Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

THE DARING BAKERS’ FEBRUARY, 2011 CHALLENGE: PANNA COTTA & FLORENTINE COOKIES

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I have to say, it was with a bit of trepidation that I made this recipe... I just don't like Jello or anything Jello-ish! However, since this was my very first Daring Bakers' challenge, I did not want to opt out the first time. 


I chose to do the chocolate version, just because I like chocolate better than vanilla.  Both recipes are included here. 


For the cookies, I added a teaspoon of almond extract and a half cup of dried cherries. Since almonds and cherries are so good together, I dipped a whole almond in a little of the chocolate to garnish the panna cotta.


The panna cotta was delish! The cookies were softer than I would prefer, but still tasted great. 

Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta
Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt 

Directions:
1. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

Chocolate Panna Cotta: Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit 

One Cake, Two Chocolate Frostings

Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with either Ganache or Martha Stewart's Dark Chocolate Frosting.

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Makes 36

• 3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

It seems these days, that Red Velvet cake is the trendiest darling on the cupcake scene. Not wanting to be frumpy in the cupcake department, we, at the They Want Cake blog have jumped on this sweet bandwagon.

Actually I've been making Red Velvet for some time now, but recently have come to a final recipe and some major tweaking. This one is based mostly on a recipe that was published last summer in the Toronto Star newspaper. 

Two big changes, one, I substitute canola oil for butter in any cupcake recipe. I have found over and over again that it makes a much moister cake. Secondly, I like to use the "dump method" when it makes sense. Using oil instead of butter also lets you do this.

Deep-Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes

Sometimes the need for brownies comes upon the best of us at the most inconvenient time. Having found myself and my family to be so afflicted, I was very pleased to find a recipe that is so easy to do and can linger in the fridge for a couple of days without baking!

This is the pic from the LCBO recipe, I swear it really looks like this,when I make it without the candied violet though.

This is a brownie cupcake recipe, originally courtesy of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and their food and wine magazine. Please don't get me started on why residents of the lovely province on Ontario have to go to a stand-alone government-run store to purchase wine and liquor.

Anyway, this is all done in one pot, save dishwashing,  but best of all, you can bake up as many as you want at a time. Keep the rest of the batter in the fridge. I have found that I can do six of these in the toaster oven (albeit I have a Duolit mini oven which is very accurate in temperature) as required.

I've noticed that if I bake two dozen brownie cupcakes, they will all be eaten very quickly, same goes for one dozen. Never any worry about stale baked goods in my house!  So to spread the joy, I usually makes this recipe, bake one dozen right away and stash the rest of the batter in the fridge to bake up in two more batches of six over the next few days.