A taste of: Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto)

A taste of: Napa and Sausalito, California

 

A taste of: San Francisco

Y: Yogurt, Apple, Rye and Cinnamon Loaf

For letter "Y" of my alphabetical baking challenge I decided to try and make the Yogurt, Apple, Rye and Cinnamon Loaf from the Bourke Street Bakery: The Ultimate Baking Companion by Paul Allam and David McGuinness.  In the process of completing the recipe, rather than "Y", all I was really thinking was, "WHHHHYYYY?!?!?"

This was one of the most challenging and frustrating  recipes I have ever tried to make on Alphabake. It comes from a wonderful book but there were some fairly detailed and complicated instructions involved for this bread that had not been adapted for the home baker. As a result, I had to make quite a few adjustments that possibly compromised the flavour of the bread.  Here are some of the challenges I faced:

i) The recipe directs you to a different page in the book that has lengthy instructions on how to make a "white bread starter". Starters are always used for sourdough breads and often for white breads in order to give them a nicer, more distinct flavour and to help increase their longevity.  It is a dough you create with equal amounts of flour and water which you allow to sit for a period of time (the length depending on the type of starter you are making), allowing it to ferment. It was not until I was just about to start baking that I thoroughly read through the starter recipe that was provided and realized that it took about ONE MONTH to make. It gave steps on how to help your starter grow over 5 days, and then this process would be repeated several times. That technique would create a lot of starter dough, an amount more appropriate for a commercial bakery, that you would continue to feed and use over a long period of time.  The technique the book uses is not useful for the home baker just looking to make one or two loaves.

Still determined to make the bread despite this lengthy obstacle, I did my research and found a recipe for a different kind of bread starter called a "biga" that is used more in Italian baking and only takes approximately a day to grow. In my instructions I included the link to a biga starter recipe instead of the one written in the book.  The amount of active dry yeast is so small so a kitchen scale HAS to be used for precision.

ii) I could not find rye flour so I reluctantly substituted it with whole wheat flour which I think compromised achieving the intended flavour. I also could not find fresh yeast so I used active dry yeast instead.

iii) There were so many steps involved in this recipe. I would have to do something with the dough and then let it sit for a certain amount of time, and then do something else with it, and let it sit some more. It was very time consuming and I was up very late that night.


Results:
The biga starter recipe seemed to work well. After sitting for over 24-hours it was very active and bubbly. I only needed to use a fraction of it for the bread recipe. After baking, I had a loaf of bread decent, with a very good consistency. I was supposed to tap the bottom of the loaf when I took it out of the oven and it made a lovely hollow sound like it was supposed to. It was the most satisfying moment in the whole stressful process. Unfortunately, The apple chunks in the bread took on the flavour of the yeast which was not too pleasant. I think the bread also would have tasted much better if I was able to use rye flour.

To conclude, I do not plan to ever try this recipe out again although I am glad I finally got introduced to the many challenges of bread making.  I was not sure if I wanted to post this recipe up on the blog because it felt like such a failure.  I cringe every time I think of the night I attempted to make it. Nonetheless, the whole point of the blog is to document my culinary journey, including the ups and the downs.

X: Xmas Cookies

Happy New Year everyone! 2014 is getting off to a good start but, judging by this post, part of my mind is still a bit stuck in 2013, thinking about holiday baking.  Since I was still having 'X-mas' cookie cravings after December 25th, it seemed like the perfect focus for this blog entry. When I first started up Alphabake, my original baking idea for 'X' was hot x'd (crossed) buns.  As they are a typical Easter treat it would have been a post that was quite out of season (more so than this one) and a bit more of  a stretch with the use of the letter 'X'.

Feeling celebratory, I have included three different cookie recipes, all appropriate for the holidays or any other time of the year. I have featured:

- Coconut Macadamia Triangles from The William-Sonoma Baking Book
- Cashew Caramel Cookies from Martha Stewart's Cookies
- Chocolate-Coconut Bars from www.marthastewart.com

All were delicious and fairly simple to make--it was hard to pick a favourite! Happy baking!

Cat Cakes: Lisa Frank Inspired

Cat Cakes are back!!!

If you were a young girl growing up in the early 90's, you might remember school supplies and Valentines Day cards that were covered in designs by Lisa Frank.  For those unfamiliar with the brand, think of psychedelic scenes consisting of technicolour animals.  A young Mila Kunis was in their ad campaigns and it should also be noted that the designs were not just sported by trendy little girls.

I have some friends who understand my nostalgic fascination with Lisa Frank and they have been known to surprise me with colouring books and stickers from the brand. As a token of my appreciation, I made them a Lisa Frank-inspired cat cake for their joint birthday.

The Lisa Frank cat was a lemon cake (a little sour puss!) topped with a cream cheese icing. I could not find the flaky cream cheese icing recipe that I used for the Arthur Cat Cake.  This was too bad because it was great for piping.  The icing recipe I did use turned out to be fairly wet but ultimately I was able to get the basic design I wanted. I can't forget to mention that in typical Lisa Frank fashion, this cat cake was full of rainbows on the inside!!!

   

W: White Chocolate Trifle with Spiced Pears

I made this white chocolate trifle from Bon Appetit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild for Christmas Eve last year. If you are going to be the one in charge of making a dessert for a party this coming holiday season, perhaps this is the recipe for you! With the richness of the cream and white chocolate as well as the seasonal spices used in poaching the pears, this makes an appropriate, comforting treat for the cozier winter months. It includes several more expensive ingredients such as white chocolate, mascarpone, and vanilla bean so I would save it for a special occasion. It also has a large serving yield, so its great to share with a big group; we had a lot leftover!

Here are my cooking notes for this recipe:

i) Make sure you use GOOD quality white chocolate. The recipe called for this (Lindt was an example). I happened to be one-stop-shopping and just used what they had at the store I was in...I think it was Baker's chocolate which wasn't as good a quality and resulted in a slightly grainy trifle cream. 

ii) I could not find any pear brandy at the liquor store. I ended up using regular brandy instead and put in a little less than what the recipe calls for for fear of compromising the flavour.

iii) Before reading this recipe, I had never heard of pear nectar. It was surprisingly easy to find in the grocery store and was made by an Italian producer. 

 There are a lot of steps to this recipe although it does allow you to prepare steps ahead of time for your convenience. Making this trifle felt like quite a laborious activity with mediocre results (in my experience), but I must say that when I was poaching the pears in all of the spices, my kitchen had never smelled so good! 

V: Vanilla Cheesecake Crunch-Top Cupcakes

Letter 'V'! We are getting very close to the end of the alphabet and these cupcakes from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans are a great way to celebrate prematurely. They are comprised of a simple yellow cake batter, covered with a layer of cheesecake and then some crumbly goodness on top--a party in your mouth. With all of their layers there are several steps involved in the cupcakes' baking process, but generally this is a pretty simple recipe to follow. The gold cupcake liners I used are part of my ever growing collection (I CAN'T stop buying them). They give the cakes a very festive look--a glass (or two) of champagne would be a great accompaniment!

A taste of: The Canadian East Coast (Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick)

     

U: Upside-Down Pineapple Cake

For the last Super Bowl I whipped up this upside-down pineapple cake from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book: Essential Recipes for Today's Home Baker. It is an old American classic so I thought it would be an appropriate choice for the occasion. For those like me who occasionally attend Super Bowl parties without understanding any of the rules of American football, you must make sure that you are armed with lots of snacks in order to make the evening as enjoyable as possible.  This tasty little number seemed to do the trick and was so easy to make!