Empanada Gallega

The September Baker’s Challenge is hosted by Patri from Asi Son Las Cosas. She has challenged her fellow bakers with a recipe for Empanada Gallega, which is a two crusted pie (usually savory), from Galicia, the northern region of Spain.

“My grandparents lived in a country house that my great-grandfather built a hundred years ago. It is in the northwest of Spain, right on top of Portugal, in the region called Galicia. Back in the 70s, the kitchen was the place of gathering, talking, reading… and there was always something cooking on the iron stove, be it a pot of caldo (a hearty soup), or a stew, or a cake in the oven. When I think back to those days, I can smell the sweetness of burnt wood or coal, the almost “chocolate” scent that rose up to your nostrils when you opened the door, the warmth of the air when coming in from a cool, windy and wet August morning…”

How wonderful is that memory????

As usual, I am typing this up the night the post date, but I actually started a round of these in the beginning of the month. Patri, provided a few recipe options for the dough and some savory fillings but  I immediately started thinking about how to turn this into a dessert. I still had a freezer-full of cherries that I picked last month, my raspberry bush out back is having a bumper crop this summer (what a nice surprise to come home to!) and I saw some lovely fresh figs at the farmers market. Mmmm…. Okay, this was going to be fun. With such beautiful fruit, the fillings could be simple and still shine. Time to turn the large savory pie into individual hand pies!

The dough for these were made using a recipe  “La Empanada Gallega”

3½ cups (500 gm) all-purpose (plain) or bread flour
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
½ cup less 1 tablespoon (100 ml) of liquid fat (oil, margarine, lard)
1 satchel (1 tablespoon) (15 gm) dry yeast
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt

Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well in the middle and add all the ingredients Mix with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients have been incorporated. Turn dough onto your counter and knead for 10  minutes or place in a standing mixing with the dough hook attachment and knead for 10 minutes.

Make a ball and allow to rise covered with a cloth for about half an hour before using.

Cherry and Frangipane Filling

Frangipane is just an almond cream filling. It is fantastic used as a base for tarts or for pastry filling.

1/2 cup chopped almonds ( or almond meal if you have it)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In your food processor, place the almonds, sugar, and flour. Process until finely ground. Then add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Balsamic Strawberries with Fresh Fig

2 cups fresh strawberries, roughly diced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 vanilla bean, optional
2 or 3 fresh figs

Place the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla and add, if using. Bring to a boil and reduce until half. This makes the vinegar sweet and syrupy. Cool and then toss with the strawberries. (This alone is amazing and even better spooned over vanilla ice cream)

Let macerate for 1 hour.

Raspberry and Sweetened Cream Cheese

3 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 Vanilla bean
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 Cups fresh raspberries (one pint will probably be just fine if you make just a few of each)

Whip together the cream cheese, vanilla,and sugar. Slowly add the cream until smooth.

Assembly:

Roll the dough out quite thin so they don’t end up tot thick. I used a round pastry shell for my cutter. It is 4 inch across. If you are using the frangipane of cream cheese filling, add 1 full tablespoon of filling in the middle of your dough. Spread slightly. Top with 2 to 3 tablespoons of fruit. For the strawberry fig filling just lay 3 slices of juicy fig across the middle and top with the luscious balsamic berries.

Bring the top half of the dough over the filling ans line up with the bottom edge. Using you fingers, bring the two edges together, pinching the dough together.You can use a fork to press a design around the edges if you like.

Brush with an egg, lightly beaten, before placing into a 350F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

All right. No, I mean that they were just all right. Don’t get me wrong, we ate them and enjoyed them.  The fillings were great ,I just think that I would prefer a tender, flaky crust for instead. But, I wasn’t giving up on this challenge. Onto a savory filling.

I hardly ever post savory recipes. I love to cook just as much as baking and am constantly thinking of menus in my head, but I am a “little bit of this, little bit of that” cook so please bear with me in quantities. I will say that this was delicious and we enjoyed it even more the next day. It started with a layer of carmelized onions followed by a thick layer of cheddar cheese polenta. I finished it off with sautéed carrots, zucchini (from the garden), and peppers. This was a very tasty dinner served with a side salad.

Grandmas recipe for dough

5-1/3 cups (1280 ml) (750 gm) bread flour
2 cups  (480 ml) of lukewarm water (about 85°F/30ºC), approximately
1 satchel (1 tablespoon) (15 gm) dry yeast or  (1 oz) (30 gm) fresh yeast
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (11 gm) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) oil (you can use oil from the pan where you have cooked the filling)
1 large egg, for egg wash

Sift the flour into a big bowl and add the yeast. Make a well in the middle. In a small bowl, mix the water and the salt.Now, using your fingers or a wooden spoon, start adding the water and mixing it with the flour-yeast mixture. Keep on working with your fingers or spoon until you have added enough water and all the flour has been incorporated and you have a messy ball of dough.On a clean counter top, knead the dough by  hand or use a standing mixer with the dough hook attachment  for approximately 10 minutes.Clean and oil the big bowl you used for mixing and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover it with a napkin or piece of linen and keep it in a warm, draught-free place for approximately 40 to 50 minutes.

Carmelized Onions (my way)

1 Large sweet onion, sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
Place the onion, salt and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium low heat.Cook, stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Turn the heat to low, add the sugar and continue to cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vinegar, stir again, and  cook for another final 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Cheddar Cheese Polenta

2 cups (16 oz)  water
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups (16 oz)  milk , divided (I use skim)
200 g sharp cheddar cheese, grated
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cumin

Place 2 cups water, 1 cup milk and the butter in a medium sauceopan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, stir together the  remaining cup of milk and the cornmeal. Gradually stir this into the boiling liquid, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly until the cornmeal is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the salt, cumin, black pepper and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted into the polenta. Set aside to cool.

Sautéed Summer Vegetables

This is what I had on hand. Please use the vegetables you like; this also goes for the seasoning

1 large zucchini, chopped, equalling about 2 cups
1 Cup chopped carrots
1 red pepper, chopped
1 purple or green pepper chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked Serrano chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili flakes
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the carrots, salt, cumin, chili powder and chipotle flakes; cook for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes, you still want the zucchini to be crisp since it will continue to cook in the oven. Set aside to cool.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Once risen, turn the dough back into a floured counter and cut it in half. Cover one half with the napkin to prevent drying.Spread the other half of the dough using a rolling-pin. You can use a piece of wax paper over the counter, it will make it easier to move the dough around. Depending on the shape of your oven pan or cookie sheet, you will make a rectangle or a round.Now, the thinness of the dough will depend on your choice of filling and how much bread you like in every bite.  For your first time (like me), make it about 3mm thin (about 1/10th of an inch) and then adjust from that in the next ones you make.

Lightly flour your pan or tray.

Cover the base and sides with the dough. Using the rolling pin or a knife, cut the extra dough.

Place the filling, making sure it is cold and that all the base is covered. Using a hot filling will make the bottom layer of the empanadas become soggy. Be careful to avoid adding too much oil from the filling, try to make it as “dry” as possible

Take the other half of the dough and spread it out to the same or less thinness of the base.  Take into account that this “top” dough needs to be smaller around than the bottom, as it only needs to cover the filling. roll out the second piece of dough and transfer to cover the top.Trim away excess dough.Using your fingers, join bottom and top dough, when you have gone all the way around, start pinching top and bottom together with your thumb and index finger and turning them half way in, that way you end up with a rope-like border. As a picture is worth a thousand words, please watch this video to see how it is done: http://youtu.be/CNpB7HkTdDk

When you are finished, make a 1 inch hole in the middle of the top layer. This will help hot air exit the empanada while it’s baking without breaking the cover.In a small bowl, beat an egg and add a tbsp of cold water. With the pastry brush, paint the top of the empanada with the egg wash.Place the empanada in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Check that the bottom part is done. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Cherry -Chocolate Mousse Cake

So, did everyone have a nice Easter/Passover holiday? I know we did. Instead of staying home for dinner, we got in the car and went to two of our favorite places, Chico Hot Springs and Yellowstone National Park. They are both located in the magical states of Montana & Wyoming. It’s a long drive (900k/530 miles), but to us, soooo worth it. At this time of year the park is such a great place to visit. There is only one section open in the park in the winter, but it never fails to amaze us. Mammoth hot springs is a site to behold on its own, but we also saw tons of Bison, pronghorns, elk, and birds, including hawks, osprey, and a bald eagle! The highlight though were the wolves. We were lucky enough to see a park wolf patrol officer with his scope and got to view a male and pregnant female couple eating a kill (with the bald eagle trying to get at it). Amazing. Seriously. We never forget how lucky we are to live out West and love seeing all of the truly awe-inspiring  places around us.

The many colors of Mammoth Hot Springs

And a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure…


One of the best perks is that the place where we stay has no TV, telephones, or computers. Well, you get dial-up in the lobby but it’s sort of a pain, so why bother. You realize that you don’t need to be “connected” at all times. You realize that the best way to be “connected” is to spend time with your family and friends. With no outside distractions. Kids even soon forget that there is no TV or video when their parents are there with them. Swimming, playing board games, puzzles, reading. Sounds old-fashioned, but it really works. We always meet such interesting people just hanging out in the lobby sitting around the fireplace.So much so that when I got home, I didn’t even want to plug in my laptop for a few days or watch the boob tube. I highly recommend this for everyone every once in a while. I think you will be glad that you did. Okay- enough said on that!

With us missing Easter dinner at home, we just moved it a week. It was time for our monthly dinner supper club anyway, so we did everything a week later. It worked out better for everyone involved anyway. On the menu this month:

apricot apple-bourbon glazed ham (we also had apple-bourbon hot toddys to start)
carrot souffle
braised red cabbage with raisins and apples
shredded brussel sprouts with bacon
popovers
and for dessert……

Cherry Chocolate Mousse Cake!!

equipment needed:  one 9″ springform pan, two 8″ inch cake pans, parchment paper and acetate (you can substitute parchment paper), and a 9″ cardboard cake circle or cake plate.

Before you begin, cut a length of acetate or parchment paper  3 1/2  inches high and 33 inches long. Take this and line the inside of your springform pan. Cut a 9 inch circle of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of the pan. Set this aside until the final assembly. This step makes removing the cake from the springform pan a breeze

Cake:

This makes 2 cakes. If they bake perfectly even then you can cut one in half horizontally and freeze the other half for a later time. Since mine usually are domed, I just trim the tops off each one to even them out and use both layers, saving the leftover scraps for a later use (cake pops, sides of cakes, over ice cream…)

1/2 cup boiling water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hot, strongly brewed coffee

Preheat your  oven to 325 F. Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans and  line the bottoms with parchment paper …

 Whisk the boiling water, chocolate and butter together until melted and set aside.Whip the egg, sugar and vanilla until the mixture doubles in volume (about 2 minutes on high-speed) and then fold in the chocolate mixture by hand. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt over the batter and fold in, then stir in the hot coffee (this will thin the batter out). Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.

 Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick  inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans.

Cherry Mousse:

* To make the puree, I boiled up about 3 large cups of frozen, pitted cherries with 1/2 cup of sugar, whirled it up in the blender then strained it through a fine sieve. Cool to room temp. I swear, it was easy. Do this while the cake is in the oven.

2 Cups (16 oz) sweetened cherry puree (see above)
3 Cups (24 oz) heavy cream (33-36%)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons kirsch (optional)
2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup water

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small bowl and either place in a small pan of simmering water and stir until dissolved or place the bowl in the microwave for about 15 -20 seconds (just do not let it boil). Let this cool down for about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, place the sweetened cherry puree. Stir in the gelatin, almond extract, and kirsch (if using). In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until soft, billowy peaks form; fold lightly into the cherry mixture.

Assembly:

Either cut one layer of cake horizontally or trim down the two layers so that you have 2 thin even layers.

Spoon half of the cherry mousse into the bottom of your prepared springform pan. Carefully place (drop, really) one layer of the cake into the center. You will have a border of mousse all around the cake. Gently press down. Spoon the remaining cherry mousse over this layer. Repeat with the second layer of cake, again gently pressing down so that the cake and mousse border are level.

Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight, to set up.

While the cake is setting up, make the glaze…

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons unflavoured gelatin powder
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Bring the water, sugar, and cream to a boil in a medium pan. Once boiling, whisk in the cocoa powder and simmer (reducing the heat if needed) for 4 minutes, stirring often, (the consistency will not change). Remove from heat. Soften the gelatin in ¼ cup of cold water and then whisk this into the hot cocoa mixture until dissolved. Cool the glaze to room temperature, then chill completely, at least 3 hours. It will set up like chocolate gelatin (and it tastes great)

To finish the cake:  Open up the springform pan and remove the cake. Gently peel away the acetate (or parchment) that is around the sides of the cake. Place the cardboard round (or cake plate) onto the top of the cake and invert it onto a cooling rack. If you don’t have an exact 9 inch round cake plate, then invert it directly onto the cooling rack. Place the cooling rack over a parchment lined baking sheet.  Warm the chilled glaze over low heat,while whisking occasionally, until just melted and smooth and pour this over the cake , spreading gently with a spatula to ensure that it covers the top and sides of the cake evenly. I poured half over, chilled it a bit, then put a second coat on it. Scoop up any leftover glaze  that dipped through onto the parchment paper and reuse. You can chill and reuse this glaze over and over. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes, then lift it onto your presentation plate and store chilled until ready to serve. This keeps in the fridge for up to four days.

This was a real visual show-stopper while also a light and  delicious way to end a big meal. Enjoy!

recipe adapted from here

Read Full Post »

Dobos Torte

Does this really look like a drum? Maybe I’m looking at the wrong drums…Dobos, which means “drum” or “like a drum”  in Hungarian  is just a coincidence (I think)  since the  cake is an Austrain creation developed by chef  Josef Dobos.  It consists of multiple thin layers of genoise cake that are layered with a chocolate buttercream and a hard caramel topping. While it is time-consuming , it is actually pretty simple to put  together. Just make sure to read through the recipe before starting and to have everything ready (mise en place) to go before you start to make the cake. If a recipe relied on the use of a standing mixer this one would be it. You can certainly use a hand-held mixer, but you will be standing there a long time mixing.

This recipe uses chocolate ganache between the layers instead of buttercream .The flavor of the cake is quite plain so I added a touch of orange to it. I bet this would also be great with a touch of amaretto or frangelico added to the batter, or how about some espresso in the ganache?  Anyway, this is a great holiday cake with real visual appeal. Since I am in New York for the month I get to bake lots of treats for my mom’s various holiday gatherings and I thought this would be perfect to try. It is my first one and I am really pleased at how easily it all came together. This is adapted from an old Good Housekeeping recipe. It makes 16 slices.

There are 3 steps to making this cake, besides the assembly:

1. Bake the cake layers

2. Prepare the ganache

3. Make the caramel

GENOISE CAKE

12 large eggs, separated
1 C granulated sugar
1 Vanilla bean, seeds scraped into the egg yolks (optional) .Reserve the pod for another use (add it to your sugar bowl,to your bottle of vanilla extract, to a bottle of vodka or rum…..)
1 tsp each of Fiore di silia  and vanilla extract OR 2 tsp vanilla extract and the zest of an orange
1 1/3 C cake flour, sifted (do not use self rising flour)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Grease the bottom of two 9 inch pans. Cut out 8 parchment paper circles (unless you have silpat cake liners, which you can just wipe off and reuse). Line each pan with a parchment circle. Set the other 6 aside

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of sugar and the vanilla bean seeds (if using) on high, until thick and light lemon colored. This will take about 10 minutes. Beat in the extracts, set aside.

In a large, very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and whisk until the stand at stiff peaks.

transfer the egg yolk mixture to a very large bowl and sift the flour over it. Fold the flour into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the melted butter. (I use my whisk attachment to do this)

With a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites in the yolks, 1/3 at a time, just until blended.

Spoon 1 cup batter into each of the prepared pans. Use a small offset spatula to gently spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake the layers for 9 minutes, until lightly golden brown and springy to the touch. Wait about 1 minute then invert them onto a wire rack. Peel and discard the parchment and flip them back over to cool completely.

When the pans are cool (it will only take a few minutes, wipe them out and line each with a new piece of parchment. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 8 layers in total. Stack the cooled cake layers between layers of wax paper.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE
you should always try to use the best quality chocolate that you can afford
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces milk chocolate
2 ounces white chocolate
1 C heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Finely chop the chocolates and place in a bowl.  Heat the cream over medium high heat until just about to boil. Pour over the chocolates and let it sit for about 3 minutes. With a whisk or rubber spatula, stir the mixture together until it is smooth and creamy. Whisk in the butter and continue stirring until everything is beautiful and shiny.

At this point, you can let the mixture stand at room temp for a few hours to set up or you can put the bowl over an ice bath to speed up the process. All that you do is take you bowl and place it in a larger bowl that has a few inches of cold water and some ice cubes in it. Stir the mixture every few minutes for about 20 minutes and it will be ready. I recommend the latter since it is faster.

CARAMEL

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon butter
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbl water
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, melted

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, lemon juice and water over high heat and bring to a boil over high heat , swirling the pan once or twice. Continue cooking, without stirring, about 3-4 minutes, until the caramel is golden color (I like my caramel on the darker side to offset the sweetness of the chocolate).

Carefully pour the hot caramel over the top of one layer of cake and quickly spread it evenly over the top with a small offset spatula. Let it cool for about 1-2 minutes to slightly set and then quickly,with a greased chef’s knife, cut the cake layer into 16 wedges.

Dip the rounded side of the wedges in the melted chocolate and set aside until the final assembly.

Final assembly:

Spread about 1/4 cup of the ganache on 1 layer of cake. Top with a second layer and cover with another 1/4 cup of the ganache. Keep repeating until all the layers are done. Pipe or spoon the remaining ganache into 16 little dollops evenly spaced around the edge of the top layer. If serving within 2 hours, place 1 caramel wedge, set at an angle, on top of each ganache dollop.

If not serving right away, refrigerate the cake, but not the top caramel layer- it will get soggy in the fridge.  To serve, take the cake out of the fridge at least 1 hour before serving and top with the caramel wedges.

Read Full Post »