Cook Bake Love

Every month a few friends get together and cook at a friends loft in Bushwick. We call the food party: Chez Bushwick. Sometimes we livestream it, some times there are 50 people who stop by for food. And sometimes its just an intimate group. I usually bring dessert, and did (that lemon tart with candied lemons was, in fact, for this) but I also like to try my hand at something savory. I made a bolognese sauce. This was my third attempt to make this and FINALLY, I got it right. I combined a few different versions and let is simmer for 2 plus hours. But simmer it did. In the mean time, my friend James, made pasta. I didn’t get any pictures but this one of the veggies, in the beginning.

Bolognese // Classic Meat Sauce

Ingredients

• *2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• *1 small Onion, chopped
• *1 Carrot, chopped
• *1 celery stalk, chopped
• *1/4 cup chopped pancetta or Bacon
• *1 Pound ground beef
• *3/4 cup Juice from Tomatoes
• *1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes (use the juice for the above)
• *1 Cup Beef Stock
• *To Taste Salt and Pepper
• *1 Cup Cream
• To Taste Freshly Grated Parmasean Cheese

Cooking Directions

1. 1. Add Olive Oil in a large deep saucepan over medium heat, when hot add in onion.
2. 2. Once onion begins to brown add carrot, celery and Bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
3. 3. Add the ground meat and cook. Be sure to stir and break any lumps.
4. 4. Once all the red traces in the meat are gone, add the tomato juice.
5. 5. Stir until most of the liquid is evaporated
6. 6. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them to the pot
7. 7. Continue to stir breaking up any tomato or meat clumps
8. 8. Cook for an hour before sprinkling with salt and pepper
9. 9. Continue to cook for another hour or so, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick.
10. 10. About 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve, add the cream and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes and season to taste.

This Tangerine Tart, I’ve made before, this time though, half way through the baking, I added the candied lemons to the top. I let it sit/cool for a few hours and it came out really pretty. This crust, really is pretty amazing. I’m going to use it again for something, just not sure exactly what yet…

Ingredients for the Crust

• *2 cups all-purpose flour
• *3/4 cup powdered sugar
• *2 tsp. grated tangerine peel “zest”
• *14 Tbsp. (3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp.) butter

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. 2. In a bowl add flour, sugar and zest, mix with a fork.
3. 3. Add butter one chunk and mix with hand just until dough holds together.
4. 4. Press over bottom and up sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable rim. (I like to place on a cookie sheet so its easier to get in and out of the oven)
5. 5. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
6. 6. While this is baking - start on the filling in a bowl with a pour and be prepared to add it directly to tart crust.

Ingredients for Filling

• *2 large eggs
• *2/3 cup granulated sugar
• *2 tsp. grated tangerine peel “zest”
• *1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice (3 to 4 juicy tangerines, such as W. Murcott variety)
• *1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• *1/4 cup half-and-half (light cream)

1. 1. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat eggs and granulated sugar until well blended.
2. 2. Add tangerine zest, tangerine juice, lemon juice and half-and-half.
3. 3. Beat until blended. 
4. 4. Pour into baked cookie crust. 
5. 5. Bake at 325 degrees F. 30 to 40 minutes or until the filling no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is gently shaken.
6. 6. Let cool completely on a rack, about an hour. 

I’m trying to make my Tangerine Tart look prettier. So I thought that maybe adding the candy lemons on top would be a nice touch… The night before I had to make the tart, I candied the lemons because I was told they needed 24 hours to dry. My friend Martina came over, took some photos with me and kept me company while these suckers soaked. It was fun and pretty easy. I’m definitely going to play with this some more.

Ingredients

• 3 organic lemons, washed
• 1 Cup Water for Boiling
• Bowl Ice Water
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Cup Water

Cooking Directions

1. Cut the lemons into thin slices removing seeds and the ends.
2. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and place the lemon slices for about a minute (You know, blanch them)
3. Drain the lemon slices and emerge them into the bowl of ice water.
4. Drain.
5. Combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a large saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
6. Bring to a simmer and add the lemon slices. Simmer (don’t boil) for 2 hours
7. Remove slices from hot sugar syrup and set on a cooling rack over a baking sheet to dry.

Ice Pops

1. Using the Lemon Sugar Water, just poured the liquid into three ice pops and put into the freezer… so we’ll see.

After making this Boston Cream Pie a few weeks ago, a friend requested it for her birthday cake. Well. I love making birthday cakes and I got some great advice from a reader, Emily on the last post, I thought, why not try again.

This time you’ll see that the cakes were perfectly round without ridges! Yay, and I poured the chocolate a bit more evenly. 

I have a few group of friends that throw dinner parties. And I love it cause it not only does it give me an excuse to cook, it means there will be people to actually taste the food! I actually thought this was bit bland, but it went really fast.

Ingredients

Crust

• *1 1/4 Cup Flour
• *1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Corn Starch
• *1/4 teaspoon Salt
• *6 tablespoons Butter Diced

Filling

• *1 Egg
• *2 Small Zucchini, Sliced Into Thin Circles
• *1 Tablespoon Tablespoon Olive Oil
• *Salt & Pepper
• *1 1/2 Cup Fresh Ricotta
• *3 Ounces Goat Cheese At Room Temperature
• *3  Large Eggs
• *1 Cup Milk
• *1 Lemon Zest

Cooking Directions

Crust

1. 1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and one-fourth teaspoon salt.
2. 2. Cut the butter until it is in very tiny bits.
3. 3. Add one egg and mix with a fork until a dough forms. (I usually use my hands until the dough forms.
4. 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle.
5. 5. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan and press to remove any air bubbles. Crimp the edges
6. 6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. No parbaking required.

Filling

1. 1. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and cook the zucchini rounds until tender.
2. 2. Remove from the pan and place evenly across the bottom of the pie crust.
3. 3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, goat cheese, eggs, lemon zest and milk.
4. 4. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the zucchini.
5. 5. Arrange another layer of Zucchini at the top
6. 6. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until the edges are firm to touch and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. 7. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Continuing on my marshmallow journey, I decided to try and make a savory Marshmallow. I based it off of this recipe I saw on Serious Eats. This is the first batch that really came out perfect and I really believe its cause I didn’t put them in the refrigerator. It seems that’s why my past marshmallows were getting too wet and mushy.

Ingredients

• *1 Cup pumpkin puree
• *1/2 Cup cold water
• *1/4 cup powdered gelatin (slightly more than one knox box)
• *1 1/4 cup corn syrup
• *1/4 teaspoon salt
• *2 Cups granulated sugar
• *1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• *1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• *2 tablespoon cornstarch
• *1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cooking Directions

1. 1. Lightly spray a metal pan with non-stick cooking spray, then rub gently with a paper towel to distribute the spray and leave just the merest sheen of oil on the sheet.
2. 2. Combine the first three ingredients to bloom the gelatin in a medium bowl and mix until well blended and smooth. Set aside.
3. 3. Combine another 1/2 cup of water, corn syrup, salt and sugar in a 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Cover the pot with a lid for two minutes to allow the condensation to make sure all crystals are dissolved.
4. 4. Cook until syrup reaches 255F (hard ball). Remove pan from heat and carefully stir in pumpkin-gelatin mixture.
5. 5. Pour this mixture into the bowl and hand mix until it gradually increase the mixer speed to “high”.
6. 6. Whip mixture for 10 minutes. At the beginning of the final minute of whipping, sprinkle in cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to whip.
7. 7. Scrap mixture into prepared pan and spread out smooth. Set marshmallow aside, uncovered, at room temperature for at least 4 hours to over night before cutting.
8. 8. Before cutting the marshmallow, sift the two remaining ingredients together into a medium mixing bowl. Cut marshmallows with a lightly oiled serrated knife and break into individual pieces. Fully cover with cornstarch mixture and then tapping to get rid of excess. Store in an airtight container with the lid slightly ajar for up to three days.

Homemade Marshmallows are a constant challenge for me and my favorite party trick. I seem to always get distracted though and slightly mess them up. I’m learning that it is really important to follow the temperature and measurement exactly or the marshmallows will either be too mushy or have kernels of sugar.

I also learned that I can be creative with how I bloom the gelatin. In this particular recipe I used freshly brewed lavender tea and ran out of white sugar and used have dark brown sugar which added a deeper flavor. I forgot to measure out the tea and the marshmallows got really mushy after hanging out in the fridge for a while. But maybe its the fridge and I just need to keep them at room temperature.

My hand mixer makes hearts. It never gets old. Ever.

Ingredients

• *About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• *3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
• *1/2 freshly brewed lavender tea
• *1/2 cup cold water, divided
• *1 cup granulated sugar (cane sugar worked just fine)
• *1 cup dark brown sugar
• *1/2 cup light corn syrup
• *1/4 teaspoon salt
• *2 large egg whites or reconstituted powdered egg whites
• *1 tablespoon vanilla (alternately: 1/2 of a scraped vanilla bean, 2 teaspoons almond or mint extract or maybe even some food coloring for tinting)

Instructions

1. 1. Steep lavender in hot water for 5 minutes (or until strong) and put into the refrigerator.
2. 2. Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar.
3. 3. In a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold cold lavender tea, and let stand to soften.
4. 4. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved.
5. 5. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes.
6. 6. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
7. 7. With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.
8. 8. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined.
9. 9. Pour mixture into baking pan
10. 10. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
11. 11. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board.
12. 12. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes.
13. 13. Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, shake off and bake away.

I went to Switzerland over the holidays and just loved sandwiches on Pretzel rolls. I’ve been dreaming of them and decided to give them a try. This was way harder than I expected and took forever to make 8, though I could probably make 24 in the same amount of time if I had the oven space and pans. I based the rolls off of this Pretzel Roll recipe.

I don’t have many pictures, cause I was very focused but here’s how they turned out.

Ingredients

• *2 3/4 cups bread flour
• *1 envelope quick-rising yeast
• *1 teaspoon salt
• *1 teaspoon sugar
• *1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (about) hot water 
• *Cornmeal
• *8 cups water
• *1/4 cup baking soda
• *2 tablespoons sugar
• *1 egg white, beaten to blend (glaze)
• *Coarse salt

Instructions
Part 1

1. 1. Combine bread flour, 1 envelope yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar in food processor and blend.
2. 2. With machine running, gradually pour hot water through feed tube, adding enough water to form smooth elastic dough.
3. 3. Process 1 minute to knead. (I have a tiny food processor and made a total mess, but it worked)
4. 4. Grease medium bowl (I used Crisco)
5. 5. Add dough to bowl, turning to coat.
6. 6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then towel; let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 35 minutes.

Part 2

1. 1. Flour baking sheet.
2. 2. Punch dough down and knead on lightly floured surface until smooth.
3. 3. Divide into 8 pieces.
4. 4. Form each dough piece into ball.
5. 5. Place dough balls on prepared sheet, flattening each slightly.
6. 6. Using serrated knife, cut X in top center of each dough ball. (Be bold with this, other x will disappear)
7. 7. Cover with towel and let dough balls rise until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes.

Part 3

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. 2. Grease another baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.
3. 3. Bring 8 cups water to boil in large saucepan.
4. 4. Add baking soda and 2 tablespoons sugar (I accidentally added baking soda before water was boiling. Don’t do that. And I was nervous to roll in water but it was fine)
5. 5. Add 2 rolls and cook 30 seconds per side.
6. 6. Using slotted spoon, transfer rolls to prepared sheet, arranging X side up. Repeat with remaining rolls.
7. 7. Brush rolls with egg white glaze.
8. 8. Sprinkle rolls generously with coarse salt.
9. 9. Bake rolls until brown, about 25 minutes.
10. 10. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes.
11. 11. Serve rolls warm or room temperature. 

My grandmother sent me and my brother a huge box of honey tangerines so I decided to make a tart with them. This recipe is super easy and impressive as hell.

The one thing I was worried about was the extremely wet filling, but after baking, it had a perfect texture.

I wish I took a picture when I removed it from the tart pan. The crust was just perfect.

Ingredients for the Crust

• *2 cups all-purpose flour
• *3/4 cup powdered sugar
• *2 tsp. grated tangerine peel “zest”
• *14 Tbsp. (3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp.) butter

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. 2. In a bowl add flour, sugar and zest, mix with a fork.
3. 3. Add butter one chunk and mix with hand just until dough holds together.
4. 4. Press over bottom and up sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable rim. (I like to place on a cookie sheet so its easier to get in and out of the oven)
5. 5. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
6. 6. While this is baking - start on the filling in a bowl with a pour and be prepared to add it directly to tart crust.

Ingredients for Filling

• *2 large eggs
• *2/3 cup granulated sugar
• *2 tsp. grated tangerine peel “zest”
• *1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice (3 to 4 juicy tangerines, such as W. Murcott variety)
• *1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• *1/4 cup half-and-half (light cream)

1. 1. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat eggs and granulated sugar until well blended.
2. 2. Add tangerine zest, tangerine juice, lemon juice and half-and-half.
3. 3. Beat until blended. 
4. 4. Pour into baked cookie crust. 
5. 5. Bake at 325 degrees F. 30 to 40 minutes or until the filling no longer jiggles in the center when the pan is gently shaken.
6. 6. Let cool completely on a rack, about an hour. 

The rumor is that Pumpkin + Lavender is an aphrodisiac. I’m not so sure if it is true, but the rumor definitely got a lot of tasters lining up!

This recipe is super easy. Though my secret was hand making the lavender sugar, the night before.

Ingredients:

• *3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup from whole wheat pastry flour)
• *2 cups lavender sugar **recipe below**
• *1 teaspoon salt
• *2 teaspoons baking soda
• *1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• *2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• *1 15-ounce canned pumpkin
• *2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• *3 eggs, slightly beaten
• *extra dried lavender sugar crystals, for dusting

Instructions:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. 2. Grease well, two 9” by 5” loaf pans.
3. 3. In a large bowl, with fork, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
4. 4. Add remaining ingredients and mix just until blended.
5. 5. Pour batter into pans.
6. 6. Sprinkle some dried lavender and sugar crystals on top
7. 7. Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. 8. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on racks.

Lavender Sugar

(These two photos we graciously taken by Martina Fugazzotto)

Ingredients:

• *3 Cups of Sugar (1/2 cup separated)
• *1/2 cup of dried Lavender

Instructions:

1. 1. Place 1/2 cup of sugar and lavender in a mortar an pestle
2. 2. Grind until lavender is combined and aromatic
3. 3. Return lavender to 3 cups of sugar and let it sit at least over night.

Bread has always been a challenge for me but I saw this recipe for Brioche and thought I’d give it  a try. It definitely feels like the beginners version. Thought it came out nice and definitely tasted more like brioche when I tasted the following morning and turned it into french toast!

The dough before it rises.

The dough right before it goes into the oven.

Ingredients:

• *1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• *3 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
• *3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• *¼ teaspoon salt
• *1/3 cup milk, warm
• *2 ¾ oz unsalted butter, softened
• *2 eggs plus 1 egg, divided and lightly beaten
• *1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preparation:

1. 1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Gradually add the warm milk, butter, and 2 eggs into the flour mixture; knead until the dough is smooth.
2. 2. The dough is ready to rise when it is completely smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
3. 3. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours, or until it is doubled in size.
4. 4. Transfer the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and punch it down a few times. Divide the dough into 3 equal-sized balls.
5. 5. Roll each ball into a 10-inch long rope, and then braid the ropes together.
6. 6. Tuck the ends under and place the braid in a greased 9-inch by 5-inch baking pan. 
7. 7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough covering, gently brush the loaf with the beaten egg, sprinkle with a small amount of sugar, and bake for 10 minutes.
8. 8. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes, until the brioche is golden brown. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack.

I spent the afternoon yesterday over at my friend Martina’s house. We both work in the digital/social world and decided to have a freelance afternoon together while baking a Boston Cream Pie for a dinner party tonight. Before we got started, Martina showed me around her incredible urban Farm. She just started planting for the summer, and I seriously can’t wait for it to be warm enough for backyard BBQs.  I was also surprised to find some photos hanging on the fridge that we took a few months ago at the Hipstamatic/Levis party.

Martina chose this recipe from Cooks Illustrated, which is under a pay wall. To respect their copyright, I won’t post the full recipe below, but rather our experience making it.  If you do want this recipe, and I recommend it, you can find it here: Boston Cream Pie.

It was also nice to have another set of hands in the kitchen. Martina, was handing me ingredients, cleaning and taking these amazing photos.The recipe is in three parts. Starting with the cream, the cake and then the glaze. It’s also in order of difficulty. Not sure if that’s intentional but making the custard took a great deal of attention. Tempering egg yolks, whisking at three different temperatures and then straining.

The article talks about why they used flour for the consistency of the custard, but never discusses why we strain it. So, WHY? What are we straining out? Or are we just sifting the cream so its not clumpy?

I just can’t figure out what is staying behind in the strainer. We then covered the custard and let it set.

We then went on to make the cakes. I found that the cakes stuck a little. I’m still trying to figure out how to line baking pans with parchment paper and still have perfect clean edges.

And then we took them out of the oven. Golden, spongy. and Beautiful (besides those creases in the side of the cake which absolutely drive me CRAZY.)

Once they cooled completely we took out the set cream and assembled the cake.

The glaze took 5 minutes to make and we poured on top and let it drip down the sides.

And Voila, the finished cake!

The first time I made this savory tart was for a dinner party. I stumbled a bit and definitely didn’t have faith in my crust but it came out beautifully. Inviting friends over to watch the Oscars, I had snacks like guacamole and hummus but wanted something a little bit more hardy and decided to whip this up again. Though, I should have made sure my guests weren’t lactose intolerant or dieting.  2 of 5 of us couldn’t have any so we ordered in Chinese food too.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Yields 8 servings

Ingredients

• *1 small head of cauliflower (about a pound)
• *3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• *1 A homemade tart shell (recipe below)
• *1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• *Splash Balsamic Vinegar
• *1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• *2 large eggs
• *1 (7- to 8- ounce) container mascarpone cheese
• *1/2 cup whipping cream
• *1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• *1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
• *1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. 1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.
2. 2. Toss cauliflower with 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl.
3. 3. Spread on rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast 15 minutes before turning florets over and roasting until brown and tender, another 15 minutes in my oven. Cool.
4. 4. Reduce temperature to 350°F.
5. 5. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-low heat.
6. 6. Once skillet is warm add onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until onion is a deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. When they start to reduce add a splash of balsamic vinegar and allow to reduce further.
7. 7. Cool slightly
8. 8. Use a knife or brush to spread the bottom and sides of crust (tart shell recipe below) with mustard.
9. 9. Spread onion over crust.
10. 10. Arrange cauliflower over the onion.
11. 11. Set the tart on a rimmed baking sheet (to protect against leaks).
12. 12. Whisk eggs, mascarpone, cream and pepper in a medium bowl.
13. 13. Stir in Gruyère.
14. 14. Pour mixture over filling in tart pan
15. 15. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until tart is golden and center is set, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 15 minutes before serving.

Tart Crust
Adapted from Le Pain Quotidien, also seen here

Ingredients

• *1 1/4 cups flour
• *1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• *1/4 teaspoon salt
• *6 tablespoons butter, diced
• *1 egg

Instructions

1. 1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and one-fourth teaspoon salt.
2. 2. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or two knives until it is in very tiny bits.
3. 3. Add one egg and mix with a fork until a dough forms.
4. 4. If this does not happen easily, toss it out onto a counter and knead it together. (may take some time but don’t give up!)
5. 5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle.
6. 6. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate or tart pan and press to remove any air bubbles. Crimp the edges, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Proceed with a filling of your choice, no parbaking required.

With this experiment I got to play with chocolate, learn how to ‘temper’ and create little gems I’m quite proud of…

The inspiration:

I saw it in a book and I thought, hey, I can do this…

Bought me some chocolates from my favorite chocolate shop and some raspberries.

Turned the Raspberries into a ganache center

I left them in the fridge over night. Then tempered the chocolate, dipped and refrigerated again. I am quite proud of how the came out.

Here’s the dance steps.

Ingredients:

• *3/4 cup heavy cream
• *20 Ounces bittersweet chocolate
  
• *2 cups firm dry fresh raspberries. (Really important that they are both dry and firm or they get too mushy and break and makes it near impossible)

Instructions

1. 1. Simmer cream in a sauce pan.
2. 2. Remove from heat and add in 8 ounces of chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, stir gently and pour into a bowl.
3. 3. Coat the berries in chocolate and place on a cookie sheet covered in foil. Use two spoons to full cover the raspberries which may come out uneven. Then refrigerate until completely firm.
4. 4. Cover another cookie sheet in foil
5. 5. Temper the remaining chocolate
6. 6. Drop the chilled raspberry ganache in the chocolate using two forks to completely cover and remove excess. Repeat with all the berries.

Tempering Chocolate

This is basically placing some of the chocolate in a double boiler until it gets to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (F) and remove from heat. Add more chocolate to naturally reduce the temperature. Continue to do this till the temp gets to 79 Degrees F.  Then bring back to 88 Degrees F using the double boiler. Then while you’re working with the chocolate, try and keep it at 88 Degrees F - never going over 90 Degrees.  A heating pad can help, but I just kept stirring to keep the temp even and was sure to pay close attention.