Chocolate with Francois - Chocolate Beignets without Creme Anglaise

Here we are with another installment of the monthly group Chocolate with Francois. This month we are are making Chocolate Beignets with Creme Anglaise. That is the recipe that Julia of Always...leave Room for Dessert picked for July.  Be sure to stop by her beautiful blog. Its filled with gorgeous photos and fabulous recipes.

Francois says in his book..."This is my version of the American doughnut: a ball of ganache that is dipped in a great beer-based yeasty batter, then fried and served with a creme anglaise dipping sauce instead of icing..."

I read the recipe and seeing that it served 8,  I decided to scale it back. I was also making Chewy, Chunky Blondies that day and knew we didn't need full recipes of two different desserts. And, since the Beignets should be served immediately I decided to just make a few so we could try them, and not spoil our dinner. :)

There are four parts to making these...the batter, the ganache, frying, and the dipping sauce. I decided to skip the creme anglaise. I have made it in the past and while it was delicious, I didn't feel like going to the trouble of making it just to dip a couple of beignets.

I am pretty sure I did my math right with quartering the recipe, but I started having trouble when I added the flour into the beer and yeasty water. Instead of having batter, I had dough. :( I added some more beer until the dough thinned out some and became more batter like.

Then I did the ganache. That turned out fine. I put the little balls in the freezer to firm up before the next step.

I mixed up an egg in a small bowl and put some panko (Japanese bread crumbs) in a another bowl. I added some fresh oil to my fryer and pulled the ganache balls from the freezer. My beer batter had been sitting on the counter and it had bubbled up as described in the recipe.

It seemed weird to dip the luscious ganache balls into egg and then into bread crumbs. After all, that is something that I would usually do with chicken. I tried to then be sure to completely cover the balls with the batter. As I pulled each ball from the batter, I dropped them into the hot oil. Fried them for 2 or 3 minutes, then scooped them out and placed them on paper towels to drain.

I dusted mine with a little powdered sugar. Once I was sure they were cool enough, the hubby and I tried them.

Yummy! The frozen ball of ganache in the center becomes soft and melted. The batter surrounding the ganache is crispy/chewy. The beignets aren't really sweet. But they are delicious! Don't let them cool off and then try to eat them...once cold they become rubbery. They are definitely best served warm from the fryer.

I would like to try these again...perhaps for breakfast some lazy Sunday. And maybe I will make the Creme Anglaise and try them dipped instead of dusted. :) Be sure to stop by CWF to see what the other bakers thought of this pick. Thank you Julia! I really enjoyed these.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

It's the most wonderful time of the year! :) Fall. Colorful leaves. Apple cider. Pumpkin pie. Crisp, cool nights. I love this time of year. I think all of the recipes this month for Tuesdays with Dorie make me think of Fall. We were given the choice of making any of the November recipes in any order this month, because they are all good for fall/holiday gatherings. I chose to make the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake, the recipe that Katya of Second Dinner picked.

There were a lot of steps to this one, though none of them hard. First, you make a chocolate caramel ganache. I almost quit after making that. Not because it was hard or because the rest of the recipe intimidated me. It was because the ganache was so delicious, just as it was, all by itself. I was tempted to just put some in a bowl and eat it as a pudding. It's rich, and smooth and the caramel flavor blends perfectly with the combination of milk and bittersweet chocolates. But, hard as it was, I showed some self-control and put the ganache in the fridge to cool overnight.

Next I baked the cake. I searched high and low for chestnut spread. I was able to find chestnuts (I think it was in the 4th store I tried) but no spread anywhere. I finally decided to try and make my own. I took all but 10 of my chestnuts and placed them in a pan with water and sugar. I simmered this on the stove until it reduced. Added a touch of vanilla, poured it into my small food processor and processed away! I ended up with a something that was smooth and spreadable and made of chestnuts, so I called it chestnut spread and continued with the recipe. :D Once the cake was baked  and cooled I wrapped it in plastic and set it on the counter to rest overnight.

I next made the brandy syrup. That was easy. Brandy and brown sugar. Done.

I did all the above on Sunday (while also working on my Bread Pudding for SMS and making biscotti for my Secret Baker) and when I got home Monday night I started the glaze for the cake. Another simple step. Chocolate melted with boiled cream that has water and sugar added. Let it set on the counter till it thickens.

In addition to my cleaning business, I bake and decorate cakes...wedding, birthday, anniversary, most any occasion. So, I have a supply of edible dusts on hand and, gold was one of the colors I had. I dusted my chestnuts and then got ready to put all the steps together to complete the cake.

Pretty simple and straightforward. Cut the cake into thirds. Put a layer down, brush syrup over it, cover it with ganache, place next layer on that, repeat, place third layer on top, cover with glaze, place chestnuts on top.

It's very pretty when it's all done, smooth ganache with the gold chestnuts marching across diagonally. But, the proof is in the pudding and I wondered if it would taste as pretty as it looked.

It did not disappoint. There are so many different flavors going on with each bite. I was able to taste the bittersweet of the glaze, then there was just the tiniest bit of heat from the brandy syrup. Next the subtle flavor of the chocolate caramel ganache, both the chocolate and caramel blending with the other tastes. And, the cake! While I think I may have over baked it a bit, it was still moist and soft and delicious. There are so many complex blendings going on with this cake, yet each one compliments and works with the others. I liked it! It is definitely something I would bake again. It would be great for a holiday gathering. I might even sprinkle a little gold dust over the glaze to add more pizazz to it.

So, thank you Katya for choosing this one. If you would like the recipe, head over to her blog to check it out. And, if you want to see what the other bakers thought, you know the drill...Me? I am going to go cut another slice of this cake. :)

Tuesdays with Dorie - Split-Level Pudding - Take Two

I am a stubborn person. Could be the German in me or perhaps the Irish. I hate to give up on something. I am also very competitive. Hate to lose at anything. So, when my attempt at this weeks recipe, Split-Level Pudding ended up in the freezer because it didn't thicken, I was very upset.

I wasn't going to try to make the pudding until after my trip. I have a ton of things to do before I leave Friday morning. Packing is one of them. But, all day long I thought about the pudding. I read several posts yesterday that said they didn't use the food processor, just used a whisk. So, when I got home today I decided to give it another try.

I am very pleased to report that it turned out beautifully! I added one teaspoon of almond extract instead of vanilla, and used a whisk instead of the food processor, but that was the only change. I put it in a clear pudding dish and put it in the fridge and several hours later pulled one out and it was perfect! Yeah!!! I knew I could do it!!

While my pudding was cooling in the fridge, I worked on a cake for an 89 year old's birthday. I bake and decorate cakes. This one was ordered by my daughter's boss. He has ordered several cakes from me in the past. He thinks he's getting a simple sheet cake, but since he is a repeat customer and it's for someone who's going to be 89, I thought it should be a bit more special. Since it's October, and someone 89 is in the "autumn of their life", I went with a fall theme for decoration. I think he will like it.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Split-Level Pudding

This weeks recipe was Split-Level Pudding and it was chosen by Garrett of The Flavor of Vanilla. This looked like such a yummy recipe and I was really excited to try it.

I guess it had to happen sooner or later. I had to have a "fail" on one of these recipes. This was it. A great big Fail! I will say in my defense that I am a baker, not a pudding maker. :)

I had such high hopes for this recipe. I decided to add espresso powder to the cornstarch and salt and make my split-level chocolate and coffee. It was going to be sooo good.

The ganache gave me no trouble. I brought the cream to a boil, poured it over the chopped chocolate, waited 30 seconds, slowly stirred and Wah Lah! Perfect! Poured that into the four ramekins I had set out.

I didn't start worrying about the second half until I added the hot milk to the processor and processed it. I had a very large amount of foam. Foam? But, I gallantly went on. I cooked the foam over medium heat, waiting for it to thicken. Had to keep lowering the heat as it was getting too hot too quick but not thickening. Finally it began to get thick, but was a strange texture, thick but full of holes. Again I continued on. Put it in my food processor, added the butter and vanilla and hit the pulse a few times...and ended up with a very thin liquid in my processor. Not at all pudding like. But, I put it into the ramekins and covered it with plastic and put them in the fridge. Checked them this morning and they were just as thin and watery as they were when I put them in the fridge. So, I did the only thing I could do. I stuck them in the freezer.

So, no pudding for my house. We had frozen icy milky stuff. It tastes great! However it is nothing like what it is supposed to be. I don't know where I went wrong. Not sure what step doomed the pudding, but I did something wrong. :( Someday I will try again, but not this week. I am heading to Germany on Friday and will be missing the next two Tuesdays. In the meantime, head over to TWD and see what everyone else thought.