Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Daring Bakers: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake (August 2010)

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

I apologize in advance, this blog post will be short…lots going on this summer!

This recipe seemed like a fun one to try to beat the dog days of summer. It took a bit of planning ahead because of the two different types of ice creams. I’ve made lots of ice creams before so the hardest part on those was deciding what flavors to use. I finally settled on Butter Pecan and Pistachio. Both were yummy on their own, though the butter pecan’s texture was a bit icier than I’d had liked and the pistachio had a bit of an odd aftertaste (maybe just me?!). Both worked well for the end product though.

The part that had me the most nervous were the swiss rolls. I was nervous because I have such lousy luck with “rolls.” I’ve tried pumpkin rolls and buche de noel (those fun chocolate logs at Christmas) with little to no success. I’m not sure what I do wrong, but I think it may have something to do with the towel or cooling process (any tips?!).

This cake “roll” was not much different except that I pressed on. I followed the recipe to the letter, even went out and purchased the exact size pan recommended. My cakes first stuck a bit to the pan (ok, so I did forget to use parchment), then when I unrolled them they cracked like they always do…:::SIGH::: Like I said though, I pressed on and filled them with the whipped cream anyway (which, is divine!! USE THE FULL VANILLA BEAN!).

I decided that the best way to cut things from the freezer (the frozen swiss rolls, end product) is with an electric knife….such clean, quick work! :-) The assembly was easy, though a bit time consuming (waiting for each step to freeze before moving to the next). So again, plan ahead.

Overall, this recipe was a challenge (the rolls still beat me I feel), but it was a fun way to have an ice cream cake. Personally, I think I’d use the store bought stuff in a pinch…Little Debbie does a wonderful roll and some of those store bought ice creams are great…though my homemade ones are pretty good too.

To see other Daring Bakers' creations and get a downloadable PDF of the recipes, visit: The Daring Kitchen
Enjoy!

The Glamour Shot!

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
(Inspired by the recipe of the same name from the Taste of Home website)
The Swiss Rolls:
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 10 - 12 minutes
Rolling and cooling time: at least 30 minutes
Filling: 5 - 8 minutes
Filling and rolling: 5 - 10 minutes

Ingredients:
6 medium sized eggs
1 C / 225 grams caster sugar /8 oz + extra for rolling
6 TBS. / 45 grams/ a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 TBS. /40 gram / a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
2 TBS. /30 ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water
a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling:
2 C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
5 TBS. / 70 grams / 2.5oz of caster sugar

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans (11 inches by 9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.

In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.

Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.

In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.


Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients
2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract
½ C / 115grams/ 4 oz of granulated sugar

Directions:
Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.

Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.


Hot Fudge Sauce
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:
1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz of caster sugar
3 TBS. / 24 grams /1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBS. /15 grams / 1 oz of corn flour/cornstarch
1 ½ C / 355 ml /12 fl oz of water
1 TBS. /14 grams/ 1 oz butter
1 tsp/ 5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract

Directions:
In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, corn flour and water.

Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).

Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool.


Chocolate Ice Cream
Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients:
2 C / 500 ml whipping cream
1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz caster sugar
3 TBS. / 24 grams / 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor.

In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.

Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.

Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.

Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.


Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake Assembly:
Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (approximately 2 cms each).
Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm (at least 1 hour).

Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm. (at least an hour).

Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set.

Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

Ice Creams I Used (From Foodnetwork.com):

Butter Pecan
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (3 3/4-ounce) package instant French vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups whole milk

Directions
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Cook the pecans over low heat until they are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to drain and cool. In an 8-cup measuring cup with a spout, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers' instructions. Add the pecans 10 minutes into the freezing.


Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
3 cups heavy cream
12 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions
Finely grind 1 cup of the pistachios and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a food processor, being careful not to turn the mixture into butter. Bring the milk and cream to a boil in heavy large saucepan. Remove from heat.

Combine the egg yolks and remaining 1/2-cup sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Gradually whisk 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream into the hot cream in the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 6 minutes.

Remove from the heat and strain into a large bowl. Add pistachio mixture and almond extract. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream is made, transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Enjoy With Love,
Christina

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Daring Cooks: Nut Butters (July 2010)

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

According to Margie and Natashya, “Nutrition research suggests that nuts are good for your health. Nut butters, or pureed nuts, make it easy to use nuts in cooking. Although peanut butter is a staple in North America, most popular as the star ingredient in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and beloved in peanut butter cookies and other sweets, it's seldom used in preparing savory dishes. Nut butters -- including not only peanut butter but almond, cashew, and walnut butters -- are common ingredients in many Asian and African countries, used in a wide array of savory dishes. Nut butters add complex & interesting flavors to dishes, provide body & thickness to sauces, and can be used to replace the dairy fats or other oils in recipes.”

The challenge this month was made a bit more interesting by requiring that we use our nut butters in a savory recipe. Margie and Natashya gave us a few recommendations and I chose to use the one for Chicken with Pecan Cream & Mushrooms.

The recipe is supposed to take 30 minutes start to finish and seemed to include ingredients that were normal and easy to deal with. The nut butter came together very easy. The food processor did all the work! The rest of the dish also seemed to come together fairly easy, though I have trouble cooking meat of any kind on the stovetop without setting off the fire alarms, turning on fans and opening doors (Did my mom teach me this method?! Love you mom!).

I doubled the cream/sauce recipe because I like my dishes to be saucy. Cooking with mushrooms can be tricky for me as well. I am not sure I have quite mastered it yet….but, after eating this dish I think I have discovered that I am not a big fan of dishes where mushrooms are the star. I do ok if they are a background flavor or ingredient, but I found myself picking around them in this dish to get to the “good stuff” … the chicken, noodles and pecans! The dish overall was very good, but I did not end up eating the leftovers because of the mushrooms...live, cook and learn!


If you want to see the other options and recipes for other nut butters, visit The Daring Kitchen’s post for this challenge. They even have a downloadable, printable PDF file there.

Recipe:
Chicken with Pecan Cream & Mushrooms
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe notes: Substitute your favorite pasta or rice in place of the egg noodles. Use fresh rosemary or parsley in place of thyme if you prefer.

Ingredients:
Pecan Cream:
3/4 cup (180 ml) coarsely chopped pecans*, toasted
1 cup (240 ml) water
¾ teaspoon (3 ml) salt, more as needed
½ pound (225 g) egg noodles or pasta
4 (6-ounce / 170 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil, more as needed
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 tablespoon (15 ml) deglazing liquid (water, broth, wine; optional)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil, more as needed
1/4 cup (60 ml) finely chopped shallots
½ pound (225 g) mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) fresh thyme leaves
Chopped pecans, (optional garnish)

Directions:
1. Prepare pecan cream. Grind pecans in a food processor for about a minute or so until smooth, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Add water and 3/4 teaspoon (3 ml) salt; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Set aside pecan cream. (*If starting with prepared pecan butter, blend ¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons (90 ml) pecan butter with the water and salt until smooth.)

2. Cook noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Drain, rinse, and keep warm.

3. If desired, pound chicken to ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness to promote even cooking. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken; sauté 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Cook the chicken in 2 batches, adding more oil if needed for second batch. Set aside cooked chicken on a clean plate, cover to keep warm.

4. Add deglazing liquid to pan if using and stir up any browned bits. If needed, add another teaspoon (5 ml) of oil (or more) to pan for sautéing the shallots and mushrooms. Sauté the shallots and mushrooms over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and starting to brown. Add fresh thyme to the pan. Stir in pecan cream; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 minutes till reduced slightly.

5. Slice chicken into thin strips. Divide the noodles among serving plates. Add a scoop of the mushroom pecan sauce on top of noodles. Lay sliced chicken on top. Garnish with fresh thyme and/or a pinch of chopped pecans if desired.

Enjoy With Love,
Christina