TWD: Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart

Two words:  Aw YEAH!

TWD this month has, as someone noted, largely swung away from chocolatey things;  this month we have lots of coconut, which I LIKES.  Today's entry is a lovely silky smooth custard tart, flavored with a heaping helping of toasted coconut and a lil' bit of rum.  Which I also LIKES. It also meant I got to christen the ol' new processor, yippee!

I have now made Dorie's sweet tart dough with nuts a bazillion times, and the regular dough, too.  So since the instructions indicated that the crust was an important part of this pie, I decided something new was in order: 

yes ma'am, CHOCOLATE tart crust. 

It came together fine but...um...I actually think my lil' chopper did a better job *ducks*  Next time I will use the metal blade instead of the plastic "dough blade" (hmph) to cut in the butter.  ALSO--there was Spillage of Ingredients, even with the cover locked into place!  HATE HATE HATE.

 

NOT. COOL!

I have the hardest time gauging thickness, so I rolled out the dough on silicone with a piece of wax paper on top and flipped it into the pan, which worked well enough. 

Froze overnight and baked with beans as I always get puffiness otherwise. 

I toasted the coconut in the oven:  a few minutes at 350, stirring when I could pry the cat off my lap.  It got a little more than "lightly" brown, but oh well. 

Later that night--the custard, which was a really straightforward basic pastry cream. 

 whisk whisk whisk!  By the way, this whisk is probably one of my all time fave kitchen tools.  

Some TWDers complained about the coriander and rum.  I must use crappy coriander and drink too many rum n cokes because I didn't really taste either. 

Folded in coconut and let it chill.

 

I love making pastry cream. It's so simple!

Then the whipped cream.  I didn't really taste the rum here, either, and I even used my super-special-can't-find-it-in-the-States-special-Barcelo Dominican rum.  I do use fresh cream from a local dairy, so sometimes its hard to get past the "mmmm, GRASS and DIRT and OUTSIDE" taste for a city girl such as myself. 

I have been having the hardest time with whipped cream of late--I always seem to overbeat it to near-butter stage.  It goes from liquid to airy chunky-looking mess in a flash.  What gives? Must I go back to industrial store brand cream?

Anyway, tart assembly was a snap:

alpha

omega

Just divine creamy goodness with a healthy dose of coconut for interest.  Yum yum yum--and even better the second day!  Must NOT have more than ONE slice per day...

Thank you, Beryl, for choosing this recipe.  Thank you, mayne.  I would eat this every day if I could.

TWD: OMG MEGA POST: February is Kind of a Wack Month, Anyway

So just as I started picking up some occasional readers on this here blog, I get ghost.  Not altogether atypical of me, but as a blog reader, I do so hate that!  There really hasn't been much going on (besides a general complete and utter lack of motivation to do much of anything--your hostess is Not At Her Best these days), and I have been keeping up with TWD;  just not always in time to post for Tuesday. 

So today--even though it's late--I'm gonna do a catchup post on the last three TWD entries*, all of which were cookies, so of course I made them all, and I've got the dough in the fridge to show for it.  Enjoy!

1.  Brownies for Julia

My very first substantial post here at OC was about brownies.  I love brownies, but (surprise surprise) I am very particular about them.  I don't care for brownies masquerading as cake, nor do I like squares of frosting or fudge pretending to be brownies.  The post gave my favorite recipe, an old one from the 1950ish Betty Crocker Cookbook.  These brownies, to me, are perfect--shiny-topped, nice and easy to cut and sticky-chewy chocolate goodness--basic box brownie consistency but a 100% better taste. 

I was a little iffy when I saw TWD posts describing these brownies as "gooey", and also when I saw the rather intensive process involved in making them.  But I signed up for this group for a reason--to challenge myself to try the recipes I might not ordinarily gravitate towards.  So I bought the chocolate and off I went.

I did a half recipe in an 8x8 pan.  I lined it with parchment to avoid sticking.

I also baked them a little longer than the directions called for.  The edges were good and cookie-like;  the middle was squishier but still had some texture to it.  

Verdict:  good.  Very buttery, some chewiness; the more fudgy sections in the middle were still edible enough.  I was glad I used the half-recipe-in-similar-pan edit;  if I had twice the batter I think they would have been too fudgy to be edible for me.  I don't think these will replace my BCC recipe in the everyday repetoire--for one thing, they are too fussy--but they might get a repeat viewing if I want a slightly different brownie.

2.  My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

If I am exacting about brownies, it stands to reason that I'm exacting about chocolate chip cookies, too.  Like my brownies, I like them chewy and buttery. I also like a HEALTHY dose of brown sugar and salt--to me, it's those things that make chocolate chip cookies exciting and addictively delicious, not the chips, which I really often think people go overboard with. 

Looking over this recipe, it's a lot like the basic Toll House recipe, the one I usually use, but with a decreased brown-to-white sugar ratio and more exacting directions.  There's really not much to say about putting them together--chocolate chip cookies are about the most basic things ever.  My only real tweaks:  I did go for full salt, I added about a cup of walnuts, and my chocolate chips/chunks were a mix of 60% chocolate, 70% chocolate, and a few milk chocolate chips I had leftover from something a while back.

Verdict:  Excelente.

I could definitely taste the difference--the decreased brown sugar flavor--right away, but after a day or so I didn't really miss it.  The salt is a must.   The texture was great--they were nice and chewy and the mix of chocolates was very good.  A lot of TWDers complained that their cookies were flat;  I don't know why, but mine were not flat at all but lovely little plump discs that held the exact shape they were scooped into.

 

yeah, yeah, I know.  I took the polish off, ok?

They get a bit more crunchy after a day, but they are still chewy in the middle.  I've now had the dough in the fridge for over a week and every so often I scoop out a pan and bake twelve, a very nice plus, especially since I cannot stop eating them.  (Which reminds me why I never make chocolate chip cookies--it's not just because I can't decorate them.)  I don't have to toss my beloved Toll House recipe overboard, but I likes.  An entirely acceptable alternative.

3.  Honey-Wheat Cookies

These seemed more exciting.  Definitely not somthing I'd choose to make;  who the heck has wheat germ sitting around the house?  I'm not even sure what it is used for;  I am just old enough that I do vaguely remember when "wheat germ" was code for "crunchy granola hippie weirdo food"  and since our household was neither crunchy nor granola nor hippie-esque, there was no place for such in the larder.  Plus the stuff goes bad!  Really? 

But!  I found a small-ish bag of wheat germ at the local Snooty Chain Supermarket in this here Tiny Town, and all the other ingredients I did have on hand, so I got to work.

I had lemons in the fridge, but I didn't feel like zesting them (see: motivation, complete lack thereof) so I broke out my little bottle of dehydrated lemon zest and rehydrated them suckers.

I also found I had two kinds of honey in the cabinet.  I'm not even sure what the difference is in various types of honey, but I went halfsies on each.

The dough was very very soft, but I got it into the fridge without incident and left it for about 4 hours.

I liked forming the cookies, though the dough got all melty on my hands.  It reminded me of something I would have made with/for my sisters when they were very little--I seem to recall some "healthy" "no-bake cookie" concoctions involving peanut butter, honey, and oatmeal... 

 

 

The cookies are like little honeyed wheaty teacakes.  Kept their shape, light brown on the bottom and pale on the top.

Verdict:  I just made these, so jury is still out.  They are nice (and cute!) but I'm not yet certain they are addictive.  Not much butter flavor;  really I just taste SWEET and WHEAT.  If I make them again I'm definitely going for the real lemon zest;  you can barely taste it.  I'll have a better sense in a couple of days, I think. 

Now I'm all caught up. Let's see if I can get back on track this weekend...

*thank yous go to Tanya at Chocolatechic, Kaitlin of Kait's Plate, and Michelle of Flourchild for all the cookie goodness!

I'm still alive.

However, I am on the road.  Will hopefully make up by posting double on Tuesday or Wednesday, for realzies!  I made last week's TWD recipe and I plan to do this week's, too.  Bake on, party people!

TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundts

This was the first TWD assignment (chosen by Kristen) since I've joined that is not new to me.  I've met and done battle with these cakes once before.  The last time was a last-minute emergency dessert effort.  I think I was wanting something chocolate, but needing to clean out the cupboard, and all I had on hand was some bars of milk chocolate for baking that I'd had forever.  I recall being less than impressed with the cake, though I love milk chocolate*;  it sort of reminded me of german chocolate cake (which I LOVE) but only kinda sorta. I was in a hurry, though, and didn't really take any notes.

I thought I'd try it again.  I bought fresh chocolate and had everything sit at room temp all day, while I labored in vain to set up my DVD/VCR to work with (rather than in spite of) my cable system.  Urgh!  This should NOT be this hard.  

why you treat me so bad?  I don't ask y'all for much.  I just wanna watch some football.  A little Peyton, a bit of Who Dat.  Is that really too much?

My electronics were failing me, but I refused to let the cake follow suit.  THIS was going to WORK, dangit!
The batter mixed up easily and is possibly the tastiest cake batter ever.  I don't have a minibundt pan,  just four small pans, and the batter just filled them all;  batter, swirl, batter.

Into the oven they went for about 35 minutes.

I took them out and let one sit for five minutes before turning out.  It broke.  Waited 10 minutes on the second.  Ditto.  I left the other two until I happened to think about them again and they fared much better.  UGH!  They still looked terrible.  I couldn't even take a photo.

Having seen all kinds of complaints about the glaze, I used an alternative from another Dorie recipe, with half and half.  It worked well. Thanks to Peggy the Baker for sharing!

The cake is quite yummy, but kind of dry and I don't like how it stuck to the pans.  Worth keeping but in need of some tweaks; maybe I'll add a finger or two more milk next time. 

Also!  This week--Friday, as a matter of fact--is my half birthday.  I got myself a present:

'tis ON NOW!  

*I really wish milk chocolate would come back in style.  I know Lindt is not super-premium quality, but there just isn't much selection for milk chocolate (and I like Lindt anyway).  I am getting right TIRED of bittersweet everything.  Who's with me?

TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread; or, Why This Isn't Really A Food Blog

I love to cook, but I'm not really a foodie.

I've come to realize that I spend about as much space complaining about food here as I do saying nice things about it.  I never thought of myself as a picky eater.  Most stuff, if I went to your house and it's what you were serving, I would eat without complaint.  (Unless it was, you know, banana pudding.  I'd shoot you Eyedaggers of Death for trying to feed me banana pudding.  And talk about you bad later.)

That said, there are some things that I simply CANNOT co-sign.  Chocolate things for breakfast are one of them.  Chocolate before noon may only come in one of the following three forms:

1) Reese's Puffs cereal (always welcome)
2) Milk-based beverages (chocolate milk/soymilk, cocoa, hot chocolate, chocolate chai tea are acceptable here; must be in the mood and paired with appropriate non-sugary food item)
3) Nutella (limited usage: lightly spread on toast or crepes)

Chocolate does not belong in pancakes or waffles and it does not belong in breakfast bread!  Chocolate muffins?  C'mon, son!  I mean, if you want a cupcake, have a cupcake!  Cupcakes have frosting!

And I speak as a person who would cheerfully eat breakfast three times a day.  Heck, I had breakfast at 2 today.  

So it was with trepidation and a wary eye that I mixed up this week's TWD assignment, the chocolate-banana concoction called Cocoa-Nana Bread.  I had about everything on hand.  It's quickbread;  not much to say about the process.  The whole point of quickbread is to be easy and foolproof.  I do actually like bananas and chocolate together, so I was fine with the combo.

I love cinnamon with bananas AND I like cinnamon with chocolate, so why not add some here?

I had a lot of bananas, but they were kinda small, so I used 3 instead of two.

'nanners!

post-'nanner

post-cocoa

Peeping Dorie's tendency to be a little happier with the chocolate than I might like, I nixed the chocolate chips in favor of walnuts, which I like better. 

As seems to be the usual case for me, baking took longer than anticipated.  Maybe I need to check the temp on my oven.  My second bake took about 60 minutes before I was satisfied. 

pre bake.  It was a LOT of batter.

bake 1:  whew, no overflow.

bake 2; a bread only a mother could love

Several commenters said it was more like pound cake than bread.  I'm not so certain of that.  The taste is definitely very much like chocolate pound cake--it's that same sort of relentless O HAI I'M CHOCOLATE SUGARINESS flavor you can get from pound cake, but the texture is definitely more like banana bread.  Pound cake is dense, but it has a tight crumb;  this is dense but fluffier somehow. 

I'm not sure what I think of it.  It's tasty.  I like the cinnamon and walnut additions.  I think I am ultimately unable to get over my fundamental disagreement with chocolate breakfast bread, though I have mostly been eating it in the afternoons.  Or maybe it's that I still am eating the almost-candy bars from last week and I just liked them so very much that this is paling in comparison.  I'm just not very interested in it.  Dah well.  I bet the leftovers would be good crumbled up in some whipped cream.

Thanks go out to Steph at Obsessed with Baking for choosing this one.  More chocolate next week, but not for morning consumption, so it's ok.  Next week's is the first recipe we've done that I've made before!  And to think I've had this book for years now. 

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

Hi all.  I'm back this week, sort of. Took a few days off from really even trying to do any work on my Project That Will Not End, to redo my bed and order and hang pictures in the townhouse I've already been living in for 5 months.  Perhaps I'll say more about that later.  For now, we have a TWD recipe to report on, and yea, it was good.

I was giving this recipe the side-eye.  I am not usually a big fan of "junk food on top of junk food, infused with more junk and glazed with junk" type creations, and that's what this sounded like:  oatmeal and peanuts and brown sugar sandwiching chocolate chips and raisins and peanuts.  That is mighty busy for the kid.  I decided to make a half recipe, and would have cut it to a quarter recipe had I had the correct size pan. 

Anyway.  Pulling it together was pretty easy.  The dough was nice and non-sticky, very simple to pat down into the pan.  It smelled like those mysterious peanut butter crispie bars we used to get in school as a kid.  (does anyone else remember those?)

 

The chocolate layer was slightly more stressful.  I had to wash the bowl right before using it to melt the chocolate--I had been using it to hold the dry ingredients for the bottom layer--and I was terrified that I hadn't dried it thoroughly enough and my chocolate would seize.

It was very, very thick and never looked as smooth as I thought it should, but after a while I felt like it might start to stick or seize up or something, so I took it off anyway, figuring that stirring off the heat would do just as well for any small pieces, and whatever didn't melt smoothly would be undetectable due to the peanuts and Craisins I mixed in (I also do not really like raisins).

It spread over the dough without incident, and I had enough dough left over to totally cover the top.  I recommend setting aside the larger amount of dough (1 cup in this case).

I baked my bars for the full time specified, cooled on the counter for 2 hours and flipped out (they came in one piece, nothing lost) wrapped in Saran Wrap and refrigerated before cutting.  Heeding the warnings of others on TWD about richness, I cut the half-size recipe into 32 bars instead of 16.  Though I still seem to eat them two at a time.  Go figure.  In all the meanings of that phrase.

 

They are very, very yummy!  Sort of like a deconstructed oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  And super CHEWY, which I AM a big big fan of.  I'd definitely make these to take to a party, or when feeling particularly fragile (as I was this week).  You do need a good bit of lead time due to all the time for chilling, but they are little actual work, so quite worth it.  And do add the raisins/craisins;  I think they take away from what could be an overwhelmingly sweet treat (I don't know how y'all who added butterscotch chips managed.)  Thanks to Lillian for picking this one! (Go see her blog for the recipe.)

TWD: Sorry, Kiddos; and a sort of Rewind, I think?

Yep.  There shall be no TWD post from me today.  I can't get up the energy to make this week's assignment at all--just not feeling very good and so not in a baking mood this weekend or today.  This whole "New Year" thing isn't doing much for me yet.  I'm barely eating these days;  so making dough, chilling it, rolling and cutting, chilling, heating a bunch of oil to a proper temp without a thermometer or deep fryer, frying dough, sugaring it twice, eating it before it gets stale or limp--ugh, I'm tired out just typing that.  Not this week. No can do. 

The most I could muster was a version of Dorie's Parisian Apple Tartlets, thrown together at 2:45 AM:

and this didn't even really brown or puff properly.  Harumph.

I am not super amped about the next recipe, but who knows?  I'll plan on making it anyway.  Harumph harumph harumph.

In the meanwhile, if you are interested in what I am skipping, check out Teanna's full-of-awesome process and recipe post at Spork or Foon?