Wordless Wednesday - Peppermint Patties ("York" Style)

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Vanilla Ice-Ice Baby! - Vanilla Bean Semifreddo

We all have cravings for Ice Cream at sometime or another. But let's face the facts, making your own can be a little time consuming. You have to deal with making a custard and chilling it. You have to make sure that your Freeze bowl is in the freezer ahead of time (if you have a Cuisinart, Kitchen Aid or Salton) or worse, you have to deal with Ice and Rock Salt. Oye!

Not that I am really knocking Ice Cream or Gelato in any way. It's just that one does not always have the time. But there is an easier path to frozen deliciousness my friends, oh yes. With a tiny bit of preparation first thing in the morning, while you are drinking your coffee; you can be feasting on frozen fodder after dinner.  All possible because of a frigid frappe that's not quite as well known in the USA as it is in Italy. I speak of the Semifreddo.

Though technically meaning Semi-Frozen/cold, most Semifreddo are indeed frozen treats, being based on either a Custard, Ice Cream or Gelato with copious quantities of whipped cream folded into it.  The idea is that the glacial treat will melt more readily in your mouth and "appear" light and refreshing on the palate.  Granted, this recipe is a bit of a cheaters Semifreddo, forgoing the Custard/Ice Cream/Gelato altogether and relying solely on the air capturing qualities of Whipping Cream.  OK, I guess I should mention that there is a slight amount of cornstarch, courtesy of the Confectioners' sugar, to help stabilize the whipped cream while it is freezing.

What you will end up with is very similar to a frozen mousse.  Quite delicious, and EXTREMELY fast.

Vanilla Bean Semifreddo

16 oz (2 cups) (475 ml) Light Whipping Cream
1/2 cup + 2 TB (10 TB)(2.75 oz)(78 g) Confectioners' Sugar
The caviar scraped from 1 Vanilla Bean (I like Mexican beans for this, but Tonga is nice too)

Butterscotch Sauce (if desired)

Before grabbing your cup of coffee, place a metal bowl in the freezer as well as the molds/container you wish to store your Semifreddo in. (this will make 32 oz of Semifreddo)

Consume your cup of coffee while leisurely perusing the business section of the morning paper or while you check your email. (5 - 10 minutes)  ;)

 

Remove the metal bowl from the freezer and add the Light Whipping Cream, Confectioners' Sugar and Vanilla Caviar then beat until soft peaks form.

Remove the molds (or storage container) from the freezer and spoon into either 8 4-oz molds or into the storage container, then cover as necessary (I was lucky cause these molds have lids)

Place on a baking sheet and move to the freezer for at least 8 hours. (After dinner)

When you have finished your evening meal, simply reach into the freezer and un-mold the Semifreddo onto a plate (this may require briefly dipping the mold in warm water to loosen the semifreddo)

Begin applying the Butterscotch Sauce. (or Raspberry Coulis or any other sauce of deliciousness you have handy... Heck, you can even eat it plain if you like.)

Garnish if desired (I used a hydrangea blossom, but it's not edible)

A tasty treat with 1/2 the fat.  Seriously.  16 oz of light whipping cream makes 32 oz Semifreddo, meaning about 1/2 of the desert is simply air.  So go ahead, have another scoop. :)

Mangia!!
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The Cookie of 1000 Disguises - Oregon Coffee Nuts

Russian Tea Cakes or would that be Mexican Wedding Cookies? Maybe Southern Pecan Butterballs? Polvorones? How about Swedish Tea Cakes, Italian Butter Nuts, Snowdrops, Viennese Sugar Balls, Sand Tarts, Melting Moments or Snowballs? Any of those sound familiar?  How about Almond Crescents, Danish Almond Cookies (Mandelsmørboller) or Finnish Butter Strips?

You may recognize several of the above names.  I myelf am familiar with Melting Moments, Almond Crescents and Snowballs.  And while it's true that the last three in the above list have a little more to do with the final shape of the cookies, which helps to distinguish them slightly, they are all basically the same cookie whose history runs all the way back to the Moorish invasion of Spain.

Oh, there are slight differences... Mexican wedding cookies sometimes have cinnamon mixed in with the confectioners' sugar that they are rolled in, and I think they are made with Almonds.  Russian Tea cakes seem to be made primarily with Walnuts. (though that may not necessarily be true)  Almond Crescents are crescent shaped instead of round little balls.  I assume that "Southern Pecan Butterballs" are made with Pecans. ;)  Bringing me to what seems to be the general rule of thumb -- "If you change the nuts, change the shape, or add a spice to the dusting sugar, you get to give it a new name"  LOL

Thus, since I am using Oregon Hazelnuts, I am dubbing these..... Oregon Coffee Nuts (We drink more coffee than tea 'round these parts.  As a bonus to today's recipe, I am going to walk you through blanching a Hazelnut.  There are a billion posts out on the net "labeled" as blanching that involve actually toasting the nuts in the oven and rubbing the skins off with a towel....  MESSY!
I spend weeks sweeping Hazelnut skins off my kitchen floor every single time I do it that way, not to mention the multiple launderings to get the skin bits out of the towel. 

Blanching by definition involves boiling water, not an oven.  Thus, one must drop said nuts into boiling water for a certain amount of time, then shock them with cold water.  When it comes to nuts, it is best to add a little Baking Soda to the blanching water.  Baking Soda will break down the cellulose in the skins and make peeling that much easier.  No messy towels.  Woo Hoo!!!

Oregon Coffee Nuts

2 Quarts of Water
2 TB Baking Soda
1 cup (8 oz) (227g) Unsalted Cultured Butter
1/2 cup (1.9 oz) (55g) Confectioners' Sugar (Plus a lot more for rolling the cookies)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or Bean Caviar)
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 1/4 cups (11.3 oz) (320 g) AP Flour
3/4 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) finely ground Toasted Hazelnuts

Bring 2 quarts of water, laced with 2 TB Baking Soda, to a boil. (The Baking Soda breaks down the cellulose structure of the skins, allowing them to slough off)

Drop hazelnuts into the water and boil for 5 minutes.

(The water is going to turn a REALLY weird purplish-brown color from the tannin in the skins.  I know the season is past, but you can dye Easter eggs with it, I'm just sayin)

Drain and shock the nuts with cold water; so much for skins. (though you may still need to do a little rubbing, but they slide right off)

And while I never look forward to cleaning the strainer afterward,

I love having nice clean Hazelnuts.  (The roasting, peeling in a towel thing NEVER works this well)

Now place the nuts in a single layer on a sheet pan.

Roast at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes. (just until they start to brown)

Set nuts aside to cool; then chop finely. (do not throw them in a chopper while warm or you will have "hazelnut butter" in 2 pulses, which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but will not assist you well in the formation of these cookies)

In a large bowl beat the Butter and Kosher Salt until light.

Add Confectioners' Sugar and Vanilla.

Beat on low speed of mixer about 1 minute, until fluffy.

Gradually add flour at low speed until just combined

Stir in the finely chopped nuts.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls (.5 oz) (15g); (I use a small cookie scoop) and place about 1 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 F for 12-14 minutes, though my old oven baked them in 10 minutes, until firm to the touch but not actually browned. (careful, cause they burn very quickly on the bottom)

Meanwhile, prep a storage bag by dumping copious quantities of confectioners' Sugar therein.

You wioll also want to set waxed paper underneath your cooling rack to catch any wayward sugar that falls off the cookies.

While still warm, roll the cookies in the bag full of Confectioners' Sugar. (I do 4 at a time)

Set on a cooling rack.

Save the Confectioners' Sugar in the bag, because you will need it again.....

Before serving, re-roll in powdered sugar.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee..... or tea (as is implied by about 1/2 of the names under which this cookie is known)  ;)

Mangia!!
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Identity Crisis - Zabaglione Angel Cake?

A funny thing happened while visiting my Grandma the other day.  My original mission was to uncover her Burnt Sugar Cake recipe.  I figured since it is my mom's favorite cake (and she never gets to have it), it might be fitting to make it for the fast approaching Mother's Day.  However, while I was rifling through her collection of recipes I stumbled across a very ODD cake.  It was an Angel Food recipe, but with a twist.  It contains the yolks. (you may now be shocked and amazed)

The title read "Custard Angel Food Cake", though the "custard" was actually part of the batter, instead of being poured over the top like so much Creme Anglaise.

At first I thought it was actually a simple Chiffon cake, but then I realized that while it contained yolks and whites, it was lacking in oil and baking powder which are the standard ingredients in Chiffon Cake.  It seems to be more of a basic Sponge cake, since it contains no butter or baking powder either.  (Butter would elevate it to a Victoria Sponge or a Genoise)  Hmmmmmmmm  The mystery deepens.

What did strike me as interesting was the way the yolks were treated.   With normal Sponge cake, you beat the yolks with sugar until light and fluffy, but this is a little different.  I have seen this method  before, in fact I am very familiar with this particular process as it makes one heck of a delicious dessert with berries.

The yolks in the "custard" portion of the batter are beaten with a sugar syrup, which results in what is more affectionately known as Zabaglione or Sabayone.  Hmmmmm  So it's an Italian Sponge Cake I guess... or rather and Zabaglione Angel Food cake?  Maybe....  Your guess is as good as mine.. But Whatever it's called, its phenomenally moist, but light and airy at the same time.  Awesome!

Lemon Custard Angel Food Cake

Zabaglione Angel Food

1 cup Cake Flour
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar, divided
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup plus 1 TB Egg Yolks (about 9)
1 1/4 cup Egg Whites (about 9)
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Cream of Tarter
1 1/2 tsp Lemon Extract (note, this is not Lemon oil)

Lemon Glaze
2/3 cup (115 g) Confectioners Sugar; sift before measuring
2 TB Fresh Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon Zest

First of all, sift the flour a couple of times.

Combine Sugar and water in a small saucepan and set over medium flame.

Separate the eggs. (I like to use the isolation bowl method, just in case a yolk breaks)

Now is the time to begin preheating the oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees.
Place the yolks in a bowl and beat them until they become pale.

Place a thermometer in the sugar syrup and cook to thread stage, which is 230 degrees.

Once the syrup is at temperature, begin beating the yolks again while slowly drizzling the sugar syrup into the bowl.....

Continue beating until the yolks cool and begin to thicken...

Congratulations!!!  You just made Zabaglione!  (Well, if you folded in some Moscato di'Asti or Marsala, then filled some glasses and chilled it)
But we are gonna take it a bit further.  SO... Sift the the Flour over the Zabaglione in 3 additions...

Folding until all the flour is absorbed before adding more.
Set that aside for now and let it hang out while you turn your attention to the Egg Whites.....

Place the egg whites in a clean bowl with Kosher Salt, Cream of Tarter and Lemon Extract (Not Lemon oil)

Whisk the whites until they form stiff peaks....

Now, spoon about 1/2 cup of the whites into the yolk mixture. (This will lighten it slightly and make folding easier)

Now combine the two mixtures in a VERY large bowl and fold them together gently, until you have a uniform mixture (no streaks of Egg White)

Pour, or spoon into your 10 inch tube pan,

Then cut through the batter with a "Butter" knife to remove any large bubbles.

Place in the oven for 40-50 minutes. (Methinks I need a bigger pan, maybe that Square Tube pan I used a while back. Now where did I put that thing?)

Invert immediately upon removing the pan from the oven and let cool for 60 minutes.

(You can use a bottle if the cake is higher than the supporting feet on the side of the pan)

Once cooled, cut around the outside edge to free the cake (and the center tube/bottom) from the pan.

Cut across the bottom and around the tube.

Invert onto a plate.

Time to make a quick glaze by combining Confectioners' Sugar, Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest in a small bowl.

Stir until a smooth glaze forms.

Pour over the top of the cake.... The cake will soak it up almost immediately.

Cut a big ole slice...

Serve with unsweetened whipped cream. (and a Strawberry if you like)

Mangia!!
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