Episode 102 HD
May 13, 2012
Brown Butter Sage Cake and Vanilla Bean German Buttercream

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there today!  Hopefully one of your children have stumbled upon my blog and are making you one of these delicious treats right now!  For the rest of us, here’s a really easy cake and icing recipe from start to finish.  Lately I realized a lot of my recipes and cakes have taken on a more involved approach, and I felt that I was kind of pulling away from the original reason I started up the Aubergine Chef.  I want to make baking and pastry available to everybody!  So in this episode we take a more rustic and organic approach to cake decorating.

This recipe is actually a variation of the white cake recipe by Rose Levy Beranbaum tweaked by me using inspiration from one of my favorite food blogs: BraveTart.  A few weeks ago BraveTart uploaded a blog post of a brown butter carrot cake with German buttercream that really got me thinking.  In school we were always told that German buttercream was made using fondant – like the fondant you glaze petits fours with.  You can imagine my surprise and delight when I found out that this wasn’t true.  German buttercream is made from a pastry cream or custard base so it is actually very easy to make.  BraveTart comments that German buttercream is the intermediate buttercream for those who want more than American buttercream but aren’t ready for Swiss buttercream.

I personally fell in love with German buttercream.  It has a rich creamy custardy texture while still being light and airy like whipped cream at the same time.  People often complain that Swiss buttercream is too dense and buttery – but even with an extra stick of butter German buttercream doesn’t have that same heaviness.

To make German buttercream you make a custard on the stove, bring it to your mixer, whip until cooled to room temperature, then add room temperature unsalted butter in a stick at a time, then whip until light and airy.  Extremely easy!  The only downside is that German buttercream’s rich and soft texture doesn’t lend well to decorations like buttercream roses.  You can still do shell borders though.

The Brown Butter Sage Cake was actually inspired by two separate recipes on BraveTart’s blog.  The first recipe is the brown butter carrot cake but the second recipe is actually sage caramel.  I found the sage caramel recipe while looking up flavor variations for German or Swiss buttercream.  For any of you who know me, I just love using savory elements in desserts and it has been way too long since I’ve experimented using them.  Combine them all together and you get today’s recipe!  While this recipe is good for any time of the year it would really go well at Thanksgiving where sage is used in several of the dinner items.

I’m really excited about sharing these recipes with you all!  I’ve actually been getting tired of using Swiss buttercream for every cake – it just gets monotonous.  And the other common high quality buttercreams, such as Italian or French, just aren’t different tasting enough for me.  But this German buttercream has really made me fall in love with baking and pastry all over again.  Plus the Brown Butter Sage Cake is just so tasty – no matter what your reservations are you have to try this!  I literally ate half the cake in 3 days.  I couldn’t stop myself!  Give this recipe a go – I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s the recipe for the Brown Butter Sage Cake and the recipe for the Vanilla Bean German Buttercream.  Thank you BraveTart for all the inspiration!  The video is below!  Thank you for watching!

Here’s the last SD video I have on my computer – from now on all my videos will be in HD!  And wow – HD eats up a lot of memory on my computer.  Since when did 500 GB become “not that much memory”?  Ah well, first world problems right?  It’s actually been a long time since I made blueberry pie, and I’m not really sure why I waited.  I really like blueberries and blueberry pie!

I know that my top crust got a little bit of a hole in it from where there was a big chunk of butter in it but other than that the pie looks fine.  If you want a really nice looking top crust you can work the butter in all the way so there are no streaks but it could result in a less flaky crust and a more tough cookie-like crust.  And when I say cookie, I mean dense and crumbly.  Or you can be like me when I’m being lazy and just use a crumble or streusel topping.

This blueberry pie is unique in a couple ways to your average blueberry pie.  For one, the blueberries are folded into the cooked cornstarch mixture.  This allows the blueberries to maintain their integrity so there is a little bite to the filling.  This is in contrast to the blackberry pie filling where I strain out all the seeds in pulp.  This pie is also unique because of the added flavorings we use to enhance the pie.  Lemon peel/zest and/or lemon juice are used to bring out the fruity flavor of the pie.  A pinch of nutmeg is added to give the pie a little mystery – but be careful!  Too much nutmeg and your pie will as my chef once said, “smell like a drowned rat.”  You can also use a little vanilla to make the pie taste a little more homey instead of the nutmeg.

Here’s the recipe for the blueberry pie filling and the recipe for the pie crust.  If you need to see the reference video for the pie crust I’ve added them below the blueberry filling video.  Thank you for watching!

Pie Dough Episode:

Episode 100
April 30, 2012
Fresh Fruit Tart

Can you believe it!?  100 episodes!  As I mention in the video, I’m actually really surprised I made it this far.  I have the kind of personality where I start something with crazy passion but after about a week or two I’m over it and onto something else.  I’m not sure what it is about this that makes me stick with it.  I think a big part of it is I actually feel like I’m letting people down when I skip an episode.  I like being able to do an episode once a week but I think there may come a time when even that may be too much for me.  In the meantime though I’m going to work hard to make it happen.

There are a lot of new things going on in this episode!  For one I finally got an HD video camcorder so now my videos will be in HD!  I’m working hard to make sure it records properly but from editing and previewing the movie it seems to be much much clearer so far.  I’m also working with lighting thanks to some advice from a friend.  I bought some contractor lights and put in some extra bright LED bulbs and used a heavy curtain to block out that back light.  I like the results, though the curtain is terribly ugly!  I was hoping to get something that was dull and understated so it wouldn’t stand out but I think because it is so ugly it stands out even more.  Ah well.

One of the most important changes is my new chef jacket from my friend Mary at Madam Chef Couture!  Madam Chef makes custom chef jackets specializing in women’s chef jackets – but of course she also makes men’s jackets.  I just love the custom tailored fit!  It’s just tight enough where it doesn’t sag or get in the way of where I’m working but loose enough that it doesn’t feel constraining.  It’s also a little stretchy and breathes well – which is perfect for working in the kitchen with the oven constantly running and needing to maneuver all over the place!  The jacket really shines during my classes at the community center where there are times I need to be in three places at once!  If you get a chance please visit Madam Chef Couture at www. MadamChef.com.

So on to the fruit tart!  Fruit tarts are a great crowd pleaser.  Typically they have a mild vanilla flavor and incorporate a variety of fresh fruit which makes it a great option for those who want a light “healthy” dessert.  I say “healthier” because there is 3 pounds of pastry cream in the entire tart.  Also, because it’s very easy to want more than one slice per meal!  Fruit tarts consist of three components: The crust, the cream filling, and the fruit.

For the crust you want to use something that holds its shape very well.  Pie crusts, cookie crumb crusts, and cookie dough that you use to make cut-out cookies with are perfect.  You can use strongly flavored doughs like linzer if you’d like but sometimes that can be a little overwhelming.  In my recipe, and at school, we used the 123 dough which is basically a plain short dough.  Don’t let the very plain name deter you.   This is one solid reliable recipe.  I used it a while back to make nice cutouts for Valentine’s Day and the dough can be frozen for use in the future.  123 dough gets its name from the ratio of sugar to butter to flour.  This ratio is by weight so that means for every 1 pound of sugar you need 2 pounds of butter and 3 pounds of flour – and for every pound or so of flour add in one whole egg.  Don’t forget to add in your flavorings – vanilla extract works well but you can also use spices, herbs, and oils.  Make sure to chill your dough slightly in the fridge or freezer before rolling it out to make sure it holds its shape and so it doesn’t stick to the counter.

Like cream pies, the crust is blind baked or par-baked which just means that its fully baked and ready to eat.  In this episode I introduce using baking beans to hold the shell in place.  You can use your everyday run of the mill pinto beans that comes a $1 a pound at the grocery store for this.  All you do is line your tart shell with the dough (make sure your pan is extremely well greased!) and then line the dough with a large coffee filter or parchment circle.  Then fill the liner with baking beans all the up the sides to hold the dough in place.  By using baking beans we keep the dough in place so it doesn’t slide, stretch, or warp during baking.  Also before you place the liner on top, dock your dough by taking a fork and poking some holes along the bottom of the shell.  This helps keep the dough from rising during the second bake.  After you have all your beans in, bake your dough at 350-400 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes or until the edges are just about done.

At this point you want to take out your tart shell and allow it to cool down to room temperature.  Pour out the beans and remove the lining.  You’ll notice the bottom of the crust will be almost completely raw.  That’s okay!  The goal with the beans is to make sure the edges were nearly finished baking so they hold their shape.  Just pop the shell back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes to finish baking.  You can also egg wash the shell prior to the second bake.  This helps the shell develop color, adds a little extra flavor, makes the shell shiny, but it also helps seal the shell so the moisture from the filling won’t leech into the shell as much – keeping the finished shell crisp.  You can also use a thin layer of melted white chocolate to coat the cooled baked shell which does the same thing – and I think it works a little better.  You can use either the egg wash, the chocolate, or both.

Just like the tart shell can be anything you’d like, the filling can also be whatever your heart desires.  Traditionally most fruit tarts are filled with pastry cream (a peach pastry cream similar to the peach panna cotta made with peach nectar in the peach bellini episode sounds heavenly!), but you can also use whipped cream, diplomat cream, and citrus curd.  You can fill your shell one of two ways: You can fill it with hot filling but be aware that some crusts don’t hold up well to this – especially cookie crusts (pie crusts and crumbs crusts do fine with hot fillings).  As hot fillings cool the filling adheres better to the crust and makes a cleaner slice – provided the filling has cooled for a couple hours.  The way I prefer, and the way you should use if you have a cookie crust like the 123 dough, is to pipe in the cooled filling.  The slices aren’t as neat, but then again fruit tarts are pretty messy.  If you want each guest to have a nice looking slice you should look into making mini fruit tarts (about 3″ rounds).

The last component of a fruit tart is the fruit.  Fruits commonly used in fruit tarts include: Pineapples, strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, mangos, grapes, mandarin orange slices (canned works great), and peaches – but really you should use whatever kind of fruit you’d like!

There are a couple of things you should be aware of with a fruit tart.  Fruit tarts are extremely perishable.  You have a super delicate crust that is slowly absorbing humidity and moisture from the filling and fruit that is cut and exposed to the air.  You can keep your fruit fresh and moist by brushing on apricot glaze (also used in the sachertorte episode) but glaze will only keep the tart fresh for so long.  Also if you do use glaze, avoid using raspberries and unsliced blackberries as glaze tends to clump up on these fruits (just place them on your tart after you glaze).  With all this in mind, fruit tarts are meant to be eaten within a couple of hours of production but are usually still presentable up to 2 days later.  What I’m trying to say is: If you’re planning on making somebody a fruit tart as a gift, try to give it to them as quickly as you can after you finish making it.

Here is the recipe for the 123 dough (updated to include directions for blind baking a tart shell) and the pastry cream (which also includes how to make diplomat cream).  Here’s the apricot glaze recipe if you missed it in the article and would like to use it.

Enjoy the new HD movie below!  Let me know what you think.  I’m still working out the settings (there are so so many) so be kind ; )

Episode 99
April 16, 2012
40 is the New Black cake

Here’s another cake I did for a friend.  My hairdresser’s boss’ sister had a birthday a little while ago and she asked me if I would help her out and make the cake.  Well I just can’t say no to my hairdresser!  It was a bit of a challenge though because the theme of the party was “40 is the New Black.”  I don’t know about you all, but I’m not quite as trendy as the fashion industry so terms like that kind of go over my head.  Luckily she said just decorate like Sex & the City to help guide me.

The cake itself is the yellow butter cake.  I am slowly growing to love that cake.  For one, it’s the easiest cake I have in my recipe book both in terms of ingredients and process – it’s actually from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Cake Bible.  And two, because it uses yolks I can save the whites for the icing – no waste!  The icing is the tried and true swiss buttercream – vanilla this time.

Icing square and sheet cakes are still a bit of a challenge for me – at least in terms of getting the corners nice and sharp.  Cake designer and my friend Katie tells me that when it comes to making really nice corners it just comes down to patience.  Just take your time with the bench scraper and as you smooth out the icing pull away from the cake in the same direction as while you were working on it.  You need to make sure you have enough icing to make the corner nice as well so if you’re having issues getting that corner sharp try using a little more icing.  For those of you who want an even quicker way to ice square cakes you might want to invest in a border tip.  A border tip is a really wide tip that should be pipe a flat, smooth, continuous line all the way up and down the sides.  Grocery stores love border tips because it increase productivity, makes nice sharp corners, and decorators with less skill can still make nice sides.

On the sides I decided to pipe a cityscape to help give it a New York feel but I wasn’t super happy with how it came out.  You know how you picture something in your head and it looks amazing and you do it and it’s not quite as amazing?  I think if I were to do something like this again I would try and use fondant even on a buttercream cake.  I think the decorations would come out crispier and I could also create a little bit of depth.  The other decorations were pretty standard including a reverse shell border and buttercream roses.  One decoration to point out is the stencil.  I used the same technique to place the image onto the cake as I did for the dog cake I did a while ago (unfortunately no video for it).  Wilton has a different technique I’ve never really tried, but I’ve never had a problem using my stencils.

Another thing to note with this cake is the black icing.  If you’ve ever used a deep blue, red, brown, or black icing to decorate a cake then you’ll know what a pain it is to get that exact color – and when you do the color either separates or the icing tastes horrible.  Try starting off with a chocolate icing (use sifted dark chocolate cocoa powder and mix it in well) and adding coloring to that.  You will need less icing to achieve the desired color and it will still taste acceptable.

Here is the recipe for the yellow cake and the recipe for the swiss buttercream.  Below is the video!  Thank you for watching!

Episode 98
April 8, 2012
Coconut Cream Pie

I hope you all are having a happy Easter!  I’ve been busy cleaning and baking – no special celebrations going on over here.  Luckily I was able to squeeze in this delicious and easy coconut cream pie recipe for all of you!

Cream pies are actually really easy to make.  They typically consist of three components: A blind baked or par-baked pie shell, a pastry cream filling which is then flavored, and a whipped topping.

As I mention in the video we par-baked a pie shell for the lemon meringue pie episode but let’s review how to do this.  First off, if you need a good pie dough recipe jump over to the basic pie dough post and get that under your belt.  Once you’ve gotten your pie plate lined with pie dough take a fork and lightly dock the bottom of the pie shell.  All this means is you’re poking lots of holes – but not so many that you destroy the integrity of the dough!  What we’re doing is providing lots of places for steam and air to escape which keeps the dough from rising as much.  Next, take a coffee filter and use it to line your pie dough like a piece of parchment paper.  Take another pie plate, equal in size to the original pie plate, and place that right on top.  For this recipe we’re making a 9″ pie so you’ll need two 9″ pie plates.  Then we just need to weigh down the top pie plate.  I like to use an empty ramekin because they are fairly heavy but I’ve used dry baking beans, ceramic baking beans, and dry rice.  I like using a ramekin because it’s easy and resuable.  Once you’ve gotten this all together bake the pie shell at 400 degrees F for about 8-15 minutes until lightly browned or golden.

Whenever you’re filling a blind baked pie shell with a cream filling it’s a good idea to take some melted white coating chocolate and brush the inside of the shell with the chocolate.  This helps seal the crust keeping it crispy and dry even after you’ve added the filling in.  It isn’t a necessary step so if you don’t have any white coating chocolate on hand don’t worry about it.

Pastry cream is one of the common dessert sauces in the bake shop so you should get used to seeing it a lot in recipes.  The texture is similar to pudding.  It’s very easy to make and the recipe I use is even easier because it uses cornstarch instead of flour – which means it’s less susceptible to burning.  To make pastry cream just take your milk and half of the sugar and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar, eggs, salt, and cornstarch in a separate bowl.  When the milk comes to a boil temper your egg mixture with it.  All this means is to slowly drizzle in the hot milk while constantly whisking your egg mixture.  This allows your egg mixture to warm up to the milk’s temperature without curdling or turning into scrambled eggs.  Then bring the whole mixture back to the stove on medium-high heat, bring to a gentle boil, and cook for 1-3 minutes.  This final boil allows your cornstarch to fully thicken and cooks out the starchy flavor.  Be careful though because it can still burn on the bottom so whisk it constantly.

Once your filling is thickened whisk in the butter until melted, then the vanilla and untoasted coconut.  I prefer to use untoasted coconut in the filling because it has a mild flavor and a chewy texture but you can use toasted coconut if you’d like.  To keep the texture from getting gritty you might want to pulverize the toasted coconut in a food processor before whisking it in.  Once all your ingredients are whisked together pour the hot filling into the pie shell.  We fill it hot because the cream will spread better and adhere to the pie shell better while it’s still hot.  Then take a piece of plastic wrap and cover the cream right up to the surface – this helps prevent a skin from forming – and refrigerate the pie for about 90 – 120 minutes.

Once your pie is completely chilled you can top it with your choice of topping.  For the coconut cream pie I prefer a soft peak whipped cream topping.  It’s very easy to make.  Just take heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar and whisk together until soft peaks form.  Then pile it on top of your chilled cream pie.  Your finished coconut cream pie goes really well with bits of toasted coconut and caramel sauce.  To toast some coconut just place a bit of coconut in a 350 degree F oven for about 2-3 minutes.  Coconut browns extremely quickly so don’t walk away!

Here is the recipe for the coconut cream pie filling, you will also need the recipe for the basic pie dough, and the chantilly cream recipe which is just a fancy name for whipped cream.  The video is below!  Thank you for watching!