baking

SOUTHERN SUN DROP CAKE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

SUN DROP CAKE / INSTANT CAKE Ingredients:

  • 281g (2 + 1/4 Cups) Plain/All-Purpose Flour
  • 338g (1 + 1/2 cups) Caster Sugar
  • 3 + 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 295ml (1 + 1/4 Cups) Sun Drop Soda
  • 30ml (1/8 Cup) Vegetable/Non-Flavored Oil
  • 113g (1 Stick Butter), Room Temp.
  • 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 3 Large Eggs, Room Temp

**You can opt out the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt for a regular yellow cake box mix and add the butter & wet ingredients to make this cake. This is offered by https://iambaker.net/homemade-yellow-cake-mix/

 

To Make Your Own Cake Mix:

  1. Measure flour into quart size mason jar.
  2. Add sugar on top, then baking powder, then salt. Place lid on jar.

 

To Make Southern Sun Drop Cake From Scratch:

  1. Lightly grease a 23cm (9″) bundt pan with non-stick vegetable spray or butter. Make sure you grease it generously and into every surface for a clean release of cake.
  2. Place softened butter into stand mixer and beat with paddle attachment until very pale and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl half way for even mixing.
  3. Scrape down once more before proceeding.
  4. Place sifted dry ingredients into stand mixer and combine with butter for 30 seconds just till combined – it will look like a fine crumble.
  5. Add soda, oil, and vanilla gradually whilst beating until well combined.
  6. Beat in eggs one at a time, only adding the next one after the previous is fully incorporated.
  7. Pour batter into prepare pans and use a spoon or spatula to level it out. Rap on counter twice firmly to release air bubbles.
  8. Bake at 180C (350F) for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
  9. Flip immediately onto rack and gently tap and shake down firmly to release the cake. You should feel the cake release and come away from the pan.
  10. I drizzled my glaze whilst hot so it absorbs and keeps the cake very moist and infuses the flavour better, but in the original recipe it says to cool before frosting. I believe the latter makes for a shinier finish and a slight crust from the glaze.

 

SUN DROP GLAZE Ingredients:

  • 90ml (3 Oz) Sun Drop Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 125g (1 Cup) of Pure Icing/Confectioners Sugar, Sifted

 

METHOD:

  1. Stir together sifted sugar, vanilla & soda until well combined.
  2. Spoon over inverted cake whilst cake is still hot for soaking it in, or glaze the cake after the cake is cooled completely.
  3. You can use a similar recipe but largely reduce the amount of soda to get a thick icing consistency to pipe decorations on the cake as shown in the video.

 

 

NO-BAKE COOKIES & CREAM CHEESECAKE – (Gelatin-Free) Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

  • 500g (16 Oz) Cream Cheese, Room Temp.
  • 115g (1/2 Cup) Sour Cream
  • 100g (1/3 Cup + 2 TBSP) Caster Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 475ml 2 Cups Thickened/Heavy Cream, Chilled
  • 3 x 137g Packs Oreo Cookies (Original)

 

METHOD:

  1. Take one pack of the oreo cookies to line the base of a 18cm (7″) round spring-form pan. Try to arrange them as tightly as possible, fitting 3 whole ones in the middle and one broken up to fit into the gaps there.
  2. In a processor, blend together cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla and caster sugar till smooth.
  3. Scrape down several times in between to ensure even mixing.
  4. Take one pack of oreos, gently twist to take apart the cookie, scrape off the the frosting with a knife. Place the cookies only into a zip lock bag and crumble with your hands until fine, bite sized crumbs.
  5. Stir the cookie crumbs into the cheesecake mix till well combined.
  6. Whisk the cream until just under stiff peaks, it should being to mound peaks on top of itself, but still be droopy.
  7. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the first half of the cream and taking your time to make it uniform. This part is mostly to lighten the mix so you can play with it a bit longer.
  8. Gently fold in the last half of the cream until uniform but keeping as much air in the batter as you can.
  9. To fold, you just scoop from bottom up and allow batter to fall back on itself. Using your other hand, turn the bowl 1/4 of the way as you do this to evenly mix all the batter. Slice through the centre once in a while. Ensure the bottom of the bowl is well mixed too.

 

 

CRACKED PEPPER LEMON MERINGUE CHEESECAKE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

LEMON CURD (YOLK BASED) Ingredients:

  • Zest & Juice of 1 Large Lemons (70ml)
  • 2 Large Egg Yolks
  • 75g (1/3 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 75g (1/3 Cup) Cold Butter, Cubed & Chilled
  • 1/2 Heaped Teaspoon Cornflour

METHOD:

  1. Place all ingredients except for the cold, cubed butter placed into a small saucepan.
  2. Heat gently over medium heat, whisking gently throughout. This should be a steady raise in heat, not rushed.
  3. Lower the heat once the mixture thickens and starts to have large, slow bubbles appearing – allow to simmer for 1 minute. Whisk well and then strain the curd to rid any lumps if needed.
  4. Chill till cold before spreading onto cheesecake.

 

LEMON BAKED CHEESECAKE Ingredients:

Biscuit Base Ingredients

  • 114g (1 + 1/8 Cups) Graham Crackers/Digestive Biscuits Crumbs
  • 1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
  • 25ml ( 1 + 3/4 TBSP) Unsalted Butter, Melted

Cheesecake Ingredients:

  • 250g (8 Oz) Package Cream Cheese, Room Temp.
  • 75g (1/3 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • Zest of 1 Lemon
  • 80ml (1/3 Cup) Thickened/Heavy Cream

METHOD:

  1. Fill a large, deep pan with generous amount of hot water in lower third rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F). Have one wire rack slotted into the middle just above the third rack so the water tray can cook the cheesecake stably without it actually been soaked in it.
  2. Toss sugar and crumbs together. Stir together melted butter with the crumbs and press into base of the 18cm pan with hands or back of a spoon.
  3. Combine all the ingredients for cheesecake in a processor and pulse till smooth, stirring and scraping down the bowl half way through.
  4. If no processor is available, simply beat with beater attachment till sugar and cream cheese is smooth and then follow up with eggs, vanilla and lemon. Finally, beat the cream in only just until combined.
  5. Pour over biscuit base and place in oven on the middle rack above the water tray at 150C 300F for 30-40 minutes until it barely wobbles in the centre. It should be firm bounce without too much back and forth – just enough to see it is not solid all the way through. The residue heat from cooling process will cook it further.
  6. Remove from oven & bring to room temperature before chilling till cold. It will taste better and have better mouth feel after a night of chilling.
  7. Spread the curd over the top but leaving 1cm border around the edge to prevent it spilling over so it will be a surprise when you bite into the meringue.

 

CRACKED PEPPER SWISS MERINGUE Ingredients:

  • 120g (3 Large) Egg Whites
  • 240g (1 Cup + 1 Tablespoon) Caster Sugar
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Cracked Whole Peppercorns, or To Taste

METHOD:

  1. Combine egg whites, sugar & vanilla extract with pinch of salt in mixer bowl over a simmering pot of hot water.
  2. Whisk gently throughout, lifting to see consistency of the mix. When it is ready, it should be whiter in colour, resembling more like water in consistency. To be sure, it should be slightly hot with no granules left when rubbed between fingers.
  3. Remove from heat and whisk on medium-high speed until semi-stiff then begin to add the pepper, tasting as you go to see if it is the right heat for you.
  4. When you are happy with it, simply keep whisking until the meringue is glossy but stiff enough to hold a peak with very little to no droop on the whisk attachment when removed.
  5. Fill a piping bag with a 1-2cm opening cut or an open tip nozzle. Twist & tighten the end of the bag to make sure there is no gap.
  6. Squeeze out some in the bowl to ensure no air bubbles are trapped.
  7. Pipe desired patterns over the surface of the cheesecake and torch.
  8. I’m placing the cake on a cake turner to spin while I pipe rings from the centre out to the edge and then letting go as I taper it for a smooth finish.
  9. To torch I find it easiest on a medium-high heat strength from a step away from the cake where the flame just barely reaches the meringue. Steadily move along the meringue from left to right from one row to another and then turn the cake facing opposite so you can work on the other halves of the row that wasn’t exposed previously. This gives a nice, dark scorch but is efficient and covers it evenly.
  10. Keep chilled and airtight until serving. Use a hot knife to slice through without sticking onto the meringue.

 

BAUMKUCHEN with GANACHE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

BAUMKUCHEN (Sugary Lab Method) Ingredients:

  • 250g (2 Cups) Plain/All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 + 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
  • 7 Large Eggs, Separated
  • 200g (1 + 2/3 Cups) Pure Icing/Confectioners Sugar, Sifted
  • 175ml (3/4 Cup) Milk
  • 75g (1/3 Cup) Unsalted Butter
  • 1 + 1/4 Tablespoons Honey

METHOD:

  1. Whisk together flour and baking powder.
  2. Combine milk, honey and butter in a bowl, covered with cling wrap just until butter is melted.
  3. Beat egg whites on lowest speed just enough to incorporate air.
  4. Once it is doubled in volume and stable enough to hold a spoonful of itself, start sprinkling in sugar gradually.
  5. Once glossy and stiff, the meringue is ready.
  6. Add in the egg yolks gradually on low speed just till combined.
  7. Fold in the flour mix in three parts on low speed.
  8. Take a generous spoonful of this mixture and combine it with the butter and milk mix. Stir it till combined and return it to the flour mixture, whisking slowly whilst gradually pouring to combine.
  9. Scrape down the base and sides to make sure it is well combined.
  10. Now the batter is ready for making baumkuchen.

 

TORCHING:

  1. You’ll need to set up the station and be well-prepared so that you don’t fumble around when doing this.
  2. Have a large tray or deep pan that will be higher than the radius of your baumkuchen. The deeper your dish the thicker you can make your baumkuchen.
  3. Have the batter with a brush close by, the blow torch in a safe location but close to reach as you may want to leave it on as you work faster.
  4. Now brush a thin layer along a wooden or heat proof rolling pin. You want just enough to simply coat the pin whilst still seeing stroke marks. Too thick and you won’t cook it through and will fall from gravity as you work more layers in.
  5. Torch immediately from a medium distance on medium heat to make it evenly golden all over but not charred. Take your time to cook it well – it is obvious when it swells up that is the cake being cooked.
  6. Repeat the process, being gentle when brushing new layers of batter, torch and repeat until the desired thickness is reached.
  7. Allow to cool completely or the cake will be too delicate.
  8. I run a knife around the two sides to neaten any imperfections. I make one more cut down the middle of the roll to make it more manageable.
  9. To remove from rolling pin, gently run a knife from one end of the roll on the inner side of the roll, then gently using your hands begin to grab and gently twist left and right to wiggle and loosen the roll. It should come off fairly easily after a few twists.
  10. Neaten the inside layer if need as the twisting does rip and tear the inside layer a bit. Stand them over a wire rack on a tray with baking paper and pour ganache over generously to coat.
  11. Once it is fully coated, chill in fridge till it is dry to the touch and then you can wrap and give away as gifts or store airtight in fridge – serve at room temperature.

 

GLOSSY GANACHE

  • 1.2Kg (42.33Oz) Dark Chocolate, 70%
  • 800ml (3 + 1/3 Cups + 1 Tablespoon) Thickened/Heavy Cream
  • 120ml (8 Tablespoons) Glucose/Corn Syrup

METHOD:

  1. There are several ways to go about making ganache. The most common method is to use a saucepan to bring cream just till a simmer with bubbles around the edges. Pour it over the finely chopped or small pieces of chocolate and glucose in a bowl and cover for few minutes before stirring till smooth. Cover and store at room temperature in a cool place. You can also store in fridge for a longer time but will have to warm whilst stirring to get it soft enough to use at desired consistency.
  2. Some prefer to combine all ingredients and nuke in small intervals in a microwave, stirring between every couple of rounds until it is glossy and smooth with no chunks.
  3. Another method that allows freedom to be away and not keeping watch while you do other prep work is to combine all in a heat proof bowl and set it over simmering water to bain marie or double boil the chocolate with the steam till the same results are achieved. This way, the cream doesn’t boil over.
  4. But try not to overheat the chocolate, keeping the temper of the chocolate means your ganache will less likely split over time.

BRULEE CHEESECAKE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

  • 750g (2 Cups + 2 Tablespoons) Cream Cheese, Room Temp
  • 225g (1 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 5 Large Eggs, Separated
  • 500g (2 + 1/5 Cup) Sour Cream
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 40ml (3 Tablespoons) Lemon Juice
  • Pinch of Salt

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 140C (284F). Line the base of a 25cm (10″) round pan.
  2. Using a food processor, pulse the cream cheese and sugar until very smooth.
  3. Pulse the egg yolks, sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice until smoothly combined. You may need to scrape down sides and base half way.
  4. If you do not have a food processor, you can do steps 2-3 by using a mixer with a beater attachment, but on a fairly low setting as you do not want to incorporate too much air into the base mixture. (Air in the fatty component of the recipe causes cracking during baking if not released).
  5. The processor cuts through the mix so doesn’t incorporate air which means less cracking.
  6. Using mixer, using just enough low speed to start to whip the egg whites gently and slowly. This is key to a delicate crumb by doing your egg whites slowly.
  7. Once the egg whites are frothy all over the surface, add the pinch of salt.
  8. Continue to take your time to let the egg whites whisk until they are doubled in volume and look to be stable enough to hold a spoonful of itself on itself. This is the soft peak.
  9. Go just a little further checking every 20 seconds by stopping machine and tilting the bowl to see if it moves. Once the meringue just barely moves around the bowl when tilted it is ready. It should still be moist, if it goes dry it may be tad bit over whipped and will still work but just harder to fold in.
  10. Stir in 1/3 of the meringue vigorously and as evenly possible to lighten the mixture. There should be no streaks.
  11. Now using a whisk, with folding motion gently fold in the remaining meringue until it is uniformly combined with the mix but you can see it is still fluffy and full of volume. If the mix looks runny then you would have folded incorrectly or did it too much and deflated the meringue.
  12. To fold, simply use one hand to turn the bowl by quarter inwards, and use your dominant hand to hold the whisk and bring the mixture from bottom up, going from that hands side of the bowl towards the middle where you turn the bowl. Do the same motion in any area that has the most egg whites to really disperse it properly. Once in a while, gently draw a straight line through the middle with the whisk. Once the whole mix is fluffy with no streaks you are done.
  13. Pour into lined pan, use a knife or spatula to do a scoring action across the cake in both horizontal and vertical directions – then rap the pan on counter firmly twice. Both actions will help release as much air bubbles to prevent cracking.
  14. Bake for 1 + 1/2 hours and then switch off the heat. With the door open, let the cake sit for an additional hour. Cool and chill overnight before turning out and doing the brulee step.

 

SIMPLE BRULEE CUSTARD Ingredients:

  • 295ml (1 + 1/4 Cups) Milk
  • 1 Tablespoon custard powder *
  • 1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
  • Demerara sugar for brulee

 

METHOD:

  1. Make the custard, by adding custard powder,  sugar and the milk to a pan and heating until thick. Leave to cool until tepid, pressing a sheet of cling wrap directly onto custard to prevent skin from forming.
  2. Stir till smooth and spread a thick layer over the cheesecake then sprinkle with very generous amount of demerara sugar all over. You can use other sugars you prefer for your brulee here.
  3. Working in small areas at a time, brulee with blow torch until very nicely golden brown and bubbly. You can add more sugar and continue to caramelize an area until you are happy with the level of ‘brulee-ness’.

TRIPLE CHEESECAKE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

VANILLA BEAN BAKED CHEESECAKE Ingredients:

  • 4 Large Eggs, Room Temp
  • 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
  • 168g (3/4 Cups) Caster Sugar
  • 230g (1 Cup Sour Cream), Room Temp
  • 500g (18 Oz) Cream Cheese, Room Temp
  • 1 Tablespoon Corn Flour
  • Seed From 2 Vanilla Beans
  • 2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
  • 1 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 150C (300F), butter (not spray) the inside of a 25cm 10″ diameter spring-form pan.
  2. Lay foil in a cross double the diameter of the pan each.
  3. Wrap up sides of pan for extra protection against water bath seeping into cheesecake. Wrap once more in similar manner to seal where the previous cross has a seam.
  4. Using a processor (or use a mixer to mix but not aerate too much) to process the cream cheese and butter until smoothly combined.
  5. Add all other ingredients except the eggs and process once more until smoothly combined. Scrape down half way if necessary to ensure proper mixing.
  6. Add the eggs and process till silky smooth again.
  7. Pour into prepared pan & place into a large, deep baking tray filled with boiling water halfway up the cake pan.
  8. Bake for 1 hour or so or minutes or until the centre no longer wobbles.
  9. Turn off the oven, leaving the door slightly open and cool the cake till cold.
  10. From this point this cheesecake must sit overnight before enjoying for best texture and flavour. If adding other layers of cheesecake you can add right away so long as the cake is cooled completely.
  11. Lightly spray sides of tin with non-stick vegetable spray or grease with butter and line with a large and long piece of baking paper to essentially extend the height of the pan. This will be a very tall cheesecake unless you use a wider pan.

 

ROASTED RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE Ingredients:

  • 250g (9 Oz) Cream Cheese, Room Temp
  • 75g (1/3 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 120ml (1/2 Cup) Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Gelatin Powder
  • 295ml (1 + 1/4 Cups) Thickened/Heavy Cream
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 250g (2 Cups) Roasted Raspberries

240C 20 min for berries

METHOD:

  1. Roast the berries on a lined baking tray for 20 min at 240C (464F). It should start smelling slightly sweet and charred. Set aside till cool.
  2. In a small container, stir together water and gelatin powder till combined and allow to sit for 5 minutes to bloom (re-hydrate).
  3. In a processor blend together the cream cheese and sugar till smooth. If not, use a hand mixer or beater to beat just until combined.
  4. Blend together with the roasted raspberries, salt & lemon juice. Scrape down the bowl to ensure even mixing.
  5. Nuke the gelatin mix just till dissolved in a microwave, do not boil the mix you just want the granules dissolved.
  6. Whip the cold cream until just under stiff peaks where it starts to form peaks when whisk is removed, firm droops over.
  7. Strain the raspberry batter into the cream to rid the seeds and any lumps. It isn’t essential unless you don’t want too many seeds in your mix.
  8. Gently fold the cream and batter together until uniform in color. Do this by scraping down where the batter is least uniform with rubber spatula & gently bring it up and allow batter to gently fall back. Turn the bowl as you do this for even mixing, and slice through the centre once in a while.
  9. Pour the batter over the first layer of cheesecake immediately and use a spatula to ease it all the way to the edge. Drop the pan a few times on the counter to level it out and release any large air pockets.
  10. Chill in freezer for 10-20 minutes just until the batter is slightly firm on the top to hold the next layer.

 

ROSE WATER CHEESECAKE Ingredients:

  • 250g (9 Oz) Cream Cheese, Room Temp
  • 75g (1/3 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 120ml (1/2 Cup) Water
  • 1 Tablespoon Gelatin Powder
  • 295ml (1 + 1/4 Cups) Thickened/Heavy Cream
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Rosewater
  • 250g (3/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons) Greek Yogurt
  • Pink/Red Food Colouring, Optional

 

METHOD:

  1. In a small container, stir together water and gelatin powder till combined and allow to sit for 5 minutes to bloom (re-hydrate).
  2. Blend together cream cheese, rose water and sugar just till smooth.
  3. Scrape down, add the lemon juice, salt and Greek yogurt, blend till smooth.
  4. Scrape down the batter and add a little food colouring to deepen the pink a little.
  5. Whip the cream till soft peaks like the raspberry cheesecake recipe, add the batter and fold till uniform. Try to keep these two layers as airy as possible when folding in the cream.
  6. Using the same approach, pour into the cake pan over the raspberry cheesecake layer and smooth out then allow to set in the fridge overnight.
  7. Once it has had time to infuse the flavours and set the texture in the fridge, peel away the paper carefully and it should come off easily
  8. I garnished with a white modelling chocolate rose, which you can find on my channel too or in the link in the description of the video.
  9. Of course you could just pile some fresh berries or rose water berry compote on the top.

MODELLING CHOCOLATE WHITE/DARK – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie


modellingchocchart

This handy chart belongs to Cake Paper Party and explains the ratios and steps/troubleshooting in impressive detail. So make sure to check her page out.

https://www.cakepaperparty.com/2014/03/make-modeling-chocolate-make/

MODELLING WHITE CHOCOLATE Soft Consistency:

  • 342g (12 Ounces) White Couverture Chocolate
  • 138g (4.5 Ounces) Glucose Syrup

MODELLING MILK/DARK COUVERTURE CHOCOLATE Medium-Firm:

  • 342g (12 Ounces) Milk/Dark Couverture Chocolate
  • 114g (3.75 Ounces) Glucose Syrup

METHOD:

  1. Start by bringing water to a simmer in a saucepan 1/3 full. You don’t want the base of your bowl to be touching the water. You are just looking for constant small bubbles around the edges, any hotter would ruin your chocolate.
  2. Patience is key.
  3. Place the weighed chocolate over the saucepan and switch off the heat.
  4. You’ll want the chocolate uniformly chopped if it is in bar or comes in blocks. Callets are most ideal as you can skip that step. Make sure that it is real chocolate that uses cocoa butter not vegetable oil (Couverture, not Compound).
  5. Stir the chocolate from time to time gently just till it is melted. If you need more heat, bring water to simmer again with the bowl off heat. Repeat the step of switching off and placing bowl back on.
  6. Once the chocolate is smoothly melted, remove from heat and weigh the glucose. I pour it straight out of the container and use my fingers to remove excess.
  7. Note: You can usually spray or coat to grease your measuring utensils for the glucose to prevent sticking but I’m avoiding that as the recipe is more delicate.
  8. Using a rubber spatula, sweep gently in from the edges of the bowl then swipe down the middle. Repeat this slowly a few times just until it is incorporated.
  9. This is the tricky part, but basically try to mix it to the point where it takes on a matte finish, has no big streaks of chocolate anywhere – taking on almost the aesthetics of a very stiff creme patisserie.
  10. It is advised to slightly over mix than under but both generally can be fixed.
  11. Over stirring does lead to liquid fat leaking out, and too little stirring leaves chunks of hard chocolate when set.
  12. Scoop the modelling chocolate onto a large piece of cling wrap and avoid playing with it at this point. Wrap it tightly and very well to prevent skin forming.
  13. You need a resting time for the chocolate to become completely solid, indicating the fat is solidified enough for it to be used. Candy melt recipes take 1 hour or so and since we use real chocolate it will take much longer than that.
  14. The easiest way is to make this in advance and allow to sit at room temperature for at least a few hours or overnight.
  15. Once it is ready to use it will be clumpy, you need to knead the chocolate first until it is smooth and pliable.
  16. If the mixing was done correctly, ideally you should be able to rub a small amount between your fingers and feel no lumps.
  17. Some common uses include rolling it out and wrapping it over a buttercream or ganache covered cake like the way fondant is done, or making decoration like roses.

TROUBLE SHOOTING:

If the chocolate is lumpy and won’t come together, try the fix below for both case scenarios of under and over mixing:

  • If you are finding very firm, opaque chunks that do not melt in the heat of your hand it is probably under mixed. you will need to partially remelt the modeling chocolate. Spread the modeling chocolate out in the bottom of a bowl and nuke in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. It should remain solid but have a slightly molten centre. Being careful as it is hot, knead the product until smooth. If it starts to break, set aside to cool briefly before kneading again. Wrap the kneaded modeling chocolate in plastic wrap and cool to room temperature before using.
  • If you see an opaque border of fat around the edges when the chocolate has cooled, then it is probably the result of over mixing and breaking the emulsion. When kneaded the fat will often remain in solid chunks throughout. To reincorporate them you will need to briefly warm the modeling chocolate on high in the microwave for 4-6 seconds. You just want to soften the fat but not melt it, much like when preparing to cream butter for a cake, it needs to be pliable. Then knead until the product is smooth. You can also use the heat of your hands to warm the fats and knead extensively but it takes much longer. Wrap the modeling chocolate and cool to room temperature before using.

GOOEY SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie


Ingredients – Makes 15-20 Regular Truffles or 25-30 Petite Truffles

  • 500g (17.6Oz) Dark Couverture Chocolate (For Choc Shells)
  • Gold Luster Dust (Optional)
  • 150g (2/3 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 75ml (6 Tablespoons) Water
  • 120ml (1/2 Cup) Thickened/Heavy Cream
  • 52g (5 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
  • 1 + 1/4 Tsp Pink/Sea Salt or to taste

METHOD:

    1. Over medium-high heat, cook the sugar and water in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan without stirring.
    2. Brush the inner side of the saucepan with a damp brush to prevent crystallization of sugar.
    3. Once the sugar dissolves and mixture turns a dark amber color, add the salt, butter and cream. * Be careful as the mixture will bubble and spit a little.
    4. Switch off the heat and stir until silky smooth
    5. Transfer to a heat-proof pouring jug and set in an ice bath to cool till room temperature.
    6. For the Chocolate shell, start by using a small brush (flat or pointy, depends on how you like it and prefer to utilize for future purposes) or your finger whilst wearing a food grade glove, brush a streak of gold luster on the base of your mold. Set aside while we temper our chocolate.
    8. BREAKING DOWN THE STRUCTURE: Take roughly 25% of the full portion of dark chocolate and set it aside.
    9. Bring a saucepan of how water to a rolling boil.
    10. Switch off the heat and place a heat-proof glass bowl with the remaining large portion of chocolate over the saucepan.
    11. Stir every minute or so until it is almost completely melted.
    12. Start placing the candy thermometer into the chocolate (careful not to just let it sit and rest on the base of the bowl or you’ll get the bowl’s temperature – not accurate!) while it isn’t all melted yet.
    13. Remove the bowl from the heat when it steadily rises and is just about to hit 46C (115F). This will prevent it from going too far above. Remember to stir from time to time while you are testing to even out the temperature.
    14. Be patient, this all takes time to steadily add the temperature and create the right stability.
    15. RE-ESTABLISHING THE STRUCTURE: Now begin to sprinkle in some chocolate and keep stirring to melt the chocolate. Stop if the chocolate ever stops melting, and remove the chocolate that didn’t melt. This step is called ‘seeding’ which helps using the already tempered chocolate to guide the melted chocolate to form the correct structure.
    16. For my batch, all the chocolate melted and it was still too warm. Keep stirring from time to time, testing the temperature until it is cooled to 26C (79F). For very large batches, you can use an ice bath under to speed up the process. Bare in mind this speeds the cooling up drastically so can be finicky too.
    17. STABILIZE THE STRUCTURE: To complete the temper we now need to stabilize the structure and make it ready for use by bringing it back up to 32C (90F).
    18. Bring the saucepan of water back up to a rolling boil again.
    19. Switch it off and place the bowl of chocolate on top, give it about 5 seconds.
    20. Remove and stir well to even the temperature and test with the thermometer.
    21. Do this in little bursts until the temperature is reached.
    22. Now take a small piece of baking paper and dip it into the chocolate on one side.
    23. Leave it to set, depending on conditions in your room can be a while, mine took a lot longer than others before it started setting – about 10 min or so.
    24. You are looking for when it dries, it should start to become not wet on the surface anymore yet glossy with some form of shine. If it becomes matte it is not tempered.
    25. At this point if it is setting and glossy I go ahead and start making my shells.
    26. Pour over molds 1/2-2/3 full with chocolate and rap on counter gently a couple of times. Pour out excess back into bowl of chocolate until there’s not lots of dripping.
    27. Clean up with spatula or flat knife by scraping from one side to the other.
    28. Leave upside down on a sheet of baking paper to set after cleaning up shell to have uniform and neat shell.
    29. Set aside to set while you keep your tempered chocolate just warm enough to not set (should be 1-2 degrees in the same range).
    30. Turn the mold upright once it is set, fill 2/3 full with caramel filling and then pour just enough chocolate to spread and cover the chocolate shells. Using an offset spatula, scrape away from one end to the other any excess back into the bowl.
    31. Try to keep the edges of the chocolate clean so there is less to clean up when popping them out.
    32. At this point you can blast-chill them by popping it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes or so. This contracts the chocolate as it shrinks from the cold temperature and will naturally make them turn out easily. This is generally easier to see with clear molds – but silicone ones will make an easy removal even just leaving them in the fridge for a good 10-15 minutes and just gently loosening the edges before slowly inverting them out.
    33. These can be stored at room temperature in a cool location for up to a week. Any longer I would recommend fridge storage, airtight and then just bring it to room temperature as needed before serving.

CLEANING THE MOLDS:

AVOCADO CHOCOLATE BAR – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

Makes 2 Average Sized Chocolate Bars

  • 500g Dark Couverture Chocolate
  • 150g Avocado, Ripe

METHOD:

  1. Grease & line with foil or cling wrap a 15 x 24 x 1cm (6 x 9.4 x 0.3″) tray. Try to get it as crease-free as possible.
  2. Make sure you have some sort of silicone or plastic mould that has 3 x 6 squares that measure 3 x 3cm (1″), cleaned according to this video.
  3. Follow the recipe video here to temper the dark chocolate.
  4. Process the avocado in a processor, or use a stick blender to get it very smooth.
  5. If you have neither, mash it with a fork a few times to get it as smooth as you can before stirring it into the chocolate.
  6. Pipe the avocado chocolate into the square moulds just until it is around 1cm in height and as consistent as you can.
  7. Tap the tray firmly on counter covered with a towel a couple times to release any trapped air bubbles and level it out.
  8. Pour the rest of the chocolate into the lined tray and spread to out evenly. Scrape across with an off-set palette knife to level and smooth the top.
  9. Allow to fully set at room temperature, then just place in freezer for 5-10 minutes before loosening edges and inverting it out.
  10. Peel away the cling wrap from the tray chocolate and the wrapped side will become the top of the bar.
  11. Warm a pan till hot, using gloves to handle the chocolate, warm the less smooth side of the square blocks one at a time just to melt it enough to stick it onto the bar.
  12. You may want to arrange your chocolate on the bar first to see how they can fit before you start gluing them on. Allow 10 minutes for it to fully set.
  13. Dust with gold dust if you like to accent or cover the entire bar like I did.
  14. You can buy confectionery foil wrappings from cake decorating shops or order online. Otherwise wrap them in ribbons and baking paper and they are also good 🙂
  15. These are best stored in the fridge before transporting as they can be a little bit more delicate.

CHINESE CRULLERS (YOUTIAO) – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

From: thewoksoflife.com/2015/08/youtiao-recipe/

Chinese Crullers (Youtiao)

  • 250g (2 Cups) Plain/All-purpose Flour
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1+1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
  • 79ml (1/3 Cup) Water, Give or Take (Depends on kitchen humidity)
  • Vegetable Oil, As Needed

 

METHOD:

  1. Add all the ingredients except the water into the mixer bowl.
  2. On low setting with a dough hook, knead till everything is combined.
  3. Begin to add the water bit by bit as you knead on same setting.
  4. This part is crucial, you need to get the softness of the dough just right.
  5. Unfortunately there isn’t much of a guide to this for water measurement as it may very much depend on how humid your location is.
  6. You’re looking for as soft of a dough as you can get, without it sticking to the bowl. So when you feel it is beginning to stick to the bowl then stop and feel it.
  7. Knead for 15 minutes or so, check the consistency once more. If needed, add more water and give it another 5 minutes or so.
  8. If doing this by hand, you’ll just need an additional 5 minutes more of kneading.
  9. Flour the counter and flatten the dough into a long rectangle that is 0.6cm (1/4″) thick and 10cm (4″) wide. Try to make it as neat and uniform as you can so you won’t have to trim and waste any dough later on.
  10. Spread cling wrap over the counter, place the dough on top and wrap it tightly.
  11. Turn it over so the ends of the cling wrap are weighed down for an airtight seal.
  12. Place it on a tray or plate and chill overnight to relax the gluten. This step’s essential for something like this that uses no yeast.
  13. Next morning, patience will be your best friend. Take out the dough and give it at least a couple of hours to come back to room temperature. It needs to feel incredibly soft again or else it won’t fry up properly and may not cook the way it should.
  14. Now flip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top of the dough too.
  15. Divide into 2.5cm (1″) wide bars, try to cut an even number for the next step.
  16. Stack one on top of another to form pairs.
  17. Using a well floured skewer, press down the center lengthwise to almost form four connected bars.
  18. Holding onto both ends, gently stretch till you are at least doubled in length of what the original strip was. If you don’t like using too much frying oil like me, you can then cut these strips in half so they won’t need as much oil to fry up. Either 23cm (9″) or 10cm (4″) or so for the two options.
  19. Repeat for the others. Cover if not soft enough yet.
  20. Now heat up the oil – you want enough oil to allow room for the crullers to turn and float. I did it in a regular, small saucepan about half filled and just one cruller at a time, checking the temperature with a thermometer every two or three crullers.
  21. Once the oil steadily increases to 204C (400F) it is ready to fry. It is important to turn the heat a little lower and judge whether it is stable. If it is too high of a heat it will quickly overheat and burn what you are frying. If it’s turned too low it will drop quickly once you start frying. But steady increases and slight adjustments are crucial – this is what I learnt 🙂
  22. Lower the cruller in and quickly use a long utensil like chopsticks or tongs to turn it constantly and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is golden all over. Don’t want to see any pale parts down the splits or it may be doughy in the middle.
  23. Place on a wire rack over a pan to drain excess oils. They are nice slightly warmed in an oven before dunking into hot or cold soy milk.
  24. They can also be frozen after being fried.
  25. They should be crisp on the outside and lots of airy holes whilst being somewhat pleasantly chewy. You can always test one and let it rest before tasting to see how you want to adjust the cooking process.