TIRAMISU CAKE

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V and I are both down with stomach cramps, me more than him. Thankfully, I can say that it is not because of my cooking. Its a result of eating out (even though at other people’s houses) every day over the weekend. Some thing just did not sit right with both of us. So for lunch today I made khichdi, a light Indian dish made of rice and lentil. Its easy to put together and to digest as well. Have it with curd and a little ghee, and you have comfort food at its best.

Talking about comfort food. It’s been raining here like crazy. And what’s more comforting than hot coffee- well, actually there is- cake soaked in espresso topped with coffee infused mascarpone cheese. Ahh! Tiramisu! Yes, I know- given my condition, I can not afford to have such a delicatessen! So, instead I chose to relive the memory of the time I did make a Tiramisu cake- the weekend we had our first house guests.

Dorie Greenspan yet again came to my rescue with this awesome recipe for a Tiramisu cake. I was glad to find a recipe that did not call for store bought lady fingers. I did end up making a lot of blunders. I forgot to read the instructions properly and instead of mixing all of the whipped cream for the filling, I mixed in only 1/4 th. I also had to double the amounts of the syrup, as the stated amount was just not sufficient for soaking both the cakes. I used ricotta cheese as I could not find mascarpone cheese anywhere:(! But, besides the filling being a little gritty, the taste wasn’t amiss. Also, I almost ended up burning one of the cakes as it baked in less than half the time mentioned in the book. But, fortunately, I checked and took the cake out. The cake in the other pan took the mentioned amount of time to bake. And, even though I bought Kahlua, the store clerk forgot to remove the alarm and I had to do with brandy! Just one of those days!

In spite of all the mishaps though, I got rave reviews for the cake. The coffee flavour was right on target- the frosting and filling weren’t too overly sweet- just the right amount of sweetness. I have realised Dorie and my palate for sweetness is quite similar. The cake was moist- thanks to the doubling of the syrup. Everyone loved it!

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BANANA BREAD

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It feels so good to be baking again! Recently I got hold of the book, Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters. I had seen an episode with them on the Food Network show Throwdown with Bobby Flay and they were so adorable that I knew I had to get their book.

Recipes that are handed down through generations have their own charm. Every family has their own masterpiece recipe. This blog is an attempt of getting prized recipes from my family and the ones that I find good under one roof and make an heirloom recipe collection of my own, just like the Brass sisters.

So, I set off to try their Banana Bread recipe, with pretty good results. The reason I chose a banana centric recipe was that I had these overly ripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter for some time. And unlike others, who would gross out by just the sight of black skinned bananas, I just exclaim, overjoyed by the opportunity to bake something banana-eyy!:)

The melted butter gives the bread a texture quite close to that of cake. And, for an extra punch, I toast the nuts.

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FRENCH BREAD

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These days my bedside novel is Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Bakers’ Apprentice. I am in love with this book. Last night, even though I was sleepy I couldn’t put the book down- like it was some really interesting crime mystery novel and I was at the part where the murder was just seconds from getting solved.  No one would have thought, especially those who have seen me growing up, that I was so passionate about baking. I too never knew till only recently, and even though I am not a great baker – I’ll call myself that only when I am able to concoct my own recipes- I know that I’m passionate about this. And, believe me, if you find something you are passionate about- you can and will eventually become great at it. Until that day I’ll keep trying!

Inspired by Reinhart’s words, I decided to try my hand at his version of French Bread.

Bread – a combination of flour, water, salt and yeast- all combined to form this beautifully fermented dough with layers of flavor hidden in it. One bite into the bread- and I’m talking about the freshly baked kinds- not the store bought, kept on shelves, filled with preservatives kinds- and you are like- whoa…oh my god, this is it- Yes! almost like having an orgasm for the mouth!

Previously, I have tried making French Bread with decent results. Reinhart’s version is slightly different and does require more time in the preparation. He starts off with a pre-fermented dough, pâte fermentée (dough that has been kept overnight to ferment in the refrigerator). The resulting bread has a sweetness associated with it due to the sugars released from the starches during fermentation. The crust is nice and rustic on the outside and the bread full-flavored!

Use this bread for making garlic bread or serve it with a roasted garlic infused ricotta cheese topping or use it to make your own version of crostinis!

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