Bakewell Tart... er... Pudding

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.



I was at first very excited about this challenge because it involved the preparation of three layers of desserts I'd never prepared (frangipane/Victoria Sponge, homemade jam, shortbread pastry dough), and it was a dessert I'd never had or heard of. After thinking about each layer later on, my excitement waned because I thought that the dessert would be boring and lacking in flavour/flavor. Every time I ached to make a dessert, my eyes would glaze over the assigned Bakewell Tart/Pudding to some other "more appetizing" dessert. After I finally had given in and made the Bakewell Tart/Pudding, however, I regretted delaying the process for so long. The tarts/puddings were so good.

Since I live alone, I halved the recipe and prepared them in small, individual tart pans. Also, I'm not a fan of nuts, so I made half the recipe of a Queen Victoria Sponge Cake as the top layer instead of the frangipane. I also made homemade strawberry jam and blueberry jam for the middle layer to make two different tarts/puddings. I made the shortbread crust a day before making the entire tart/pudding. The crust was very similar to making regular pie crust.

All layers were very easy to make and quick to come together. My only problem was getting the sponge cake to cook throughout. In both varieties of tarts/puddings, the cake layers came out very brown on top but were not fully cooked on the bottom of its layer. I'm assuming they came out like that because of the jam layer. Nevertheless, both tarts/puddings were very good. I preferred the blueberry one out of the two.

Thanks for this challenge; it was fun!

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Quick Pan-Fried Salmon

When my mother came to visit me for a few days, she purchased three packets of salmon. I told her that she shouldn't buy salmon since she would have to keep them cold during her 8-hour trip back to Arkansas. She bought them anyway promising that she would keep them in a ice-filled cooler. A few hours into her car trip, she called me and said frantically, "I forgot to take the salmon out of the freezer! I left them at your house!" I laughed and said, "I told you that you shouldn't have bought the salmon." After I promised her I would eat the salmon for her so that they wouldn't go to waste, she doubted me.

After I saw a quicker method of cooking salmon than the way I usually do it (oven-baked while wrapped in foil), I decided to try that out with one of the pieces of salmon. It was so good, that I'm going to eat the second piece of salmon today. Thanks, mom! :D I told you that I would eat it!

Quickie Grilled or Pan-Fried Salmon
adapted from Noob Cook

Ingredients (1 serving)

1. 1 piece of salmon fillet
   
2. Lawry's Seasoning Salt, kosher salt, or organic sea salt
3. Freshly cracked black pepper
4. One or two herbs you have in the pantry (optional)
5. 1/2 - 1 Tbsp of butter or olive oil

Directions:

Pull out the bones from the salmon fillet using your fingers or a tweezer, or use the boneless variety, like I did. Season the fish with salt or seasoning salt, black pepper, and herbs.Melt a knob of butter and spread it evenly on the griddle pan (or use olive oil). Grill the salmon fillet, skin side down first, for about 4 minutes each side (or till lightly browned) over medium fire. I pan-fried my fish, and it was perfect!

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Pizza Hut Clone Pizza

For an update on this recipe, go here. The photos look better there; I promise!I was surprised at how good this tasted. The taste was very similar to that of Pizza Hut. I saw this recipe many months ago after doing a google search for pizza hut dough, but I never got around to making it because of the requisite non-fat dry milk ingredient. I later saw the recipe on Real Mom Kitchen and bookmarked it for the future.

When my mother came into town to visit me, she wanted me to make this pizza for her and thus purchased the missing ingredient, along with fresh mozzarella, provolone, mini pepperoni, and other things. Unfortunately, I never got around to making it for her (she is still complaining about that to this day hehe). I finally got around to trying it yesterday, and it was perfect. I think I like this recipe more than the Reinhart recipe! I love how I can make personal pan pizze instead of one big one.


I made three balls of dough in total and placed one in the freezer (for another day) and the other in the refrigerator (for tomorrow) after I allowed them to ferment overnight in the refrigerator. The first ball of dough was formed into pizza, baked, and eaten gleefully. Although the recipe doesn't state it, I highly suggest parbaking the dough for about 4-6 minutes before putting on the toppings. The edges of my pizza were golden brown; however, the base of the pizza was not done. I had to place foil along the crust and cook it for 5-7 minutes more than what the recipe states (and my oven tends to overheat!). I made this pizza with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, provolone, mushrooms, and mini pepperoni.

Don't worry, mom! I will make this for you when I visit you in July! Love you! :)

Pizza Hut Pan Pizza
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

1 1/3 C Warm water (105F/40C)
1 pk Dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 C Non−fat dry milk
2 Tbsp Vegetable oil (for dough)
1/2 tsp Salt
4 C Flour
approx. 9 Oz Vegetable oil (3 oz. per pan)
Butter flavored Pam (optional)

Put yeast, sugar, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add the water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and salt and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. (If using a stand mixer, mix the ingredients with a dough hook and then knead the dough for about 4-5 minutes.) Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans ( or can use 1 - 9 inch pie plate and 1 - 9 x 13 dish) , put 3 Oz. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. Spray the outer edge of dough with Pam (optional). Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Sauce:
1 8 Oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 tsp Dry Oregano
1/2 tsp Marjoram
1/2 tsp Dry Basil
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1/2 tsp sugar (to offset the bitterness of the tomato sauce)
Combine and let sit for 1 hour while the dough rises.

For Each Nine Inch Pizza:
Preheat oven to 475F (I cooked at 450). Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham, Vegetables, Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef). Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown about 15 minutes. I then brush outer edge of crust with garlic butter.

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Double Chocolate Ice Cream

After an unsatisfactory attempt of making the Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream I mentioned before, I decided to make something I knew would taste good. I don't know if I did something wrong, but the texture and taste of the cheesecake ice cream were way off.

I have been trying to avoid custard-based ice creams because I don't like using only one part of an egg. I have way too many egg whites in the freezer already. However, I was really pining for a creamy ice cream and succumbed to the idea of making an ice cream with egg yolks. I knew I wanted chocolate, so I looked in my bookmarked recipes for chocolate ice cream recipes with the least amount of egg yolks.

Fortunately, I found one that required four instead of 5 to 8(!) egg yolks. In the future, I'm going to try to make the same ice cream with 2 egg yolks to see if they come out okay. Also, I want to try making a chocolate sorbet, which doesn't require any egg yolks at all. I hope the consistency of the ice cream will be more than satisfactory.

Back to the ice cream I made... I didn't have any blocks of chocolate, so I used a combination of Guittard's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Nestlé chocolate/peanut butter chips. I didn't taste any of the peanut butter, but the ice cream was FANTASTIC. I could barely sleep last night because I couldn't wait to have more the next day. With my ongoing insomnia, I had to force myself away from that freezer all night and early morning :). Make sure you have other people around when this ice cream is ready, or you'll be tempted to eat too much of it in one sitting!

July is National Ice Cream month, so I'm sending this to the Ice Cream Social Challenge, put together by Savor The Thyme. Tangled Noodle, Scotty Snacks & to Ben’s Homemade# 5: Ice Cream.

I'm also submitting this ice cream recipe to What's Cooking Summer Recipe #4 - Ice Cream forum!



Double-Chocolate Ice Cream

from Williams Sonoma Collection: Ice Cream and My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk (I didn't have whole milk, so I used a combo of skim and half-n-half)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
pinch of salt
6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional:
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I didn't add these since I had used them in the base)

Method:
1. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the milk and 1 cup of the cream. Cook over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5-7 minutes (I waited until there was a film on top of the milk).

2. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of cream in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve (It never reached the smooth stage for me. Just wait until it is well-mixed).

3. Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4-6 minutes (My custard seemed to be the right consistency as soon as I put everything in the pot! I still continued to heat it for 4-5 minutes). Do not let the custard boil. Put the 6 ounces of chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) in a heat proof bowl and pour the hot custard over it (I suggest putting only half of the mixture over the chips, wait a minute or two, then stir the chocolate. After the chocolate has melted, add the rest of the custard). Stir until the chocolate melts and the custard is smooth. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (if you like little chunks of chocolate in your ice cream, I would skip this step, unless you think there are a few curdled egg bits in your custard). Add vanilla and stir to combine.

4. Place the bowl into a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water. Stir occasionally until cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

5. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Stir in optional mini chocolate chips. Transfer the ice cream to freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

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