Melancholy Mommy - Espresso Shortbread with White Chocolate

Yep, sooner or later you know it had to happen.  Another shortbread recipe.  This one is my mother's fault.  She purchased some shortbread at the grocery store after reading the ingredient list, which seemed to be OK, since if contained Flour, Sugar, Butter and Coffee.  Sounds OK to me too.  BUT (there's that big but again)  They had dipped the shortbread in fake white chocolate, composed of Palm Kernel and Palm oils with some cane juice and ground coffee.

While I applaud their use of cane juice, I really get annoyed when companies try to pass off Palm Kernel oil and Palm oil as being white chocolate.  (ie. Nestle White Morsels, Guittard "Au Lait" and several "White Chocolate" candy bars like Hershey's Cookies and Cream)  They aren't EVEN close.  White Chocolate, being made from Cocoa Butter, melts in your mouth at 98 degrees (just like regular Chocolate).  Palm Kernel oil doesn't "melt" until about 107F (I use to make soap).  Thus it leaves a greasy feeling in your mouth.  To make a long story short, it's like eating sugar laden Crisco. YUCK!

Needless to say, my mom was a little upset that they had ruined a perfectly good shortbread.  She thought she could power past the fake coating.  Alas, she could not.  I tried one, they were gross.

So I made these especially for her, to lift her from her melancholy state of mind.  Now she's all kinds of happy... and somewhat hyper for that matter.

Espresso Shortbread

1 1/2 tsp Espresso Powder
1 1/2 tsp Hot Water
Pinch of Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
4 oz (8 TB) (113g) Unsalted Butter
2 oz (1/4 cup) (57g) Brown Sugar (you can use Granulated Sugar if you like)
6 oz (1 1/3 cups) (170g) AP Flour

Coating:
1 1/2 oz REAL White Chocolate
1/8 tsp Espresso Powder

Combine Espresso Powder and Hot Water in a small bowl, stirring with a fork or spoon until dissolved.

the pinch of Cinnamon,

and the Salt, stirring to combine.

Place Butter in the bowl of a mixer along with the Espresso mixture.

Beat until well combined, then add the Brown Sugar.

Continue beating until everything is smooth and creamy looking.

Slowly incorporate the Flour, just until the dough begins to pull together into little clumps.

Turn the crumbly dough out onto a piece of waxed paper and press together into a disk with your hands.

Wrap the disk with the waxed paper, then wrap the whole thing with plastic wrap to retain moisture.

Chill the dough for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325F (162C) degrees and turn the disk out onto a well floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch (6mm) thick.

Using a well floured cutter, cut out shapes.

Move, with a floured spatula, to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 13-18 minutes or until the bottoms are just beginning to color and the shortbread feel firm to the touch in the center.

Move to a cooling rack.

Combine White Chocolate and Espresso powder in a small bowl.

Melt the White Chocolate in the microwave stirring until smooth.
Grab a large paint brush (I find it easier to paint than dip) and paint half the shortbread with espresso chocolate.

Let your imagination run wild......  :)

Allow the chocolate to sit for at least 1 hour to firm up again.

Then box them up and give them to your mother.  :)  Just don't let her eat more than 2 at any given time or you may find her bouncing off the walls.  ;)

Mangia!!
~~

Torte Transgression - White Chocolate "Sacher Torte"

Most people have heard about the infamous Sacher Torte of Vienna.  It is, purportedly, the panacea of the pastries... The catholicon of cakes...  The most tempting of torten.

Sadly, though many have heard of this Viennese apotheosis, most of us will never actually taste one.  Oh, people claim that this or that is a Sacher Torte, and many people have a "recipe" that is suppose to be THE Sacher Torte, (even I developed a recipe) but technically they are fibbing... They may be Sacher-esque, or Sacher-like, and maybe even Sacher-ish, but it is unequivocally impossible for any of them to be real Sacher Torten.

The reason is simple.  The recipe is, what amounts to, a state secret kept under lock and key in an underground vault that is guarded by dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you... A-hem..  (I am "multitasking" by watching a Simpsons re-run as I type)

Anyway, there are 2 establishments that have laid claim to Franz Sacher's original recipe.  After a 7 year court battle that finally ended in 1963, (the Viennese are VERY serious about their pastries) the Sacher Hotel was awarded the name "The Original Sacher Torte" and Demel had to call theirs the "Demel's Sacher Torte" These are the ONLY two places in the world that can make the "real" thing.  And if you really want to try the real thing... The Sacher Hotel will ship it to your door. Click Here.  As will Demel's... Click Here.

The point is that even if you make a chocolate torte, layer it with apricot preserves and pour chocolate glaze over the top, it is still not a Sacher Torte.  That is, unless you are an accomplished cat burglar and can manage to smuggle the recipe out of Austria.  (don't forget your beekeepers suit) I'm just sayin'

Being somewhat of an insurrectionist due to my propensity to rage against the corporate machine, I have decided that since I cannot technically make a Sacher Torte, I am going to fly in the face of over 175 years of Austrian tradition (the torte was "invented" in 1832) and completely twist the idea into an antithesis of the original.  Sort of the Yin to the Yang of the original Sacher Torte.  In geek speak, the anti-matter version.

Thus it is, with a rebel yell, that I offer up a somewhat sweeter version of the Viennese Classic...

White Sacher Torte

Torte:
142g (5 oz) (1 1/2 cups) Almond Flour
65g (2.25 oz) (1/2 cup) AP Flour 
6 TB Unsalted Butter
170g (6 oz) White Chocolate, chopped
4 large Eggs, separated
100g (3.5 oz) (1/2 cup) Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter (or 1 tsp Lemon Juice)
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Apricot Glaze:
283g (10 oz) (1 1/4 cups) Apricot preserves
1 1/2 TB Rum

White Chocolate Ganache
177ml (3/4 cup) Heavy Cream
340g (12 oz) White Chocolate, chopped

Grease 2 9-inch cake pans, line them with parchment, then grease and flour the parchment.

Place Almond Flour and AP Flour in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Lets take a moment to admire the White Chocolate.

Just look at all that vanilla caviar speckling the creamy whiteness of the chocolate... OK, enough of that.

Chop the white chocolate and place in a saucepan along with the Butter.

Set over low heat and stir until melted, then set aside.

Place Egg Yolks and Granulated Sugar in the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Beat them together until they form a ribbon. (About 8 minutes)

Begin preheating the oven to 325 F degrees while the egg yolks are being beaten.
Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly pour in the slightly cooled White Chocolate/Butter mixture.

Beat the egg whites until foamy, then sprinkle with Cream of Tarter and Kosher Salt.....

Then continue beating until they reach stiff peaks.

Spoon about 1/3 of the white into the Yolk/White Chocolate mixture and stir it in to lighten it and foster easier folding.

Add the Yolk mixture to the remaining whites and fold until combined.

Fold in the Almond/Flour mixture in 2 additions.

Divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.

Turn out onto a cooling rack and peel of the parchment.

While the cakes are cooling it's time to make the Apricot glaze.
Place Apricot Preserves and Rum in a small saucepan set over medium heat.

Simmer for about 5 minutes to remove a little of the water.
Run through a fine mesh strainer to remove and chunky apricot bits.

You should have about 3/4 cup when you are finished.

Place bottom layer of the torte on a cake board, securing it with a little of the preserves.

Spread 1/3 of the preserves over the bottom layer.

Position the second layer on top.

Pour the remaining preserves over the torte and spread over the top and down the sides to completely encase the cake in a nice smooth layer.

(this will keep it from drying out and allow the white chocolate ganache to flow better)

Allow the torte to sit for 1 hour to allow the preserves to dry out slightly.
Which gives you plenty of time to make the White Chocolate Ganache.
Chop the White Chocolate and place in a small bowl.
Heat the Heavy Cream in a small saucepan over medium flame, until small bubbles appear around the edge.

Pour the hot cream over the White Chocolate and let sit for 1-2 minutes.
Begin stirring, in the center, and slowly but surly....

The mixture will melt and become a homogeneous shiny creamy ivory color.

Cover the ganache with plastic set on the surface to prevent crusting, and allow to cool for about 30 minutes. (White chocolate Ganache is really finicky and significantly runnier than regular dark chocolate ganache even though the ratio of chocolate to cream is much higher, so you need it to partially set up before you pour it.)
Place the torte on a cooling rack set in a jelly roll pan that has been lined with waxed paper. (this will catch the dripping ganache, in case you need to do a second coat)

Pour the ganache slowly, starting around the outside edge, in concentric rings, moving towards the center.

Allow the Ganache to set for 30 minutes. (put the whole thing in the refrigerator for 15 minutes if you are in a hurry)

You may scrape up the left over ganache and beat it with a mixer to incorporate some air so you can pipe it and write "Sacher" across the top, in true Sacher fashion. (or Sacher-esque, or Anti-Sacher or any other variation there of)

Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to ensure that everything is well set.

Bring it back to room temperature before serving though and as is traditional, since Sacher Torte is fairly dry, serve with mounds of "Unsweetened" Whipped Cream

(Trust me, it's sweet enough, you don't want the whipped cream to be sweet too)

Isst!!
~~