Roz Ka Khana

To be very honest, I had not heard of a “Tian” until now. That’s the beauty of the challenges that are dished out of the Daring Kitchen, I suppose. This is my second month on the challenge, but the first one that I’m actually posting.The first challenge was Tiramisu, that somehow eluded me, or I avoided it, however you want to put it:) These challenges are quite complicated (duh!) , and though I’m glad I finished it this month, I’m not sure I would necessarily make it again, at least not the same complicated steps.

The tian was quite delicious, don’t get me wrong, but I think the same orange cream pie/creamsicle taste could have been achieved via a recipe that took half the time. At least, that was my immediate reaction after I tasted it.

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris. These were the variations/conditions of the challenge-
Variations allowed:
* You can choose to serve the dessert ‘family-style’ and don’t have to make it in individual portions. (This is how I made it)
* You can use your favorite “Pate Sablee” recipe if you have one, but it must be a pate sablee
* You can add any additional flavoring to your whipped cream
* You can play with different citrus in this dessert (grapefruit, blood orange, lemon) at any step in the recipe.
* However, you must make the tart dough, the whipped cream, the caramel sauce, citrus segments and marmalade.

I ended up making everything on the same day which didn’t help. By the time I was done and put the Tian in the freezer, it was close to midnight . I will suggest that you make the marmalade, caramel sauce and the pate sablee a day ahead and the whipped cream the next day, so you can assemble the dessert and leave it in the freezer overnight. Then put it out to thaw in the refrigerator the next day and possibly out at room temperature about 2 hours prior to serving.Mine was probably in the fridge too long as the base was still a little frozen when I served it to my guests. When I ate it the next day, it felt perfect but I’d already made an impression (not the right kind) on my 30 guests who tried to eat it with a fork at first and eventually had to pick it up with their fingers to eat it like a scone with whipped cream on top!

Well, on  a positive note, I learnt how to make marmalade that turned out perfect and I survived my first Daring Baker’s Challenge . April DBC, here I come!

For the Pate Sablee:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 2.8 oz; 80 grams
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed
1/3 teaspoon Salt 2 grams
1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons All-purpose flour 7 oz; 200 grams
1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams

Directions:
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogeneous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.

Place a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet inside a round cake tin or a springform pan. Place the dough on the paper and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges start to get golden.

For the Marmalade:

Ingredients
Freshly pressed orange juice ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams
1 large orange used to make orange slices
cold water to cook the orange slices
pectin 5 grams
granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes.

Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices.

Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor).

Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measure and use the same amount of sugar.

In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes).

Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

For the Orange Segments:

For this step you will need 8 oranges.

Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.

[See YouTube video in the References section below for additional information on segmenting oranges.]

For the Caramel:

Ingredients :
granulated sugar 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
orange juice 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons; 14 oz; 400 grams

Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it.

Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.

Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians.

[Tip: Be very careful when making the caramel — if you have never made caramel before, I would suggest making this step while you don’t have to worry about anything else. Bubbling sugar is extremely, extremely hot, so make sure you have a bowl of ice cold water in the kitchen in case anyone gets burnt!]

For the Whipped Cream:

Ingredients :
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp vegetarian Gelatine (I bought this at Whole Foods and it’s called vegetarian jello. You may also use agar agar)
1 tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:

Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out a springform pan onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circle of dough ready to use.

Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of the springform pan. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snugly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of the pan, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cpan in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on the circle of dough.

Carefully place the circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

Place the dessert to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes to overnight.

Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

Resources:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tian.htm(An article about the dessert known as tian.)

YouTube link on how to segment an orange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5mcEEBlcI

To learn more about Pectin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectin

What to substitute for Pectin: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Dictionary/P/Pectin-6222.aspx

This was a dessert/potluck recipe that I got from an old friend when I was working as a graduate assistant in school at the U of I. As I look through an old binder that consists mostly of printed recipes from sites like ammas.com, bawarchi.com, usenet groups or forums, I realize that good food has always been a passion for me. Blogs didnt exist then, I’m talking about 1999-2000, but there was this need to keep a recipe diary of sorts. It’s amazing to think about how much change web 2.0 has brought to our browsing habits and our social space. What is now a blog link that I can share on Facebook or Twitter was a little printed email note from a friend back then. It also amazes me that I still kept this printed note…the recipe of fruit pizza that she brought to the school potluck party that I never tried..until now. I’m not sure that she would even remember me today but this post is dedicated to Gloria.

I tried it finally this year for our Super Bowl party and it was the perfect dessert.

Ingredients:

1 log of store bought or home made sugar cookie dough (I used the Nestle brand, but you can use any)

2 bananas, thinly sliced

10-12 strawberries, thinly sliced

4 kiwi fruits, sliced into small c’s (see picture)

blueberries

1 8oz block of strawberry cream cheese (you may use any flavored kind)

Method:

1. Roll out the sugar cookie dough on to a round cookie sheet. You can make this in any shape but since I call it “Fruit Pizza”, I rolled it out in a large circle. The cookie dough should be about 1 – 1 1/2 inch think. Bake according to package instructions, or about 10-12 mins at 350F. Cool the cookie until it gets to room temperature.

2. Slice the fruits thinly.

3. Beat the cream cheese a little till soft and easy to spread. Spread a generous layer of cream cheese on the cookie, and arrange the fruits in any order you like. Chill in the regrigerator until ready to serve. Cut into wedges using a pizza cutter and serve.

I haven’t been baking much this year aside from the ones already posted here, the banana bread and the pistachio cookies, all the same tried recipes. I did get the idea once to bake a batch of different cookies and give them as homemade gifts this year, to add that personal touch. But like everything else, the time got away from me and I resorted to gift cards, once again, the tried and true method:) I know, sounds a little boring, but aside from looking up some delectable recipes on the web, I couldn’t get myself to actually shake things up a little this season. Until I went grocery shopping with my nephew and he told me he was craving cupcakes and wanted to buy some, from Walmart! Of all the places, I thought. I mean, Walmart is fine for basic groceries, but I don’t consider it to be a place to buy gourmet food.

Is vanilla cupcake considered “gourmet food”, probably not, but I had my biases with Walmart anyway. Of course, my actual response was, “I’ll make a better cupcake for you!!” There, I had said it. Now I had opened myself up to a challenge that I make better cupcakes than Walmart. Should have said “better than “Sprinkles” – the best cupcake-ry in town, but I had to start small:)

So we got home and I started on the challenge of making the cupcakes from scratch, the cake, frosting and all….I was not going to use a mix or frosting out of a box or can. That’s probably not a big deal for most, but it felt good, saying that at least;)

In case you’re curious, I got the recipe from here.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2tablespoons milk or light cream

Method:

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a food processor or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will look a little curdled. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. If using the stand mixer, chage the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. If using a food processor, continue as is. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You may scrape the top off a little to flatten the top of the muffin so the frosting goes on smoothly.

For the Frosting:

In an electric mixer, or standmixer, cream the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.

Verdict: According to my nephew, he may not buy a Walmart cupcake again:) It turned out moist and just right, like the recipe said it would.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

It’s not the Holidays yet, you say? I say the season’s already begun. For us Indians in the US, Diwali is kind of the harbinger of the Holiday season, isn’t it? And while Amma used to make boondi laddoos, rava laddoos, badhusha, halwa for Diwali…I could go on and on…I compare it to the different kinds of cookies that we bake here in the US for the Holidays. It also happened to be Nikhil’s birthday this past week, so I shouldn’t really say that I baked these cookies for Diwali.. the timing just happened to coincide. Also, the chocolate chip cookie needs eggs, and they for sure weren’t made with Diwali in mind, as cooking with eggs for something as auspicious as Diwali could be considered blasphemous in the home I grew up in.

The result of baking those cookies? Let me just say that Diwali isn’t even here yet, but the cookies are long gone! I baked three different kinds of cookies and made almost 100 of them in all (I know for many Daring Bakers out there, this isn’t a big deal, but it was for me to share) and it wasn’t just the kids that loved them.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

I got this recipe from a Martha Stewart video show where she was demonstrating how to bake crisp chocolate chip cookies, not the chewy kind (which are also not my favorites anyway!).  I made one batch with 36 cookies and they turned out so good that I made 2 more batches.

The only variation was that I used a little less sugar and kept the oven temperature at 350F instead of 375 as she suggests. The cookies get done very quickly and I personally don’t like them too sweet as well.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg white

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) and set aside.

3. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes)

4. Add vanilla, egg and egg white to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat for a few more minutes in low speed.

5. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Now add the chocolate chips and run the mixer once quick so everything gets mixed well.

6. Take an ice cream scoop and add one heap of cookie dough on the baking sheet. Add the remaining dough in a similar fashion placing them about one inch apart from each other on the sheet.

7. Bake for about 15-16 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Rotate the sheet halfway so the cookies get browned evenly. Cool on a wire rack.

Pistachio Icebox Shortbread

Ingredients:

1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour (plus additional for tolling the dough)

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Method:

1. Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth and fluffy for about 3 minutes.

2. Add the flour now while keeping the mixer at low speed, and mix until combined and it forms a dough. Mix in the chopped pistachios.

3. Divide the dough into two halves. Place each half on a piece of floured or wax paper. Take some flour in your hands and roll the dough until a 1 1/2 inch log forms. Wrap the logs firmly in the paper and refrigerate until firm for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The logs can be refrigerated for upto 4 days or frozen for upto a month.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F. remove the logs from the refrigerator, and using a serrated knife, slice the dough into 3/4 or 3/8 inch slices. Arrange the slices about 1 inch apart on the sheet.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheets or transfer to a wire rack.

Thanks for all the comments on the recent blog makeover. Being new to blogging, it’s always encouraging to get a comment, even if it’s in monosyllables..it’s just a testament that I have your support.

I have been relatively quiet this month, though that’s not saying that things were quiet in the kitchen. In fact the kitchen is super busy…my mom is here from India. And that only means more scrumptious contributions from my..er..her..our kitchen! Amma has some staple recipes that she has mastered ..I’m not saying that because I’m her daughter, but I’m yet to taste anything like her aviyal (vegetables in coconut curry sauce) and paal payasam (rice kheer/pudding) or her burfis. I think it would be befitting to dedicate a section of this blog to Amma’s recipes. This quote that I read somewhere sums up Amma in a few words..

A mother is a person who, seeing that there are only four pieces for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

That is Amma.

I thought I’d start off this section on a sweet note with her famous burfi recipe. She makes different kinds but here’s a new one that she made within the first few days of coming here. The burfi was devoured in a few hours!

Ingredients:

1/2 carrot grated

1/4 cup grated coconut

15 cashewnuts powdered

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi pd)

1. Take the grated carrot, coconut and cashews in a blender. Add the milk and blend to a paste.

2. Take about 1 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and add the sugar to this to make sugar syrup. You will know it’s done when the syrup becomes thick and forms a “single string” when touched between your thumb and forefinger. That’s the test Amma does to ensure it’s done. Unfortunately I didn’t take enough pictures to show you this but I’ll try to explain how she does it. Take a little bit of the sugar syrup and spread it on your thumb. Now press your forefinger against your thumb and when you separate your fingers, you will see a “single string” of syrup.

This could also be called a “soft ball” stage. Check out this link to see what I’m talking about.

3. Now add the carrot-coconut-cashew-milk paste to this sugar syrup. Keep stirring this mixture on a low to medium flame till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. This may take about 10-15 minutes but make sure you turn off the heat when the mixture starts to thicken and leave the sides of the pan, else you may overcook it.

4. Add the ghee to this mixture and the cardamom powder.

5. Take some butter paper (optional) on a flat plate or thali. You may also use a greased plate if you don’t have butter paper handy. Spread the mixture on the paper with a greased flat ladle. Allow to cool to room temperature and then cut into squares.