use real butter

How many of you woke up one recent morning and said, “Time to make the doughnuts”? Because if you haven’t yet, it is most certainly time to make the bleeping doughnuts! Peabody and Tartelette are hosting the Time to Make the Doughnuts event due to them by tomorrow (Feb 12). Well, to be honest, I didn’t actually sit bolt upright in bed Saturday morning and declare I was going to make doughnuts. First I looked at the ski conditions and when I realized the mountain was a ground blizzard I opted for doughnut baking :)

I’ve never made doughnuts before. Sure, I’ve fried dough, but I’m talking about making doughnuts as in going after it with the intention of producing something on par with my white trash youth memories of Dunkin Donuts runs with my best buds. Never eat doughnuts alone. Here was my dilemma: I wanted to make chocolate cake doughnut holes - essentially the munchkins from DD. My dear man is never so rude as to demand anything of me, but I know that his all time favorite doughnut is the yeast-variety, filled with chocolate creme. It is not cream or anything so sophisticated as crème, the creme is the kind of frosting that makes you blind because it’s so bloody sweet. Rather than choose between my curiosity and his favorite doughnut, I endeavored to do both. Someone please smack me if I ever try to do that again.

dry ingredients for the chocolate doughnut holes

wet ingredients for chocolate doughnuts

chocolaty dough

Confession time. I don’t own round cookie cutters. I have squirrels, cats, bats, hearts, brooms, dogs, flowers, stars, and even moons - but nothing round. [Recalls Raising Arizona where one of the brothers asks if the old man has any funny shaped balloons and the elderly fellow replies, “Not unless round’s funny.”] Okay, I do have fluted biscuit cutters which are round. I used those for the filled doughnuts, but the smallest cutter was too big for a doughnut hole. I wound up using a little 1-inch decorative cutter.

expansion during frying should render a somewhat round shape

more or less

The frying was the hardest part for me. I consider myself competent enough in the ways of deep frying. I set up a large pot and filled it with canola oil, slapped the candy thermometer on the side, and got it to the right temperature (375F for the chocolate doughnuts). I dropped a dozen of the little dudes into the oil and they began to bubble and bobble. Good. Here was where I ran into problems… I would flip one and it looked just like all of the others. After a point I couldn’t tell who had flipped and who hadn’t and they just kept bobbing about and there was no way to see if they were too brown since they’re ALL dark brown to begin with. *sigh* Only a few were a tad overly browned (read: burnt).

glazing

sugar-coated nibble

The sugar-glazed doughnut holes didn’t elicit memories of Dunkin Donuts munchkins. Rather, it reminded me more of this cake-like cookie dipped in a marshmallowy white coating… like those SnackWells devil’s food thingies. I goofed on the glaze and used a whole packet of gelatin instead of half. So it got a little goopey as the glaze cooled, but I only dipped half of the doughnut holes in the sugar glaze. The rest were destined for a mocha glaze.

it’s not oil, but chocolate and espresso that drive civilization

shiny, rich, smooth

For the filled doughnuts, I used a copycat Dunkin Doughnuts recipe. In the frying frenzy, I didn’t read through the recipe as carefully as I ought to have and failed to notice that this one doesn’t have a kneading step after mixing the dough. What that meant was my doughnuts had a short strand instead of the lovely long bready filaments. Dang. Be ye warned and give that dough a few minutes of good kneading before the first rise.

start with yeast

let the dough rise

I used my fluted, round biscuit cutter (3-inch) to eek out a baker’s dozen. After the second rise, you could barely tell they were fluted. But one day, I’ll procure myself some decent round cutters. These doughnuts were far easier to fry up (at 350F) since I could watch them turn a lovely golden color within one or two minutes.

second rise

mmmm… fry

While the doughnuts were cooling/draining on paper towels, I attempted the frosting filling. I had suggested a nice buttercream, which while still gross to me, was lighter and smoother. But no, Jeremy said the shortening-based frosting was more on par with the original. Okay. I mixed it up and took a taste and it made my jaw ache - that’s how sweet it was. Blegh. I asked Jeremy to check the frosting and his eyes fluttered with joy as he nodded approval. Whatev.

chocolate frosting that will make you blind

When the doughnuts were cool, I poked a little hole in the side with a chopstick and then carefully swept out a little cavern for the filling inside. Using a pastry bag, I inserted the tip and squoze as much filling as I dared. With two left, I decided to indulge myself and fill the pair with some lovely homemade mulberry jelly that Joyce had made and shipped to me.

i don’t skimp on the filling - this is my kitchen, not corporate america

I didn’t dust the chocolate doughnuts with powdered sugar as Jeremy informed me that there was plenty of sweet in that doughnut already. Overall, the holes weren’t as moist as I would have liked (I blame the frying conundrum), but they are quite good. I think the filled doughnuts were pretty good, but I would have been much happier with a better developed structure in the dough. Jeremy says the sugary-chocolate-frosting-monstrosity doughnuts are really nice warmed up with a cup of dark roast coffee. Our neighbors gave them the thumbs up too. Big thanks to Peabody and Tartelette for getting me off my arse and doing something that’s been on my long list of things to try. Love you guys!

happy family of doughnuts

Chocolate Cake Doughnuts
from Diana’s Desserts

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
2 tsp baking powder (I reduced to 1 1/2 tsp for elevation)
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp butter, melted
6 to 8 cups vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter to blend. Stir into dry ingredients until well blended. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours. Scrape dough onto a generously floured surface. With floured hands, pat dough out to about 1/2 inch thick. With a 3-inch doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts. Pat together scraps of dough and cut again. (Alternately, shape dough into ropes about 5 inches long and 1/2 inch thick; join rope ends to form doughnuts.) Place doughnuts on a well-floured baking sheet. Meanwhile, fill an electric deep-fryer to the fill line or pour about 4 inches of oil into a 5- to 6-quart pan; heat to 375F (190C). Place one doughnut at a time onto a wide spatula and gently slide into oil, frying up to three at a time. [Jen’s Note: I dumped 12 of the little “holes” in at a time.] Cook, turning once, until puffy and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes total (to check timing, cut first one to test). With a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Repeat to fry remaining doughnuts. When cool enough to handle, dip the top half of each doughnut in warm mocha glaze or dip completely in sugar glaze. Cool on cookie rack. Let stand until glaze is set, about 5 minutes [Jen’s Notes: it takes more than 5 minutes to set well enough for transport - more like a few hours]. Makes approximately 4 dozen 1.5 inch diameter doughnut holes.

Sugar Glaze
from Recipezaar

1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin (oops, I used a whole packet)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tbsp cold water
1 lb powdered sugar

Soften the gelatin with 2 tbsp of cold water. Add boiling water and stir. Stir in the powdered sugar until smooth.

Mocha Glaze
from Diana’s Desserts

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used Guittard chips)
4 oz cup whipping cream
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp corn syrup
1 tsp instant espresso powder

In a heatproof bowl, combine all ingredients. Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pan. Reduce to simmer and set bowl over pan. Stir until all ingredients are smooth and combined.

Filled Doughnuts
from Epicurean.com

1 pkg (or 2 1/4 tsp) regular or quick-acting yeast
1/8 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
3/4 cup lukewarm milk, scalded then cooled
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/6 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixing bowl. Add milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and 1 cup of flour. Beat on low speed scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. [Jen’s Notes: this recipe says nothing about kneading the dough, but after I was unsatisfied with the crumb I looked at several other similar recipes that have a “knead the dough” step. So knead the dough until smooth for a few minutes before placing in a greased bowl to rise.] Cover and let rise in warm place until double, approximately 50-60 minutes. Turn dough onto floured surface. Roll dough 1/2-inch thick. Cut with round cookie cutter. Cover and let rise on floured baking sheets until double, 30-40 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer or Dutch oven to 350. Slide doughnuts into hot oil. Turn doughnuts as they turn golden brown, about one minute on each side. Remove carefully from oil taking care not to puncture the doughnuts and drain. When cool, make small hole to insert vanilla frosting . Take a sharp narrow knife and carefully make a large cavity inside of the doughnut to hold the frosting. Fill the doughnuts generously with frosting, jelly or custard and dust heavily with powdered sugar. Makes a dozen doughnuts.

Chocolate Frosting
adapted from Epicurean.com

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder

Cream butter and shortening. Gradually add sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add milk and vanilla, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in cocoa powder. Will keep for 2 weeks in airtight, refrigerated container.

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! Gong Xi Fa Tsai! Jing Nian Quai Le!

It is the year of the Rat and in case you didn’t know, it’s Peabody’s year. Last year was the year of the Pig, which was my year. Since I made it through more or less in one piece, I’m going to assume that I was working the good juju. Peabody tells me she’s sharing the good juju with me into this year. I love that girl. In turn, let’s just say good juju all around for everyone! I sincerely wish each of you everything your heart desires in the new year - health, happiness, luck, fortune - all of it and more. xxoo

I began my morning quite early because I was behind schedule on making dumplings. Well, let me explain why. I spent yesterday telemark skiing with a bunch of awesome tele babes on the mountain. I felt well enough to tele all day with my D70 in tow too.

a bluebird day

janet does the balloon drill

my group: the advanced tele babes

our kickass instructor

At lunch, I discovered that my hair was starting to fall out. So after the program, I hauled my butt down to Boulder and had my head professionally shaved. [The nurse advised against doing at home since cuts and infections are potentially dangerous due to low blood count and compromised immune system.] People had told me how traumatic it was to lose their hair in clumps over a period of 2-3 days, so I promised myself I wouldn’t allow it to be drawn out. I’ve never been a girly girl who cared about being feminine or pretty or whatever - as long as I can kick ass, I’m good to go. But I will admit that it was a little disconcerting. I never realized how thick my hair is - brrrr! By the time I got home it was 6 pm and time to make the big hot pot soup and then I was pooooped.

So that’s my lame excuse for why I was behind schedule on dumplings, but the skiing was totally worth it. Jeremy and I had some sweet pastries for breakfast since he’s not a fan of Chinese sweets and I didn’t feel like making any. I cranked out several dumplings and cooked them up and stuffed a few into him before he left for work.

traditions: mandarin oranges, dumplings, rui tsai and a hong bao (red envelope)

I also hung the Chinese character fu (luck) upside down on our front door. The literal translation is that luck is upside down - dao, but in Chinese the word for upside down sounds like the word for arrives, so it means “luck arrives”.

a pic from last year because I don’t feel like shooting the current one right now

I can’t help but do a few of the traditional things for the Chinese New Year as it is the biggest holiday of my Chinese culture. Halloween is my favorite holiday, but Chinese New Year is the most important holiday to me. The Lunar New Year represents family to me more than any other time and we are to remember and honor our ancestors too. It is also when I miss my sister most because she used to call me every Chinese New Year’s Eve to ask what foods she should prepare so little Ben will grow up with our family’s Chinese traditions. She isn’t my ancestor, but I remember and honor her all the same because I loved her so very much. Jeremy was so kind as to clean The Entire House last night as we aren’t supposed to clean the house for the next 2 weeks starting on New Year’s Day - something about sweeping out the luck. Anyway, we’re both thrilled about that directive!

Right! So all of this Chinese tradition is great, but I know what makes my guy happy and one of those things would be chocolate. To be honest, chocolate makes me happy too - not eating it, but working with it.

hot cream and chopped chocolate

I still had leftover crust dough from that Daring Baker’s Lemon Meringue Pie Challenge and wanted to use it up. Jeremy seemed to enjoy the crust and I figured some little chocolaty somethings would be nice.

adding espresso

Do you ever get a cookbook and then forget about it and then rediscover it and feel like a kid on Christmas Day? It’s like that 20 dollar bill that you find in some random pocket months later… Well, Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking caught my eye this afternoon and her recipe for Deep, Dark Chocolate Tart matched up with what I had in mind sans the crust (I’ll bet it would be awesome with her chocolate short dough). So I snarfed the ganache filling and made a half batch.

pouring the ganache

I baked the little crusts and had to press the top mold down pretty hard because this dough has a tendency to rise. I definitely prefer short dough to this and will use it next time. When the crusts cooled, I filled them to the brim with the soft ganache and then let them set up in the refrigerator for an hour.

piping whipped cream

Whipped cream is such a pleasant and easy topping to work with. I also love how it contrasts with a deep, velvety, rich chocolate both in color and texture. I added a bit of sugar, vanilla, and a little almond extract because I like how almond and coffee and chocolate play off one another. Just for a little spice, I sprinkled the tartelettes with some ground nutmeg.

a little something sweet

Jeremy was quite delighted to open the refrigerator this evening and see a plateful of these cuties. But they weren’t all for him, as I requested that he take some over to our neighbors (and good friends) to wish them a happy new year. I think sharing is one of the things I love about baking.

2-inch rounds of happiness

Dark Chocolate Tartelettes
ganache from Sherry Yard’s Deep Dark Chocolate Tart (The Secrets of Baking)

note: I highly recommend using a short dough instead of the crust recipe I list here. A short dough is flakier, crispier, thinner, and sweeter than the crust from the Lemon Meringue Pie recipe. Plus, it will behave better (no shrinkage) especially if you are using petits fours molds or tart pans. Just be sure to stack a second mold on top even if using short dough. Also, I only made a half batch of the ganache, but I’m listing the ingredients for the full recipe.

crust:
¾ cup cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup ice water

ganache:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp brewed coffee or espresso

whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

For the crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes. Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling. If using petits fours molds or small tart pans, I prefer to roll the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to less than 1/8 inch and pressing it gently into the mold. Stack a second mold on top and press down. Leave the second mold in place. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the top molds, and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and gently pry the crust out from the mold and let cool on a rack.

For the ganache: Finely chop the chocolate and place in a medium heatproof bowl along with the butter. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir the contents until completely blended (don’t stir all crazy-like though, because you will introduce air bubbles which will make your tart look diseased). Add the coffee and stir until well incorporated. Pour the ganache into the tart shell(s) and place in refrigerator to set for an hour.

For the whipped cream: Place ingredients in a bowl and whip on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed and whip on high until stiff peaks form (or soft peaks, if you prefer the floppy effect). Garnish tart(s) with dollops or pipe using a pastry bag.

Feeling puckery lately? If you’ve been cruising the food blogs, then most likely you’ve run across one or two or four hundred Daring Bakers brandishing their lovely Lemon Meringue Pies.

that’s right kids, we knead to bake

Jen of The Canadian Baker hosted the challenge this month and it was down to the wire for me this time. I started my treatment on Thursday and thought I’d recover with enough time to do the challenge yesterday but… things don’t always go as planned when your body gets pumped full of poison! However, I didn’t want to abandon my fellow DBers, so I managed to make a handful of tartelettes. Forgive me for the lack of detail I usually devote to my DB challenges. She’ll be right next time.

mixing the dough

pressed crust into tart molds

stirring lemony goodness into the curd

You can see I opted for tartelettes instead of the whole pie. I just love individual servings. When baking the tartelette crusts, I placed a second mold on top of each crust to hold its shape. I baked mine for 25 minutes and then removed the tops and baked the crusts uncovered for another 3 minutes to help it brown out. This worked very well, but makes a few dozen since they are so small. Once the shells were cooled, I spooned in lemon curd and topped with meringue.

a little topper over the curd

neat it up

Rather than bother with the oven again, I used my trusty propane torch to finish the tops… because I like any reason to use my propane torch *sheepish grin*. My treatment has jacked up my sense of taste, so I had to ask my official taste tester for the verdict. Jeremy gave it a big thumbs up! Thanks to Jen for the challenge and be sure to check out the rest of the fine DBer creations.

torch it

dig in

Lemon Meringue Pie
Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

crust:
¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes. Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.