Sourdough adventures – Milk chocolate salted caramel brownies

This month’s Sourdough Surprises challenge was to make brownies! We were given a recipe to follow – the two modifications I made were to sub milk chocolate for the dark because M prefers it and raw (golden) sugar for the white sugar because I prefer it. But I also happened to have a batch of salted caramel that had originally been planned for another project that never eventuated… you can see where I’m going with this, right? After the store-bought toffee chips worked so well in the sweet potato blondies, I figured homemade caramel would work even better. After all, caramel and chocolate belong together.

The caramel actually mostly melted into the brownie as it baked, so there aren’t many “bits” but it’s a total flavour bomb! And this is so not a brownie that you will pick up with your fingers to eat daintily. This is a fudgy, gooey mess of chocolate and caramel that you will scoop up with a fork and it will make you swoon and sigh and smile.

The caramel

Ingredients

140g granulated raw (golden) sugar
65g whole cream, hot
100g butter, cold, diced
generous pinch sea salt flakes

Directions

Put a piece of parchment on a baking sheet and lightly grease it with butter.

Spread the sugar evenly across the bottom of a small, heavy-based saucepan. Heat over a medium-low flame without stirring until the sugar starts to melt and becomes liquid around the edges. Once about a quarter of it has melted, gently stir continuously with a wooden spoon until it starts to smoke, a few minutes depending on how high the heat is. Be careful not to burn it, using your nose as a guide. Using raw sugar for making caramel is a bit more haphazard than using white sugar where you go by colour, but just past smoking point is the aim.

Remove from the heat and slowly add the butter and salt, stirring well with a wooden spoon until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Return to the heat and carefully and slowly pour the hot cream into the caramel, stirring continuously until it is smooth.

Pour onto parchment to cool and set. Transfer to the freezer to harden to make cutting easier.

The brownies

Ingredients

300g good quality milk chocolate, chopped
225g unsalted butter, diced
200g granulated raw (golden) sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 whole eggs, room temperature
40g cocoa powder
220g mature 100% hydration sourdough starter

Note: I took 100g mature starter, brought it to room temperature for an hour, fed it with 60g each of flour and water and let it ferment for 3 hours.

Directions

Preheat oven to 165°C. Line a metal 22 x 28cm baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some hanging over the long edges, and grease the paper with butter.

In a bowl placed over a saucepan with a couple of centimetres of water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently.

Pour the melted chocolate mixture into a large bowl.

Whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla.

Add the eggs one at a time, whisking to combine well after each addition.

Sift the cocoa powder over the chocolate and stir to combine.

Add the starter and stir gently until it is completely incorporated.

Run a sharp knife under hot water and cut the caramel into pieces about 2cm square.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, spread the pieces of caramel evenly over the surface, then pour over the other half of the batter.

Bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out cleanish.

Cool in the pan 20 minutes, lift out using the parchment paper and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Eat.

 

Raspberry buttermilk cake

A light, moist and tangy snack cake to take advantage of the spring berries in the market. Of course, you can use frozen berries if they aren’t in season in your part of the world.

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g (1 cup) white sugar
2 eggs
240ml (1 cup) buttermilk
1 tbsp lemon juice
250g (2 cups) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
250g raspberries

2 – 3 tbsp pearl sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour a square or rectangular cake tin.

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.

Whisk in the buttermilk and lemon juice. It won’t want to mix in yet, but will come together when you add the flour.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, then beat into the wet ingredients, just until you have a smooth batter.

Pour into baking tin and scatter the raspberries over the batter, pressing them in a bit. Sprinkle the top with pearl sugar.

Bake for 50 – 55 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

“en croûte”

The Daring Cooks challenge for May was to prepare something en croûte – that is, baked in a pastry crust. I had (and still have) plans for some other variations, but so far have only had time to make two of my ideas. I started super simple and 3G friendly with “sausage” rolls filled with Quorn, then went for something a bit more chic with asparagus.

Quorn sausage rolls

Makes 16

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
450g Quorn mince
140g tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp Vegemite or Marmite dissolved in 1 tbsp water OR 1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
salt & pepper
2 sheets puff pastry each 42 x 26cm
1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onion until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add the Quorn mince, tomato paste and oregano and mix well over low heat.

Add the Vegemite and corn starch mixtures and mix well.

Season to taste and cook over low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 220°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Cut the pastry sheets in half lengthwise. Put a quarter of the filling lengthwise down the centre of each piece of pastry, then fold the sides tightly over the filling and pinch closed. You can use some egg wash to seal it if you like, but I found it unnecessary. Use a sharp knife to cut each long roll into four. Place the rolls seam-side-down on the parchment. Brush with egg wash.

Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with french fries and ketchup!

Asparagus en croûte

Makes 4

Ingredients

500g young asparagus spears
1 tbsp olive oil
zest of 1/2 a lemon
salt & pepper
120g Gruyère, sliced
2 sheets puff pastry each 42 x 26cm
1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Directions

Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears as necessary.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus and cook until soft and lightly browned, 15 – 20 minutes, depending on their size. Toss through lemon zest, season to taste and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 210°C and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Cut the pastry sheets in half crosswise. Put a quarter of the asparagus across the middle of each piece of pastry, top with a quarter of the sliced cheese, then fold the sides over the filling and pinch the ends closed. You can use some egg wash to seal it if you like, but I found it unnecessary. Place the parcels seam-side-down on the parchment. Brush with egg wash.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden.

I served these with lemon-pepper roasted potatoes.

*****

Daring Cooks blog checking lines: Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!

Download the printable .pdf file here.

Parmesan focaccia/biscotti

Holes! It’s got holes! Crispy crust, soft and chewy interior, super-cheesy flavour and beautiful holes! *sigh* It’s the little things in life that make me smile!

Of course, there was no way three of us could finish this loaf in one sitting, so I extended the shelf-life of the leftover bread by turning it into biscotti to munch on with a cold drink on a warm spring afternoon.

Ingredients

375g Type 0, bread or all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant dry yeast
30ml extra-virgin olive oil
240ml cold water

Filling

120g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

Topping

olive oil
coarse sea salt

Directions

Mix all dough ingredients together and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 4 hours.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, knead lightly and stretch and fold into a ball, tucking the seams underneath. Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest another 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and stretch out to a large rectangle about 1cm thick. Sprinkle with half the Parmigiano Reggiano then fold the dough with 4 folds into a tight package from one of the short ends. Press out again to a rectangle about 2cm thick, sprinkle with the remaining cheese then fold with 3 folds into a package again. Place the dough onto the baking sheet, press out to about 2cm thick, cover with a clean, dry tea towel and let rest for another hour.

Preheat oven to 250°C.

When ready to bake, use your fingertips to make indentations all over the top of the dough. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with course sea salt.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Serve warm.

Biscotti

Preheat oven to 150°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Thinly slice the focaccia (about 1/2cm thick) and lay the pieces on the parchment.

Bake for about 30 minutes, flipping once or twice, until dry and crisp and golden brown. Your baking time may vary (my oven is slow at drying things) so check them frequently.

Cool completely on a wire rack before serving with a cold drink.

Store in an airtight container.

*****

Submitted to YeastSpotting

Submitted to Barbara and Sandra at Panissimo

Syrup-soaked Greek yoghurt lemon honey cake

You may have noticed that I occasionally describe myself as somebody who can’t leave well enough alone. It’s certainly not that I think I know better than the author of the original recipe – on the contrary, I have so very much to learn and am constantly grateful to all the wonderful food writers out there who share their recipes, tips and tricks with us mere mortals. It’s just that I get little flashes of inspiration to try something different.

Take this cake, for instance. I saw this recipe and knew I had to make it immediately. But then I thought, “Oooh, honey would go well in that!” so I added “honey” to my search string and found this recipe. But it didn’t have syrup. So I added “syrup” to my search string and found this recipe. And then I took my preferred elements from all three recipes and this is the result.

And it’s delicious,. even if I do say so myself! :p

By the way, that line around the cake is from my stupid cake tin. Time to go shopping, methinks!

Ingredients

For the cake

250g all-purpose (plain) flour
80g semolina flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
250g Greek yogurt
4 tbsp honey
5 eggs, separated
150g butter, room temperature
250g white (granulated) sugar
zest from a lemon

For the syrup

250g white (granulated) sugar
250ml water
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Grease and flour a 23cm x 23cm square springform cake tin.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Stir together the yogurt and honey in a small bowl.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in a separate bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add the lemon zest and the yoghurt and honey and mix well.

Add the flour mixture and mix just until there are no traces visible. Add half the egg whites, folding gently with a rubber spatula until they are well mixed. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently, then pour the fluffy batter into the cake tin.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature. When cooled, transfer to a plate.

Put all the syrup ingredients together in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes, then allow to cool slightly.

Prick the top of the cake all over with a toothpick and spoon the warm syrup very slowly over the cake, then allow to cool completely. You may need to baste it repeatedly, but it will soak up any syrup that pools around the base in the plate.

Sourdough adventures – pizza dough

I have no idea why it took me so long to do this! The dough is incredibly soft and smooth (a baby’s bottom would be an appropriate metaphor), it doesn’t tear when stretching it to size and it bakes to a sturdy, slightly chewy, utterly delicious crust. It was so good that I’ve decided to split Betty into two just so I can have a pizza-specific starter in the fridge for further pizza experimentation. The new starter will be called Peggy-Sue… because Peggy is short for Margaret… as in Margherita… as in… yeah, you get it.

These pizzas were topped with…

fresh tomatoes, black olives and basil, and

fresh spinach and ricotta.

Makes 2 x 28cm pizzas

Ingredients

150g 100% hydration starter
400g Type 0, bread or all-purpose (plain) flour
180g water
30g olive oil
7g salt

Note: I took 100g mature starter, brought it to room temperature for an hour, fed it with 25g each of flour and water and let it ferment for 3 hours.

Directions

Mix the starter and water together in a large bowl then add the flour and mix to a shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.

Add the oil and mix in, then add the salt and knead until dough is soft and elastic, 8-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.

Place dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled – about 3 hours, depending on ambient temperature.

Turn dough out and cut in half, being careful not to degas it too much. Gently form into balls and let rest, covered, for another hour.

Gently pull the dough out to size and make your pizza as usual.

Sourdough adventures – Savarin with honey-lemon syrup

The April Daring Baker’s challenge was to make a Savarin (a.k.a. Baba) – a yeasted cake baked in a ring mold, soaked in a sweet syrup and with the centre hole filled with creams and fruit. With the permission of our host, I decided to try my hand at a sourdough version of the cake. We were given free reign with the syrup and filling options, so I went with honey-lemon syrup and pastry cream and strawberries for the filling. Bliss!

The sourdough starter I used to make this was a “sweet” starter, like the one I used in the Tuscan orange cake. The starter takes about 2 days to prepare (see below for directions) then you should allow one full day for the cake.

Ingredients

For the cake

120g “sweet” sourdough starter
30ml lukewarm water
350g Type 0, bread or all-purpose (plain) flour
6 large eggs, room temperature, separated
20g granulated sugar
75g butter, room temperature
zest of 1 lemon
6g salt

extra butter for greasing the work surface, hands, dough scraper & baking pan

For the syrup

1 cup water
1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 medium lemons)

For the pastry cream filling

1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
6 tbsp sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
30g butter
1 tsp vanilla

1 punnet strawberries

Directions

For the cake

Put the egg whites into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and, working with a wooden spoon or paddle attachment, gradually add enough flour to form a soft, sticky dough, reserving about half a cup of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Mix together the starter and water and add to the mixing bowl and combine. Add the lemon zest while mixing at low speed.

When the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add one egg yolk. As soon as the yolk is absorbed, add one tablespoon of flour and combine.

Add the second yolk and the sugar. As soon as the yolk is absorbed, add one tablespoon of flour and combine.

Raise the mixer speed a little and add the third yolk and the salt. As soon as the yolk is absorbed add scant tablespoon of flour and combine.

Keep on adding one yolk at the time and a tablespoon of flour, reserving a tablespoon of flour.

Mix the dough until is elastic and thready.

Add the butter and as soon as the butter is adsorbed, add the remaining flour.

Keep on mixing till the dough passes the “window pane test”.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof until it has tripled in volume, about 4 hours.

Grease your dough scraper, your hands and your work surface and put the dough on it and stretch and fold several times. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest 15 minutes on the bench.

Lightly grease a savarin ring mold.

The original instructions said to use the dough scraper to gently form it into a ball, make a hole in the centre and put it in the prepared pan. In practice, my dough wasn’t going to stay in any kind of ball shape or allow itself to have a hole poked in it, so I sort of stretched and wrestled it into the pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until the dough almost reaches the top of the pan, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 175°C.

Bake savarin for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden.

Cool the savarin in the mold for 10 minutes then remove from the mold onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

If left to dry out, the savarin will absorb more syrup, so I returned mine to the mold, covered it and left it overnight, then soaked it the next day.

For the syrup

Bring the water, honey and lemon juice to a boil in a small saucepan, boil for 5 minutes then allow to cool.

Return the cooled savarin to the ring mold and ladle the syrup over it until it reaches the rim.

Allow it to absorb as much of the syrup as it can, topping up as necessary, then carefully move it onto a wire rack positioned over a pan to let the excess syrup drip. Transfer to a serving plate before filling.

For the filling

Dissolve cornstarch in 1⁄4 cup of milk in a bowl.

Combine the remaining 3/4 cup milk with the sugar in a saucepan, bring to boil and remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg and the yolks into the cornstarch mixture.

Pour 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.

Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream while continuously whisking.

Continue whisking until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.

Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

Rinse, hull and halve or quarter the strawberries and pile on top of the pastry cream filling.

*****

For the sweet sourdough starter (takes ~2 days)

First feeding – mix 40g 100% hydration starter with 20g flour. Ferment for 4 hours.

For each subsequent feeding (except the final one), discard all but 30g starter and add 20g flour and 10g water. Ferment for 4 hours. Repeat three times a day for 2 days. Keep the starter well covered at room temperature or in a warm place the whole time.

For the final feeding on the morning of the third day, combine 60g starter, 40g flour, and 20g water. Ferment for 4 hours. You will need 120g starter for this recipe.

*****

Daring Baker’s blog-checking lines: Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious cakes!

Download the printable .pdf file here.

*****

Submitted to YeastSpotting

Submitted to Barbara and Sandra at Panissimo