fish custard [and a wibbly-wobbly halloween]

Friday morning began with a much-needed lie-in until 10am, and still I didn't feel like getting up. Buried under comforters on a bed of pillows on an overcast, autumn morning... all I really wanted was a steaming mug of tea and a cookbook to read.

But, you know, on the day of a wibbly-wobbly Halloween get-together, you force yourself out of bed, do a bit of cleaning and laundering, turn some Madeleine Peyroux on the stereo, and simmer up some salted caramel.

Chelsea and Liz have had a few dinner parties already this semester, so Noosh and I decided it was our turn to host...something.

[Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.]

But really, Halloween weekend called for one thing and one thing only: a Doctor-Who themed party.

Not that, you know, all of my friends are fans. In fact, the vast majority haven't watched. So really, it was more of an excuse for me to wear a bow-tie and cook up some fish custard.

"Fish Fingers" and Custard
Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking and Bakingdom
Yields 4-6 servings custard, about 2 dozen fish fingers

For the salted caramel custard, you'll need:

• 4 cups whole milk
• 6 tbsp cornstarch 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp salt

For the fish fingers, you'll need:

• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup [1 stick] butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 5 graham cracker sheets
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp sugar

To prepare the custard:
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the milk, the cornstarch, and vanilla until blended. In a large saucepan, heat water and sugar on medium-high heat until boiling. Don't stir, but swirl the pan around to mix. Once boiling, lower the heat so that the syrup is at  a simmer. Simmer until the caramel turns an amber color, add in salt, and swirl until incorporated, 8-10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the remaining 3 1/2 cups milk, whisking constantly, until combined. The sugar may clump up spectacularly, but that is okay. Return the pan to the flame and heat on medium-high heat until just boiling, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Whisk the mixture until the caramel dissolves and the mixture thickens a bit, about 10 minutes. Add in the cornstarch mixture and whisk on medium flame until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour the custard into a large glass dish or other heat proof dish. Allow the custard to cool, at least 30 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, until the custard has thickened fully and set.


To prepare the fish fingers: 
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on low speed, then increase to medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in egg and vanilla and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Lower the speed and gradually add in flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Cover the top of the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers, butter, and sugar until the mixture is crumbly and sticks together. Once cookie dough is chilled, roll into "fish fingers," about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. The smaller the better, as they will expand quite a bit while baking. Roll the "fish finger" in the graham cracker mixture to "coat" and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, allowing about an inch space between cookies on the sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Serve "fish fingers" with custard. They taste splendid when eaten together, or either can be enjoyed separately. Allons-y!

Noosh and I first stumbled upon this recipe a few months ago, and immediately I fell in love. The graham cracker "coating" is absolutely brilliant, and give the cookies the appearance of honest-to-God fish fingers. Words cannot describe how enamored I am with these things. They taste fantastic as well, which is only a plus, really.

So after about 9 hours of cooking custard, baking fish fingers and jammie dodgers, listening to everything from Louis Armstrong to Don Omar with Noosh preparing the TARDIS door, our apartment was full of the sounds of laughter, chatter, music, The Green Lantern, Hello Kitty, and Freida Kalho, a rather disturbing-looking cockroach, unnamed doctors and Sabeen's-apartment-occupiers, hilarious and somewhat horrifying Bollywood dancing, and happy mouths munching on good food. A success in all senses of the word, over all.

And by the time we were done cleaning up by around 1:30, I promptly passed out and slept for about 9 hours straight.

And I've spent the vast majority of the hour and a half I've been up uploading photographs and listening to Cabin Pressure on Youtube [quite the brilliant radio show, sent to me by a sweet friend who knows of my utter obsession with Benedict Cumberbatch's brilliant theatrical timing and jaguar-hiding-in-a-cello voice], not really wanting to get out of my comfortable bed.

Having discarded the suit-jacket, the bow-tie, and the formal button-down, though, I must say it's nice not to have a career that requires me to dress up like a flamboyant British gentleman on a daily basis. Fun as it was, I'll leave it to the professionals.

I much prefer watching them from the comfort of my living room sofa.


Preferably with a bowl of fish custard in hand.

{DBC} frasiers and [im]perfectionism

Time flies by far too quickly for my liking. Individual days seem to drag on forever, but weeks vanish in the blink of an eye.

Disconcerting. Somewhat.

The moral of the story is that I'm not looking forward to having to be a real person. I'm very much enjoying student life, and not so much the thought of applying for internships. And jobs. And financial insecurity. And bills. And no longer having free time to watch inordinate amounts of Sherlock, Doctor Who, and others in what my Netflix profile has dubbed "Suspenseful British TV Shows".

Daring Bakers' Challenges, fun and exciting as they are, are more or less constant reminders of this rather unfavorable phenomenon. I feel like as soon as I submit one, I'm already writing up a post for the next. Only 12 challenges in a year, and we've finished seven. Frightening!

But I digress. I'll not be depressing.

I like to imagine that this is endearing in a 4-year-old-attempting-to-do-something-overly-sophisticated kind of way. Like long-division.

Though, I was pretty bummed to have missed last month's challenge - baklava - because it was so unexpectedly exciting. This month we've returned to the land of custard-like layered desserts with frasiers. I, of course, don't mind the custard; in fact, I adore custards.

It's more the layering bit that irks me.

Not that it's not pretty. Or scrumptious.

Just that I'm not very good at it.

And my perfectionist tendencies instill in me a feeling of self-loathing every time I unravel them.

Practice makes perfect!

[I just...need to practice...]

Fraisiers are lovely little French desserts [they would be] consisting of sponge cakes layered with custard and sliced fruit, topped with almond paste.

Delicious, in other words.

I had Tommy over to help me out, as per always, and we had a phenomenal time. He actually came over two consecutive evenings, since the dessert requires a bit of refrigeration and we both work full-time, so we spent one prepping the cake and custard and the second layering, cooking dinner, and eating while chatting over A Study in Pink [my plan is for this obsession of mine to permeate into everyone else's life, like a hugely entertaining breed of mold (also less horrifying than this poor analogy would suggest)].

As for the recipe, I'll just copy and paste. It is pretty long and elaborate, and doing absolutely nothing mentally stimulating for the past 4 weeks has left me rather lazy.

Frasiers
Adapted from the Daring Bakers' July Challenge

Basic Chiffon Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 ml) (5½ oz/155 gm) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) baking powder
• 3/4 cups (180 ml) (6 oz /170 gm) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) (1½ gm) salt, preferably kosher
• 1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil
• 3 large egg yolks
• ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (3.17 fl oz/95 ml) water
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (3 gm) lemon zest, grated
• 5 large egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1 gm) cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).
2. Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45 ml.) of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.
4. In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.
5. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.
6. Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.
7. Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about ⅓ of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.
10. To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Pastry Cream Filling:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon (1/2 ml) (¼ gm) salt, preferably kosher
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) (10 gm)cornstarch
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) (2 oz/55 gm) sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz/30 gm) unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon (3¾ ml) (4 gm) gelatin
• 1/2 tablespoon (7½ ml) water
• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) heavy cream

Directions:

1. Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine
3. Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
4. When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture.
5. Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon.
6. Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally.
7. Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth.
8. Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.
9. In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften.
10. Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
11. Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water.
12. Heat the cream until it is 120 F (48.8 C). Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches.
13. In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula.

Simple Syrup:

You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons (60 ml) of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) (2⅔ oz/75 gm) of sugar, flavored or white
• 1/3 cup (2⅔ fl oz/80 ml) of water

Directions:

1. Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.
4. Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Fraisier Assembly:

Components:

• 1 baked 8 inch (20 cm) chiffon cake
• 1 recipe pastry cream filling
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) simple syrup or flavored syrup
• 2 lbs (900 g) strawberries
• confectioners’ sugar for dusting
• ½ cup (120 ml) (5 oz/140 gm) almond paste

Directions:

1. Line the sides of a 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan.
2. Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.
3. Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.
4. Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring.
5. Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake.
6. Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. (15 ml) of the pastry cream.
7. Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup.
8. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 10-inch (25 cm) round 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of pastry cream on the top of the cake and cover with the round of almond paste.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
10. To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap.
11. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Despite the aesthetic imperfections, it was mouthwateringly good.

And now I'm determined to master the art of layered desserts.

...Eventually.

In other news, Friday is my last day interning. Bittersweet goodbyes.

I'm also out of food, again. Deciding whether or not laziness will outweigh my need for dinner. Raw cookie dough is always an option. And tomatoes. It's a wonder I'm still alive.

a tale of two tarts

Sick.

I hate being sick. I rarely am, so when the occasional illness hits, it feels more like a being bruised and beaten like a rag doll in a cement truck. Spent 90% of my afternoon and evening yesterday lying in bed, and the other 10% alternating between the loo and the kitchen for water. And then, finally drugged up to oblivion, succumbed to sleep and fell into unconsciousness for about 10 hours straight.

I am feeling much better today, but, again, most of the day was spent sitting on the couch or in my bed, catching up with Doctor Who [David Tennant is marvelous], and taking frequent siestas. Would have been the perfect day had I not been coughing up my lungs like it's my job.

After about the third hour of immobility, though, I started to get antsy. That's the problem with being sick: I just get so bored.

Plus, my fingers have been twitching to make something delicious. I spent the weekend at Chelsea's home, and had a phenomenal time chatting about British sci-fi television, video games, cake wrecks, and traveling. And food. Always some delicious food, but when I'm with her family, it's to be expected. Mr. Sparta conjured up a magnificent dinner on Saturday night [perfectly-cooked skirt steak, Italian-styled beans, corn and pepper salad, and Swiss chard and ricotta souffle], as always, and on Sunday we went to 2 Amys, a Neopolitan pizza joint, DOC-certified and all. What does that mean? Well, it actually means that their pizza has been recognized as legit by Italian legislation.

[Yes. unless your food is worthy, the Italians won't deem it as legit. Any more reasons to ask why the Italians really do make the best food in the world? I thought not.]

In layman's terms, it means that their pizza is the best pizza I've had since visiting Naples. Easily. I never thought I'd see buffalo mozzarella again unless I took a plane to Italia, but this gem of a restaurant has it shipped over. Wood-burning oven, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil: perfection. After three long years, my pizza standards have been met, and there's no turning back. So, if you're ever in the DC area and you don't go by 2 Amys, you've done yourself a huge disservice. End of discussion.



Good lord, what was the point of this post again?

Oh, right, tarts. Two, in fact. I've had some goat cheese sitting in the fridge for a few weeks now, and finally decided to put it to good use. In the form of a tomato and goat cheese tart, and a strawberry and honeyed-goat cheese tart.

Now, I love goat cheese. It's silky, creamy, and perfectly tangy, and on some nice, crusty bread, it's like heaven. So, probably against my better judgment, I took a short break and popped by Whole Foods to pick up some produce. Cherry tomatoes, spelt tart crusts [laziness wins out, today], fresh basil, and strawberries, and got to work.

Tomato, Onion, & Goat Cheese Tart

Adapted by me

You'll need:

• 1 9-inch, unbaked pie crust [either homemade or store-bought work]
• 6 oz goat cheese
• half of a large onion, sliced
• olive oil for cooking and drizzling
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• fresh or flaked basil
• salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a fork, poke holes over the base and sides of the pie crust. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a small pan, sweat the onion slices in a bit of olive oil over low heat, until lightly browned and soft, 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Crumble the goat cheese over the cooled pie crust. Spread the cooked onion evenly across the goat cheese. Line the sliced tomatoes over the onions. Drizzle the top of the tomatoes with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once preheated, bake the tart for 30-35 minutes, until onions are well-cooked. Let cool 15-20 minutes before cutting.

lemon-strawberry scones with a side of benedict cumberbatch

I'm not sure if I've divulged this in the past, but I have somewhat of an obsessive personality.

Not in a creepy way, or anything. Rather, when I really like something... I really like it. And want everyone else to like it. And will have it on my mind for days.

In the past 7 days alone, I've sifted through a number of different obsessions. Portal 2, buying cookbooks, taking siestas, LittleBigPlanet [specifically, Sackboy], writing vignettes, organizing and reorganizing, pad thai, pen sketching, the list goes on.

But my latest obsession has been interrupting my thoughts every few hours. It's been causing me to talk to myself in a British accent [yes, I talk to myself, and no, it is not indicative of an underlying issue]. It makes my fingers twitch for Netflix every time I turn on the telly. It makes me use words like 'telly.'

Sherlock. The BBC miniseries, to be precise. It aired last October-November, and I had it on my calendar to watch on Sunday evenings, but for some reason I ended up missing them. I think a combination of midterms, paper-writing, and FFVII was the problem, but it came and went, and I figured I would never again have the opportunity to watch it [legally].

And then, a few weeks ago, I discovered that Netflix in all its glory added the series to its instant queue. So, of course, I added it, and then promptly forgot about it. And then I went to Spain. And came home. And the day before I drove back to my apartment, stumbled upon it while I was browsing Netflix. And vowed to watch it once I was settled in Cville.

And on Monday evening, I hit the play button.

And in no less than 5 minutes, I fell in love.

Lemon-Strawberry Scones
This is an original bakedbeen recipe!
Recipe yields 10-12 scones, depending on the size

You'll need:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp for dusting
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• scant tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, plus 2 tbsp for brushing
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 3/4 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flours, 2/3 cup sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and stir until well-mixed. Cut butter into flour mixture until dough is the consistency of breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center of the dough and pour in 1 cup heavy cream and lemon juice. Using your hands, knead the dough until it comes together in a mass. Add in lemon zest and strawberries, and knead until well incorporated.

Form fist-sized balls of dough and place them evenly across the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved heavy cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 12 minutes, until tops are golden-brown.

Serve scones warm or at room temperature. If desired, drizzle a simple lemon-sugar glaze over the scones, or enjoy with a light scraping of butter or clotted cream.

It helps that I'm obsessed with bromances [this is a rather consistent obsession, unlike some of my more fleeting ones]. I find them charming, and adorable, and hugely entertaining. And so when Guy Ritchi's adaptation came out with two of the most wonderful actors to be depicted as bromantic to ever grace the screen, I was more than happy.

[I was, in fact, ecstatic, and purchased the DVD within the first few days of its release.]


I've always been a fan of Holmes and Watson, but didn't really think anything could trump the Law/Downey Jr. portrayal of the two [their bromance, I should note, since the plot of the film itself left much to be desired], particularly Jude's portrayal of Watson as a competent, loyal partner and physician [contrasting with the less appealing caricature by Nigel Bruce].

That is, of course, until I watched Sherlock. I should have realized that no one could do Holmes and Watson better than the Brits [in terms of both characters, since I realize that Jude Law is, in fact, British]. And, really, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are marvelous together.

Especially Benedict Cumberbatch.

Especially.

I mean, I'm not in love with him or anything.

Just mildly infatuated.

But I can't help it that he pulls of barely-socially-functioning, sociopathic, articulate, curt intellectual so well.

And looks dashing in a suit while doing so.

Like I said. Just a mild infatuation. Not an issue.

So why the scones? Well I've had all-things-English stuck in my for the past few days. And I wanted to come up with a recipe of my own. And I figured it would be a fitting snack during the miniseries finale.

Just as delicious as Mr. Holmes himself.



...did I say that out loud?

ricotta cheesecake with strawberry coulis

The sudden influx of ricotta and/or cheesecake-based dessert is pure coincidence. I just happen to have had some ricotta sitting in the fridge that I needed to use up. And I'm utterly obsessed with cream cheese. It was a dessert waiting to happen, really.

Plus, I've been kickin it in Cville on my own over break, so amidst work and studying I've had some down time to do frivolous things like this.

Ricotta Cheesecake
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

For the cheesecake filling, you'll need:

• 3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides.

Beat cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream, and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk heavy cream, vanilla, eggs and egg yolks until blended. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Beat until just blended. Pour filling into the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees, and continue baking for 1 1/2 hours, or until top is golden brown and cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan. The center will still be slightly jiggly. Turn off the oven when done, and leave cake in the oven with the door ajar to cool for 3 hours. Remove cake from the oven and refrigerate for at least 4 hours [preferably overnight], before removing from the pan and cutting. Serve chilled.

You can use any sort of crust you'd like for this cheesecake. A classic graham cracker crust always works well, but a shortbread crust would also be delicious. I made a low-carb version of this particular cheesecake, so I used the crust from my LC mocha cheesecake, and a combination of baking Splenda and erythritol [3/4 cup of each] in place of the granulated sugar. Also, instead of one 8-inch cheesecake, I made two 4-inch cheesecakes and one 6-inch cheesecake, and adjusted the bake times accordingly [30-25 mins at 375 degrees Fahrenheit]. What can I say, I just like mini desserts. [Except cupcakes]

The low-carb version turned out beautifully, without the slightest inkling that it's actually low-carb, but I'm sure the full-carb version is just divine. In fact, this may be the best LC cheesecake I've ever had. Is this the magical cheesecake recipe I've been searching for? If it's not, it's getting pretty damn close.

I also topped mine off with a really easy, homemade strawberry coulis, because no real cheesecake is complete without a berry sauce.

Strawberry Coulis
Adapted from smitten kitchen

You'll need:

• 1 cup strawberries, quartered and hulled
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Puree all the above ingredients in a blender. Run coulis through a strainer to get rid of seeds. Store in fridge for up to 1 week, in freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe makes about 3/4 cup of coulis.

In other news, I am officially giving up sugar [again]. Honey, agave, sugar added to coffee, BBQ sauce and sugary Asian sauces, baked goods. Yep, baked goods. I'm not cutting out the artificial sweetener, but it'll definitely be a once-in-a-while sort of thing. Mainly to satisfy any unbearable cravings and experiment with more low-carb baking.

How long? Only very strictly until Spain. Which is only, what, 80 days? 2 and a half months? Definitely doable. I hope. And I'll still be baking full-carb, of course, so no worries there. I'll just have to will myself not to lick the spoon.

...merda.

{DBC} vanilla panna cotta with balsamic strawberry compote

...is it time to go to Spain yet?

[hello midterm season goodbye social life]

Another Daring Baker's Challenge! I can't believe it's already been a month since the last one. Admittedly, I was nervous about it, particularly since both this and the previous one lie in the realm of mousse-like custards, and I wasn't totally satisfied with the last one. This time, though, we're taking a trip to one of my favorite countries, Italia.

Panna cotta, originally from the northern region of Piemonte, is a custard-like dessert of milk, cream, sugar, and gelatin. When chilled, the gelatin causes the custard to set into the shape of whatever bowl it's poured into, and thus can be turned over onto a plate or served as is in the bowl. Often, panna cotta is eaten with berries, fruit coulis, or any sort of of dessert sauce.

Gah, just hearing the name makes me want to hop on a plane and go back to Italy.

For this month's DBC, we had to prepare a panna cotta of some sort with Florentine cookies [the recipe for which I will post up separately]. I decided to go with a classic vanilla panna cotta topped with a tart, balsamic strawberry compote. I prepared the panna cotta on Friday, allowed it to set in the refrigerator overnight, and had Tommy over [as always!] on Saturday to help with the compote and the Florentine cookies.

The panna cotta recipe given for the challenge used 3 parts heavy cream and 1 part whole milk, but I didn't have enough whole milk on hand so substituted with 1 part half and half. The given recipe also used a combination of honey and granulated sugar, but I wanted to cut the sweetness a bit so used only granulated sugar. It's a pretty versatile dish, though, so feel free to play around with it. Just make sure to keep the appropriate ratios in mind!

Vanilla Panna Cotta
Adapted from epicurious

You'll need:

• 1/4 cup cold water
• .25 oz [about 2.5 tsp] unflavored gelatin powder
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup half & half
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Pour 1/4 cup cold water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over top of water and let stand for about 15 minutes, until the gelatin softens. Heat water in the microwave in 15-second intervals until gelatin dissolves. Set aside.

Combine whipping cream and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove pan from the heat and stir in vanilla and gelatin. Divide custard mixture into ramekins. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill until set, at least 6 hours and up to one day.

To unmold panna cotta, dip ramekin in a bowl of hot water for about 20 seconds. Invert ramekin onto a serving plate, gently shaking and tapping the sides of the ramekin to loosen the panna cotta. Top with desired sauce and serve immediately.
However, panna cotta can be served in ramekins without unmolding. Just top with desired sauce before serving.

Balsamic Strawberry Compote
Adapted from savory sweet life

You'll need:

• 1 pound [about 2 cups] chopped strawberries
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook strawberries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar for about 10 minutes. The sauce is done when it can coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature before pouring on the panna cotta.

we had a pretty epic feast this afternoon.

The consistency of the panna cotta is beautiful: silky smooth and bursting with vanilla flavor. The compote is also a delicious contrast; the acidity of the balsamic strawberries plays off the delicacy of the panna cotta well. I checked out some of the other bakers' desserts and they are absolutely stunning! Mine leave much to be desired in comparison, but the others have given me inspiration. Be sure to creep on tastespotting and foodgawker in the upcoming few days, as I'm sure each will be flooded with images of some gorgeous panna cotta.

In other news, a combination of watching Tangled for the fifth time and finishing ACII has left me in a very Italian mood. Not that the former really took place in Italy, but the kingdom dance always makes me feel as though I'm perusing Sicily. Plus, all the snippets of Italian [most often cursing, but nevertheless] in ACII has made me want to retake the language.

[The cursing is unrelated here. Sort of. I can't help it that cursing sounds so much more emphatic when it's done in Italian.]

Anyway, my point is, I need to get me on a plane to Italia ASAP.

Ciò che si mangia con gusto non fa mai male.

nitya's strawberries and cream birthday cake

It's birthday season. Not kidding. Three of my closest friends [read: girls I've grown up with since the fourth grade] have December birthdays. What does that mean for me?

Lots of baking. Saturday last was Noosh's raspberry chocolate cake with bittersweet raspberry ganache. Definitely a winner. I set a personal goal to make the other two just as good.

Today was Nitya's twentieth. Nitya is...somewhat picky, dessert-wise. Well, maybe picky isn't the right word. She's just not the biggest fan of desserts, in general. I had her give me a list of her likes and dislikes, in terms of what she'd want for a cake. It was quite the list. I do recall that among the 'dislikes' was cilantro, though. [Needless to say, there was no cilantro in your cake, Nitya. Breathe a sigh of relief.] But she does love strawberries. So that served as the theme. [Not unlike her layered angel food cake with lemon curd and strawberry jam two years ago. But no lemon curd this time.]

White cake layered with vanilla cream and strawberry jam, with a whipped cream frosting, topped with chocolate-dipped strawberries and enclosed in a pirouette border. I'm not gonna lie: I have zero creativity whatsoever, and this idea was not mine at all. It comes from The Art of Two Tarts' blog: an absolutely gorgeous cake that you must go check out; mine isn't half as beautiful in comparison. But I really, really, really, wanted to try and recreate it.

Strawberries and Cream Cake
Adapted from The Art of Two Tarts

For the cake, you'll need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 6 large egg whites [save the yolks - they'll be used in the pastry cream]
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. Pour the milk, egg whites, and extracts in a 2-cup bowl and whisk with a fork until blended. In a seaparate bowl, blend flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter into flour mixture until batter has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Pour all but 1/2 cup of the milk into the flour and mix on medium-high speed for 1 1/2 -2 mins. Pour remainder of milk and mix for another 30 or so seconds.

Divide batter evenly among the pans and bake for 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cakes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

For vanilla cream, you'll need:

• 2 cups half and half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 4 tbsp cold butter, cut into squares

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring half and half, half of the sugar, and salt to a simmer. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, remaining sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch until blended. Once half and half mixture comes to a full simmer, pour half of it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and continue stirring until cream thickens, 1-2 minutes. Once thickened, remove from the heat and toss in butter. Mix until blended. Pour pastry cream into a bowl. Once it cools to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set.



For the whipped cream frosting, you'll need:

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

In a large bowl, beat whipping cream and vanilla with a standard mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in sugar. Refrigerate until using.

To assemble the cake:

Put one of the cake layers on a serving plate. Take a standard can of whipped cream and squeeze a ring of cream around the outer edge of the cake. [This is a really nifty trick - it prevents the filling from seeping out of the edges of the cake. It's totally optional, though, so don't worry if you don't have a can of whipped cream on hand.] Spread about 1/3 cup of strawberry jam or preserves out to the whipped cream ring. Spread about 1/3 cup of the pastry cream on top of the jam and spread gently, trying not to mix the two.

Layer with a second layer of cake, flat side up [to make it easier to frost]. Repeat the above. Layer with the final layer of cake, flat side up. Frost top and sides of cake with whipped cream. Decorate as desired. Refrigerate until serving.

As for how I decorated my cake, I basically followed exactly what 'The Art of Two Tarts' did: dipped some strawberries in bittersweet chocolate, drizzled white chocolate 'artfully' on top, and let them cool on a a sheet of wax paper. Meanwhile, I took some pirouettes [French Vanilla and Chocolate Hazlenut, to be exact], broke them into different sized pieces, pressed them to the sides of the cake, and tied some ribbon around them. Once the strawberries had set, I arranged them on top of the cake.

The entire process was somewhat tedious, just because of all the components that went into it, but the end result was so worth it. It just looks beautiful. And it's really not that difficult it all.

Plus, I braved a snowstorm to drive it the entire 5 miles to her house, so I was rather pleased. And she loved it!

Happy twentieth birthday, Nitya! It's hard to believe we've been such good friends for 10 years already! Here's to more amazing times to come.
Love, with all my heart.

Only downside: it was a beast to cut.

But we managed. :)

lemon strawberry layer cake with lemon cream cheese frosting

What a mouthful.

I don't bake cakes that often. Mainly because I feel like they're the ultimate 'special occasion' dessert, and I usually only bake them for family events like birthdays or anniversaries. [And one time my Italian cooking teacher paid me to bake him one so he could pass it off as his own at a faculty dinner party, but that's besides the point].

This was for no such occasion [though would have been very nice to be paid for it], but rather, a cake-off. So, of course, I had to enter. I didn't end up placing, but the it was a hugely fun time. And all of the cakes were scrumptious. Well worth the energy.

There are 3 main components to this cake: the 1-2-3-4 cake, lemon curd, and lemon cream cheese frosting. For the strawberry layer, I purchased strawberry preserves from Teeter earlier today [in a perfect world, it would be strawberry season right now and I would have slaved away at making my own, pectin-free strawberry preserves. but alas, I am lazy.] I'll give you the 1-2-3-4 cake and frosting recipe here, and I've written up the lemon curd recipe prior.

Lemon Strawberry Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

For the 1-2-3-4 cake, you'll need:

• 1 cup [2 sticks] butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-milk
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tbsp vanilla

For the lemon cream cheese frosting, you'll need:

• 10 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup [1/2 stick] butter, softened
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 cups confectioner's sugar
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans, or one 9-inch springform pan. Beat butter until creamy. Add in sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 6-8 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Alternately add flour and milk to the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with flour [meaning, add 3/4 cup flour, add 1/4 cup milk, add an additional 3/4 cups flour, 1/4 of the milk, etc., but begin and end with the flour]. Add vanilla last and mix until just incorporated. Spoon batter into the two 8-inch cake pans or the 9-inch springform pan. If using the two pans, bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center of the cake. If using the 9-inch springform, bake for 65-75 minutes. If the top of the cake starts to burn, loosely cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.

Let cake cool for 20-30 minutes before removing from the pan. Let cool an additional 20-30 minutes before slicing [horizontally] into layers. Slice 8-inch cakes in half for 4 total layers, or 9-inch cake twice for 3 total layers. Meanwhile, prepare frosting.

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until light and creamy. Slowly add confectioner's sugar. Add more confectioners sugar or lemon juice, depending on desired consistency and tangy-ness. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container overnight.

To assemble cake: make sure all cake layers are completely cooled before frosting. Place the bottom layer of the cake [usually I flip the 'top' of the cake and use it as the bottom layer, because it is the most misshapen and least flat, and sitting on the bottom will even it out]. Frost with a generous amount of strawberry preserves, leaving a circumference about 1-centimeter wide around the edge of the cake [because all the layers will spread the filling out to the edges]. Gently spread a thin layer of the cream cheese frosting on top of the strawberries. Spread a generous amount of lemon curd on top of the cream cheese frosting. Place the next layer on top. Continue frosting the cake layers the same way, until cake is fully layered. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. If desired, reserve 1 1/2 cups of frosting to pipe a border around the top and bottom of the cake. Refrigerate until serving, but make sure to serve within 2-3 hours.

1-2-3-4 cake is my go-to, basic cake recipe. And it should be in every baker's repertoire. I never really had a huge problem with boxed cake mixes for layer cakes, because they're fast, cheap, and generally taste okay. But after making a 1-2-3-4 cake for the first time, I have given up boxed cake mixes for good [well, except for in my adaptation of Paula Deen's gooey toffee butter cakes, but that recipe will come another time]. I sometimes use almond extract alongside the vanilla for a more sophisticated-tasting cake [because almond extract is divine with coconut frosting], but the vanilla is just perfect for any layer cake. Or just to eat plain. Heck, sometimes mom has me bake it so she can freeze half and slice the other half up into small pieces to have with tea in the morning. It's really that delicious.

As for the lemon and strawberry combination? It's pretty classic, actually. Though, the first time I used it was in Nitya's 18th birthday cake a few years ago, with an angel food cake in place of the 1-2-3-4. It was so good, and one of her favorite cakes of all time. Though, now that I think about it, I'm sure a lemon-blueberry would be equally as delicious.

Wish I could have snapped a shot of it sliced up, because the layers turned out perfectly. The cake itself was a little bit dry, but that's because I naively cut the layers last night and covered them in plastic wrap. Ideally I would have baked the cake the day of, but nevertheless, the filling helped moisten it some.

In other news, I have one class day until exams start. It's going to be the longest day of my life.

And then I'm going to spend my month off sleeping. I can't wait.