Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

More than happy to see Nikki of Crazy Delicious chose this simple Almost Fudge Gateau. Very similar to that of a flourless chocolate cake, it’s dense and chocolaty. I must say that I do prefer the Chocolate Intensity cake that I made as a Daring Baker, that to me was almost fudge cake.
Now, don’t get me wrong this is a tasty cake…and one my husband will eat…what are the odds? But the main reason why I love this cake is because it is so simple. Simple is what I need right now. Life got hectic the last two weeks and the idea of making something multi-step did not sit well with me. If you have an hour you have a cake…and can eat it too.
Well, that is all you get. I said life was hectic. To see the other versions of this cake, check out the Tuesday’s With Dorie blog.

Almost-Fudge Gâteau

5 large eggs
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup of sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons coffee or water
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
For the Glaze (optional)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.  Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar butter and coffee.  Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy, and that’s fine.  Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.

Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm, but glossy peaks.  Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest.  Scrape the butter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you’ll think it’s done, but give it a few minutes more, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn’t shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate.  Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan.  Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper.  Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature right side up.  As the cake cools, it may sink.

 

To Make the Optional Glaze:

First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack so you’ll be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips.

Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven – the chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot.  Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pan.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny.  Stir in the corn syrup.

Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula.  Don’t worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake – it will just add to its charms.  Allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you’re impatient, slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.  If the glaze dulls in the fridge, just give it a little gentle heat from a hairdryer.

 

Wow!
People really wanted to fry some dough. Helen and I were blown away by the response that our little doughnut event got!
What was even greater is that so many people had never made them before. They dragged out the oil and braved making doughnuts. So glad we could help you push the limits.
The variety was outstanding. Yeast, baked, cake, filled, fried, heart shaped…you name it, we got it. And now we pass the goodness on to you.
If your blog name fell alphabetically between M and Z then you are on my post. If your blog name fell alphabetically between A and L, then you are on Helen’s post. We did see a couple people link to us but we never got an email. If this is you or we some how missed you, PLEASE let us know and we will add you.
You have so many doughnuts to chose from…so without further ado…here are all the wonderful doughy creations!

 

Doughnuts

Marija from Belgrade, Serbia made our first batch of doughnuts. Her blog is Palachinka.

Pumpkin Donuts with Powdered Sugar Glaze and Spiced Sugar Donut Holes

Mary of Shazam in the Kitchen made us these beautiful pumpkin doughnuts. Since they are pumpkin, and pumpkin is a vegetable…they have to be healthy…right?

Estonian curd cheese doughnuts aka kohupiimapontšikud

Pille of Nami-Nami makes us an Estonian treat that she says is the comofort food of all Estonian kids. I can see how. She also said that it is best not to tell you how many calories are in these….my favorite kind!

Red Grapefruit Curd Filled Donuts

I was happy to see the vegan bloggers getting in on this one. Dayna of Vegan Visitor made these gorgeous Red Grapefruit Curd Filled Donuts. She was all about making donuts as she too is not into conforming to the January=diet mode.

Zeppoli

Ann from Redacted Recipes made Zeppoli(Italian doughnuts). Even better is she used a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Dessert By The Yard.

World’s Easiest Donuts

Ryley or That’s My Cake…and Dog! shows us that doughnuts don’t need to be hard with her World’s Easiest Doughnuts. Easy sounds good to me.

Italian Donuts

Chris from Mele Cotte tempts us with Italian Doughnuts…that were filled with Nutella(swoon)!

Yeasted Baked Doughnuts

Susan from Wild Yeast broke out the yeast for us with her Yeasted Baked Doughnuts. They are baked…so you can eat twice as many.

Mmm…donuts

Kelly is a member of the Daring Bakers…but has no blog. She uses the Official Daring Baker Non-Blogging Member Blog which the group provides for non-bloggers. I think it is great that she participated.

Cider and spice doughnut drops

Janie of the Rustic Kitchen makes some of my all time favorites… cider and spice doughnut drops. These are great because you don’t even need a doughnut cutter!

Beignets Souffles

Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats(I always laugh at that name…since there is nothing gross about her eats) made these glorious Beignets Souffles(they just sound so fancy!)

Cashewnut Doughnut

Vineela from Vineela’s Cuisine made these adorable heart shaped cashew nut doughtnuts. Cashews in doughnuts…now that is a great idea.

Just Doughnuts

Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen offers up a variety of toppings for her doughnuts. Her coffee glaze would go over really well in these parts.

Spiced Potato Doughnuts

Danielle of Sweet and Savory Eats shows us how a potato can be just more than a french fry! I think I like her Spiced Potato Doughnuts over french fries any day.

 

Baked Sour Cream Doughnuts

Sarah of What Smells So Good? took on a doughnut war(so to speak) to see if she could make a healthier doughnut. And she did with her Baked Sour Cream Doughnuts…which were a good 130 calories less than Krispy Kreme.

Sweet Potato Doughnuts

Lore from Natural Cuisine shows that sweet potatoes are more than just something to have as a side…with her Sweet Potoato Doughnuts. Now that is the way to eat your vegetables.

 Valentine Donuts

Jennifer of Oye Cookie! went above the call of duty and ventured to Sur la Table just to buy heart shaped cutters. The result? Cute heart shaped rose water glazed doughnuts. Fantastic.

Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

 Laurie of Quirky Cupcake(you might know her from Cupcake Hero) departed from cupcakes to bring us these lovely star shaped Chocolate cake doughnuts.

Orange Drop Doughnuts

Mrs. L(my Adopt a Blogger!) of Pages, Pucks and Pantry stepped up and tried her hand at doughnuts….so glad she did. What we got were these yummy Orange Drop doughnuts…that again…don’t have to have a cutter.

Banana Stuffed Doughnuts

Deborah from The “Humble” Housewife was inspired by her fruit bowl to make these Banana stuffed Doughnuts. They are inspiring indeed!

Cinnamon Cake Donuts

Madam Chow of Madam Chow’s Kitchen who made her doughnuts with bread flour when she realized she was out of all-purpose. All was good though as they tasted…well tasty.

Doughnuts!

Deborah from Taste and Tell send fried doughnut love in the shape of a heart. She too used the Sherry Yard recipe so you know they were fabulous!

Blackberry & White Chocolate Long Johns

Emiline of Sugar Plum made these gorgeous Blackberry & White Chocolate Long Johns. I have never had a Blackberry Long John but I want one really bad now.

Saffron doughnuts with rose icing and pistachio nuts

Linda from Make Life Sweeter! tried, tried and tried again she got her doughnuts right. Now that is dedication. What she got were these beautiful Saffron Doughnuts with rose icing and pistachio nuts.

Apple Fritters

Cara from the Picky Apple makes, what else, Apple Fritters. If I am at the doughnut store chances are that I am going for a apple fitter…so I was glad to see another recipe for them.

Dunkin Doughnuts

Miri of Room for Dessert recreates one of Americas favorite doughnuts…Dunkin Doughnuts. The vanilla glazed ones especially catching my eye.

Homemade Doughnuts with Powdered Sugar & Raspberry Jam

Kelly from Sass & Veracity had these Homemade Doughnuts with Powdered Sugar & Raspberry Jam calling her name…and if you listen carefully they are calling your name too!

 

Raspberry Filled No-Knead Doughnuts

Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy made some sticky and gooey(well more like oozing) Raspberry Filled No-Knead Doughnuts. She stepped out of her comfort zone and made doughnuts for the first time.

 

Orange Drop Doughnuts

Eliza of Notes from My Food Diary makes some homemade goodness with these tasty looking Orange Drop Doughnuts…homemade goodenss indeed.

Yeast Doughnuts with Chocolate and Maple Glaze

Holly from PheMOMenon squeezed in time these gorgeous Yeast Doughnuts with Chocolate and Maple Glaze. Oh how excited I was when I saw maple glazed. Put a Canadian near a doughnut and cover it with maple…you best take cover.

 

Sopaipillas

Emma of The Chef and The Photographer made a dish that is dear to my heart, Sopaipillas. It is one of the things that I do miss from Arizona…a good sopaipilla.

Bomboloni all’Arancia with Orange-Rum Custard

Bomboloni all’Arancia with Orange-Rum Custard is what Michelle of Us vs. Food made. I can’t pronounce it but I sure want to eat them!!! This is the best batch of doughnuts she has ever made…and I can see why.

The Great Doughnut Adventure(aka Apple Cider Doughnuts)

Emiglia of Tomato_Kumato pulled out one of the recipes from my archives to make The Great Doughnut Adventure(aka Apple Cider Doughnuts). After a bit of a trying start she got into a rhythm and ended up with some great doughnuts…and even great tasting “rejects’.

Kala Jamun

Judith from Shortcut to Mushrooms makes a doughnut called Kala Jamun which uses pancake mix….I will never look at pancake mix the same way knowing that they could be a doughnut!

Chocolate Cake Doughnuts and Filled Doughnuts

Jen Yu of Use Real Butter was a super over-achiever and made not one, but two types of doughnuts….Filled Doughnuts
 and Chocolate Cake Doughnuts. I am especially in love with the chocolate ones because they look so much like Dunkin Donut Munchkins that I loved as a kid(and well, adult!).

Long Johns

Julie of The Persnickety Palate made doughnuts that would have my mother beating down her door. Gorgeous cream filled, chocolate glazed Long Johns whose yeasted dougnut recipe I am dying to try because hers looks fantastic.!

Well, it is official, food blogging has ruined me.
When I first learned that we were making the Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake, I was overjoyed. You by now all know my love of cheesecake and so I wasted no time in making it. The very next morning after I learned of what we would be making this week, I awoke early to get started as I wanted cheesecake for breakfast! Cheesecake is after all, the breakfast of champions.
I took the cheesecake out of the oven and placed it on the rack to cool. Still at this point excited about the cheesecake. Then I released it from the spring form. Crap, crap, crap was all I thought. Now you may be thinking at this point that there was a large crack or it sunk, etc.
Nope. Not the case.
Hearing my rather loud “crap” comments coming from my mouth, my husband(who was working from home that day) came down to see what the fuss was about. I pointed to the cheesecake and said, “look at it!” He did. “Looks like cheesecake.” “It’s beige. Beige, beige and more beige.” A confused look formed on his face and I informed him very loudly…”beige food doesn’t photograph well!!!” Giving me the thanks for sharing crazy lady stare, my husband got a soda and went back upstairs.
Dorie doesn’t have a picture of this cheesecake in her cookbook…you know why? Because the whole thing is beige…and beige doesn’t photograph well! To make matters worse, when I cut into the cheesecake to plate it, the apples were, you guessed it….beige. Crap. I looked at the gray Pacific Northwest sky and thought yay, gray sky with beige food.
And this is how I knew food blogging had ruined me. No longer was I thinking hurry up and photograph this cheesecake so I can eat it, I was now thinking, how on earth am I going to photograph this cheesecake. Oh how owning a camera has changed me. Determined to give a little color contrast to pump it up, I sat and thought of things I could do to add punch to the cheesecake. I decided to go with one of my two standard back ups…when all else fails, throw either caramel or toffee sauce on it. I went with caramel. The recipe doesn’t call for it. I don’t care. Besides, caramel and apples were pretty much made for each other so I don’t know why Dorie didn’t think of it in the first place.
When all was said and done the beige cheesecake covered in caramel stepped up and decided to photograph nicely for me. And even more importantly….it tasted great(okay…maybe I am not totally ruined).
To see all of the Tuesday With Dorie’s entries go here.

Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake

For the Crust
30 gingersnaps
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

For the Apples
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
3 large Golden Delicious or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths(I used Honeycrisps)
2 tbsp (packed) light brown sugar

For the Filling
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp apple cider
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy cream

Caramel Sauce for Drizzling

To Make the Crust: Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan.

Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and whir until you have crumbs; you should have a scant 2 cups.  (If you are using graham cracker crumbs, just put them in the food processor.)  Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, if you’re using it, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened.  Turn the crumbs into the springform pan and, using your fingertips, firmly press them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan as far as they’ll go.  Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.  (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the pan from the freezer and wrap the bottom tightly in aluminum foil, going up the sides.  Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is set and lightly browned.  Transfer to a rack to cool while you make the apples and the filling.  Leave the oven at 350 degrees F.

To Make the Apples: Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices and cook, turning once, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so.  Scrape the apples onto a plate, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining apples.  Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

Getting Ready to Bake:  Have a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform pan at hand.  Put a kettle of water on to boil.

To Make the Filling: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth.  Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes.  Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in.  Finally, beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.

Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust. Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan.  Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top.  Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 to 45 minutes, covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark.  The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except, possibly, in the very center–if the center shimmies, that’s just fine.  Gently transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight would be better.

Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan’s latch and release and remove the sides.

Source: Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, Houghton Mifflin Company, November 2006

 

So I was a little boring this time around. Nothing fancy to say the least. However, I did go out of my comfort zone. See, I make cake doughnuts all the time at home, but yeast doughnuts…that was virgin territory. What I got were very interesting results. For from the same batch I had some doughnuts that rose like sky scrapers and I had some that didn’t rise at all. Hmmm. I must say that I was stumped. I mean, I make yeast bread often. And when you make yeast bread, it either rises, or it doesn’t. Parts of the bread don’t rise and other parts do, so to say I was perplexed was putting it mildly. It could have been the fact that I had to get up early to make these babies(my brain is not known to function at that time of day).
There is a sponge made, a rise for that. Add the ingredients, a rise for that. Roll them out, cover myself in flour, and then a rise for that. Well, some rise. Some just flat dough staring at me, mocking me. The ironic things was that after frying all of them up, the ones that rose the least ended up being my favorite. I mostly made plain or powdered sugared ones. I did however make two that were dipped in chocolate ganache and covered in sprinkles…for my hubby.
I’m glad that I chose to make the yeast doughnuts. I now know that I like cake ones better. I mean, I still love Krispy Krème and Tim Horton’s yeasty goodness, but when it comes to homemade, I am all about the cake. Especially since it does not take 4 hours to make. But know I know…and like GI Joe says, “knowing is half the battle.” (that dorky quote was for when my husband reads this).

Okay, I have made my doughnuts. Have you made yours? My biggest FEAR is that I have seen a few posts about doughnuts but you didn’t send Helen or I the link or the vital info. See, it’s not just enough to put it on your blog, you have to email us that you put it on your blog so that we know. I would really hate to miss out on any doughnuts that you all have made, because based on what we have seen so far there is some really great doughnuts out there….and a lot of variety! If you need a reminder, here is what you need to do:

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!

Hope to see your doughnuts!!!

Raised Doughnuts

1 ¼ cups milk
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
¾ cup granulated sugar
4 cups flour
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla
½ tsp salt
vegetable oil, for frying
powder sugar for dredging

Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 100 to 110. Pour the milk into a large bowl, add the yeast, about 1 TBSP of the sugar, and about 1 ½ cups flour, and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
When the dough has risen, place the butter and the remaining sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and mix on low speed until well blended. Add the remaining 2 ½ cups flour and the salt and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Transfer the dough to a wall floured surface and knead until very smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a large well greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in volume, about 1-1 ½ hours.
Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface to a thickness of about ½ inch. Cut with a doughnuts cutter. Place doughnuts on a well greased sheet pan and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.
To fry the doughnuts, heat about 4-inches of vegetable oil over high heat until it reaches 350F. Meanwhile, line a sheet pan with paper towels, and have it ready by the fryer. When oil is hot, add as many doughnuts as will fit without overcrowding, and cook on one side until golden brown 2-3 minutes. Turn the doughnuts over an cook about 2 minutes loner. Transfer to the paper towels to drain, and let cool for about 5 minutes. Continue cooking the rest of the doughnuts. Dredge in powder sugar and serve immediately.
Makes 24(I got about 13…I like big doughnuts)

Source: Adapted from Caprial’s Desserts by Caprial Pence and Melissa Carey