Savory Brioche Pockets

I should not have done this recipe...  not at this moment... not this past weekend.

With a sick husband.
With my parents out of town.
With a house full of 5 guests.

But it is done.

And it doubled as dinner (even if my kiddos didn't eat it).
And it utilized sage and chives from my garden.
And it reminded how much I love working with and eating brioche dough.

This post is a part of Tuesdays with Dorie/ Baking with Julia cooking group.  See our host, Carrie at Loaves and Stitches, for the full recipe.

And here is Rhiannon!

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake(s)

A cake that I love!  I must admit that I am whole-heartedly not a cake lover (much to my father's chagrin).  I don't like it so much that I had brownies at my wedding instead of cake (my father ordered a cake in addition to the brownies).   Now to be fair, I think this dislike stems from the many bad cakes that I have had: crumbly, dry, no flavor, sugary frosting.  This rhubarb upside down cake was the opposite of all those bad cakes: moist, tender, tart sweetness.

The upside down part is prepared with brown sugar and butter melted with the addition of some bourbon, nut pieces and rhubarb slices.  Since I don't have baby cakes, as per the recipe from Baking with Julia, I decided to use my 8" cast iron pan and put the leftovers in muffin tins.  Using the cast iron pan made this part easy, as I just was able to do it all in the pan and leave most if it in there.

As for the batter, it is a basic butter cake batter.  After creaming the butter and sugar, eventually adding the eggs, I added the dried and wet ingredients in alternating rounds.  The main wet ingredient in this one which created that tender crumb was sour cream (or creme fraiche or plain yogurt).

Then it was just a matter of plopping the batter on top of the rhubarb sugar mixture and baking it.  Flipping the cake was nerve wracking as I completely flopped the Boca Negra at this step.  But these all came out easily and in one piece.

This recipe truly highlighted the spring rhubarb and the tartness of the rhubarb allowed us to eat more before getting over-sugared (for better or for worse).  My dad and I both loved this cake.  Maybe this should have been my wedding cake.

This post is part of the Baking with Julia/ Tuesdays with Dorie baking group.  See Erin's blog for the full recipe.

And here is Rhiannon...

Madeleines

Prior to making these this past weekend, I have eaten Madeleines only once.  There is a cute, little, serious restaurant in town here that bakes them up to order in the mornings.  A year ago, I went there with the sole purpose of ordering those Madeleines.  I remember them being deliciously fresh baked but underwhelming treats.    The same goes for this home-baked version.  They worked, they were fresh, but I could take them or leave them.

This was my second go at a genoise batter.  My first was a disaster (French Strawberry Cake) so I was a bit intimidated to try it again.  But I DO have my new mixer and I was certain to cool my melted butter down this time.  It all worked.  The basic genoise pattern goes like this.

Sift the dry, sifted stuff (flour, salt, some sugar).

Whip the eggs and yolks with the sugar until they are tripled in volume.

Gently fold in the dry ingredients in 3 sessions.

Then incorporate melted butter by first mellowing it with some of the already-mixed batter before fully incorporating it.

Then it is ready.

For this recipe it was ready to be filled into the Madeleine plaques and chilled overnight.  Now, according to the recipe book, this was supposed to be baked right away, but listening to some of our expert Madeleine bakers in the group, chilling the batter is the only way to get the characteristic puffed shell shape, so I chilled it.  I also prepped my Madeleine plaque with two coats of melted butter, instead of butter and flour for the same reason.   Like I said, it all worked.  I had beautiful, puffed Madeleines that released easily from their pan.

I truly wished I liked them more.  They would be a terrific tea party cake (when do I ever have tea parties?).  Thank goodness I borrowed the Madeleine plaque from a friend, because I am not sure when I would use it next.

For the full recipe and other Baking with Julia bloggers' experiences, see Katie and Amy of Counter Dog and Tuesdays with Dorie respectively.


And Rhiannon:

Rustic Potato Loaves

I just barely made this one.  We just had spring break; we had company; we traveled; and I honestly thought I had another week to do this recipe.   This may explain the dearth of pictures.  I was just getting it done, no extras.  I forgot photos completely until I was about to cut the bread for dinner.

But I am so thankful I eked it out.  This bread was surprisingly wonderful to eat.  The texture was so chewy and the flavor from the potatoes gave it depth not normally found in white bread.  And it wasn't difficult, although it's artisan looks belie this.  It did take some time: boiling potatoes, cooling/ drying them, two rises and 40-45 minutes in the oven.  (The book claims this recipe can be done on a whim, last-minute-like (maybe).)

My new mixer is definitely getting a work out between this and pizza dough and cupcakes and such; it is well broken in already.  But I am still keeping my grandma's mixer for now; I can't let go of it yet. 

For the full recipe and excellent pictures, see our host, Dawn,  at Simply Sweet.

And here is Rhiannon... I think she's eating... or maybe feeding her toes?

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

After tackling croissants with our last TWD recipe, this seemed too simple.  A basic cookie dough recipe: whisk together dry ingredients, including the essential instant coffee powder, cream the butter, sugar and eggs;  mix them together; add chocolate and the optional apricot pieces.   The few tricks or extras needed for this recipe were to let the dough chill in the fridge before baking and to double up the baking pans to prevent burning on the bottoms.  Easy.

They turned out just fine.  They were a bit thinner than my perfect cookie but they had the right ratio of chewiness to crunchiness.  And the chocolate chunks were heavenly when just warm out of the oven.  As for the apricots, I could take them or leave them.  If I use them next time, I would add a touch more salt to balance out their sweetness.

On a total side note.  This may be my last recipe using my grandma's mixer.  I just got a new, heavier- duty Kitchen Aid mixer (Thanks, Sorrel!).  I absolutely love using my grandma's mixer because I know it's history, and it provides some connection to her for me.  But the fact is, the motor smells and burns if I use it anywhere above medium speed...  maybe I will just use it until it completely dies, knowing that I have a replacement in the ready.  We'll see.  I still have her rolling pin and that is not going anywhere...

For this recipe, see our host's site here:  http://galettista.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/mocha-chocolate-chips/

Rhiannon and Quinn

Croissants

After making these, I believe every croissant made in the traditional French fashion should cost $10.    And that would be a bargain.

These took a full day and a half to create (a lot of it is rest time) with serious bouts of rolling and elbow grease.   Those delicate layers seen above belie the work and intensity needed to make them.

The recipe starts fairly basic with a stout, yeasted dough made in a mixer (even my borrowed professional mixer struggled with its thickness).  The butter is prepped with a little flour to absorb any water.  The dough and the butter are then shaped into ovals and rested in the refrigerator overnight.

Then comes the most interesting part.  After enveloping the butter with the dough like a purse, it is beaten (preferably with a french rolling pin without handles) until the butter spreads outward into the entirety of the dough.  It actually works.  Then after a few light rolls, it rests in the fridge for about 2 hours.

And the day continues on like this.  Roll, fold, rest.  Roll fold, rest.  Roll fold rest.  Yes, three cycles of this, or "turns" as they call it.  And the third turn is actually a double turn and the dough is le portefeuille (the wallet).  (Sounds so much better in French.)

roll & fold

roll & fold

my wallet

Finally, it can be rolled one more time, cut and then shaped into crescents.   For this part, I cut too many triangles and wound up making petite croissants.   But luckily, I still had half of my dough left, and I could recoup my mistakes and make bigger chocolate croissants.   All the better.  I did not have any "batons" of chocolate but rough chopped chocolate worked just fine.

my petite croissants

Then, unbelievably, they rise for 3-4 more hours before baking.  (Now I understand why bakers have to get up so early in the morning.)  Then it is a short 15-17 minutes in the oven.

So, we ate them at 9pm.  They were perfect dessert croissants.  And the taste of the chocolate ones fresh from the oven may entice me to make them again.  Maybe.  But I also wouldn't mind paying $10 for one, now that I know how to make one...

This recipe is made with the Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking with Julia baking group.  Visit our host's site for the full recipe.

The drink needed to tackle this recipe.

And Rhiannon:

Boca Negra

Boca Negra.  Black Mouth.  This certainly must refer to the density of chocolate in these babies; impossible not to have a black mouth while eating one.  Impossible, not to have a smile on that mouth as well.   These are incredible chocolate bombs, indeed fudge-like when eaten out of the fridge.  And the bourbon added in just makes that smile bigger.  Topped with white chocolate bourbon cream and you almost have to laugh.  These were an ideal match for my husband as he loves chocolate and he loves bourbon; a perfect fit for Valentine's Day.

So this recipe is pretty simple.  Make a bourbon simple sugar.

Use it to melt the butter and chocolate.

(That's a lot of butter and chocolate).

Add some lightly mixed eggs and sugar.  Add a touch of flour.  Pour and bake (in a water bath) until a skin forms on the top.  Do some flipping and the cake unmolds.

That last step was my only downfall.  Somehow the cake, when unmolded just fell apart.  I have a feeling I didn't bake it long enough, although I cooked it for 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for.  Or maybe I should have waited a bit for the cake to set instead of trying to flip it right out of the oven.   Anyhow, I could not let this amazing batter go to waste.  I scooped up as much as I could and plopped it into ramekins (about 7 total).  I then put these ramekins back in the water bath for 5-10 more minutes.   I have no idea if this affected how they turned out, lacking a comparison, but they were fabulous.  And my husband thought they were pretty great too.

These were topped with a white chocolate bourbon cream.  Over the top for sure.



And here is Rhiannon back on the swing.

This post is part of the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group.  See our host for the week, Cathy at Frederick Food Garden,  for the recipe.