DB: Orange Cranberry Tian(ne)

This dessert has the same name as me!!! It's like play on my own name - Tianne (rhymes with Dianne) - or Tia for short :)

A tian is a baked French dish composed of many layers of vegetables and herbs. The name comes from the earthenware dish it was traditionally cooked in but tians can be made in any kind of deep dish such as a casserole, dutch oven or baking pan. The dish originated in the Alpes-Martitimes region of Southeast France and tians are popular across Provence and throughout France.

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.



This was a lot of fun to make. Many little components went into it but preparation could be broken up over several days. A few of the tweaks I made:

Used half whole wheat flour for the dough

Topped the Tians with homemade cranberry sauce instead of orange segments (a great complement to the orange marmalade)

Used vanilla ice cream instead of whipped cream for some of them. I think I preferred the ice cream filled ones.

I could definitely see making these for the holidays. The color and presentation were beautiful and I like how versatile this dessert is. Thanks for a great challenge! I found this short version of the recipe to be a helpful guide to making the Tian.

Chewy Chocolate Twists

These yummy little twists feature a ribbon of chocolate filling studded with melty chocolate chips. They're just the right shape and size for easy snacking. The white sugar (instead of brown sugar) gives the filling a nice 'chew' to it as it caramelizes in the oven. Another yummy recipe from Marcy Goldman of Better Baking. This woman is quickly becoming my hero with her awesome recipes. She calls this one "Chewy Chocolate Sticks" and also uses raisins in the recipe.

This is my first time using this shaping method and I will definetely be using it again. It elevated a regular cinnamon bun-style bread into an elegant pastry. I often find that when you pair chocolate with bread the chocolate taste gets a little lost but not with these twists! It came though loud and clear - a great companion to the buttery, soft bread.



Chewy Chocolate Twists
adapted from Marcy Goldman | Makes 24

1 recipe (using approx 4 cups flour) bread dough or sweet dough

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Combine all the filling ingredients except for the butter. After the first rise, roll out dough into a large rectangle about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Spread softened butter evenly over dough then sprinkle evenly with filling. Roll up as though you were making cinnamon buns.

2. Instead of leaving it in the classic bun shape, slice the dough into buns then take each piece, flatten it slightly and give it a few twists before placing it on the pan. Space them a few inches apart as they will rise and expand. As you twist them, they will want to unroll a bit, but be persistant! Cover loosely with a towel and let rise 30 minutes (or up to 45 for lighter, puffier twists. I personally like them denser and chewier).

3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool fully then store airtight.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

I've heard lots about flourless chocolate cake and flourless cookies but somehow the skeptic in me has always talked me out of trying these recipes. For me baking is flour, sugar, eggs, butter (and a few extras) but the main component is usually flour. Today I was looking through the pantry and found myself with a whole bunch of peanut butter with at "best before" date rapidly approaching. After madly searching for recipes that use up a lot of peanut butter, I came across this one from Bon Appetit.

I'm so glad I got over my "flourless fear" because these cookies are amazing. There's nothing to take away from the full flavor of peanut butter. They are thick and hearty and melt in your mouth. I liked them so much I wrapped them up in cellophane to give to friends so I wouldn't eat them all myself! Peanut butter lovers, you cannot go wrong with these. Maybe I'll try out that flourless chocolate cake in the near future!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 24 | adapted from Bon Appétit Sept 1999

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Mix in chocolate chips. Using moistened hands, form generous 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie into ball. Arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

2. Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Honey Pecan Bars

Similar to pecan pie bars only with an added twist from the honey. The crust is crumbly and buttery like shortbread and the pecans and filling bake up into a crunchy/sticky/chewy layer. As they bake the pecans toast lightly and their flavor is enhanced. I find the presentation to be the nicest when the pecans are left whole rather than chopped.

Honey Pecan Bars
11" x 14" Pan | Adapted from Jill Snider

1 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons whipping cream
2 cups pecans

1. Lightly grease a 14 x 11-inch jelly-roll tin.

2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl, Stir in sugar, then rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Press degrees mixture into tin and prick pastry all over with a fork. Chill for 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Bake pastry for 15 minutes, then remove from oven, leaving oven on. Heat butter, honey and sugars in a saucepan until melted, then bring to a boil without stirring for 2 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cream and nuts. pour over base, return tin to oven and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in tin.

5. Run a knife around pastry edge, invert on to a baking tray, place another tray on top and invert again. Cut into squares.

TWD: Dulce de Leche Duos

Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake decided on Dulce de Leche Duos for TWD this week. I am thrilled to bits with this recipe. They were a huge hit with my son too. He's not much of a cookie eater but he polished one of these off in no time at all! Our grocery store gives kids free chocolate chip cookies but he always turns the offer down. Thanks Jodie for an amazing selection - one that I will be making again and again.

I filled half of them with chocolate ganache and the other half with dulce de leche. Both were equally yummy. This was the perfect opportunity to use my homemade dulce de leche - made in the slow cooker. Click here for the "how to". It couldn't be easier or more rewarding. Really. It's the most impressive thing that's come out of my slow cooker.





The buttery cookies (even sans filling) are fantastic. Once in the oven, they 'magically' transfrom from cookie dough blobs into beautifully round circles. Make sure you leave enough room for them to spread because boy do they ever. Baking them on a silicone mat ensures that the bottoms don't get too crisp and also makes for easy removal. These tender cookies are slightly sweet - the perfect canvas for a multitude of different fillings. I did both chocolate-frosting filled and dulce de leche filled. Can't decide which ones I prefer. Next time (and there will definitely be a next time), I'll try a whipped cream cheese frosting. Yum!

For once I don't recommend underbaking them because they need a bit of structure to support the filling. If they are too soft on the bottom as some of mine were, they are a little trickier to fill.

I know, I know, we aren't supposed to post the recipe here for TWD, but I just had to make an exception and share it here because I loved these so much.

Dulce De Leche Duos
Makes 24 sandwich cookies | Dorie Greenspan

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Getting ready: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed until soft. Add the Dulce de Leche and both sugars and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Don't be concerned if the mixture looks a little curddled, it will smooth out when the flour mixture is added. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.

Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets, using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie and leaving 2 inches between them.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be honey brown with a light sugar crust, but they will be soft, so remove the sheets from the oven but don't touch the cookies for another minute or two. Then, using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure you cool the baking sheets before spooning the dough onto them.

When the cookies are completely cool, spread the flat bottoms of half the cookies with a small amount of dulce de leche, and sandwich with the flat sides of the remaining cookies.

Blueberry-Apple Crumble Pie

This rustic looking pie is a flaky pastry shell filled with tart apples, studded with juicy blueberries and covered in a shower of buttery, cinnamony crumbs. I halved the recipe and made this in a 6" spring form pan because I didn't have enough apples. I'm starting to think that maybe I prefer crumb-topped pies to pastry topped ones. I've always been a sucker for streusel/crumb toppings and this one with the pecans in it is a keeper!



Blueberry-Apple Crumble Pie
9" Pie | Gourmet, Nov. 2009

pastry dough:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, 1/2" pieces
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

crumble topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

filling:
2 pounds apples (about 5), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Pastry:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoon ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one) and form into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

crumble topping:
Stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until large clumps form, then stir in pecans. Chill until ready to use.

fruit filling:
Stir together apples, blueberries, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Assemble pie:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F with rack in lower third.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Transfer fruit filling to pie shell and dot with butter. Loosely cover with foil and bake until apples droop slightly, about 30 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle crumble topping over filling and bake, uncovered, until crumble is browned, filling is bubbling, and apples are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.

*Dough can be chilled up to 3 days.
*Pie can be made 1 day ahead and kept, loosely covered, at room temperature.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

These bars are full of nostalgia. They are a flashback to elementary school lunches - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white bread! Of course, this was before schools stopped letting kids bring anything with peanuts in it to school because of allergies. I was never a big fan of peanut butter when I was a kid but as I got older I began to fully appreciate its deliciousness.

After mixing up this simple recipe (which is easily doubled for a crowd) I pulled this hearty, nutty treat from the oven. The hardest part was letting it cool fully before digging in. With 2 1/2 cups of peanut butter in the dough, the main flavor here is peanut butter with a layer of jam for just the right touch of sweetness. The crowning glory on these heavenly bars are the roasted peanuts on top. Salty, sweet and nostalgic.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
9 x 13" pan | Adapted from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies 2001

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raspberry jam
2/3 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 9-by-13-inch pan. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add eggs and peanut butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes.

Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Add to bowl of mixer on low speed; combine. Add vanilla. Transfer two-thirds of mixture to prepared pan; spread evenly with offset spatula. Using offset spatula, spread jam on top of peanut-butter mixture. Dollop remaining third of peanut-butter mixture on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Bake until golden, about 40-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

St. Patty's Day Cupcakes and Fluffy Old-Fashioned Frosting

Yesterday I was totally in the St. Patrick's day mood. I wore green, drank green Powerade, brought my coffee in a Green travel mug and baked these yummy mini cupcakes. I was lucky and found a bag of just green colored M&M's so I didn't have to pick through the multi-colored pack like I usually do. The mini-cupcakes are just plain yellow cake from the classic Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today cookbook. It's my go-to cookbook. Easy recipes, fast to throw together and It's never failed me yet.

If you are looking for a fluffy, not too sweet, very smooth frosting, try this one that I adapted from ourbestbites.com. It uses flour to thicken it (so you don't have to use as much sugar). I had to make an adaptation because it was too thin the way the original recipe was written, but I LOVED it after I added a bit of icing sugar to give it some body.

Fluffy Old-Fashioned Frosting
Generously frosts 12 cupcakes | adapted from ourbestbites.com

3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup real butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups icing sugar *(my addition, not in original recipe)

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. I think this is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe. I have a feeling people are under-cooking this part. Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it). Even though it's thick, you can still it through a mesh strainer (just whisk the mixture in the strainer to push the thick stuff through) and then let it cool completely to room temp. or chill it in the fridge. It needs to be cooled completely. If you don't let it cool completely, it will melt the butter and you'll have runny frosting.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can get to without it spraying all over the place for 7 minutes. Yes, 7 whole minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. I know that seems like a long time, but that's when the magic happens!

You will be scared because it will look like a weird goopy mess at first and you'll wonder what on earth you did wrong. Keep beating and something amazing happens. It goes from that goopy mess to something thick, velvety smooth, and perfectly fluffy.

*The orignal recipe didn't call for icing sugar but I needed to add about 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar at the end to get the consistency I wanted.

Notes:
1. Use real butter, and a good name-brand. Cheap butter does weird things.
2. If you beat for the 6-8 minutes and the mixture still looks strange, beat longer and at a higher speed if you can. It should come together, but it takes a little patience!
3. Store at room temperature in a sealed container. Frosting may separate in the fridge, but you can store it overnight if left at room temp and in a well sealed container.

All-Canadian Butter Tart Bars

Desserts such butter tarts make me proud to be Canadian. Butter tarts are flaky pastry shells filled with a sweet, chewy, buttery, gooey, nutty mixture. They are similar to the American pecan pie or British treacle tart, but in my opinion, so much better :)

The definition of a "perfect butter tart" can be controversial especially when it comes to the filling. Firm or runny? Raisins or currants? Pecans or Walnuts? With or without coconut? I personally prefer them in bar form rather than tart form. For one, it's easier and faster to press the crust into a pan than roll it out to line individual tart pans. My favorite combination is walnuts, raisins, no coconut and the filling just firm enough to hold together as a bar but still gooey enough to melt in your mouth.

Definitely give these a shot. They couldn't be easier. Once you've tried them in their "true" form, feel free to experiment and add chocolate chips, peanut butter, dates or craisins. For me, I'll stick to the classic. For another Canadian specialty, try these Nanaimo Bars.


All-Canadian Butter Tart Bars
8" pan | Adapted from "A Century of Canadian Home Cooking"

Base:
1/3 to 1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup ground pecans (optional)

Topping:
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Base: Cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and ground nuts if using. When blended together and crumbly, press into the bottom of a greased 8" square dish. Bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven but leave oven turned on.

3. Topping: Combine all ingrrdients together well and pour over lightly browned base. Return to oven for approximately 30 minutes. Edges will pull away slightly from the pan and centre will be no longer jiggly.

TWD: Soft White Chocolate Cranberry Tartlets

Rachelle of Mommy? I’m Hungry! chose Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart on page 354 of Baking: From my home to yours. Check out her blog for the recipe. Or see my adapted version below.

I took quite a few liberties with this week's pick, using Dorie's original recipe as a starting point. I used ground hazelnuts in the sweet tart dough, swapped the chocolate for white chocolate and the raspberries for cranberries. These remind me of Christmas, both in appearance and in taste. Mmm... cranberry hazelnut white chocolate bark. I must make some of that soon. It's already been 3 months since Christmas, which means another 9 to go before I can step back into mass holiday-dessert-baking mode.

I was so happy to see this recipe come along so I could use my new tartlet pans from the dollar store. Surprisingly, there are tons of neat baking things at my dollar store. My 12 tins only cost $3 whereas in a baking supply store they'd probably be $3 each! I'm glad I made these small since they were quite sweet and rich. Definitely yummy but best in small servings. I can see why she used dark chocolate in hers, but no regrets here! This girl loves sugar.



I am posting the recipe since I changed it so much from the original. Just in case you happen to be a white chocolate lover like me. Even though she says to serve them warm, I prefer them cold straight from the fridge.

Soft White Chocolate Cranberry Tart
One 9" Tart | Adapted from Dorie

5 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 9-inch shell Sweet Tart Dough with Nuts (below), fully baked and cooled

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, add the chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring the cream, and butter just to a boil. Pour the cream-butter mixture over the chocolate and let it stand for 30 seconds. Working with a whisk or a rubber spatula, gently stir the liquid into the chocolate-start stirring in the center of the bowl and work your way out in ever-widening circles. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the eggs and yolk. Rap the bowl against the counter to break any bubbles that might have formed.

Scatter the berries over the bottom of the crust, then pour the chocolate ganache over them. Bake the tart for about 30 minutes-the filling should not jiggle if you tap the pan and a knife inserted into the center of the tart should come out a little streaky. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before serving.

Serving: There are some people who like this tart ever so slightly warm, but the flavor and texture don't really come into their own until the tart is cooled to room temperature. Serve it cold and it will lose its lovely creaminess. Whatever temperature ends up being your favorite, do serve the tart with whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Sweet Tart Dough with Hazelnuts
one 9-inch crust | Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons)
very cold butter, cut small
1 egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter in and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in— some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9" tart pan. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be too heavy-handed—press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees F. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Then fully bake the crust: bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

Storing: Well wrapped, the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months. While the fully baked crust can be packed airtight and frozen for up to 2 months, I prefer to freeze the unbaked crust in the pan and bake it directly from the freezer—it has a fresher flavor. Just add about 5 minutes to the baking time.