I’ve never really been into “cutesy” things.  I’m not one to redecorate my house in themes for every holiday.  And, I never wear sweaters with Rudolph, Cupid or the Easter Bunny plastered across my chest.  Whether it be home décor, fashion or food, I tend to prefer uncluttered, elegant and clean lines.  That’s just me.   Take Valentine’s Day, for instance.  Where is it written that every food served has to be bedazzled in pink or red?   I mean, it’s fine if a food actually is supposed to be pink or red.  Otherwise, I prefer my Valentine treats straight up – hold the gimmicks?   Besides, a great  recipe made with good quality ingredients speaks for itself – like these divine white and dark chocolate Pots de Crème.

Simply put, a pot de crème is the French equivalent of a custard or pudding.  The term literally means “pot of cream”.  Leave it to the French to make something so simple, sound so special!   Anyway, think of a pot de crème as a crème brûlée, without the brûlée.  

Pots de crème are a silky, luxurious and almost sinful indulgence.    While dark chocolate is more traditional, I decided to make some of my pots de crème with white chocolate as well. It takes an extra step to make them two ways, but it is so totally worth it.  Not that these are in any way difficult to make, because they’re not.  Actually, they come together pretty easily.

I found my inspiration for this sweet little Valentine’s Day dessert from Bea over at La Tartine Gourmande.  Bea’s blog is one of the first food blogs I ever read, and it is still one of my favorites.  She shares the most gorgeous food and makes it seem so effortless.

Bea’s pots de crème recipe calls for whole milk.  I swapped out the milk for half and half because, after all, these were meant for Valentine’s Day, so I felt a little extra decadence was in order.   Besides, if I had used milk, there wouldn’t have been enough for cereal the next morning -  and I didn’t feel like running out to the store again.   I also added an extra egg yolk, because I needed the white for another recipe.  I hate to waste a good yolk!

I wish I could tell you which version of these pots de crème I liked loved better, but I can’t.  They were both so outrageously good.  I also wish I could tell you which one Mr. SGCC preferred.  But, I can’t do that either, because my sweets-averse spouse wouldn’t touch them.    For twenty-five years I’ve been making him decadent treats for Valentine’s Day, and for twenty-five years he hasn’t eaten them.   Hey, I’m not complaining.  His loss is my gain. 

Every year, long before the Thanksgiving dishes are even dried and put away, the Christmas rush is on. That’s when so many of us find ourselves racing around, spending money we don’t have on lots of things we don’t need. It’s crazy! One way that I’ve found to minimize the stress of Holiday shopping – and spending – is to make delicious gifts for family and friends in my own kitchen. Not only are homemade gifts often more economical, but they can also be much more meaningful to their recipients.

Each year, I choose a different assortment of tasty treats to give as holiday gifts.  I package each in pretty decorative packaging and make up cheery goodie bags to deliver to the lucky recipients.  I usually choose a few easy recipes along with some that are a little more complex to get a nice balance in my bags.   I really enjoy doing this, and the whole process helps to get me into the Holiday spirit.  And, after all that has happened around here lately, I could really use some help getting my Christmas mojo on! 

When it comes to creating edible gifts, the possibilities are endless. From the simplest sugar cookies to more labor intensive items like candies or preserves, there are plenty of recipe options available, regardless of your level of culinary expertise.  Below are some of some of my favorite gifts from the kitchen from years past.  I hope you find a few that inspire you.

What are your favorite edible gifts to give and to receive?

One of the more annoying things about living with a food blogger is that they rarely make the same recipe twice.  This is especially irksome when a dish is particularly fabulous, because the blogger’s poor family knows that the chances of enjoying it again are virtually nil.   But hey,  I’m not heartless.   I realize that there are certain dishes that are favorites and beg to be made again – like these killer candied sweet potatoes.  They are absolutely to die for!  That’s why I always include them on my Thanksgiving menu -  and you should too. 

The original recipe for this dish was given to me by my mother.  It was one of her Thanksgiving specialties when I was growing up.   She only made them once a year, and believe me, they were worth the wait!  Earthy sweet potatoes are bathed in a pool of rich, gooey brown sugar syrup and baked until meltingly soft and caramelized.   Then, they’re topped with marshmallows and popped back in the oven just long enough for the marshmallows to puff up like crazy and get all browned and toasty.   It’s like eating candy for dinner.  Oooooh!   I get verklempt just thinking about it!

I’ve tried making this dish a couple of different ways, and I’ve found that it is best to partially cook the sweet potatoes before adding the syrup.  You can either boil, steam or bake them for about fifteen minutes or so.  I prefer baking the potatoes first because that leaves one less pot for me to wash, and I’m all about efficiency.   Also,  there’s less risk of the potatoes falling apart that way.   It doesn’t matter which way you choose.  You really just want to reduce the “candying” time so that the syrup doesn’t burn.

While I almost always use both light and dark corn syrup to make this dish, I have tried it with maple syrup instead of the dark corn syrup. It is really delicious that way too. In my experience, the syrup doesn’t get quite as thick, but the maple flavor is really wonderful.   One year, I also added some chopped pecans to the syrup, for a little crunch.   I liked it and would definitely do it again.

Woo Hoo!  Look at those marshmallows puff!   My salivary glands are in overdrive right now just looking at them!

I have to tell you that while I love sweet potatoes in any way, shape or form, these are something special.  Maybe it’s because they conjure up lots of sweet memories of Thanksgivings past for me.   Or maybe, it’s from the anticipation of waiting a whole year to eat them.  Whatever the reason, Thanksgiving at my house just wouldn’t be the same without my mom’s  candied sweet potatoes.

Remember the joys of early air travel?  You know, those days where they showed you a movie that you could hear without having to pay for ear buds,  stowed your luggage without a fee and actually fed you a free meal on any flight that was longer than two hours?   I’ll admit, the food wasn’t exactly fine dining, but depending on the airline, it wasn’t bad.  I remember flying to Rome on Alitalia many years ago and being served a pretty darn tasty veal cannelloni and a nice Pinot Grigio to wash it down with too.  Oh, yeah. Those were the days…

Now, all you get for free is a plastic cup filled with watered down soda or juice, and a choice of peanuts or cookies.  Seriously!  Have you seen those tiny packets of peanuts?  They’re miniscule!  The cookies are a much better bet.  At least you get two full-sized cookies.  And, they’re really, really good cookies too.  In fact, those cookies have become so popular, that the company that makes them now imports them all over the world – including my very own local supermarket. 

Biscoff Cookies are made by  Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries.  They are crispy, crunchy little spiced cookies, very similar to gingersnaps.   And, I’m telling you people, they are addictive.  They also make a very nice piecrust, which is where I was going with this story.

Now that we’re firmly entrenched in Autumn, I was looking to make something with pumpkin – maybe a pie or a cheesecake.  Since I had several boxes of cookies lying around, I figured that I could use some of them to make the crust.   I ended up deciding on Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with a Biscoff cookie crust.

The recipe for these bars is super easy and virtually foolproof.   I essentially took a basic pumpkin pie recipe and tweaked it by adding cream cheese and maple syrup to the filling, and of course, by using my Biscoff cookies for the crust.  I also saved a little time and minimized the clean up by mixing up both the crust and filling in my food processor.  Who wants to wash a bunch of extra dirty bowls?

I loved, loved, loved these!  The bar format worked out great.  I could cut them into any sized squares I wanted and decorate each square individually.  They were also neater and easier to eat than a pie or cheesecake because you didn’t really need a fork.  And, the taste?  My, oh my, did these taste amazing!  They were like a silky, smooth pumpkin cheesecake laced with spice and a hint of maple.  Topped with a splotch of whipped cream and candy corn, these bars are a perfect little Halloween treat!

Last week, I made a batch of the most luscious homemade ricotta cheese.   I do this often.  Ricotta is super easy to make, and the homemade stuff is so, so delicious.   Unfortunately, I got a distracted and left it draining in cheesecloth longer than I’d planned.  The result was an incredibly smooth, thick and creamy product that reminded me a little of mascarpone.  For the next few days we spread it on bagels and muffins.  We made a crazy good crostini with it and heirloom tomatoes from our garden one night too.  And, when no one else was looking, I just scooped it up with a spoon.   It was heavenly!

As I was scraping the last bit of my lovely ricotta out of its container, it dawned on me that it would make the perfect filling for a tart.  One with fresh fruit – like berries.  Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.  A Red, White & Blue Ricotta Tart for the Fourth of July.  Hah!  Sometimes, I dazzle myself so much with my own brilliance, that I need to wear sunglasses inside.

So, I made another batch of ricotta, grabbed a whole bunch of berries and whipped up this fabulous tart for our Fourth of July celebration.  And, you can too!   

As I mentioned above, making your own ricotta is quite easy to do.  I’ve used a few different recipes, and this one is my current favorite.  But, you can certainly save some time and make this tart with store bought ricotta.  The trick to turning it into a wonderful mascarpone-like filling is in the draining.   Commercial ricotta is very “wet”.  By letting it sit in a strainer lined with cheesecloth, all of the excess moisture drains out and you’re left with a nice, thick cheese.  It’s the same as making strained yogurt – only you do it with ricotta. (Whoa!  I’m good!)

While your ricotta is draining, the first thing you need to do is make the crust.  I chose a simple graham cracker crust, but you can make any kind you want.  By the time your crust is completely cooled, the ricotta should be ready for your filling.

Fill the tart shell with the ricotta filling and smooth it out.  I like to chill it for a while at this point so that the berries don’t “sink” when I put them on top.  You can use this time to make the glaze for the berries.  Or, for taking a nap.  I recommend making the glaze.  You can take a nap later.

Once the filling is chilled and the berries are all dressed in their shiny glaze, it’s time to decorate your tart.

I like to keep it simple so there’s less chance of me screwing things up.  For this tart, I halved the strawberries and lined them up around the perimeter of the tart, like a border.   Then, I just piled the blueberries and raspberries right in the middle.  I could have arranged them in a fancy design or even made “stars” and “stripes” to look like a flag, but honestly, who has that kind of time!  Besides, I like that casual and kind of tossed together look they have.  I think it’s pretty.  So there!

Here’s a gratuitous shot of the blueberries and raspberries in the center of the tart.  I just liked the bokeh.

Before you serve your tart, you should let it chill out in the fridge for a few more hours – especially if you plan to photograph it.  Trust me, this will make it easier and a lot neater to cut.

Here’s what it looks like on the inside.  Since I’m planning to serve my tart this weekend, I just chopped off a slice from one end. After I took a few pictures, I stuck it back on, and put a few more berries on top to camouflage the cut. I don’t think anyone will notice, but if they do – tough!   Ah!  The things I do for you, my dear readers!

While I didn’t actually eat any of this tart, (remember, I’m saving it for this weekend), I did make myself a teeny, tiny one to taste.  After all, how could I tell you how scrumptious it is if I didn’t try it myself?  And, it definitely is scrumptious!  The filling is light and fluffy, but not too sweet.  It makes a perfect backdrop for those gorgeous, fresh, juicy berries.  The graham cracker crust is appropriately crunchy, yet not hard enough to chip a tooth on.  (Yes.  That has happened before.)  And, that berry topping is…well…that berry topping just sends the whole thing right over the top!

Whenever I imagine an intimate, candlelit dinner for two, there are certain foods that are always on the menu, like lobster, oysters, decadent dark chocolate and a fluffy, ethereal soufflé – especially the soufflé.   To me, a soufflé is the ultimate indulgence, reserved for only the most special occasions.  Maybe because it’s French, and I find all things French impossibly romantic and luxurious.  There’s a certain mystique about the soufflé.  It has the reputation  of being temperamental, unpredictable and a tad capricious.  There’s no doubt about it.  The soufflé is a diva. And, divas often get away with their bad behavior because they are brilliant and adored.

Until today, I’d always worshipped the soufflé from afar.  Too fickle for me!  I like a sure thing, and a chocolate cake has never let me down.  But  there comes a time when you have to face your fears and this was my time.  After all, didn’t I overcome my  aversion to dough?  And, what about when I stared my terror of deep frying right in the eye and kicked its butt?  I even survived two Yule Logs and lived to tell about it.  If I could do  all  that, I figured one poufy, phoofy, Valentine’s Day soufflé couldn’t take me down. 

Once I made the decision to go for it, I then had to decide what kind of soufflé to make.  Chocolate was the obvious choice, but If I wanted Mr. SGCC to even taste it,  that wasn’t going to work.   I looked at a lot of different recipes and I finally settled on Daniel Boulud’s version of Passion Fruit Soufflé.  What could be more perfect for Valentine’s Day than a passion fruit dessert?

Boulud pairs his soufflé with a caramelized pear sauce, which honestly, sounds fantastic.  But, I really wanted to find a way to work some chocolate into the dish.  Even though Mr. SGCC doesn’t like chocolate, I still do, and it wouldn’t be a Valentine’s Day dessert to me without it.   So, we struck a happy compromise and I made David Lebovitz’s luscious bittersweet  chocolate sauce to drizzle on top.

Surprisingly, the process of making the soufflé was not nearly as difficult as I expected it to be.  I whipped some egg whites and sugar into oblivion, and then gently folded them into a mix of egg yolks and passion fruit puree.  Then, I plopped the resulting mixture into small soufflé dishes and popped them into the oven.  To help things along, I made the sign of the cross and prayed like hell that they would rise!

Boulud suggests piping the soufflé mixture into the dishes using a pastry bag.  Don’t do it! That stuff is way too thin and fragile.  I lost almost a whole cup of it as it oozed out of my pastry bag and all over my kitchen counter!  I make these mistakes so you don’t have to.  Do yourself a favor and use a spoon.

I’m pleased as punch to report that my little soufflés turned out perfectly.  They were brown and crusty on top and soft and pillowy inside.  And, they rose up like they had wings!   I was so excited that I did a little happy dance all the way to my photo set-up.

I’d read that you have to move quickly when trying to photograph soufflés.  There is a very short window of time before they start to fall.  That’s an understatement!  My soufflés began to sink before I could even get them in front of the camera.  You can see the various height differences in the photos.  Forget food styling!   I was frantically snapping shots like a madwoman!  And, still they fell!

Sinking soufflés aside, I am so glad that I took the plunge and made these.   First, because I proved to myself that I could do it.  I will never fear the diva of desserts again!  And second, because they tasted as divine as they looked!     And, I have to give an extra shout out to David for his fabulous chocolate sauce.  He calls it his little black dress of sauces because it goes with everything and never fails to impress.  He is so right!  That sauce took about five minutes to prepare and was just amazing.  Plus, it didn’t have a drop of butter or cream in it.

Please, please, please don’t be afraid to try these soufflés for yourself.  If I can do it, so can you.  And just think how special your sweethearts will feel when they see what a masterpiece you created just for them!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Well, here we are again.  Another year gone by and I honestly didn’t see it coming.  Seriously.  Where did the time go?  They say that time flies when you’re having fun.  If that’s true, then 2010 must have been one helluva nonstop party.  Too bad I can’t remember it!

I don’t usually make a lot of New Year’s resolutions.  Been there, done that.  I find that I usually break most of them by the end of January, and then spend the rest of the year beating myself up over it.  Who needs that kind of pressure?  I mean, I know that I’m never going to hoof it to the gym at 6:00 a.m. three times a week.  Almost everyone who knows me, knows it too.  So why set myself up for failure?    Instead, I try to set a few goals that I want to achieve, and work toward them in small, realistic increments.  I probably won’t be making many any pre-dawn visits to the gym. But, I might take Bella for an extra walk around the block from time to time.

The past twelve months have been a mixture of bitter and sweet for me.  I’ve had some wonderful new opportunities come my way, like my gigs writing for Edible Sarasota Magazine and the Tampa Tribune.  I’ve also had some not so wonderful things happen in my life, but I won’t bore you with the details.  A new year is on the horizon and that means a fresh start and a world of possibilities.  I have a feeling that 2011 is going to be my year.  I can taste it!  And, I hope you’ll all come along for the ride.

The slideshow below features my favorite SGCC recipes of 2010.  I’ve chosen one from each month.  Some may be familiar to you and some may be new.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them with you.

January:  Ginger Scallion Noodles from Momofuku

February: Candied Bacon-Chocolate Chunk Cookies

March:  Honey-Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta

April:  Lemon Linguine with Basil Pesto Shrimp

May:  Piece Montée

June:  Chiles Rellenos

July: Bing Cherry Sorbetto

August: Sweet & Spicy Wickled Okra

September:  Homemade Refried Beans

October:  Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

November:  Turkey Cutlets alla Milanese

December:  Russian Tea

Before I wrap up 2010, I’d like to leave you with a recipe for a great little snack to enjoy while you sip your champagne tonight.  My Sweet and Spicy Pecans are absolutely addictive and a breeze to make.  I included containers of them in my Christmas gift bags this year and they were a huge hit.  The beauty of this recipe is that you can adapt it in many different ways.  I used brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne and smoked paprika in my version, but you can use less sugar to make the nuts more savory, or switch up the spices however you like.   Not only are these pecans an incredibly delicious nibble, they can also be added to salads, veggies and lots of different baked goods.  Banana bread or apple muffins with spiced pecans, anyone?  Mmmm!

Thank you so much, dear readers, for your continued support of SGCC and of me.  I truly value each and every one of you.   I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.  May 2011 bring you all you ever dreamed of.

See you next year!

Can you believe it?  Thanksgiving is barely one short, little week away.  How did this happen?  I know that time marches on, but lately it feels like it’s been stampeding by!  I’ve been trying to plan my Thanksgiving menu, and it hasn’t been easy.  My problem isn’t deciding what to make for dinner, but rather what not to make.  Between my tried and true holiday dishes and all of the fabulous new recipes I’ve been finding on the web lately, I’m having a hard time narrowing the choices down to a manageable number. I want to try them all!  Still, there is only so much food that my family can eat – even at Thanksgiving – so I’m editing and re-editing.

Although, I’ll probably change my mind about a zillion times before then, here are some dishes from the SGCC archives that I’m thinking about so far:

Gougères

Italian Wedding Soup

Roasted butternut Squash Soup

Bacon Pecan Brussels Sprouts Sauté

Cauliflower Gratin

Holy Grail of Sweet Potatoes

Cornbread, Sausage and Apple Stuffing

Favorite Oyster Stuffing

Caramel Apple Raisin Pie

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Flan

Deb’s Mom’s Apple Cake

Cranberry Lime Galette

Everybody knows that Thanksgiving is all about the sides.  Yeah, the big bird gets all the glory, but the sides are the real stars of the show.  That’s where we foodies can really get our creative juices flowing (pun intended).   I’m loving these Honey Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables and this Spiced Cranberry Chutney.  And, I’ve been dreaming about the Butternut Squash Crumbles that I saw on Todd and Diane’s site a few weeks ago.  They look so amazing!  Of course, it goes without saying that I’m going to have to give Ree’s Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes a try too.  Scads of butter and cream cheese?  Yeah, I’m definitely making those potatoes!  I may need to have those cardiac defibrillator paddles standing by, but it’s a chance I’ll have to take.

This gorgeous Apricot and Walnut Stuffing recipe from lol foodie caught my attention.  With lots of dried fruits, nuts and orange zest, it sounds heavenly!  Guilty Kitchen’s Sweet Potato, Kale and Sausage looks pretty terrific too – and would be a great way to sneak some healthy greens into your Thanksgiving meal.

How about some green bean casserole?  Here are two great, made from scratch recipes from Alton Brown and Pioneer Woman that look to die for.

Of course, there will be turkey too – and ham.  I’ve ordered two big, fat, organic free range turkeys from Suncoast Organics.  I know, I know, two turkeys?  Well, for one thing, you can never have too much turkey at Thanksgiving.  Besides gorging on the bird at the main meal, you’ve got to have enough left over for sandwiches when everyone gets hungry again about an about after the dishes are washed.  And, you have to save some for all of those great “after Thanksgiving” turkey recipes that you know will be popping up all over the blogs the next day.  Plus, let’s not forget about the fabulous stock you can make with those turkey carcasses!  So yes, two turkeys is a must here in SGCC-land.

For all of my stick in the mud more traditional guests,  one of my turkeys will be prepared the regular old boring classic way.  But, I’ve been really intrigued with some of the more unusual turkey recipes I’ve seen, like Maple-Brined Wood-Smoked Grilled Turkey, Plum-Glazed Roast Turkey with Spinach, Bacon and Cashew Stuffing and Plum Gravy, Bacon-Wrapped Turkey with Pear Cider Gravy or Deep Fried Whole Buffalo Turkey.  They all sound so wonderful!

For those of you who are planning a gluten-free holiday feast, there are lots of delicious choices out there.  Lori from Recipe Girl has put together a lovely, all gluten-free Thanksgiving menu.  Even though we’re not a GF family, I’m really tempted by some of those fabulous dishes.  Shauna, our beloved Gluten Free Girl (and the chef), has also compiled a yummy list of gluten-free delights to grace your Thanksgiving table, including her famous GF pie crust.

And, let’s not forget about the most important part of the meal – the desserts.    Martha’s Caramel Nut Tart looks divine!  So does her Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie.  Oh, the decadence!  (Glad I thought to have those paddles on hand!) Aran’s Sweet Potato and Crab Apple Clafoutis look absolutely delightful in their dainty little china cups.  So creative – and gluten-free too.  If you’re crazy for cheesecake, this Pecan and Salted Caramel Cheesecake from CHOW looks outrageously good.

You can never go wrong with one of David Lebovitz’s ice cream recipes, and his Pumpkin Ice Cream looks like another winner.   For a lighter frozen alternative, this Green Apple and Basil Granita from Kitchen Daily looks wonderful, especially for us folks down here in hot, muggy Florida.  I’ll bet it would perfect served in between courses as a palate cleanser too.

Wow!  I’ve had such fun checking out all of these fabulous Thanksgiving recipes!  I hope you enjoy them too.

So, what are you all serving for Turkey Day?  Wow me.  Thrill me.  Inspire me.  Make me drool!!!

* Top photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

Who doesn’t love Strawberry Shortcake?

No, not that Strawberry Shortcake. Although, she is awfully cute!

I’m talking about this Strawberry Shortcake.

This soft, crumbly and slightly creamy biscuit “cake” filled with fresh, ripe and juicy strawberries and dreamy pillows of lightly sweetened whipped cream is the quintessential summertime dessert.  Doesn’t it look fabulous? The only downside to this luscious treat is that it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to eat at a party.  In fact, under those circumstances, it can be downright messy.  A whipped cream mustache with strawberry juice dripping down your chin isn’t really a good look for anyone, especially if you’re over the age of six!

So, what if I told you that you could still enjoy all the deliciousness of strawberry shortcake in a neat, self-contained and incredibly delicious little package?  You can – if you make these Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes.  Imagine!  A fluffy little vanilla cupcake, filled with a fresh strawberry gelée and topped with a decadently rich strawberry mascarpone frosting.  No muss, no fuss.

Preparing these little lovelies isn’t difficult at all.  Just bake yourself some vanilla cupcakes. I like the recipe from NYC’s Magnolia Bakery. The cupcakes have a light, tender crumb and very nice flavor.  You can use any cupcake recipe you like. Heck, you can even buy your cupcakes premade and just fill and frost them yourself.  How’s that for easy?

Here’s how you do it.

First, cut a cone-shaped chunk out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each with some strawberry gelée filling and top with a thin slice of cake to hold the filling in.  Then, just frost the cupcakes and enjoy. You can’t even tell that there’s a big, honkin’ hole in the middle of these cupcakes once they’re frosted! And, they are so amazingly good!

These Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes are the perfect thing to serve at a picnic or to take to the beach.  The kids will love them, and you will love me because the kids won’t make a big mess.  It’s a “win win” situation for all of us!

So, if you’re looking for a fun and tasty treat to enjoy this holiday weekend, my Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes might be just the thing.

Enjoy!

Why, oh why do these Daring Bakers challenges always sneak up on me? It happens every time!  I woke up at 4:00 this morning in the kind of cold sweat that could only mean that today was the “reveal date”.  And, I had nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Again.  So, I dragged myself out of bed, put on a pot of coffee and (very quietly) got to work.  Let me tell you, it’s not easy to create a culinary masterpiece in the dead of night with few night lights and a sleeping puppy in the corner of the room! But, I did my best.  Unfortunately, the situation wasn’t conducive to taking photos, so I didn’t get any “process shots”.  But, I did get a few nice ones of the finished product once the sun came up.  C’est la vie!

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri. A classic piece montée is a high cone made of profiteroles (cream-puffs) sometimes dipped in chocolate, bound with caramel, and usually decorated with threads of caramel, sugared almonds, chocolate, flowers, or ribbons.  Piece Montée, literally means “mounted piece” in French.  You may know this dessert by its other name – Croquembouche (“crunch in the mouth”).

I had grand plans for this one too. I originally wanted to make it as my birthday cake last week, but since I couldn’t manage to get my whole family together to celebrate, it seemed pointless.  And then, I got busy with other things and forgot about it.

Since I was so pressed for time, I decided not to try to get too creative with my piece montée, and stuck to the recipe provided by Cat.  It was just as well, because plain creampuffs are one of my all time favorite treats.  Fortunately, I had made both pate a choux and crème patissiere  a few times before and kind of knew how what I was doing.  The caramel part kind of scared me a little, but I have made that before too, so I knew the pitfalls I might face.  I guess the angels were smiling on me (or else they just felt sorry for me), because I didn’t run into any significant problems along the way.  (Hmmm. Maybe I should make all of my fancy desserts when I’m half asleep!)

I didn’t use a form for my tower of creampuffs. That was an extra step I didn’t need to deal with.  I just piled my “pieces” on top of each other and “glued” them together with the (extremely hot and treacherous) caramel.  Then, I decorated it with some pink tea roses and a few swirls of leftover caramel.

We haven’t torn into my piece montée yet, but I did sneak one of those creampuffs while I was assembling it.  Tres délicieux!

If you’d like to try your hand at making a piece montée, I have provided the recipe below.  Don’t forget to also check out the rest of the groups creations at the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Bon appétit!

Piece Montée

Note: This recipe has 3 main components: the pate a choux, the crème patissiere, and the glaze used to mount/decorate it. While you can purchase or make a cardboard conical structure to build your piece montée or use toothpicks as an aid, it is relatively easy to assemble it using just the baked pate a choux as the main building blocks and the glaze as the glue.

While a piece montée may be a bit time-consuming to assemble, the various components are relatively easy to make and don’t require any special ingredients. The best part about them is that once you have mastered them, you will be able to go on and make many beloved French French pastries such as éclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest, etc. all of which are made with this pate a choux recipe, a filling and glaze.

Preparation time: You will want to use your puff pastry batter and chocolate glaze or caramel as soon as it has been prepared and as close to serving time as possible. This is not a dessert that stores well and it may be a bit temperamental in humid areas as the glaze needs to harden to hold the choux together. The crème patissiere can be made a couple of days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

You will need approximately 10 minutes to prepare the puff pastry, 10 minutes to pipe and about 30 minutes to bake each batch. The crème patissiere should take about 10 minutes to cook and then will need to be cooled for at least 6 hours or overnight. The glazes take about 10 minutes to prepare.

Equipment required:
• several baking sheets
• parchment paper
• a whisk
• a pastry brush (for the egg wash)
• a pastry bag and tip (a plain tip or no tip is best for piping the puff pastry; you can use a plain or star tip to fill the puff pastry with the cream)
• a flat surface such as a baking sheet or cake board/stand on which to assemble your piece montée
• some of the items you may want to use to decorate your piece montée include ribbons, Jordan almonds, fresh flowers, sugar cookie cut-outs, chocolates, etc.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Half Batch)
1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.

Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.

Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.

Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

For the Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)
¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For the Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:

Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.

Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.  Add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:

Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.

Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces/200 g. finely chopped chocolate (use the finest quality you can afford as the taste will be quite pronounced; I recommend semi-sweet)

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning. Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. Use immediately.

Hard Caramel Glaze:

1 cup (225 g.) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:

You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.

Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up. (You may want to use toothpicks to hold them in place – see video #4 below).

When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate.