Handy New Tool

I got this excellent dough mat this weekend and highly recommend that you own one too if you make a lot of pastry. It's nonstick, has a weight and measure conversion chart, and clearly marks your goal size for rolling out everything from a wee six inch tart to a giant 11 inch pie.

I also treated myself to a new book, Pastry Cook by Catherine Atkinson. It was a cheap treat and has pretty much already paid for itself with its many technique focused photos and its recipe for raspberry creme brulee tart, which I made for my brother's wedding. It got eaten before I could take a picture but it was something like this:
(Picture from Gourmet.com)

Super rich and sturdy enough to survive 2.5 hours in the car, this tart was pretty easy to put together and could easily work with a variety of fruits.

Raspberry Creme Brulee Tart from Pastry Cook - serves 10 to 12 in a 9 inch tart pan
For the crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1 pinch coarse kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk (reserve egg white)
Zest of a large orange

For the filling
1 1/2 cups whole fresh raspberries
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or one whole vanilla bean, scraped
2 Tbsp. caster sugar
1 whole egg
3 large egg yolks
6 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Instructions:
Blend in a food processor or with a pastry blender, the flour salt and butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk and orange zest, add to flour mixture and knead until a soft dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, preheat oven to 400 and put a baking sheet in the oven while pre-heating. Bring heavy cream and vanilla to warm in a small heavy saucepan. Whisk egg yolks, whole egg, and sugar together in a small jug until light. Pour warmed cream into the egg and sugar combination and whisk to make a custard.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface (or dough mat!) and roll out to fit a 9 inch tart pan with releasable bottom. Prick the bottom of the tart shell and place on hot baking sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush shell with reserved egg white. Return shell to oven for another 3-4 minutes. Remove pre-baked shell and reduce heat to 325.

Scatter fresh raspberries evenly over the bottom of the pre-baked shell. Slowly pour custard over top and bake on the baking sheet for 15-17 minutes or until very lightly set. Cool completely and then chill for four hours or overnight.

To form bruleed crust before serving, sprinkle cold surface of tart with powdered sugar and place under broiler on low for just under five minutes. Obviously, a brulee torch works too. That will be my next handy new tool purchase.

Go To Birthday Cake

If you read this blog when I was actively watching (and complaining about) Top Chef, you are already familiar with my feelings about the contestant's inability to make dessert that is not a) savory ice cream or b) a rustic tart. This weekend I found the cake recipe that I will now memorize and forever have up my sleeve for dessert emergencies or....professional cooking contests. It's a pretty basic chocolate cake but it turned out extremely moist with a springy, spongy crumb and it wasn't overly sweet. This makes it an ideal cake for dressing up. It could go the route of Black Forrest, or salted caramel...I just slapped some whipped cream and bittersweet chocolate on it. Please make this:

Perfect, Easy Chocolate Cake (sent in by a friend, original source unknown)

2 cups sugar
1 cup oil canola or vegetable
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup HOT coffee
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
-----
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease and flour your cake pan(s) (2 round, or 1 sheet).
3. Add all dry ingredients (except sugar) to a bowl and whisk to combine.
4. In mixer, add sugar and oil and mix to combine.
5. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.
6. Slowly add milk, coffee and vanilla extract.
7. Add dry ingredients in increments with mixer on low speed.
8. Add sour cream and stir to combine.
9. Pour into cake pans and transfer to oven.
10. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Here's how it looked before I finished frosting, which was a lot like an Oreo cookie.


And here's how it looked being lifted up and served to a hungry Britta.

Traditional English Trifle (Without Peas, Beef, or Onions)

My sister made this amazing and beautiful trifle for Easter dessert. I only ended up having a little bit of it because we had many, many other treats. Including these slightly scary looking Rice Krispie bunnies:



Provided you have a properly tall, cylindrical dish for putting this trifle together there isn't a very specific recipe for it. The layers are comprised of homemade pound cake (I suggest Ezra Poundcake's Sunshine Poundcake without the glaze), whipped cream, various fresh berries and bananas, raspberry jam, and English custard (recipe follows). Top with silvered almonds.

Vanilla English Custard for Trifle
2 2/3 cups milk
1 1/3 cups double cream (heavy whipping cream)
5 free range egg yolks
4 1/2 ounces caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped OR 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Put the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. As soon as the milk and cream mixture comes to the boil, pour onto the egg mixture and beat well.

Return to the pan and place over a very gentle heat (or in a basin over a pan of simmering water) and stir continuously until the custard has thickened. Allow this mixture to cool prior to layering over the pound cake and jam.

On a side note, I made this Roasted Vegetable Torte for a potluck last week and had about half of it leftover. I plopped all of it into a pan and heated through with chicken stock. Then I pulsed in a couple of times in the food processor, added Italian sausage and olives and let it simmer until it was a nice thick ragout. It was lovely over spaghetti.