Daring Bakers Panna Cotta and Nestle Florentine Cookies

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

What can I say about this month's challenge except....yippee.  I don't need a lot of motivation to make florentines.  They are one of the easiest and ever popular cookies.  There's just something about that crispy almost toffee like cookie and the (dark) chocolate filling that is so dreamy.   I was definitely on board witht eh challenge.

The other half of this month's challenge was a panna cotta--a completely new dessert to me.  It was such an elegant dessert and my friends loved it.  I however had the same issue I have with creme brulee...I love that first bite, and then it's just entirely too rich for me.  It actually was surprisingly similar to creme brulee.  It was a good month to be a Daring Baker. Fo sho.  You can check out the other Daring Bakers here.

Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
I added 4 oz of melted white chocolate

Directions:

• Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
• Pour the milk  into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
• Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, white chocolate if using, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
• Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
• Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

Nestle Florentine Cookies

 
Ingredients:

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter

2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats

1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar

2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour

1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup

1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk

1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

 
Directions:

• Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
• To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
• Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
• While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
• Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
• Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.
• This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

Daring Bakers October, Pizza

This month's challenge had a sad note to it. One of the Daring Bakers, Sherry, who was also one of the members slated to choose this month's challenge recipe, passed away. In honor of Sherry, Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums went with Sherry's original recipe choice for this month's challenge: Pizza Napoletana from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Rosa threw in a twist though--throughout October, Daring Bakers across the globe would be throwing their dough high in the air as they made their hand tossed pizzas. Not only would we be tossing it, we'd be photographing our efforts as well. Yikes. We were free to choose our toppings, sweet, savory or both, we just needed to make two. I opted for one of each, making a chicken club pizza for the savory, and a gorgonzola, pear and honey pizza for dessert.

My first job in high school was at Shakey's Pizza...ugh the memories. But despite such incredible gourmet experience (LOL), I still couldn't seem to hand toss this dough. Apparently I have square hands because both of my pizzas turned out square.

Chicken Club Pizza is really just CPK's California Club. Easy and I think the homemade version tastes just like the CPK version. The only thing of note is that I don't really like mayo, so my version was pretty light on that--it can easily be increased.

Chicken Club Pizza

1 pizza dough, hand tossed

oil for brushing dough; I used garlic oil

1.5 c mozarella

1 small chicken breast, grilled and diced

4 pieces bacon cooked and crumbled

2 c. shredded lettuce and tossed with 2 tbsp mayo/1 tsp water mixture

1 medium tomato diced

1 avocado sliced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with pizza stone in oven.

Place hand tossed dough on semolina topped pizza peel or back of a baking sheet. Brush with garlic oil and top with mozarella.

Slide pizza onto hot pizza stone and bake for 5-8 minutes.

Remove from oven and top pizza with crumbled bacon, the diced chicken, half the tomatoes, the mayo dressed lettuce, the rest of the tomatoes and the avocado slices.

The gorgonzola, pear and honey pizza is a fabulous combination of sweet, salty, cruncy and chewy and is an altered version of a recipe found in Tyler Florence's Eat This Book.

Gorgonzola Pear and Honey Pizza

1 hand tossed pizza crust

1 cup toasted almonds

1/3 c. sugar

1 tbsp water

sprinkle of cinnamon

gorgonzola cheese

1-2 pears

honey

Heat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone in oven.

Place almonds, sugar, water and cinnamon in small food processor and process to make a paste.

Place hand tossed dough on semolina topped pizza peel or back of a baking sheet.

Top with almond paste, pear slices, drizzle of honey and crumbled blue cheese.

Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cheese melts and crust is golden.

Daring Bakers September, Lavash

The sleep state and what happens during dreaming is fascinating to me. I sometimes feel like I resolve more issues during sleep than I do awake. I very often wake up with some new idea or a solution to a work issue I'm having. It kind of stinks that I work in my sleep.

I've spent the past two weeks thinking that I needed to schedule my Daring Bakers September before I left for my business trip to Bozeman. That's coming up during this next week. So my I've been walking around convinced that this post was due next Saturday. And then, somewhere in my dream state last night I reconciled the posting date specified with the current date and woke up thinking I almost missed the post date. Yikes.

But in the end--I didn't...woohoo. Because this month's was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Our hosts Shel of Musings From The Fishbowl (recipe) and Natalie of Gluten A Go Go went outside the box with a vegan, and optional gluten free, savory Lavash challenge. I'm so glad they did because I loooooove flatbread and had no idea it was so incredibly easy.

The most difficult piece of this recipe was rolling out the dough thin and even enough. Looks thin enough, oui? Mais non. Some portions were thin and crispy and fabulous. The other portions were a little more pita like, but still fabulous.

We also were given full freedom to choose our dip, as long as it was vegan. I was a bit nervous because I kept hearing about so many things that negated the "veganness" of a food. I would never have thought of the how bees would make honey non-vegan. In the end I went for one of my favorites, green olive tapenade. Simple and I think it's vegan with only kalamata olives, olive oil, garlic, pepper and fresh lemon juice. I even left out the parmesan and truthfully, didn't miss it.



I will definitely make this again and often. Fabuwonderifical challenge!

Daring Bakers August Éclairs

When this month's Daring Bakers' recipe was posted to the forum, I think I could actually hear the collective sighs of anticipation from many of the 1000+ members. My reaction was the same. Éclairs=happy day indeed.

This month's challenge was Chocolate Éclairs from the book Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé and was hosted by Meeta and Tony from What's For Lunch Honey and Tony Tahhan. While the recipe itself seemed like a pretty basic cream puff recipe, it was the amazing chocolate glaze and the fabulous pastry cream that made these taste like the professional bakery version. Our rules this time were that the dough needed to be a pâte à choux and we were to keep chocolate in one of the elements--either in the pastry cream or in the glaze. I'm not going to argue with that. Beyond those two things we were free to choose our flavors.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough RecipeAll recipes from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to boil.
2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using yourhandmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again donot worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs.


1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets withwaxed or parchment paper.
2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip thehandle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in theoven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continuebaking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.


Chocolate Pastry Cream
• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Chocolate Glaze
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Sauce
• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

I left out one egg as a high altitude adjustment (in hopes of preventing it from rising so incredibly fast only to fall--it seemed to work). I stuck with the chocolate glaze for both and mixed up the fillings a bit. For the first, I substituted 1 cup of coconut milk for the regular and added fresh coconut to the cream. Topped with toasted coconut it was pretty fabulous, even if not traditionally french.
The second filling I made a little more french--in general flavor if not necessarily a traditionally french eclair flavor. On one trip to France I discovered the flavor of violets...as in the little purple flower. It's probably an aquired taste. It was very often paired with chocolate in desserts and I loved it, so much so that I started purchasing violet flavored drinks, jams, desserts and little pastilles everytime I could find them. Someone once asked my why my breath smelled like his grandmother's perfume. I added a bit of the violet syrup "perfume" to the pastry cream and absolutely loved it. Others did not but luckily, there was an abundance of coconut eclairs to be had.

Daring Bakers July Filbert Gateau

I have a confession to make---I hate making cakes. Clarification: I hate making fancy cakes. Nigella's Guiness cake all stirred together in the same pan you melt the butter in? That's the cake making I can handle. Or Duncan Hines funfetti... love it. But fancy cakes with piping and layers and 20 minutes mixing frosting? Not so much. So why did I join Daring Bakers despite my full knowledge that there would be cakes in my future? I asked myself that many times while tackling this month's challenge. In the end I was glad I tried.

July's Daring Baker's Challenge put a double emphasis on the "challenge" part. The original recipe was for a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream -my version ended up almond. The recipe was a bit daunting at first, at least until I realized it was merely a set of smaller recipes. It was actually relatively easy(minus the decorating part) but quite time consuming. When all was said and done, over a two day period I made the following:

1 almond Genoise
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with italian amaretto
1 recipe amaretto buttercream frosting
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using


Slicing one cake into three layers was a bit difficult. And since I'd halved the cake recipe and not the whipped cream or buttercream recipe, I got a bit carried away filling the cake. My frosting/whipped cream layer was as thick as the cake layers.



Decorting may be the one area where I pushed the boundaries a bit. We were to decorate with piped buttercream but when it's 95 degrees, well, buttercream is the devil. It had a bit of a goldilocks moment--it was too soft and then after refrigeration, it was too hard. But never just right. And after a buttercream explosion out of the piping bag and all over the kitchen, I just piped some straight into the middle of the cake. Technically, it's decorated with buttercream frosting. Right there in the middle, underneath the chocolate leaves that accidently fell on the cake afterwards.


The taste? Eh. It does have that nut cake texture and flavor that seems a bit foreign. I tend to like my cake soft and spongy or dark and dense. But if nothing else, this July challenge was quite the adventure.

Daring Bakers January 09, Tuiles

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

After a November challenge where I crashed and burned, and then opting out of the December challenge, it was fun to come back to Daring Bakers for the January challenge-Tuiles. So light, so yummy and so very easy. At least my nonfancy version was. Our rules this month were to use one of the recipes provided (sweet, gluten free or savory) shape them pre or post baking, and incorporate a light filling or side.

Karen of Bake My Day presented photos of her oh so delightful butterfly tuiles along with the recipe. They were just about the cutest little cookies ever. While I considered attempting something just as adorable, I loved the idea of using the little light and airy cookie as a bowl for whipped cream, strawberries, and a drizzle of chocolate. Very often, simple flavors make the most fabulous food. I so loved the subtle vanilla flavor of these cookies that after I completed the challenge, I started wondering if 1)I could make pizelles from this recipe and 2) Where on earth my pizelle maker was.



Tuiles

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheetOven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.
Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.
Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

Daring Bakers June Danish Braid

Once upon a time I noticed quite a few bloggers posting the same scrumptious recipe photos on the same exact date. These Daring Bakers are a somewhat secretive society whose mission is to try the same recipe and then inundate the web with photos of the most fabulous looking baked goods. I started anticipating their monthly postings--wondering what would appear at the reveal. And then I just really wanted to be in the know and bake whatever secret thing they were all baking that month. So I joined the Daring Bakers and completed my first challenge this month...danish braid chosen by Kelly of Sass and Veracity and Ben of What's Cooking The rules for the danish braid? Follow the chosen recipe and fill it with any homemade filling of choice.

This recipe called for cardamom which is a somewhat gingery, cinnammony spice--it's unique enough that it's hard to describe, but once you use it, you'll identify it in other foods immediately. I purchased whole green pods and extracted the little black seeds myself. The scent of those little seeds carried through the entire place. The dough also called for orange zest and a vanilla bean I luckily had on hand. Using whole vanilla beans is truly decadent and is miles above extract.

This was not my first danish dough recipe, but it was a new technique for incorporating all of the butter. This was a mixture of butter and flour that was spread over a yeasted dough. The butter was a bit soft at first since it was at room temperature for spreading. After a book fold, you roll it out and fold again and refrigerate. Repeating this a few times creates a very flaky and buttery dough.

Once I had completed my final turn, I pulled it from the refrigerator and rolled it out. I had originally planned on a marzipan and peach filling, but had volunteered at the Passionate Palette the night before. The owners, Ben and Jen, had a recipe for a fritter that was filled with almond, raspberries and chocolate and it was sinfully delicious. I executed a scope change on this project immediately. That's nerddom at it's finest.

This smell was excruciatingly delicious during baking. A couple of my braids came a bit loose, but between Minxaroo and me...well, we didn't care. Actually she could not have cared less.

It was a great first challenge...and was absolutely delicious. I think that next time around I'll either leave the cardamom out, or do a more complimentary filling. I'd also love to try it without and see how much the vanilla bean shines without the cardamom. Cardamom is probably fabulous with an apple filling, which is what the recipe originally suggested.

Daring Bakers April 09 Cheesecake Centerpiece

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Truth be told, I've struggled over the past few months with whether I should continue with Daring Bakers. Don't get me wrong--love the group and love the challenges. Ending up with outrageous amounts of dessert that never get eaten in this single girl's house, well it just seems so wasteful. I go back and forth on wanting to participate, and then finishing a challenge and having endless amounts of dessert. Then we'll do a savory challenge and I think I can't leave...and then, now, I have copious amounts of cheesecake in this house. I can take it to work, but that's just a lot of effort for something that goes to my coworkers 80% of the time.....

That being said, of course this challenge was fabulous: cheesecake. Many of us have made cheesecake a million times before, but this challenge was all in the flavors we added. With a short month because of my vacation, I brainstormed and decided based entirely upon what was in my refrigerator already, which just happened to be outrageous amounts of lemon. I cleaned out my fridge prior to leaving, but couldn't seem to bring myself to toss the 5 lb bag of lemons. I grabbed some of those Debbie Meyer green bags, and I don't know what's in them except magic pixie powder because 5 weeks after purchasing them, my lemons are still perfect. I'm so fascinated by this. I also happened to have most of the limoncello I'd made on whim last year as well as some leftover italian amarretti cookies for the crust. It's like this Italian coast inspired cheesecake was just destined to happen.


I only made half the recipe below and still ended up with four of these individual size cheesecakes...

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake

crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs I used amaretti cookie crumbs

1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake I used Limoncello
zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

6. To candy lemons I sliced a lemon in thin slices and added to a small saucepan that was half sugar and half water(simple syrup) and boiled gently for 10 mins.

Daring Bakers March 2009, Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

You know, you get your act together, whip out this month's Daring Baker's challenge during the month instead of on the posting date, and then something like a blizzard derails you by leaving you hundreds of miles away from your personal computer and your photos. I even noted the change in posting dates to the 27th. Even the best laid plans...

This month's challenge went savory again and was fun, fun fun. Homemade spinach pasta and béchamel in a pasta was scrumptious. I don't really like the more traditional lasagne so this challenge was right up my alley. When you make the noodles yourself you can make the noodles paper thin, control the contents and change the flavors up.

My version substituted half of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour, substituted goat cheese for the parm and of course, skipped all meat in the ragu. Technically I guess that makes it a tomato sauce instead of a ragu. Though the recipe looks really, really, really long, it really wasn't difficult, can be done in stages and was pretty fabulous. Who knew homemade spinach pasta was so easy and fabulous?

You may have noticed the new logos for the Daring Bakers. They've changed it the Daring Kitchen for the addition of a new challenge group to debut next month-I've already joined that group too. They've also created a fabulous new website to cover both groups.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)
Preparation: 45 minutes
Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.
2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)

10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)
Working by Hand:
Equipment
A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.
A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.
A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick).
Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.
A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.
Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.
Kneading:With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

#2 Béchamel sauce

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred

2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)
Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours
Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)

2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped1 medium onion, minced

1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced1 small carrot, minced

4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round

4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)

8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)

1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma

2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine

1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)

2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk3 canned plum tomatoes, drainedSalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Working Ahead:The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.
Browning the Ragu Base:Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.
Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.
Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.
Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)
Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time
10 quarts (9 litres) salted water

1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna

1 recipe Bechamel Sauce

1 recipe Ragu (recipe follows)

1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
MethodWorking Ahead:The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.
Assembling the Ingredients:Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.
Cooking the Pasta:Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.
Assembling the Lasagne: Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.
Baking and Serving the Lasagne:Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.