax seed
• 2 cups light brown sugar - not packed
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup vegetable oil (I’d probably reduce this by at least 1/4 cup next time)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a rack in the centre of the oven. Grease one loaf pan, set aside.

Whisk dry ingredients, except walnuts. In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry (again, leave out the walnuts for now) and fold it altogether. Fold in most of the chopped walnuts, reserving some to sprinkle on top of the loaf before it’s baked. Pour the dough into the greased pan and sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top. 

Bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool almost completely before inverting onto a cooling rack.

This is what mine looked like:

So…my bread deflated in the middle! It must be from switching out the white flour for almond meal and ground flax see. I love the pumpkin pie-like taste and will cut out some of the vegetable oil next time though. It’s a bit greasy for my taste. Some would say it is super moist, but I hate that word so I’m not calling it that!

Overall I really like the recipe and tested the finished product out on my parents…success!  Some little tweaks next time and it’ll be even better.  

I’ll post the apricot crostatas tomorrow…

Birthday cake for my babe

He’s a major chocolate lover so I pulled out all of the stops and made the Rebar Chocolate Cake for his birthday.  Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, cream cheese, ganache topping…how can you go wrong!  Needless to say, he was a happy birthday boy.

Rebar is a fantastic vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, BC. I think my fondest Rebar memory is having their chai latte and pumpkin pie, while sitting outside on a sunny fall day. Too bad I don’t live in Victoria right about now! 

You end up with a three-layered, 8” round cake with this recipe:

CAKE:

• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup strong coffee (I used espresso for most of this and just topped it off with a bit of water)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 eggs (1 whole egg & 1 egg yolk)
• 1 tsp vanilla

CAKE FILLING:

• 150g milk chocolate 
• 150g dark chocolate 
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, spreadable
• 1 tsp vanilla

GANACHE:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 150g semi-sweet chocolate

Note - for best results, use a very high quality chocolate such as Callebault. Also, using pure vanilla extract and avoid using instant coffee.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare three 8 inch cake pans by placing parchment paper in the bottom of each pan, cut to fit and oiled on both sides. 

CAKE: Combine dry ingredients from the CAKE section above, whisking so there are no lumps. Add coffee, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Mix for 2 minutes (medium-low on a mixer).  Stop part way through to scrape down the sides.

Divide batter evenly between the cake pans.  Bake for 15 minutes, until you test with a toothpick and it comes out clean. Let cool before you remove from the pans and then cool them completely on a wire rack. 

CAKE FILLING: Melt the milk and dark chocolate in a double boiler, stirring until smooth. Cool 10 minutes. Cream together butter, cream cheese and vanilla.  Mix in the cooled chocolate. 

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

Place one of the cake layers on a cooling rack with a large baking sheet underneath to catch drips. Spread half of the filling over the layer, then place the next layer on top. Repeat with the next layer, but reserve a bit of filling to even out the top and fill in the sides.  You want the top and sides to be smooth. Chill for 10 minutes and make the ganache in the meantime. 

GANACHE: Chop the semi-sweet chocolate and place in a large bowl. In a sauce pan, heat the heavy cream and butter to just before the scalding point. Pour over the chopped chocolate and let stand for three minutes. Gently whisk until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. 

Slowly pour the warm chocolate ganache over the entire cake and carefully spread it with a large metal spatula.  You want a smooth surface. Transfer the cake to a plate and put in the fridge to set. 

I recommend taking it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to serve it. 

The candles didn’t last long!

Neither did the cake!! 

Mile high apple & pear pie

On Sunday, one of my best friends was coming by for a visit and requested dessert.  I decided to throw together a quick apple and pear pie in her honour…meaning I didn’t have much time and I could make this off the top of my head! 

How many apples and pears can you fit into a standard-sized pie? Eight!

Make the dough first because it needs to chill in the fridge before you roll it out.

Pie dough

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 Tb sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
• 5 Tb cold water or more

Note - I made a bit extra for a thicker crust.  You can just 1.5 the recipe.

 Combine flour with sugar and salt. Cut in butter and mix with your hands until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with water and gather dough into ball. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Filling

• 6 apples / 2 pears - peeled and chopped
• juice from half a lemon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix so the lemon juice, sugar and spices are equally distributed

Once the dough is chilled, cut it in half and roll out the first half so it fits the bottom of the pie plate.  Fill it with the apple and pear mixture.  You’ll need to push down on the apples and pears so they don’t spill over the sides. Top with a tablespoon of butter.

Roll out the remaining dough so it will cover the entire pie. Carefully place it on top of the filling, and cut off any dough that is hanging over using a sharp knife.

I like to use an egg wash for the top so the crust is golden after its baked.

• Egg wash - combine one egg yolk with about 1 teaspoon of white sugar. Brush this evenly over the top of the pie.

Poke some holes in the dough using a fork, and sprinkle the entire top with a bit of white sugar and cinnamon. 

Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Yes, I’m a dork and made a heart out of the extra pie dough.  I brushed it with the egg wash and sprinkled it with lots of cinnamon.

Serve with your favourite ice cream!

Searching for the best brownie

I’m sure my boyfriend will be ecstatic when he reads this and learns that I’m on the hunt to find the best brownie recipe.  The problem is, does it exist? Can it exist? Is it subjective to people’s opinion? God knows opinion’s differ.

So maybe this post should be “Searching for the best brownie, in my humble opinion.”

Well then here’s my opinion on the best brownie: Not too cake-like, not too sweet that you can only eat half, and not made with oil but instead with pure buttery goodness.

I tried this one over the weekend, compliments of the Smitten Kitchen website.  They were a hit with the three people that ate them: myself, my boyfriend, my dad. They were just sweet enough too, meaning you can eat more than one within a short period of time.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing though! They lasted two full days thanks to careful rationing.

Best Cocoa Brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecans (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 325°F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.  Allow the paper to hang over the sides a little bit so it’s easy to pull the slab of brownie out of the pan once they are cooked and cooled.

Combine butter, sugar, cocoa and salt into a medium pot and place over a large pot that has simmering hot water (this is a make-shift double boiler).  Allow the butter to melt and stir until everything is combined and fairly smooth. The mixture should be fairly hot to touch.  It will also look a little gritty, but this is OK because it’ll smooth out completely as the rest of the ingredients are added.

Allow the mixture to cool a bit, until it’s warm to touch, then add the vanilla.  Once this is mixed it (you can do this all by hand very easily), add the eggs, one at a time.  Once the eggs are fully blended in, add the flour and stir in completely…about 40 strokes with a wooden spoon.  The mixture should now be smooth.

Add the nuts if desired and then spread the mixture evenly into the lined pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are set.  After inserting a knife, it should come out somewhat clean.  A little batter on there is perfect.

Allow the brownies to cool completely, and then you can lift them by the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board.

Cut them up and eat them, and let me know if they lasted in your house for more than a day. One of mine was already eaten by the time this picture was taken.

Food Network aired this??

I don’t consider myself even close to an expert when it comes to baking, but this lady apparently has made boat loads of money with this kind of “baking”.  I don’t feel right referring to this as baking though.  This is simply gross and I’m surprised this aired on the Food Network. Please don’t try making this at home, for the sake of the people you would feed it to!  Kwanzaa Cake

it’s been a while

I’ve been slacking on this blog.  No excuses, except I need to get more creative with taking pictures.  I also need a BIG kitchen. I didn’t take a tonne of pictures this time around.  I’ll work on that.

A cold has taken me out of the game all week and yesterday was the final day of laying around and doing nothing.  I was going stir crazy so I decided to bake something I could eat ASAP.  Bring on the Apple Walnut Flax Bread!

I found this a while ago online, so it’s courtesy of Joy the Baker, however I changed it around quite a bit.  I used spelt flour and flax meal instead of all-purpose and whole wheat.  I also reduced the sugar and increased the nutmeg and cinnamon. Now I don’t feel so guilty eating a piece late at night, and I can also have a piece for breakfast. Smart thinking eh?

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Bob Red Mills Spelt Flour
• 1/4 cup flax meal (this is just freshly ground flax seeds)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2/3 cups buttermilk
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup grated apple
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped apples
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour the bread loaf pan (approx 9x5x3).

Combine flour, flax meal, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients: buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla.

Mix the two mixtures together.  Add grated apples, chopped apples, flax seeds and half of the walnuts.  Stir until all is mixed together and then pour/spoon into the pan. Sprinkle the top with remaining walnuts, as well as a few pinches of cinnamon and sugar. 

The recipe says to bake 40-50mins and mine took a full 50 minutes. Use a knife to test the centre and make sure it comes out clean. 

Let cool in the pan before you try to tip it out.  It can fall apart otherwise!

Midnight snack and breakfast? Yum.

very limey key lime pie

I’m pretty particular about my deserts, and when it comes to key lime pie I like it limey and crusty…pretty potent lime with a thick and crunchy graham cracker crust.  De-lish.

This recipe is from Porsha and I have no idea where she got it from. It’s an easy desert to make, and you just have to let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours before you serve it. 

First make the crust:

• 1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of butter - melted (salted is fine)

Combine the ingredients and press into the 9 inch pie dish. Make sure it comes right up the sides of the dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes. Set aside and let it cool. 

Next make the filling:

• 6 egg yolks
• 4 teaspoons of lime zest (key limes are best but regular limes also work)
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (Eagle brand)
• 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (fuller fat is better)
• 1/4 cup max whipping cream (unwhipped) 

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and lime zest for a few minutes.  Add the condensed milk and whisk for a bit until its thorough incorporated.  Mix in the lime juice, plain yogurt and whipping cream.  Note on the whipping cream…this helps add volume to the pie. Use 1/4 cup max, so maybe short it just a little. 

Let the mixture stand a few minutes so it can thicken slightly, then pour into the cooled pie crust. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  The centre should be firm-ish and jiggle-free.  If it starts to crack on the edges you know its cooked through. 

Chill for three hours in the fridge before serving.  I like to spread tonnes of whip cream (whipped this time) over the pie to serve. Deeeeee-lish! 

Blackberry picking leads to blackberry pie

Blackberry season is in full effect around here and we took full advantage of this last weekend.  We had to share the berries with the bears, but there’s plenty to go around. 

You can’t go wrong with blackberry pie using freshly picked berries, so I used the entire bowl I collected for it.  Good thing my blackberry-picking partner kept his bowl away from me. 

Action shot!

I used my go-to dough recipe for this, and also added an apple into the filling. I would have added more apples or blackberries if I had them…I like to over-stuff my pies. Very little sugar is used in the filling because I like it more tart, so you may want to add more to your own taste. 

Dough

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar 
• 5 tablespoons cold water

Filling

• At least 6 cups blackberries (I added an apple for the hell of it)
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon 

Egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon sugar

To make the dough, combine flour and sugar and then cut in the cold butter.  Mix in the butter using your hands until the mixture looks crumbly. Slowly add the cold water and gather the dough into a ball.  Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

While the dough is chilling, combine the blackberries, lemon juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Set aside until the dough is ready.

Once dough is thoroughly chilled, cut it in half (or one side slightly larger than the other).  Roll out the smaller piece on a floured surface and transfer to the bottom of a 8-9 inch round pie dish.  Fill with the blackberry mixture.

This picture should really have been censored…the bottom of my crust wasn’t large enough for the pie dish.  Next time I’d either make more dough, or reserve a larger portion of the dough for the bottom.  It doesn’t really matter though.  It all gets covered up and no one would notice.

Roll out the larger piece of dough and cover the filled pie.  Pinch the sides and cut off any dough that is hanging over the sides. Re-pinch if necessary. Poke the top of the pie a bunch of times with a fork.

For the egg wash, whisk the egg and sugar in a small cup.  Using a soft brush, brush the entire top of the pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon and white sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Instead of poking holes with a fork, I just cut out a few holes for shits and giggles. 

This was my blackberry-picking partner on bear watch.  We discovered he loves to eat them too, just like the bears.