Bonne nuit mon petit Éclair.

Chocolate and Vanilla Eclairs

I am exhausted and hot. My right arm is sore and my hands are pruned. Before you jump to all sorts of wild conclusions, I'll come right out and tell you. It's all thanks to the Daring Baker's. These Daring Baker's sure know how to make you sweat, especially in the height of summer on a particularly steamy day in August. That day would be today. Yes, today - meaning I left this challenge to the last possible day, the same day I had to post it. The challenge? Chocolate Éclairs by none other than the god of pastry himself - Pierre Hermé - chosen by Tony Tahhan of Olive Juice and MeetaK of What's for Lunch Honey? This challenge involved copious amounts of vigorous stirring and whisking which led to a very sore right arm. It also left me with a heap of dirty dishes to wash, leaving me with the kind of pruned fingers you'd get after an hour long bath.

Once again I have to admit I wasn't altogether too thrilled with the choice of challenge this month. It isn't the first time I have made choux pastry or éclairs for that matter, so I felt pretty confident in what would result. And it's not that I don't like chocolate. It's simply that at this time of year, I crave fruit. Summery, juicy stone fruit. Anyways, I got over my slight disappoint, which lasted all of 5 seconds. I was thrilled to finally try a Pierre Hermé original recipe, and I decided to keep it pretty much by the book this time since I have already played around with these before. I split his recipe for pastry cream in two and added vanilla beans to one and melted chocolate to the other. I definitely prefer the lighter vanilla pastry cream to a thin chocolate glaze then chocolate on chocolate but I wanted to give it a try. Everything came together quite easily, other than the physical effort required to whisk! Since I only just finished tonight, I haven't tried them yet - so I will be back to report on the taste test. Photos are also uninspired due to no natural light left so I plan to shoot some more tomorrow.


Update: I finally got around to tasting these delicious morsels. As I suspected, the clear winner was the vanilla pastry cream filled eclair. It's a matter of personal taste, but to me something as airy and ethereal as choux pastry pairs best with equally light and angelic flavours. The chocolate pastry cream, while delicious, bore more resemblance to a ganache in my opinion, which weighed down an otherwise featherlight dessert.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough - all recipes below from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

(makes 20-24 eclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
  
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
  
• ¼ teaspoon salt1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
  
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
  

In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth. Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your hand mixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes: Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately. You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, melted
  
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stopping) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat). Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat. Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth. Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice-water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice-water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes: The pastry cream can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream. Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze (makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
  
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
  

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula. Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes: If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce (makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
  

Place all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens. It may take 10-15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes: You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using. This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Panna Cotta Dreams

Clockwise from left: Honey-Almond Panna Cotta with Macerated Peaches, Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis and Cappuccino Panna Cotta with Cocoa Whipped Cream

I always look forward to throwing dinner parties. There's something magical about gathering around a table with great friends, enjoying delicious food and fine wines together as the hours slowly pass. Before you know it, it's midnight and your guests reluctantly start to leave because it'll be an early start to get to work in the morning. You linger at the door saying good-bye for another half hour before anyone actually leaves. You shut the door still smiling, because of course all the fun has blocked your memory of the dishes waiting to be done.

On this particular occasion, there were plenty of dishes to do after a dinner party of 10 guests with 3 courses. The dessert alone created 40 dirty dishes! All I can say is thank god I have a dishwasher. Of course, I had to take the opportunity to try out some new recipes. We started with a Tomato, Goat Cheese and Onion Tart. I served each slice of tart with some spring greens tossed in dijon vinaigrette and a balsamic syrup drizzle on the plate. The tart was surprisingly simple to make and proved to be a hit. The fresh tomatoes helped cut through the richer flavours of caramelised onions and goat cheese. The main was an Herbed Roast Beef with Tomato Madeira Confit. The original recipe calls for a fillet or beef but I had made this once before and used an eye-round of roast beef with spectacular results. The thinly sliced medium rare beef is brought to new heights with the unctuous tomato confit. For dessert, I decided to experiment with a trio of lush Panna Cottas. I love the idea of having a few small tastings of desserts so that you can get some variety without being to weighed down at the end of a large meal. My new issue of Gourmet had arrived with a stunning recipe for Honey-Almond Panna Cotta with Lemon-Thyme Peaches. I knew I had to make it so with that recipe decided, I chose to make two others - a simple Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis as well as a Cappuccino Panna Cotta with Cocoa Whipped Cream.

Unfortunately as I was too busy serving, I didn't get any pictures of the starter or main. Not to mention that the pictures of the desserts are sorely lacking any style, but I had to at least get an image of these beauties before they disappeared. And disappear they did! Each little serving was devoid of any lingering smears, cream or sauce. A definite success that I look forward to repeating. The Honey-Almond Panna Cotta was my personal favourite, even though I am partial to both vanilla and coffee. All three were outrageously tasty, but the combination of honey, almond and peaches was stellar! I urge you all to make it immediately. Seriously, I'll wait here. Let me know what you think.

Honey-Almond Panna Cotta with Lemon-Thyme Peaches - adapted from Gourmet, July 2008
For panna cotta:

• 1 1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I used full fat Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup mild honey
• 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract

For peaches:

• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon-thyme leaves (I used regular thyme and added a squeeze of lemon juice)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 peaches, peeled if desired, pitted, and thinly sliced (I used a small dice for the peaches)

Make panna cotta:
Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small heavy saucepan and let stand 1 minute to soften. Stir in cream and 1/8 teaspoon salt, then heat gently over medium-low heat, stirring, until gelatin has dissolved.
Whisk together yogurt, honey, and almond extract, then whisk in cream mixture.
Pour mixture into 4 small bowls and chill, covered, until set, at least 8 hours.
Prepare peaches:
Mince lemon thyme with sugar, then toss with peaches. Let macerate, stirring occasionally, at room temperature 20 minutes. While peaches macerate, let panna cotta stand at room temperature.
To serve: Top bowls of panna cotta with peaches and their juice. Drizzle with additional honey if desired.
Cooks' note: Panna cotta can be chilled up to 3 days.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Cappuccino Panna Cotta - adapted from Tyler Florence
Cocoa Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Espresso Panna Cotta:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon espresso beans, roughly ground
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
• 1/2 a vanilla bean

First add the cocoa powder to the heavy cream for the cocoa whipped cream. Stir well to combine then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Begin preparing the espresso panna cotta by placing the heavy cream, ground espresso beans, sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add these along with the bean to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and steep for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the powdered gelatin and using a whisk stir over low heat to warm the mixture and dissolve the gelatin. Do not let it simmer. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve (this not only removes the vanilla bean and espresso beans, but also any undissolved gelatin) then pour into individual espresso cups. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
Once you put these in the refrigerator you can finish preparing the cocoa whipped cream (alternatively, you can do it just before you serve the panna cotta). Whip the cocoa cream until it begins to thicken and then add the confectioners' sugar. Whip until soft peaks form and serve a spoonful over each of the panna cotta servings. Top with a raspberry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta - adapted from Gale Gand
For Panna Cotta:

• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup sugar

In a small bowl, combine the water and gelatin and let soak about 10 minutes (do not stir). Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the cream, vanilla bean and sugar to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. As soon as it simmers, turn off the heat and add the gelatin mixture, stirring to dissolve the gelatin. If the gelatin doesn't completely dissolve in 3 minutes, return the mixture to the heat and warm gently until dissolved. Pour the mixture into 6 to 8 ramekins or dessert cups. Chill, uncovered, 2 hours.
Serve with Strawberry Coulis.

Ready to serve

Holla!

Challah Bread

Last week on Project Runway, Blane managed to get the ever-poised and articulate Tim Gunn broaden his near perfect vocabulary. "Holla! Holla at yo boy!" To hear Tim struggle to drop his R's and sound 'urban' was absolutely hysterical. Once I wiped the tears of laughter away I started to think about how bizarre it must seem to someone so utterly correct. "What does it mean?" he asked. No one could explain, they just kept repeating "Holla, you know? Holla at yo boy?!"



According to the Urban Dictionary:

Holla
1. A word used to acknowledge the presence of a fellow companion

2. For a man to express interest in a particularly impressive female specimen

3. To contact via telephone

Eg.
1. Is that mah boy ova there? HOLLAAAAA!

2. Watch out, I'm bout to holla at this fine bitch.

3. Boy, it was absolutely magnificent to see you again. Holla at me this evening, we can have tea and crumpets.

It's amusing to me how these words become such a part of our culture yet no one truly asks why. Then they are eventually instated in the dictionary. Bling-bling can now be found in Webster's Dictionary as of 1999. Will Holla be next? Will Tim replace "Make it work" with "Holla"?

All this talk of Holla got me thinking about Challah. I grew up eating this traditional Jewish bread every Friday at Synagogue and to this day it reminds me of my childhood. My dad would always tear off an enormous chunk and hand it to me to nibble on and wash down with lemonade from the punch bowl. The toasted crust contrasted the sweet and fluffy custard yellow innards. Sometimes they'd have raisin Challah too, but I've never been a fan of raisins in bread. I like my Challah plain, I find it's sweetend eggy flavour perfectly satisfying without any additions.

Last week I happened upon a lovely Challah post on Tastespotting from Dine and Dish. Just the sight of the Challah made me salivate and I could almost smell the fragrant honeyed scent. The recipe was for a bread-machine Challah dough and I knew I had to immediately pull my abandoned bread machine out of retirement to give this a try. I mean, how could I resist attempting to make Challah with minimal effort? The bread machine would do all the hard work of making the dough, and I would get to do the fun part of forming the braid!

The results were far superior to what I could have ever wished for. The scent of freshly baked Challah filled the house, much to my husband's delight upon his return from a hard day at work. The crust transformed into a perfectly shiny, golden brown speckled with poppy seeds. The innards were light and airy, the colour of custard and just sweet enough. I think this was the best Challah I have ever eaten and I am delighted to have found such an easy recipe to bring a bit of my childhood into my home as often as I please. The leftovers made the most delicious french toast the next morning, just one more reason to bring the bread machine permanently out of retirement!

Braided Challah Bread (Bread Machine) - from Recipezaar

Dough:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup water
  

Egg wash:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbs water

Place ingredients into bread machine according to manufacturers directions.
Set on dough cycle and run until end of cycle.

Place dough onto a lightly floured board and divide into three equal parts. Stretch or roll each part into 9″ ropes and braid. Place on greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix together egg yolk and water and brush evenly over bread, then sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.