bostini cream pie with the daring bakers

today is the day! the day all the crazy bakers from the daring bakers post their little baking projects. click on the link to see all the wonderful bostini cream pies, but let me tell you that this month's host mary from alpineberry made such a cute little cake, you shouldnt miss it.

bostini cream pie was this months recipe and while i mis-read the title for a couple of weeks i finally figured out it wasnt a boston cream pie - although it is kind of a boston cream pie. a bostini cream pie is a vanilla bean pastry cream topped with an chiffon cake and then drizzled with a rich chocolate glaze.


its a bit of a fancy name i have to admit and you need a little time to bake and blend and assemble it all together but it's definitely worth all the work. you will need a truck of fresh eggs in your fridge and all in all its a dessert that can feed a little army - its so rich and chocolatey and all that. so since i am a little person i just halved the recipe and fed 4 hungry mouths instead. worked well!
i do have every possible and impossible gadget for the kitchen but dont own any custard cups. so just use any other cup that would survive 25 minutes in the oven or simply use your silicone molds to bake the little cakes.
any leftover cakes can be drizzled with the leftover chocolate glaze and surely keep a day or two in the fridge (if not eaten before...). enjoy!



RECIPE

Bostini Cream Pie
(from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala's Bistro)
(makes 8 generous servings)

INGREDIENTS:

Custard (Pastry Cream)
3/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten
9 egg yolks, beaten
3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola or sunflower oil
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (or pinch of salt)

Chocolate Glaze
8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

To prepare the custard (pastry cream):
Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.

To prepare the chiffon cakes:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter.

Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.

To prepare the glaze:
Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm.

To assemble:
Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

i am back & a mushroom ricotta tart

if this blog was a - let's say a pet - like a guinea pig or a bunny or even a cat, it would have died by now. a total lack of attention and - this is what makes me kinda sad, because it is so incredible for me - no food. for 22 days. how bad is that?
it was so lovely to recieve all your e-mails... wondering if i was still alive... somewhere out there... cooking up storms or something. when really i just wasnt hungry and busy with a thing called life. now with those first mean cold nights i am getting back into the kitchen (there is a new daring bakers competition coming up i better not miss - its got chocolate in it). i was happy to discover my oven still worked (but really needs a proper clean-out before i use it the next time) and my hands still loved to make some buttery base for a tart. a mushroom ricotta tart it is that i present you here. how about you get your chanterelles from the market, some fresh ricotta, a twig or two of thyme and you will be ready to go with this wonderful mushroom tart. at least it got ME cooking and darn hungry again...

RECIPE

tart dough

120g flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
60g cold butter
ice water

combine flour, salt and sugar in a blender and pulse to combine. cut cold butter & add to the flour, then pulse until largest butter pieces are about the size of almonds. gently add some ice cold water until dough holds together (you dont want it to be wet!). form into a disc, wrap and let chill until firm in the fridge (about 40 mins).

tart filling

250g ricotta
30g freshly grated parmesan (plus more for rolling out tart dough)
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons of heavy cream
handful of freshly picked thyme

3 hands full of chanterelles (or other mushroom), cleaned & roughly chopped
1/2 red chilli, de-seedes, cut in small pieces
1 small shallot, finely diced
salt & freshly ground pepper

first heat some olive oil in a frying pan, add shallot and cook until starting to soft, then add chilli and chanterelles and fry on high heat until starting to soft. then take off heat and season with salt and pepper. put aside.

mix ricotta with parmesan cheese, add 1 egg yolk and add salt, pepper and thyme in a small bowl.
sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on your kitchen counter (or directly onto a baking paper), then roll out dough into circle (doesnt have to be perfect!) - about 20cm in diameter. spread filling on the dough, leaving an about 3cm border. arrange the fried mushrooms on top and gently fold the edges of the dough toward the centre, creating a 2cm border. chill until firm.

heat oven to 220c°.
mix remaining egg yolk with heavy cream and brush the edges of the tart with the egg wash and then sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese & some more thyme if you like. transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. then reduce heat to 200c°, rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 20 minutes until the edges become golden brown. remove from oven and slide (with baking paper) on a cooling rack. serve warm or at room temperature.