Daring Bakers: Biscuit Joconde Imprime with Apple, Lemon and White Chocolate-Rosemary Entremets

This month for the Daring Bakers we made a special french dessert. It is called a Biscuit Joconde Imprime Entremets. When I was first reading it I had no idea what it is, but a look at the pictures clarified it. I always admired these kind of desserts and wanted to make it for a long time. It makes a great presentation for a cake, and looks very elegant. I will definitely make them again, since you can get really creative with the flavor combination.

A Biscuit Joconde is a kind of sponge cake which is flexible and can be wrapped around a cake. The impreme means that a pattern is printed on the biscuit. This is done buy using a different color of dough first, letting it cool, and then apply the Joconde dough, before baking. An Entremet is a cake which consists of several layers. This is where the Joconde is wrapped around.

My Entremet consisted of the following layers: First a layer of sauteed apples cooked in wine and calvados, spiced with some vanilla, which was then thickened with corn starch. Next I added a layer of lemon curd. After cooling I made a layer of White Chocolate Mousse with a hint of Rosemary, which matched good with the apples. The top layer was a glaze of mango puree, which gave a beautiful color.

Unfortunately my Biscuit Joconde got a little dark. It is very important to closely watch it in the oven, as it browns very fast. The recipe makes a whole big sheet, so you can freeze some for another cake.

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

Maple Cookies

Usually this is the time for the Daring Bakers, but unfortunately I didn't have time to do the challenge this month, since I just got married two weeks ago. It was a wonderful winter wonderland wedding. Back to the Daring Bakers, we were asked to make a typical German Christmas treat: Stollen. There is really no Christmas without Stollen in Germany, and you can find all kinds of variations, with different fillings and in different sizes. I made a Poppy Seed-Marzipan Stollen last year, which was very good.

I still have a recipe for you today though. Remembering my home for the last few years, I made those Canadian Maple Leaf cookies. They use a good portion of maple syrup in the dough and as glaze. A very Canadian Cookie. We have much snow ourselves this year in Germany, so a white Christmas is a sure bet.

I wish you all a wonderful and peaceful Merry Christmas together with people you love and hope you enjoy lots of sweets wherever you are.

Daring Bakers: Crostata

It's time for Daring Baker's again, and looking back, my last post was also for the Daring Baker's. I have been absent from my blog, because I have a lot to do right now., exciting things. The big news I want to share with you today is: I am getting married, and this will be already in less than two weeks!

We didn't take a lot of time for planning, only about three month, so with a lot of DIY projects, there was not much time for anything else. As it looks right now we are gonna have a romantic Winter Wonderland.

I still managed to make the Crostata though. I really like this type of cake. I made lots of jam over the summer, so this was perfect. I went with a Greengage jam for the filling, which is a kind of plum. It is a little on the sour side, so it made a perfect filling for the Crostata.

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Daring Bakers: Doughnuts

Oh my, it's Daring Bakers time again, and wasn't my last post also for the Daring Bakers. Time really flies and I am sorry to say that I didn't have the time or muse to post anything in between. But these doughnuts were too good to just let them go.

I never made doughnuts before, but I always loved them. Here in Germany we have the "Berliner", which are just doughnuts without a hole and filled with jam. Sometimes during carnival or on New Years Eve, it can happen that somebody plays a joke on you and fills one with mustard.

I made a variety of the yeast doughnut recipe, regular doughnuts, Berliner filled with strawberry jam, and just some small round ones. Those I usually get during any summer fair or at the Christmas market. They were so good, I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately so good that all but a few of the little rounds didn't survive to the photo shoot.

I will definitely make this recipe again, but what I wouldn't recommend is to store the dough overnight in the fridge and fry another badge the next day. They didn't taste close as good as the first ones. I don't know if it was the used oil or the storing though.

In the meantime I have won third place with my "Berry Lovely Cake" picture in the September DMBLGIT Contest. I am very happy that I won two times in a row, and the submissions were again awesome. Thank you SunshineMom for hosting.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Daring Bakers: Decorated Sugar Cookies

I was afraid and excited about this month' Daring Bakers Challenge at the same time. We had to make sugar cookies. Well, you might say, everybody makes sugar cookies. But we had to make those beautiful decorated ones, which you will see in many books, as favors or in pretty stores.

I always admired those, but after one not so successful try, I just stayed with my old time sugar cookies, just "painted" with a sugar glaze. OK, now I had to try again. And yes, they really deserve the high prices in stores, because it is really difficult to decorate them so immaculate. I guess I have to practice a lot more.

I decided to make graduation cookies, since my sweetheart finally finished his PhD this month. I am very proud of him and I had them ready when I picked him up from the airport. So, my darling these are for you. Congratulations!

I didn't have the right cookie cutters for them, so I cut them out from cardboard. This is a good idea if you need a special shape, but don't find it anywhere or don't wanna buy it just for one occasion.

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.