Chocolate Souffle

My first souffle has turned out to be quite the success. It was light and chocolaty and totally delicious. It puffed up beautifully, then proceeded to fall within 5 minutes of coming out of the oven, but it came out directly underneath the air-conditioning vent so it was to be expected. Besides, by the time its served nobody knows what it looked like in the dish anyway.

Chocolate Souffle
I apologize, I cannot remember where I got this recipe

Ingredients:

About 1 Tbs. butter for dish
1/3 C. sugar, plus some for dish
3 eggs, separated
2 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
Pinch salt
¼ tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 2-cup or one 4-cup soufflé or other deep baking dish(es). Sprinkle each with sugar, invert it and tap to remove excess sugar.
Beat egg yolks with all but 1 Tablespoon sugar until very light and very thick; mixture will fall in a ribbon from beaters when it is ready. Mix in the melted chocolate until well combined; set aside.

Wash beaters well, then beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until whites hold soft peaks; continue to beat, gradually adding remaining Tbs. sugar, until they are very stiff and glossy.

Stir a good spoonful of whites thoroughly into egg yolk mixture to lighten it; then fold in remaining whites, using a rubber spatula.

Transfer to prepared soufflé dish(es); at this point you can cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake.

Bake until center is nearly set, 20 minutes for individual soufflés and 25 to 35 minutes for a single large soufflé. (I did mine in a 6 cup souffle dish and it took 25 minutes). Serve immediately with some vanilla ice cream and sweetened whipped cream.

Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler was not like any cobbler I've had before. It was much more bready than crusty. It was extremely delicious and so, so, so easy to make but definitely different. I think I still prefer the traditional crust on a cobbler, but this was certainly easier and faster than the traditional way. I apologize for the lack of pictures. If something is super-duper easy to make I tend to forget to take pictures because things are moving along so smoothly. So...oops. I guess you get what you get on this one.

Peach Cobbler

Recipe from Paula Deen

Serves:  8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches

2 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup water

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour  **If you don't have self-rising flour combine 1 ½ C. All-purpose flour + 2 ¼ tsp. baking powder + ¾ tsp. salt**

1 1/2 cups milk

Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.     Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3.     Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

4.     Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

5.     To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Best served warm.

Chocolate Cream Puffs

I asked my husband what dessert he wanted me to try my hand at next and although he had zero good ideas, there did seem to be a chocolate theme involved. So, I took things into my own hands and went to the chocolate cookbook we were given as a gift years ago and have never used. Chocolate cream puffs it is and boy are they good. I told R that I was going to go take one over to my mom's house and he made a face like, "Why would you want to do that?" Well, because the two of us don't need 5 cream puffs each! Geez R, just because you only have to work out 4 seconds a week to stay skinny, doesn't mean we're all so lucky. Anywho, without further ado...the recipe.

Chocolate Cream Puffs

From The Chocolate and Coffee Bible
Yields 12 large cream puffs

Ingredients:

For the Puffs:

1 C. All-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. Cocoa powder

1 C. Water

½ tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Granulated sugar

½ C. Unsalted butter

4 Eggs

For the Chocolate Pastry Cream:

2 C. Milk
6 Egg yolks

½ C. Granulated sugar

½ C. All-purpose flour

5 oz. Semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces

½ C. Whipping cream

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1 ¼ C. Whipping cream
¼ C. Unsalted butter
8 oz. Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp. Light corn syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Directions:

1.        Preheat oven to 425 deg. F. Grease 2 large baking sheets. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl. In a pan over medium heat, bring the water, salt, sugar, and butter to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour/cocoa mixture all at once, stirring vigorously until the mixture is smooth and leaves the sides of the pan clean.

2.        Return the pan to the heat to cook the choux pastry for 1 minute, beating the mixture constantly. Remove from heat.
3.        With a hand-held mixer, beat the 4 whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture should be thick and shiny and just fall from a spoon. Spoon the mixture into a large piping bag with a plain nozzle. Pipe 12 mounds about 3 inches across at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

4.        Bake for 35-40 minutes until puffed and firm. Remove the puffs. Slice off and reserve the top third of each puff, return to the oven for 5-10 minutes to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5.        For the pastry cream, bring the milk to a boil. Beat the yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Stir in the flour. Slowly pour 1 C. of the hot milk into the yolks, stirring constantly. Return the yolk mixture to the remaining milk in the pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth.

6.        Strain into a bowl and cover closely with plastic wrap. Cool. Whip the cream until stiff. Fold into the pastry cream.
7.        Using a large piping bag, fill each puff with pastry cream, then cover each puff with its top.

8.        Make the glaze by heating the cream, butter, chocolate, syrup, and vanilla over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Leave to cool for 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened. Pour a little glaze over each of the cream puffs before serving.

Glazed Peach Pie

Alright, so I broke down and bought some organic peaches on sale at Whole Foods...emphasis on 'on sale'. Anywho, it was super awesomely delicious, so I guess it was worth it. This one's for you Al. Happy Birthday!

Glazed Peach Pie
adapted from Alexandra Thomas

Yields: one 9-inch pie

Take, toss, and let sit 1 hour:
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 C. Peach slices (4-5 medium peaches, ripe)
1 Tbls. Lemon juice
1/4 C. Sugar

1 Baked pie crust (recipe follows)
1/2 C. Sugar
3 Tbls. Cornstarch
2 Tbls. Butter
1/8 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Peel, slice, and drain peaches into a bowl. Combine with lemon juice and sugar, let sit at least 1 hour. Add enough water to drainage to make 1 C. liquid. Blend 1/2 C. sugar and 3 Tbls. cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add peach syrup/water slowly. Boil 3 minutes or until thick and clear.
2. Stir in butter, salt, and vanilla extract.
3. Fold in peach slices.
4. Pour into backed pie shell. Cool.

Pie Crust (Pate Brisee)

Yields: 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:

1.   In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

2.   With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3.   Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

**For a no-bake pie requiring an already cooked crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
2. Roll out dough into a circle 11 to 12 inches across
3. Place in pie dish, crimp edges and cook for 20 minutes with pie weights.
4. Remove pie weights and parchment paper and cook for an additional 11 minutes or until bottom of crust is lightly golden. Cool in dish on cooling rack.

Mixed Berry Turnovers

So simple and so delicious. I used the last third of some puff pastry that I made and froze some time ago. I did notice a slight difference between my puff pastry and store-bought puff pastry in that it tasted more buttery. To me this is neither a plus or a minus, simply different.

Mixed Berry Turnovers
Yields 8 small turnovers or 4 large turnovers

Ingredients:
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 pound store-bought or homemade puff pastry
1/2 C. Sugar
7 ounces mixed berries, frozen or fresh
Pinch salt
2 Tbls. Cornstarch
2 tsp. Lemon juice
1 tsp. Lemon zest
1 Egg yolk
1 Tbls. Heavy cream or water
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

• Lightly flour your work surface, roll out puff pastry dough to 1/8th of an inch thick, approx. 17 1/2 inch x 9 1/2 inch rectangle. Trim with pastry cutter to a 16 x 8 inch rectangle. Cut into either 4 or 8 equal squares. Place squares onto parchment covered cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

• In a medium bowl mix together sugar, salt, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest. Fold in mixed berries (if frozen, let thaw a bit). Let filling stand until juicy.

• In a small bowl whisk together egg yolk and cream or water, set aside.

• Stir filling and strain, discard excess liquid, divide equally among pastry squares. Place in the center of each square. Brush edges of squares with egg wash. Fold dough diagonally over filling to form a triangle, and press to seal. Crimp edges with a fork.

• Place filled turnovers on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 20 to 30 minutes. The filled turnovers can be frozen for a couple of weeks and do not need to be thawed before proceeding.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush tops of turnovers with the egg wash. Sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until turnovers are puffy and deep golden brown, rotating baking sheet half way through.
• Immediately transfer turnovers to wire rack to cool.