Boston Cream Doughnuts

The other day I posted a recipe for homemade glazed doughnuts, made from frozen bread dough. Well, that loaf of frozen dough can transform into a lot of other delicious things besides bread. It can become a pizza crust, a calzone or stromboli, or even county-fair-style fried dough sprinkled in powdered or cinnamon sugar, etc. I have discovered that it is great for doughnuts!

Most of my family will go for a Boston Cream doughnut before any other, so I was thinking that I could go a step further with my homemade doughnut recipe by leaving the hole out, injecting the fried dough with pastry cream, and topping it with chocolate. That's exactly what I did.  For some reason, I can't seem to save and import all the photos I took of this process, so the photo of this finished doughnut will have to do.

Here's the recipe:

BOSTON CREAM DOUGHNUT

pastry cream (recipe below) made a few hours in advance, or the day before
1 loaf frozen bread dough, partially thawed
canola oil
chocolate ganache (recipe below)

Pastry Cream*
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter

In a medium sized bowl, mix egg yolks with sugar.  Sift flour and cornstarch together and add to egg yolk mixture, making a paste.

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat milk over moderate heat until bubbles form around edge.  Very, very slowly, pour a ladle-full, or about 1/2 cup, of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring vigorously and constantly to prevent eggs from clumping.  If they do, strain out the solids and discard. Then pour the egg yolk mixture, again very slowly and stirring constantly, back into the pot of hot milk. Bring to a full boil and let boil for one minute.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract.  Pour into bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.  Bring to room temperature and then cool in refrigerator.

*If you don't want to/can't make pastry cream, you can substitute cooked vanilla pudding, but real pastry cream is by far the best.  DO NOT use instant vanilla pudding.  It's just not good enough for this doughnut!

Doughnuts
(Photos of dough slicing, thawing, rising from the glazed doughnuts post here.)
Slice loaf of partially thawed bread into 8-12 rounds.
Place rounds on a cookie sheet that's been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray.  Spray tops of rounds with cooking spray and cover with dish towel or a piece of plastic wrap. Allow to thaw completely and rise to about doubled in size.  To speed this process, you can put the cookie sheet in an unheated oven (turned off) over a pan of hot water -- I used 3 cups boiling water -- and watch to see that the dough has risen to twice its original size, usually in about half an hour but it may take longer depending on how frozen the loaf was. Once it's risen, the dough can be fried.

In another saucepan, heat about an inch of canola oil to a shimmer (med/high heat) and when it's really hot, around 375 degrees if you have a candy thermometer (and not until), carefully and gently drop a round or two at a time into the oil. Be careful not to press the dough, or deflate it. Cook until the bottom begins to brown to a nice golden color, and then carefully flip over (I used a fork and a big spoon) and continue to cook until the other side reaches the same shade of golden brown.

Remove from sauce pan and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Continue until all the rounds have been fried. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.  At one end of doughnut, insert small knife and swipe it back and forth inside the doughnut to create a cavity, careful not to cut through the other side or the bottom.

Inject doughnuts with pastry cream, roughly a tablespoon or two each.  If you have a pastry bag, fit it with large tip.  Fill pastry bag about a third full and poke tip well into hole you cut at the end of each doughnut. Use enough pressure to fill slowly, stopping as you sense the doughnut is full and to prevent pastry cream from oozing out of the end. If it does, just wipe it away.  If you don't have a pastry bag, you can buy them now in any grocery store in the baking aisle. It's worth it.  You can also make a paper cone pastry bag by following these directions.  Buying one is easier!

Frost tops with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache
(simpler than you ever thought)
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet is fine)
3/4 cup heavy cream

Heat heavy cream just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, catching it before it boils but is nice and hot. Remove from heat and pour hot cream over chocolate. You can also heat the cream in the microwave but must be careful it doesn't boil.

Stir until the chocolate melts and allow to cool until it's thick like the glaze you'd see on an eclair or cream puff.  Don't let it get much more solid than that. Drop about a tablespoon of ganache on the center of a doughnut and spread carefully over the top.  Allow to set.

Eat one doughnut and share the rest!

Memorial Day and a Few Dozen Muffins

Last night I dropped off two dozen muffins to The Guardian House, a residence for homeless women veterans in Ballston Spa, New York. I first heard of this special home when a facebook friend posted Home Depot's contest for worthy non-profits, and The Guardian House won the first round of competition, and is now in the running for the larger, national prize. I was thinking about service, and what people do for others, when the thought came to me that I could help in my own small way by using my particular skills. So, I baked up two dozen muffins to honor these women on Memorial Day. It's not much, but if these muffins bring even a little bit of happiness to the residents of The Guardian House (eleven women at this time), that would make me feel like I did a little bit of good. More info about The Guardian House is linked here.

Henry and Peter helped me make the muffins yesterday afternoon. As they were cooling I decided that last night would be a good time to drop them off, rather than this morning, because it'd be nice for the women to have them for breakfast when they woke up. I looked up the address of the house on-line, and took the 20-minute ride just around 8 pm. As I stood at the door and pressed the doorbell, I wondered if I should have called first, made arrangements in a formal way. But that wasn't necessary -- after a moment the door opened, I was welcomed in and asked to sign the guest book. What a warm, cozy, and inviting home it is! The kitchen (always my point of interest) looked like HOME, so welcoming, and immaculately clean (well, my kitchen doesn't always look like that!), with a big wooden, family-style table in the center. It felt like a family's home.

The two women I met were in pretty robes and slippers, seemingly settled in for the night. One mentioned that they were watching a Memorial Day tribute on PBS. I didn't want to interrupt their evening so I thanked them for their service and left within just a couple of minutes, with a new awareness that this home is a very important place, and so very deserving of the the attention and generosity it has been fortunate to receive lately. I have a feeling I'll be visiting again (and again).

About this muffin: it's made with light sour cream and egg whites, and whips up into a light yet substantial batter.The addition of lemon extract, along with strawberries and blueberries, makes these irresistible (to me, anyway!) and I bet your family and friends will love them!

RED, WHITE, AND BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Oven 375 degrees Farenheit - makes 24 standard muffins (half the recipe for a dozen)
Spray muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners

1/2 cup soft butter
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
4 egg whites
2 cups (1 pt.) light sour cream
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4-1 cup cup frozen blueberries, tossed with 1 tablespoon flour
1/2-3/4 cup chopped up fresh strawberries

In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.  Add extracts and mix well.  Add egg whites, one at a time, and beat well.  Add sour cream and mix thoroughly.

To the mixer bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  On very low speed,  mix into the wet ingredients and then increase speed to mix thoroughly, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.

To this batter, stir in (gently) the blueberries and strawberries, but just until combined or the blueberries will turn the batter purple!  Divide batter among muffins cups -- I use an ice cream scoop to do the job since it works perfectly!

Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake for 21-23 minutes or until muffins test done - top springs back when lightly pressed or toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Here are a few photos of the muffins along the way!

It is my pleasure and privilege to remember our veterans in this very small way, and on this day of picnics and welcoming summer, I won't forget that the true purpose of Memorial Day is to honor our fallen heroes. I can't let this day go by without thanking my father, Alfred J. O'Farrell (1917-1993) for his service in the United States Army during WWII.  He was, and always will be, my hero.

Adirondack Baker's 4th Anniversary!

Today, Sunday, May 26th, 2013, marks four years since my very first post as Adirondack Baker! It's been an incredible experience, and one that has broadened horizons, birthed and rekindled friendships, and provided a record of special moments of the past four years that might have otherwise faded away. It has ebbed and flowed with the happenings in my life, and has been witness to the growth of my family with grandsons Henry and Peter. It follows the connections of children, siblings, extended family, and friends. It has seen me through significant job transitions. This blog has been a passion and though, sometimes, I wonder just how many hours I've spent writing, and baking, and writing about baking -- time that could have been spent doing other significant things -- I don't regret one second. I write for you. For me. Especially for my kids and grandchildren. Russ tells me I write as if I'm writing "to the universe." Perhaps that's true. Investing so much, with no promise of financial reward at the end, must mean that it's worth it in ways that can't be measured in dollars and cents.

I've previously said that, when this blog was first launched, I was cautioned by an I.T. person, "Most blogs last six months, if that." I saw that as a challenge, to prove his prediction wrong. Four years later, I clearly have, yet I still work toward that challenge, inspired to write in a way that will relate to my readers, to bring them something real, something genuine, perhaps not always right, or pretty, or perfect, but something sincere. If I can write a few paragraphs that brighten your day, or inspire you to create, or provoke thought, or even provide a few moments of escape from a difficult day, then I've accomplished what I've set out to do.

There are many more-polished blogs out there, and I must admit that now and then I suffer an extreme case of blog envy, especially when I see what others contribute compared to what I do. But then, I realize that what I bring to the table is unique, and personal, and very real, and something my own. My confidence is restored when I remember that, as the CEO of this little operation, there's no one to tell me it's not good enough, to go back and rewrite, to reject what I submit. Here, I am the boss of me! :)

So, with my "Field of Dreams"-esque attitude of "If you write it, they will come," I have faith that this effort is worth it, that you will come back again to see what's new, to read about it all.  And I am grateful, very grateful.

Thank you, ADK Baker readers.  The fact that you are here, reading this, means the world to me.  I appreciate each and every one of you.



photo credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxN4o0zfRT6iJLzuQS7WoHH7iUr7Lcx_vK5fHTA9P_XIbAPvXEZkXNBGi_zXtM54eD8sTeUMRCaLLUCXl86q0d30ieRtVZbVv0gIyq-t5l6hqwoeSY2dZbmHF7mI9AIJY0iP8pRgJJo1hu/s1600/birthday4.jpg

Insanely Easy Home-Made Glazed Doughnuts

While I research healthier recipes to post on this blog (a promise to you and to myself!), I bring you something not quite so healthy, but very simple and satisfying -- the easiest home-made glazed doughnut.  This is a recipe for a doughnut so quick and delicious that you won't believe you did it yourself! It all starts with a loaf of frozen bread dough. While partially thawed, you slice the loaf into even rounds. When the rounds are thawed through, a hole is poked in the middle and the each round is stretched into a ring. The doughnuts are then set to rise to about double their size, and then quickly fried, one side and then the other, in a small pot with about an inch/inch-and-a-half of hot canola oil. They are then drained on paper towels and finally coated with a thin confectioners sugar glaze. And eaten, yes, they are eaten!

Coming soon - I'm concocting another doughnut, without the hole, filled with pastry cream and covered in chocolate ganache -- my version of a Boston Cream Doughnut (I'll have to give them ALL away!)... Soon, I promise!

Here's the step-by-step in photos:

EASIEST HOME-MADE GLAZED DOUGHNUTS

Frozen bread dough, 1 lb. loaf
canola oil, enough to fill pot 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep*
confectioners sugar
water

Allow bread dough to thaw in refrigerator for a few hours until it is soft but still firm:

On cutting board, slice loaf into 8-12 even rounds. Place rounds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper that's been sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray rounds and cover with a kitchen towel or lightly with plastic wrap:

When thawed through,  poke a hole in the center and pull dough into ring. Cover again and let rise in warm area of kitchen until doubled in size.:

In small pot on stove, heat canola oil to shimmering (med to med/high heat). Carefuly drop one doughnut into oil and cook until golden on the bottom. NOTE: This happens quickly.VERY CAREFULLY turn doughnut over and allow other side to get to the same golden color. These can get too brown in a hurry so watch carefully:

Remove cooked doughnut to a tray lined with paper towels:

Repeat with remaining doughnuts (it goes very quickly).

Place cooling doughnuts on wire rack over a piece of parchment paper. Spoon glaze evenly over tops of doughnuts.

GLAZE

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
water

In a medium sized bowl, whisk confectioners sugar with a little bit of water, a few teaspoons at a time, until you've added enough water to make a thin glaze.  It doesn't take much, so go sparingly with the water.  When the glaze thins to a point where it coats a spoon or fork without running off too quickly, you've reached the right consistency.  Spoon over doughnuts and allow to coat completely.  Let set until the glaze has firmed up, and enjoy your own home-made doughnuts.

*Oil can be saved in an air-tight container and used again.

Vanilla-Lemon Layer Cake with Fluffy Lemon Buttercream and Strawberries!

Just wanted to get this photo posted ~ the recipe is coming tomorrow when I have a few spare minutes! It's a vanilla-lemon layer cake with fluffy lemon buttercream, filled and topped with gorgeous strawberries!  It's the birthday cake for my friend Chris's mother-in-law. I hope she had a spectacular 95th birthday!  Stop back for more about this cake tomorrow!

OK, it's tomorrow and I'm back with the recipe! This is a great recipe adapted from
"The Whiteout Cake" from one of my prized cookbooks: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Friends Sari and Holly gave me this book as a gift after I made a little "welcome home from your wedding" post-wedding cake a few years ago, which was also a white cake (and I hear they are expecting a baby any day!).

I find this recipe to be always successful, and very adaptable, flavor-wise. It calls for a blending of cake flour along with all-purpose, and sometimes, when I just don't have cake flour, I use all, all-purpose flour, and the flavor is great but the texture is a little less tender.

Making the cake batter is a 4-step process, but not difficult.  You just have to be organized: you sift the dry ingredients together, mix shortening and butter with sugar, egg, and extracts, alternately add dry ingredients with ice water, and then fold in beaten egg whites. If you're willing, here's the recipe! Of course, if you prefer to do something much simpler, you could add lemon extract to a good-quality white cake mix, but I highly recommend you try this recipe and let me know what you think!

One last word about BAKED...authors Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito have brick-and-mortar bakeries in New York City and in Charleston, South Carolina. Wish I knew that last year when we were dropping my nephew Will off at the College of Charleston! If I am ever fortunate enough to visit Charleston (and Will!) again, I will be sure to visit BAKED as well!


VANILLA-LEMON LAYER CAKE WITH FLUFFY LEMON BUTTERCREAM AND STRAWBERRIES
(adapted from the Whiteout Cake in Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit
Prepare 2 8- or 9-inch round cake pans by spraying with cooking spray, lining with a parchment paper circle, and spraying the parchment paper

Cake ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon (yes) pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
3 large egg whites (room temperature)
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
fluffy lemon buttercream (recipe below)
strawberries (as many as you like)
2 tablespoons strawberry jam, melted

Directions:
Sift together onto large wax paper square: flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. If you don't have a sifter, you can tap the dry ingredients though a mesh strainer - that's what I do.

In large mixing bowl, beat together butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla and lemon extracts, and 1 egg.  Beat until very well combined.

Alternately add flour mixture with ice water until completely incorporated.

In another mixer bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form (do not overbeat).  Gently fold beaten egg whites into cake batter until well blended. Divide batter among pans, but do not fill more than 1/2 to 3/4 full.  If you have extra batter, make some cupcakes!

Bake in center rack of oven for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pans after 30 minutes if necessary. Cake is done when toothpick inserted comes out dry, or surface of cake springs back when lightly pressed. I'd check the cake at 35 minutes for doneness, depending on your own oven.

Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely (at least a few hours). Level layers with a sharp knife so that the cake stacks properly when frosted.

FLUFFY LEMON BUTTERCREAM 

1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 pound confectioners sugar
1/4 cup milk, plus more if needed

Cream butter and shortening in a large mixer bowl, beating until light and fluffy.  Add extracts and beat until completely incorporated. Add confectioners sugar alternately with milk, starting off very slowly (or you'll have a cloud of sugar!) and beat very well, adding more milk, a tablespoon at a time, until it's just as light and fluffy as you'd like it.

Using about a cup of frosting, fill the layers (no frosting on the sides of this cake), and then slice as many strawberries as you'd like and place on top of frosting before topping with next layer. I put a few tablespoons of frosting here and there over the bottom layer of strawberries just to hold the layers securely.

Place top layer on top of strawberries, and frost the top as you did the bottom, with about a cup (or more) of frosting. Arrange sliced strawberries in a pretty pattern on top of cake. Using a clean paintbrush, apply melted jam to strawberries to retain moisture and provide a pretty glaze.

I decided to pipe a pretty ring of frosting around the cake where the layers are joined. Because I never know when to quit!

Have a lovely week ahead!

Brick Cookies!

Today I delivered 40 brick sugar cookies to an office at Skidmore College (where I work). These cookies were to be given to the parents of the Class of 2013 Parents Fund, and also to the College's Board of Trustees. When I was asked if I could make cookies that looked like the bricks that the Parents Fund provides for graduating seniors, and are located in a patio on beautiful Case Green, I was sure I could. I just had no idea about how to go about it. After a little thought, I realized I could cut sugar cookie dough into rectangles, ice the baked cookies with royal frosting, and decorate them like the bricks that bear our graduates' names. I got the brick-like finish by blotting the dark grey/black icing with a paper towel onto a paper plate until it was almost dry, and then dabbing the paper towel onto the brick-colored icing that had dried overnight.

Using Alton Brown's sugar cookie recipe, my tried-and-true and absolute favorite, I added a little bit of lemon flavor, this time with extract. Sometimes grated lemon rind does the trick.  It's very versatile flavor-wise. You can't go wrong with AB's sugar cookie recipe!

Here are a few photos of Brick Cookies!:

Thanks for stopping by! Please come again!

Dark Chocolate Pound Cake, the Easy Way!

OK, we turned the heat off and tonight it's 45 degrees F and dropping! To warm up my little garage apartment, there's a cake in the oven.  It's the easiest, quickest cake I could throw together to get this place warmed up. I started with a dark chocolate cake mix, added instant pudding, eggs, oil, and water. It's baking now in an old and trusty bundt pan. It is so old that the yellow coating on the outside has peeled off and there are just patches of it here and there. I think my mother got it for me with S&H Green Stamps! That should tell you how old it is, circa 1974 I'm guessing, the year I got married! This tough cookie of a pan outlasted the marriage by almost two decades, and it's still going strong!

It's been through a lot!

EASY DARK CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE
Oven - 350 degrees F
Bundt pan, sprayed with cooking spray

Ingredients:
1 dark chocolate cake mix (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme)
1 box instant chocolate pudding mix, 4-serving size (I used Jello brand)
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water

Directions:
In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well for 2 minutes.  Pour batter (actually, it's pretty thick, so you may have to spoon batter) into prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 45 minutes until cake tests done (toothpick or press test).

Remove to wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.  Turn cake out of pan onto wire rack.  Cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
water

In medium bowl, stir confectioners sugar and cocoa.  Add water, just a few teaspoons, and stir with fork.  Continue adding water and stirring, just a few drops at a time, until glaze is thick and flows slowly off a fork.  Glaze top of cake and let the glaze run down the side.  Let sit for a while for the glaze to set.