Life is often funny. Sometimes in the literal sense and sometimes in the ironic. Ironic is what I have going on. And more of the tragic irony.
You see when we got the Daring Baker challenge(which I actually finished early again) I knew that I would have to alter the shape in some way. For we were making braided breads. I have a thing(not really a rule but a thing) in which I only bake braided bread when I lose someone to death. Having not lost anyone to death in awhile I did not want to “jinx” it so to speak(I am superstitious) and so I made bear claws instead. Really big ones….I call them bears on steroids claws, because I gave then like twelve claws each. I guess I was in the go big or go home mood that day(or the if I make them smaller it will take less time mood. )
This last Wednesday morning my father received a phone call letting him know that his best friend and a man we called my uncle Red had passed the night before from a heart attack. Now my uncle Red was not in what you would call the best of shape and though it was not a total shock, what was is that he was to be visiting my parents in less than a week.
Almost all of my memories of uncle Red are from my youth, all of them good. So I am deeply saddened.
My first item is the danish. Having no desire to roll out all those layers again, I chose to go with a simple Challah bread to honour him, which you see pictured last. To see some of the lovely braided danishes using the same dough recipe, check out the Daring Bakers website. Thanks to Ben and Kelly for picking a great challenge(even though I couldn’t do the braided part).

Bear Claws

Danish Dough(recipe follows)
Almond Paste Filling(recipe follows)
Fondant Glaze(recipe follows)

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe) 
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed.  Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice.  Mix well.  Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth.  You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer:  Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk.  Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.  Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain.  Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even.  Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain.  With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.  When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes.  You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free.  Set aside at room temperature.
After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick.  The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour.  Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough.  Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter.  Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third.  The first turn has now been completed.  Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally.  Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface.  The open ends should be to your right and left.  Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle.  Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third.  No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed.  Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns.  Make sure you are keeping track of your turns.  Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight.  The Danish dough is now ready to be used.  If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it.  To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze.  Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling.  Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Sherry Yard¢â¬â„¢s The Secrets of Baking

Almond Paste Filling

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup almond paste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Melt and simmer for about 2 minutes the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cool slightly before using.

 
Divide dough in half. Roll out one half on a floured board into a 9-by-18-inch rectangle. Sprinkle half of the almond filling over the dough. Fold outside third of dough toward center. Fold dough once more to make three layers. Pinch ends of dough to seal. Cut into nine 2-inch sections. Make four 1/4-inch cuts through the open side of each section.

Place on greased baking sheets and shape into bear claw by separating the four cut sections. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and filling.

Let rise, uncovered, until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden.

Combine egg yolk with water and brush the tops of bear claws. If desired, sprinkle with some chopped slivered almonds. Drizzle on glaze.

White Fondant Glaze

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of orange extract and 6 TBSP to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.

When I first saw this event I decided to ask my “American” friends what they thought of when I said the word Canada. Hockey, beer and maple syrup…oh and Canadian Bacon(it’s called back bacon people!!!) All good things but I found it humorous that those were pretty much the same four answers I got over and over again. I did get a Bryan Adams the singer and “cold” thrown in now and then for good measure.
If I hadn’t felt so crummy as of late I would have made something involving back bacon and beer for the savory event that Jasmine is holding…I might just do that for me anyhow.
Since I was only going with the one event, Mmmm Canada(the sweet edition), hosted by none other the Domestic Goddess herself, I settled on good ol’ maple syrup(Canada does after all make more than 80% of the world’s supply). Most people in the states think maple syrup is Mrs. Butterworth or Log Cabin…ugh(so does, surprise…my husband). Oh the horror. FYI- none of those actually contain any maple syrup. Lucky for me more and more places are carrying actual maple syrup and people got to stop sending it to me since I could get it here.
Maple syrup comes in different grades, but I am a grade B girl myself. I like the flavor better for baking and cooking. And speaking of baking, I made a maple syrup pie. It is a combination of my friend’s(from Quebec) recipe and a recipe I found in Sweets, which was interesting since it is a southern cookbook. You can use just about any type of nut, but you really do have to love maple syrup to eat this pie. I used the cream cheese pie crust that I used for my salmon quiche since I had some left over but you could use whatever pie crust you like.
Hope everyone who celebrates it has a great Canada Day!(it’s July 1st if you didn’t know)

Maple Syrup Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
2 ¼ cups maple syrup(the real stuff)
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat to 375F.
In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, heavy whipping cream, and flour until blended.
Add eggs one at a time, making sure the it’s blended well.
Fold in the pecans.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the filling is set.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving. I serve mine with maple whipped cream as well as more maple syrup poured over each slice. But I love me some maple sryup.

Adapted from Sweets:  A Collection of Soul Food Desserts and Memories by Patty Pinner and my friend C’s grandmother.

Cream Cheese Pie Crust(from Northwest Noshings)

2 cups all-purpose flour
8 ounce cream cheese, softened but still cool
2 sticks(8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool

In a mixer, combine all ingredients and mix on medium-low until it forms a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.

I would love to report that I am healthy but that would be a down right lie. I continue to suffer. Lucky me. I am hoping that it will be gone by my birthday(about a week and a half)…surely that is not asking that much of my body.
Even though I was sick, I ended up going to a cooking class last week. It was already paid for and it was by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Greg Atkinson. We had a lovely menu of mango and avocado salad(which is over on Northwest Noshings), slow cooked halibut with spring veggies and a strawberry brulee.
Knowing that this weeks TWD recipe was a Mixed Berry Cobbler(chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life) I had planned on making a cobbler bottom, filling it with mixed berries and then doing the whipped cream/sour cream mixture on top. But then I got to thinking that the cobbler bottom would be too heavy for this dessert. So I went in a whole new direction, angel food cake. By doing that the recipe still remained refreshing, like what I had at the cooking class.
If you are going to make this I beg you not to use low fat or fat free sour cream. I mean, the angel food cake is practically nothing as are the berries, so you can stand to have some extra calories in the topping!
To see the real deal(meaning the actual cobbler), head on over to the Tuesday’s With Dorie website.

Mixed Berry Angel Food Cake Brulee

Angel Food Cupcakes(recipe follows)
Mixed Berry Filling(recipe follows)
Cream Topping(recipe follows)

Angel Food Cupcakes

1 1/3 cups egg whites (approximately 10 large eggs)
1 1/3 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, put through sifter twice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cake flour, sifted before measuring

Beat egg whites; add cream of tartar and salt when eggs are frothy. Continue beating until egg whites stand in peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup of granulated sugar. Fold in vanilla. Sift the sifted and measured flour three more times; mix with remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.
Fold flour mixture gently into batter until well incorporated.
Using a small ice cream scoop or large tablespoon, fill muffin cups about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake(at 350F) for about 15 to 17 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on rack. Remove cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.
Cut the top off of the angel food cupcakes(go ahead and just eat that yourself ). Take the bottom of the cupcake and horizontally cut it in two so that you can fit it into a ramekin. Place angel food cake piece at the bottom of a 4-ounce oven proff ramekin.

For the Filling:

1 pint strawberries, hulled and split
½ pint blueberries, washed and dried
½ pint raspberries, washed and dried
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBPS granulated sugar

In a small bowl combine the berries, lemon juice and granulated sugar. Distribute the mixture evenly among the ramekins over the angel food cake.

For the Topping:

½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup natural sour cream(I like Nancy’s Organic)
¼ cup granulated sugar, for sprinkling on top

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it is stiff. Stir in the powdered sugar, the lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Gently fold in the sour cream. Distribute the cream mixture evenly over the berries and with the straight side of a rubber spatula or a butter knife, flatten the cream on top of the berries.
Light a small butane or propane torch. Working with one dish at a time, sprinkle about 2 tsp of sugar over the top of the whipped cream mixture and run the flame of the lit torch over the sugar until it bubbles up and turns brown. The sugar will form a thin layer of brown caramel over the surface of the cream. Serve at once.

Makes about 6

Adapted from West Coast Cooking by Greg Atkinson

I’ve had the sinus infection to end all sinus infections for the last two weeks.
I’ve been a sad little looking creature, wandering the halls of our house in my faded penguin pj’s with my greasy looking sick hair and Kleenex stuffed up my nose(because you can only blow so much…you have to stop it from coming somehow). A site that is no doubt beyond sexy to my husband. Ha.
It is times like these that I am happy that I have “reserves” saved up from when I have been in a baking mood. For obvious reasons, little baking has been done in the last two weeks. Cooking neither.
Awhile back now I was on the lookout for Hostess Crumb Cakes. I loved them as a kid. Come to find out, just like almost all things I love, they no longer make them(bastards). While I can still have my chocolate(chocolate-like) Donettes(yes, for some reason I love them), there are no crumb cakes. I thought for sure I could figure out how to make them.
One Saturday morning while watching PBS, America’s Test Kitchen had on New York Style Crumb Cake. It looked similar to the Hostess version and I decided that I would make my own. The recipe is for it to be in a pan, but I made mine in a muffin pan(my new square muffin pan I found at Target). They were not really that close in flavor to the Hostess ones, of course that could be the lack of preservatives and additives in the Hostess ones( ), but it did have a good flavor. I might add a little sour cream next time as they were a tad on the dry side. So the quest still continues to recreate my crumb cakes of my childhood but these will do in the meantime.

 
New York Style Crumb Cakes

Crumb Topping
 
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
¾  tsp ground cinnamon 
1/8 tsp salt 
8 TBSP unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm 
1 ¾  cups cake flour

Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

Cake
 
1 ¼  cups cake flour
½  cup granulated sugar 
¼  tsp baking soda 
¼ tsp salt 
6 TBSP unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool 
1 large egg 
1 large egg yolk 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1/3 cup buttermilk 
 

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish. Since I made individual ones, I used a muffin pan(my square one). Just butter and flour(or use baking spray).
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.
Transfer batter to baking pan(or muffin pan if you are doing individual); using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes(the individual ones only take about 22 minutes…watch them closely). Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan or from muffin tins.

Source: Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen “Old Fashion Breakfast Cakes” Episode