Tag: orange

The shortbread experiment continues

A while back, I experimented with a Thomas Keller shortbread recipe.  As a note in the recipe, he casually throws out a slight alteration for chocolate shortbread.  I couldn’t resist.

The substitution is simple–just replace some of the flour with high quality dutch-processed cocoa.

Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I also added the zest of an orange to the dough.

Then I iced each little square with a simple concoction of confectioner’s sugar and blood orange juice.

These were really intense.  And, in my opinion, better than the original shortbread recipe.

If you like this, you might like these

Chocolate Cayenne Cookies

Wold Peace Cookies

Soundtrack

Carol King

Shortbread

adapted from Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel in Bouchon Bakery

Ingredients

  • 13 TBS (1 stick + 5 TBS) (180 grams) unsalted butter at room temp
  • 1/2 C (90 grams) superfine sugar
  • 1/2 + 1/8 tsp (2 grams) kosher salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4  all purpose flour
  • 3/4 C unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
  • zest from 1 large orange (optional)

Directions

  1. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream until smooth on medium-low speed.
  2. Mix-in zest.
  3. Add 1/2 C (90 grams) sugar and the slat, mix on medium for about 2 minutes until fluffy.
  4. Scrape down the  sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add the vanilla and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds to distribute evenly.
  5. Add the flour and cocoa in two additions, mixing on low speed for 15-30 seconds or until just combined.  Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any flour that may have settled.
  6. Mound the dough on the work surface and, using the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper, push it together into a 5-inch square block.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm.
  7. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.  Line two pans with parchment paper.
  8. Unwrap the dough and place between two pieces parchment paper.  With a rolling pin, pound the top of the dough working from left to right to begin to flatten it.  Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat.
  9. Roll-out to a 9 inch square.  If the dough has softened, slide it (still inside the parchment) onto the back of a sheet pan and refrigerate until firm again.
  10. Using a chef’s knife, cut the dough as desired.  The original recipe calls for 3 cuts horizontally and 5 cuts vertically so that you have 24 2 1/4X 1 1/2 inch pieces.
  11. Dust the tops of the dough with sugar and arrange on baking sheets leaving 3/4 inch in between each.
  12. Bake until pale golden brown, 17-19 minutes.  Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes, transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

For icing

  • If you would like to ice the cookies, begin with 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar, whisk in orange juice or water 1 TBS at-a-time until the icing is of desired consistency.  Dip cookies and allow icing to dry.

Mon petit madeleine

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I was gifted Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel’s Bouchon Bakery cookbook at the holidays.  After spending several days greedily consuming every page of the hefty tome, I emerged with one question: where to start?  Ever the opportunist, my answer came in the form of shopping.  Specifically, the chance to finally purchase a madeleine pan.

To be honest, while I’ve long wanted to make them, I’d actually eaten a madeleine before I headed off to Sufras to make my purchase.  Luckily,  Sufras has a little cafe and on that day, they had madeleines.  I purchased a few, strictly for research purposes of course.

Like many french treats, the madeleine is an exercise in delayed gratification.  Once the simple ingredients come together, they spend the night in the fridge.  The madeleine pan, coated in butter, spends the night in the freezer.

It’s worth it, I promise.

Each little shell-shaped mold gets a delicate piping of batter.

Et voila!  Gorgeous little tea cakes.

But wait, there’s more.  The original recipe calls for lemon oil.  I happened to be out, but I did have orange oil.   I also had chocolate (really, though, I always have chocolate).  As you’ll discover next week, I already had chocolate and orange on the brain and couldn’t help frosting one-side of each cake with a thin layer of orange infused chocolate.

These are lovely mid-afternoon with a cup of espresso or strong tea.

Thomas Keller, consider this fair warning.  I’m just getting started with you.

Soundtrack

I was in the mood for a little Harry.

Orange and Bittersweet Chocolate Madeleines 

adapted slightly from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel

Note–this recipe is really made for utilizing weight-based measurements.  A kitchen scale will make this 1,000 easier.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 C + 3 1/2 TBS (68 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 TSP (2.2 g) baking powder
  • 1/4 TSP (.6 g) Kosher salt
  • 1/4C+ 1 TBS (83 g) eggs (note–using extra large eggs this was almost exactly 2 eggs)
  • 1/4 C + 1 1/4 TSP (55 g) granulated sugar (note–I used superfine)
  • 2.3 Ounces (66 g) unsalted butter at room temp plus more for the pan
  • 2 TSP (9 g) dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 TSP (9 g) clover honey
  • 1 to 2 drops orange oil
  • 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 12 mold madeleine pan

Ingredients

  1. Sift flour and baking powder together into a medium bowl.  Whisk-in salt.
  2. Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Mix on medium speed for about 60 seconds.
  3. Increase the speed to high and whip for about 4 minutes until the batter lightens in color and doubles in volume.
  4. While whisking, heat butter, brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking to dissolve sugar.  Remove from heat.
  5. Remove bowl from the mixer and fold in remaining dry ingredients until just combined.
  6. Pour warm butter mixture over the batter and add orange oil.  Fold until incorporated and batter is smooth.
  7. Cover and allow to rest in fridge over night.  Brush pan with melted butter and place in freezer.
  8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  9. Transfer the batter into a pastry bag or ziplock and snip a corner so that the opening is just over 1/2 inch.
  10. Pipe batter into molds.  Tap the bottom of the pan against the work surface to smooth the tops.
  11. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes until the tops are lightly browned and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  12. Immediately un-mold and place on a cooling rack.
  13. Once cake are completely cool, melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.
  14. Using an off-set knife, gently spread a thin layer of melted chocolate on non-etched sides of cakes.  Allow to harden.

 

What’s orange and brown and oh so in the season?

This cake!

Things start to get a little frenetic around this time of year what with the big holiday season approaching.  So, here’s what were going to do:  two-a-weeks from here through the end of 2011.  We’ve got a lot to cover.  So, sit-up, pay attention and let’s do this.

I love Halloween.  Well, I love fall in general, but especially Halloween.  It’s fun, there are costumes, it’s a little scary.  I like a little scary.  Of course, there are lots and lots of treats. And this one is probably more for the grown-ups than the kiddos.

This recipe starts with zest. Lots of it: 1/4 of a cup (that’s about four large ones).

This is a pound-cake recipe. This isn’t some springy-light garden party recipe (though it would be great at a garden party, Andy Bernard).  This is a hearty, stick to your ribs, get ready for the cold cake.

And here comes the surprise…chocolate.  Chocolate and orange together are intensely and gorgeously delicious.

Orange, orange cake and chocolate chunks.  Are you picking-up what I am putting down?

And, if the zest of many oranges isn’t orange enough, the still warm cake gets a nice soaking of orange syrup.

While we are talking about topping things, make room for some chocolate ganache.  Because really, there is always room for chocolate ganache.

Of course, skip the food coloring and this bundt  is no less addictive.

Soundtrack

Al Green.  The Kitchen Gods requested it.

Barefoot Contessa Orange Chocolate

Chunk Cake

from Ina Garten

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound (16 TBS) unsalted butter at room temp.
  • 2 C sugar
  • 4 extra-large eggs at room temp.
  • 1/4 C grated orange zest (4 large oranges)
  • 3 C plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salte
  • 1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3/4 C buttermilk at room temp.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 C good semi-sweet chocolate chunks
  • Orange food coloring (optional)

for the syrup

  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1/4 C orange juice

for the ganache

  • 8 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 C heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl or standing mixer (with a paddle attachment) for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one-at-a-time, then the orange zest and food coloring if desired.

Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.  Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour.  Toss the chocolate chunks w/ 2 TBS flour and add to the batter.  Pour into the pan, smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the syrup.  In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves.  Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake.  Allow the cake to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.  Drizzle over the top of the cake.