Daring Bakers - Vols-au-Vent

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

First of all - I cannot believe that I actually made my own puff pastry! I wish I had a picture of my face when I pulled the baking sheet out of the oven because I was astounded that I had actually done it. Seriously, I think I was grinning from ear to ear! Very soon after I had removed my vols-au-vent from the oven a pair of high school seniors appeared at my door wanting to sell candy to my seven year old in order to pay for a trip to ... Paris! Their timing was impeccable. Of course, they got a handful of cash! Had they been going to Cozumel I probably would have sent them packing! LOL!

Puff pastry is something most of us buy at the grocery store because it is a bit time intensive (but very easy to do!) Puff pastry is in the ‘laminated dough” family, along with Danish dough and croissant dough. A laminated dough consists of a large block of butter (called the “beurrage”) that is enclosed in dough (called the “détrempe”). This dough/butter packet is called a “paton,” and is rolled and folded repeatedly (a process known as “turning”) to create the crisp, flaky, parallel layers you see when baked. Unlike Danish or croissant however, puff pastry dough contains no yeast in the détrempe, and relies solely aeration to achieve its high rise. The turning process creates hundreds of layers of butter and dough, with air trapped between each one. In the hot oven, water in the dough and the melting butter creates steam, which expands in the trapped air pockets, forcing the pastry to rise.

Since it is officially fall up in these parts, I decided to fill my pastries with apples sauteed with a bit of butter, sugar, and cinnamon. I topped them off with a dollop of maple whipped cream and sprinkle of cinnamon. I used some of the pastry scraps to cut out tiny maple leaves for garnishes. If you cut shapes, I highly recommend chilling them like crazy before baking because some of mine spread quite a bit.

Thanks Steph for a great challenge! Please visit the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see how the rest of the group fared with their Vols-au-vent!

TWD - Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

Woo-hoo! Look at me! I baked. I blogged. I did it in a timely manner! I finally feel like I'm getting my baking mojo back! This week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe was selected by Carla of Chocolate Moosey, who chose Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart. The recipe can be found on Carla's blog or on pages 355-357 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours."

This recipe was pretty straight forward and simple yet came together beautifully! I used a 10-inch tart pan because that is what I have and everything still managed to work itself out. The tart is rich and decadent and would be great for a fancy schmancy get together. Personally, I used to bribe my official taste tester into assembling a bunk bed!

Please check out the rest of the TWD bakers to see how they did with this week's recipe!

Banana Chai Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

I've been in the funkiest funk for the last couple of months and I haven't been able to shake it. I've barely baked and I certainly haven't blogged! What I have been doing is reading blogs and taking notes. Lots of blogs and lots of notes! I got the ball rolling with some peach cupcakes posted by Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. I love, love, love her blog regularly stalk it looking for some goodies. I love cupcakes and hers were wonderful. The next thing to catch my eye was a post on I Heart Cuppycakes about the revival of Cupcake Hero. Cupcake Hero is monthly cupcake contest and I decided that a little competition would be just the jump start that I needed.

I borrowed Deb's Peach cupcake recipe and tweaked it into a Banana Chai Cupcake and I outright stole her brown sugar cream cheese frosting. :) It's a hella good frosting and intend to use it often! I often have a banana chai protein smoothie for breakfast and I always thought it would be a great cupcake flavor.

Banana Chai Cupcakes


3 cups cake flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chai spice blend (I used McCormick's)

3/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

1 4-ounce jar banana baby food

3 small bananas, chopped



Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 30 muffin cups with paper liners.


Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chai spices and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition, and then add the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk and baby food. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the chopped banana.


Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for five minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting



1 1/4 c. light brown sugar

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.

I was afraid of losing some banana flavor since I was using chopped banana instead mashed banana so I used a small jar of baby food. I loved the little banana chunks scattered throughout the cupcake and they had an excellent banana flavor with a little kick from the chai spices.

Please check out the other Cupcake Hero entries and cast your vote for your favorite at I Heart Cupcakes. The voting poll is on the left hand side of the screen.

Here I was thinking that this overpriced Animal Kingdom monkey was a complete waste of money when in fact, she makes an excellent photo prop!

Daring Bakers - Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.
Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.


For this challenge, I made three mini tarts. For one of them, I used mango jam (I know you're all shocked that I would slip in mangoes) and for the other two I used homemade caramel apple jam. I think the idea behind the tart .. er.. pudding, was to use a smooth jam, I just couldn't pass on the chunky apple jam. The result? Fantastic! I actually liked the apple version better than the mango version and plan on making this again when fall rolls around. Here, in Michigan, that could very well be the week after next! :)


The recipe calls for flaked almonds for the top, but I used sliced almonds because I had them in the cupboard. Here is what the inside of the mango tart looked like.


And the caramel apple jam version topped with whipped cream sweetened with brown sugar and a dusting of cinnamon. Yum! I seriously can't stop eating the tartlettes!

Please check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see other versions of the Bakewell Tart .. err .. Pudding. Here is the recipe I use for the Caramel Apple Jam.

TWD - Perfect Party Cake

I've been diligently baking and photographing, but I've been a bad bad blogger and haven't posted my TWD assignments in a little while. I'll play catch up in a couple of days. In the meantime, this weeks recipe for the Perfect Party Cake was selected by Carol of mix, mix… stir, stir. The recipe can be found on her blog and on pages 250-252 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours."

My co-workers and I have enjoyed this cake twice in the last couple of months. The first time I baked it, it was to celebrate impending nuptials. I made the cake exactly as written and it was fantastic! Everyone loved everything about this cake - the filling, the frosting, the coconut - it was all fantastic. The second time was for a birthday celebration and I turned the cake into cupcakes. I made both regular sized cupcakes and mini cupcakes.

The frosting was thick enough to use in a piping bag and each cupcake was topped with generous swirl of frosting and a sprinkle of coconut. Instead of using raspberry preserves, I simply added a fresh raspberry to each cupcake. The results were divine! This recipe is by far my favorite so far and I'll be using it again and again!

Please visit the rest of the TWD blogs to see what the rest of my fellow bakers did this week!

TWD - Fresh Mango Bread

Fresh Mango Bread. My co-workers have become accustomed to my TWD treats and have in fact, come to expect them. When I announced this weeks recipe, the first words out of our office managers mouth were "Did you get to pick?" I love mangoes. Love, love, love mangoes. Alas, this weeks recipe was chosen by Kelly from Baking with the Boys. Kelly is my hero!

I spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in Michigan before I headed to Miami for college. Among the many wonderful things I discovered in college, mangoes topped the list! It was hard to leave behind my beloved fruit when I moved back to Michigan. I am taking my son to Disney World at the end of June. Forget about the Mouse - can someone please direct me to a farmers market or a produce stand? I'm bringing an extra suitcase.

A fresh, juicy mango, freshly plucked from the tree is absolute bliss. It has been suggested that mangoes are best eaten in the bathtub and while I have never eaten one in a bathtub, I often suck on the pit while leaning over the kitchen sink. Yes, I'm a heathen!

OK - on to the mango bread. This bread recipe is fantastic! The combination of ginger and fruit chunks was sublime. I intend to make this bread frequently. My official taste tester thought it was delicious but I've been hoarding this one from my co-workers. I may share a few slices tomorrow! I managed to find some wonderful ripe mangoes at Whole Foods and the hardest part of this recipe was actually put the fruit into the dough instead of into my mouth! I fell a little short of the 2 cups of fruit that the recipe, uuummm ... suggested.

Please visit Kelly's blog for the recipe and the TWD Blogroll to check out the rest of the TWD bloggers. Now if you'll excuse me, that mango in the first photo has yet to be eaten ...

TWD - Tartest Lemon Tart

I have to apologize for being a super blog slacker lately! Last week the TWD group baked a Tiramisu Cake but I didn't blog about it because the dog ate my homework. For real. See ...

At the time of my cake baking he had only been a member of our household for a few hours and I set my cake layers out by the window to cool, just as I always do, and he just started chomping away when I had my back turned. He's new and cute and I'm an inexperienced dog owner ... c'est la vie. I'll try it again in a week or so. Now, on to this weeks TWD Baking Assignment! Today's Tartest Lemon Tart was chosen by Babette of Babette Feasts. One of my co-workers was just telling me about the movie Babette's Feast - looks like a sign that I should visit Blockbuster! Please visit Babette's Blog for the recipe, which can also be found on page 336 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours."

My tart tasted super lemony with just a tiny hint of bitterness, but it was fantastic! Dorie recommends using a blender to get a smooth custard but this super slacker was too lazy to dig out the blender so I used my food processor instead. I could not get a smooth custard so I strained it into the crust and was very happy with the results. My official taste tester loved it (and I did too)! My tart was very skinny - I think my tart pan may be 10 inches instead of the recommended 9 inches and it was not very photogenic!

Please visit the rest of TWD Bakers to see how they made out with the Tarty Tart! Next week is Mango Bread! I CAN. NOT. WAIT! I love mangoes!