tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45677330971743750002024-03-14T04:41:14.527+00:00The Statistical BakerEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-36537674688888434372011-05-27T00:01:00.003+01:002011-05-27T13:22:58.774+01:00May 2011 Challenge - A Walk on The Wild Side The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.
The original recipe was HUGE and served a lot more people than my one person household could ever feed, so I made a 1/4 recipe Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-51313109819356645302011-05-04T20:09:00.001+01:002011-05-05T08:13:37.369+01:00April 2011 Challenge - Maple Mousse, Chocolate, Meringue and .... Bacon!?The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!
This was certainly an experimental challenge for me, Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-29013863796266937152011-05-04T19:43:00.001+01:002011-05-05T08:12:51.922+01:00March 2011 Challenge - A Decievingly Titled RecipeThe March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.
I was so excited about this, until I realised that "Coffee" cake referred to cake to have at coffee break time, and not cake with coffee flavour! But as it turns out, it was quite delicious! Beware, Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-34747138972638111212011-05-04T19:09:00.001+01:002011-05-05T08:12:11.144+01:00February 2011 Challenge - A Lucious Italian DessertThe 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.
Ingredients :
Maple Panna Cotta
240 ml whole milk7 g unflavored powdered gelatin
720 ml heavy/double cream
80 ml maple flavoured golden syrup
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Pecans for Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-65028343881530795232011-04-10T04:47:00.003+01:002011-04-10T04:47:04.849+01:00Life is Like a Box of Chocolates...... and lately I seem to only be picking out the ones I dislike!
Apologies for the complete lack of posting lately, but this will be fixed soon :)
Coming up this month, I have 2 completed Daring Bakers challenges to post about (February's Panna Cotta & Florentines and March's Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake), as well as this months challenge (my lips are sealed!) my version of a cake knownEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-44249659789455181292011-01-28T12:31:00.000+00:002011-04-19T16:09:01.884+01:00January 2011 Challenge - Délicieux GâteauSo I'm finally back on the Daring Bakers trail, and what an amazing challenge to come back to!
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.
The Biscuit Joconde Imprime is a patterned, thin sponge intended to wrap around a Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-26870062872840999082010-11-27T00:23:00.003+00:002011-01-28T12:36:30.791+00:00Blondies (Or How to Steal Ideas from Friends)A friend of mine has been talking about Blondies for a few days, and after not being able to get the idea out of my head, and needed to try it for myself!
Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
117g room temperature butter
1 cup self raising flour (or 1 cup plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp baking soda)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional - 1/3 cup of stir ins (chocolate chips, Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-25642004258043741722010-11-26T23:17:00.001+00:002011-01-28T12:38:40.215+00:00Mother Sauce 2 : Revenge of the Splitting HollandaiseFor some reason, I got it into my head that I wanted to make Hollandaise. So using the ever faithful Alton Brown's recipe from the Good Eats episode Hittin' The Sauce from Season 8, I dived in, perhaps to my detriment. I think I would like to master all of the "Mother Sauces", but I think I've had enough of them for another few months.
Ingredients :
4 small egg yolks
1 tbsp water
1/4 tspEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-54904056946694452702010-09-17T18:12:00.001+01:002010-09-17T18:12:15.539+01:00Over-ambitions [Part 1 of 5]So my BFF’s birthday was coming up and I had no idea what to get for her. Then, one night, at 3am, whilst not being able to sleep, it came to me! Cake!!! But not just any cake, oh no, a cake that would be her, would speak volumes about her, and would be instantly recognisable as hers! Of course, when I awoke, I had forgotten half of the elements, but over the next 2 days I came up with 2 designsEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-53295373466557622422010-09-17T18:06:00.001+01:002010-09-17T18:06:44.623+01:00Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Fondant [Part 2 of 5]Having seen fondant icing used on many a cake decorating show, and hearing the many, many ways in which it could go wrong, I was terrified! But I was determined to at least give it a go, and shockingly it worked out okay! Ingredients 2lb Icing Sugar (1 3/4 lb for chocolate + 1/4 lb cocoa) 1/4 cup Water 1 tbsp Unflavoured Gelatine 1/2 cup Liquid Glucose 1 1/2 tbsp Glycerine 1 tsp Vanilla Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-68914837624795633522010-09-17T17:51:00.001+01:002010-09-17T17:51:41.430+01:00Bake-a-thon [Part 3 of 5]I needed a cake recipe that would hold up under the weight of the fondant, that would be able to be carved into shape, but also taste good :) after some searching online, found a Chocolate Mud Cake recipe that would work. I made two cakes, the one shown below, which became the base, and a smaller but thicker one for carving the shapes.  Ingredients 200g Chocolate 250g Unsalted Butter 1 1Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-9421428976503462532010-09-17T17:25:00.001+01:002010-09-17T17:25:44.500+01:00Fudge-tastic [Part 4 of 5]So a buttercream was needed to adhere the cake and fondant, and chocolate seemed like the perfect option! This recipe is straightforward and delicious! The recipe below is enough for a 20cm / 8 inch round cake, I made 2.5 times the recipe to be sure I didn’t run out!   Ingredients 50g Butter 3 tbsp Cream 1 tsp Vanilla 50g Chocolate 225g Icing Sugar Method 01. Put all Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-41769587915997238772010-09-17T17:00:00.001+01:002010-09-17T17:00:41.918+01:00A Cake To Remember [Part 5 of 5]My hopes for the cake were at a 10, my expectations of how I’d do were at a 2, and I think the outcome was about a 6 :)So everything is set and ready to go, and I’m praying that it all comes together as planned… The base layer (the carving layer was twice as thick and just slightly smaller) Made up 3 batches of fondant in total, one pink (above), one white and one chocolate. The chocolateEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-9638051825554671622009-10-30T18:26:00.009+00:002010-12-02T02:01:20.746+00:00Daring Bakers - Maca-ruined!The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.Ingredients :45g icing sugar38g ground almonds5g granulated sugar59g egg whitesMethod :01. Preheat the oven to 93 degrees Celsius02. Combine icing sugar and ground almonds.03. Beat the egg whites to a soft peak.04.Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-12592876325839419892009-09-27T01:33:00.002+01:002010-12-02T02:01:20.747+00:00Daring Bakers get Puffy!The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.Ingredients :2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour1-1/4 cups cake flour1 tsp. salt300 ml ice water454 g very cold unsalted butterMethod :01. Measure out flour.02. Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-57065848206468248632009-09-20T12:11:00.002+01:002009-09-20T12:13:46.087+01:00Back to the grind...Well it's been a long summer, but I'm back.Things to look forward to in the next month or so...- The latest Daring Bakers challenge- Previous Daring Bakers challenges, including Dobos Torte, Bakewell Tart, Strudel, Mallows and Milan Cookies- New weight watcher friendly recipesSee you on the 27th!EmEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-20596409804932429992009-06-29T16:50:00.002+01:002009-06-29T16:52:17.920+01:00HiatusI've taken a break from Daring Bakers and Daring Cooks, life has been a bit hectic.Of course that didn't stop me from having a major cook-fest a few days ago, making a lasagne, a chili, a curry and some soup in one go. :)Anyways, I'll be back in September with more awesome recipes, with step by step pictures :DEmmaEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-81150671074042111422009-04-27T00:01:00.001+01:002011-04-19T16:09:01.885+01:00Daring Bakers April Challenge : Mountains of CheesecakeI'm not usually a fan of baked cheesecakes, I prefer the non-baked set-by-geletin kind, but I'm not one to avoid a challenge either. Unfortunately my timing in making this months challenge was a critical failure, since I went back to Weight Watchers 2 days before I made it! This meant that the cheesecakes were given to work and house mates to feast on.And now, the formalities :The April 2009 Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-42487375295172515302009-04-22T14:45:00.004+01:002009-04-22T19:42:06.638+01:00Chilly Chilli - Oh Bother...So after seeing an episode of Good Eats on chilli, I knew I wanted to try it out. However, it was not without problems. For one, I don't yet own a pressure cooker, or even a pot with a tight fitting lid. The other problem was that I vastly underestimated the amount of chile and chile powder that I needed, and so it was not hot at all... A baby could have eaten it, it was so mild. But, spiciness Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-48704636428593288482009-04-17T20:14:00.005+01:002009-04-22T14:52:34.544+01:00Mild Chicken Curry for Mild Weather BluesThis weather is getting me down, it's been freezing here for the last week or so. So I decided to cheer (and warm) myself up with a mild curry.Ingredients :1 onion, chopped1 clove garlic, chopped finely1/4cm green chili, chopped finely1 tsp chili powder1 tbsp mild curry powder1 1/2 cup chicken stock1/2 cup double cream2 chicken breasts, diced1 carrot, diced5 mushrooms, diced2cm slice of butternutEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-8000828913726522472009-03-27T22:00:00.004+00:002010-11-24T22:17:37.142+00:00Daring Bakers March Challenge : Part 1 - White Sauce of YumWelcome to this months Daring Baker challenge. Unfortunately I've had to split it into 5 (yes, 5) posts, so that I wouldn't end up with one huge post :) This was a long, hard process, so beware if you intend to undertake it, and take not of the 4th post where I'll let you know what I thought of the overall result. And now, the formalities :
The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans andEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-78363194213571739292009-03-27T21:59:00.003+00:002009-04-22T14:52:17.933+01:00Daring Bakers March Challenge : Part 2 - Pasta-ramaI never knew how difficult it was to make pasta, until this challenge forced me to give it a go. I actually attempted three pastas, the other two were a total disaster, and so here is the one I used in the final recipe.Part 2 : PastaIngredients :450g (1lb) 00 flour4 medium sized eggspinch saltMethod :01. Put the flour in a large bowl, and make a well in it.02. Crack the eggs into the middle of Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-78876136223218349342009-03-27T21:58:00.002+00:002009-04-22T14:52:17.933+01:00Daring Bakers March Challenge : Part 3 - A Ragu to not write home aboutWelcome to part 3 of 5 :) For this part of the challenge I took on some of the extra ingredients from the challenge recipe, although as you'll see in the verdict, I think I'll stick to my usual ragu next time...Ingredients :300g minced pork300g minced lamb300g minced beef100g smoked pancetta, chopped finely100g parma ham, chopped finely200g mushrooms, chopped finely1 red onion, chopped finely1 Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-9067408189280878132009-03-27T21:57:00.002+00:002009-04-22T14:52:17.934+01:00Daring Bakers March Challenge : Part 4 - Assembly of an 9 hour toil and Final VerdictAnd finally, after about 9 hours of hard work, I get to the assembly of the lasagne. :)Ingredients :1 batch Bechamel as in post 11 batch Pasta as in part 2 (the original recipe called to use pre cooked pasta, however I don't usually pre boil, so I decided to go with just the dried one)1 batch Ragu as in part 32 cups of grated mozzarellaMethod :01. Spread 2 tablespoons of bechamel across the Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567733097174375000.post-62082888434568941782009-03-27T21:56:00.003+00:002009-04-22T14:52:17.934+01:00Daring Bakers March Challenge : Part 5 - Pasta DisastaSo here are the less successful attempts at pasta making, using spinach in one (the original challenge pasta), and one with carrot/butternut squash. It seems a little pointless to offer up the recipes, since they didn't work. However, they were made in much the same way as regular pasta, but with some flour and some egg substituted as vegetable.It all started out so promising...But in the end I Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466885829218357651noreply@blogger.com0