Bury Me In Whipped Ganache

In addition to this self-study baking course that I have embarked upon, I am in the midst of an online Chocolatier course. This week I have been reading about cakes and frostings, researching local distributors of bulk chocolate and deciding on what my "signature chocolates" will be, reading about how to start my own bakery, baking a Devil's Food Cake and all the other normal day to day errands and tasks that one must complete. I am fortunate that I live near the beach and have started walking on the beach in the mornings, to organize my thoughts and get some exercise. Reading about food all the time makes me hungry and given that I am naturally hungry all the time, burning some calories is a good idea. The Chocolatier course is interesting, tons of reading about chocolate; history, cultivation (cacao trees only bear fruit near the equator), chemistry, flavor, recipes, production. By March 11, I need to decide on my "Signature Chocolates" and produce samples to photograph and submit along with the recipes. Once photographed the chocolates will need a home, anyone in interested in tasting please let me know.

As for the Baking; Did you know that 4 ingredients (flour, eggs, sugar, butter) combine to make 6 basic types of cake (sponge, butter, oil-based, yeasted, meringue-based, custard) from which we have created hundreds of variations through the addition of leavenings, fruits, nuts or other flavorings (chocolate would be my personal favorite, but who would have guessed that?). Last night and this afternoon I made a Devil's Food Cake (yum!), this is probably the most beautiful cake I have produced in my life. It had 4 layers filled with Whipped Ganache, which tasted just like the filling of an UNO candy bar (if you've never had one, seek it out) and was coated in the most delicious chocolate buttercream (really: butter, sugar, chocolate, how could it not be delicious). Amazingly it was level, my sister and brothers who might be reading this can attest that I have a knack for producing cakes that resemble the leaning tower of Pisa. Because of this it has been years since I have attempted to make a layer cake, instead I would make sheet cakes and cupcakes. Friday the Fedex man delivered the most beautiful Cuisinart Stand Mixer which was instrumental in the process of making the Ganache & the Buttercream. Lessons learned while making Ganache, if the cream is not hot enough, the chocolate doesn't melt, conversely is the cream is too hot it takes a long time to cool down and become whipped. I had far more Buttercream then I needed, this worried me, did I not put enough on the cake? Guess I will make have to make some cupcakes to use it up. I was thinking about taking a Wilton cake decorating course, has anyone else done this? Would you recommend it or is there another decorating course you would suggest? Up next; Monday I will make a Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Filling and Hazelnut Buttercream, any takers?

 

 

 

Genoise

Yesterday I read the introduction to the cake chapter and baked the Genoise. After looking at the cake chapter more closely, I am making a slight modification to my plan. The chapter is laid out in three sections, basic cakes, frostings, fillings and glazes and then assembled cakes. Here is how I am going to proceed, I will take the next few days to read through the entire chapter and then I will start baking the assembled cakes. This seems the best method, otherwise I am going to have a bunch of naked cakes, then an assortment of frostings and really no place to store them and I don't think I would really have any takers for the odds and ends, unassembled.

I did however bake the Genoise and served it with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. Interesting tidbit; did you know that it takes longer to whip eggs with a handheld mixer than it does by hand? According to Peterson's Baking it takes 4 minutes on high speed using a stand mixer, 20 minutes using a handheld mixer and only 12 minutes with a balloon whisk, to beat 3 whole eggs plus 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar to the ribbon stage: mixture falls in a wide band onto the surface, forming a figure eight that stays for 5 seconds before dissolving. I did the hand whisking method, building up those arm muscles. The forearm begins to burn after a couple minutes and this morning my bicep was sore, no pain, no gain. Towards the end of the week I will make a Devil's Food Cake with Ganache and Chocolate Buttercream, if anyone in the Long Beach area interested in providing it with a good home, please do not hesitate in contacting me.

Supply and Demand

Yesterday I received this sad photo via email of a container with nothing but a few crumbs left. Last Sunday I baked chocolate chip cookies and sent them off. They turned out to be extremely popular, so today I baked some more. I used the recipe for Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. One of the really nice things about this recipe is that it uses melted butter, so if you forget to take the butter out of the fridge or you are just possessed by a sudden urge to bake cookies, all you've got to do is melt a stick and a half of butter. Also nice is that it makes only 2 dozen, so there aren't too many cookies.

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
In large bowl beat together melted butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined.
Slowly add in flour, mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips until well incorporated.
Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown, about 15-20 minutes. Rotate baking sheet halfway through baking .Let the cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or cool completely on a wire rack.

I had more photos, but I am experiencing some frustration getting them to post in the proper place, any advice?

Tomorrow; the baking education begins with Genoise

When life gives you ugly bananas......make banana bread!

So I read the introduction and the recommended equipment list today. Plan to start baking on Monday; first item is Basic French Sponge Cake or Genoise. Why is it that when you begin new projects like this you find that you are missing the expensive pieces of equipment, thinks like copper bowls, food processors, stand mixers. Over the weekend I am going to procure what I need to get started, so if anyone happens to have spare of any if these items that you are willing to part with at bargain prices let me know.

Today since I had a couple of rotten bananas I made Banana bread, using the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book with the following modifications:  1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas mashed
                                                 1 juice from half a lemon
                                                       2 cups whole wheat flour
                                                       2 teaspoons baking powder
                                                       1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 1.5 quart loaf pan.
Whisk together honey, oil, vanilla & salt in large bowl. Add banana & lemon juice. In separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder & baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into wet. Pour into prepared pan and bake 45 minutes to an hour until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Hello!

Thank you for joining me on my experiment. I was let go from my job last October and have spent the past few months looking for work and contemplating what I really want to be when I grow up. The activity that I truly enjoy is cooking and baking. Some years ago I attended culinary school & completed 2 semester long professional baking courses as well as other classes related to cooking. I have decided that what I want to do is open my own bakery, so in order to refresh my skills I am going to follow the course laid out in James Peterson's Baking: 350 recipes and techniques, 1500 photographs, one baking education. I invite you to follow along and if you are interested there should be plenty of homemade goodies available for a small donation to my supply cabinet.