Hay Hay It's Funnel Cake!

Well, it is finally starting to feel a bit more like the beginnings of summer here in Utah. Summertime will always and forever remind me of County Fairs.  Though the County Fair and State Fair won't happen until later in the summer I don't see any reason to wait to give this treat a chance.  The timing was also perfect to send this as my entry to Suzana of Home Gourmets, winner of the last round of Hay Hay It's Donna Day, the event created by Barbara at Winos and Foodies, and with its new home with Bron Marshall.  Suzana has chosen Choux! for HHDD#20 - so now was as good a time as any to try my hand at making an old fashioned country Fair favorite - funnel cake.   I recently watched an episode of Good Eats where funnel cakes were made and knew that it wouldn't be too long before I had to give it a go. 

It was super simple and easy and made for a very, airy light concoction.  I guess you could call them sort of like a doughnut, but either way, it was a nice fun treat.

I modified a basic choux recipe just a bit to add some extra flavor to my funnel cakes with the addition of a bit of vanilla, cinnamon and ginger.  Just pipe a bit of a random pattern straight into the hot oil and fry up some chouxy goodness - easy peasy - plus it was really fun to watch.  

Besides, we all like treats that can be prepared start to finish with minimal fuss or mess in a short amount of time.  Making these only took about 35 minutes from start to eating a stack of funnel cakes dusted with some powdered sugar.  Definitely worth a repeat.  

Choux Funnel Cakes

(Adapted from Donna Hay's recipe for Choux and Alton Brown's recipe for Funnel Cake)

- Approximately 10 depending on size - mine were about 6 inches across
1 cup (8 fl oz) water (240 ml)
100 grs (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter
¾ cup (112 ½ grs / 4 oz) plain all-purpose flour
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Confectioners' sugar for dusting, if desired

Place the water and butter in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and ginger.  Add flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook, stirring over low heat until the mixture leaves the side of the pan. Remove from the heat. 

Place in an electric mixer and beat on high, gradually adding the eggs until well combined.  Beat in the vanilla.

Once all eggs have been added and mixture is smooth, put dough in a piping bag fitted with a number 12 tip. Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a heavy pan. Pipe dough into oil, making a free-form lattice pattern; cook until browned, flipping once. Remove cake from oil, drain on paper towels, and top with powdered sugar. Continue until all of the batter is used.

Blueberry Orange Clafouti

One more clafouti for Bron. I meant to make this last week, but the grocery store trip kept being elusive. Then, I figured I was out of time to make it for Bron's Clafouti Edition of Hay Hay It's Donna Day til I read this post that there was still time. Woo-hoo! This is only my second clafouti and I am seriously in love with this dish. Besides, since three of my favorite women keep talking about clafouti, I knew I had to try at least one more now while it was fresh in my mind. DH definately liked this version better (as evidenced by the fact that he plowed threw two dishes this morning) than the Chocolate Raspberry version I made before. While, I'm partial to the chocolate, this Blueberry Orange version was delicious.

Both times I have made this dish I've been struck by how simple and sublime it is. I think that this is where the French really excel in all things culinary. Taking few and simple ingredients and turning them into something simply amazing. Making this version this morning was absolutely cathartic for me. Measure, zest an orange, rub into sugar, smell the citrus, stir, pour, add beautiful fresh blueberries, sprinkle with some raw sugar and bake. Simple, easy, fun and relaxing. The perfect way to start the day! Since I still need to post the Blogging for Babies roundup this week, and have a couple of other challenges I'm working on, this is probably my last clafouti for Bron, but definately not my last clafouti I will be making!

Blueberry Orange Clafouti
(Adapted from and measurements based on Bron's Mixed Berry and Cherry Clafoutis)

1 pint of blueberries, fresh or frozen
300ml of whole milk
1/3 cup of caster/superfine sugar
4 tablespoons raw sugar (turbinado)
Finely grated zest of one large orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup of all-purpose unbleached flour
icing / confectioners sugar to dust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (or 190 deg C).

Place 4 x 250ml or 1 x 4 cup capacity strong heat proof dishes (i.e ones that won’t crack on cold liquid hitting them!) in the oven to preheat.

In a small bowl, rub the orange zest with the caster sugar thoroughly until very moist, fragrant and orange.

Next, in a large pouring jug or blender whisk together the milk, the orange caster sugar, vanilla, eggs, salt and flour.

Remove the heated dishes from the oven and divide the blueberries evenly between them. Sprinkle with the raw sugar, then evenly ladle over the egg mixture.

Quickly return to the oven and bake the individual dishes for 15 to 20 minutes, or 1 large dish for 35 to 40 minutes until puffed up, golden and cooked through.

Dust with icing sugar, serve warm or at room temperature.

Clafoutis - Fun to Say, Better to Eat

I had never made clafoutis, but since Bron chose the next round of HHDD to be the Clafoutis Edition, I knew I would be making it this month. After I read her post, I started getting all kinds of ideas for what flavor combinations I would make. While Autumn is starting for Bron, Spring is just starting here.

I think that is a big part of the fun in blogging - getting to know about life in other areas of the world vicariously through others. The fact that we all share the same passion for food and creating wonderful things to eat makes it a simple and natural bond.

And speaking of simple and natural combinations - that is exactly what I thought of clafoutis. I honestly don't know why I've waited so long to make clafoutis - I know I won't wait very long before I make it again. Since Bron opened this round up to multiple entries, I think this might just be my first of a few. I really enjoyed this dish, and since you can serve it either hot or at room temperature, I tried it both ways. I think that room temperature was actually my favorite.
For my first flavor combination, I decided to play off of another of Donna's recipes, the Raspberry Spiked Brownies, I made a couple of weeks ago. While I've read that clafouti(s)? (I don't know which is appropriate - either way it is still really good to eat!) is traditionally using cherries, there just aren't any good cherries here yet. I'm sure there are purists who wouldn't put chocolate into a clafoutis either, but I liked it. Perhaps if I had had it the traditional way first, I would feel the same. So, my recipe is by no means traditional and ended up being a lot more like dessert even though I had already decided to try making my first clafoutis as breakfast. Yeah, there is a trend of eating treats for breakfast going on here - I still don't feel bad about it.

As always much thanks to Barbara for creating this event and a big thank you to Bron for her theme choice. I really enjoyed making this and I like the flexibility to play around with the flavors while it still being a simple dish to make and eat. I just based my recipe off of the one Bron posted for the Plum and Chocolate Clafoutis - from Donna Hay’s Original Recipe. I also replaced the dark chocolate in the original recipe with white chocolate chunks. I didn't increase the amount of cocoa powder I used in the recipe, but the cocoa I use is 100% Extra Brut Cocoa from Callebaut and is very very dark. I imagine that would be why my chocolate version looks so much darker than Bron's did.

Raspberry Double Chocolate Clafoutis
1/3 cup (50g/1 3/4oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
1/4 cup (30g/1oz) cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup (75g/2 2/3oz) caster (superfine) sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup (8 fl oz) (single or pouring) cream
1 cup chopped white chocolate
20g (3/4 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup red raspberries (fresh, not frozen)

Preheat the oven to 180degC (355degF).

Place the flour, cocoa and sugar in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, place the vanilla, eggs and cream and stir to combine.

Add the vanilla mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.

Stir in the chocolate.

Divide the butter between 2 x 2 cup (500ml/16 fl oz) capacity 13cm (5in) frying pans over a medium heat until melted. (The only pans I had to use for this were cast iron and they worked perfectly).

Pour over the chocolate mixture, top with the plum halves and bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and cooked through.

Makes 2.

HHDD # 18 - Chocolate Coconut Raspberry Swirl Tarts

I was a little late finding out about this month's HHDD, but I really didn't want to miss it once I saw the pictures of the delectable little tarts made by Bordeaux over at Marita Say's announcing this round's recipe theme. Chocolate Coconut Tarts.

These looked like the macaroons of my dreams. Crispy and chewy on the coconut but not overpowering with, basically, a chocolate truffle filling. Oh, yea. I'm in.

I didn't want to stray too far from the original recipe because it looks so good and because as soon as I saw it I had a crazy macaroon craving that wouldn't let go. I chose to mix it up a little and add some white chocolate ganache to the mix and use turbinado sugar in the shells, and get creative with the decorating.

Also, as Bordeaux pointed out, these are simple to make. It was nice to make something that required fewer ingredients and steps and still ended up looking like a million bucks. I will definately make these again when I want to impress. They remind me of the old rice crispie commercial where the woman pretends that making a big tray of rice crispie treats was a monumental task and uses the time for time out for herself. She reads a book in the kitchen and then throws some water and flour on her face to look like she has been working so hard. A very nice recipe to have in my arsenal.

Thanks to Barbara for creating such a fun event and to Bordeaux for choosing the theme for this round.

Chocolate Coconut Tarts
(For the original version go to Marita Says!)

For the shell-
2 egg whites
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

For the filling-
1 1/4 cups cream, divided (it is easiest to measure as 1/2 C + 1/8 C each - or just eyeball it)
150g dark chocolate, chopped
150g white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoon seedless black raspberry preserves

Blackberries (or raspberries) to garnish

Make:
Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).

Mix the egg whites, coconut and sugar well. Scoop the mixture into the bottom of large (or regular muffin tins) muffin papers and with wetted hands (works best this way) press it out to create a base. Put into the oven to bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until it begins to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for one minute. Gently remove the cups from muffin tins but don't remove the papers if you only created a base.

While this is happening, heat 1/2 + 1/8 cups of the cream in a saucepan until almost boiling.

Remove from heat and pour over the chopped dark chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.

Stir until the chocolate has melted into the cream and you have a decadent and rich looking chocolate liquid.

Carefully, pour the dark chocolate halfway up each cup. Put the cups on a plate or tray in the freezer and leave it for 15 minutes or until set.

Heat the remaining 1/2 + 1/8 cup cream in the sauce pan and repeat the steps from above with the white chocolate. Take the shells from the freezer and fill the remainder of the way with the white chocolate.

Heat the raspberry preserves to liquify and drip a few drops into the white chocolate. Use a toothpick to swirl the drops into a marbled pattern. (Note: I actually stirred the raspberry preserves into a little bit of the white chocolate. I'm telling you the way I wish I had done it here. I think it may have kept some of the raspberry preserve color more vibrant.)

Replace the filled shells in the freezer another 15 minutes or until set.

Garnish with blackberries (or raspberries - I just had blackberries on hand) that are brushed with a little of the heated preserves.

Serve them to your guests, or if you are like me, wrap them carefully in plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator to hoard for days (ok, the rest of the afternoon anyway!)

HHDD #17 - Pizza - BBQ Chicken & Bacon

I think it must have been fate - and thanks to ChicaJo over at 80 Breakfasts for hosting and choosing this theme - that the theme for my very first Hay Hay It's Donna Day event would be pizza. I only came across Donna Hay last year, but I was happy to find her.

A few years ago I decided to try my hand at making pizza at home. I love pizza and it just costs too much to buy it as often as we would probably like to eat it. I have used several crust recipes over the years and have pretty similar recipes with most versions. I hadn't used this recipe before, but I did like it. I also liked that it was already portioned for one pizza. However, funny enough, this time, I had to double the recipe anyway so that I could make another pizza for my 4 year old. He is allergic to dairy, so couldn't have cheese on his pizza.

I wanted to branch out on the toppings and deviate from the norm of what we do. That idea was universally opposed by the rest of the fam. So, here you have Donna's pizza crust recipe with our usual toppings. It may not be too terribly original to most people, but it is the one we love the very best. BBQ Chicken & Bacon. I've made it with our usual toppings here, but we also like to add sauteed mushrooms, roasted red bell pepper, and actually, my favorite alternative, black beans. (FYI - I had in mind honey garlic grilled shrimp with roasted red bell peppers, fontina, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil... I will hopefully get to that in the future.) My "dream" choice probably would have been a better entry, but since arguing with a 4 year old at dinner time was too exhausting this time around, we did it his way.

Enjoy!

Here is the Donna Hay recipe:

Pizza Dough(from Modern Classics I by Donna Hay, page 186)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
Pinch sugar
2/3 cup (5 fl oz) warm water
2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Place the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Set aside until bubbles form.

Add the four, salt, and oil, and mix to form a smooth dough. Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place in a clean, oiled bowl, cover, and allow to stand in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Makes one quantity.

The Dough

For the topping:

1 boneless skinless breast of chicken, rubbed with the following and cooked on grill pan:
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt

Cook through, allow to cool and slice into thin strips

1/4 cup thick-cut bacon pieces, cooked until crispy
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

fresh cilantro, minced for topping

Favorite BBQ sauce (we like KC Masterpiece Original) (NOTE: I have made my own BBQ sauce with this, but we love this BBQ sauce, and sometimes, the shortcut is worth it).

Roll out pizza dough and top with the BBQ sauce, 3/4 c of the mozzarella cheese, chicken slices, bacon pieces, remainder of mozzarella cheese and the cheddar cheese.

Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fresh minced cilantro.