Daring Bakers' Challenge - October 2010

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up and the theme was doughnuts! I was a bit intimidated when I read what I had ahead of me, not because it seemed like a very difficult challenge, but because I'm actually quite frightened of deep frying. It is a cooking method that rarely features in my home, which is great for health reasons, but I often find myself skipping across good sweet recipes that require the technique. But that's what being part of the Daring Bakers' Club is all about - challenging yourself, and getting out of your comfort zone.

And I'm so glad I did. It was a little scary, but I did it! I used a small saucepan to fry the doughnuts in the oil, and there was no spitting oil or burning - unexpectedly and pleasantly drama free! I am proud to say I have conquered my fear and now embrace the world of deep frying. Well perhaps not embrace, I do have to think of my health after all...

We had four simple doughnut recipes to choose from, but I decided on the Kate Neumann recipe for Raspberry Jam Bombolini. Bombolini are small, bite-size fried doughnuts usually filled with raspberry conserve. Mmmm... little fluffy doughnut clouds with oozy raspberry interiors. I also made some plain (i.e. without filling) and rolled them in the caster sugar along with a little cinnamon.You can get creative with these too by following the basic recipe and filling them with whatever takes your heart's desire. A little warmed Nutella perhaps? Phwoarrr!

Raspberry Jam Bombolini
Adapted recipe from Kate Neumann

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon lukewarm water
1 1/2 envelopes active dry yeast (3 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons milk
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar, plus more for rolling
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 cups canola/vegetable oil, for frying
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam, slightly warmed
icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, mix the water, yeast, honey and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the flour. (Alternatively, whisk the ingredients by hand.) Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 1 hour.

2. Return the bowl to the mixer, fitted with a dough hook. Add the remaining 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour, along with the milk, egg yolks, 1/3 cup of caster sugar and the salt. Mix at low speed until blended, then add the butter and knead at medium speed until silky but sticky, about 5 minutes; the dough will not pull away from the side of the bowl. Using an oiled spatula, scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

The dough once mixed...

and after resting in the fridge overnight

3. In a large saucepan, heat the oil to 360° (I used a candy thermometer to check on this whilst cooking). Line a rack with paper towels. Fill a shallow bowl with 1/2 inch of caster sugar. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough a scant 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3.5 cm round cutter, stamp out rounds; do not reroll the dough.

4. Fry the rounds a few at a time, until they are browned, about 4 minutes. Be sure to keep the oil between 360° and 375°. Drain the bomboloni on paper towels, then roll them in the granulated sugar. Continue frying and rolling the remaining bomboloni.
5.Fit a pastry bag with a plain donut tip (or a 1/4-inch tip) and fill with the preserves (you can also use a squeeze bottle). Poke the tip three-fourths of the way into the bomboloni and squeeze in the preserves, pulling the tip out slightly as you squeeze to fill them as much as possible. Dust the bomboloni with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.


It's challenges like these that make me really glad to be part of the Daring Bakers' Club. If you've yet to jump on the bandwagon, I urge you to jump aboard! It's a lot of fun and you're sure to learn a thing or two, and even conquer some of you baking fears!


Till next time...

Ladybird x

Daring Bakers' Challenge - September 2010

So last month I had hoped to participate in my first Daring Bakers' Challenge. Alas, life got in the way and I didn't manage to complete the challenge. This time around, I was far more organised, and I completed the challenge!

Am I happy I did it? Yes, but my oh my.. I was in a world of pain with this challenge! Having never piped royal icing before it was rather tricky, made all the more so difficult by the fact I lost the piping attachment I needed. Without it, I decided to soldier on with a sandwich bag snipped in the corner. Not such a good idea, as it turns out, but oh well :)

September 2010's challenge was hosted by Mandy from What the Fruitcake?! Mandy challenged everyone to bake and decorate basic sugar cookies using recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking. We had to give our cookies/biscuits a theme of significance to us in the month of September.

For me (and fellow antipodeans) September marks the beginning of Spring! Spring themed cookies seemed like a good idea, and I decided to take it one step further and create a spring themed cookie bouquet.

I did this by baking the cookies on bamboo skewers. I inserted the skewers carefully before refrigerating and then baking.

Basic Sugar Cookies

Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies

Ingredients
200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
a pinch of salt

Directions

Cream together the butter, sugar, salt and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during baking, losing their shape.

Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.

Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces. Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)

Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins. Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.

Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife. Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour. Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.

Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies. Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in some cookies being baked before others are done.
Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.

Leave to cool on cooling racks. Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.


Royal Icing


315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ – 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

Directions

Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined. Tip: It’s important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and grease free.

Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites. Tip: I’ve listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.


Beat on low until combined and smooth. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container. Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.


I'm looking forward to reading all my fellow Daring Bakers' Challenge posts for this month! I'm sure there are some fantastic cookies out there :)

Ladybird x