Mint Chocolate Chip Brioche

While I was in college I worked for a patisserie in Rochester, NY that served a wonderful Mint Chocolate Chip Brioche on Sundays. I have made brioche before, but could never find a good enough recipe to duplicate the heavenly taste of those from Jean-Claude's Patisserie.

At 8 1/2 months pregnant, when a craving sets in, I'm bound to try to find a way to fulfill it. So, I got online and looked for a brioche recipe that I felt might be close to the one used by that fantastic french bakery. I found one by Ina Garten from the Food Network. I tweaked her recipe ever so slightly and I think it turned out fantastic.

Some of the comments that I read on the Food Network complain about the difficulty of the recipe and the overnight refrigeration. This is by far the easiest, hands-off approach to brioche that I have seen and the refrigeration allows the dough to mature overnight and improve in flavor. I do not recommend skipping this step, though it is not necessary.

You can omit the mint chocolate chips and leave the brioche plain or add fruit (such as blueberries, apples, etc).

Mint Chocolate Chip Brioche
1/2 c warm milk
1 package active dry yeast
6 tbls sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
4 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
12 tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 bag mint chocolate chips
1 egg mixed w/1 tbls milk, for egg wash

Combine the milk, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast and sugar dissolve. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed for 1 minute, until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add 2 cups of the flour and the salt and mix for 5 minutes. With the mixer still on low, add 2 1/4 more cups of flour and mix for 5 more minutes. Scrape the dough into a large buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Meanwhile, grease 24 mini brioche tins or two muffin tins. Set aside.

Place the dough in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the softened butter in chunks, and mix for 2 minutes, adding additional flour as needed to make a ball. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and divide the dough into 1/4 and 3/4 portions. Further divide the 3/4 portion into 24 balls and place them in the tins. Using your index finger place an indent in the center of each ball. Roll the remaining dough into 24 tiny balls and place one in each indentation. Cover the tins with a damp towel and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Alternately, place the tins, uncovered, in the oven with a hot water bath for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the top of each roll with the egg wash and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back and it sounds slightly hollow when tapped. Turn the rolls out onto a wire rack to cool.

Coconut Cake

I saw a recipe for coconut cake using fresh coconut in the April 2010 issue of BHG and it looked so yummy that I decided to make it (albeit over one year later). Most of my cooking escapades are issue free, but this one did not go so well!

Let's start with the coconut. According to the recipe and author, cracking a coconut doesn't have to be difficult. I beg to differ. You are supposed to put holes in two of the eyes using an ice pick, which I do not own, so I used a screw driver and hammer. Drain all of the water from the coconut and set that aside. Then tap the coconut forcefully all over in order to loosen the shell. After several minutes the shell should crack. Then break the shell open completely using a few more forceful taps of the hammer. Next, using a thin, flexible knife, separate the shell from the flesh. A thin skin will remain, but can be removed with a vegetable peeler. Finally, shred the coconut finely using a box grater. Hopefully your experience is better than mine. I did get the water drained but was never able to crack the coconut open, so my husband smashed it for me. I then used the thinnest knife that I had, but was not able to separate the shell from the flesh. When I managed to get a small amount of flesh cleaned and grated, I tried a bite and found it highly unappealing. I couldn't imagine how the mostly tasteless chewy flesh was going to taste good on a cake.

The recipe for the cake batter is pretty straight forward and quite tasty. I would recommend it for making any yellow cake. I don't understand why it is called coconut cake since there is no coconut flavor in the batter. It seems to me that it should be a yellow cake with coconut frosting. If you make a yellow cake with chocolate icing, it is not called chocolate cake.

I made the batter and placed it into two prepared pans. One was an individual round cake pan. The other was an extra deep Wilton round cake pan. Once the cake was cooled, I planned on cutting it in half to make two separate layers. Here is where my second problem occurred. The individual layer cooked nicely in about 20 minutes as expected, but the double layer was still not cooked after 1 1/2 hours (normally this pan requires a 50-60 min cook time). After several failed attempts to get things going I learned that my oven had stopped working. Flash forward a few days: The oven had come mostly unplugged, my husband remedied the situation and the oven works fine. Back to the cake: It never completely cooked through. So, I took it out of the pan, placed it on a microwave safe plate, and nuked it for 10 minutes. Obviously this dried the cake out to the point that it could not be used as a layered cake. It turned into the cake used for a tiramisu, though a yummy treat, I do not recommend the recipe that I used for the cheese filling, so I won't post it. But I digress. :)

I never got to make the icing, so I cannot give you any tips or tricks for that part.

After some thought I have decided to post the recipe that I will use next time I attempt to make a coconut cake. I will give you the original recipe with my suggested changes in parenthesis. I intend to use coconut milk to give the cake a light coconut flavor and packaged sweetened coconut because it is easy and guaranteed to taste good. May you have better luck than I!

Coconut Cake

Batter:
5 eggs
1 c butter
1 c whole milk (coconut milk or coconut water)
3 c cake flour (all-purpose)
1 tbls baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c sugar
1 tbls vanilla

Frosting:
3-4 c fresh grated coconut (packaged sweetened coconut)
3 egg whites
2 c sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 c water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Cake:
Let the eggs, butter, and milk come up to room temperature. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt onto a piece of parchment (or waxed) paper. In a large mixing bowl beat butter until smooth, add sugar and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl periodically. Alternate adding flower and milk (1/3 each at a time) until batter is well mixed and smooth. Evenly divide batter among three round or square pans that have been greased, lined with parchment (or waxed) paper, greased again, and floured. Bake for 20-25 min at 350 F or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pans for ten minutes then invert on wire rack and cool completely.

Icing:
Let the egg whites come up to room temperature. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cream of tartar, and water. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cover and bring to boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove cover and cook until candy thermometer reaches 240 F. DO NOT STIR! Beat egg whites until frothy, add salt and beat until stiff peaks form. While beating on low speed, slowly drizzle in hot syrup. Add vanilla. Beat on medium-high for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Ice cake being sure to sprinkle coconut between layers and on outside of cake. If the icing begins to thicken up, place frosting bowl over bowl of hot water and mix periodically. For a slightly different flavor you can use toasted coconut.

BBQ Beef (Crockpot)

I have never made BBQ beef before, but thought it would be a yummy way to celebrate 4th of July this year. I know the easiest method is to place beef and BBQ in a crock pot, but then the beef doesn't seem to get as much flavor, lots of BBQ is wasted, and the crock pot is a mess to clean up! So, I decided to try my own recipe, it is currently cooking, so I'll have to post later to tell you how it turned out. Good luck to me :)

BBQ Beef (Crock pot)

1 c water
1/2 large onion (diced)
1/4 c ketchup
1 tbls prepared mustard
1 tbls onion powder
1 tbls garlic powder (I didn't have any so I used Mrs. Dash Garlic & herb)
2 beef bouillon cubes
2-4 lb beef chuck roast
Salt
Pepper
8 oz beer (I used Woodchuck Hard Cider instead)
BBQ sauce
Buns

Combine the onion, ketchup, mustard, onion and garlic powders, bouillon cubes, water, and beer in a large crock pot. Place beef in mixture and thoroughly season both sides with salt and pepper. Cook on the lowest setting that time allows. I started late so it will be 6 hours. Once the meat is done, pour off liquid, shred beef and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce. I like Gates original (a local BBQ). I will put the BBQ in the crock pot because I don't want to waste the onions that have cooked all day and I want to heat the sauce up a little. Enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Dessert

Many of the foods that I make were once inspired by a recipe that I read somewhere, but failed to write down. This tasty festive treat is one of those recipes. It is very simple, very pretty, and most importantly delicious. The sweetness of the ice cream is contrasted with a slight tanginess from the blueberry muffin mix. The strawberries add an excellent contrast. Enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Dessert

1 box Bakery Style Blueberry Muffin Mix (shoud include muffin mix, blueberries, and crumble topping)
1 qt Vanilla ice cream, softened
1 pint strawberries, sliced
2 tbls butter, melted

Grease an 8x8 square baking dish. Combine melted butter with 2/3 of muffin mix. Press into bottom of dish to form a crust. Bake in oven at 350 F for 10 min or until set but not browned. Cool completely. Combine ice cream with remaining muffin mix. Spread evenly on top of crust. Sprinkle top with packet of crumble topping. Place in freezer until ice cream has re-frozen. Just before serving, remove dish from freezer and place in hot water for 30 sec to 1 min to loosen up the edges. Strain and rinse blueberries. Arrange blueberries and strawberries in pattern of choice.

Gluten Free Rice Pudding

As you may know, I am 11 weeks pregnant and fighting some sort of stomach issue (possible an ulcer or gastritis). So, during my last check-up my Dr. suggested that I give a gluten free diet a try. Now, I am a carb junkie, so this sounds like a death sentence to me. Though I have not started this diet yet, I did purchase a carton of Almond Breeze "milk" the other day, because I am mildly lactose intolerant and should not be drinking milk while having stomach issues. I am squeemish about trying new things, especially in the milk department, and I must say that I am not fond of the color, texture, or slightly sweet almond flavor. I love almonds, but I just can't get past it while drinking something called "milk." So, I have been eating it in cereal, where I don't notice the slight flavor, but I need to use the carton up in 7 days. In an effort to create a tasty treat, remain gluten free, and use up the almond milk, I decided to make rice pudding. I used a recipe from tasteofcuba.com, but am suggesting slight modifications. Also, be prepared, because the almond milk turns the rice pudding a sort of grayish color.

Gluten Free Rice Pudding

1/2 c rice
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 lime rind
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 c almond breeze milk (original)
1 cinnamon stick
Powdered cinnamon

Add rice, water, cinnamon stick, salt and lime rind to large saucepan and boil rice, uncovered, until tender and most of the liquid is gone (about 10 min). Add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the pudding has thickened. Stir occasionally to keep rice from sticking. Remove lime rind and cinnamon stick. Place in dishes and top with powdered cinnamon.

Vegetable Fried Rice

I love fried rice, but there are so few good chinese restaurants in our area. Even if the food is good, the rice is less than spectacular. I have recently decided that I am quite capable of making my own fried rice that has all of the elements that I believe a good fried rice requires. It does take a little bit of time, but it is definately worth the effort.

3 cups steamed rice
4 tbls butter
2 eggs
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbls soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Melt butter in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and salt, saute until soft and transluescent. Meanwhile combine sesame oil, soy sauce, and ginger paste in small bowl. Add eggs to pan and scramble. Add rice, mixed vegetable, sauce, and pepper. Stir until well combined and continue to fry until the rice is cooked to your liking.

Mocha Chocolate Gooey Butter Bars

This is by no means an original recipe! I kidnapped it from Paula Dean. Now, that being said I saw about 1 million recipes on google for Chocolate Gooey Butter Bars. I thought adding a shot of espresso would make a good thing better. These received rave reviews at work yesterday. I hope you enjoy! A note of caution: DO NOT OVER COOK!

Crust
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 box chocolate cake mix

Filling
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 tbls vanilla
3 tbls cocoa
1 shot espresso, brewed
1 lb confectioner's sugar

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 pan. Combine egg, butter, and cake mix in a bowl, pat into pan. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, add eggs and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add vanilla, cocoa, espresso, and confectioner's sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add melted butter. Beat until combined. Pour over crust. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until center is set, but not cooked through. If you over cook the cake, the bars won't turn out gooey! :) Cool before cutting into bars.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

I developed this recipe for our church's chili/desert cook-off competition. Though it was not the winning recipe, it was definitely a big hit.

Crust:
2 c crushed chocolate graham crackers
4 oz butter, melted
2 tbls sugar

Filling:
24 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 c buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tbls vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature
2/3 c heavy cream, room temperature
1 c flour
3 tbls cocoa
1 1/2 oz red food color
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbls vinegar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter in a 9" spring-form pan. In a small bowl combine the melted butter and sugar, stir until sugar dissolves. Mix in chocolate grahams. Press mixture into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in sugar and beat until mixed. Gradually add in buttermilk, cream, red food color, and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift in flour and cocoa. In a small cup combine baking soda and vinegar, add mixture to cheesecake batter.

Pour batter onto cooled crust. Bake at 250 degrees F in a water bath for 1 1/2 hours or until outside edges are set. Turn off oven, crack open oven door and allow cheesecake to remain for one hour. Remove cake from oven and run a knife around the outside edge. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely before storing.

If you would like to add a chocolate swirl to your cheesecake, do not add the red food color. Instead, remove 1 cup of batter, mix with 2 oz melted bittersweet chocolate. Add the red food color to large batch of batter. Pour batter into pan. Spoon chocolate batter on top of cheesecake batter, create swirl pattern.

Nothing new yet...

Due to the holidays and bad weather, I have not felt inclined to cook much. That being said, I have developed a new recipe for my church's women's ministry Chili/Desert Cook-off. Since I am submitting this recipe for the competition, I can't post it yet, but on Wednesday be prepared for a new post and a fantastic, Valentine's Day inspired, cheesecake! I also have a few other recipes that I failed to post, so keep an eye out for Peach Bread Pudding, Lasagna in a Pot, and Arroz con Pollo.