Daring Baker's October Challenge: French Macaroons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macaroons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I was so excited to make this month's challenge : french macaroons. But mine came out terribly. The macaroons were chewy not light and crispy.

Also, I made an effort to make a 'tahini' filling (a la peanut butter buttercream). I mixed it with powdered sugar and it looked promising, until I thinned it with milk and it became glossy and tacky not smooth and creamy.

In the end they were OK but not really good enough to keep eat and we only managed to eat a couple before giving up on the disaster... ugh.

Brown Butter Pecan Ice cream with Homemade Dark Chocolate Magic Shell

I recently spotted a Brown Butter ice cream recipe and thought how intriguing it sounded.

That first recipe used corn starch to thicken the recipe, which I've done before (a la Mark Bittman) but never loved as much as the egg yolk based "frozen custard" type recipes. So I went in search of a new recipe.

I found one that sounded delicious at Chez Pim but I decided to add a little bit more with some pan roasted pecans.

And just for fun, I added some dark chocolate homemade magic shell. mmmm...

We actually divided our churned ice cream in two and only used 1 cup of pecans in half the ice cream. You can do what you like with this information.

Brown Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks), cut into cubes
1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar (divided)
6 yolks
1 tsp salt
2 cups chopped, roasted pecans (recipe follows)

1. Place the butter in a deep pan over medium heat and begin heating the butter, stirring or swirling often. The butter will start to foam and bubble but keep watching just as it starts to brown and smell nutty remove it from the heat. The process should just take a few minutes. If you 'over brown' your butter, just strain out all the brown bits.

2. Put your 6 yolks + half the sugar in a blender or food processor (you need a volume of about a quart + in the blender or food processor so to make sure you have enough room for all the liquids).

3. When fully combined, leave the blender or food processor running. Then, slowly pour the (strained) hot brown butter into the yolk/sugar mixture and keep blending until fully combined (if you don't blend while adding, you'll cook your eggs!).

4. Rinse out the pan you used for your brown butter and place the rest of the sugar, salt, and milk (but NOT the cream) in the pan over medium heat. Allow the mixture to get to a simmer and then cut the heat.

5. Again, while blending, add the sugar/milk mixture into the egg/brown butter mixture.

6. When all the yolks have been fully incorporated, poor off the liquid into a large bowl. Add the remaining cream and mix to combine.

7. Allow to chill in freezer overnight.

8. Freeze as per manufacturers recommendations on your ice cream maker.

9. In the last few minutes of churning (or afterwords if your ice cream maker doesn't set your ice cream too stiffly) add in the chopped pecans.

10. Pour into a lidded container and place a piece of parchment paper over the surface of the mixture (this will stop the leathery freezer burn-yness that tends to form on top of ice cream). Seal the container with the lid and place in the freezer to set fully. Enjoy in a few hours.

Pan Roasted Pecans
If you have another method you prefer for roasting nuts, go with it. (For example, in the oven on a sheet pan). This one is fast and easy (especially to watch so it won't burn).

Ingredients
2.5 cups raw pecans

1. Place the pecans in a dry pan over medium heat. Stirring constantly until a roasted smell starts to waft over you and the pecans just start to change color. Pour into an open countainer and allow to cool on the counter (do not seal the container as the water in the air may condense and fall onto your pecans causing them to 'wilt'). When they are cooled completely, close the container and store at room temperature until use.

Homemade Magic Shell

The real 'secret' to magic shell is coconut oil. Coconut oil is a liquid at room temp, but a solid at ice cream temperatures meaning that you can pour it on, but once it hits the ice cream it hardens forming a delicious, thin shell. Mmm. This version is so simple you'll wonder why you ever purchased a bottle from the store!

Ingredients
75 grams dark chocolate** (I used 72% dark)
50 grams refined coconut oil*
pinch of salt.

1. Chop the chocolate and place in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds and then remove, stir. Heat for another 30 seconds and then remove, stir. By now, the chocolate should be completely melted. Add the coconut oil and salt. Mix to combine.

2. Store in a glass container at room temperature (NOT in the refrigerator) if the magic shell hardens because it's cold (winter time) just place the glass container in the microwave for a few seconds until it melts.

*If you use unrefined coconut oil your magic shell will have a 'coconutty' taste to it which some people (including myself) like.

**You can use any chocolate you like, we've even had success with white chocolate.

Old Time-y Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

thekitchn.com sent me the "Best of the BAKE-OFF Collection" a collection of recipes from the Pillsbury bake off that was first published in 1959 (with adorable old-time-y illustrations and flavors) for being one of the first to enter their quick weeknight meals contest.

When I saw fresh cranberries at the market, I knew I had to grab them. I came home with an idea about a cranberry cobbler or cranberry coffee cake and I decided to take a peak in the book to see if there was anything like that. Sure enough: Cranberry Crisscross Coffee Cake! PERFECT.

I prefer using a 9x13 casserole dish to the 8x8 dish suggested by the recipe so I multiplied all the ingredients by 1.5. Also, I added some orange juice to the cranberry orange mixture and a brown sugar/cinnamon topping at the end. I also swapped the shortening for butter. Mmm butter.

This cake was really moist and delicious, a more interesting take on a standard coffee cake. Really delicious!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
For cranberry mixture:
3 cups (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
Zest from 2 oranges, and juice from one.
1/2 cup walnuts, ground [I used pecans, because I could]
1 1/8 cup brown sugar
1.5 tablespoons flour

For cake batter:
2 1/4 All Purpose Flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened
1 egg + 1 egg white, beaten
1.5 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk

For topping:
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 tsp cinnamon

0. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse the cranberries to break them up. Move into a medium size bowl and add the orange rind, orange juice, walnuts, brown sugar and 1.5 tablespoons flour. Set aside.

2. In another medium bowl, sift the remaining 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture.

4. To the butter and sugar mixture add in alternating installments the milk and the dry ingredients. The batter will be VERY thick.

5. Line a 9x13 casserole with parchment paper or aluminum foil and grease.

6. Spread half of the cake batter in the bottom of the dish.

7. Spread half of the cranberry mixture on top of the cake batter (don't worry too much about neatness).

8. Spread the remaining cake batter on top of the cranberry layer.

9. Spread the remaining cranberry ontop in any pattern you like (I did criss cross). It's best to leave at least a little of the batter exposed in the middle so that you can test more easily with a tooth pick.

10. Bake in the oven for 30-45 min until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Note, the cake we baked did not brown. Take cake out of oven and turn oven to "broil"

11. In the meantime, mix the 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. When cake is done baking, sprinkle on top of cake, trying to coat evening.

12. Put the dish back under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until the top is nicely browned.

13. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Dessert for Dinner Butternut Squash Purée

As a vegetarian, I'm always looking for good sides to bring to any thanksgiving I attend to ensure that I'll have something to eat. This is one of my favorites, that always wins over the hearts of vegetarians and carnivores alike. In my college days, I would often use store bought frozen butternut squash puree which does make this recipe a whole lot easier. If you're going to make the swap, just buy two standard size (12-16 oz) boxes of frozen butternut squash puree and heat as per the directions on the package and follow from step 5.

Serves 6-8

• 2 butternut squashes (about 4 lbs at the market)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• vegetable oil for spraying
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out sides and fibers surrounding seeds. Spray or coat lightly with vegatable oil and sprinkle cut side with salt. Place on a cookie sheet, cut side down, and roast for about 30-45 minutes until squash is fork tender and cooked through.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh from skin and place in a food processor or blender.
4. In a food processor or blender, blend squash pulp until large chunks have disappeared. Make sure to allow some of the texture to remain. Think slightly chunky mashed potatoes not carrot soup.
5. Place the pureed squash in a large bowl and mix the pulp with the cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.
6. At this point, you can store the mixture until you are ready to serve.
7. About 45 minutes before serving time, Preheat oven to 350 degrees again.
8. Pour squash mixture into a casserole dish and smooth the surface. Place in oven and heat until warm throughout (a good serving temperature) this time will vary depending on how cold your mixture started. You don't want to cook it, just to heat it back up. To save time and oven space, this step could also be preformed in a microwave.
9. When the squash mixture is warmed through, remove it from the oven or microwave and set the oven to broil
10. Pinch off pieces of the butter and distribute butter bits along the surface of the casserole. Don't worry too much about perfect distribution, just try the best you can. Sprinkle the brown sugar liberally over the top of the buttered casserole. You may need more brown sugar depending on the dimensions of your casserole dish (and home much crunchy, sugary topping you enjoy!)
11. Broil the squash dish for about 3-5 minutes until the butter has melted and the surface begins to bubble and brown. The top should set to be slightly crunchy, like the surface of a good crème brûlée. Serve immediately.

I posted this to food52 in hope of submitting it for their 'fall vegetable puree' contest. How can sugar and maple syrup laden vegetables not be appealing???