Orange Poppy Seed Pound Cake

I needed to bring something for a small family event, but I just had a short notice for it. Plus, I had some errands to accomplish. So I wanted a treat that was quick and simple to make. There was a bountiful supply of oranges at our home, and that brought me back to memory lane where I used to sell orange pound cakes ancient Christmases ago... So I decided, orange pound cake it is! I also bought some poppy seeds from my trip in Australia, so I decided to incorporate those tiny dots into my pound cake.

I wish I discovered how poppy seeds can add magic to a simple cake earlier. Not only did the poppy seeds add prettiness to the cake, it definitely infused a very fragrant taste into the orange pound cake. I loved the light crunch it contributed to the cake as well.

My family definitely indulged in this simple treat. It's a lovely feeling baking for them; I almost forgot what it's like. I love that I have more people to share my baking with, and I like that I got my family to give me straightforward feedbacks (compliments/criticisms). So while I'm here in Manila, my family will be my food critics!

Bisou bisou,

Charlotte

Daring Bakers' Challenge - January 2011: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entrement

The Daring Bakers' Challenge started with a bang this 2011! Our host gave us a challenge that I couldn't resist making. It's a type of dessert that I love creating. When done with planning, patience and practice it's an elegant masterpiece - entrement!

Blog-checking lines: 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 Entremets dessert.

Entrement is a composed  French dessert consisting of different components from dacquoise to mousse to creme brulee, anything you can think of, all put together in one showpiece work of art. For this challenge, one of the components we need to put on our entrement is a patterned joconde used as a lining. Joconde is a sponge cake that is made with almond powder, flour, eggs and powdered sugar. Patterns such as stripes can also be added to the joconde sponge by using a joconde decor paste. The decor paste has a very thick consistency, so it is really manageable to make all the patterns you can think of.

I've always wondered how pastry shops make lovely designs on their sponges especially those sleek stripes and perfect swirls. In the past, I've attempted to make my own sponge design by marbling different colored sponge cake batter; it worked out really nice, but my curiosity on how to make perfect lines still remained. Alas, this month's challenge came; answer to my long time mystery solved!

For my entrement, I made an Orange Cognac Mousse Joconde Cake with Dark Chocolate Mousse and Hazelnut Meringue Disc Center. I was so happy with how everything came out. The sketch I made translated to the finished cake. The only thing I wish is for a better pattern, but since I really didn't have much time to execute this challenge, I had to make use of what I have at home/body (I used my fingers to create my pattern). As a whole I love my cake; looking at my finished cake makes me so giddy! The taste of the whole cake was fabulous too; all the flavour components blended well perfectly. I mean what's wrong with an orange chocolate combo, plus the addition of cognac and hazelnut? The cognac and hazelnuts really heightened the whole cake's flavour profile. For me, the aesthetic of the cake looks close enough to be displayed in a pastry case in Paris. Pardon me if I'm self-complimenting, but I never thought I would have made a cake like this ever in my life.

I can't wait as to what's in store for the February challenge!

Bisou bisou,

Charlotte

Daring Bakers' Challenge - November 2010: Crostata

A little update before blogging about my DB challenge: My left hand is still recovering from the burn; it means my hand is still bandaged although not as bad as the picture in my previous post. I now have four of my fingers out of the bandage, and the bandage just goes up to my wrist instead of my arm. I still can't use my left hand normally though because my thumb is positioned in a certain way by the bandage therefore not allowing it to move. Good news is the doctor is happy with the progress of my burn, so pretty soon, I shall be back in the kitchen baking more sweets!

In the meantime, I had my H acting as my sous chef for this challenge. At first I decided to miss out on this month's challenge, but the thought of pastry cream tart alone made me salivate, so I kept on pondering how I could make it happen. Good thing my H volunteered to be my second hand, although I did have some hesitations because my H and I don't work so well in the kitchen arena. His quirks and my quirks don't mesh well in cooking/baking. I'm quite strict, focused and theoretical, while he's more easygoing and experimental. Anyway, despite all that, we gave it a go; everything worked perfectly. He was a good support; he wanted me to make most of this challenge myself, so he was just quietly watching me bake and assist on things he knows I cannot do with one hand i.e. slicing the butter into cubes, scraping the dough that has been stuck on my hand and putting in/taking out the crostata from the oven... oh, and the dishes!

Blog-checking lines: The 2010 November Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers' to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi's Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Crostata is basically an Italian version of a tart, but what makes it a crostata is the use of a specific sweet pastry called pasta frolla. I've become loyal with Martha Stewart's pate brisee recipe when I'm making any sorts of pies and tarts, so to try a new kind of pastry is refreshing. I have to admit that I do kind of like the pasta frolla better than pate brisee. Just a simple reminder for me to not get stuck in my own ways; always try to explore new possibilities of using something else other than what I'm used to, so I have much to thank for from this challenge.

I've thought long and hard as to what filling I should make for my crostata. In the end, the most simple choice warmed my appetite - pastry cream filling; in Italy, this specific crostata is called crostata con la crema. The pasta frolla recipe that our host, Simona, gave us had lemon zest incorporated in the dough, but I decided to use the kiss of orange zest instead. As for my pastry cream, a very classic vanilla pastry cream. So could you just imagine an orange tang of crust topped off with a flow of incredibly creamy vanilla pastry cream? I say that's utter deliciousness!

Oh, I got some leftover pasta frolla dough as well as vanilla pastry cream, so I decided to make it into an empanada. Empanada is a semicircle pie with either savoury or sweet stuffing, which is popular in Spain and Portugal, as well as countries that has been colonized by both countries i.e. Philippines and most Latin countries. Anyway, my empanada was not stuffed but rather filled with vanilla pastry cream; an absolute treat.

Bisou bisou,

Charlotte