Apple Strudel (DB)

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge is Apple Strudel, and I was definitely excited about this recipe, as I've never attempted making strudel. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've tasted homemade strudel... until now.

The ingredient list is pretty simple, but the challenge definitely comes in making and stretching the dough to create the impossibly thin and flaky layers. I definitely had my challenge in getting the dough paper thin, and didn't even come close to getting the dough stretched to the 2'x3' dimensions indicated in the recipe (mine fell a little short at 18"x 24"). Once the dough was prepped, I made a simplified version of the apple filling (no nuts, no raisins).

At the end of this baking exercise, my kitchen was an absolute disaster area, but the clean up was definitely worth the effort. Who knew how delicious homemade strudel could be! Thanks to Linda of Make Life Sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks for selecting this challenging but delicious recipe.

APPLE STRUDEL
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

Apple Filling
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum (omitted)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts (omitted)
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel Dough
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.
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The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Chipster-Topped Brownies (TWD)

If you know me, I have a little "thing" for brownies. I'm game in trying all sorts of brownie concoctions, but I have only one requirement: keep the recipe simple --- no nuts, frostings, fillings, or other flavors to interfere with the chocolatey goodness.

You can bet that I was skeptical about this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe for Chipster-Topped Brownies. A chocolate chip cookie layered on top of a brownie? Doesn't sound like my cup of tea. In fact, I was going to skip this week's recipe.

Fate would have it that I would try this recipe out. The Los Angeles Marathon was a big event in the city yesterday, and part of the race goes right through my neighborhood (I live in Miracle Mile, between mile 16 and 17). With all of the road closures, I was landlocked for a good chunk of the morning. Aside from cheering on some AMAZING athletes (I can't even imagine running 26.2 miles in a little over 2 hours), I had a bit of free time on my hands. So, with all of the ingredients available in my kitchen, I decided to take this recipe for a spin.

You can find the complete recipe over at Supplicious. My only adjustments were omitting the nuts in the brownie layer, and substituting the chocolate chips in the cookie layer with this:

This recipe is definitely not for the faint of heart, as it uses 3 1/2 sticks of butter (yes, this is not a typo). After baking for 65 minutes (slightly longer than the 50-55 minutes as stated in the book), I was amazed at how thick this brownie would turn out. After cutting, I realized that the raspberry chips sunk into the brownie layer, thus you don't see these chips studding the cookie layer.

More importantly, how does this brownie taste? Oh my goodness, what an unexpected and delicious surprise!!! The brownie layer was wonderfully cakey (I'm one of the rare few that enjoy cakey brownies) with a fantastic bittersweet chocolate flavor. The cookie layer provided a crispy/chewy contrast, and the raspberry chips delivered an unexpectedly delicious flavor punch. It's definitely rich, so a small piece will satisfy a sweet tooth. Besides, a small piece probably contains two tbsp of butter - yikes!
Thank you Beth for a fantastic selection this week! Make sure to visit the TWD Blogroll to see how the other fantastic bakers fared with this recipe. Before I go, wanted to share the latest picture of Siena giving a little love to her new toy:

Mile High Devil's Food Cake (TCS)

I'm a little late to The Cake Slice party! Better late then never, as I didn't want to miss out on opportunity to make another scrumptious cake recipe from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes. This month's recipe is a Mile-High Devil's Food Cake, with a choice of Brown Sugar Buttercream or Brown Sugar Seven-Minute Frosting (for a lighter frosting alternative).

I made the full recipe, with the majority being made into 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes for a work colleague's baby shower. I did reserve enough cake batter and frosting to make a 4 inch mini-cake (what a surprise), which is shown here.

The cake is really easy to make and calls for cocoa powder to deliver its wonderful chocolate flavor. The cake has a beautiful, tight crumb and is wonderfully moist.I opted for the buttercream recipe --- sure, it calls for a pound of butter, but it is totally worth the caloric investment. In this recipe, white sugar is swapped for brown sugar, which provides a subtle caramel flavor and gives the buttercream a beautiful ivory color. It was an delicious complement to the chocolate cake, and I thought the color contrast was really beautiful.

I was being a bit lazy, and didn't do a crumb coat, thus ending up with specks of cake thoughout the frosting (argh). Oh well---this little treat was for my hubs and me, and we enjoyed every bit of this cake, specks and all!

Mile-High Devil’s Food Cake
From: Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne
Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake

Devil's Food Cake

1 cup of unsweetened cocoa NOT DUTCHED PROCESSED
1 and ¼ cups of hot water
3 cups of light brown sugar; packed
2 and 2/3 cups cake flour*
1 and ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon of salt
9 ounces of unsalted butter at room temperature [2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons]
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
¾ cup of cold water
{*1 cup of cake flour is equal to ¾ cup of flour plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch}

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and grease the paper as well.

Place the cocoa in a medium bowl and add the hot water. Whisk until smooth and let it cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low blend to combine. Add the butter and the dissolved cocoa. Then raise the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and cold water until combined. Add this liquid to the batter in three additions scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Divide the batter among the three pans.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cakes tester inserted into the almost comes out clean. There should be a few crumbs attached still. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes. Then invert and remove parchment paper and cool completely on a wire rack.

{Bakers’ choice of: Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting or Brown Sugar Buttercream}

Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting

6 egg whites
1 and ½ cups of brown sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup*
2 tablespoons of water
½ teaspoon of cream of tartar
{*corn syrup can be substituted with equal parts of treacle OR liquid glucose OR light colored honey}

Do not try to make this frosting on a rainy day or if you live in an extremely humid area. The humidity will make it impossible to work with the egg whites.

Place all the egg whites in a bowl and set them aside while you make the syrup.

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Boil until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F (softball stage) on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites in the bowl and beat just to combine. With the mixer on medium speed gradually add the syrup in a thin stream taking care not to hit the beaters. Beat until fairly stiff peaks form but the frosting is still spreadable. If the frosting is too stiff it will be hard to work with. Use immediately.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

5 egg whites
1 and ¼ cups of packed brown sugar
¼ cup of water
1 pound of unsalted butter (16 ounces) at room temperature

Place all the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer; set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil without stirring and cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Begin beating the egg whites on medium low speed. Slowly pour in the syrup making sure not to hit the beater. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and beat until the meringue has cooled to body temperature.

With the mixer on med-low add 1-2 tablespoons of butter at a time. When all the butter has been added increase the mixer’s speed to medium and beat until the mixture looks curdled or separated. Continue to beat until the icing comes together again looking like soft smooth whipped butter.

Assembling the cake:
Place one layer flat side down and cover it with 2/3 cup of the frosting. Top with second layer and repeat process. Top with third layer and frost the sides of the cake.

Bakers Notes:
A cake topped with the meringue frosting is the best the day it’s made. It does not do well in the fridge.

If you choose the buttercream frosting you can keep it in the fridge for 3 days. Make sure to allow the cake to come to room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Otherwise the frosting will be hard and heavy.