Wow!  It has been a long time since I posted.  Doesn’t really mean I have not been doing anything…LOL.  It’s been a busy month, but here I am. Back in my kitchen and ready to cook, bake and experiment!!!  For this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie, Natalia of gatti fili e farina chose Gingered Carrot Cookies on page 162 of  Dorie Greenspan’s book  Baking: From My Home to Yours.  These are excellent cookie version of the carrot cake as Dorie intended them to be.  As always, I tweaked the recipe for the dietary requirements of my housemate.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups wholewheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• dash of ground nutmge
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (we love carrots!!!)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or any nuts you have)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare cookie sheet by lining with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a bowl whisk flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. Using a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add sugar, vanilla and egg and continue beating for another minute until well mixed.  Slowly add dry ingredients in thirds on low speed, just until mixed.
4. Using a spatula, stir in carrots and nuts until combined.
5. Place 1 medium scoop full of dough on cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart (they don’t spread much)  and bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until light brown.  Cool on wire rack.

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

At first glance, it looks like it is something that will take forever to make.  But our host was right. You can make this in a day. Which is what I did.  Too busy with  too many things the last few weeks, I whipped this amazing dessert this morning.  Of course, it helped that I already have some homemade mascarpone cheese handy but if you don’t , a quick trip to the store should do it.  And in a bind, you can always use either whipping cream or even cream cheese to make the mousse. I topped mine with slices of fresh strawberry which complemented the chocolate flavor!

There are three components to this meringue-based dessert:  the pavlova base, in this case a chocolate flavored one; the chocolate mascarpone mousse (very decadent) and the mascarpone cream which is a part of the mousee.  Here are the recipes provided:

Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):
3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder
Directions:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.
2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)
3. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)
4. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon. (Class made rounds, hearts, diamonds and an attempt at a clover was made!)
5. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):
1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)
Directions:
1. Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.
2. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.)
3. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova.

Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):
1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream
Directions:
1. Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.
Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):
1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar
Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
2. Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat. .
3. Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.
Assembly:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes chose this amazing recipe which can be found on pages 286 and 287 of Dorie Greenspan’s book  Baking: From My Home to Yours for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie. The cake has all that chocolatey goodness and is a little bit decadent.  The fruit jam filling balanced the flavor.  In this case, I used ready-made Lingonberry jam. The tartness just made the chocolate cake even more yummy!

Here’s my version:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups wholewheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cups vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cups lingonberry jam (or any fruit jam)
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare loaf pan by greasing and dusting with flour.  If using silicone loaf pan, you can skip this part.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (approx 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, continuing to beat after each addition.  Reduce speed to low and add yogurt.  Add dry ingredients and mix only until combined. Pour batter onto loaf pan.
4. Bake for 60 minutes (or longer depending on your oven) until cake tester (or toothpick or skewer) comes out clean.  Transfer to cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove from pan to rack and let cool to room temperature.
5. When cooled, slice the loaf cake lengthwise in 3 pieces.  Spread fruit jam on top of two of the pieces. Put pieces back on top of each other, with the top layer being the piece with no fruit jam spread on it. Set aside.
6. Make the frosting by melting chocolate on heatproof bowl over boiling water or in a double boiler on low heat. Stir until all melted then add yogurt. Continue stirring until smooth and shiny.  Remove from heat and spread over top and sides of loaf cake.

Notes:  This cake freezes well. Defrost in refrigerator before slicing.