Blueberry Crumb Bars
Showing posts with label Desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Desserts. Show all posts
An Update and Strawberry Shortcakes
I can't believe it's been over 3 weeks since my last post. Eek! An update is long overdue and I want to apologize for my sudden disappearance. A combination of things led to my blogging hiatus like looking for an apartment, finally learning how to drive, my still-somewhat-brand-new camera being on the fritz (so sad... sooo very sad) just to name a few. I still have lots of things to take care but I'm back to blogging and I'll be returning emails, responding to comments, and visiting my other food blogging buds again. I'm sooo sorry if I haven't replied to your email, my inbox is a mess! So if you have an unanswered question, please send me another email. I also want to thank everyone who wished me a happy bday (now I'm finally old enough to buy alcohol for cooking!) and for leaving me so many nice comments during my absence. Y'all are so nice. :)
Okay now onto the food! Isn't that what everyone is here for?
I postponed my June Daring Bakers challenge and when I finally completed it, my camera had some issues and I wasn't able to take any pics, which was too bad. But man oh man was it tasty! At first the idea of making a laminated dough scared the crap out of me. I love yeast but working with a "butter block" is way intimidating. That's like the stuff for professional bakers ya know? "Oh god what if the butter spurts out, what if I don't get any flaky layers?!?! Nooooo..." This is when I make a face that looks like that Edvard Munch painting. But I had nothing to worry about because the dough was really easy to work with. Though, it's not something you can rush, so I watched a movie while making it and just paused every 20 minutes or so to take the dough out of the fridge and give it another turn. (Speaking of movies, everyone needs to go see Batman and Wall-E ASAP!) I filled one braid with strawberry jam and cream cheese and another with shredded coconut and cream cheese and made a little Danish roll with leftover dough scraps filled with Nutella. I have to say this was my favorite Daring Bakers Challenge so far. If you have any fears about making a laminated dough, you have to try this recipe, from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking
. Thanks for picking such an awesome challenge Kellypea! I'll go into more detail about making this dough another time because I have no doubts I'll be making this again and croissants too!And now for a recipe too. :)
Every summer I eagerly await the opening of a neighborhood berry stand that have the OMG most amazing strawberries ever... EVER! Washington state's strawberry season was delayed this year due to the chilly weather back in June. People were afraid the berries would start molding on the plant! All that uncertainty, the crappy weather, June was just a sad and gloomy month. I waited, and waited, and waited for my beloved stand to show any signs of opening. Then, one day I saw it! "Strawberries, Coming Soon!" on the window. Summer was finally here! When the stand finally opened, you could smell it a mile away, okay, maybe not a mile, more like 20 feet. There's no resisting the combined fragrance of dozens and dozens of flats filled with 100% ripe organic strawberries. At first the berries look so unassuming, so tiny compared to the monstrous 5-headed strawberries you see in the supermarket (you know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that look like multiple berries somehow got fused together). Just one of these small, ruby red strawberries packs more flavor than a whole carton of totally forgettable supermarket strawberries. I'm guilty of eating a pound or more of berries in one sitting. Mmm... sunshine and ruby red fingers, isn't that what summer is all about!
Oh and if anyone is interested in the berry stand, it's on 35th and NE 80th in the parking lot just north of the post office. I think the stand is selling raspberries now or maybe they've moved onto marionberries and blueberries. They usually sell strawberries in late June to early July then raspberries, then marionberries and blueberries, and finally finish up the summer with blackberries in late August. Come Christmas time, the berry stand becomes a tree farm. Cute huh? :)
Strawberry season may be over but save this recipe for next year.
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberries
Sugar
Sweetened Whipping Cream
Shortcakes (recipe see below)
Wash and hull the strawberries and cut them in half or in slices. Depending on the sweetness of the berries add a few spoonfuls of sugar. Let them sit and macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.
Split the shortcake in half and top with a generous scoop of berries and sweetened whipping cream.
Shortcake/Cream Scone
Adapted from Joy of Baking
2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter, cold and cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C cream (both heavy whipping and regular whipping cream will work)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, two forks, or pulse it a few times in the food processor.
In a separate bowl mix the egg, vanilla, and cream together. Pour this mixture, into the dry ingredients and gently fold the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
Turn the dough until a lightly floured work surface and roll the dough out until it is about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 or 3 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. You will get about 8 to 10.
Optional: sprinkle some sugar on top of the dough.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve these at room temperature or slightly warm for shortcakes.
Linzer Torte
After weeks of backyard blackberry picking last summer, I ended up with 2 gallon-sized bags of berries in the freezer to tide me over until next August. I made muffins and jam, which I then used in cakes and cheesecakes. To make berry jam, you can either add pectin to help it thicken, a plant derived gelling agent, cook it with pectin rich fruits like apples, or cook the berries for a very, very long time until it's thick enough to set on its own. The third way is how I make my jams, pectinless freezer jams. I am too paranoid about botulism to can foods, so I opt to store them in the freezer. And I don't have or know (and a little lazy to learn) how to use pectin.
The benefit of pectinless jams is that it is cooked down so much that it is pure berry concentrate, one tiny spoonful is the flavor equivalent of a mouthful of berries so a little will go a very long way. But because it cooks down so much, the downside, though, is that a big pot of berries will yield only 1 or 2 cups of jam, and with seedy berries like raspberries or blackberries, the seed density becomes highly concentrated as well. Sure, seeds are rustic, but when they're so condensed like that, it's not too enjoyable. Some recipes give you the impression that you can simply push the berries through a strainer as if with a few smooshes with a spatula, you'll end up with perfect seedless puree in a bowl and the unwanted seeds left behind in the strainer. If you've ever tried this, you'll know that it's not the case.
blackberries + strainer = no go
I couldn't help but laugh when Jen wrote about the same thing. See? We food bloggers tell it how it is. What really happens is after about 10 minutes of pushing, smearing, and smooshing you end up with about a quarter cup of blackberry juice in the bowl in which you hoped would collect a bounty of seedless berry puree - half cup if you're lucky. And instead you get juice on yourself, the counters, and maybe even a few splotches here and there on the walls, and a strainer still full of mashed up blackberries. This is exactly why I dropped fifty bucks on a shiny new food mill
. Gone are the days of stained wooden spoons and bent sieves. It still takes some elbow grease to crank the food mill but it's a helluvalot better than using a strainer. Plus, it's another sparkly toy to add to the kitchen.I finally used up the last of my blackberry stash and made one last batch of seedless blackberry jam. The jam is sweet, without being cloying, with just the right amount of tart to make your lips pucker a bit and tastes like summer and sunshine. With the last of my 2007 blackberry jam, I made a Linzer Torte, a beautiful lattice topped tart named for the city of Linz, Austria. The buttery, crumbly crust is made from ground nuts (I used a combination of almonds and hazelnuts) and flavored with lemon zest and a hint of spices. It is traditionally filled with a currant or raspberry jam so blackberry jam isn't too much of a departure.
Or you can make linzer cookies.
Linzer Torte
1/2 C hazelnuts
1 C almonds (how to blanch almonds)
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 C or 4 oz.) unsalted butter
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp grated lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp almond extract)
1 C jam (any jam would work)
Powdered sugar for dusting
Toasting the hazelnuts:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake until they're brown and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour the hazelnuts onto a clean kitchen towel and cover them up in the towel and let them steam for a minute or two. Rub the hazelnuts together in the towel to get their skins off. Remove the hazelnuts and shake the towel out outside or carefully in the trash so the skins don't fly everywhere. Cool the nuts completely before using.
Pulse the hazelnuts, almonds, and sugar sugar in a food processor until they are finely ground. The sugar will keep the nuts from sticking together from the oils. If they are starting to stick together add a few tablespoons of the flour and continue to pulse.
Add the ground nuts to a large bowl with the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, and whisk to combine.
Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and continue to beat until fluffy. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients and continue to mix until the dough has formed.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gather the dough then divide it into two equal pieces. Wrap each piece in a piece of plastic wrap, flatten in a round disc, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or in the freezer for 20 - 30 minutes, or until the dough is chilled and firm but not too hard.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position.
After the dough has chilled, remove one piece and roll it out into a circle large enough to fit into a 9inch tart pan. Press the crust into the tart pan. Trim the outer edge of the dough by cutting off the top 1/2 inch of the sides of the dough, otherwise the sides of the tart will be too tall. Spread the jam evenly in the crust.
The lattice top for this linzer torte is laid at an angle, not woven. Roll out the second piece of dough into a circle that's slightly larger than the diameter of the tart pan. Trim the edges of the piece of dough until it is a 9 inch circle. Cut the dough into 3/4 inch strips. Lay one set of dough strips across the tart in parallel lines. Then lay the second layer of strips at an angle on top of the first layer.
Bake at 375 deg F for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Let the tart cool to room temperature and can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. Some sources say the tart is best on the day it's made while others say it is best after sitting for a day. Dust with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream before serving.
Creme Brulee
The first time I made creme brulee, I was 17 and totally ill-equipped. I didn't have any ramekins so I used small pyrex bowls and small disposable foil tins, you know the kind from frozen pot pies, yes it was sooo very ghetto. Instead of a vanilla bean I used imitation vanilla extract *shudders* and in lieu of a torch, I used the broiler - luckily the pyrex didn't explode, whew! Even without the proper equipment, the creme brulees turned out pretty decent. That's the beauty of creme brulee, it looks very impressive and seems like it would be complicated to make but it's pretty simple to do. Creme brulee is one of the best desserts to showcase the beauty of a vanilla bean but you can play around with many different flavors like Earl Grey or lavender honey.
Creme Brulee
from Cook's Illustrated
4 ramekins or 6 shallow ramekins
2 C heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1/3 C sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tsp of vanilla extract but skip the steeping of the cream
4 - 6 tsp of turbinado sugar or Demerara sugar
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine 1 cup of the cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds with a paring knife and add to the cream. You can either submerge the pod in the cream as well or leave it out and save it for making extract. Bring the cream mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, remove the pan from heat, and let steep for 15 minutes.
Place a kitchen towel or silicone baking mat in the bottom of a large roasting pan and place the ramekins in the pan. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.
After the cream has steeped and cooled, stir in the remaining cup of cream. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk in the cream mixture. Strain into a 2 cup measuring cup.
Pull out the oven rack and place the roasting pan on the rack. You can either pour the custard mixture into the ramekins first then pour the boiling water in the roasting pan, or pour the boiling water first, then the custard. I like pouring the boiling water first into the pan followed by the custard into the ramekins to minimize splashing water into the custard. Pour the water until it reaches 2/3 up the side of the ramekins. Carefully slide the rack back into the oven.
Bake until the center of the custards are barely sit, not sloshy but a little jiggly. The center should read about 170 - 175 deg F, 30 - 35 minutes (25 - 30 minutes for shallow fluted dishes). Begin checking the temperature 5 minutes ahead of time.
Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.
Before bruleeing, place a paper towel on the surface on the custards to soak up any moisture. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of turbinado sugar on the surface (may need to use more for shallow dishes), tilt and shake the ramekin so the sugar covers the surface completely, and brulee until the sugar forms a caramel colored crust.
Optional: refrigerate uncovered for 30 - 45 minutes to re-chill.
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Magic. It's really the only word that can describe this dessert. This cake defies the laws of science and common sense. How can two separate layers of batter on the bottom and liquid on top switch places to create a sinfully decadent chocolate cake on top of a pool of a silky smooth fudge sauce on the bottom? The cake batter looks perfectly normal as it's poured into the baking dish, though it starts to look funky after it's covered with cocoa and sugar. But then... there's a definite moment of hesitation as you hold the measuring cup filled with dilute coffee in your hand. Am I really going to do this? Does the recipe really say to pour this stuff on top of the batter? Common sense tells you no. After double checking the recipe, you do as it says and bite your lip as you slide the sludgy mess into the oven. But don't worry, the oven is a magical place wondrous things happen.
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They say baking is a science because it requires the precision of a laboratory experiment and the results are predictable, just like the chemical reactions that take place. But, I don't know how to explain this cake. The batter is on the bottom, sugar is in the middle, and liquid is on top. Then 45 minutes later, it jiggles precariously as it comes out of the oven. It doesn't look like much at all but when you finally dig in, you see there's a crunchy, sugary crust on top of a dense, rich chocolatey cake, and on the bottom, oh the bottom, is a luscious fudge sauce. How do these layers switch places? I don't know. Doesn't heavier stuff sink? Shouldn't the batter stay on the bottom? I don't know... All I know is this recipe is one of the most amazing chocolate desserts I've had in a long, long time. Best of all it's ridiculously easy to make and totally accessible for every home cook. It's something you can eat in the nook for breakfast after early morning baking, like I did, serve after an elegant dinner, or reheat in the microwave for a resolution-breaking midnight snack. It uses ingredients that everyone in their pantry and doesn't require any fancy equipment or gadgets. All in all, this is a dessert that captures the essence of Nook & Pantry.
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
2 tsp instant coffee
1 1/2 C water (or mix 1 cup of cold leftover coffee with 1/2 C water)
2/3 C Dutch-processed cocoa
1/3 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C granulated sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 C AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 C whole milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position. Spray a 8 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk the instant coffee into the water and set aside. In a bowl, stir together 1/3 C of the cocoa powder, the brown sugar, and 1/3 C of the granulated sugar. Break up any large clumps of the brown sugar and set aside.
Melt the butter in a heat proof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water or in the microwave. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth (heat it in the microwave using low power if the chocolate does not all melt). Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
Add the remaining granulated sugar, vanilla, milk, and egg to the chocolate mixture and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, spread it out, and smooth the top. Sprinkle the cocoa and sugar mixture that you set aside earlier evenly over the batter. It should cover the batter completely. Then drizzle the coffee mixture all over the top of the cocoa mixture.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cake is puffed, bubbling, and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Do not overbake. Cool the cake for 20ish minutes before serving; they will fall as they cool. Serve with vanilla or coffee ice cream or whipped cream and berries.
Warm leftover cake in the microwave and it'll taste just as good the next day.
(Don't overfill your ramekins like me. Individual cakes should be baked in 8 portions.)
For Individual Cakes
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray 8 ramekins with nonstick spray and set the ramekins on a baking dish.
Divide the batter evenly in the ramekins and smooth out the top. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cocoa sugar mixture over the top of the batter. Make sure to cover the batter completely. Drizzle slowly pour 3 tablespoons of the coffee mixture over the top of the cocoa. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed and bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving; they will fall as they cool. Serve with vanilla or coffee ice cream or whipped cream and berries.
Warm leftover cake in the microwave and it'll taste just as good the next day.
French Pear and Almond Tart
When flipping through my copy of Baking
, I discovered this recipe for a very French, very classic, pear and almond cream tart. Upon reading the recipe, I was just as surprised as Dorie was to learn that canned pears most often used for these tarts (*gasp*). Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against canned pears (Steven's mom makes the best ones); it just goes to show that delicious and elegant desserts can be made with simple and convenient ingredients. The beauty of this recipe is it's flexibility - it can be made with canned pears, poached pears, or fresh pears. I chose to poach some perfectly firm but ripe Bartlett pears. I'm a sucker for almond flavoring so I added a little almond extract to the almond cream because mmm... mmm... I love the smell of almond extract *takes one last whiff*.Notes:
- Make sure your pears are small enough to fit in your tart pan. If your tart pan is 9 inches, your pears should be no larger than 4 inches tall. My pears were too large and I could only fit 4 pear halves on my tart, (actually I probably could have fit 5 halves when thinking about it in retrospect).
- A fun little article written by Dorie Greenspan: When French Women Bake.
French Pear and Almond Cream Tart
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking
6 canned pear halves or 3 small, firm but ripe pears, such as Bartlett or Anjou
Optional Poaching Liquid
3 C water
3/4 C sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Frangipane/Almond Cream
3/4 stick/6 Tbsp unsalted room temperature butter
2/3 C sugar
3/4 C ground blanched almonds
2 tsp AP flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 9 inch tart shell partially baked and cooled (I used an 8 inch)
Tart baking instructions:
Bake the crust at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes lined with foil and weighted down with pie weights, beans, or pennies, then remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove the tart pan, keeping the crust in the pan, and cool the crust until it is room temperature.
Optional Poaching Step:
Combine all the ingredients for the poaching liquid in a saucepan, that is just large enough to hold the pears, and bring the liquid to a boil. Meanwhile peel the pears but leave them whole.
Add the pears to the boiling syrup and lower the heat to a simmer. Poach the pears until they are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes.
Cool the pears to room temperature in the syrup. Reserve about 3/4 C of the liquid. You can discard the remaining syrup or save it, for up to a week, to poach more pears. I like to boil it down to a thick syrup and add it to tea.
In a bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, flour, and cornstarch. Process the butter with the sugar in the food processor then add the dry ingredients and process until smooth. Then add the extracts and egg and blend until smooth. The cream can also be made with a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer. The almond cream can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days or you can freeze it.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
If you are using fresh unpoached pears, peel and core them. Rub them with fresh lemon juice and then pat them dry. If you are using canned pears, pat them dry.
If you are using poached pears, cut them in half and core them, and pat dry.
Slice each pear half crosswise into thin slices.
Spread the almond cream evenly in the tart crust. Lift the sliced pear half with a spatula, gently press down on it to fan it out, and lay it on the almond cream. The skinny part of the pear should face in. Repeat with the other 5 pear halves. The 6 pear halves will form spokes. Optional: decorate the tart with some almond slices.
Bake the tart for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the almond cream is puffy and brown. After baking let it cool until it is warm or room temperature to serve.
Meanwhile, simmer the pear syrup until it has thickened into a glaze. Reserve this to brush on the tart before serving.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Sticky toffee pudding is something I fell in love with even before I took my first bite. This British dessert is a warm, moist brown sugar cake lightly scented with vanilla, studded with plump dates, and topped with a luscious toffee sauce. 100% Yum! It just sounded so good I didn't need any more convincing after reading the description. And now that we're in the middle of Autumn, there's something so comforting about spooning into a warm, gooey dessert like this one. I didn't have dates so I used dried figs (shh... no one has to know), which no longer makes it an authentic sticky toffee pudding but it was nevertheless a delicious variation. Let's pretend I made it with dates so I can call it sticky toffee pudding because I like the name. The cake is light on butter and sugar but the toffee sauce more than makes up for that. Decreasing the amount of sugar in the cake prevents the whole dessert from being toothachingly sweet. Be careful with the toffee sauce though, it's so darn irresistible you may find yourself eating spoonful after spoonful. So better be safe and make a double or triple batch because the sauce can be used on other cakes and as a topping for ice cream. If you cook the sauce even longer, it will be thick enough to use as a filling for sandwich cookies.
Notes:
- According to Cook's Thesaurus, since the dates are being chopped up, use cooking dates rather than dessert dates because those are meant to be eaten whole. Many recipes recommend Medjool dates.
- The batter can be divided into 6 ramekins for the perfect serving size, but you can also bake 12 mini cakes in a muffin tin or a larger cake in a round pan or 8 x 8 inch square pan and cut it into pieces.
- I couldn't figure out why recipes call for adding baking soda into the water with the dates (the leavening power of baking soda dissipates when it hits the hot water?) but I used a little in my recipe anyway.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
6 oz dates, chopped
1 C boiling hot water
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C AP flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Toffee Sauce:
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C heavy cream
4 Tbsp butter
Roughly chop your dates with a knife or in the food processor and put the chopped dates in a heatproof bowl. Heat up one cup of water to a boil and pour this over the dates. Swirl in the baking soda, cover the bowl and set aside and let it cool for about 15 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter your baking dish; a muffin pan, ramekins, or a square or round cake pan would all work.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. Cream the butter and brown sugar. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until evenly mixed. Before adding the dates, make sure the liquid has cooled down since you don't want to cook the egg. Add the date mixture liquid and all and mix. Then using a rubber spatula, fold in the dry ingredients. Mix until there are no streaks of flour but do not overmix.
Divide the batter among the muffin tin, ramekins (it might not look like enough batter for 6 ramekins but the cakes will puff up in the oven), or spread it evenly into a square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. For my 7 oz. ramekins, it took about 25 - 30 minutes. Muffin size cakes will bake faster, and a larger dish will take longer, maybe 35 - 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan add the brown sugar, butter, and cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the baking dish (slice cake into pieces if needed). Poke a few holes into the cake and spoon some of the toffee sauce onto each cake. Let the sauce soak in and serve the cakes warm, ideally with a side of vanilla ice cream.
Plum Cake
It's starting to rain here and that means it's not going to stop for the next 6 to 8 months. As we approach fall, I'm saying my goodbyes to my beloved stone fruits. I love plums so I'm always eating them as soon as they ripen. It never occurred to me that I could bake with them until I saw Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake. Like
Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan
1 1/2 C AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
5 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter with the brown sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time until everything is throughly mixed. Beat in the oil, vanilla, and almond extract.
Meanwhile in another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Press the plums into the batter cut side up.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Top with confectioner's sugar or whipped cream. Sweeten the cream with a little honey as you whip it.
Looking for more plum recipes:
Helen's Shortbread Plum Cake
Anita's Elephant Heart Plum Cornmeal Cake
Lara's Baked Plum Pudding
Lara's Plum Bars
Lemon Cream Tart
My fellow Daring Baker, Mary, said "If the Daring Bakers were a Girl Scout/Boy Scout troop, then our manual with badges would be Dorie Greenspan's "Baking from My Home to Yours"
. Mary, I agree with you completely! Before I started food blogging, I am so embarrassed to admit that I was oblivious to this life changing book and didn't even know who Dorie Greenspan was. *blush blush* But after reading post after post from other DBs, I quickly did my research and set myself straight. As a baking newbie, there are only 2 baking cookbooks on my bookshelf and Dorie's book recently joined them. This book was everything I thought it would be and more - it's simply amazing! In the last few weeks I've owned this book, I've made more recipes from it than my 2 other books combined.Dorie writes that she learned this lemon cream recipe from none other than the king of pastry, Pierre Herme. I know I'm bad to fiddle with a recipe like this one. Why mess with a good thing you know? But hear me out! Since my tart pan is 8 inches, I had to scale down the recipe which was originally for a 9 in tart pan. So 4 eggs became 3, and the 3/4 cup of lemon juice became a 1/2 cup. After appropriately scaling down the sugar, I also decreased it a bit because I tend to use less sugar in my recipes and prefer my curds more tangy and tart, so 1 cup of sugar scaled down to 3/4 cup but I only used a 1/2 cup. Finally, (here comes the biggest departure) the original recipe called for roughly 2 and a half sticks of butter which scaled down to 2 sticks. As much as I love butter, I just couldn't bring myself to add the full 2 sticks. Butter is the key ingredient that transforms an ordinary lemon curd to "the most extraordinary French lemon cream" because instead of melting like in ordinary curds, it emulsifies into something light and dreamy. But I just couldn't do it! In the end, I only added 1 stick of butter. I can't call this an extraordinary lemon cream, only an ordinary lemon cream, but boy was it the best lemon curd/cream I have ever tasted! I can only imagine how astronomical it would been if I had added the rest of the butter.
Notes:
- The recipe can generously fill an 8 in tart but can also be stretched to fill a 9 in tart.
- To stay true to the original recipe, use 2 sticks of butter.
Lemon Cream
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan
1/2 C sugar
Zest of 3 lemons
3 eggs
1/2 C lemon juice (roughly 3 lemons)
1 stick of butter, cut into one tablespoon pieces
1 premade tart shell
You'll need an instant-read thermometer, a fine mesh sieve, blender or food processor. I didn't have a thermometer so I guesstimated.
Bring some water to a simmer in a saucepan. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl big enough that you can set over the saucepan, rub the zest with the sugar, off heat. Then whisk in the eggs and then the lemon juice.
Turn the heat down so that the water is barely simmering, and set the bowl over the saucepan. Whisk and cook the cream until it reaches 180 degrees F.
As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, strain the curd into your blender or food processor. You can discard the zest that's left behind in the sieve. Let the curd cool until it is 140 degrees F, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes.
Put the cap on the blender and turn the blender on high. Add the butter 4 tablespoons at a time. Keep blending for another 3 minutes. If the machine gets too hot, you can do it at 1 minute intervals, resting the machine in between.
I was expecting the curd to whip up in the blender, but instead the thick curd was as thin as soup after blending! *panic panic!!*
Pour the cream into a bowl or container and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight (I would recommend the latter). After a night in the fridge, the completely soupy cream magically thickened into the best lemon curd/cream I have ever tasted! I didn't need to panic, I should have known that a Dorie recipe wouldn't fail me.
Assemble the tart just before serving. Spoon the cold cream into the tart shell and serve immediately.
P.S. Who says you need a tart shell. It's delicious on toast in the morning or *ahem* with a spoon. ;D
Tiramisu Ice Cream
Tiramisu is a dessert I never tire of in any form (tiramisu brownie anyone?). I experimented with a tiramisu ice cream during the summer and it was really tasty. But just because the weather is starting to cool down doesn't mean I have to stop making ice cream. I'm with Brilynn on this one; I'll be making ice cream through the winter, clutching the spoon with my fingers poking out of convertible mitten gloves, and trying not to dribble any on my Slanket. Plus, I still need to try David's tiramisu ice cream recipe
because my goodness the mocha ripple swirl-in sounds fantastic. I prefer marsala in my tiramisu but you can also substitute rum or kahlua, since those liquors are stronger, you can use half as much... if you want *wink* (ice cream can be a pick-me-up too). I think that doubling the mascarpone and using the whole 8 oz. tub would make it even tastier. The alcohol and extra fat will keep the ice cream soft and creamy in the freezer.
Tiramisu Ice Cream
1 C milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 C sugar
1 Tbsp instant espresso powder
1/2 C heavy or whipping cream
1/4 C marsala
4 oz. mascarpone
Stracciatella, mix in
About 1 to 2 oz. dark chocolate, melted
Heat the milk in a saucepan to almost a boil. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick, pale yellow, and ribbony.
Anchor the bowl by wrapping a damp towel around the base. With one hand ladle scoops of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while constantly whisking. Continue to temper the egg yolks with all of the milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat. Continually stir and scrape the bottom with a spatula and cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Draw a line with your finger down the spatula, if the edges stay clean and do not run then the mixture has throughly thickened.
Off heat, whisk in the espresso powder and cream. In another bowl, mix the mascarpone and marsala until combined and smooth. Whisk in the custard mixture. Chill throrougly in the fridge. Then freeze in your ice cream maker according to machine instructions.
In the last few minutes of churning, melt your chocolate. Then in the last minute of churning, pour a thin stream of the chocolate into the ice cream. As it churns, the chocolate will harden instantly and become shardlike pieces in the ice cream. If your machine does not have a hole to pour in the chocolate, fold in the chocolate with a spatula after churning.
Hidden Blackberry Cheesecake
Here in Seattle blackberries are everywhere, ranging from massive brambles that have invaded vacant land to itty bitty plants poking out of the ground trying to colonize new terrain. To my surprise, there were blackberry growing in the backyard. This was the first summer I had even been aware of their presence because last winter, the (small) yard, which was more like an uncharted jungle, was
Blackberry picking is a tricky business. The best looking berries are always the unattainable ones just out of my reach. I stare at them longingly, yearning to reach the plump, juicy berries glistening in the sun barely inches from my fingertips. I balance precariously on one foot, standing on my tippy toes, while stretching my arm and hand as far as they'll physically go to pluck that perfect berry. One wrong movement will result in an "Ouch!" as a nasty thorn pokes or scratches my skin. A tug too strong and that berry will fall off into the deep thicket lost forever. Even worse, just when I think the berry has landed safely in my palm, it rolls and slips between my fingers. Curses! Foiled again!! After an hour of the hot August sun hitting the back of my neck and my fingers sticky and purple, I say to myself "Okay last berry" but then "Ah Hah!" another perfect berry catches my eyes. Sometimes I am able to pick all the ripe berries before calling it a day but other times there is a limit to how many close encounters with the creepy crawly spiders, who love to take up residence amongst the berries, I can take. They send me running back inside patting myself down and repeatedly brushing off every inch of my skin. *shudder* "That's it for today I'll go back tomorrow," as I admit defeat. Now that it's September and autumn is slowly approaching, the blackberry bush has given the last of it's berries. Most have gone into quiet storage in the freezer and will serve as a reminder of the glories of summer during the gloomy Seattle winter.A note about blackberry picking: Blackberries tend to grow everywhere and sometimes as your walking, you can't help but notice the easily accessible berries right by the sidewalk. As tempting as these berries may be (I pass berries like these everyday), do not pick them because the plants growing near the streets will often take in the fumes and pollution from the cars and that's not something you want in your berries. It's best to find an area away from roads and traffic for picking. Most parks in the Seattle area have plenty of blackberries so those are a great place to go.
From one of my recent pickings, I came inside with about 3 cups of berries and I really wanted to make some jam. But I'm didn't have pectin, and I'm too paranoid to can so I ambitiously decided to make some pectinless freezer jam. Steven warned me that when his mom and other friends tried to make blackberry jam, it ended up very watery was more like blackberry syrup but I was not to be dissuaded. After simmerring for a long time, I ended up with about a half a cup of thick jam and with only a few spoonfuls of sugar rather than cups, the jam was not cloyingly sweet and was immensely flavorful (very, very blackberry-y). So pectinless jam was possible and it was delicious!
Blackberry Jam
3 C blackberries, washed
3 Tbsp sugar (ratio of 1 tablespoon sugar to 1 cup berries)
1 tsp of lemon juice
To get rid of the seeds, puree the mixture and push it through a sieve or pass it through a food mill. I had some trouble pushing the puree through my fine mesh sieve so a food mill might work better.
Simmer in a saucepan until very thick and a spatula dragged across the bottom of the saucepan leaves a clear trail that does not fill in.
To avoid the canning trouble, just store the jam in your freezer and enjoy it quickly. But you won't need me to say that twice because it's so delicious on a buttered piece of toast in the morning or in a "Hidden Berry Cheesecake" inspired by Dorie.
While flipping through the baking book of the year
(ahem everyone knows which one I'm talking about), the Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte really caught my eye. I loved Dorie's ingenuity in tucking a layer of berry jam underneath the cream cheese filling. Jams are usually good at hiding cracks and imperfections on cheesecakes but bringing it inside brings cheesecake to a whole new level of elegance. Not to mention in the gorgeous photo in the book, the top of the cream cheese torte was absolutely pristine with not a crack or flaw in sight. Since I didn't have cottage cheese on hand, rather than using Dorie's recipe for the cream cheese torte, I went with my standby cheesecake recipe of cream cheese and sour cream in a graham cracker crust. But don't get me wrong, Dorie's recipe looks excellent and I will definitely try it one day. This recipe uses only 2 bars (rather than 4) of cream cheese and as a result makes a thinner cheesecake. Hidden Blackberry Cheesecake
Inspired by Dorie Greenspan's Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte
1 pack of graham crackers (5 oz, 9 whole crackers)
1 Tbsp sugar
5 Tbsp butter melted
2 8 oz. bars of cream cheese
2 eggs
1/3 C sour cream
1/2 C sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 C any berry or cherry jam
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Process the crumbs in a food processor until ground or crush them in a zipper lock bag by rolling over the crackers with a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse until evenly mixed.
Press the crumbs firmly into bottom and up the sides (about 1 in) of a 9 inch springform. I like to use the flat bottom of a measuring cup or you can use the bottom of a drinking glass to push the crumbs in tight. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the food processor add the rest of the ingredients except for the jam, and process until smooth. Alternatively you can cream the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs and incorporate one by one, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the filling is smooth.
When the crust is done, spread the jam evenly on the bottom of the crust. Then pour in the cheesecake filling. Bake at 350F for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until the center is no longer jiggly.
Run a knife (to avoid damaging the nonstick on baking pans, I either use a plastic knife or a wooden skewer) along the outside of the cheesecake and remove the pan. Let it cool to room temperature then chill before serving.
Since it's blackberry season, though nearing the end of it, here in the Pacific Northwest and with the blackberries straight from the backyard, I'm going to bring this cheesecake to the biggest patio party of the year, La Festa al Fresco, thrown by the lovely hostesses Ivonne and Lis. There's no such thing as having too many desserts right girls?
Chocolate and Caramel Tart
I have already professed my affection for tarts so when Veronica and Patricia unveiled this month’s Daring Baker challenge featuring the heavenly combination of chocolate and caramel, it was love at first sight. Their luscious selection from Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savory Tarts
is made with a chocolate shortbread crust, caramel filling, and a layer of chocolate mousse. Bettina (Steven’s little sis) and I had planned to make it together, but things kept coming up and pretty soon she was getting ready to leave for college again. It was the last week of August and Steven said, “Hey... don’t you have to do your Daring Baker thing soon?” I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately but managed to set aside some time to make the tart just yesterday. If you've been checking out all the beautiful tarts made by my fellow DBs (you can find them here, you’ll notice that there are a few things wrong with my tart but hopefully I will answer all your questions.You can find the complete recipe on Veronica's or Patricia's blogs.
Part 1: The Crust
The original recipe made enough for three 9 1/2 in square tarts or 10 in round tarts. I decided to make some little tartlets so I made 1/4 of the original recipe (it was easier to scale down by 4 than by 3). One thing that struck me as rather odd was the addition of cinnamon in the crust, and quite a bit of it too. I had never heard of combining cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut. Luckily Veronica said we could omit the cinnamon, which I chose to do because I’m not the biggest fan of it and many DBs felt the flavor was just way too overpowering in this case. Here are the ingredients I used for the crust:
Chocolate Shortbread Pastry
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 C + 1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar
2 Tbsp ground hazelnuts (I toasted some at 350F, rubbed the skins off, and ground them in the food processor)
1/2 beaten egg (I beat an egg and measured out half)
1 C + 2 Tbsp cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
Optional: 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I omitted this)
In a food processor or stand mixer cream the butter.
Add the powdered sugar, ground hazelnuts, and cinnamon if using, and mix.
Beat 1 egg and measure out half of it, add it the food processor or stand mixer and mix it into the butter.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder, and mix well.
Form the dough into a ball and chill overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325F. Roll out the dough and line the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Another thing you’ll notice is that although it’s suppose to be a chocolate shortbread crust, the amount of cocoa powder the recipe calls for is very tiny (original recipe called for 1 1/2 tablespoons and for the proposes of my scaling, I rounded down to 4 teaspoons). I scrounged around the pantry for the cocoa powder I rarely use and it looked absolutely ancient, must have been a few years ago. I didn’t trust the quality of the cocoa powder to use it so as a result, my crust is pale blond and not the pretty shade of chocolatey brown like it should be.
After the chill overnight, I went to roll out my dough. While it was very easy to roll out, when it came time to lift the dough into my tartlet plans, it cracked and broke into pieces. Not pretty. I was able to use a bench scraper to lift the dough into the tartlet pans and push together the pieces of the crust. I can only imagine the nightmare this dough caused when attempting to lift the whole thing into a larger tart pan.
Part 2: The Filling
Caramel Filling
1 C sugar
1 C heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 Tbsp flour
Although I only made a quarter of the dough recipe, since I was going through all the trouble, I made the full caramel filling recipe. Plus, extra caramel is an added bonus. The caramel making was a bit of a fiasco but in the end it turned out okay - it wasn't a complete failure. I started by taking my butter and cream out of the fridge so they could warm up to room temp. I poured the sugar into a saucepan and placed it over medium heat. There are two ways to make caramel, the dry method, which is just sugar in a pan (method called for in the recipe), and the wet method, which is sugar with some water and corn syrup. The dry method is more difficult because the sugar can burn easier, whereas the water and corn syrup in the wet method helps to stabilize the sugar. I didn't have any corn syrup on hand, so I decided to try my luck with the dry method. I really had no idea what I was doing. I started to panic, “Oh no what if the sugar on the bottom is burning, I better stir it!” and as soon as I stirred it, the sugar clumped up and stuck to my spoon, to the sides and bottom of my pot; it was a mess.
I kept the pot over low heat and slowly it began to change colors. However, I thought the sugar was getting too dark, and I panicked again. “Oh no, I think the sugar is getting too brown, should I add the cream? But not all of the crystals have melted yet.” So to prevent the sugar from get any darker, I added the cream and the whole thing immediately seized. At this point what I had was very light brown colored cream with crystallized sugar stuck to the sides of the pot and caramelized sugar stuck on my spoon and floating in the cream soup like pieces of amber glass.
Again I kept the mixture over low heat and the sugar was slowly starting to melt into the cream. Maybe the light was playing tricks on me but I thought now the cream was getting too brown. Cue panic attack 3. “Oh no maybe I should add the butter, maybe I should just strain what I have into the flour and egg mixture.” So I added the butter, turned the heat up to medium low so the caramel was barely bubbling. At this point, it had already been 45 minutes into the caramel making process and my patience was wearing thin but now things started to take a turn for the better! The caramel started to thicken up really nicely, the sugars on the bottom and sides of the pot started melting, and after what seemed like an eternity, I had relatively chunk-free, thick, gooey caramel. The strange thing is, it didn’t look very dark anymore, rather, it looked a bit too light. As I let it cool, I slowly sifted and whisked the flour into the eggs. When the caramel was cool enough, I tasted a spoonful and my god this stuff was delicious (well with a whole cup of sugar and cream and half a stick of butter what wouldn’t taste good?). I whisked the egg mix into the caramel and then poured the mix into the baked tart crusts half full (ended up using only half the caramel mixture) and baked them at 325F. The filling firmed up quite nicely in the oven after about 10 minutes.
Part 3: The Mousse
Chocolate Mousse
1/2 C heavy cream
3 1/2 oz. milk chocolate
Uh oh... I don’t have milk chocolate! Because I wasn’t feeling well that day, I didn’t want to go down to the store just for some chocolate. I know we weren’t suppose to use dark chocolate (I’m sorry Veronica) but I used the bittersweet chocolate in my pantry and that explains why my mousse is such a dark brown. I melted the chocolate and while it was melting I whipped the cream to stiff peaks. I was afraid my chocolate was too hot and would deflate the cream so I waited for it to cool. I waited... and waited... and waited... and by the time I finally added the chocolate to the cream, I had waited too long. As I began to fold it into the cream, the chocolate solidified into chunks and streaks in the cream and the mousse became very grainy and weird. I spread it on top of the caramel filled tarts and after an hour or so in the fridge, the mousse solidified into a thick, grainy, chunky mess. It definitely didn't look like the light brown, airy mousse in the picture from the cookbook. I had originally planned to pipe some decorative stars on the tart, but the mousse was so stiff and gross, it wasn’t pipeable at all; luckily it still tasted good. Ironically, I completely screwed up the easiest part of the tart.
As for the sugar decorations on top, I melted some more sugar and this time I resisted the urge to stir it (just the occasional gentle swirl) and it melted into an even amber color without any crystallizations.
The Verdict:
In the end, I don’t think I did proper justice to the tart because I totally failed at making the mousse. The crust was a little difficult to work with but it was tasty and I liked the subtle hazelnut flavors. I should have bought some new cocoa powder for it. I panicked multiple times about burning the sugar, but I don’t think I caramelized my sugar enough because the filling didn’t have enough caramel flavor. When I sliced into the tart, it looked a little light compared to the darker, richer hues of other DB’s caramels. Lastly, I really shouldn’t have used dark chocolate for the mousse because the intense chocolate flavor completely overpowered the very light caramel flavor of my filling. Perhaps if my caramel had a stronger and more developed flavor then it could properly stand up to a dark chocolate mousse. In the end the tart was still really delicious. I was able to make 4 6 in tartlets and we gobbled them up so quickly there’s only 1 left! I will most definitely make the caramel filling again and try my hand at the mousse again too.
Strawberry and Honey Cream Tart
Just when I thought I had seen the last of this summer's strawberries, Steven comes home with a huge box from none other than Costco and better yet, they were as delicious as they were bountiful! I spoiled myself earlier this summer and purchased a set of 6 mini tart pans, an 8 in tart pan, and a rectangular tart pan (I adore this one because it looks so elegant). Since then, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with tarts of all shapes, sizes, flavors. What I love most about fruit tarts is that it is a simple way to showcase the fresh flavors of seasonal fruit. Just take a pate brisee, pate sucree, or graham cracker crust, some pastry cream or curd, fresh fruit and voila! you have a beautiful dessert that’s sure to be a definite crowd pleaser.
Steven likes to eat his strawberries dipped in a little honey, whereas I usually do without the extra sugar, but a honey pastry cream paired perfectly with these ruby red berries. To go with the honey pastry cream, I opted for a graham cracker crust instead of my usual flaky pate sucree. The only problem I came across with this tart was taking a picture because as soon as I got within range for a photograph, the tantalizing aroma of the sweet berries, honey, and buttery crust ensnared my senses. All I could think about was gobbling up the distracting tart that was sitting mere inches from me. So with a few hurried click clicks of the camera, I quickly sat down to enjoy my reward.
Strawberry and Honey Cream Tart
1 recipe Honey Pastry Cream (recipe follows below, you will need to make this at least 4 hours in advance, preferably overnight)
About 1 lb strawberries
Graham Cracker Crust
9 graham crackers
5 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until they are finely crushed. Alternatively you can place the crackers in a bag and use roll over them with a rolling pin to crush them.
Add the sugar and melted butter and pulse to combine in the food processor, or mix with a fork until the crumbs are evenly coated in butter.
Press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and sides of a tart pan. Use the flat bottom of a dry measuring cup or the bottom of a drinking glass. The recipe makes one 9in crust or one 8in and a 4in tarlet crust.
Bake at 350ºF for 11 - 13 minutes, until browned, and rotate the crust halfway.
Let the crust cool completely before filling with pastry cream and fruit slices. Fill with cream and fruit just before serving.
If your strawberries are uniformly small, you can hull them and place them on whole. If they are large and too unwieldy to place on the tart whole, cut them in half or into slices and arrange them on the tart.
Honey Pastry Cream
2 C milk, preferably whole
4 egg yolks
1/4 C corn starch
5 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp butter, cut into 8 pieces
pinch of salt
Notes
- Make the pastry cream at least 4 hours before serving, preferably chill it overnight. The cream will hold in the fridge for about 2 days.
- To make the classic vanilla pastry cream, use 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Honey is sweeter than sugar so I used 5 instead of 6 tablespoons.
Heat milk and honey in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk to dissolve the honey. Heat until almost simmering.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the corn starch and pinch of salt until the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds to a minute.
Anchor your mixing bowl with a wet kitchen towel wrapped around the base of the bowl. Using a ladle with one hand, ladle some of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking with the other hand to temper the egg yolks. Add the milk ladle by ladle until you have added about half the milk. Then switch from whisking the egg yolks to whisking the milk in the saucepan and whisk the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
Heat this mixture over medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Continue simmering the cream for 30 seconds to 1 minute then take it off the heat. Off heat whisk in the butter.
Cover the cream with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for at least 4 hours. (Lemme tell ya this stuff is plenty good with just a spoon) ;)
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