The inspiration for my dessert is my favorite Nutella memory, the first time my husband and I had breakfast together.Trying to impress his Portuguese girlfriend my husband had prepared a feast of a breakfast, full of delicious Swedish traditional products, like messmör and hårt tunnbröd, wonderful coffee and Nutella.  For this challenge I tried to recreate the flavors of this breakfast turning them into a dessert.

Light Nutella Coffee Bavaroise and Hazelnut  Mini Tunnbröd

Tunnbröd “thin bread” is a traditional Swedish bread, it can be soft, and used like a wrap, or crispy “hårt”. The dough is made from any combination of wheat, barley and rye.   

For my dessert I transformed the traditional Swedish bread into small hazelnut and rye cookies. I had never tried to bake a cookie with  this kind of flour, but the results were a cookie as crispy as tunnbröd and  as a rich as a hazelnut buttery cookie, fabulous!

Here is the recipe:

• ½  cup wheat flour
• ½ cup  rye flour
• 110 grams  butter (+/- 1 stick)
• ½  cup chopped hazelnuts
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 table spoons of golden syrup
• ½ teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor; process  just until a dough forms.

Flatten dough into a disk. Wrap  in plastic and refrigerate until firm.

Preheat oven to 190ªC (375ºF) degrees. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Remove top layer of plastic wrap and cut out cookies. Bake until edges turn golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

My Swedish rolling pin

My tunnbröd cookie and a regular slice of this bread.

Bavaroise

I had never tried combining Nutella with gelatin, so my fear trying to make a bavaroise was that the gelatin wouldn’t set. But everything worked just fine. The bevaroise was wonderful and light and the taste of coffee and Nutella make it just perfect.

Light Nutella and Coffee Bavaroise

• 3 sheets of leaf gelatin
  5 egg yolks
   ¼ cup  sugar
  1 cup whole milk
• ½  cup nutella
• 2 teaspoon  instant coffee granules
   1 cup whipping cream

 Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and Nutella until  and thick.

Getting ready for war - A brand new jar of Nutella

Put the sheets of gelatin in cold water, and let them soak for about 10 minutes, or until soft.

 Gently warm the milk and coffee in a small pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the beaten egg-yolk mixture. Return to a medium heat and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.
Drain the gelatin and stir it into the warm mixture. Leave until lukewarm.

 Whip the cream and fold it into the cooled gelatin mixture, then pour the mixture into  small  serving bowls, and place it in the freezer to set for at least 1 hour.

The January prize package includes:

Joconde imprime /entremets:

 A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect.

Entremets (French baking term) an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold. Think Trifle in a mold vs. a glass bowl.  A joconde imprime is the outside cake wrapper of the Entremets dessert.

 We were given a recipe for the joconde imprime, but we were free to choose the fillings and flavors of the entremets.

Inspired by the masterpiece that is Heston Blumenthal’s Black forest gateau, and the French origin of this challenge, I decided to create a chocolate, pear and xanté entremet.

 You can read the whole recipe and check the beautiful entremets baked by all the Daring Bakers here.

Heston Blumenthal´s recipes are also online here. I have written about the recipes and tested them, on my portuguese blog – Anasbageri.My layers: (From the bottom)

-        Heston Blumenthal’s Madeleine biscuit base

-       Heston Blumenthal’s Kirsch cream   ( I used xanté instead of Kirsch)

-       Joconde imprime (Daring Bakers)

-       Pear and nutmeg compote

-        Heston Bluemnthal’s Chocolate mousse

 I started with    Heston Blumenthal’s Madeleine biscuit base:

My Lestat giving me his moral support

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste.

Ingredients

 100g unsalted butter, softened
 100g Confectioners’ (icing) sugar
3 large egg whites – about  / 100g
85g cake flour + 30 g cocoa powder

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)

Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.

Fold in sifted flour.

Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.

Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.

Joconde Sponge

Ingredients:
85g almond flour/meal
 75g confectioners’ (icing) sugar
25g cake flour
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
10g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
 30g unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.

Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)

On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )

Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.

Fold in melted butter.

Reserve batter to be used later.

Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.

Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.

Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.

Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.

Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Mold and Ring

I used two plastic boxes.(we get them here with potato salad), one for the mold, lined it with regular cling wrap, and I cut the second one creating a ring.

It was a hard challenge for me, I can’t draw, so any challenge a bit more demanding in that aspect leaves me literally sleepless.

Another hard thing, since my entremet is so high, was the fear that in the end everything would collapse.

 But it didn’t! I am so happy I tried this, it was a bit complicated but the final result and the taste are completely worth it, after all, if it wasn’t hard it wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Thank   you so much Astheroshe and all the other lovely bakers for the tips and suggestions.

Leiam este post em português na Anasbageri.

BREAD BAKING DAY #36: “CORN”y Breads!  - Bread with corn, carrots and orange

Girlichef is hosting Bread Baking Day #36 during January!  BBD  is a monthly event for “passionate and to-be bread bakers” that was created by  Zorra of Kochtopf.  A new theme for the month is chosen by the current host and we all  have to bake some bread according to that month’s theme and send it in for a roundup at the end of the month!  The theme for January is:

“CORN”y Breads

I had already baked with corn flour, not always with great results, but last summer I posted here a recipe for Corn, chilli and honey muffins that really were delicious. For my first BBD month I decided to create a completely new recipe – Corn, carrots and orange bread. I know the ingredients may sound a bit weird together, but they are part of one of my favorite salads and I saw no reason why these flavors wouldn’t work great in a bread! 
The result was a light and tasty bread, where we can distinguish both in texture and flavor  of these  ingredients. A recipe that I highly recommend! Thank you Gilichef for all your help, you have been a terrific host!

50 grams corn flour

250 grams  wheat flour

½ package dry yeast baker (6 grams)

150 grams finely grated carrots

3 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon  zest from orange peel

2 teaspoons salt

3dl water

In a bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Warm water and oil. Add the grated carrots and the liquid ingredients to the mixture of flour and work it for several minutes, can use the mixer with the hook.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Fill a baking mold with the dough  and let  it  rest  for another 30 minutes.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 200 º C.

You can read the different recipes and suggestions here

. I tried the yeast doughnuts and made Bolas de Berlim, the Portuguese version of  Berliner. The filling is Vanilla Crème Patissiere, I used the recipe from our May challenge.

This was a very interesting challenge, I had never thought about making balls of fried dough home, but it was actually quite easy.

Here are some pictures:

Ready to fry

The first ballies

 And we are done!

Bolas de Belim

Before even starting I knew this would be a great chalange where we could all be creative and bring our lives and memories to the kitchen. Thank you soso much Mandy, this is my kind of baking.

Basic Sugar Cookies:
Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4″ Cookies

200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Directions
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.

• Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid
flour flying everywhere.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.

• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)

• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.

• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.
• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.

Royal Icing:

315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ – 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

Directions

• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Tip: It’s important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and
grease free.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Tip: I’ve listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.
• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.

You can read the complete recipe and more about how to decorate cookies  here. You can also check all the cookies everyone has been baking.

My husband and I have been together since September 2003, it has been 7 years. I was going to choose a romantic and hearts theme, but since in the beginning of the month he broke his foot and had to stay home for some time, I decorated my cookies with  his broken foot and black cast. I think I didn’t really do a good job. No one really understood what the black thing on the cookies was. Hubby said “A 7 M L L L, what does it mean?” I was a bit upset but blamed it on his pain killers. After I asked my sister, she thought they were pregnancy tests!

So…yeah… the black strange things are legs… legs… with casts and you can even see the toes… at least I do!

And here is my beloved the day he got home from the hospital, with our babies Lestat and Willow.

 Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility.

 Since I don’t have, or know where to find cannoli tubes here in Malmö, I came up with my own version of the shells, they don’t look as nice, but they were still delicious. The recipe isn’t as hard as it looks, the frying part is the worst for me, I really don’t like frying food, I hate the smell and since I very rarely do it, I end up with burnt fingers and dark smelly oil. The filling is to die for, I used a mixture of ricotta and whipped cream, chocolate and candied fruits. You can read and download the whole recipe here.

Making the dough:

The filling:

The fried shells:

Final result:

You can read the complete challenge at Sunita’s world or the Daring kitchen.

Mandatory- You must make the Swiss rolls, a filling for them, two ice creams and a fudge sauce, from scratch.

You must set the dessert in a bowl/pan etc in the order given in the recipe-Swiss roll, first ice-cream, the fudge topping and, finally, the second ice cream.

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 gms caster sugar /8 oz+ extra for rolling

6 tblsp / 45gms/ 3 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 tblsp/40gm /2.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together

2 tblsp /30ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water

a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling-

2C / 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 tblsp / 70gms/2.5oz of caster sugar

Method-

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 centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre 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.

Sunita suggested a vanilla and a chocolate ice cream , but I decided to prepare three of our favorite ones – Grapefruit and strawberries (my recipe), mint  and chocolate (my recipe) and  David Lebovitz’s Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream. 

The challenge also involves some hot fudge sauce but instead I made an extra ice-cream.

Assembly-

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices ( approximately 2 cms each ).

2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

3. 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).

4. Soften the vanilla (strawberry) 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)

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

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

7. 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.

8. 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.

It is a delicious recipe, thank you Dawn and everyone in the Daring Bakers for all your support and kind words.

Mandatory items: The recipe is comprised of three parts, four if you include the crème anglaise. You must make the chocolate pavlovas, the mascarpone mousse and the mascarpone cream using the recipes provided.

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):

3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

Directions:

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.
• Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)   

• Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)

• Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon.
• Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. ( I baked mine for 2 hours and they were  perfect)

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):

1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)

Directions:

• Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.
• Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)
• Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.  

Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):

1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Directions:

• Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):

1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar

Directions:

• In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
• Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat.Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs.
• Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium.
• Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
• Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.
• 

Assembly:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

I made things a bit different:

Since we are only two I used half the recipe. I prepared all the recipes but I’ve made some things a bit different from the original challenge recipe. I divided the Crème Anglaise, to one part I added the whole cheese and cream, I used it as a second filling for my cake, the rest I served as a dip. 

Instead of Sambucca I used  one of my husband´s favorite Portuguese drinks – Ginja. A liqueur prepared with sour cherries.

And here is the final result, a small pavlova wedding cake to celebrate our 6th months wedding anniversary.

The strawberry business in Sweden is something taken very seriously. The strawberries are sold in boxes 200-500 grams and are very expensive, in Portugal I used to make strawberry jam, here not so much. This year I have so far bought strawberries from Belgium, Spain, Italy and, amazingly,  from the United States.  Swedes love strawberries, the traditional dessert for Midsummer’s evening, which is maybe the most important and unique Swedish celebration. The other day, among the strawberries I bought, and which were large and sweet, I found this! I had never seen a strawberry this big, can you guess where it came from?

Another suggestion for bakers who, like me, seem to always have dozens of frozen  egg whites.

The recipe is really simple,  bake some meringues, using your favorite recipe, I used this one

To create these little towers I piped the meringue in 3 different size circles.

For the sauce, whip together 1 cup crème fraich3 and 1 tablespoon store bought lemon curd.

Before serving pile up meringue, sauce and slices of fresh sweet peach. (You really have to do this just before serving, otherwise the meringue will absorb the sauce and get too soggy)