Chocolate Valentino Cake Serve With Ice Cream. The Daring Baker's Challenge February 2009.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.   

We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

This month challenge was pretty exciting. Like most daring baker's member out there, I like chocolate, though I wouldn't consider myself as a chocoholic.  The cake was very simple to make (with only three ingredients), and it was not really take long to make it. The result was a bit on the heavier side for me, that is why you need ice cream to help the cake go down smoothly through your throat, right?

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

• Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
  
• While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
  
• Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
  
• Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
• Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
• Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
• Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

I didn't really use the recipe provided by the host for the ice cream. Instead I made my own hazelnut gelato. I hope to post recipe soon!

Update: 

I didn't realize that I had questions on how I made the conical gelato. I made parchment paper mold, then made the gelato a little bit softer so that I can pipe it in to the conical paper mold. Freeze the gelato for at least 24 hours, mine was 48 hours. Even after being freeze that long, it was hard too prevent it from melting fast. 

BRIOCHE

This my entry to Yeast Spotting event created by Susan from Wild Yeast. To join this event is very easy, here is how:

• Bake with yeast (wild or baker's) or make a dish starring bread.
  
• Post about it. Please include a recipe/formula, or a link to one, or some indication of how the bread was made. Also please include the word "YeastSpotting", with a link to this page.
• Submit your post here. Please submit it during the same week it was posted.

This is the easiest brioche recipe I've found so far. 

If you use the molds like the one picture here, it will yield about 16 brioches. I actually use my terrine mold, and use the smaller mold for the left over dough.

Recipe adapted from: Your Place Or Mine? 

"Cooking at Home with Restaurant Style", by: Jean-Christophe Novelli

Yields: 16 small brioches, OR 1 large terinne pan, and 5 small brioches

Ingredients:

0.6 ounce package fresh compressed yeast, cut into small pieces. Cream with a little warm water and let it rest for 5 minutes

4 - 4½ cups all-purposed flour, plus more for dusting

1 tbs salt

¼ cup sugar

6 large eggs, beaten

¾ cup + 2 tbs unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

For the glaze: 

1 egg

pinch of salt

a little sugar

• Put flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl, mix. Make a well in the middle, add the creamed yeast, mix well.
• Add the beaten egg a little at a time, I do this in an electric mixer on a low setting*. The dough is sticky, but not too soft. With the machine still running, gradually add about a tablespoon the softened butter at a time. Continue to mix until the dough is no longer sticky, and become very elastic.
• Transfer the dough on to a clean large bowl, cover with plastic. Let rest until its double in volume.
• Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Grease 16 individual brioche mold. Punch down the dough, divide it into 16 balls**. Place them on each mold, cover with clean kitchen towel. Let them rest again until double in size.
• Make the glaze: beat the egg, salt. Brush this carefully on each brioche.
• Make small cut with scissors in each brioche, sprinkle with little sugar (I skipped this step). Bake for 10 - 12 minutes (mine take longer to bake, about 25 minutes) until golden brown. Do not open the oven door for the first 6 minutes, until the brioches have risen fully. 
• Remove from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes before unmold them. Cool completely before serving.

* You can knead the dough by hand if you like.  To do this, simply knead the dough on the counter top for about 10 minutes, add the butter, and continue to knead until the dough is very elastic and no longer stick in your hand, maybe about 5 to 10 minutes.

** if you want to make the one with little hat on top, simply divide the dough into 16 balls for the base, and  make smaller size balls for the tops. Place the large one on each mold, make a small depression in the middle, place a smaller ball on top. 

I use this brioche for Croque Madame posted here. It's the best and my most favorite sandwich. My other brioche recipe can be found here.   

Panettone

Update:

OOOPS! Ithink it's too late too submit this to Susan, I forgot that the dead line was thursday. Since I suppose to submit it at the same week it was posted, this will not be qualified for this week, or next week event! No worry, I still have many bread recipe for my next one to submit, hopefully I'll remember to submit it at least before THURSDAY!

I am submitting this to Yeast Spotting event created by Susan from Wild Yeast. To join this event is very easy, here is how:

• Bake with yeast (wild or baker's) or make a dish starring bread.
  
• Post about it. Please include a recipe/formula, or a link to one, or some indication of how the bread was made. Also please include the word "YeastSpotting", with a link to this page.
• Submit your post here. Please submit it during the same week it was posted.

I have been wanting to make Panettone for years, so last christmas, I was able to make it at home. As always, I had to check Susan @ Wild Yeast blog for reference. I found the recipe for the panettone that I've been looking for, and I had to try it right away. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to convert my starter to stater that required for this bread. So, I used my sourdough starter (also from her recipe) and add pinch of yeast (just incase). I've also tried to refer to some of my bread baking cookbooks, but managed to let myself stressed out and overwhelmed. Which was not good when you tried to bake anything.

View from above

Hang nicely with metal skewer, I also hung them up in my dinning room (like Susan) so, that my 2 golden retrievers wouldn't be tempted to sniff or even lick and eat them.

The bread had nice texture, very light but lack of "shreddy" (...ness) like the one that you normally get from a bakery. And also a bit on the drier side.

Regardless how they turned out, I was pretty proud and relieved that I was able to make this festive bread. Since this is my first trial, there will be the second, the third and so on.... until I am satisfied with the result. If you are tempted to make Panettone yourself, I'd like to recommend to visit Wild yeast blog for the recipe!

Responding to Cindy's questioned to Natalie about "Vegan Panettone", here is Natalie's link (click here) for the vegan version. Unfortunately the recipe is in Italy, but she will translate it if you let her know.

Financiers

Very simple and easy to make, but it does require patient since the batter need to be refrigerated overnight. I've been making financiers for many years using the same recipe that I've been comfortable with. I still make finacier from time to time, but never thought about post it in my blog. I thought it was just plain too simple, and everybody already knows how to make it. Then I remember why I started to blog, It was for my sister who leave overseas so that she will be able to choose any simple recipe and make it for her family. This simple recipe will make her happy, and will make me happy too. Oh, I miss you sis, BJ, and the kids too. We all miss you and love you so much!

Ingredients:

38 grams unbleached all purpose flour

38 grams slivered almonds

42 grams confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt

65 grams unsalted butter

100 grams egg whites

• Grind finely the flour, slivered almonds, salt, and confectioner's sugar in a food processor.
• Melt the butter, pour into small bowl, but leave out the sediment collected on the bottom of the pan.
• Put the egg white into a large glass or ceramic bowl, add the flour-almond mixture. Mix well with rubber spatula. Add the melted butter, mix to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the batter overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Take out the batter from refrigerator. Give the batter a quick stir.
• Buttered about 12 financier molds generously (I use small trapezoid shapes), spoon of the batter evenly among the molds. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for about 2 minutes, then unmold and cool completely on a wire rack.

Baked Bosc Pear Filled With Nutella Fondant and Zabaglione. AND, Oh.., Nutella Ice Cream Too!

I know that this month I made so many dessert with pear, but I wanted so badly to join this event called "World Nutella Day" which I didn't know about until this morning when I visited David, and saw his post about this event which due today!

I remember that I made Charlie's "Baked Pear With Blue Cheese Fondant" way way back long before I join the blogsphere world. This dessert was very unusual and very sophisticated. Since I didn't have much time to prepare any fancy and elaborate dessert, I came up with something similar, but modified the filling with "Nutella and Mascarpone fondant" and "Candied Hazelnuts". 

Recipe adapted/modified from:

"Baked Pear With Blue Cheese Fondant and Pine Nuts Baklava"

Charlie Troter's "Dessert"

Serve 8

For the Pear:

4 Bosc pears, halved leave the skin on

¼ cup simple syrup (equal amount of water and sugar boil together, until it is slightly reduce)

3 tbs Marsala

• Core and scoop out some of the surrounding flesh to make room for the Nutella filling. Combine simple syrup with the  marsala. Brush the pear skin with it, put them on the baking sheet line with parchment paper, skin side up. Bake the pears for 35 minutes, or until the pears are tender. Brush every 10 minutes with the Marsala syrup. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

For the Nutella Fondant:

¼ cup Nutella

¼ cup Mascarpone  

• Whisk together the nutella and the mascarpone until well combine.

Candied Hazelnut:

½ cup hazelnut (toasted)

1 tbs unsalted butter

2  tbs sugar

• Cook together the toasted hazelnut, unsalted butter and the sugar until the sugar is caramelized. Transfer the nut onto baking sheet lined with silpat, and separate the nuts that stick together. Cool completely, roughly chopped half of them.

Note on candied hazelnut: somehow the butter and the sugar separated, and the caramel didn't coat the nuts. Since I made this dessert in the morning of the dead line. I couldn't get any chance to redo it. 

For Zabaglione:

4 egg yolks

2 tbs  sugar
½ cup + 2 tbs  Marsala

• Combine all ingredients in a heat proof bowl set over barely simmering water (do not let the bowl to touch the water). Whisk constantly until smooth, pale, and triple in volume. The final result should be creamy and mouse like.

To assemble:

Fill each pears with about 1 tablespoon Nutella Fondant. prepare 8 individual dessert plate, place one pear on each  plate, spoon a few tablespoon of Zabaglione around the pear, sprinkle with candied hazelnut.

I have made this "Super Simple Nutella Ice Cream" a while back. It was too sweet to my taste. I will make this ice cream again when the weather is warming up a little bit. I also want  try to substitute  the skim milk that the recipe ask for with  the regular milk, perhaps I can also  add some toasted hazelnut to it. We'll see...

Verdict for this pear dessert?

Love it, love it, love it! 

Every single component were really delicious; the zabaglione, the candied hazelnut, and especially  the mascarpone-nutella fondant!

Please don't forget to check the round ups which will be published by  Bleeding Espresso and Ms. Adventures in Italy on April 9, 2009.