Mango Panna Cotta

I was so happy when I first read about the February Daring Bakers challenge.  The results of last months challenge were amazing, but I found it slightly intimidating and never got around to getting all of the elements together.   I like the idea of a challenge and pushing my cooking abilities, but in like so many other things I don't like it when my goals aren't accomplished.

This month I knew I could meet the challenge.  The February 2011 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen.  She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and nestle Florentine Cookies.  I love Panna Cotta, but don't make it very often because I gelatin and I don't get along.  I always expect gelatin to set-up immediately when it doesn't I start to mess around and often add more, creating problems.  I made the dessert last weekend when we were having friends over for dinner, so I planned ahead and made the dessert the day before, hoping this would resist my temptation to tinker with the amount of gelatin.  I did fine when making the panna cotta and it came out perfectly creamy with a subtle honey flavor.
When I moved on to making the mango puree I wasn't as patient, tinkered and ended up with a gelatinous lump that couldn't even move. ---  Yes if you add too much gelatin it looses its jello shake.  Luckily I had another mango, although throwing out a whole mango hurt a little. On my second attempt with the mango I decided to go with a large dice instead of a puree.  I still cooked the mango with a little sugar and added just a tsp. of gelatin to give it some stability.  The chunks of mango provided a nice contrast to the smooth panna cotta.

The florentine cookies were already a favorite before this challenge, and they served as a nice contrast.  I wish I had omitted the chocolate, it was a little too overpowering and rich with the mango.  Overall these are two great recipes to have on hand, the panna cotta is very versatile, easy and impressive to serve and the florentine is a nice cookie when you need to add a little something extra to your dessert.

Giada' Panna Cotta

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

Nestle's Florentine Cookies

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3⅓ oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5).  Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
2. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the
back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
4. While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or
stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
5. Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of
wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
6. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate

Daring Bakers'

I just spent the last 30 minutes enjoying my morning cup of coffee and staring at my computer screen watching all the beautiful cakes produced by Daring Bakers for this month's challenge.  The January 2011 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog Accro.  She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entrements dessert.  The results of this challenge were amazing.  So many wonderful ideas and beautiful desserts to look at, it made me want to run to the kitchen and start baking.  I am always amazed by the finished products produced by the Daring Bakers, there is always such variety in the appearance of the finished products - which is amazing considering we are all using the same recipe.  I get wonderful ideas on presentation and everything always looks so yummy looking.  The love and dedication put into the baking is incredible.  I have just recently started to get into the baking challenges.  Cake Slice and Daring Bakers' are the main two I participate in, and they are both just fabulous.  I love that a group of people, spread out over the world,  puts such energy into making something suggested by a total stranger and are then willing to share their ideas and creations.  I love making and something for my family and friends, here, and know that it will also be shared, and hopefully enjoyed, by others who I don't know, or only know through blogging.  It is such an amazing way to create a community.
I unfortunately did not have time to complete the challenge this month, but if time allows I am hoping to give it a try this weekend.  I have made Entrements before and while it can be time consuming to get everything prepared they are beautiful and awed over.  The flavor options are endless, and once you get the basic elements made you can create a variety of stunning desserts, which is nice if you are putting a dessert table together for a party.  So until this weekend, when hopefully I will have a chance to make one, here is a picture from a couple years ago when I was taking a baking class.

Daring Baker's - Stollen

The 2010 December Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie's Baking.  She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make Stollen.  She adapted a friend's family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart's book.....and Martha Stewart's demonstration. This was my first time making Stollen and it was a wonderful addition to our Christmas menu and it will definitely be a permanent addition for my holiday baking.  I am already thinking about making them as gifts.  Too much work?  Maybe, but definitely worth it.  Since we have had so much food around this past week we only ate about 1/4 of it, but I put it in the freezer and am looking forward to New Year's Day when it will be used in french toast.  This recipe did not use marzipan, but after reading other reviews I think I will try it again with the addition of some marzipan.  The recipe went together very easy and the end result was beautiful and delicious.    It bakes up to a wonderful mahogany color and the aroma filled the house. It was wonderfully flavored, not to sweet and not to dry.  It is perfect in the morning with a cup of coffee or in the afternoon with a cup of tea, just a wonderful treat to have on hand.  If you haven't made Stollen before I recommend giving this recipe a try, it is wonderful!

Stollen Wreath

Makes one large wreath or two traditional shaped Stollen loaves. Serves 10-12 people

Ingredients

¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water (110º F / 43º C)
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) (22 ml) (14 grams) (1/2 oz) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) milk
10 tablespoons (150 ml) (140 grams) unsalted butter (can use salted butter)
5½ cups (1320 ml) (27 ozs) (770 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour (Measure flour first - then sift- plus extra for dusting)
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gms) sugar
¾ teaspoon (3 ¾ ml) (4 ½ grams) salt (if using salted butter there is no need to alter this salt measurement)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 grams) cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (very good) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon extract or orange extract
¾ cup (180 ml) (4 ¾ ozs) (135 grams) mixed peel (link below to make your own)
1 cup (240 ml) (6 ozs) (170 gms) firmly packed raisins
3 tablespoons (45ml) rum
12 red glacé cherries (roughly chopped) for the color and the taste. (optional)
1 cup (240 ml) (3 ½ ozs) (100 grams) flaked almonds
Melted unsalted butter for coating the wreath
Confectioners’ (icing) (powdered) sugar for dusting wreath

Note: If you don’t want to use alcohol, double the lemon or orange extract or you could use the juice from the zested orange.

Directions:

Soak the raisins
In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum (or in the orange juice from the zested orange) and set aside. See Note under raisins.

Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (240 ml) milk and 10 tablespoons (150 ml) butter over medium - low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon and vanilla extracts.

In a large mixing bowl (4 qt) (4 liters) (or in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment), stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.

Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and almonds and mix with your hands or on low speed to incorporate. Here is where you can add the cherries if you would like. Be delicate with the cherries or all your dough will turn red!

Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes (6 minutes by machine). The full six minutes of kneading is needed to distribute the dried fruit and other ingredients and to make the dough have a reasonable bread-dough consistency. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Shaping the Dough and Baking the Wreath
1. Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
4. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches (40 x 61 cms) and ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.

Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.

Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.

Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch (5 cm) intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.

Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, should register 190°F/88°C in the center of the loaf, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.
The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.
Let cool at least an hour before serving. Coat the stollen in butter and icing sugar three times, since this many coatings helps keeps the stollen fresh - especially if you intend on sending it in the mail as Christmas presents!

When completely cool, store in a plastic bag. Or leave it out uncovered overnight to dry out slightly, German style.