blogging event

Time To Make The Doughnuts – First Batch

15.02.2008 29 Comments

Wow! Wow! May I add Wow?! I had no idea that my innocent email to Peabody reading "Hey! I want to host a doughnut/beignets event and was wondering if you would like to co-host with me?" would be met by so many of you. Last time we counted we had 94 of you wonderful people who made us all kinds of doughy-oily-baked-filled-dipped doughnuts/fritters/beignets…. I want to thank her immensely for being such a great co-host while busy with things of her own. Cheers to you!

I am thrilled to see entries from all over the world showcasing traditional doughnuts (say that 3 times fast) as well as so many of you braving your fear of yeast, oil and other kitchen adventures. Thank you! Thank you! May I add Thank You?!! You made my day, my week, my month…really I am not evil, I just wanted to make sure ya’ll had the opportunity to justify making fried sugar dough in the middle of winter. You all were very giving in your posts, emails and stories and there are so many people, places and things I discovered. Not to mention almost 100 recipes!

Without further ado, here is the first installment of the roundup, in no particular order. Peabody and I split the entries so you might have to go back and forth a little between our blogs. I tried to get it all done in one post but with mom being here, her departing adventures (she is sound and safe in France, finally) and life and work…I have to stop tonight (hmm 3am actually) and I will post the second batch ~~tomorrow~~ today in the afternoon.

Michelle from Culinography makes lovely traditional German jelly filled doughnuts, Berliner Pfannkuchen. Aside from the history tidbits about their origin, I love how the jam oozes from the doughnuts. Thanks for sharing such beautiful treats with us!

You have no idea how happy I am to have Brilynn from Jumbo Empanadas participate in our event. Not only is she a fellow Daring Baker and all over awesome blogger friend but I thought I would have to fly to Canada to make her brave her "no donut" mantra! Her Baked Donuts look wonderful in my eyes, and her post was as hilarious as their odd shapes. Thanks for being here!

Chez Denise Et Laudalino made a traditional doughnut, Malasadas. From the looks of these, I sure could inhale half a dozen of these! Thanks for sharing your story with us!

Theresa at Food Hunter’s Guide To Cuisine takes the event as the perfect excuse to make some fried desserts. These Lemon Ricotta Fritters are full of flavor with rum, chocolate chip, ricotta and lemon. Hmmhmmhmmm!!

Gretchen Noelle from Canela & Comino made these delicious Peruvian Squash Fritters, Picarones. They may not be exactly like the ones found on the street stalls in Peru but I am sure her rendition is just as good. Thanks for sharing a bit of your culture with us!

Caitlin from Engineer Baker makes Baked Doughnuts for the first time for the event… all 3 dozens plus 4 dozen doughnut holes! They look wonderful in their cinnamon sugar blanket and I know a few takers in my neighorhood if you still have some!

Cakelaw from Laws Of the Kitchen makes some scrumptious Apple Cider Donuts that taste as close as the one we can get in the green polka dot shot…Yippee! I love her addition of rhubarb to the batter. Thanks for taking part!

( McCreamy) Ivonne from Cream Puffs In Venice, the "Other Woman" as B. likes to call her (just because one year she made me a cake to seduce me…really…and it looked awesome!), is making my heart skip a beat with these beautiful Crullers all covered with melted chocolate. Thank you my dear friend for satisfying my cravings!

Tanna from My Kitchen In Half Cups is known in our house as the "Bread Elf"…always sneaking up on us with the most delectable bread creations. Now, if she says "brioche" I am there…if she adds "doughnut" I am coming back!! Go check these Brioche Doughnuts!

Ricki from Diet, Dessert and Dogs comes up with the brilliant idea to create Dogels, a cross between a bagel and a doughnut after a couple of failed attempts at baked doughnuts. Thanks for persevering Ricki!

Sabra from Cookbook Catchall makes another one of my favorites, Italian Zeppole. Her beloved version made me think o fried cream puff dough with a little extra: vanilla bean. The dough can e made in 10 minutes, refrigerated and the doughnuts fried fresh. Thanks for revisiting this recipewith us!

Stef from Cupcake Project tries her hand at Doughnut Cupcakes for the first time. They look mighty good all dressed up and glazed! Thank you for participating and I hope you try your hands at more yeasted baked goods!

Allison from Cinnamon Love tempts our tastebuds with Thai Doughnuts dunked in sweetened condensed milk…Sugar, Sugar, tadadadadada…Or is it an excuse to eat more of her favorite food?!! If you decide to make them again with yeast, please let me know, they sound delicious!

Isabel from Isas’s Cooking in Santiago, Chile takes friendship to a new level by making these doughnuts in honor of her friend Igna. Chocolate glazed with dulce de leche and plain ones with raspberry jam to be precise. Thanks for sharing your story with us!

Vegan Superstar, Hannah from Bittersweet found her donut "vertically challenged" and decided to put the to good use in donut sandwiches. How clever! Thanks for finding the time in your busy schedule to participate.

Steph from A Whisk and A Spoon (love that name), tried her hand at a Viennese treat, Spritzkrapfen, also known as Crullers. Moist, tender and glazed with rum. Yum! Thank you, but what are you going to eat after I am done with those three?!!

Lynn from Cookie Baker Lynn makes an old family favorite with these Spudnuts (love that name!) When you realize that the original recipe made 4 dozen doughnuts, I understand her desire to halve the recipe…looks like nothing in lost in reduction however. Thanks Lynn for such beautiful rings of fried dough!

Michelle from Life In The Pink Kitchen, also braves her fear of yeast by producing these gorgeous Dough-Nots…along with a very fun post to read. Thanks Michelle for your adventurous spirit. Your mom can be proud!!

Natalie, fellow sheltie lover and Daring Baker partner, at Gluten A Go Go, always amazes me with her gluten free renditions of baked items and these Chocolate Chestnut Doughnuts are downright a success! Thanks for taking part in our little fry fest!

Dear to my heart Jasmine, from Confessions of a Cardamom Addict made those lovely Dutchies, "the quintessential Canadian doughnut". Better have the fresh from the fryer I am told…She also threatened me with a day old Dutchie bread pudding…I am waiting *tap*tap*tap*(foot stomping). Thanks for spreading the donut love, they are scrumptious!

Coco from Coco Cooks makes a traditional South African favorite, Koesisters, to help us celebrate the fact that there is ne-ver enough donuts in this world! Thanks Courtney for not listening to the little voices inside your head!

Nemmie from Cast Sugar appeals to the historian in me by making these jelly filled doughnuts, Berliner Pfannkuchen. Thank you for those perfect bites of sweetness!!

Karolina at For The Body And Soul keeps true to her New Year’s resolution to cook more Polish food with these gorgeous Paczki enhanced with one of my favorites, rosehip jam. Thanks for sharing a traditional pastry with us!

Arfi from Homemades in New Zealand made one of my favorites, Baked Donuts. Thanks Arfi for watching over our waistlines!

Stephanie from Cupcake My Love sends these original Maple-Glazed Sour Cream Doughnut with Sugared Walnut Streusel. Thanks for braving your fear of yeast, they turned out wonderfully!

SuperMom and blogger Kristen from Dine and Dish, almost forgot to make her donuts but put her bread machine to good use! Seriously folks, how can we say no to such tempting fried rounds? You’re right, we can’t! Thanks Kristen for rushing a few to my house!!

Ulrike from Kuchenlatein in Germany makes a traditional donut called Quark Balls or Quarkbällchen on stormy day! Thanks for warming us up with such a comforting entry!

Laura Rebecca takes pizza dough to another level by frying it and making little donut holes and beautiful glazed donuts. Simple and statisfying Italian donuts! I am thinking those double crust pizza dough recipes have an ulterior motive: frying!

Elly from Elly Says Opa! in Chicago made a traditional Greek fritters, Loukoumades, going past her fear of yeast and frying. Thank you for braving your doughnut demons…the fritters are mouth watering!

Allen from Eating Out Loud is trying to correct my evil ways by making his mom’s baked doughnuts. Sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and good for my waist line? He might make a believer out of me!

Cheryl at Gruel Omelet got a little behind with a bad case of stomach flu, but how could we refuse a basket full of these wonderful Baked Donuts. The toppings are un-healthy enough to make me happy…ahahah!!!

Doughnuts For My Valentine

14.02.2008 56 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! Whether you have a special somebody in your life, today is the day to celebrate all lovers out there. We don’t do outrageous things on that day Mr.Tartelette and I, but we do get caught up in all the cutsie cards out there and exchange a couple over the course of the day.

We live down the street from a Krispy Kreme and a Dunkin Donut (I love America!) and when we were driving home from taking mom to the airport yesterday, he turned to me and said "You know that Krispy Kreme came out with a heart donut for Thursday?" Me "Well, that’s nice…" We went back to our thoughts until a couple of minutes later he added "Could you make a copycat if I get you an original to compare?" Me to answer in my best smartie pants tone "If you get an original form the shop, eat it, don’t ask me to make a copycat!" Well, I did anyway, because he is a cool guy! I took out the deep fryer for that and they turned out awesome. He thought they were better than the originals as they did not have that overpowering sugar-oily coating on them.

Well, given the events of last night, I had plenty of time to make one more batch of donuts for our "Time To Make The Doughnuts" round up tomorrow. See, my mother’s flights to Newark then France got cancelled due to bad weather. She got re-routed on another airline through Atlanta. She would have made her connection if the flight out of here had left on time, but they sat on the plane and she got an hour late to Atlanta and no more flight to France. So poor mom found herself stranded overnight in a hotel room by herself. I know she is fine, but she my mom, she’s the bestest and the sweetest in the world….. No change of clothes or toileteries, and a diabetic on a pump. I was screaming in my head!! Her English is allright, she understands faster than she speaks and she has traveled many times but always with my dad or a group. Thankfully she has the kind of personality that makes people be nice and helpful towards her. She has a good aura…

Please, think good thoughts and send good vibes that she gets on that plane this afternoon with all her stuff. When I called my dad last night to tell him, he said "Well, that sucks but the flowers will be ok in water one more day and the bracelet I got her will be here when she get here". Isn’t that sweet?!! When I spoke to her this morning, the only things she was concerned about is that we had gotten some sleep and found the Valentine card she had left for us. Mom, you are the best! I love you and I hope that you and dad get to spend some quality time together, albeit a day later.

See, Valentine’s day is not only about lovers, it’s about fuzzy feelings, families and just good all around feelings. No, we don’t need a special day to hug somebody but it sure is great to be reminded never to take anybody ir anything for granted. We all need a little bang on the head sometimes. There are some special people I am going to think about today, especially the ones who can’t give or receive that special hug and I will keep them in my thoughts and wish that they find peace of heart and mind.

Copycat Krispy Kreme Donuts:

2 pkgs. yeast
1/4 cup water (105-115 degrees)
1-1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter
5 cups all-purpose flour vegetable oil

Glaze: 1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
4–6 tbl. hot water
colored sprinkles if desired. I asked the cashier to sell me a half coffee cup full of the ones they use on their heart donuts.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in bowl of your stand mixer. Add milk, salt, eggs, butter and 2 cups flour. Beat on low for 30 seconds with the paddle attachment, scraping the bowl if needed. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in remaining flour and mi untilsmooth until smooth. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour. Turn dough onto floured surface and roll dough 1/2-inch thick. Cut with floured doughnut cutter. Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees and fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Remove from the oil and drain them on paper towels for a minute. Dip the doughnuts into the glaze and set them on cooling racks over paper lined baking sheets (easier to clean up).

Glaze:
Heat butter until melted over medium low heat and remove from the stove. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.

Blueberry Heart Cheesecakes For My Valentine

05.02.2008 45 Comments

Since I just asked you to vote for me in the Death By Chocolate contest so that you would be sending me and B. on the mini honeymoon we never had, I thought it would be fitting to share a tad more mushy sentiments with you all. If you are not a softie today….skip to the previous post…or the one before….February seems to be a love fest around here!!! Anyways…

You all know him as B. and sometimes "The Cookie Monster" but I usually call him "my better half" and I would be the first one to tell you how fitting the phrase is. When I am wild and crazy or childish as only a woman can be, he is the mature one keeping me grounded and putting things in perpective. When I am the nervous one or the mature one, he becomes the childish one and relieves tension by cracking up a joke or coming up with something fun to do. He never said a word to me along the lines of "grow up" "stop playing" or "relax"…all he has to do is to hold me. He has got my heart beating inside his.

Here is one of the many examples that makes it "why it’s working for us". One thing that used to get to me in our early years together was the fact that I would never get flowers, chocolate or trinkets…When I asked him why and that I was expecting at least some flowers for my birthday, he would always say "expectations will ruin your life". He would wait a day or two and give me the mot thoughtful and hip present. I would feel completely stupid of course and over the years I have known to set aside my expectations and apprehensions; he will take care of things, of people, with a lot of thought and care. I have learned not to have expectations because in the end things would work themselves out, and in the process he would allow me to grow and mature and never feel like I really was 19 years his junior.

At the same time, I let him be the 15 year old he is at heart. He is constantly fixing things he finds on the side of the road: we could probably give you a couple of chain saws, electric drills and vacuum cleaners that we found while walking the dog and that he fixed back up. While I get dinner ready, he goes down to the garage and unscrews, solders and plugs things in…and puts them in the "garage sale" box. We have never had a garage sale and I don’t foresee us having one soon either! I let him work through his piles and stuff because I know how giddy his little heart gets when something is plugged and actually works. Eh! I am all about free vaccum cleaners with a long haired dog!!

Allright, Tartelette…we get it…ya’ll luuuuurrrvvvve each other….but what is the link to the cheesecakes?!! This:

My dear friend Zorra is hosting a Valentine’s Day event and she got me thinking about what I wanted to make B. to tell him how thankful I was that he had said "I do" to the whole Tartelette package 10 years ago. We don’t really do anything special on Valentine’s Day, mostly because of the whole commercial aspect of it, but all the red and hearts seen everywhere lately can’t but make us a little softer. I usually make him a giant heart shaped chocolate chip cookie and when he saw I was cranking the mixer one evening he asked if I was going to make him a treat for Valentine’s Day. I replied "nothing that you migh expect!"…ahahaha! I learned that trick from the master himself!! Instead I made simple lemon scented cheesecakes (4 inches round) and cooked some blueberries that I placed in a heart shape on top. He loved it…Unexpected, light and refreshing….and not chocolate!!

Blueberry Heart Cheesecakes:

Makes 4 4 inch cheesecakes

16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tb lemon zest
2 Tb lemon juice
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
Blueberry Topping

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium size bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter. Divide among 4 mini springform pans and pat with your fingers until evenly distributed. Bake 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 325. In a large bowl, with the electric mixer or by hand , mix the cream cheese, butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Add the vanilla,lemon zest and juice. Divide between the springform pans. Wrap each pan with heavy duty foil. Set them in a roasting pan, fill with water and bake at 325 for about 40 minutes, or until they wiggle just a tiny bit in the middle. They will set more after an overnight trip in the fridge. Remove the foil, let cool, and refrigerate.When ready to serve, run a hot knife on the inside of the pan and release the cheesecakes.
To decorate, place a cokkie cutter on top of each cheesecake and fill with the cooled blueberry topping. Let set in the fridge for an hour and slowly remove the cookie cutter before eating.

Blueberry Topping:

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb corntarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

In a heavy saucepan, heat the blueberries with the sugar and the lemon juice until the sugar melts and the berries strat to release their juices. Stir the cornstarch in the pan and cook until the liquid becomes clear again and starts to thicken. Let cool to room temperature.

We laughed that night while eating them with my mother as she exclaimed that we were indeed easy to satisfy "give him a broken drill and you a block of cheesecake and you guys are happy as pie" and to my huband The Professor to add "would not be bad if the drill was an antique?!"…and there you go…we are indeed happy with very little. It would however make our day if you voted for me in the Death By Chocolate contest so we could say all that from Napa! Don’t forget that they will also send a reader to the chocolate festival!!

Death By Chocolate Contest: Nutella Creams and Chocolate Macarons

05.02.2008 24 Comments

I feel a little bit strange coming here and telling you that I, too, have entered the Death by Chocolate Contest held by the great folks from Culinate. I feel even stranger asking people to vote for me or give me their approval but posting about chocolate is an offer I can’t refuse! With time being a precious commodity while my mother is visiting I am really thankful that the rules allow bloggers to post past entries.

I was excited to enter just for the theme….and then they told us the prizes on hand if we won: one food blogger and one reader will be sent on a trip for two to Napa Valley and will attend the Copia Center’s annual Death by Chocolate Festival on Feburary 23, 2008. Talk about generosity! The winner among readers will be chosen at random from all entries. Readers will vote for their favorite blog posts, and the winning food blogger will be selected by a panel of judges from the top 10 reader favorites. The entries I have seen so far are absolutely mouth watering.

Will I make you drool with these Nutella Creams and Chocolate Macarons? I hope so….Nutella…whipped cream…hmmmhmmmhmmm

Why would I love to win? Well, the only thing that comes to my mind this close to Valentine’s Day is that my husband and I will celebrate our 10th anniverary this year and we have never gone on a honeymoon…No sunny beaches, no exotic trip…He was tied home badly sick and he still feels terrible about it. I keep telling him that I don’t need a honeymoon to make me love him more and I think that rewarding him with a nice trip to Napa would prove that come hail or high water, I am his girl.

So…..if you feel like this Nutella Cream and Chocolate Macarons post is deserving of your vote, you can do on by clicking on the picture below. Voting start today an ends February 8th. Many many many thanks!

Time To Make The Doughnuts Event

02.02.2008 23 Comments

I am busy playing in the kitchen with my mother but I wanted to remind everybody out there that Peabody and I are hosting a doughnut fest on February 15th and invite you all to send us your entries by February 12th if you wish to participate. The ones we have received so far are fabulous, lip-smacking good looking! You will find all the info needed here: Time To Make The Doughnuts.

No long post from me tonight, no strange looking creation or mad scientist tip…just a recipe for beignets and a little plea (continue to read below the beignets) that my mom brought with her for Mardis Gras and that I have not made in years. You can make the round, shape them or fill them if you so desire. Excuse me while I go eat some more chocolate and give her a hug (she always smells like vanilla!).

Beignets:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup water,lukewarm
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tb orange blossom flower water

Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand for 10 minutes or until it foams. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachement add the egg, salt, orange water and the flour. Beat until smooth. Transfer the dough to a bowl coated with cooking pray and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board and cut out round, shapes,… Heat up 2 inches of oil in pan (I use a 9 inch cast iron) to 350F and fry the doughnuts in everal batches. When browned on one side, turn and brown on other side. Drain them on paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Honey Panna Cotta and Raspberry Terrine

22.01.2008 54 Comments

Right around mid December, I had that feeling something somewhere was not right but I could not really put my finger on it. Something was missing every time I’d turn on the computer but I could say what. The filling lasted a few days more when suddenly it hit me, "WTSIM…" was missing! Peeps, that’s bad when your body has become so trained to certain cycles that it knows when something is out of place. And that’s even worse when it is in your "other" life, your blogging life that is. Unless they ask us to make stew or barbecue I am always there to go play with Johanna, Jeanne and Andrew. January’s theme is "Terrine" and as I was reading Johanna’s directions I almost sighed in disappointment when she said that sweet terrines were welcome. Oh good! Now what?!!

I thought about steamed puddings in terrine molds and about nice layered fruit gelatin layers. The former seemed a little heavier than I wanted to bring to our weekly gathering with the neighbors and the latter was going to be received as this weird jello-type dish no matter how sophisticated the layering and fruits would be. I was in the mood for layers of cream and fruits and decided to pair them with a light genoise and assemble the terrine that way. I got lucky at the farmers' market that Saturday and came home with some very ripe and fresh raspberries and homemade yogurt, thick and wholesome.

The yogurt is the base for a light and creamy panna cotta flavored with honey. I was inspired by a recipe from The Sweet Life by Kate Zucherman. I was intrigued by this recipe as the other element is a egg white custard. Like most of us out there I am used to egg yolks based custard so this was an interesting play on a basic. I have to say that on its own, it is very eggy tasting…not something I would want to eat by the spoonful like creme anglaise. However, once mixed in with the yogurt and honey, the strong egg flavor disappear completely and one is left with a very silky panna cotta. Something I can eat by the spoonful!!

The genoise is the same used in the December Daring Bakers' challenge as the cake is moist and fluffy and works perfectly cut up in log strips to layer the cream and the fruit. My little play on the cake is that I brushed each layer with some Saint Germain Elderflower liqueur that my sweet friend Anita sent me a few weeks ago. It took the whole terrine from "excellent" to "awesome". I have to hide the bottle from myself because it is truly addictive! You can skip the alcohol part or substitute with Kirsch or white rum. Feel free to use something else than raspberries like strawberries, peaches, etc…

Honey Panna Cotta and Raspberry Terrine:

For the Genoise (recipe from the Yule Log Daring Baker Challenge):

Note you will only need about half the sheet pan. I wrap the leftover really well and freeze it for other uses (layered cake and mousse or instant cake Napoleons, etc…)

3 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

pinch of salt

¾ cup of sugar

½ cup cake flour

¼ cup cornstarch
one (1) 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again.

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.
Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger – it should be warm to the touch).
Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.
While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake does not over bake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.
Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack. Remove the cake from the baking sheet and invert it on a larger piece of parchment paper. Peel of the parchment paper that was lining the baking sheet. For the Panna Cotta (start the day before) (adapted from Kate Zuckerman)
16 oz plain whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tb honey
1/2 Tb unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
3 egg whites

8 to 24 hours ahead of time: line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth or coffee filter and place it over a bowl so that it is suspended. Scrape the yogurt in the lined strainer and let it drain, refrigerated.
After 8-24 hours (I strain mine overnight), combine the yogurt, sour cream and honey. Whisk well and set aside at room temperature.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1 1/2 Tb water and set aside to bloom for 10 minutes.
Make the egg white custard: In a small saucepan, heat up the milk, cream and 2 Tb of the sugar, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the 1/4 cup of sugar. Slowly whisk in some of the hot milk to temper the eggs. Add the remaining milk, whisk well, and pour the whole thing back into the pot. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens like for a regular egg custard (should coat the back of a spoon).
Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin. Stir well until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Strain the custard through a sieve if necessary. Let cool to room temperature. You can speed up this process by putting your bowl over an ice bath. Once the custard is cooled, stir in the yogurt mixture. Set aside a room temperature until ready to use. Remaining ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries.

1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks with 1-2 Tb sugar.

To assemble:

Line a terrine mold with plastic wrap, making sure that it extends over the edges of the pan as it will give you a better grip when you unmold it. Cut one strip of genoise the same width as the bottom of your terrine. Mine gets wider as you reach the rim of the mold so my pieces are going to get a little wider each time.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the honey panna cotta on top of the cake layer, carefully place raspberries the whole length of the mold, right on top of the panna cotta. Cover with another 1/4 cup of the cream. Cut another piece of the cake and repeat with the panna cotta and raspberries. Repeat the process until you reach the top. Make sure that your last layer ends with a piece of cake as it will be your base when you unmold the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days before serving. To serve:

Remove the terrine from the refrigerator as well as the plastic wrap on top. Invert the pan onto a serving plate and peel of the plastic wrap that was lining the inside of the mold. Cover the cake with the whipped cream and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

To make strips: cut out strips of paper the width you desire and lay them on top of the terrine while you spread the whipped cream. Go slow and steady or you will move them at the same time. Peel the strips off and voila!

Time To Make The Doughnuts!

15.01.2008 40 Comments

What? A doughnut event? I am smiling thinking that while you were sleeping and dreaming away, Peabody and I were rubbing our hands together and scheming about an all doughnut fry fest. Oh yeah! Bring it on!! We love anything with butter, flour, eggs and sugar but more so when deep fried and maybe drenched in caramel or toffee sauce! We know you have been craving some doughnut goodness and looking at all the countries around us, we can tell that there are lots of local specialties involving fried dough. We also realize that some of you are paying attention to their waistline this time of year, so we are ok with baked doughnuts, don’t make it a habit though, that will break our hearts! You don’t have to own a deep fryer to participate either, any form of pan frying can do (don’t go justify to your better half your latest appliance purchase and blaming it on us!!).

Our only “requirements” are that your entry be a sweet one (plain, or fruit filled or other), and one you make especially for the event….because…well, that’s just us!

To participate, make and post some doughnuts between now and February 12th send us your entry at mytarteletteATgmailDOTcom or luvbriereATgmailDOTcom with the following information:
* Name
* Blog name
* Blog URL
* Post title or Name of dish
* Post URL
* Picture

Round up on both our blogs on the 15th!

You can also find notification of this even on Is My Blog Burning, graciously maintained by Andrew.

Paying It Forward: You Might Be The Lucky One

08.12.2007 98 Comments

There is a game going around the blogosphere these days called "Pay It Forward". It looks like it started as craft exchange and slowly made its way into food blogs. Last month Graeme from Blood Sugar found himself the lucky recipient of a goodie package from Fanny and decided to pay it forward by having a little drawing of his own, and my name got picked…Yeahhh!!! On a side note, if you have never visited his blog, run to it people: amazing photography, delicious recipes and a wicked sense of humor!

I received my package last Thursday and dare I say we already made a good dent in it! While exchanging emails with Graeme, I heavily hinted that I had a thing for Flake candy bars crossing my fingers that he would include one in the box. Lucky me, he put two: one praline and one dipped. There 's one missing in the picture, I know, talk to my stomach about that one! He also included a jar of onion confit that was delicious with roasted pork tenderloin last night. There was also a little square of tahini based "halva" . Seems like the lady in the shop where he was would not let him leave without it, and it turned out to be pretty good. B’s favorite was the foam shrimp candy, it reminded him of the foam peanuts of his childhood, and I believe I only had a couple before the bag found its way into his desk drawer…hugh…!
Last but not least, he included two very cute wooden cats, labelled as "ring holders' from his mother’s favorite craft shop. What a sensitive guy!

Thanks Graeme for everything. There is something really heartwarming about receiving a package whatever the content may be,unless it is a bag of coals from Santa! Now it is my turn to pay it forward.

So here it is folks: all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and Monday night I will pick, at random, one person to be the lucky recipient of a box of handmade/homemade and favorite goodies from Tartelette’s kitchen.

Sufganiyot – Jelly Donuts – Beignets Confiture

05.12.2007 41 Comments

Ah…Christmas…!! If I close my eyes real well and stand in front of the open freezer I can even almost pretend it is cold enough for Christmas. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to spending Christmas in a tee-shirt. Sorry if you are drowning under many inches of snow right now, but I envy you…Really, I do. It’s not cold enough for soup, eggnog and stuffing and the small tree we put on the porch looks slightly out of place.

Proof to this madness: I had to stay home and have a mini baking marathon on saturday and around 5pm, I could not take it anymore and had to crank the AC on again…with the oven and the stove on!! Oh yes, the electricity company loves me!! Last night we decided to pretend it was December and used the fireplace…for a total of an hour because it got so hot. Crazy…

Even crazier, when I decided to help some friends celebrate their tradition and stood in front of burning oil and fried sufganiyot for an hour. When I dropped by C' house with a plate full of them and a bottle of eggnog, it was finally starting to feel like the holiday season. I am not Jewish, but C. is and so are other friends around us and since they make sure to wish us a Merry Christmas, I wanted to make something in their honor during this year’s celebration of Hanukkah. She often mentioned the jelly donuts her mother used to make during this holiday and since a sufganiyah is a donut is a beignet, well there was no way I was going to say no, eheheh!!! Hanukkah,the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the re dedication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days. Serving jelly doughnuts at Hanukkah, which are fried in oil symbolizes the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days instead of one.

There are numerous recipes for them online but I wanted to give dear Ole' Martha one last shot. It’s no secret among the blogging community that we have issues with her recipes as written and we end up tweaking them to make them work. I settled on one of hers for the donuts and from a first glance at it, it seemed that the proportions of liquids to solids might work, so I played along. However, I had serious doubt things would work after mixing the dough as it seemed really really soft. But I trusted Martha and after the first rise, the dough was very supple and yet very easy to roll out and proceed with cutting out the sufganiyot.

I know you can’t tell from the pictures, and that is because I did not have time to take proper shots while the gluttons were devouring these, but they are filled with raspberry jelly. I used a homemade one but feel free to use the one you like. Don’t be afraid of frying either. I do not have a deep fryer so I use a cast iron pan with about 2-3 inches of oil in it. The only thing I have added was a tablespoon of orange flower water to the dough. It makes fried doughs that much better…

It was a pleasure to see C’s and the kids' face when I dropped these off. I shared some eggnog and coffee with them while listening to family stories and traditions. I also enjoyed reading more about this holiday that although not completely foreign to me, had not been explained in details and researching recipes as well as history was a fantastic part of blogging. This is my entry to Meryl’s Joyous Jumble, an event meant to discover other cultures' holidays during the month of December.

Sufganiyot, adapted from Martha Stewart:

Makes 20.

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water, (100 degrees to 110 degrees)
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus more for rolling
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 large eggs
1 Tb. orange flower water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups vegetable oil, plus more for bowl
1 cup seedless raspberry jam

In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Place flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center; add eggs, yeast mixture, orange flower water, 1/4 cup sugar, butter, nutmeg, and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough forms. On a well-floured work surface, knead until dough is smooth, soft, and bounces back when poked with a finger, about 8 minutes (add more flour if necessary). Place in an oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch-round cutter or drinking glass, cut 20 rounds. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise 15 minutes.
In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until a deep-frying thermometer registers 370 degrees. Using a slotted spoon, carefully slip 4 rounds into oil. Fry until golden, about 40 seconds. Turn doughnuts over; fry until golden on other side, another 40 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Roll in sugar while warm. Fry all dough, and roll in sugar.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #4 tip with jam. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, make a hole in the side of each doughnut. Fit the pastry tip into a hole, pipe about 2 teaspoons jam into doughnut. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Good Looking Buns!

12.11.2007 34 Comments

Not one to particularly toot my own horn, I am ecstatic that these little buns make my blog look good!
Yes, I know you have already seen these pistachio and cranberry sticky buns back in September for a Daring Bakers' Challenge. Well, these little sticky gooey goodness of buns won me the Edibility Category in the latest edition of Does My Blog Look Good In This, hosted by Jennifer from Bake or Break.
Thank you to the judges and of course to Marce for picking up the recipe in the first place.