Candied peel chocolate cake

   

   Having tried this classic flavor combination many times, I find it to be never failing and the specific cake is no exception. With the sticky, the chewy and the creamy layer it makes an easy dessert rich in flavor, texture and aroma which is one of my favorite brownie-type variations. 

               Orange peel layer

               250gr                                      candied orange peel, not completely

                                                             drained from its syrup

               30gr                                        butter

               100gr                                      orange juice

               5gr                                          corn flour

               100gr                                      almond flour

               60gr                                        cake flour

              Chocolate cake

              200gr                                       chocolate 65% cocoa or more

              100gr                                       butter

              6                                             eggs

              100gr                                       sugar

              100gr                                       cake flour

              100gr                                       hazelnut flour

              as preferred                             vanilla

In a nonsticking pan warm the peel with its syrup and butter, until thick and bubbling. Dissolve the corn flour in juice, pour it in the previous mixture and keep boiling for a few minutes untill it gets thicker. Remove from the heat and let it slightly cool. Then combine it with the almond, shift in the flour and whisk it into a sticky paste. For the chocolate layer melt butter with chocolate in a bain marie and let it sit at room temperature for a while. Separate the egg yolks from the whites (they better have room temperature) and make a meringue with the sugar. Stir the egg yolks, vanilla and hazelnut in the melted chocolated, shift in the flour and lighten the mixture with the meringue. Add the meringue gradually and fold it gently with a rubber spatula. Finally spread the orange paste on the bottom of a 24cm ring, cover with the chocolate layer and bake at preheated oven to 170C for 45min or more. To frost the cake after it has cooled follow the cocoa fudge recipe at ''Doughnuts'' post changing the sugar amount to 40gr.

  

Apple pasta flora

   I know you may have heard it as pasta frolla (actually it's our greek version), and that also it shouldn't be posted as a DB challenge, for the reason it's just inspired from it. However the truth is I was too busy to try all the recipes I wanted this month and finally ended up with this applle pasta flora with almond topping as a variation of our DB crostata! 

               Pasta flora dough

               170gr                                             cake flour

               75gr                                               butter

               60gr                                               granulated sugar

               1/2tsp                                            baking powder

               1                                                   big egg

               as preferred                                   vanilla powder

               Filling

               650gr                                             granny smith apples (net weight)

               60gr                                               molasses

               100ml                                             apple juice

               43gr                                               vanilla custard powder

               1/4                                                lemon (juice)

               up to 80gr                                       powdered sugar

              Almond topping

              200gr                                              almond flour

              50gr                                               granulated sugar

              40gr                                               powdered sugar

              1                                                    egg white

              6Tbs                                               cogniac

First prepare the cake base by beating butter with sugar and vanilla powder untill fluffy. Then add the egg and continue beating in order to fully incorporate it. Shift in the flour with baking powder, mix just until combined and refrigerate for 30min. Meanwhile cut the peeled and cored apples in slices, cook them with the juice until tender and let them drain keeping 50gr of their juice. In a separate bowl combine molasses, the remaining juice you've kept, the cooked apples and lemon, and  mash them with a hand blender. Shift in the vanilla powder and blend it in the mixture. As for the powdered sugar, you can add as much as you want from the given quantity gradually and tasting after each addition. When ready, roll  out the dough, cover the bottom of a 20x24cm pan (or ring with the same area) and prepare the topping. Mix the powdered sugar in the almond flour and use a blender to make it finer if necessary. Then moisten with the cogniac in order to make a paste and beat the egg white with sugar to meringue. Fold the meringue in the almond paste and fill a pastry bag. Pour the apple filling in the pan, pipe on top of it almond stripes and bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 25min and at 160C for another 10min.

Doughnuts, orange and matcha

This month's DB challenge gave me the opportunity to try something I always wanted to tackle but hesitated to go through its frying process. Since I won't be able to make and consume another batch of doughnuts anytime soon, I thought it would be interesting to try different recipes and technics at once, giving both baked and fried doughnuts a shot. For the fried ones I used an oranged flavored cake batter and for the baked ones a matcha and yeast raised dough. Coated with a cocoa butter frosting, the first were delicious, moist and soft with a distinct orange smell. However the baked ones were not too bad, but just not doughnuts. In addition, the matcha dough didn't raised in time or to the propper volume, and as every simple bun that is baked in the oven, it dried more and sooner. For that reason, I have made changes to the yeast quantity I give, and I highly recomend that you fry your doughnuts to highlight their flavor.

          
            Orange cake doughnuts

            90gr                                                   granulated sugar

            3gr                                                    salt

           100g                                                   bread flour

            300gr                                                 cake flour

            35gr                                                   butter

            1                                                       egg

            18gr                                                   milk powder

            200gr                                                 orange juice

            16gr                                                   baking powder

            1 Tbsp                                                orange zest

          
            Cocoa fudge

            50gr                                                   butter at room temperature

            50gr                                                   cocoa powder

            33gr                                                   glucose or corn syrup

            33gr                                                   warm water

            60gr                                                   powdered sugar 

            as desired                                           vanilla powder

Start with beating butter and sugar until smooth and then add the egg and salt, creaming well the mixture with the paddle attachment. Shift in the flour with baking powder and mix in the orange juice after you disolve the milk powder in it . Beat the batter just until combined (add some flour if needed, to get a workable yet very soft mixture). Roll the batter on a floured surface giving it a 1,5cm thickness and cut 9cm-diametre circles with holes. Let them rest for about 15min and fry them in a medium saucepan filled with oil (I use olive oil) at least 4cm deep. The doughnuts should come to the surface after being immersed in the oil and start to form a golden crust on their bottom side. Check them by lightly lifting them with a slotted spoon and when they start to get light brown turn them over and cook for about another minute. When done, remove them with the spoon and place them on some kitchen paper to get rid of the excess greasiness. For the frosting, beat butter and cocoa with a spatula until a thick paste forms. Beat in the corn syrup until fully incorporated and then mix in the water. At last, shift in the sugar with vanilla, beat the mixture until light and shinny and cover your cooled doughnuts. You may need more or less powder sugar for the cocoa fudge depending on sweetness you want.

 

      

       Matcha yeast doughnuts

       80gr                                                  sugar

       7gr                                                    salt

       420gr                                                 bread flour

       23gr                                                   milk powder

       45gr                                                   butter at room temperature

       75gr                                                   eggs

       45ml                                                  buttermilk

       10gr                                                   instant yeast

       117gr                                                 warm (not hot) water

       4tsp                                                   matcha tea

       as desired                                          vanilla powder

       1 cup                                                 apricot marmelade (optional)

Combine butter with the dry ingredients except yeast in a bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook. Then lightly beat the eggs with buttermilk and add them to the dry mixture. Dissolve the yeast in the water and poure it in the batter mixing on low speed for 2 to 3min. Scrape down the bowl and keep kneading at medium speed for about 6 more minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Ferment the dough until doubled (you can use a lightly warmed oven) and then roll it out on a floured surface, into a 1,5cm thick rectangle. Cut out 7cm-diametre circles and let them increase 75% more in volume. Then fry the doughnuts as directed previously, make a hole with a skewer in each one and use a pastry bag to fill them with marmelade. To pass the jam easily through the pastry tip, you can smoothen it with a hand blender. Finally, dust with some powdered sugar.