mango mousse & mirror

This post goes alongside my previous one of the Daring Baker's Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprimé/Entrement. As I said before, I used a mango mousse and mirror as my entrement for the joconde, and it turned out beautifully. Tasted good, too, I heard.

The mirror is definitely optional, but if you plan on using this mousse in some sort of layer spongecake dessert, it's a very pretty finishing touch. I'll give you the recipe for both, both of which are relatively simple. 

Mango Mousse & Mirror
Adapted from make life sweeter!

For the mousse, you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups cold whipping cream
• 1/3 oz gelatin
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 2 1/2 cups mango puree (about 2 1/2 large mangoes)
• 3 1/2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp mango essence

For the mango mirror, you'll need:

• 1/3 oz gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup mango puree (about 1/2 mango)

To prepare the mousse, whip heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks and put in the refrigerator. In a small bowl, mix gelatin and water. Let sit a few minutes. Meanwhile, combine mango puree, mango essence, and confectioner's sugar until well incorporated. Heat gelatin mixture in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirrinng in between, until gelatin dissolves. Pour Dissolved gelatin mixture into the mango puree mixture and mix until incorporated. Fold in cold whipped cream until blended. Pour the mousse immediately into a shallow dish, truffle dish, mold, or springform pan [whatever you intend to serve the mousse in] and chill until set, about 4-5 hours.

To prepare the mirror, soak the gelatin into half the water [so 1/4 cup]. Meanwhile, heat the rest of the sugar in the remaining water until sugar dissolves. Add the soaked gelatin to the sugar water and stir until dissolved [heat gently until dissolved if necessary]. Add the sugar/gelatin mixture to the mango puree and stir until fully incorporated. Let the mirror come to room temperature. Pour the mirror through a sieve on top of the chilled mousse. Allow mirror to set in the refrigerator, at least an hour, before serving.

It looks so creamy, and the color is beautiful. It sets extremely well too. Plus, I got to use some mango puree my mom whipped up from fresh mangoes over the summer [which she so generously gave me to stick in the freezer for such uses as this]. Once I can get my hands on some halal gelatin, I'll replicate it at home.

I was a bit worried about the mirror, but it also turned out absolutely perfectly. Definitely a good choice. I think I'll retry this in a smaller size and without the joconde lining around the cake in future. Maybe with a coconut spongecake base. Or chocolate. I've heard chocolate and mango is a rather daring combination...

salted caramel brownies

Caramel.

this is not caramel

I have very mixed feelings about caramel. On the one hand, it can be absolutely delicious. Warm, silky smooth, seeping into brownies and cakes and making them moist and scrumptious. On the other hand, the hardened, tough, chewy caramel found in cheap chocolates makes me want to puke is not so tasty. I've also had bad experiences making caramel in the past. Clumps up, hardens too much, becomes chunky, burns. It's a tough endeavor.

this is caramel

But I think I would have to put salted caramel at the top of my list of "things-I-would-pour-into-a-glass-and-take-shots-of." It's actually one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. Actually. Ever. EVER. The contradiction of flavors, of sweet and salty, light and rich, is incredible on your tastebuds. Just makes you happy from the inside out.

It's been a tough couple of days lately, for a number of reasons. Seeing the end of a very long week approach, I knew I had to do something to lighten things up a bit. So I baked, of course. Salted caramel brownies. Warm, delicious, comforting, perfect.

Now, I used the same brownie recipe found in my cream cheese swirled brownies post. It has yet to fail me. In this one, though, I omitted the coffee (coffee AND caramel seemed a bit too much), and threw in some chopped walnuts. I will give you the amazingly delicious salted caramel recipe here though.

Salted Caramel Sauce
Adapted from Delishhh.

You'll need:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar on medium heat until it begins to melt, whisking constantly, until sugar turns a bright amber color. This will take about 5 minutes. It's alright if it forms clumps. Whisk in salt. Toss in butter all at once and whisk until blended. Remove saucepan from heat and slowly pour in heavy cream, whisking constantly and vigorously. Whisk until the sauce is smooth. It's alright if there are a few, small clumps. Let caramel sauce cool for 10-15 minutes before using in brownies.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line and grease a 9x13-inch pan. Prepare brownie batter as directed. Pour half of the prepared brownie batter into the pan and spread evenly. Using a spoon, pour about 1/4 cup of salted caramel evenly over the brownie batter. Pour the remaining brownie batter on top. Pour another 1/4 cup of salted caramel evenly over the top of the brownies. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set. Let cool completely before serving and cutting. Reheat remaining salted caramel for 10-15 seconds to warm up and pour over the cooled brownies before serving.

Caramel sauce stays good for up to one month covered at room temperature, three months refrigerated.

These were delicious. I actually ate an entire brownie, despite my relatively good attempts at low-carbing. And had rationality not hit me, I literally would have taken a ladle to the saucepan of caramel sauce. Not sure I would have regretted it, either. 

Half of these went to Ali as a belated birthday present, and the other half went to my dear friend Nayaab. I do hope both enjoyed them! 

You know, sometimes a little sugar is okay to pick you back up, I think.

Si sta
come d'autunno
sugli alberi
le foglie
-Giuseppe Ungaretti

(Feels like
those leaves
on branches
in autumn)

{DBC} biscuit joconde imprimé/entrement

I can officially post! Literally, I've had this sitting in my pending posts since this past weekend.

No, I am not pathetic, I just like to write before I forget the recipes [read: too lazy to have to look them up].

My culinary life has taken quite a turn. I make that out to be much more dramatic than it actually is, but I am quite excited about it. I've finally joined one of the most revered blogrolls in culinary cyberspace. The Daring Bakers, to be precise.

Towards the end of December, I joined the Daring Bakers, one of two "chapters" of the Daring Kitchen blogroll (the other being the Daring Cooks). At the start of every month, the Daring Bakers reveals a Challenge Recipe that all members of the chapter are to bake and post on their own blogs on the 27th. This month, my first official month as a Daring Baker and my first month participating, the recipe challenge was for biscuit joconde imprimé, which I filled with a mango mousse entrement.

You know those gorgeous little, cylindrical layer cakes you see in pastry shop windows? The ones with decorative "wrappings" around them, designed with intricate patterns and colors? Filled to the brim with mousses, puddings, cheesecakes, Bavarian creams, and the like? Turns out, it's not an impossible feat. A difficult one, yes, but not impossible.

Biscuit joconde imprimé is a light, almond spongecake with a decorative design baked into it. The joconde batter is baked in thin sheets, and its flexibility allows the pâtissier to use it to line the outsides of Charlottes or mousses. [Incidentally, "La Joconde" is the French name of the Mona Lisa]. Entrement, a French term literally meaning "between servings", refers to a small dish served between courses, or more commonly, a dessert dish. As a dessert, entrements are layered cakes alternating numerous layers of spongecake or génoise and pastry cream. So, when put together, the joconde imprimé serves as the outer "wrapper" of the entrement filling. 

This recipe has a few components, but is also extremely flexible, insofar as what entrement you choose. There's the joconde paste [or pâte à cigarette, as I've seen it called as well], the joconde sponge, and the entrement [which in my case consisted of a mango mousse and a mango mirror]. I'm not going to lie, there were some...complications when I made this. Long story short, three hours, 20 eggs, two do-overs, and one still somewhat dissatisfied novice baker later, the joconde was done. Just the joconde. The mango mousse, made the day after with the help of my favorite sous baker, Tommy, took another few hours [though this includes chill time]. Overall, though, as unexpectedly time-consuming as this turned out, I'm glad it was the challenge recipe. I would never have learned how to replicate those gorgeous little cakes otherwise.

Not that I have the skill required to replicate those, by any stretch of the imagination, but it at least gives me some direction. And another opportunity to bake with friends. And for my mother to snicker at my culinary inadequacies. Everyone wins!

 

Biscuit Joconde Imprimé
Recipe adapted from the Daring Bakers' January 2011 Challenge Recipe

For the joconde paste, you'll need:

• 1 stick [8 tbsp] unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cake flour
• food coloring as desired [for chocolate variation, add 1/3 cup cocoa powder in place of food coloring]

*as a note: I've adjusted the joconde paste recipe to halve the one given in the challenge post. This is because the ratios used in the given recipe yielded more than twice the amount of paste I needed, even after redoing the joconde imprimé.

For the joconde sponge, you'll need:

• 3/4 cup almond meal [almond flour]
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp almond extract 
• 3 egg whites
• 2 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted 

Line a 13x18-inch [I used an 11.5x17.5-inch] pan with a sheet of wax paper and set aside. Do not preheat the oven yet, as the following will be a somewhat lengthy process.

Begin by making the paste. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add in egg whites, beating continuously. Fold in flour and cocoa, if using. If not using cocoa, fold in flour and tint the batter with a few drops of whatever food coloring desired. If not using joconde paste immediately, paste keeps well in an airtight container for up to three days. Otherwise, proceed with the decorating.

There are two ways to go about decorating the joconde sponge. 1) Spread the paste thinly over the wax paper, and use a knife, pastry comb, spatula, or your fingers to draw designs. Otherwise, 2) Use a piping bag to pipe designs all over the wax paper. [I transferred the paste into a ziplock bag and clipped a corner to use as a make shift piping bag]. In any case, once the design has been drawn on the wax paper, place the pan in the freezer until the paste hardens, at least 15-20 minutes. 

While joconde paste is hardening, begin preparing the joconde sponge batter. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit [if using a dark pan, reduce heat to 425]. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until they begin to get frothy [if using a stand mixer, be sure to use the whisk attachment]. Slowly add in the granulated sugar and continue whisking on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In another bowl, combine almond meal, confectioner's sugar, and cake flour. Add eggs, one at a time, blending until a smooth batter forms. Add in vanilla and mix until incorporated. Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg white mixture to lighten the batter, before folding in the remaining egg whites. Finally, fold in melted butter. Do not over-mix, or egg whites will deflate.  

Once joconde paste has hardened, remove pan from the freezer. Slowly pour the sponge batter over the paste, smoothing it evenly with a spatula. Bake for 6-7 minutes, until sponge is just beginning to brown. The sponge bakes extremely quickly, so be alert. Once baked, allow spongecake to cool for about 5 minutes before removing it from the pan. Invert the cake onto a sheet of wax paper so the decorated side is facing up. 

Now, prepare the mold. Decide what size you want your joconde to be. Typically, they're rather tiny, so mini springform pans would be ideal. Unfortunately, I didn't own any at the time [I have 4 coming in the mail soon!], so I went with an 8-inch springform. Line the walls of the mold with parchment paper [this will prevent the spongecake or filling to stick to the pan while it's chilling]. Once you've readied the mold, cut the cooled joconde sponge into strips to line the walls of the pan, against the parchment paper. Make sure the layers fit tight against the wall; you don't want them resting loosely or the entrement won't chill properly. If desired, cut out a piece large enough to fit into the base, or bake a separate sponge cake to use as layers. Set the prepared mold aside.

inside of my prepared mold

Now, decide on what to use as your entrement. I used a mango mousse and mirror, but any sort of cheesecake, mousse, Bavarian cream, or pudding would work, so long as there is enough gelatin or cornstarch to help it keep its shape. Once the entrement is done, pour it into the joconde, layering it as desired. [I just filled the entire joconde with mango mousse, though in future I would like to do alternating layers of spongecake and mousse.] Chill the joconde long enough for the entrement to set, usually 4-5 hours, and remove from the pan when ready to serve.

 

Hm. I didn't love the way mine turned out. The sponge cake was sloppy, and my technique was off since I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And my imprimé, despite having baked quite well, came out rather shoddy, since the mirror dripped down the sides of the spongecake walls before it was able to set, and consequently the walls stuck to the sides of the pan. 

:(

I was, however, pretty satisfied with how well the mango mousse and mirror held up. Tommy was a huge help there, and provided emotional support when I was positive this entire thing was going to fall apart at the seams. It also tasted quite good, according to him and Matt, which I suppose, in the long run, is all that matters.

Overall, not one of my best cakes, nor one that I'm super satisfied with, but once those mini springforms come in, I'm positive I will be attempting more of these. I'm feeling a chocolate espresso mousse cake next...

In other news, not quite sure why promises of snow keep failing us here in Cville. It's getting highly distressing. I mean, I just want to curl up with some coconut Oolong and my new mug and not have to go to class. Is that so much to ask?

gooey butter cake

New look, new dessert, new semester.

I've spent the last two weeks relishing Cville without students. Campus has been so quiet that walking across it to and from the apartment shuttle has been relaxing in and of itself. Then, coming home and bundling up in a hand-knit quilt, cooking and baking, watching Netflix, visiting friends, having friends visit... it's been lovely.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end, and a new semester starts in 2 days. I came home briefly this past weekend to exploit my mom's credit card on groceries and pick up Assassin's Creed to see my amazing family, which was nice after a 25-hour work week. Though, I must say, I do love my apartment dearly. And Noosh is back now, too, so it's home again. I'm even pretty excited about the upcoming semester, which is admittedly nerdy to the max, but I can't help it that I actually signed up for classes that I'm excited about. [History of Marx? Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe? Is it any wonder that I managed to find all of the philosophically-driven college requirements offered?]

Really though, I think it's the lack of Symbolic Logic alone that has me anticipating a good semester.

That, and I have a bunch of dessert recipes lined up to try.

Oh, and Spain in 5 months, but that's no big deal [read: I'm counting down the days desperately].

Today was Raj and Hershil's birthday. Twenty years old. Goodness. Everyone's turning twenty, and leaving me in the dust! But that's alright. [I just get to stay wrinkle-free for longer.]

For the occasion, I baked them some famous gooey butter cakes. These rich cakes, though, more like bars because it's impossible to eat an actual slice of this thing without dying of sugar overdose, originated in St. Louis in the 1930's. They started out as coffee cakes, rather than dessert cakes, but over time the yellow-cake-and-cream-cheese-topping variation turned it into a sugary-sweet, after-dinner treat.

Gooey Butter Cakes
Adapted from Paula Deen's The Ladies & Sons Just Desserts 

For the cake, you'll need:

• 1 18.25-oz package yellow cake mix [i.e. one box]
• 1 egg
• 1 stick [8 tbsp] butter, melted

For the filling, you'll need:

• 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 16-oz powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups toffee bits, optional
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, optional
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

To prepare the cake, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixture. Pat the mixture evenly into the base of the pan. Set aside.

To prepare the filling, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla and butter and beat until blended. Turn mixer speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar until mixture is smooth. Toss in nuts, toffee, or chocolate [or any combination thereof] and stir into mixture, if desired. Pour the filling on top of the cake. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until filling has set, but is still slightly gooey [do not overbake]. Wait for cake to cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.

For this batch, I added some toffee bits, which is my standard adaptation of Paula's recipe [though sometimes I'll toss in half a cup of chopped pecans as well]. I don't know, I just like the crunch of the toffee, and the nuts help to offset the sweetness a little bit. I've never tried a chocolate variation of this, though, but I'm sure it would taste just as phenomenal.

The first time I ever baked these was a few years back, for a dear old friend who loved them. So much so that I'm pretty sure I baked these for him a number of times, and the repeated practice is how I initially got really into baking bar desserts. They're just so portable, and versatile, and make excellent gifts, and are delicious.

That, and Nitya referred to these as "applesauce bars," for reasons I'm not quite sure of, seeing as how there is absolutely no applesauce in them, nor do they taste at all like apple. Maybe it's the consistency? Except that it's not? -shrug- She always was an odd one...

Happy birthday, boys :)

luscious lemon bars

Jessica visited Cville yesterday! I haven't seen that girl in...half a year? More than that? Failed skype dates, busy schedules, being about 10 hours apart, yadda yadda yadda. So she decided to visit; came over in the evening, stayed the night, we grabbed some breakfast [i.e. 32 ounces of iced coffee] this morning, and then parted ways as I went to work and she went to visit other friends.

Not gonna lie, about 2 months ago she sent me a message asking if I could mail her some food after a tough week. And I said "Yes! Of course!"

...and then I got busy, promptly forgot, and ended up not doing it.

But after she told me that she was coming by, I knew this was my moment of redemption.

Luscious Lemon Bars
Adapted from The Cookie & Biscuit Bible

For the crust, you'll need:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes 
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

For the topping, you'll need:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• grated zest of one lemon
• juice of one large lemon, about 1/3 cup [add bottled lemon juice as needed]
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• confectioner's sugar, for dusting 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8x8-inch square cake pan with aluminum foil, and grease the bottom and sides.

To prepare crust, process flour, butter, and confectioner's sugar in a food processor or stand mixer on high speed until mixture firms into a dough. Add cold water, one tbsp at a time, if dough isn't coming together. Press dough evenly into the base of the tin and spread smoothly using the back of a spoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crust is lightly golden. Set aside and let cool.

To prepare topping, whisk eggs until frothy. Add sugar little by little, whisking in between additions. Whisk in lemon juice, zest, flour, and baking soda until mixture is smooth. Pour onto cooled crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set and golden. Leave bars to cool completely before cutting. Refrigerating until serving. Sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top, right before serving.

I love lemon bars. I think everyone else on the planet does, too. The shortbread-like crust, the silky smooth, tart, bright yellow topping, the combination of both textures when you take a bite. What's not to love?

The particular cookbook I used for this recipe has about 4 other 'lemon bar' recipes, all unique. I want to try them all and figure out which are the best. When I initially made this following the book's ratios and took a test bite, though, I found the bars to be slightly too sweet and not tart enough [though, the lack of actual sugar for the past while may have contributed to the massive sugar rush that ensued]. Nevertheless, the ratios I've typed above are altered to how I would bake them in future.

...should have sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. curse my impatience.

Hmm. I really need some new serving plates. So I don't resort to white, paper plates for contrast. Plates that make everything else seem more orange than they actually are. Or maybe that's just my coffee table. Ugh. -overly dramatic sigh-

Photographic aesthetics aside, I hope these made up for my forgetfulness last semester, Jess!