Daring Bakers - Strawberry Mirror Cake (Bakers Choice)

This month's Daring Bakers challenge is a choose your own adventure. 

In a "celebration" of past Daring Baker and Daring Cook challenges, Lisa challenged all of us to search through the Daring Kitchen archives and pick any one we'd like! The REAL challenge was picking which delicious recipe(s) to try!

For me, the choice was easy.  I was inspired to join the Daring Bakers by Peabody's choice from July 2007, the Strawberry Mirror Cake by the California Culinary Academy, so this is the challenge I have chosen to make.

There are lots of eggs and lots of strawberries in this challenge, meaning that I had lots of incentive not to stuff it up, because a mistake would be expensive.  In the end, I was very happy with the results:

My mirror finished on top of the cake, was smooth and didn't tear, my Bavarian cream filled in all the spaces it was supposed to, and everything set.  The only variations from the recipe for me were that I didn't dye the mirror or the Bavarian cream with food colouring, and I (accidentally) did not strain the strawberry puree for the Bavarian cream.  I don't think it mattered a jot. 

This cake was smooth and light, not overly sweet or creamy, and is a perfect summer breeze through a miserable winter's afternoon.    I think this cake should be served at a garden party with ladies in dainty tea dresses and dapper gents, with long tall glasses of Pimms and lemonade on the side.

To see what challenges the other Daring Bakers selected this month, visit the slide show at the Daring Kitchen.

This will be my last Daring Bakers challenge for now.  I have been a member since January 2008, when I made lemon meringue pie, and have completed 66 challenges, so I think I have proved my daring. I now want to free up some space in my life for other things.  I think that making the cake that inspired me to join the group is a fitting way to bow out.  It's hard to pick a favourite challenge, but I particularly enjoyed making the Caramel Cake, the decorated sugar cookies, the Povitica, the Battenberg cake and the recent Princesstarta.  Best wishes to the continuing Daring Bakers - be daring!

The Daring Bakers - Crack Pie for The Life of Pi Challenge

Have you ever got caught up in the hype of something and been desperate to try it because everyone else in the whole world except you seems to have tried it and deemed it good?  At the moment, the "in" thing is cronuts - every other day there is an article in the newspaper or a TV story about cronuts.  Apparently, there is even a black market for cronuts.  If I decide that I really have to try a cronut, I will skip the black market and make my own.

A couple of years back, Momofuku Milk Bar's crack pie was the cronut of today - everybody had to have it.  Bon Appetit says about Crack Pie, "Anyone who has taken a bite of this Milk Bar best seller immediately knows the reason for the sassy name. Once you start eating this rich, salty-sweet pie with its oat cookie crust, you won't be able to stop."  I have read about crack pie on plenty of blogs, but as New York is a long way away, and a single pie costs $44, I won't be having the real thing anytime soon. However, never fear ...

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie!

One of the recipe options that Rachael gave to us is the Bon Appetit recipe for crack pie.  This gave me the opportunity after all this time to finally find out about crack pie for myself.  Looks good, doesn't it:

It's hard to explain what crack pie is like, but unchilled, it really is like pecan pie without the pecans (as someone else suggested), and chilled, it is like caramel fudge pie.  The pie has an oat cookie crust that melds into a brown sugar toffee-like substance when the pie is filled and baked, and the filling really does taste like caramel fudge.

I almost didn't make this because milk powder here costs a squillion and the smallest bag you can buy is 1kg (what ever happened to small cans of Sunshine Milk Powder?) when all I needed was a tablespoon to make the pie, but I relented on the basis that as the cost of a crack pie is $44 from Momofuku, I am still ahead.

And the verdict?  I liked this pie - in fact I liked it better warm than chilled (which  is how it is meant to be served).  However, I haven't developed an addiction to it - I prefer good old fashioned caramel tart.

To see what the other Daring Bakers made this month, you can take a look at the slide show on the Daring Bakers website on the 27th, US East Coast time. 

Daring Bakers - Prinsesstarta

I joined Daring Bakers oh so long ago now so that I could make pretty cakes.  The strawberry mirror cake inspired me to join, and while we make all kinds of things, pretty cakes are still my favourite things to make.  This month, I got to fulfil a long held ambition to make a particular type of pretty cake that I first saw on Anne's Food. 

Korena of Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers’ host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Prinsesstårta!

Prinsesstårta is a traditional Swedish cake, comprising layers of fluffy sponge sandwiched together with red jam, crème patisserie and cream, then covered with (usually) bright green marzipan and topped off with a pink marzipan rose:

I think it took me so long to get around to making this cake because it all sounds rather daunting.  However, since I first discovered Prinsesstårta, I have made the individual components many times for other recipes, so this one didn't phase me.

I used store bought marzipan tinted with green gel colouring, and for the jam, I chose strawberry (as I have a huge pot of it).  For some reason, this custard recipe did not like me and it split - I wonder if this is because it contains cream rather than milk, which is what I am used to using to make crème patisserie.  The custard never quite came back together and it chilled with a nasty hard fat layer on top, which I removed.  Starting again isn't an option when several egg yolks are involved. I also rolled my marzipan a little too thin because I was 30g short of the recipe requirement (as marzipan is sold here in 250g boxes), so it tore a little in a few places.  I disguised my sins with little marzipan leaves cut from the offcuts placed discreetly over the tears.

In the end,  none of this mattered - I received high praise from the recipients of this cake:

They didn't know about my trials and tribulations, and I didn't tell them.  I have to say that Prinsesstårta tastes delicious - a heavenly cake fit for royalty. 

Thanks to Korena for setting this challenge.  She will have the recipe.  To check out what the other Daring Bakers made of this month's challenge, you can visit the slide show on the Daring Kitchen website in due course.

Daring Bakers - Savarin

It's Daring Bakers time again.

Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious cakes!

I decided to veer away from the traditional Savarin flavours to make a Cherry Savarin by soaking my Savarin in a cherry brandy syrup (1/2 cup cherry brandy + 2 cups water + 1/4 cup icing sugar, boiled up together) and topping it with a  cherry compote made from frozen cherries.  I made crème patisserie for the filling as I love custard.

The Savarin took an awfully long time to make because of the rising time involved - I think my Savarin had around 6 hours or so of rising time.  I also found that I did not have quite enough syrup, so while three quarters of the Savarin was nice and soft and spongy, the bottom remained rather bread-like.  I also think this could have been better if I had soaked the bottom of the Savarin in a bowl of syrup as well as pouring on the syrup in the cake tin while the Savarin was hot.

Nevertheless, the Savarin was rather delicious: 

I mean, custard and cherries - how bad can it be?  The Savarin also got snapped up at work, although nobody really knew what it was.  This was the proof of the pudding in my books.

Thanks to Natalia for hosting this month - if you are keen to make a Savarin, she will have the recipe we used on her blog. To see a rainbow array of Savarins, visit the slide show on the Daring Kitchen website on 27 April, US time.

Daring Bakers - Zucchini Coconut and Macadamia Muffins - Hidden Veges

Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results! 

The challenge required us to bake a sweet cake, biscuit or confectionery of our choice with a “hidden” vegetable ingredient. I chose Karen Martini's zucchini, coconut and macadamia muffins from The Age Good Food (p9) on 5 March 2013.  You can find the recipe online here.  I skipped the xanthan gum and the frosting.

These muffins were soft, not overly sweet but still pleasant, and the macadamias gave a nice crunch.  You can see the zucchini in mine, but if you wanted to shred the zucchini really finely, I am sure that it would "disappear".

Thanks to this month's host, Ruth.  To see what the other Daring Bakers made, visit the slideshow at the Daring Kitchen website.

Raincoast Crisps - Daring Bakers February 2013 - Crisp Crackers and Flatbreads

Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

I can't honestly say that I was too creative, because I used the recipe provided by Sarah for Raincoast Crisps.  However, they sounded pretty good, with their nuts, fruit and seeds (and mysterious name!), so I thought I would give those a burl. The recipe will be on Sarah's website. However, I did use my creativity in the substitutions that I made.  Instead of using pecans, I used brazil nuts, and instead of flax seed, I used LSA. 

These crisps tasted pretty good.  Not all of them were as crispy as they should have been (most likely because of my knife skills, the oven or a combination of both), but they were good.  I think Raincrisp Crisps would be perfect with soft cheeses like camembert or brie, but I did not have any in the house at the time of photographing, so you will just have to imagine that.

To see what crackers and/or flatbreads the other Daring Bakers made, visit the slide show on 27 February at The Daring Kitchen.  Thanks to our host, Sarah, for this month's challenge.

Daring Bakers - January 2013 - Gevulde Speculaas

Francijn of Koken in de Brouwerij was our January 2013 Daring Bakers’ Hostess and she challenged us to make the traditional Dutch pastry, Gevulde Speculaas from scratch! That includes making our own spice mix, almond paste and dough! Delicious!

I have never heard of Gevulde Speculaas (stuffed speculaas) before, and I know for a fact that I have never tasted it, so I was curious as to how this adventure would turn out.  Gevulde Speculaas is a traditional Dutch pastry, as Francijn, our host this month, is Dutch.

The speculaas spice mix is quite extensive, as follows:

Mandatory:
cinnamon 40 to 60 % of the total amount
ground cloves 1 or 2 parts
mace ½ or 1 part
ginger ½ or 1 part

Optional:
white pepper ½ or 1 part
cardamom ½ or 1 part
coriander ½ or 1 part
anise ½ or 1 part
nutmeg 1 or 2 parts

I used some of everything, but substituted black pepper for white pepper.  If the mix sounds a little confusing, Francijn helpfully explains how to mix it as follows:

Take at least 1 or 2 teaspoons of ground cloves, ½ or 1 teaspoon of mace and ½ or 1 teaspoon of ginger.

Add to taste ½ or 1 teaspoon of white pepper, ½ or 1 teaspoon of cardamom, ½ or 1 teaspoon of coriander, ½ or 1 teaspoon of anise, and 1 or 2 teaspoons of nutmeg.

Measure or weigh the amount of spices you have now, and add an equal amount of cinnamon.

You have no idea how heavenly these spices smell together - you really should try making the spice mix for the aroma alone.

My first test was to find mace - I had all the other spices already.  I could not track it down in any of the Melbourne supermarkets that I tried, and in the end by a stroke of luck, I remembered the Middle Eastern grocers near my work, which carry a wide variety of spcies.  There I finally tracked down the mace.

The dough and almond paste came together pretty easily (except for the slight spillage of my precious spice mix), and I refrigerated them for a couple of days to develop the flavours, as suggested by Francijn.  I did need to use about a quarter of a cup of milk for my dough to come together.

My next challenge was in assembling the speculaas.  It is summer here hence rather warm inside, and dough and warm weather are not good friends.  The dough wanted to stick to the paper I rolled it on, even when I refrigerated it after rolling, and the almond paste violently resisted being incorporated into the speculaas - in the end, I abandoned rolling it out and smooshed it over the top of the base dough layer.

Despite the less than smooth assembly process, I was pretty happy with the end result:

And another view which shows the almond paste filling better:

My Gevulde Speculaas smelled heavenly in the oven and tasted devine - I was a very happy girl.  The speculaas smelled just like Christmas, and I believe that this speculaas would make a wonderful addition to the Christmas cookie exchange.

Thanks to our host, Francijn, for introducing this Dutch specialty to us.   To see what the other Daring Bakers thought, visit the slideshow on the Daring Kitchen website once it has been loaded.

I have now been a Daring Baker for five years - scary!  My first challenge was Lemon Meringue Pie - you can find my post here.  I seemed to be very excited about it - perhaps it is time to make that pie again.  Much has changed in my life since then, not all for the better, but it's amazing how resilient we are.  What were you doing five years ago? 

Daring Bakers - Panettone

The December 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by the talented Marcellina of Marcellina in Cucina. Marcellina challenged us to create our own custom Panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread!

The only panettone I had tried previously was the commercial kind, which I found to be kind of dry and tasteless.  They also tend to be very expensive.  However, my friend Tim and his family love panettone, so I was prepared to be open minded about this recipe and give it a go: 

And I was glad I did.  Don't get me wrong - making this panettone is a whole day job, not with constant attention, but certainly with time for the 5-6 hours worth of rising time required over three different rises.  However, the end result is a fluffy, tasty panettone that puts the commercial ones in the shade.

Instead of candied orange peel, I used cranberries for colour - not traditional perhaps, but visually and taste-wise, a good move. 

I almost came to grief when cooling my panettone.  Marcellina's recipe suggests that you should demould the panettone from the tin (I used a souffle mould) and cushion it on towels on its side to cool.  This was a bad move - the panettone cracked under its own weight where it rested on the bench, so I hastily righted it and let it cool in the usual way.

I liked this yeasted bread-cake hybrid, and Tim was the recipient of a generous piece for his family. 

To see what the other Daring Bakers made of this recipe, view the slide show on the Daring Bakers website.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and Happy New Year! 

Daring Bakers - November - Twelve Days of Cookies

It's time for November Daring Bakers.

Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us.

I am very time poor at the moment, so I only made one of Peta's 12 cookie recipes, and the simplest one I could find.  My choice was the Foaming Milk Cookies.  Peta explains:

Foaming Milk Cookies are an old family recipe from my mother in-law, perfect for the allergy sufferers. There are no eggs in the recipe. I have made these with water, juices and a variety of milk substitutes. I have used butter and margarines. I have used gluten free, rice, nut and coconut flours. I have added spices, nuts, dried fruits and chocolate chips. This recipe always works.

Even better, they take 10 minutes to prepare, 1 hour to freeze while you go off and have a life, and 10 minutes to bake.  What could be easier?

The dough was very soft, but froze into logs well.  I rolled my logs in red sanding sugar to make them festive with as little effort as possible.

Here is te recipe for those who are interested in making these cookies:

Ingredients

1½ cups (340 gm) (12 oz) sugar
½ cup (120 ml) milk
4 cups (560 gm) (20 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) softened butter
1 teaspoon (5 gm) bi-carbonate soda
2 tablespoons (30 ml) hot water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/ 180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Rub the butter into flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs or blitz together in a food processor.
3. If you use your food processor tip the flour and butter into a metal bowl.
4. Melt the milk and sugar together.
5. Dissolve the bi-carbonate soda into the hot water.
6. Add to the milk and sugar and mix quickly into the flour/butter until well combined.
7. The mixture will be runny but it will firm up as it cools.
8. When the dough has cooled roll it out to 1/5-inch (1/2-cm) thick and cut out with the cookie cutters or roll into logs and freeze for ½ - 1 hour until firm and cut it.
9. Place on greased trays and bake in a moderate oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until golden.
10. Allow to cool slightly on the tray and then move to cooling rack.

Thanks to Peta for hosting us this month.  To check out many other Christmas cookies, view the slideshow in the Daring Kitchen website.

Daring Bakers - Layering Up: Mille-feuille/Napoleon

Our October 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Suz of Serenely Full. Suz challenged us to not only tackle buttery and flaky puff pastry, but then take it step further and create a sinfully delicious Mille Feuille dessert with it!

The challenge required us to make puff pastry, vanilla pastry cream and royal icing, then assemble these components into Napoleons (or as we would say, vanilla slices).  I have made all of these components before, so I wasn't fazed by this challenge.  However, it is a time consuming process, especially as the pastry needs to be turned and rested numerous times, so I recommend setting aside the best part of a day to make these, or making them over several days.

The end result was delicious, if rather sweet.  At work, my Napoleons were judged to be professional and delicious, so I guess I did OK on this one.

There will be mille feuille all over the food blogosphere today should you care to see some more.

Daring Bakers - Empanada Gallega

Patri of the blog, Asi Son Los Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!

Despite all the exclamation marks, this recipe was OK, but not exciting.   I filled my empanadas, made with wholewheat flour dough, with pie apple mixed with cinnamon and a little sugar:

The end result was probably a little healthier than I would have liked.  Maybe I would have liked this better if I had used a savoury filling.  However, as it was, I was uninspired by the end result.

To see what other Daring Bakers made, visit the slide show when it's the 27th on the East Coast of America.

Daring Bakers - Filled Pate A Choux Swans

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!

I wasn't even sure if I was going to participate this month, but two days before reveal day, I dragged my ass into the kitchen and made Choux Swans filled with vanilla pastry cream.  I had to make the choux twice - luckily, the first time, I only made a half batch, as the choux did not rise.  Not wanting to leave anything to chance the second time around, I abandoned Kat's Good Housekeeping recipe and turned to Australian kitchen legend, Margaret Fulton, instead.  That recipe requires the flour to be added while the butter mixture is boiling on the stove top, and for the oven to be 200 degrees Celsius (gas mark 6) - slightly hotter than Kat's recipe. To add that extra chance of success, I borrowed Delia's tip of wetting the greased trays slightly to make a "steamier" environment in the oven.

Hooray - second time around, I had success:

The pastry cream recipe from the challenge notes gave me no such issues - it worked just right first time around.

Thanks to our host Kat for taking us with her on living a childhood memory.  To see what everyone else did with their choux pastry and filling, visit the slide show at The Daring Kitchen once it is loaded on 27 August, US East Coast time.

Daring Bakers - Crazy for Crackers

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.

Two different crackers recipes had to be prepared using two different methods of forming.

I chose the Health Crackers pictured at the top of this post, rolled by hand, and the Cheddar, Thyme and Walnut Crackers pictured below, made via the "icebox" cookie method (roll and slice):

Both recipes were supplied by our host.  My favourite was the Health Crackers - they were crispy and salty without being overwhelming.  They were also easy to make.  For the cheddar crackers, I used a crumbly cheddar, Cracker Barrel Aged Vintage, and I am wondering if this was why I ended up with tasty but crumbly cookies.

To see what the other Daring Bakers  came up with this month, visit the slide show at the Daring Kitchen website.

Daring Bakers - Battenberg Cake - Going Batty for the Jubilee

On 2 June 2012, it was 60 years since Queen Elizabeth II was crowned as Queen of the British Empire, and unless you have been isolated from the media for the last month, you could not have missed all the celebrations that have been taking place for the Diamond Jubilee.  This month also marked the 70th birthday of Sir Paul McCartney from The Beatles on 18 June.  Accordingly, being a huge Beatles fan, I have made this month's Daring Bakers challenge both to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and for Sir Paul's birthday.

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Battenberg Cake was first made for the wedding of Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria's granddaughter, on her marriage to Prince Louis of Battenberg.  The four checks in the pink and white checkerboard pattern represent the four princes of Battenberg.  I have never made a Battenberg cake before, although I have always wanted to try, so I went with the traditional colours (pink and white) and flavours (almond and vanilla) suggested in the recipe.

Without more ado, here are my two cakes fresh out of the oven, one pink and one white:

Here are the trimmed cakes lined up and glued together with apricot jam:

And finally, here is the finished cake with its marzipan coating and scored top:

This cake was absolutely scrumptious served with a hot cup of English Breakfast tea:

The lovely tea towel which forms a backdrop to my cake comes from Anthropologie at The Grove in West Hollywood - it is mint green with a tea set print and embroidery.  I love it!

To see how the other Daring Bakers fared with this month's challenge, take a look at the slideshow on the Daring Kitchen website on reveal day (27 June 2012).

Daring Bakers - Challah

May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.

I decided to make three strand braids for my challah.  A word is attributed to each of the three strands: zachor (remember), shamor (observe or guard), and b’dibur echad (with one word).  Our host states that the braiding of the three words is a physical reminder of the importance of remembering and observing the Sabbath as one commandment.

The recipe that I chose was the Easy Challah recipe from Temple David.  My rationale for this choice is that it used the least ingredients.  I mixed chopped dried apricots through half of the dough, and white chocolate chips in the other half:

Here's a peek inside the finished white chocolate chip product:

and the apricot:

I liked both versions, but enjoyed the apricot version the best.

Thanks to our host, Ruth, for challenging us to make challah this month - she will have the recipes on her website.  To check out the challahs made by the other Daring Bakers, visit the slideshow on the Daring Kitchen website.

Daring Bakers - Armenian Nutmeg Cake

If you are looking for a gorgeous cake that is different from the norm, then this month's Daring Bakers challenge serves up a gorgeous, caramelly nutmeg coffee cake:

The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.

(This is not my grammar - these are the blog checking lines and I cannot change them.)

I didn't have time to make both, so it was a no brainer to choose the Armenian nutmeg cake.  And what a lovely cake it is - it has a dryer bottom crumb layer topped with a rich batter, with nuts on top.  I didn't have walnuts, so I used flaked almonds instead.   Here is the end result:

The cake has warm, caramel-like undertones from the brown sugar, with a spicy edge from the nutmeg.

A slice of the cake served warm with icecream was just perfect:

To see how the other Daring Bakers fared, visit the slideshow at The Daring Kitchen.

Daring Bakers - Dutch Crunch Bread (Tiger Bread)

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

I made the bread - no sandwich - I don't have time.

Here is the dough:

and here is the dough with the crackle topping on it:

and here is a peek inside the finished loaf:

It tasted very nice, with a soft texture inside. It also answered the question for me of how they made tiger bread (which is sold at Brumbys here).  Thanks to our hosts, Sara & Erica, who will have the recipe on their site.

Daring Bakers - Applesauce Bread for Quick! Gimme a Flavour!

February has been a busy month for me, and it has taken me quite by surprise that we are already almost at the end of the month.  And the end of the month means Daring Bakers! 

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

We didn't have to use the recipes that Lis supplied - we could create a quick bread using any recipe that we wanted.  The only rules were:

No yeast

Can’t take more than 1.5 hours to prepare and bake through.

Only loaves or muffins/popovers

With those broad criteria, I chose to make this recipe for Applesauce Bread that I had bookmarked on the New York Times website.  I included raisins instead of walnuts, and made this delicious concoction:

I highly recommend this quickbread recipe and would definitely make it again.

To see what the other Daring Bakers made this month, visit the slide show at the Daring Kitchen website on 27 February US time (not sure if they operate on the East Coast or West Coast).   

Daring Bakers - Back to Basics: Scones

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. `Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,' thought Alice; `only, as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind.'

From Chapter VII, A Mad Tea Party, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I have now been a Daring Baker for 4 years - since January 2008.  My first Daring Bakers recipe was lemon meringue pie.  Every now and again, especially when I am time poor, I think about giving it up, but then a recipe surprises me and I keep on going. I look forward to the possibilities that this year will bring with the Daring Bakers, a group of thousands of bakers from all over the world who bake the same recipe once a month.

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Scones are a tea time favourite in Australia, inherited from the British migrants to this country.  Traditionally, scones are served with jam and cream to make a Devonshire tea or a Cornish tea, depending on whether you put the jam or the cream on first (or so I have been told).  On my first trip to England in 2001,  I made sure that I had tea (in a pot, of course) with scones with jam and clotted cream in a small tea room in Kensington, London, somewhere close to Harrods.  It was fabulous, of course, and is a treasured memory of my trip.

Audax's recipe for scones was neither hard nor expensive, but I certainly learned a lot about scone making, despite having made scones since as far back as home economics in year eight at high school. I was pleasantly surprised by how high and fluffy the scones I made this month were:

I am scraping this in the day before it is due on the Australia Day holiday, so I haven't made any variations.  I just made Audax's basic recipe.  I froze the grated butter, I cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, I  rested the dough for twenty minutes before cutting it, I used a cold cutter, I didn't twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, and I brushed the tops with milk before baking, and baked them in the hot oven recommended.  I am not sure which element it was, or whether it was all of them, but these were the highest, fluffiest scones that I have ever made.  I was very pleased!  The only downer was that I only got three scones out of the recipe - perhaps my cutter was too big?

In the Australian/English tradition, I served my scones with jam (blueberry on this case) and whipped cream, all gussied up in little soy sauce pots from a sushi set:

Nom!

Thanks to Audax for proving that even when you think you know something, there is always more that can be learned about it.  Audax will publish the recipe on his site, if you would like to try it.  And check out the other Daring Bakers efforts at The Daring Kitchen.

Daring Bakers - Letting Nature Do the Work - Sour Dough Challenge

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

I made the French Country loaf - I did it free form as the recipe suggested, but it made a really flat loaf this way.  I think the loaf would have benefited from being placed in a bread tin or such like so that it held its shape.  I also used 100% all purpose flour - I didn't have wholewheat flour and I wanted to use the starter again for white loaves.

Otherwise, I was pretty excited that my starter worked - it bubbled, it frothed and it made bread, despite my cynicism about the lack of yeast:

I didn't make anything with my bread - I just ate it spread with jam.  I really did not have the time or capacity to make anything else.

Thanks to our host Jessica, who will have the recipe.  To check out what sour dough loaf the other Daring Bakers made, and what they did with it, visit the slide show at the Daring Kitchen once it is up.