Broken Cabbage - Danish Puff

My mother made this a lot when I was growing up.  She obtained the recipe following a potluck at the, then, Troutdale Baptist Church from Dorothy Evans.  This is not really Danish pastry per se, it is more of a pie crust or "broken dough" (Pâte Brisée) with Puff Paste or "cabbage dough" (Pâte á Choux) spread over the top.  Though it may not be made of the same yeast-ed and turned dough as croissants are made of, the result is still deliciousness.  Besides, "Danish Puff" sounds so much more appetizing than "Broken Cabbage", don't you think?

Let me tell ya, this is laden with butter.  Thus it is imperative that, since butter is the principle flavor, you use a good quality butter.  I usually turn to Lurpak or Kerry Gold for this, depending on which one happens to be on sale at the moment.

The Choux paste is pretty standard as Choux paste goes, except for the addition of a little Almond extract.  The Pâte Brisée, however, is much more butter laden than normal.  Where I normally use about 3 cups of flour in total (2 3/4 AP and 1/4 Cake flour) with 8 oz of butter, this version contains 1 cup of flour with 4 oz of butter. Which is why you will need to press it out onto the baking sheet instead of rolling it out, cause it's just way too sticky.

The Apricot preserves are completely optional.  I started doing it a little while back just because, but my mother never did it that way.  She always garnished it simply with sliced Almonds and drizzled it with glaze.  It's one of my favorite breakfast treats, simply because the only sugar contained in the recipe is the Confectioners' in the glaze (and in the preserves, if you are using them) so it's not TOO sweet like so many other breakfast foods.  That always makes me happy, cause I really don't like starting my day out with a sugar buzz. :)

Danish Puff

Pâte Brisée
1 cup (127g) (4.5 oz) AP Flour
Pinch of Kosher Salt
4 oz (113g) unsalted Butter
2 TB Ice water

Combine Flour and Salt in a bowl.

Cut butter into the flour as for Pâte Brisée.

When butter is small pea sized,

add ice water

and mix with a fork until the dough begins to come together.

Draw dough into a ball and divide in half. (about 130 g each)

On a large baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, press each of the 2 balls into 12 x 3 strips.

Refrigerate to let it rest while you prepare the Choux paste topping.

Pâte á Choux
4 oz (113g) Butter
1 cup (236ml) Water
pinch of Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Almond extract
1 cup (127g) (4.5oz) AP Flour
3 large Eggs

Glaze:
1 cup (100g) (3.5 oz) Confectioners' Sugar
1/4 tsp Almond Extract
4 tsp Whole Milk

Garnish:
Sliced Almonds
(optional) Apricot Fruit Puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium saucepan bring water and butter to a boil over medium heat.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add Vanilla and Almond extracts stirring to combine.

Add the Flour and stir constantly and continuously until the flour has absorbed all the water,

and forms a balled mass that pulls away from the sides of the saucepan.

Let the dough rest for about 3 minutes to cool slightly.....
Begin adding eggs 1 at a time, stirring after each until completely incorporated before adding the next.

The  dough will break apart and look like a big mess at first....

but as you keep stirring it will come back together again..  That is when it's time to add the next egg.

When your done stirring in the last egg, the dough will have transformed into a smooth, yet sticky, paste. (thus the name, Choux paste)

Remove the Pâte Brisée strips from the refrigerator.

Divide the Choux paste between the 2 base pastries.

Spread with with a spatula until the Choux is evenly spread over the base.

Move to the oven and bake for 50 minutes. (until golden and puffed)

Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes before icing with standard Milk/Confectioners sugar glaze.
Simply combine Confectioners' Sugar and Milk with Extract.

Mix with a fork until smooth. (you are going to want it a little on the thick side, so don;t be afraid to add more Confectioners' if it seems a little too runny)

If you like, you may spread pureed Apricots over the surface (I usually only do this to one of them)

Sprinkle sliced almond over the pastry.

Apply glaze by drizzling with a fork.

Consume with wild abandon!

Spis!!  er, I mean...  Mangia!!
~~

Eating Paste - Almond Paste

Seriously, if the paste I used in Kindergarten tasted like this, I would have been a paste eater!

Almond Paste and Mazipan are often confused.  While they are closely related, they are two very different things.  The primary difference is the sugar content.  Almond Paste is pretty much a mixture of 45-50% Almonds and 50-55% Sugar.  That is it.  Maybe little bitter almond extract but it's not required.  Marzipan, on the other hand, usually contains over 70% sugar.  What it really boils down to is that Almond Paste is the key 'ingredient' to making Marzipan along with additional sugar, and sometimes egg whites.

I have purchased Almond paste many times over the years.  Odense and Solo being two of the biggest.  But recently, when I started computing how much it was costing me, I was slightly horrified.  Odense usually comes in a 7 oz tube for about $8.99 while the Solo can, being 8 oz, usually sells for $10 or more.  Maybe it is the part of the country I live in; I don't know.  Suffice it to say, it has become extremely cost prohibitive.  When this happens, I usually resort to making my own.

Luckily, Almond Paste is extremely easy to make.  You don't need any special equipment, other than a food processor and a candy thermometer.  As far a "skills" go, well if you have made fudge, then you can make Almond Paste... If you have ever made boiled Fondant then you can make Almond Paste.  For all almond paste really is, a boiled fondant that contains finely ground nuts.

So what was the final verdict?  The flavor is the same, though it IS a little stiffer than store bought due to lack of "Glycerin" and other additives.  As far as price goes... I spent $4.03 on ingredients.  I am sure if I had blanched my own almonds instead of buying pre-blanched, slivered almonds, the cost would have been about $1 less.  But I got 1 lb of Almond paste for $4.03...  That is a significant difference in price; .25 cents per oz. as opposed to $1.25 per oz. or 1/5th of the price.  I no longer have to break the bank to make Banket. THAT makes me happy.  As far as time from start to finish... It took all of 30 minutes, and 15 of that was waiting for the almonds to cool after I toasted them.  THAT makes me ecstatic.

Almond Paste

8 oz (227g) Blanched Slivered Almonds
7.1 oz (200g) (1 cup) Granulated Sugar
2 TB Honey (mild flavored such as Orange Blossom or Vetch)
2 oz (65ml) (1/4 cup) Water
3 TB Confectioners' Sugar
1/4 tsp Almond Extract (be sure it's made with bitter almonds)

Spread the slivered Almonds evenly on a baking sheet.

Toast the Almonds for 6 minutes at 350 degrees. (Lightly toasted only... Cause you will be adding really hot syrup which will also "toast" the nuts)
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine Sugar, Honey and Water in a small saucepan.

Place over medium flame and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Once the syrup begins to boil, insert a thermometer.

Cook the syrup to soft ball stage or 238 F (114 C) degrees.

While you are waiting for the syrup, place the cooled Almonds into the bowl of your food processor and pulse them a few times to break them up a little bit.

Add the Confectioners' sugar.

Process the Almonds and Confectioners' Sugar until the nuts are finely ground but have not begun turning into Almond butter yet. (While Almond Butter is tasty, this wont work if you grind them that fine)  The Cornstarch in the Confectioners' sugar will absorb some of the oil and allow for slightly longer grinding before the "Butter" stage occurs.

Once the syrup is up to temperature, turn the processor back on and slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the almonds through the feeder tube.

Continue processing after adding the syrup until a "dough" begins to form in the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed paper (it will be slightly oily) and begin to knead it (careful cause it's hot)

Once it's fairly smooth, add Almond extract

Knead the extract into the paste and continue kneading until the paste begins to stiffen, but is nice and smooth.

Form into a disk, and wrap in the waxed paper, followed by a secure wrapping of plastic wrap; store in the refrigerator for a couple hours.

I like to form mine into 4 oz chunks and store in a plastic container in the freezer for up to 6 months. (Because I have to keep it out of sight so I don't keep picking little pieces off and eating them)

And there you have it...  From here, you can make several desserts, such as Almond Pastry Cream, Marzipan (by adding Confectioners' sugar and an egg white), Bear Claws, Almond Croissants and Banketstaaf; or you can make the Tri-corn cookies (Parson's Hats) I have planned for later.

Mangia!!
~~

The Taste of Christmas - Grandma's "Almond Roca"

A Christmas family tradition since... hmmmm... Well, at least since *I* was born, but probably longer.  I honestly cannot remember a Christmas that didn't include this most decadent of all Christmas candies, made with love by Grandma Reva.   OK, there were many Christmases in San Diego that were devoid of this holiday treat from grandma's hearth, but now is not the time to ruminate upon sad times.  LOL

I have actually tried to make this before, when I was living in San Diego.  After all, it's just not Christmas without it.  All my attempts ended in chewy toffee, or slightly sugary toffee.  Basically, a massive failure.  Come to find out, after discussing this with grandma, Almond Roca/English Toffee is REALLY touchy about humidity.  Candy usually IS touchy when the air is damp, but this one is particularly finicky.  You would think that San Diego would be dry enough, being coastal dessert and all, but alas, the humidity is still on the high side during the December months.  So, repeat after me... "Dry weather is Almond Roca's friend"

When making Almond Roca, there is another issue to be aware of besides the humidity...  There is an entire POUND of butter in this stuff and that equates to a lot of milk protein.  Milk proteins scorch very easily.  Thus, though it is usually frowned upon, you MUST stir this candy constantly during the cooking process to avoid any scorched flavors.  You will also need to use a good quality butter as well.  Oh, I am not talking about the fancy cultured butter or anything like that, but you need to be aware of the butterfat/water ratio.  The more water means a longer boiling time and a longer boiling time leaves more time for the candy to scorch.

Why is there so much butter in the toffee?  Well, aside from the richness it imparts to the candy, there is the matter of the sugar crystallization.  Toffee is basically a Hard Crack candy, like Peanut Brittle or Rock Candy.  Brittle is usually a little more tender due to the carbon dioxide gas produced by adding baking soda at the end of the cooking process, right before pouring.  The little bubbles of gas interfere with the sugar crystal formation, forcing smaller crystals to form and thus making the candy more "brittle" than rock candy, which is called rock candy for a reason... It's hard as a rock.  In order to produce a toffee that doesn't break your teeth, you add copious amounts of butter fat.  The fat interferes with the formation of the the sugar crystals, just as the carbon dioxide gas does in Peanut Brittle. The end result is a much more tender, yet crisp candy that isn't quite so hard on your fillings and crowns.  ;)

I have done my best to explain the process, but there are certain things that are very difficult to convey.  I have made 3 batches today, and they all finished at different temperatures.  There is a particular color of brown that the syrup changes to when it is ready... anywhere from 298 to 305 degrees.   I took 302 F as an average of the temperatures.  Hard Crack stage is at 300 F.  So it's a pretty safe bet, that if you cook it to 302 F, it will be fine.  Just don't go past 305 F.  Not only will the sugar begin to burn but the milk proteins from the butter will definitely burn.... 

Grandma's Almond Roca

(Chocolate covered English Toffee)

2 cups (453g) (16 oz) Unsalted Butter (Yeah, this ain't no diet food)
1/4 cup (60ml) (2 oz) Water
1 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Cream of Tarter (or 1 tsp Vinegar)
2 cups (400g) (14.2 oz) Granulated Sugar
2 TB Lyle's Golden Syrup or light Corn Syrup (but Lyle's works better)
1 1/3 cup (150g) (5.2oz) Slivered Almonds
12 oz (340 g) Chocolate of your choice (I make 3 batches and cover two in Milk and the third in Dark)
2 oz (60g) ground sliced Almonds

Line a 15 x 10 baking sheet (the same size I use for Grandma's pumpkin roll) with parchment paper or apply a thin coating of vegetable oil.

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat.

Mix Water, Salt and Cream of Tarter together in a small pitcher, making sure the salt is dissolved completely.

When the Butter has melted completely, add Sugar....

and the Water mixture and stir to combine.

Add the Golden Syrup and stir some more (this is just the beginning, you are going to be stirring A LOT during this process)

Stir until the mixture comes to a boil.

Add the candy thermometer, making sure it is not touching the bottom of the pan, and continue stirring.

Make sure you do NOT increase the temperature past medium, or your risk of scorch increases exponentially.  Just be patient, and continue stirring...

The syrup will foam up a lot at first, then it will settle back down and slowly change from beige yellow to a rich golden brown....

When the thermometer reaches 295 F (146 C) degrees, add the slivered almonds and stir them in.

Continue stirring as the temperature drops a little, down to about 285 F (140 C), just keep on cooking it over medium-low heat, stirring constantly...

The temperature will begin to climb again after a couple minute...  Watch closely until it reaches 302 F (150 C) degrees.

Remove from the heat and pour the candy into the prepared pan... Spreading it to the edges with your wooden spoon.

Allow it to cool and "set".
Meanwhile, scrap the pan and save those bits for yourself, cause you need to replenish your energy from all that stirring.  :)  

After about 20 minutes, you can score it if you like, but I prefer to just break it apart later. (it snaps fairly easily.  The chunks may be a little irregular, but that is part of the charm of homemade candy)
Once the toffee has cooled and set completely, melt 6 oz (170 g) of the chocolate.

Pour onto the toffee slab and spread with an offset spatula until the entire side is covered.

Sprinkle lightly with 1 oz (30 g) of broken sliced almonds.

Allow to set, then flip the slab over and repeat...

Melt remaining chocolate, spread remaining chocolate, sprinkle with remaining almonds.

Once the second side has set, you can simply break the slab apart... And enjoy.

mmmmmm Rich and buttery!  Yep, tastes JUST like Christmas.

Mangia!!
~~