ZUCCHINI FRITTATA

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Small Dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

I might be on a roll concerning special gadgets. Case in point, I have a pan that is designed to make Tarte Tatin (!!!), but today I am incredibly proud to show you how to use it to make a nice frittata. Do you need that pan? No. But are you going to be the coolest cook in town if you use it? YES, YOU ARE.

ZUCCHINI FRITTATA
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

2 Tbsp. olive oil or unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
2 medium zucchini, sliced and each slice quartered
4 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
4-6 pieces of fresh mozzarella
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Place rack in middle of oven; heat oven to 350°. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil or unsalted butter in an oven-proof skillet. Add the shallots and zucchini, sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the large eggs in a medium bowl with the milk, salt, pepper and spices mix.

Pour egg mixture into the skillet. Add the pieces of mozzarella. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until edges pull away from sides of pan, about 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until set, 10–15 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature within an hour or so.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: You can flip the frittata off the pan and serve it with the brown side up, or cut it straight in the pan, anything works. It turned out creamy, light and fluffy. The pan makes it a breeze to invert and flip the frittata onto a serving plate. We will be enjoying this type of meal in many variations on a regular basis… Mushrooms, red bell peppers, maybe even some smoked salmon in the mix.

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CORNBREAD ÆBLESKIVER

Posted in Appetizers, Small Dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

As I mentioned recently, I do love gadgets, and this pan has been sitting and waiting for too long. However, the moment I saw Karen’s post on this cool recipe, I grabbed it to play!

CORNBREAD ÆBLESKIVER
(slightly adapted from Karen’s Kitchen Stories)

140 grams (1 cup) all purpose flour
70 grams (1/2 cup) medium grind cornmeal
70 grams (1/3 cup + 1 tbs) sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
100 grams canned corn kernels
olive oil spray for the pan

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients, plus corn kernels with a fork. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.

Heat your aebleskiver pan on medium low and spray each cavity with olive oil.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cavity almost to the top with the batter. Cook until the bottom begins to brown. Using a thin skewer turn the aebleskiver part way and continue to cook. Be sure to push any overflow back into the wells.

After that, add a little more batter to top them off before “closing” them, moving the opening to the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until evenly golden brown and the center is cooked through. Serve right away or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: First things first, I highly recommend this cookbook if you want to expand your Æbleskiver horizons… My main modification of the recipe was cutting the sugar by a bit more than half, and using canned corn because I had some in the pantry and got lazy to scrape fresh corn off the cob. Using the pan takes a bit of practice, I filled the cavities too much in my first batch, but the second half was perfect. I still need to perfect moving the little fritters to cook the second side, but they turned out very tasty.

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Karen, thanks so much for inspiring me to finally make something with my pan…

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CHOCOLATE COVERED OREOS AND A VIRTUAL PARTY!

Posted in Chocolate Bonbons, Cookies by


To say that I am excited about what will happen tomorrow is a severe understatement! As some might know, I never miss the weekly feature of cookie decorating that Haniela provides on Wednesdays at noon via YouTube and for a while also through Facebook. Much to my surprise, Hani invited me to do a little guest appearance in her weekly series and demonstrate how I make chocolate covered Oreos. So today I invite you to watch the live which you can join by following the link below. 


You don’t need to watch it live because it will be available on YouTube later. In theory, youtube does not delete a video once it is published, but the way everything is so finicky these days, who knows? Still, you don’t need to worry about joining the event live, although of course it would be wonderful to see you there. In the live session, I will show you how to make two types of designs… The first involves painting with luster powder, to make these babies:

And I will also demonstrate how to use chocolate transfer sheets to make the ones below…

But there is so much you can do with this concept! Below some other examples using transfer sheets to cover the bottom of the mold.

Whenever I use transfer sheets, I brush the leftover area of the sheet with melted chocolate and then use a small cookie cutter to make circles that can be centered on top of the Oreos at a later time. They can sit at room temperature for a very long time! All you need to do is make the chocolate covered Oreo with a background color that will complement the discs, and then use a bit of melted chocolate to glue the disc on top.

One of the simplest ways to decorate is just a drizzle of melted chocolate of contrasting color…

Recently I started playing with wafer paper, which you can buy in many styles…

Just like transfer sheets, you cut circles but simply glue them to the fully set surface of the Oreo with a little brushing of corn syrup. Some Royal icing and sprinkles add a nice border to smooth things out.

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DECORATION DETAILS

Just like Royal icing transfers, fondant and chocolate decorations stay good for a long time, so when you make some for whatever project you have going on, make extras and save. You never know when they will come in handy…

.

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Royal icing…

Chocolate on chocolate… all made with a mold

Finally, a bit more time consuming and labor intensive, you can dye small amounts of chocolate and use to paint molds, allowing each color to set before adding the next one and before filling the mold with the main chocolate component.

I hope you can watch the live tomorrow, and if you do it while it is happening, make sure to say hello in the comment area.

Huge thank you to Haniela for inviting me to be part of my very favorite online event!

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INFINITY TECHNO SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by

I love a gadget. I cannot lie, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Some are huge disappointments, and end up forgotten or donated. But most show up to play on a regular basis. Today I join two gadgets to make sourdough: the Sonic blade adapter and my beloved electric turntable. Watch a short video of the action right below the recipe.

SPIRAL TECHNO SOURDOUGH
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

480g bread flour
20g spelt flour
10g salt
370g water
80g sourdough starter at 100% hydration

Make the levain mixture about 6 hours before you plan to mix the dough. It should be very bubbly and active.

When you are ready to make the final dough, place the water in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer and dissolve the starter in it, mixing with a spatula briefly, then add the two types of flour, and the salt. Turn the mixer on with the hook attachment and knead the dough for 4 minutes at low-speed all the time. If the dough is too sticky, add 1/4 cup flour, you want the dough to start clearing the sides of the bowl, but still be sticky at the bottom.

Remove from the machine, and transfer to a container lightly coated with oil, cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for 4 hours, folding every 45 minutes or so. After four hours bulk fermentation, shape the dough as a ball, and place, seam side up, in a lightly floured banetton. Leave at room temperature one hour, and then place in the fridge overnight, from 8 to 12 hours.

Next morning, heat the oven to 450F. Invert the dough over parchment paper, sprinkle tapioca flour over it for a very light coverage. Next, use a brand new razor blade to score the design.

Bake at 450F for 45 minutes, preferably covered for the first 30 minutes to retain steam. Cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Of course, there is no need for a turntable but it was a ton of fun to use it, plus it allows me to bring that baby to play in more ways than cake and cookies. The Sonic blade works well and I do use it often, independent of the turntable. It makes a very clean, sharp cut, perfect for intricate designs. You can read more about it and find ordering info in this post from my past.

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OREO CUPCAKES

Posted in Cake by

A fun departure on the classic chocolate cupcake, I added some crushed Oreos to a favorite recipe of mine, and some also went into the buttercream. If there was any doubt about the nature of these babies, I dealt with the issue by sticking half an Oreo on top. The drizzle of ganache is optional, but why would you skip it?

OREO CUPCAKES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the cupcakes:
120 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
50 grams (1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons) natural cocoa powder
225 grams (1 + 1/8 cups) granulated sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
85 grams (about 1/2 cup) grapeseed oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
75 grams (1/3 cup) milk, room temperature
170 grams (3/4 cup) very hot water
4 Oreo cookies, crushed

for the Oreo buttercream:
1 cup (227 g)) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 + ½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream
1/3 cup Oreo cookie crumbs

for the ganache drizzle:
¼ cup (42 g) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp heavy cream

Makes12 cupcakes

Heat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk very well to fully combine the dry ingredients.

Add the oil into the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed with a hand mixer until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl and continue mixing until smooth.

With the mixer still running, slowly pour in the milk and then the hot water. Continue mixing until everything is evenly incorporated, the batter will be super thin, do not worry about it. Fold in the crushed Oreos. Place the batter in cupcake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. This will take 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the ganache and allow it to cool. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In another small bowl, heat the cream in a microwave for about 30 seconds, or until bubbling. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and allow the mixture to sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir the mixture until smooth and shiny. Use it when barely warm, so that you won’t melt the buttercream.

Make the buttercream. Whip the softened butter for 5 minutes with a paddle attachment. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and mix until incorporated, in low-speed. Add the heavy cream to adjust consistency, then the crumbs of Oreos. Mix at medium-high for a minute or so until smooth. Frost the fully cool cupcakes. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to set. Then add the drizzle, and a half of Oreo on top. Sprinkles are optional.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here


Comments: Most Oreo cupcakes call for black cocoa, but I prefer a less intense version, so I used a considerably milder recipe. The addition of crushed Oreos was my way to amplify the chocolate taste. Because these cakes rely on oil, they are super moist to start with and stay this way for a few days. Crushed Oreos in the buttercream give a super pleasing texture. Make sure they are finely crumbed. And yes, you crumble the cookie and the filling. Easy!

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