December Challenge--Yule Log!!

This months challenge was hosted by Ivonne and Lisa, and they chose the yule log. What?! a yule log...I thought to myself...First of all, just let me start with saying, that I was scared to death to even read the instructions. First, I thought, well, I will just bail out on this one, but then I wouldn't be a very Daring Baker then, would I. So, right on the dead line, I decided that I would have to at least attempt to make this,and I am so glad that I did.

First, I started with the mushrooms. I made these out of meringue and I wish that I would have had more time to play with the meringue and maybe make some cute little snowmen or something, but ok....the mushrooms look like mushrooms and I am happy with that.

Then, to tackle the genoise cake. This made me a little nervous, with having to heat the eggs, and them whip them....would I get it to the right consistency...why, yes I did! How excited I was. Ok, the cake is in the oven, now it is time for the buttercream...I was scared to get to this part because I had been reading other posts about curdling. Would this happen to me and what would I do if it did? Of course, go to my trusty Daring Baker friends. They always have answers or suggestions to help figure out anything. But, got to separating my eggs, add the sugar, heat, and then whip in all of the butter. no curdling so far....I decided to do a chocolate buttercream, because my husband and the kiddos, wouldn't like the coffee flavor, although I would love it....so, back to the buttercream...added some vanilla and cocoa, whipped a little longer, and viola....no curdling!! Can I just get an AMEN!!

Now, it is time to spread half of my buttercream onto my cake, and roll. What if it cracks? My husband asked me...well, if it does, it is nothing that a little buttercream can't cover, right? Well, I did get a few cracks in rolling, but for the most part it all stayed together. I am really glad that I did this challenge. The little "rocks" with my yule log are Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles. I will post this recipe in the next day or so.

Now, go and check out the yule log craze that will hit this weekend.

I also wish everyone a safe Merry Christmas and very Happy New Year!!!

Kettle and Cup

I would like for you guys to check out one of my new favorite blogs, Kettle and Cup. Marye is having a huge Grand opening with weekly giveaways, however, I am a few weeks behind this. She has some really cool things on this blog. Go ahead, and check her out!

New to the Foodie Blogroll

If you have noticed something different on my sidebar, it is the foodie blogroll, created by The Leftover Queen herself. It is a list of nothing but food blogs! I am so excited to have found it. So, go ahead and join yourself...go ahead, just click....

Chocolate Sprinkled Creme Brulee

My husband just got back from his trip from Haiti from where he lived on rice and beans all week, and was ready for a real meal. So, we had his favorite, shrimp pasta, garlic bread and of course we had to finish off with a great dessert. This is one of his favorite...Chocolate Sprinkled Creme Brulee. I have said this before that I love Gale Gand and this recipe is from her book Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs. I have all of her books, except for her first and I am still looking for it. Every thing that I have made from her books and been wonderful. This recipe is really simple and quick to put together. My favorite thing to do with these desserts is to caramelize the tops with sugar with my little kitchen torch. I never realized how much fun it is to play with fire in the kitchen! :) It calls for 8 egg yolks, which leave all of the egg whites, so maybe I will try my hand at macarons with the left over egg whites.

Chocolate Sprinkled Creme Brulee

2 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp shaved bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup coarse, raw, or Demera sugar (I used left over vanilla sugar)

Heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Heat the cream, half and half, and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat just until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar in a large bowl just until combined. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture. Strain the mixture into a pitcher to smooth it and to remove the vanilla bean.

Pour the mixture into 4-6 ovenproof ramekins and arrange in a hot-water bath. Sprinkle the custards with the chocolate shavings. Bake in the center of the oven until almost set but still jiggly in the center, 30-40 minutes. (The custard will finish cooking as it cools) Remove from the water bath and let set 15 minutes. Tightly cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, preheat a broiler to very hot (or fire up your kitchen torch). Uncover the custards. Coat the top of each custard completely with an even layer of coarse sugar.

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and boil until the sugar is melted and well browned, about 2 minutes. Let cool 1 minute before serving.

Mary's Butterballs

I knew as soon as I bought this book Chocolate & Vanilla by Gale Gand, that I wanted to make these cookies. You have a butter cookie sandwiched with chocolate ganache, or raspberry jam, and then rolled in vanilla sugar. They are simple to make, with only 3 ingredients for the cookie, and I will definitely make again. These may even go into goodie baskets for Christmas this year. Maybe next time, I will vary the filling, may strawberry and chocolate, or raspberry and white chocolate...

Mary's Butterballs:

1 Cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter, softened
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup chocolate ganache or raspberry jam
vanilla sugar, for rolling



*To make vanilla sugar, put a vanilla bean in a cup of sugar and let sit for at least 12 hours.


*Chocolate ganache recipe is here.

In a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it's light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Mix in the granulated sugar and when the mixture is well blended add the flour and mix until it forms a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for rat least 3 hours to make is easier to handle. This also helps prevent the balls from flattening out too much when they're baked.



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.



Taking off pieces of dough with your hands, roll small (3/4 inch) balls of dough. Chill them for 30 minutes in the freezer, then place them 2 inches apart on cookie sheets to allow for some spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until the cookies are firm but not browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pans.



Spread the flat face of half of the cooled cookies with the jam or ganache and top with a second cookie to form a little sandwiched ball. The filling will not show very much. Once you've sandwiched them all together, bury them in vanilla sugar to coat the entire outside.

Petit Fours

I made these petit fours for a friend's shower today. Although there is nothing spectacular about the cake, I used a box cake mix..shhhhh, the glaze is what I am happy with. It is a recipe from my favorite pastry chef, Gale Gand, with a few little changes. What I did was, baked a white sheet cake, let it cool completely. Cut into desired shapes, and brush tops with a simple syrup:
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water
1 tsp of vanilla, or other flavorings of your choice.

Put into a small saucepan and bring to boil. Boil until sugar is dissolved.

Once you have brushed the cakes with simple syrup, I put in the refrigerator until chilled. Then glaze.

Glaze recipe:
2/3 Cup corn syrup
2/3 Cup hot water
1 1/2 tsp of almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 lb bag of powdered sugar

Combine the corn syrup and hot water and mix to combine. Add flavorings (you could use any flavoring of your choice, lemon is good also!) Next, stir in powdered sugar with whisk.

Pour glaze on top of cakes and let drip down the sides to make sure all is covered.

These little petit fours were so moist, and the glaze was great.

Millionaire Shortbread Tartletts

I feel like it has been forever since I posted, and once I did start to post..My USB cord wouldn't download my pics from my computer!! I was totally...should I say...not happy. Anyways, after searching all over Knoxville for something that would get my pics up...here I am. November was a crazy month for me, and hopefully December will be just as crazy..only with baking. I love this time of year when you can bake and bake and bake, and it is justified.

I made these tartletts for Thanksgiving, for my in-laws dinner. We only do finger foods on Thanksgiving night, which I am so ready for. Isn't it crazy that when you have finger foods, you can eat like 5 plates full, but if you were eating a regular meal, you would probably only eat 1 plate. I love it! These were a hit, and I was happy with them too. Maybe next time, I will add a layer of chopped pecans before I add the chocolate.

Millionaire Shortbread Tarts:
Crust: borrowed from Tartelette
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar
8 Tbsp butter, room temp

Caramel filling:
1 Can of sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate Ganache:
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
8 oz heavy cream

Mix all of the ingredients for the crust until combined. Using your fingertips, put into mini muffin tin, and push the dough in the bottom and up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Do this ahead of time!!
Remove the paper from the sweetened condensed milk and put in a pot of water, making sure that water covers the can at all times....boil for 3 hours. Let cool completely.

To make the ganache:
Place chopped chocolate into a clean and dry glass bowl. Set aside. Place the heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat until warm. Do not bring to a boil! Pour the heavy cream onto the chocolate and let sit for a few seconds. With a whisk, start in the middle of the bowl and start mixing, so that the chocolate will start to melt and incorporate with the heavy cream. This may take a minute or so, but you will start to see a very smooth and glossy chocolate ganache form.

To assemble:
Fill the cooled shells with the caramel and then layer with the chocolate ganache.