Wednesday 29 May 2013

Our project was to make a fondant covered cake with edible decorations and flowers. We learned how to make roses, mums, and carnations!

This is my final product :)






Sunday 14 April 2013


pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs using a wax-resist method. 





































Opps!




Ingredients
-315ml all-purpose flour
-8ml baking powder
-2ml salt
-5ml cinnamon
-1ml nutmeg
-1ml ground cloves
-190ml vegetable oil
-2 large eggs
-250ml finely grated carrots
-250ml granulated sugar
-5ml vanilla

Optional:
-80ml walnuts finely chopped
-80ml raisins





Method
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray non-stick spray onto the pan molds and dust with flour.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together in a medium bowl.
3. In another bowl, mix the oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla together until they are well blended.
4. Add the carrots (and optionally the raisins and walnuts) and mix until blended.
5. Spoon the batter evenly into molds. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a cake. Cool for 5 minutes before removing the little cakes from the molds. Trim the edges with kitchen shears if needed for a neat presentation.
6. After cooling, put on icing.





Pulla is a mildly-sweet Finnish coffee bread flavored with crushed cardamom seeds!



Ingredients
-250ml milk
-60ml warm water
-5ml white sugar
-8ml yeast
-60ml white sugar-3ml salt
-sml ground cardamom
-2 eggs, beaten
-1L all-purpose flour
-60ml margarine or butter, melted
-1 egg, beaten
-15ml course white sugar

Method
1. Warm the water in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and the 5ml sugar. Stir in the lukewarm milk, 60ml sugar, salt, cardamom, eggs, and enough flour to make a sticky batter (approximately 250ml) Add the melted butter or margarine, and stir well. Beat again until the dough looks glossy. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is slightly sticky.
3. Knead the dough until smooth and satiny. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, and turn the dough to grease the top. Cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down, and let rise again until almost doubled.
4. Turn out again on to a floured surface, and divide into 4 parts (if four members). Divide each third into 3 again. Roll each piece a strip. Braid 3 strips into a loaf. Lift the braids onto greased baking sheets. Let rise for 20 minutes.
5. Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar
6. Bake at 200°C for 25-30 minutes. Check occasionally because the bottom burns easily.

Ingredients:
 Pound cake:
-3 large eggs, room temperature
-45mL milk, room temperature
-7mL vanilla
-375mL (150g) sifted cake flour
-5mL baking powder
-1mL salt
-190mL (150g) granulated white sugar
-200mL (185g) margarine, room temperature

-250mL cherry pie filling
-250mL whipping cream

Chocolate Sauce:
-90mL margarine
-375mL brown sugar
-125mL sugar
-250mL heavy cream (whipping cream)
-pinch of salt
-60mL Cocoa powder
-30mL instant espresso powder
-5mL vanilla extract

Method:
Day 1 Pound Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350°F or 175°C and place rack in the center of oven.
    Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray the paper with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add the margarine and half of the egg mixture.
    Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened.
    Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
    Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake's structure.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the cake browning too much as it bakes, cover with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
5. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a lightly buttered wire rack.
6. The Pound Cake can be covered and stored for several days at room temperature, for one week when refrigerated, or it can be frozen for two months. Store your cake in a ziplock bag and refrigerate until next class.

Day 2: Assembly
Chocolate Sauce:
7. Heat the margarine in large saucepan. Stir in the sugar and brown sugar and allow to dissolve. Stir in the cream, salt, cocoa and espresso powder.
    Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, whisking to blend.
    Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
    The sauce can be stored, covered, in a glass container in the refrigerator for 1 month. Heat gently before using.
8. Whip the cream until stiff using an electric mixer, stir in 10mL icing sugar and 2mL vanilla. Fill the piping bag with the whip cream and add an open star tip.
    Using the cooking rings cut out four circles out of the pound cake.
    Slice each cake into three pieces each with a very sharp knife.
9. To create your stack; start with a cake layer add 25mL of the cherry pie filling then top with another cake layer. Repeat and add a final cake layer on top. Pour some of the chocolate sauce flowing over the sides.
    Pipe the whipping cream into a spiral pattern on the top of the cake stack.
    To complete the plating use a sieve and sprinkle icing sugar over the stack.


Saturday 16 February 2013

Ingredients:
Crust:
- Chocolate cookie crumbs (250ml)
- Margarine, melted (50ml)

Fillings:
- White Sugar (125ml)
- Cornstarch (20ml)
- Sour Cream (125ml)
- Vanilla (15ml)
- 1/2 Navel Orange
- 2 packages cream cheese, softened
- 2 large eggs

Strawberry Coulis:
- Strawberries (frozen and unsweetened) (500ml)
- White Sugar (60ml)
- Orange juice from your half orange


Method:
For the crust:

1) Position rack to the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 345°F
2) Remove the sides of a spring from pan and cover the bottom sides with foil/
3) Use a pastry brush and margarine to cover sides
4) In a medium bowl, stir together the crust ingredients until combined
5) Press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15min
6) Cool on wire rack

Procedure for fillings:

1) Set oven temperature to 325°F
2) Zest one half orange. Careful, do not include the bitter white pith
3) In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese with an electric mixer
4) In a small bowl, combine white sugar, cornstarch and zest
5) Add sugar mixture, sour cream and vanilla
6) Mix together until just blended
7) Break eggs into a custard cup and beat with a fork
8) Add to batter and mix for one minute or until very smooth
9) Pour carefully into the spring from pan
10) Bake 60 minutes or until the sides are puffy and the center quivers
11) Cool for another 20 minutes. Use a knife to loosen sides and remove from pan
12) Cool completely and then refrigerate


Procedure for Strawberry Coulis:

1) In a saucepan mix the sugar and the berries
2) Cook over a medium heat - about 10 min. Do not let mixture boil
3) Mash the berries and the strain through your colander
4) Discard pulp and refrigerate. Sauce may be thin but it will thicken when chilled.


Ingredients:

- Vegetable Oil (15ml)
- Boneless skinless chicken (454g)
- Minced Garlic (10ml)
- Minced Fresh Ginger (10ml)
- Mushrooms, thinly sliced  (500ml)
- Water (125ml)
- Hoisin Sauce (60ml)
- Oyster Sauce (15ml)
- Fresh Udon noodles (1 pkg/ 400g)
- Snow peas (250ml)
- Sesame oil (5ml)

Method:

1) In a wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat; stir-fry chicken, garlic and ginger until chicken is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
2) Add mushrooms; stir-fry until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in water, hoisin sauce and oyster sauce; bring to simmer.
3) Add noodles and toss to combine; simmer until sauce is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add snow peas and sesame oil; cook for 1 minute.
4) Plate on a platter and add a garnish!