Coffee Chiffonlets with Dulce De Leche Whipped Cream

Heavenly Cake Baker Submission #59

I wasn't excited about this cake, but I should have been.  It's a real winner!  It involves several components, and the flavors go together beautifully. 

I made the little chiffon cakes in silicon cupcake pans.  The fluffy batter is flavored with a little instant espresso.  After baking, they're brushed with a Kahlua syrup, also flavored with instant espresso.

The whipped cream topping is flavored with Dulce de Leche, caramelized sweetened condensed milk.  I've never used dulce de leche before, but I'm a big fan of the ice cream flavor.  The recipe includes instructions for caramelizing a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Our grocery store only had evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed milk, but on the same aisle, they had something that appeared to be dulce de leche.  When I used the translator app on my phone, the label said, "ready cooked sweetened mass." I decided to go with that.  This dessert was a big hit at our dinner party Friday night. 

We're ding a road trip tomorrow and won't be back until Sunday evening.  Time may be the deciding factor for my free choice cake. 

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don't post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group's baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted to join in. 

Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew)

Polska piątek (Polish Friday) #7

As Polish dishes go, bigos is about as traditional as you can get.  You'll be sure to find it in the food booths at any festival in the old square.  A simmering pot of several meats, wine, mushrooms, and sauerkraut - the perfect thing to warm the heart and the belly.  

This bigos recipe is adapted from Nela's Cookbook.  I left it on the stove overnight on very low heat, I guess that's the equivalent of putting it in a crock-pot.  With the slow cooking, the flavors mellowed and blended. It was hearty and delicious!

This differs from my earlier attempt at bigos in a few ways.  My other recipe includes beef as well as pork, and it didn't include the caraway seeds or the grated apple.  I think from now on, I'll make Nela's recipe and add a little beef. 

Ingredients

2 pounds pork, diced
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, sliced
1 pound slab bacon, diced
2 cups beef broth, or water and Knorr bullion cube
1 container mushrooms, sliced
2 pounds sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
4 apples, peeled, cored and grated
2 pounds canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
12 peppercrons
1 pound Polish sausage
2 bay leave
1/2 pound ham
1/2 cup dry red wine

Directions

• Season the pork with salt and pepper.
• Add olive oil to a large dutch oven, and saute the pork and onions in batches, cooking until the pork is browned and the onions begin to caramelize. 
• Brown the bacon.
• Combine all the ingredients, and simmer at least two hours, or overnight.  This is something that will be even better the next day.  

Note:  Ed just had bigos that one of his Polish co-workers brought to work.  It included plums!  How's that for a surprise ingredient.  

Next up (in two weeks): Kapusniak (Sauerkraut Soup)

White Gold Passion Genoise

Heavenly Cake Baker Submission #58

There seems to be no passion fruit, fresh or frozen, in Poznan, so Ed's birthday cake became a papaya genoise.  I was able to find canned papaya which I pureed with the syrup from the can and a little lemon juice.

The batter for this cake was a basic genoise.  My 9 inch cake pans aren't 2 inches tall, so I baked it in my 9 inch springform pan.  In the past, I've referred to our Polish apartment oven as an Easy-Bake oven.  It's not perfect, but this cake was the most lopsided yet. 

 

Fortunately, buttercream can cover a lot!  I used the pureed papaya to make the curd filing and the syrup.  The buttercream has no fruit but is a creamy, fluffy, cream cheese frosting, sweetened only with white chocolate. 

To assemble the cake, the genoise is split horizontally.  The top and bottom of both halves are brushed with papaya syrup.  The halves are then sandwiched together with the papaya curd, then frosted with the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream.  

I made this cake the same day we served it, and the sponge was still a little dry and firm.  The next time I will warm the syrup.  With the fruit puree, it was a little thick and seemed to sit on the surface rather than be absorbed by the cake. It was much better two days later when the moisture from the curd and syrup moved into the cake.  So making it at least a day in advance, as Rose recommends, is a must do too. 

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don't post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group's baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted to join in. 

Bailey's Pinwheels and Bailey's - Espresso Jigglers

Somewhere on the Internet, I saw Bailey's made into little dessert cubes with gelatin.  That has been in the back of my mind for months.  So when I saw marshmallow pinwheels for kids, Baily's Pinwheels for adults couldn't be far behind.  Even though I used plain gelatin and reduced the marshmallows, they're still very sweet, but what a pretty presentation. 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plain gelatin
1/2 cup Bailey's
1 cup marshmallows

Directions

• In a saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over Bailey's
• Warm over low heat until gelatin dissolves
• Add marshmallows, stir until they dissolve
• Spray 8 or 9 inch square pan with nonstick spray
• Pour mixture into prepared pan
• Chill for 4 hours
• Remove from pan, and roll up
• Wrap thread around the roll, cross over the top and pull to cut clean slices

 

While I was playing with Bailey's and gelatin, I came across this blog post with beautiful photos.  I'll need better molds and more patience to even come close but this did inspire my Bailey's - Espresso Jigglers.

Ingredients

1/2 cup espresso

1 1/2 tablespoon gelatin

1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup Bailey's

Directions

• In a small saucepan, heat espresso
• Sprinkle gelatin and sugar over espresso, stirring until dissolved
• Remove from heat and add Bailey's
• Spray mold (I used a very small non-silicon ice cube tray, a silicon mold would have been better) with nonstick spray and fill with mixture
• Refrigerate for 4 hours before unmolding

German Chocolate Cake

Heavenly Cake Baker Submission #57

My grandmother used to make German Chocolate Cake, but this is the first time for me.  I hate to say it, but I think this one is better than Grandma's.  The cake has a lighter texture, more chocolate flavor and the filing is thicker and  richer.  Since this is my first German Chocolate Cake, I was surprised to find the filing has to be made 3 hours in advance.  Because I hadn't planned for it, it became a two day project.

The cake and filing were easy to prepare.  I wasn't able to find the sweetened condensed milk for the filing, so I used evaporated milk and planned on a little Internet research to find out how to  sweeten it.  No research was necessary; Rose had anticipated my dilemma and included everything I needed to know in a note to the recipe.  

As I planned to share the cake with Polish friends, I began to wonder about the name and background of the cake.  It didn't seem German to me.  Come to find out, the cake was originally created  by a Dallas housewife in the 1950s; she used German Baking Chocolate.  The manufacturer got news of this and began distributing the recipe on its chocolate which was developed by Mr. German in the 1850s,  Back to the subject of sharing with friends.  This yummy cake was very popular.  Ela said that it was now in first place for the things she's sampled from my kitchen - with chocolate chip cookies coming in a close second. 

Rose mentions in the book that, in the past, she had found German Chocolate Cakes to be too sweet.  This made me smile; one of the reasons I didn't crave Grandma's German Chocolate Cake was that it wasn't sweet enough.  A chocolate cake without piles of chocolate frosting - what kid's going for that?

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don't post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group's baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted to join in. 

Dill Sauce

Polska piątek (Polish Friday) #6

If countries had a national herb, Poland's would be dill.  I have bought more dill for cooking in the last 5 months than in the rest of my life combined.  Before I moved to Poland, I would have associated dill only with pickles.  Now, I'm tossing it in a salad, soup, or an omelet.  This new fascination with dill is why this sauce caught my eye.  It's quick and easy.  Nela recommends it with boiled beef or chicken, but we paired it with salmon. 

I modified the recipe a bit, substituting 1/2 cup of heavy cream for part of the broth.  I would have liked a little tartness with the fish, but I didn't risk adding lemon juice for fear that the cream would curdle.  Sour cream or yogurt might have been better dairy options in this case.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth, or 1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube dissoved in 2 cups water
2 tablespoons finely cut dill


Directions

• Cook the flour in the butter, stirring until it is thickened and sooth
• Add the broth, stirring and cook until it is thickened and the flour no longer tastes raw
• Add the dill, and simmer slowly for 10 minutes
• Taste the sauce for seasoning

Next week: Bigos

Homemade Marshmallows

There are a few things I haven't been able to find in Poland.  Until recently, that list included marshmallows.  Once I'd made up my mind to make my own for use in a recipe, I saw them in the food section at Mark's and Spenser's, a British department store.  Making marshmallows was so much easier than I expected.  Since my cake baking buddy Jenn just made her own graham crackers for a cheesecake crust, I'm dreaming about from scratch s'mores - one of my family's winter favorites.  These marshmallows have so much more flavor and texture than the mass produced kind. 

I followed Alton Brown's recipe, so you know it's going to be good. 

Ingredients

nonstick spray
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 packets of unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (item number two that I can't find in Poland - I subbed Golden Syrup, giving the marshmallows a hint of a treacle flavor)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

• Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by coating with cooking spray
• Combine corn starch and powdered sugar, dust the pan with this mixture, saving the rest for coating individual marshmallows. 
  
• Add gelatin and half of the water to a mixing bowl
• In a small saucepan, combine remaining water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt.  Cook, covered, over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes
• Uncover, cook for 7 to 8 minutes more, until 240 degrees or soft ball
• Slowly add the hot syrup to the gelatin, mixing on low speed until combined (when mine got to this point, it started to "climb" the beaters)
• Increase mixer to high speed and beat until thick and lukewarm.
• Add vanilla just before finished
• Pour into prepared pan
• Allow to set up for at least 4 hours
• Cut into 1-inch squares, coating all sides in the powdered sugar mixture
• If they last long enough, store in a cover container

Gold Ingots and Chocolate Ingots

Heavenly Cake Baker Submission #57

Financiers are little sponge-like cakes usually baked in rectangular shapes, like a bars of gold.  The predominate ingredients are ground almonds and browned butter.  YUM!  The only thing better than a financier may be financier batter.  For the free choice this week, I'm doing two financiers. the basic one and a chocolate version with caramelized cocoa nibs.  Yes, I brought cocoa nibs to Poland with me.

The Gold Ingots are the same batter that we used recently for the Plum Round Ingots.  The almonds are roasted before processing, mixed with the browned butter, the taste is toasty, but even though I weighed the egg whites the cakes were a little eggier than I would have liked. 

caramelized cocoa nibs

The chocolate version was an interesting change.  The first step is to caramelize cocoa nibs by cooking them with a little sugar and then a little butter glaze.  They're really tasty prepared this way.  I can see popping a few to take care of a chocolate craving.  I imagine they would also be a nice crunchy topping on ice cream.  The nibs go in the batter and a few piece are sprinkled on top.  The cocoa added in this recipe seemed to take care of my issue with the eggs.  This may be my favorite financier. 

Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don't post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group's baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted to join in. 

Kurczaka z Sosem Pomarańczowym (Orange Chicken)

Polska piątek (Polish Friday) #5

The recipe comes from Nela's Cookbook.  My husband selected it for this Friday's recipe.  Rather than a whole chicken, we cooked two packages of thighs.  The meat was so tender - just delicious.  It would be perfect served over noodles or rice. 

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken, cut in serving pieces
salt and pepper, to taster
4 tablespoons flour, approx.
3 tablespoons oil
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup chicken broth, or 1/2 Knorr chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons  grated orange rind
1/3 cup chopped mango chutney
1 bay leave, crumpled
garnish: 1 small navel orange, peeled and sectioned

Directions

• Season the chicken, and dust with flour
• Brown the chicken in oil in a heavy skillet
• Remove the chicken and keep it warm, discard  all but one tablespoon of the oil
• Add the apple, celery, carrot, and onion to the oil and cook for 4 minutes
• Sprinkle the mixture with the curry powder and cook 1 minute more
• Stir in the orange juice, chicken broth, orange rind, chutney, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil
• Add the chicken pieces cover the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes
• Serve garnished with orange sections

A definite Indian influence in this dish with the curry and chutney, but I think Polish cuisine changes and grows over time.  There are as many (if not more) places in Poznan offering kabob as pierogi.  Speaking of kabob, I hope to have the magic spice combination from  an Armenian friend soon. 

Next week: Dill Sauce

Fancy Egg Salad

I tried following the instructions on Simply Recipes for making the perfect hard boiled egg.  I never seem to get the timing right.  This technique helped a lot, as long as I remember to set a timer.  If you forget the eggs long enough, you still get a green outline on the yolks.

I tried to dress up my usual egg salad a bit by adding 1/4 of  red bell pepper, diced and a handful of herbs.  I think any mix of fresh, savory herbs would work.  I used parsley, sage, thyme, and chives.  Have I mentioned how much I love having herbs in our window boxes?  In case you're wondering what's in my usual egg salad, it includes:

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
2 heaping tablespoons mayo
1 rounded tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup diced onion (this time it was shallots)
1 pickle, diced
1 teaspoon pickle juice
salt and pepper, to taste

It makes a great sandwich or in this case, salad on a bed of greens and topped with cherry tomatoes.

Plum Round Ingots

Heavenly Cake Baker Submission #56

These little cakes are financier batter (predominately ground almonds, browned butter, and egg whites with a little flour and sugar thrown in) topped with thinly sliced plum and powdered sugar.  

I only have four little pans, so I made tiny financiers with the extra batter.  I should preface the following confession, by saying that Ed and I have been watching what we eat for the last few weeks - lean protein, salads, only the occasional shot of vodka.  We had both been thinking about just splitting one little tart, but we decided to splurge and have a whole one.  It's amazing how quickly eating a whole tart can turn into eating two.  

After going through sweet withdrawal, the plums were so fruity, the crust so nutty, we couldn't help ourselves.  I didn't even use a fork - just picked the little thing up and ate it like a cookie. 


Unlike my other blog posts, as part of the Heavenly Cake Bakers, I don't post recipes from this book on the Internet. One of the reasons for this baking group is to encourage readers to purchase the cookbook. That strategy worked on me! After follow the group's baking adventures for a couple of months, I ordered a copy from Amazon because I wanted to join in.