soffritto: Cannelés de Bordeaux

soffritto: Cannelés de Bordeaux

Cannelés de Bordeaux

Cannelés, so yummy, crunchy on the outside and moist like pudding on the inside. YUM!  I started my adventure in 2000 when I found an article in a magazine and went ahead and bought two tin lined copper molds.  However, I never made them because, I wanted to get more copper molds...and they were expensive.  Also, having been to France many times, I cannot believe that I never tried them there....a visit is in the near future

                                           These were the best so far!

The silicone molds I first purchased

                                            Broke down and purchased the copper molds

                                            Crunchy on the outside and moist & pudding
                                            like on the inside

                                            The master piece so far!!!!


Then came 2011, watching Laura Calder making them in silicone molds I thought, OMG, why not give it a try.  So, I went and bought the silicone molds from Amazon.  I thought these were good and they are, however, they did not produce the crunchy caramelized outside like the copper molds. Right after purchasing the silicone molds I went to visit a friend in California and it was there that I first made Cannelés; they were a huge hit and we proceeded to make them several times during my visit. Upon returning home, I continued to try to perfect the Cannelés in the silicone molds, till  I decided to bite the bullet and purchase the famous lined copper molds (a friend sent me several articles she found on perfecting Cannelés) ...The molds are beautiful and have to be seasoned.  I followed Paula Wolfert's suggested seasoning, she has an extensive article on Cannelé.   The molds are thickly covered with shortening in the oven for 1 hour at 175C (350F), after the hour, remove and turn upside down on a wire rack, return to the oven for 15 minutes and leave upside down till the oven is cool then wipe the inside with paper towels.  Seasoning is very important, if not done properly your Cannelés will stick to the mold, this would not be a good thing.
Cannelés are a little tricky to make and here are some of the things that I have learned in my journey to make "the perfect Cannelés".


COPPER VS SILICONE:
Yes you can use the silicone, but the Cannelés will not be crunchy.  Yes the molds are expensive but worth it to achieve perfection.  You can purchase Cannelés tined lined copper molds at Amazon.Com, however, I now feel the need to return to Paris and to Dehillerin to purchase more molds.


I read many articles on the internet and  Youtube.  I found articles from Chez Pim and Paula Wolfert ( I found these the most helpful for me) the ones my friend sent to me were refreshing because it game me hope, that I could perfect these
So, if your ready for the challenge here it is!


The MOLDS:
Once you have the molds and have seasoned them your good to go.


BEESWAX:  It is important to coat the molds with equal amounts of beeswax and butter. I used 60 grams beeswax and 60 grams of unsalted butter.


BATTER:  Here is the recipe that I use


500 ml milk
2 eggs 
2 egg yolks
250 grams of sugar
125 grams all-purpose flour
rum, 1/4 cup / 60 ml
2 teaspoons vanilla
50 grams of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
12 cannelé molds
heavy tongs


For the coating of the molds you will need equal amount os beeswax and butter.
I used 60 grams of butter and 60 grams of beeswax


Method:
1.  Mix the flour and sugar together in one bowl.
2.  Beat the eggs and the egg yolks together, along with the vanilla and rum
3.  Incorporate the egg mixture into the flower sugar mixture, gently with a whisk
4.  When the butter and milk have to come to a boil and the butter is melted, remove from the heat and gently (tempering) add to the flour mixture.  Whisk gentle. Remember that air is your enemy!
5.  Place into a covered container and put into the fridge for 48 hours (yes, it is important to rest).


After the 48 hours you will want to preheat your over to 150C (300F). 


In the meantime, melt the beeswax and butter over a double boiler.  Once the oven has reached the proper temperature, place the molds on a sheet pan and place into the oven for a few minutes (maybe 5; you want to warm the molds before adding the beeswax/butter mixture).


Remove the molds from the oven and pour the melted beeswax into the mold then turn it out back into the pot, turn the mold upside down so that extra beeswax will drip out.  Once you have completed this with all the molds, place them into the refrigerator for about 30 min to 1 hour.


Preheat you oven to 230C (450F) once the oven has reached this temperature remove the batter and gently mix with a spatula, you do not want air in the batter!  Remove the cold molds and fill to 1 cm from the top.  Place them into the oven and after 15 minutes lower the oven to190C(375F) and cook for 50 minutes, turning every 15 min.


You will see the Cannelés rise and then they will fall back down.  Once cooked, remove from the oven, then from the molds.  These are best enjoyed the day prepared and it is suggested 1 to 5 hours after cooking.

Taralli

The end of the year, WOW!!!!.....It's been cold outside and I thought I would make Taralli.  They go great with wine as a munchie and are so easy to make.  You will need a scale for this recipe.  These are very typical from Puglia, Italy,and other regions as well.   They are in most bakeries in Italy.  You can make these with hot pepper, black pepper or fennel seeds.


You will need:


A scale that does metric
Oven paper (parchment paper)
500g Farina '00'(this is Italian flour), if you can't find this, use all-purpose flour
200 ml dry white wine
125 ml extra virgin olive
10 g salt
2 sheet pans (cookie sheet)
clean dish towels
Large pot of boiling water


OPTIONS: 
You can add black pepper or red pepper or fennel seeds


Preparation:


1.  Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
2.  Mix the flour, olive oil, wine and salt in a stand up mixer.  Mix till it forms a nice ball.
3.  Remove and work the dough just a little, then place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes.
4.  Cut a piece off the ball and roll it into a log, then cut into small pieces.  Roll the pieces out then fold and pinch the ends together into rounds and place onto the sheet pan with the clean dish towel.
5.  As the water is at a simmer, almost a boil, add about 10 of the taralli's when then float remove and place on the towel, continue till they are all done.  
6. Place the taralli's onto the parchment paper and place into the oven, bake about 30 minutes, you want them a little brown.


These are wonderful with wine.  Taralli's are the Italian version of pretzels




  

Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with Chèvre Cheese

I have been playing with different ideas for appetizers, and when I saw these Tomatoes in the Market, I just did it!  I have stuffed smaller tomatoes, but when I saw these, I thought this is it.
Really easy  and any cheese will do, I used chèvre with a little extra virgin olive oil and chives. YUM!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Almonds

It's the holiday time of the year and time to make cookies and things.  So, I decided to try some peanut butter cookies, found this recipe and decided to make them.  I usually don't bake that often except for my Mom's Pizzelle's, however, these are wonderful and easy to make.  You will need a scale to weigh out the ingredients.

Here is what you will need.


Non-stick oven paper (parchment), sheet pans (cookie sheet pan)
100 g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140 g peanut butter, use the natural peanut butter with nothing but peanuts for an ingredient
220 g brown sugar
1 egg
185 g all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon carbonate of (baking soda), sifted
whole almonds, for decorating


Preheat oven to 180 C.  Put the but softened butter, peanut butter, vanilla and brown sugar in a mixer and beat for 8 - 10 minutes or until well combined.  Add the eggs and beat till pale and fluffy.  Add the sifted flour and bicarbonate of soda and beat until smooth.  Get two pieces of non-stick parchment paper, and roll out the dough to 5 mm (0.2 inches), refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  With a 7 cm (3 inch) round cookie cutter, cut out about 20 cookies.  Place the cookies on lightly greased parchment, leave room for the cookies to spread.  Place almonds on top of the cookies to decorate and bak about 14 min, or until the edges are golden.
Cool on wire racks.   Makes about 20 -22 cookies.....YUM!!!

Polenta Batons with Sage Salt

 Getting ready

Polenta is a great thing and so easy to do, only takes a few minutes.  I have made it with Parmigiano, Rosemary, but this recipe is really delicious. I made these for an appetizer for Sunday dinner, put them on the kitchen table and before we ate dinner they were gone!


INGREDIENTS:
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
170 g (1 cup) instant polenta
80g (1 cup) finely created parmigiano
25 g unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
sea salt and cracked black pepper
200 g ricotta
olive oil, for frying
SAGE SALT:
2 tablespoons Maldon sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped


Preparation:


1.  Make the sea salt by mixing the sea salt and sage together and set aside.


2.  Bring to a boil the chicken stock, add the polenta constantly whisking constantly for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmigiano, butter, rosemary and salt & pepper.  Fold in the ricotta,


3.  Pour the polenta into an oiled container and spread it out.  Let the polenta cool and place into the refrigerator covered.

4.  When ready, heat a non stick pan, cut the polenta into baton pieces, and with a small amount of olive oil, brown on all sides.  When browned remove to a plate and serve with the sage salt.

Orecchiette w/Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

So today was a beautiful day and instead of grilling, I made Orechiette with Broccoli Rabe and ground Pork.  I am trying to finish the book of family recipes and thought it  might be a good idea to move forward with the project.  This is a great dish and when we had it, I always had to have extra.   So, you might want to make extra...
Very simple to prepare, just remember it's all about the ingredients.


INGREDIENTS:


200 g (7 oz) orechiette 
1 bunch of broccoli rabe
400 g (14 oz) ground pork, you can use sausages, but remove them from the casing
Parmigiano grated
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced


PREPARATION:


Clean the broccoli rate, blanch it and sauté with garlic and olive oil.


Cook the ground pork in a small amount of olive oil.


In a large pot of boiling water, add the pasta and cook till al dente.  When pasta is done, drain and combine the pasta with the cooked ground pork and broccoli rabe.   Grate a generous amount of Parmigiano over the top.

Enjoy!!