HOME BAKERS COLLECTIVE: JUNE PROJECT

Posted in Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, great american baking show, Home Bakers Collective by sallybr

We just passed Summer solstice. It always makes me sad, knowing that days will be getting shorter and my beloved sun will stay around less and less time each day. Covid-19 is showing its ugly face again, adding more uncertainty to a year that has been full of it from the beginning. But for every yin there is always a yang, and the month of June also brought another group challenge by the tent bakers. This time Alex Tent Baker Extraordinaire came up with the theme, and he was quite straightforward with it. Laminate something. That was his brief. A brief brief. I loved it! I had quite a few options dancing in my mind, but quickly settled on a Brioche Feuilletée, because it is all about the lamination, no distractions from it. So, without further ado, my assignment is here for you.

BRIOCHE FEUILLETÉE
(recipe from Matt Adlard’s Bake it Better)

for the dough:
415g all-purpose flour
8g salt
50g sugar
85g eggs
153g whole milk
42g soft, unsalted butter
9g instant yeast

for the butter block:
250g unsalted butter

OVERVIEW OF THE RECIPE
(simplified version, original recipe is copyrighted)

The dough is prepared using all the ingredients and allowed to proof for one hour. It is next transferred to the fridge overnight. At that time, the butter block is made with dimensions of approximately 7 x 8 inches and also placed in the fridge.

Next day the butter block is enclosed in the dough and three folds are performed. First a double fold, the other two single folds. The dough is rolled out and cut into four strips, about 2.5 inches in width. Each strip is rolled and placed inside a loaf pan for a final proofing of 2 to 2 and a half hours.

Bake in a 325F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until deep golden. Remove from the pan and allow it to cool completely.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe overview, click here

Comments: If you want to know all the details and tips that make this recipe easier to follow, you will have to join Matt Adlard’s site. It would not be fair to publish his detailed instructions here, plus his video is a great help. I’ve been a member of his online group for a few months and highly recommend it for those interested in all areas of patisserie. I will write a full blog post about it in the near future. Not only you learn a lot, but you get to interact with a lot of cool, baking-fanatic folks. See what they bake, follow their progress, share failures and victories.

Matt bakes it in a slightly different way. He adds a baking sheet and a heavy weight to the top of the pan, so that as the dough rises during baking, it gets squished on top, ending in a cool rectangular shape, laminated on all sides, but flat. I did not have a pan with the appropriate dimensions to achieve that effect, so I went with the regular baking in which it all freely explodes upwards.

No matter how you bake it, the result will be the same: layers of buttery goodness that you roll out and enjoy. Nothing else is needed, as the bread is quite rich and indulgent as it is, but if you want to spread it with jam, more butter, clotted cream, you will not hurt my feelings. And I bet Matt will not mind a bit either.

Alex, thanks for a great challenge this month… It is hard to believe that one year ago we were all frantically practicing for the show in our own homes, wondering who were the other bakers, how would we get along… Good times.

For my readers, make sure to stop by the Home Bakers Collective, to see what my friends laminated this month… If the link is not yet published, try again a little later in the day.

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2019

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen – July 2018

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2017

FOUR YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Falafel and a Bonus Recipe

FIVE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Toffee Banana Bread

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2014

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Baked Coconut and “The Brazilian Kitchen”

NINE YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Chicken Legs

TEN YEARS AGO: French-Style Rolls

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Breasts, Coffee, and Serendipity

26Jun2020

NUTELLA TIME: ONE COOKIE, THREE DECORATIONS

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

Nutella and Biscoff spreads are items that live permanently in my heart, and almost permanently in my pantry. I am just a bit afraid of losing control and getting at those jars with a spoon. And wild abandon. If you find yourself with a bottle of Nutella hanging around, put it to good use. This recipe is slightly modified from Bakeat350, a site that was first recommended by my friend Tracy, Cookie Decorator Extraordinaire. From the cookies, I ventured into different directions using Royal Icing and also a simplified method for those times when your patience genes are in fully-repressed mode.

NUTELLA SUGAR COOKIES
(slightly modified from Bakeat350)

320g all-purpose flour
50g Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (226g) cold butter, cut into chunks
1/4 tsp salt
200g sugar
1/3 cup Nutella
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Line cookie sheets with parchment. Heat oven to 350.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the Nutella and mix well, then the egg and vanilla paste. When all in fully combined, add the flour in 2 to 3 additions, mixing in low-speed until combined. Do not over-mix. Remove the dough and smooth it by kneading gently with your hands, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Roll the dough to your favorite thickness, cut shapes and freeze the cutout shapes on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Keep in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, bake straight from frozen for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool lightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack for icing when fully cold.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The dough for these cookies is very forgiving. I’ve made it three times and settled on a smaller proportion of Nutella, without compromising flavor, but improving texture, in my opinion. The original amount specified in the recipe made it slightly harder to work with, and forced me to add too much flour/cocoa during rolling and cutting.

And now, let’s talk decoration… The first method uses the painted icing technique, as described in this post from Helen’s Pastries like a Pro. It is perfect for those times in which you are short on time and patience or both (yeah, that happens). The effects are random, each cookie very unique. Love it!

PAINTED COOKIES
(from Pastries Like a Pro)

2 cups unsifted powdered sugar (260 grams)
1/4 cup lemon juice or a mixture of lemon juice and water
sprinkles of your choice

Add sugar and lemon/water into a bowl, stir until fully smooth. The glaze should run off a spoon but remain fairly thick. If necessary, transfer to a bowl that will make it easier to dip the surface of the cookies. Dot the surface with gel food colors.

With a bamboo skewer or toothpick, swirl the colors around. Do not over-swirl. Pick the cookies up by the edge and dip top side down, just to the top of the cookie, into the glaze allowing the glaze to drip back into the bowl. When most of it has dripped back, turn it right side up and place it on parchment paperIf there is a lot of glaze still on the top, wipe the excess off by dragging it very lightly on the edge of the bowl. Place top side up on parchment to dry. Add sprinkles before the glaze hardens, if you so desire.

Dry for 24 hours before packing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

I used yellow, pink and red to do the swirls on the surface of the icing. Because the cookies are brown, you won’t have a full coverage of the underlying surface. If you’d like, do a double coating, one fully white and then a second one with the swirls, then add the sprinkles. Because the icing is so thin, these cookies will have a more intense flavor of chocolate.

SMALL-BATCH ROYAL ICING DECORATION
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

40 g egg whites
200 g powdered sugar
squeeze of lemon juice
sprinkles (optional)

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and whisk for a couple of minutes with a hand-held mixer. Adjust consistency to give a nice flooding texture. Divide the icing in two portions, color one pink, keep the other white.

Decorate the cookies with the two-colors, and add sprinkles of your choice before the icing hardens. The flower pattern involves icing in color #1, then addint just one spot of contrasting color in the center of the cookie and a circle of the same color around it. A toothpick is then used to drag lines all around the perimeter of the circle. Sprinkles are added before the icing hardens.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

ROYAL ICING ROSETTES AND LEAVES
(adapted from Wilton)

1 recipe of small-batch Royal Icing (see above) to flood the cookies

for rosettes and leaves:
2 cups (about 1/2 pound) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1 + 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder

Beat all ingredients with a KitchenAid type mixer and the paddle attachment for about 7 minutes. Let the icing rest for 10 minutes, adjust consistency if needed. For piping rosettes, it must be thick but soft enough to squeeze through a small piping tip.

Divide the icing in two portions, color one pink, one green. Use a small star tip (like a Wilton 16) for rosettes and a small leaf piping tip (I used a K13) for the leaves. Pipe your shapes over parchment paper and allow to dry. They last for a long time at room temperature.

Ice your cookies with White Royal Icing, and while it’s still wet, place the sugar decorations on top. Add sprinkles, if you like. Let the cookies sit at room temperature 24 hours in a single layer to fully dry.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Those were so much fun to make! Very Zen, you should make more than you think you’ll need because some might break as you move them, some might not look that good, particularly if it’s the first time you make them, as it was the case for me. I now bought a smaller leaf-piping tip as the smallest I had was a big too big for the rosettes.

These decorations might go well over macarons, so I am saving the leftovers and waiting for my new piping tip so I can make additional ones with that goal in mind. It is nice to do this type of project with no hurry. I actually like to roll just half of the cookie dough and freeze the rest for a much easier second batch. And of course, you can make rosettes weeks in advance if you prefer, and just save them inside a plastic box at room temperature.

ONE YEAR AGO: Marshmallow Macarons

TWO YEARS AGO: Sprinkled Meringues

THREE YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Times Three

FOUR YEARS AGO: Dan Lepard Simple White Loaf

FIVE YEARS AGO: Maureen’s Fabulously Fudgy Brownies

SIX YEARS AGO: Wheat Berry Caraway Bread

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Mexican Focaccia

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Sunny Kamut Salad with Roasted Lemon Vinaigrette

NINE YEARS AGO: Pane de Casa & Crostini

TEN YEARS AGO: Down-home Dig-in Chili

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Cinnamon Rolls

24Jun2020

CHICKEN SHAWARMA, THE EASIEST WAY

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

As I mentioned not too long ago, I binge-watched all episodes of Nadiya’s show Time to Eat, and shared some of her recipes here already. I have one more for you, her take on Chicken Shawarma. Could not be simpler. Season the meat, pack it inside a loaf pan (preferably cast iron), and stick it in the oven. Come back 40 minutes later to tender, juicy meat, full of flavor. We enjoyed it over Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash. Quite a delicious meal…

CHICKEN SHAWARMA, MADE EASY
(slightly modified from Nadiya Hussain’s recipe)

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat the oven to 375F and lightly grease a] loaf pan (cast iron is ideal, but not mandatory).

For the shawarma, mix together the cornstarch, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, cloves, cayenne and cinnamon.

Put the oil into a bowl, then add the chicken and stir it around. Add the dry spice mix and stir to coat all the chicken pieces well. Layer the pieces of chicken in the loaf tin and press down, then bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

When the chicken is ready, leave it in the tin for 10 to 15 minutes, before inverting the pan on a serving platter. Careful, as the pan will still be pretty hot, especially if you used cast iron.

Serve right away with the side dish of your choice or flatbreads.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: When I watched the show, I kept telling myself there’s no way this could have a happy ending. It all seemed too simple. I doubted the chicken would be fully cooked, and expected it to have too firm a texture. But something told me to just give it a try. My main modification was to reduce the salt and the cayenne. I am not sure if it was a typo in the recipe as published in the site, but it called for 2 full tablespoons of salt and it was truly too much (I made this recipe twice, the second time with my regular amount of salt, and that’s the version I share with you today).

I forgot the cilantro when I brought it to the table, and quickly fixed the problem, because a bit of green adds joy to the picture. Give this recipe a try, and you won’t be disappointed. To see exactly how she does it go to Netflix (this episode). Around 6 min and 45 seconds she starts preparing it.

ONE YEAR AGO: Marshmallow Macarons

TWO YEARS AGO: Mango-Lime Macarons

THREE YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Sriracha Meatballs

FOUR YEARS AGO: Slow-cooker Braised Lamb Shanks

FIVE YEARS AGO: How about some coffee with your steak?

SIX YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Spiral Kick

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Carrot Flan with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Granola Bars

NINE YEARS AGO: Awesome Broccolini

TEN YEARS AGO: A Twist on Pesto

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Ciabatta: Judging a bread by its holes

20Jun2020

ONE TWO THREE MACARONS

Posted in macarons by sallybr

One color, two colors, three colors, that is…

Starting from the simplest, the idea is to try to match the shell with the sprinkle, and then choose a contrasting tone for the drizzle. Easy-peasy. What I loved the most about these macarons? The filling. Black Sesame Ganache. It cuts the excessive sweetness of the white chocolate, and echoes the nut component of the shell. I will be making that again for sure. For all macarons, use the basic recipe below.

ONE COLOR

BLACK SESAME MACARONS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

For the shells:
200g Icing/powdered sugar
115 g Ground Almonds/Almond Meal
115 g egg whites at room temperature (approx. 4 eggs)
1/8 tsp of cream of tartar
100 g granulated sugar
¼ tsp vanilla paste or extract

for the black sesame ganache:
300 g white chocolate, cut in small pieces
100 g heavy cream
1 tablespoon black sesame powder
1 tsp black sesame seeds

to decorate:
Candy melts + food gel dye + sprinkles

Make the shells:
Line 3 heavy baking sheets with parchment/baking paper or Silpat mats. Layer the powdered sugar, and ground almonds in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal, about 12 pulses. Pass through a sieve and transfer to a small bowl or to a sheet of parchment/baking paper. Set aside.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Make sure that the bowl and the whisk are impeccably clean. Starting on medium speed, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until they look like light foam. The whites should not appear liquid. The foam will be light and should not have any structure.

Slowly rain in the granulated sugar in five additions, trying to aim the stream between the whisk and the side of the bowl. Turn the speed up to high. Continue to whip the meringue until it is soft and shiny. It should look like marshmallow creme (marshmallow fluff). Add the vanilla. Whip the egg whites until the mixture begins to dull and the lines of the whisk are visible on the surface of the meringue. Check the peak. It should be firm. Transfer the whites to a medium bowl.

Fold in the ground almond/almond meal mixture in two increments. Paint the mixture halfway up the side of the bowl, using the flat side of a spatula. Scrape the mixture down to the center of the bowl. Repeat two or three times, then check to see if the mixture slides slowly down the side of the bowl. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with your choice of piping tip (for rosette macarons, use a Wilton 1M type). If you don’t have a macaron mat, draw circles on baking/parchment paper about 2inches/5cm in diameter & turn the paper over before placing on the baking sheets. Pipe shells, I like to count numbers in my head and use the same count for each shell so they end up similar in size.

I pipe inside the circles to about 1 ¾ inches/4.5cm but you can go to 1 ½ inches (3.8cm) & the macarons will spread & fill the circle while drying.

Slam each sheet hard four to six times on the counter/worktop. Do not slam the sheets if you are making rosette macarons, just let them dry. Let the unbaked macarons dry until they look dull but not overly dry. Drying time depends on humidity. In a dry climate, the macarons can dry in 15 to 20 minutes; in a humid climate, it can take 35 to 40 minutes. Rosette macarons benefit from longer drying time.

While the macarons are drying, heat the oven to 300 F (150 C/130C Fan oven/Gas Mark 2). Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack. Check in 11 minutes. If the tops slide or move (independently of the ‘feet’ when you gently twist the top), then bake for 2 to 3 more minutes. Check one or two. If they move when gently touched, put them back in the oven for 1 to 2 more minutes until they don’t move when touched. Let the macaroons cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. The macarons should release without sticking.

For the black sesame ganache:
Place the heavy cream in a small saucepan, add the black sesame powder (you can grind enough sesame seeds in a spice grinder until you get the right amount, or use store-bought powder). Bring to a gentle boil, shut down the heat, cover the pan and allow it to sit for 20 minutes. Bring it gently back to a simmer again, drizzle on top of the chocolate. After a couple of minutes, gently mix with a spatula until the chocolate melts. Add the sesame seeds. Bring to room temperature or place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Use a handheld mixer to whip the ganache lightly before using to fill the shells.

Assemble the macarons: match two shells similar in size and add ganache to the bottom of one of them. Place another shell on top and gently squeeze to take the filling all the way to the edge.

To decorate the macarons, melt Candy Melts in the microwave, add black food dye and use to drizzle the top. Add sprinkles before the candy melt hardens.

Store the macs in the fridge for 24 hours for perfect texture.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The ganache made a little more than I needed for all the shells, I used it later to make some shortbread sandwich cookies, and it worked quite well also. The only thing to be concerned about when you do a white chocolate ganache is to make sure to increase the proportion of chocolate, or you will end up with a filling that is too soft, even if you whip it. I hope you try this filling.

TWO COLORS

CHERRY BLOSSOM MACARONS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

basic macaron recipe above
Divide the batter in two portions, keep one white
Add a drop of pink food gel to the second portion

Place small amounts of batter in alternating colors over a layer of plastic wrap. Enclose the batter by wrapping the plastic around it, then place it inside a piping bag fitted with your choice of piping tip (see composite picture below).

Add sprinkles right after piping, before a skin forms.

for the filling:
8 ounces white chocolate
1/2 cup black cherry jam
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 tsp Sakura essence

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pot of simmering water on low heat. Stir chocolate until melted. Remove from heat, and whisk in jam, heavy cream and Sakura essence. Cover and chill 2 hours, or until cold. Whip it with a hand-held electric mixer until it reaches a good consistency for piping. Transfer ganache to a piping bag and use to fill shells.

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The way you place the different colors inside the piping bag will affect the final look of the shells. In this case, adding them in a random pattern, you’ll get quite unique swirls as you pipe along, it’s really a lot of fun. Yes, I know, I am too easily amused. You could omit the sprinkles and go just for the swirl look, but I liked the added layer of decoration they provided. Plus, I need to justify my compulsion to buy sprinkles so if there is ANY chance of incorporating them into a cookie… there they shall be.

THREE COLORS

PISTACHIO MACARONS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

same basic recipe as above

Divide the batter in 3 portions. 3/4 will be dyed very light green (I used Sugar Art Master Elite Kiwi); the remaining will be divided in two small portions, and dyed darker green (I used Artisan Accents Forest Green), and coral (I used Sugar Art Master Elite Flame). Place the light green batter in a regular piping bag fitted with your favorite tip. Place the other colors in small piping bags, no tips needed. Cut a small opening right before using.

Pipe a slightly smaller shell than you need using the light green batter. Make about 6 shells and stop. Immediately use the other two colors to make your chosen designs. Continue piping until you use all the batter. If you have leftovers of any color, just pipe small macs or donut macs to use them up. Bang the tray very gently to release bubbles and bake.

for the pistachio ganache:
150 g white chocolate, cut in small pieces
40 g heavy cream
2 tablespoons pistachio paste
tiny amount of green food color (optional)

Bring the heavy cream to a gentle boil in a saucepan. Add to the chocolate together with the pistachio paste, and whisk until melted. You might need to use the microwave very briefly. Add green food dye if you like. Leave it at room temperature or in the fridge for a couple of hours, then whip lightly with a handheld mixer. Use to fill the shells.

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These are SO MUCH FUN! A little departure on my first attempt at a similar decoration technique. Ok, I admit that if you are a beginner at macaron adventures, it might be better to practice a bit with a regular macaron, then move to the two-color version before attempting these. The only problem is that you need to work fast. But the possibilities for designs are endless, really. I also think that for this particular type, you are better off with the French meringue method. It is a bit too convoluted to do the Italian meringue and divide it in three portions, considering you have to divide the egg whites and the colors in meringue and almond-sugar portions, so the whole thing becomes a bit too complex for my taste. Two-colors would be doable, but three or more? I prefer to stick with the French meringue. But if you find a way to do it and the Italian meringue is your favorite method, let me know your secrets…

My first post in the 12th year of blogging had to be my favorite thing to bake. No matter how many mirror glazes, mousse cakes, sourdough breads, or cookies I make, macarons will always have a special place in my heart.

ONE YEAR AGO: Marshmallow Macarons

TWO YEAR AGO: Fujisan Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Tomatoes with Hazelnut Pesto & Halloumi Cheese

FOUR YEARS AGO: Red Velvet Layered Cake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Lemon-Lavender Bars

SIX YEARS AGO: Quinoa Fried Rice

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Carrot Flan with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

EIGHT YEARS AGO: The Secret Recipe Club: Granola Bars

NINE YEARS AGO: Awesome Broccolini

TEN YEARS AGO: A Twist on Pesto

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Ciabatta: Judging a bread by its holes

16Jun2020

THE BEWITCHING KITCHEN TURNS 11!

Posted in Cake by sallybr

Eleven years ago I hit “publish” on my very first post, got a huge thrill when I did it, and right after went through many bouts of anxiety as I waited and waited… how many people would read what I just wrote? Could I keep the blog going for 6 months? For a year? Well, eleven years have passed, I went from cake-o-phobe to tent-baker, met a ton of wonderful people through this site, and have absolutely no desire to stop writing. I never get tired of it, it is always exciting to share stuff I make. Like this Blog-Birthday cake. I wanted it to have tropical flavors. Passion fruit and coconut sounded good. And I also wanted it to be colorful and fun. Buttercream and sugar work to the rescue!

BEWITCHING PASSION FRUIT AND COCONUT CAKE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the cake:
280 g all-purpose flour
300 g granulated sugar
2 + 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup full-fat milk + squirt of lemon juice
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tsp Amoretti passion fruit flavor
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup grapeseed oil

For the buttercream:
340 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
750 g confectioners’ sugar, sifted (you might not use the full amount)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
pinch of salt

for the coconut pastry cream:
(adapted from a recipe from Martha Stewart)
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup cream of coconut
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of salt

for drip icing:
2 tbsp white chocolate chips
100 g candy melts
43 g tbsp heavy cream (about 3 tablespoons)

for the sugar decorations:
(following Kim-Joy’s youtube tutorial)
glucose
food gel dye, any color you like

Butter and flour three 6-inch cake pans. Melt the butter gently and reserve. Mix the milk with lemon juice and let it sit for a few minutes (congrats, you just made full-fat buttermilk). Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and passion fruit flavor. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour. Whisk the ingredients together to combine. Pour in the melted butter and oil. Stir everything together until the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter into the three prepared pans. Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pans. If making the cakes in advance, you can freeze them or keep in the fridge, they are easier to work with if completely cold.

Make the coconut pastry cream (preferably the day before assembling the cake). Bring milk, cream of coconut, coconut, and vanilla to a simmer in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Put egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Whisk with a hand-held blender until thick, about 5 minutes. Heat the coconut infused milk mixture until very hot. With mixer on medium-low speed, slowly pour in milk mixture. Transfer to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until boiling, and boil for a couple of minutes. Strain through a sieve. Let cool completely and store in fridge until assembling the cake (cover surface with plastic to prevent a skin from forming).

Make the buttercream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running on low, slowly add all but 1 cup (125 g) of the confectioners’ sugar, the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high and mix for 3 to 5 minutes, until the buttercream is white, fluffy, and smooth. Add the remaining cup of confectioners’ sugar as needed, a small amount at a time (I used about half of it), until it reaches good spreadable consistency. Keep half of it white, divide the other half in four small bowls and use food dye to make four colors of your choice. Reserve.

Assemble the cake. Place one cake layer on a cake board over a turntable. Spread half of the coconut pastry cream. Top with a second cake layer and repeat. Place the final cake layer on top. Crumb coat the cake with white buttercream and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Add splashes of the different colors of buttercream and work them with a bench or cake scraper as you rotate the cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Made the drip icing. Chop the chocolate chips into small pieces. Add the chips and candy melts to microwave safe bowl and pour heavy cream on top. Microwave for 20 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until all the chocolate is melted. Let sit for 15-30 minutes, until it reaches 90 F. Pour over chilled cake, spreading towards the outside of the cake with the back of a spoon or small spatula so that it drips. Put back in the fridge to chill until ready to finish decorating. Transfer to a serving stand before adding the final sugar decorations on top.

Make the sugar decorations (can be made a couple of weeks in advance). Pour small amounts of glucose over a half-sheet lined with Silpat. Add drops of food gel dye, keep in mind a little goes a long way. Bake at 300F for about 1 hour. Let it cool, break into pieces and use to decorate the cake.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Social isolation makes baking pretty tricky. I can still bake for homeless meals on Fridays but everything must be individually wrapped for take-out, so that limits a lot what I can make. No frostings, no mousse cakes, no mirror glazes… I wasn’t even sure I should bake a cake for the Bewitching anniversary because we eat at most one slice each, sometimes we just share a single slice and call it a day. Our departmental colleagues enjoy most of it. But at the present time, no sharing food is permitted in our building. Problem solved: our two graduate students agreed to do the sacrifice and help us with this pressing matter. It was my first time doing this type of watercolor design, so I kept the buttercream recipe simple. It is a fun technique and I intend to do it again in the future, perhaps with more pastel tones and using Swiss meringue buttercream. The real fun part was making the sugar decorations. Interestingly enough, the cake baking started with them. I subscribe to Kim-Joy’s youtube channel and on May 15th she uploaded that tutorial. I was so smitten by the whole idea, I made them later that same day.

I made two batches, the first one definitely using more dye than needed, the second batch using a lot less. With less dye, you get the subtle effect shown on the right picture of the composite above. You can play with colors and amounts, it is amazing to see the changes the whole thing goes through during baking. At first you will think it’s all going to be ruined. Just trust Kim-Joy, let the oven do its thing, it will all settle into a nice outcome. Make sure to watch her video to get a better idea of the whole method.

The sculpture was a gift from my sister Nyrma, during a trip to Brazil many years ago. I thought it matched the sugar decorations quite well… And no, it was not intentional at all 😉

The sugar decorations change quite a bit depending on the light, which I find fascinating. And they hold so well! I made them without any precise goal about how or when to use them, but then realized that the blog would turn 11 soon, and a cake was needed. I hoped they would last long enough for that, and they did, just sitting at room temperature, in a single layer. Exposed to the air, not in a box or anything. Keep that in mind if you want to include sugar decorations on cupcakes or other concoctions. You can make them way in advance.

I loved the cake, the flavor from Amoretti does a good job when you cannot have fresh passion fruit pulp to use. It paired well with the coconut pastry cream. I actually added back to the pastry cream some of the shredded coconut sieved out, just to add a bit of extra texture, but you don’t have to do that, as most of the flavor will have infused the milk anyway. Your call.

So here I am, at the beginning of the 12th year of my blogging life. It does feel like yesterday, but it also feels it all started a lifetime ago. I don’t have any special plans for the future. This site is just a reflex of my daily life. I am sure year number 12 will continue with a lot of baking, but also regular cooking. I’ve been exploring a bit more vegetarian and vegan options, not with intentions of changing my eating habits, but for the challenge they represent, particularly in baking. I found out last year that one of the graduate students in our department is allergic to eggs. That means she could never enjoy any of the bakes I shared with our colleagues in the “Mondays with Sweetness.” It made me so sad. At some point I will be able to bake again for the department, and intend to get some bakes especially for her. Who knows when it will be? But I am practicing and getting my baking mojo ready for it…

To my readers, thank you for being here, your support is truly what makes it all so special for me, it’s the fuel that keeps my blogging engine going…