PICHET ONG'S BANANA CAKE RECIPE (review)

Well, I have completed my September mission of trying a new recipe from Pichet Ong's The Sweet Spot. The recipe called to bake the "cake" for 45 minutes. This seemed too short a time to me considering any "loaf" shape I've made is usually ready in over 60 minutes. Usually 70 minutes easily. I poked a cake tester in there and it was still goopy so I kept adding 10 minutes and checking. In the end I had the banana cake in there for 65 minutes. So he loses points for accuracy of baking time. As well, in his cookbook, the picture clearly shows a loaf shaped banana cake. Technically that's "banana bread" to me. A cake is usually a shallower pan and indeed takes less time to bake.

The flavour was good but I felt the texture was too gummy. I'll wait until the next day to see how it ages. The recipe also called for sour cream or yogurt in the batter. My own tried and true recipe doesn't call for the addition of this ingredient. I don't think it adds anything in terms of flavour. The crumb was very moist of course due to the dairy but I noticed that the slices fell apart very easily and didn't hold up as well as my banana bread. I suppose that's why he calls it a cake.

My verdict: it's good but not the best I've had. I'm not going to be using it again because I don't want to have to go out and buy sour cream or whole milk yogurt just to make this cake. And that's not even considering going to a specialty market to buy the baby bananas. However, it is a nice change of pace and my mom would like it because she enjoys "wet" cakes/desserts.

Review: 3.5/ 5 stars

ALICE MEDRICH'S BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE TART

I've been dying to try out Medrich's Bittersweet Chocolate Tart recipe...and having read it through, I noticed how unconventional it was. It calls for melted butter in the tart dough. While pressing the dough into the pans was easy, I was starting to wonder if I could make the dough stretch to cover all the surface areas. The crust would be super thin I realized.

The chocolate tart filling was also quick to make and only required setting in the oven. After pulling out the baked tart shells, you turn off the oven. You then pour the filling into the hot tart shells, and pop it all back into the oven to set for 10 minutes. Now how easy is that? The hardest part was waiting for it to cool down enough to eat it.

I didn't want to bother with decorating the tarts, so I sprinkled a little Fleur de Sel on top of half of them to see if it would taste okay. It did. But I prefer it without the salt.

Bebe inhaled it. The tart is somewhat like a shortbread cookie and is crispy, light and slightly sweet. The chocolate filling is custardy and truffle-like. I would say the crust to filling ratio is just right in the recipe since it is so rich and decadent. I used organic dark chocolate with 70percent cocoa content and I remember it being expensive. You can really taste the chocolate quality in this tart and should only use good quality chocolate. It's a keeper; especially the tart dough recipe.

as per Posh-Kimchi's request: here's the recipe...adapted by cakebrain

Bittersweet Chocolate Tarts

Crust:
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 t pure vanilla extract
1/8 t salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling:
1 cup half-and-half
2 T sugar
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly whisked
Special Equipment:
eight 4-inch (measured across the top) fluted tartlet pans (about 3/4 inch deep) with removable bottoms
*cakebrain's note: I think you can make do with 6 tart pans

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 F.
• Crust: Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix in the flour just until blended. Divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal pieces (according to however many tart pans you're using). Press one piece very thinly and evenly across the bottom and up the sides of each pan. This takes patience--the amount of dough is just right (according to Medrich).
• Place the pans on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crusts are a deep golden brown.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: In a small saucepan, bring the half-and-half and sugar to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth.
• Just before the crust is done, whisk the egg into the chocolate mixture.
• When the crusts are ready, remove from the oven. Turn off the oven. Pour the hot chocolate filling mixture into the crusts. Return the tartlets to the turned-off oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or just until the filling begins to set around the edges but most of the center is still liquid when the pans are nudged. Set the sheet on a rack to let the filling continue to cool and set.
• Remove the pan sides and serve the tartlets warm or let them cool completely. Just before serving.

notes:

To use chocolate marked 62% to 64% instead of standard bittersweet: use 7 oz chocolate

To use chocolate marked 66% to 72% instead of standard bittersweet: use 5.5 oz chocolate and increase the sugar to 5 T

L'A PATISSERIE: A EURO-ASIAN BAKERY

Bebe's request: Black forest cake. Those are chunks of dark cherry jello!

I was walking by this Euro-Asian bakery on Granville Street and couldn't resist trying something.

Lychee mousse cake: the best out of the bunch, I think. Chocolate and vanilla sponge layers are nice too.

Green tea mousse cake. Green tea and chocolate cake. The chocolate sponge was not as tender and moist. I didn't like this one. But it didn't stop me from eating it all.

Coconut mousse cake with (sweet) black rice and mango mousse chunks. Looks like the pastry chef decided to throw all the leftovers into this one! Bebe didn't like it, but Stomach did. He thought the cake was on the dry side though.


Lots of fusion stuff here. They've got real boules, baguettes and european-inspired breads along with traditional chinese pastries.
L'A PATISSERIE
8278 Granville street Vancouver BC V6P 4Z4 TEL: 604-269-0002

WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSELINE BUTTERCREAM

bite me

I decorated these White Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Mousseline Buttercream (from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible). Bebe helped decorate by dropping stars, chocolate shavings and mini chocolate chips on the buttercream.

naked cupcake

The recipe is super easy (which I like) but it is also delicious...with a beautiful white chocolate aroma and a moist crumb. I recommend it.


Here's the recipe I adapted from "Couture Cupcakes" to fit my new Le Creuset silicone baking pan.

Gargantuan White Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
(source: Couture Cupcakes; adapted for 6-cup silicone pan)

140 grams/1 cup plain [all purpose] flour
142.5 grams/3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
63 grams / 2 oz white chocolate
1/4 cup water
56 grams/ 1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place silicone tray on a cookie sheet.
3. In mixer, combine flour, sugar and salt.
4. Melt chocolate with butter and water. Allow to cool slightly.
5. Add melted chocolate mixture to flour mixture and mix lightly.
6. Add sour cream, vanilla, baking soda and egg and beat for 2 minutes.
7. Divide batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place silicone pan on a rack for 10 minutes to cool. Turn upside down and release the cupcakes onto a rack to cool further.
9. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSELINE BUTTERCREAM (Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe)

adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe. delicious!

2 cups/1 lb/454 grams unsalted butter, softened but cool (65degreesF)
1 cup/7 oz/200 grams sugar
1/4 liquid cup/2 oz/60 grams water
5 large/5.25 oz/150 grams egg whites, room temp.
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. pure almond extract
6 oz melted and cooled white chocolate, pref. Tobler Narcisse

Makes 4.5 cups/1 lb 14 oz/858 grams (enough to fill and frost two 9-inch by 1 1/2-inch layer or three 9-inch by 1-inch layers)

• In a mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy and set aside in a cool place
• Have ready a heatproof glass measure near the range. In a small heavy saucepan heat 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Stop stirring and reduce the heat to low. (if using an electric range remove from the heat.)
• In another mixing bowl beat egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Increase the heat and boil the syrup until a thermometer registers 248degreesF to 250degreesF (firm-ball stage). Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking
• If using a hand-held mixer beat the syrup into the whites in a steady stream. Don't allow the syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of syrup over the whites with the mixer off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Lower speed to medium and continue beating up to 2 minutes or until cool. If not completely cool, continue beating on lowest speed.
• Beat in the butter at medium speed 1 tablespoon at a time. At first the mixture will seem thinner but will thicken beautifully by the time all the butter is added. If at any time the mixture looks slightly curdled, increase the speed slightly and beat until smooth before continuing to add more butter.
• Lower the speed slightly and drizzle in the almond extract. Beat in 6 ounces melted and cooled white chocolate. Place in an airtight bowl. Rebeat lightly from time to time to maintain silky texture. Buttercream becomes spongy on standing.

LE CREUSET "COOK N BAKE" SILICONE MUFFIN CUPS

$30.00 for a 6-cup muffin pan! geez...what was I thinking?

I caved in and purchased some silicone baking cups the other day.

It was rather expensive, but I figure I haven't been spending too much money on myself so I needed a treat. The only problem was it was $30.00 for 6 muffin cups in the pan and I figured most recipes make at least 12 muffins. I didn't want to spend more money for another pan,so I'll have to halve all my cupcake recipes to fit the capacity.

These cups look neat because they have straight sides. Their capacity is extra large but I was too lazy to get out an extra pan to hold all the extra batter I had left so I just poured it all into the molds. I knew I wouldn't be able to make the desired level-topped cupcakes with so much batter in the cups. The end result is they kind of spilled over and spread. However, I'm okay with that because the tops are tasty.

For the silicone pan's inaugural batter, I decided to try a recipe I saw on a cool blog I've been visiting, "Couture Cupcakes", and found a White Chocolate Cupcake recipe that looked yummy. I halved the recipe and baked the mini cakes for an extra 8 minutes and they turned out quite well. When I flipped them upside down, they easily popped out and the bottoms were more caramelized than if I were to have used a paper liner and regular tin. I like these muffin pans and I would recommend them because they make HUGE cupcakes...and nothing's better than huge cupcakes (other than a whole bunch of itty bitty mini ones). The pans are dishwasher safe and you can freeze them (for ice cream) too.

In the future, I'll try making them with less batter so that I'll be able to make a cupcake that looks like a miniature regular cake...by splitting, levelling and frosting it like a regular-sized cake. I think it'll work.

OOF! ...ATE...TOO...MUCH!

vietnamese roll-dip with shredded pork on vermicelli noodles

I'm so sick of eating Chinese food! I want some other flavours. This weekend we had takeout because Bib is starting to crawl and we need to stay home for her sake (and ultimately ours!) We had cheapie Vietnamese food for dinner Friday, Chinese Dim Sum on Saturday, and Shanghai food and Indian food for dinner.

lemongrass chicken on rice

For Friday's dinner, the hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant that Stomach picked up food from was actually good. Sorry, I don't know the name--will get back to you with that, but here's the pictures! Each dish was only $6.00. They were decent portions for the money and we were full. My mother wasn't so crazy about her Lemongrass Chicken on Rice (however it was a huge portion) but Bebe loved her Meatballs in soup with Vermicelli, and I like my dish on the whole, although my Shredded pork was--"eh...okay" with mini springrolls on Vermicelli. In fact Stomach forgot to order my usual favourite which had grilled pork or chicken instead of the shredded pork.
beef balls with rice noodles in soup

By Saturday I was still craving something different. We had dimsum at Red Star Chinese Restaurant for lunch and I wasn't as impressed with it as Stomach and his mother was. I didn't like the overabundance of cheapie celery and carrots in their Hand-Shredded Chicken salad with jellyfish...and I hate jellyfish and couldn't find the chicken in the dish. Perhaps I was getting miffed because I didn't really want to eat dimsum again! By this time too I was so wanting something else other than Chinese food. I mean, yeah...Vietnamese is different, but I want really different. I wanted Indian food. Nobody else in my household likes Indian food. So fortunately, by doing takeout I still get what I want. Stomach ordered Shanghai takeout from Golden Great Wall on Broadway for himself and Bebe, and I had my Indian food from "Raga" on Broadway.

For $19.95 (a combo special for one person), you get 7 (500ml) styrofoam containers, a huge foot-long foil pack with naan bread, and another smaller foil packet with 2 pieces of tandoori chicken. The styro containers had butter chicken, lamb curry, daal, raita, chana pindi (chickpeas), pulao rice and a container full of dessert (kheer--a basmati rice pudding cooked with milk, piastachios and almonds, served cold). Though I was looking forward to the "gulab jamun (Indian doughnut)dessert" as advertised in the takeout menu for the combo, Bebe seemed to really like the substitution kheer and gobbled it all up.
indian food: a little bit of everything!

I scooped out a couple of tablespoons of each item on my dinner plate, leaving the rest in their styro containers. I ripped off a quarter of the bread and took out one piece of the tandoori chicken. It looked to me a bit much for one sitting so I was cautious. I played it safe...or so I thought I did. With Bebe helping me with the dessert and a bit of the naan--which really put me over the top because it was huge--I was still so stuffed that after dinner I couldn't move. You know that feeling you get after Thanksgiving turkey? I put away the rest of the food in the fridge for the next day. My craving satiated, I now crave a rest from food. We're taking a break tomorrow and not eating out for lunch!