10-Grain Cranberry Roll

     Recently when joining a good friend for coffee at Starbucks, Heather fell in love with the 8-grain roll that she sampled.  Upon arriving at home she was inspired to create her own version of the roll that was not only delectable, but also a healthy alternative to most coffee shop food.  She has been working on developing a recipe that we can sell in the cafes in Central Asia.  Her first attempt was a 10-Grain Cranberry Roll.  She was very pleased with the outcome but she plans on continuing to tweak it to perfection.  She found that Bob's Red Mill brand offers products such as 8-grain or 10-grain mixes that provide a wonderful base to create the recipe. These products can generally be found at almost any major grocery store.

If you are interested in receiving her final perfected recipe when she completes it, please comment in the comment box below and she will send it your way!

10-Grain Cranberry Roll

Soft fluffy interior

Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain hot cereal mix

Recipe Testing: Roasted Apple Financier

Today we tested a new idea, Roasted Apple Financier.  This is a brown butter and almond cake layered with slices of roasted apple and topped with almond brittle and brunoised fresh apple.  We know for sure next time we will serve it with some whipped creme fraiche or something similar to a more acidic whipped cream.

Here is the recipe for the Financier (almond brown butter cake)  It is a very versatile cake that can be served with many different things.

Ingredients:

250 grams (8.8 ounces) Brown Butter
100 grams (3.5 ounces) Almond Flour, sifted
100 grams (3.5 ounces) AP Flour, sifted
200 grams (7 ounces) granulated sugar
250 grams (8.8 ounces) egg whites

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the egg whites and sugar and whip until the egg whites are just slightly frothy.
3.  Whisk in the brown butter, followed by the almond flour and AP flour.  Stir just until the mixture is combined taking care not to over mix.
4.  Prepare a half sized sheet tray (or a normal cookie sheet) by lining the bottom with a silpat or with parchment paper.  If using parchment paper make sure to spray the pan liberally with Pam or a similar spray.
5.  Pour the financier batter out into the pan and spread it evenly across the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown and cooked through.

Caramelized Banana Tartlet

Recently we tested out these caramelized banana tartlets for an event we were doing.  They were gone in the blink of an eye and received great reviews!  It is made of phyllo dough, caramel sauce, and caramelized bananas.  Here is our recipe:

Phyllo dough tartlet shells (24 mini tartlets) :

8 oz. (1 roll) frozen phyllo dough

8 oz. unsalted butter, melted

Granulated sugar

1. Thaw out the phyllo dough overnight in the fridge.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush 2 mini muffin tins with melted butter.

3. Keep phyllo dough covered as you work with it or it will dry out quickly.

4. Brush butter on one piece of dough. Sprinkle sugar evenly over the butter. Place another sheet over.

5. Repeat this process until you have used 6 sheets. 

6. Use a sharp biscuit cutter to cut circles. Your cutter should be a few inches wider than than the diameter of your muffin cup.

7. Place cut dough circles (6 layers of dough in each circle) in the muffin cups. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

8. Proceed with the caramel sauce recipe.

Caramel Sauce (taken from CIA baking and pastry book)

12 fl oz heavy cream

7 oz sugar

5 oz corn syrup-light

1 oz butter, soft and cubed

1. Place the cream in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Leave over very low heat to keep warm. 

2. Combine sugar and corn syrup in saucepan and slowly cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Brush sides of pan with water to eliminate granules on the sides.

3. Continue to cook the until the sugar is golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in butter. 

4. Stir in hot cream gradually until fully blended. Cool.

Tart assembly

Phyllo tartlet shells

Caramel sauce, cool

2 bananas, sliced 1/2 inche thick

Granulated sugar

1. Toss banana slices in sugar.

2. Place on sheet pan and caramelize. You can use a torch or a broiler, but be careful to avoid burning.

3. Fill tartlet shells up about halfway with caramel sauce. Place one banana slice on the top of each tartlet. 

French Berry Tart

     Today Sam put a fresh twist on a classic French tart.  It is Pate Brisee (tart dough), vanilla pastry cream, and berries glazed with honey, lime, and basil.  The recipe is below so that you can give it a shot!

Recipe:

Tart Assembly-

Pate brisee- 1 10 inch tart shell

Vanilla Pastry Cream- 1.5 pounds

Glazed Berries- 12 oz

1.  Remove tart shell from the tart pan and place it on the dish you want to serve your tart on.

2.  Spoon in the pastry cream and smooth it out until it is level all the way around the tart.

3.  Place the berries in a decorative fashion on the top of the tart.  Garnish the top of the tart and berries with your finely sliced basil. 

Pate brisee (tart dough)

makes a 10 inch tart

Ingredients:

AP Flour- 1lb

Salt- pinch

Butter- 4.5 oz (cubed)

Water- 2 oz

Eggs- 2 oz (1 egg)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 

2.  Mix Flour and salt together and place on medium speed in a stand mixer.  Slowly add in your cubed butter and run the mixer on medium speed for about 4 minutes until a paste forms  If you do not have a  stand mixer you can do this process with your hand mixer, or with your hands.

3.  Combine the water and the eggs and gradually mix it into the flour/ butter mixture while your mixer is on low speed.  Mix until it begins to form into a shaggy mass.  Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

4.  Place the dough out on a floured surface and press it together.  Depending on the size of your tart pans you can now divide the dough.  I used all of the dough for a 10 inch tart.  Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes more.

5.  Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to the size of your tart pan.  Press the rolled out dough into the pan and clean up the edges and pieces that are hanging over the sides.

6.  Dock your dough by poking all around the bottom of the dough with a fork (this will prevent the dough from rising too much when it bakes).  Cover the inside of the dough with a piece of foil that will fit the inside of the tart.  Place a cake pan or pie pan inside the piece of foil (also to keep the dough from rising) and bake for 25 minutes.  

7.  Remove the cake pan and the foil from the top of the tart dough and place it back into the oven until it becomes lightly brown (approx 10 minutes)

Pastry Cream

makes 1.5 pounds which is enough to fill 1 10 inch tart

Ingredients:

Milk- 16 fl oz

Sugar- 4 oz

Butter- 1.5 oz

Salt- pinch

Cornstarch- 1.5 oz

Eggs- 6 oz (approx 3 eggs)

Vanilla extract- 1 TB

Procedure:

1.  Mix 12 oz of milk, 2 oz of sugar, the butter, and the salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar.

2.  Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch, with the remaining sugar.  Whisk in the remaining milk.  Add the eggs, and vanilla extract.  Stir vigorously until the mixture is completely smooth.

3.  Temper the egg combination by gradually adding 1/3 of the boiling milk into it, stirring constantly.  Then, gradually whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan with the boiling milk.  From this point on it is very important to whisk constantly.  Cook until the pastry cream comes to a boil, thickening it to the point where the whisk leaves a trail in it.

4.  Pour the pastry cream into a pan and cover it with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate to cool.

Honey Basil Glazed Berries

makes enough to garnish 1 10 inch tart

Ingredients:

Honey- 1/4 cup

Lime Juice- 1TB

Lime Zest- Zest of 1 lime

Basil stems- 10 

Basil Leaves- 4

Berries- 12 oz (I used a six ounce package of raspberries and a six ounce package of blackberries)

1.  Combine everything except for the basil leaves into a small sauté pan and bring to a boil to infuse the flavor from the lime zest and basil stems. allow to cool to room temperature.

2.  Finely slice the basil leaves for a garnish.

3.  Lay out your berries on a plate and brush them with the honey glaze until well coated and shiny.

Baked Alaska

     For Easter dessert this year Heather showed off her whimsical pastry making genius with her baked alaska. This beautiful creation is made with a poppy seed cake, strawberry sorbet, strawberry ice cream, and toasted meringue.

     Wonder how we got such a nice clean slice? The trick is to use a very hot knife. We placed our knife in steaming water, quickly dried it, then cut the baked alaska while the knife was still quite warm. This process produces a shiny beautiful slice. You should place the knife in the hot water after each slice for best results. This technique can be used for any cold or frozen dessert to get the nicest looking portions.

     Want the recipe?  Just ask.

Strawberry Baked Alaska

Toasted Meringue