Daring Bakers March '10- Orange Tian

This month’s Daring Bakers challenge was an Orange Tian. I had never heard of this dessert before and it seemed a little daunting. I am also not a fan of citrus flavored desserts so I wondered whether I should do this one. But boy am I glad I did it! Not that it converted me but I learned so many new techniques that I would never had learned otherwise.


The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

A tian is made of several layers- pate sable, marmalade, stabilized cream, orange segments and caramel. It is built upside down so you gotta pray really hard that it turns out the way you imagined it. My dessert didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but what the heck, I had a whale of a time making it. I made my own marmalade…yayyyy!!!

The marmalade was a breeze! The recipe called for some pectin but I couldn’t find any. Some of the DBs had made it without pectin so I gave it a shot. And it turned out absolutely lovely! Even the pate sable turned out just fine.

I had some trouble with segmenting oranges… actually a lot of trouble and I can’t understand why anyone would wanna do it. They look good of course but they are too much trouble…

And then the whipped cream!! Oh I could kill it if I could...No matter how much I tried it just wouldn’t thicken. Or stabilize...like it was supposed to...I tried everything… even added more gelatin…but nothing.. I was too tired by then to start over again so assembled the dessert anyways. When I finally unmolded my dessert, the cream had seeped into the orange segments but I was happy to see that the cream had set a wee bit.

But finally, when you take your first bite, it makes all this trouble worthwhile. It is fresh, summery and light. The orange segments soaked in caramel, light and fluffy cream and the crunch of the pate sable make all your troubles on a hot sunny day go away… I am now wondering which other fruits I can try this with. Other DBs used all kinds of citrus and berries but I wonder if this would go well with mangoes (its my favorite fruit). The mango season is just coming in and I’ve been thinking of various desserts I could use them in.

This Orange Tian was a series of hits and misses for me but I did enjoy it. I screamed in frustration when something didn’t turn out right and squealed with joy when it did. And I realized that this itself is the reason I chose to be a Daring Baker- To learn from my mistakes and savor the fruits of my labor. And as long as you make it and share it with a loved one, every single minute spent in the kitchen is worth it.

Granola Bars

You know how some people are always hungry? The ones who eat all their meals on time and are still hungry in between? Need a snack every now and then? No!! Don’t call them greedy! God just made them very hungry… Well, I am not claiming to be one of ‘them’ but this Granola Bar would be super for them! It would be great for a midnight snack or even better to carry around in your purse if you were out for the day. And totally guilt-free!! If you ignore the chocolate chips… and the condensed milk… But in spite of these I rarely eat something this healthy.

I’m not really a fan of ‘healthy food’. I would never choose muesli over a cheese omelette or a juice over a milkshake. Sure, I love salads, but there’d have to be some kind of meat in it to lure me. Lettuce and tomatoes just don’t make me ooh and aah the way a bite of steak would! But I think this bar has surprised me. I did have second thoughts about making them but am glad I did. I’d also like to refer to them now on as Energy Bars! All those nuts and fruits can really save your day when you’re too busy to eat (though I hope that never happens to me!!!).

What I absolutely love about them is their versatility. The possibilities are endless. You can add anything you like… avoid anything you don’t… some people switch the condensed milk for honey. So the recipe is just a general guideline but you just do whatever you feel like along the way :-)

Chocolate Crinkles

The past few days have been good. I can now strike out not one but two of the goodies from my to-do list for the month. After the cupcakes, I was in the mood for something quick again. And of course, considering that cookies are my all time favorites to bake, there was no doubt in my mind about what I would attempt next. So chocolate crinkles it was! Much has already been said about them, so I’m gonna keep it short. I love the look of these gorgeous cookies; the white against the dark rich cookie is really appealing. And I’m sure there’s not one person who does not like these lovely soft crinkles.

Cupcake Wonderland

I’ve stepped into cupcake wonderland!! And I never wanna leave!!! I made cupcakes for the first time and I don’t think I wanna make anything else again!!!

I’ve looked adoringly at cupcakes many a times, wondering when I’d make my first batch. I get excited just at the thought of them! Couldn’t wait to decorate these lil babies in a rainbow of colors and adorable sprinkles!! So this week I finally got around to making them. I knew I wanted chocolate (no surprises there!) with a blue colored frosting. I used a simple Devil’s Food Cupcake recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop but used a different frosting. I thought the blue frosting would be great with a hint of peppermint. I don’t know why I thought that making cupcakes would be a tedious thing, in fact they were really quick and I don’t think I took more than an hour. Or maybe I got so lost in my wonderland that I didn’t notice time flying by...

I have a confession to make-I’m the laziest bum you will ever find! Sitting around staring at walls or just leafing through a book with a cup of masala chai are my favoritest things :) Ever so often I find myself making plans but never actually getting around to doing any of it... This is exactly what’s been happening with me for the last few weeks. I’ve been planning to cook all sorts of things but haven’t even entered the kitchen yet! The only thing I did actually make was the Tiramisu. Thank god there was a deadline or I would’ve never gotten it done! Well, I’ve also been working... (That’s a good enough excuse right?)`


But the one thing I can’t do with out is making the ‘Plan’. Just in case I decide to stick to it! Even as a kid I remember copiously making all sorts of lists- things to do, books to read, places to go, shopping wish lists… Yes I know, list making goes against my lazy nature right? Lists are for the go-getter type people who would then strike out things at the end of the day with triumph. Ya, I’m weird that way…

Are u wondering why I’m rambling on about all of this? Because I realized that if I really want to bake and learn as much as I can, in spite of work, in spite of those times when life takes over, I’d need a list!! A list that I would turn to every time I had a few hours to spare, that would keep me from giving up on days with relentless work, a list I would complete because I really really wanted to :)

There are a few things that have been on my mind since a while, so I’m gonna start the month with them. Here goes-

Chocolate Crinkles- my sister has been asking me to make them forever

Cupcakes- will be my first time

Apricot Teacakes

Granola Bars

Momos

Cheese Muffins

Tiramisu

This month was my first challenge as a Daring Baker. I was super excited and couldn’t wait to see the challenge revealed! And when it was, let me just say, it was quite a challenge!!


The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Tiramisu has always been one of my favorite desserts but never ever had I thought that I’d make it myself. To be honest I didn’t even know what went into it! There are many different elements that go into a tiramisu- ladyfinger biscuits, mascarpone cheese, zabaglione, vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream. All flavored with coffee or wine of course! And since this was the Daring Bakers challenge, we had to make the ladyfingers (savoiardi biscuits) and mascarpone ourselves.The entire recipe can be found here.

Making the cheese takes a day so this recipe needs a bit of planning. I was nervous since this was my first time making cheese. But it turned out just right! We don’t really get mascarpone cheese here, so I guess I don’t have to worry anymore :)

The savoiardi are nice and crisp outside and very cakelike from within. Yumm yumm yumm……

Zabaglione is an egg custard which can be also eaten by itself. You gotta try it to believe it!

I forgot to take pictures of the vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream before I assembled the Tiramisu :(


It’s a good idea to freeze Tiramisu for a couple of days because the flavors really kick in by then. And with a sprinkling of cocoa powder, its ready to go!!