Meringue Christmas Tree

The Art.
    For my holiday party this year, I wanted to make an edible topiary to complete my table decor. I came across an idea for a beautiful meringue cookie topiary, so I decided to try my hand at making meringues. I was a little daunted by the three hour time commitment at first, but the small amount of active time meant that I could spend those three hours doing chores (read: watching tv). The cookies turned out wonderfully--nice and airy and not too sweet. Making the topiary was a breeze, especially because I used a couple cans of spray food color to tint the cone and the cookies.  This also meant I could rest easy knowing that everything was food-safe.

The Science.
    Meringue cookies are so light and crisp because they are mostly beaten egg whites and sugar. Egg whites are composed of water and protein, and when they are beaten at high speed the proteins begin to stick together, or "aggregate." The aggregated proteins make up a film that coats the air bubbles, and helps retain the bubbles in the mixture. Different conditions can cause egg whites to foam more efficiently, such as increasing the salt, acidity, and temperature [1]. This is why most meringue recipes call for room temperature eggs and cream of tartar. Pasteurization treatments can also increase the foaming performance of egg whites. Several groups have found that irradiating or ozonating egg whites increases protein aggregation and foaming, in addition to the sterilizing effects [2,3].

The Recipe.

Meringue cookies: (Makes 50)
3 large egg whites, room temp.
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
red spray food color

    Preheat oven to 200°F. In a large bowl, beat together egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in half of the sugar, then beat on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in remaining sugar.

     Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, sticking the paper down at the corners with a dab of meringue. Spoon meringue into an icing bag fitted with 1M tip, and pipe 2-inch stars onto baking sheets, 1/2 inch apart.  For the red cookies, spray 1/4 of the unbaked meringues generously with the red food color. I used Wilton Color Mist. (I really love this stuff, because tinting a batch of batter or icing deep red takes so much dye. By just spraying the tops, you can achieve the dark color quickly with less material.) Bake 2 hours, switching the top and bottom racks halfway through. After baking, leave cookies in oven to cool 1 hour with the door held ajar a couple inches with a spoon handle.

Topiary:
15" Styrofoam cone
green spray food color
1/2 cup powdered sugar (or royal icing)

    While cookies are baking, begin preparing your Christmas Tree. Place the Styrofoam cone on parchment paper and liberally spray with the green food color. Allow to air-dry several hours. In a small bowl, make an edible "glue" by adding a few drops of water to the powdered sugar.



    To affix the cookies to the "tree," dab a small amount of the sugar glue on the back of each cookie and press it on the tree. 

    For this spiral pattern, you can begin by making a spiral with the red meringues first, then fill in the rest with the white ones. Or, you can disperse the red ones evenly to look like ornaments.

    The meringue topiary was a big hit at the party, and added nice height to my holiday treats display. I highly recommend using color and height to liven up your edible spread. A little extra effort goes a long way to impress your guests.

1. O Chef, "Beating Egg Whites into Submission." http://www.ochef.com/223.htm
2. Liu, X. et al. "Effect of irradiation on foaming properties of egg white proteins." Poult. Sci. 2009, 88(11) pp 2435-41.
3. Uzun, H. et al. "Effects of ozone on functional properties of proteins." Food Chem., 2012, 134(2), pp 647-54.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcakes

The Art.
    One thing you must know about me is that I obsess about my baking. This past summer, I found a video tutorial on how to stripe a piping bag. The first thing that popped into my mind was to make cute little candy cane stripes on holiday-themed cupcakes. This idea has been waiting patiently in the back of my mind up till now, when the season is appropriate. To showcase this long-awaited striping effect, I made peppermint icing and used a large round tip. Chocolate cupcakes compliment the peppermint flavor perfectly, and mini candy canes add a little fun.

The Science.
    Not only does peppermint oil taste delicious, it also imparts antimicrobial properties. This is why food manufacturers use peppermint oil as a perservative [1].  Unfortunately, this essential oil is not very soluble in water and has a high volatility, so it will separate and evaporate over time. A recent publication has described a new method of creating peppermint nanoemulsions in order to overcome these obstacles [2]. An emulsion is a mixture of a hydrophobic substance (peppermint oil) and a amphipathic substance (ultrapure cornstarch) in water, where the amphipathic compound interacts with both the water and the oil and allows the mixture to stay in solution. Nanoemulsions are created by homogenizing the substances at very high pressure to create a very small particle size. Making the emulsified particles so small increases the number of amphipathic interactions and thus increases the solubility of the solution. In this way, the peppermint oil is protected from separating from the water content of the food, and retains its antimicrobial properties.

The Recipe.

Chocolate Cupcakes: (Makes 15)
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup cocoa
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


    Preheat oven to 350^oF and adjust rack to center position. Line cupcake tins with liners. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, dissolve cocoa in boiling water to allow it to "bloom." In a large bowl, beat together egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in bloomed cocoa. Pour 1/4 cup batter into each cupcake tin, and bake 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Peppermint Buttercream:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil
No-taste red gel food color 

    Beat butter and shortening together in large bowl. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff, jagged peaks form. Beat in peppermint oil.



Decorating:
    Place a 1A round tip in a disposable piping bag. With a small paintbrush, paint four vertical lines of red gel food color on the inside of the piping bag.

    Fill bag with icing, and pipe onto parchment paper until the stripes come through. Pipe a swirl of icing on each cupcake and garnish with a mini candy cane.

 1. LisBalchin, M. et al. "Bioactivity of selected plant essential oils against Listeria monocytogenes." J. Appl. Microbiol, 1997, 82, 759-762

2. Liang, R. et al. "Physical and Antimicrobial Properties of Peppermint Oil Nanoemulsions."
J. Agric. Food Chem, 2012, 60 (30), pp 7548–7555

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Icing

The Art.
    My youngest sister was born a couple days before Christmas, and has endured many hardships, what with Baby Jesus stealing her birthday thunder and all.  One year I was particularly insensitive and made her a giant gingerbread man birthday cake, because I wanted to try out my new novelty cake pan. Fortunately, my sister loved the idea and it became a tradition for her to have a gingerbread man every year--until the John the Baptist Incident.
    That particular year, my sisters and I were cleaning up after dessert and discovered that all that was left of the poor gingerbread man was his head. In a moment of comedic genius, we slathered his severed neck in red food coloring and mounted his head on my mother's sterling silver platter. My mother, drawn to the kitchen by our hysterical laughter, was horrified to find what her heathen children had done. She forbade us to ever make a gingerbread man again, and as penance we had to read a chapter from our Illustrated Children's Bible every morning for the next few weeks. Despite her valiant effort to recondition us, I still think Gingerbread John the Baptist was hilarious. Even today, I couldn't help giggling a little as I made these gingerbread cupcakes.

The Science.
    If we had really been true to form when making our gingerbread man blood, we would have used molasses, not food color. This syrup is what gives gingerbread its robust and distinctive flavor, and differentiates it from spice cake. Molasses is a byproduct of sugar production, made from the liquid produced when sugar cane juices are boiled to crystallize the sugar. In addition to some unrefined sugars, molasses contains many vitamins and minerals. It has particularly high levels of phenolic compounds, which have been reported to be strong antioxidants [1]. A group in Italy recently published a study investigating the antioxidant benefits of molasses, and they found that treating cells with molasses increased cell viability under oxidative stress, as well as decreased cellular reactive oxygen species [2]. While this is wonderful evidence that people should substitute molasses for other sweeteners, I'm doubtful this will happen since molasses has a very strong flavor that has gone out of style in the last century.

The Recipe.
 
Gingerbread Cupcakes: (Makes 30)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons grated ginger root
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup buttermilk

    Preheat oven to 350^oF and adjust racks to lower and middle position. Line cupcake tins with liners. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in medium bowl. In large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into tins with 1/4 cup measure and bake for 20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Eggnog Icing:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup eggnog

     In a large bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Gradually beat in 4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat in remaining ingredients. If icing is too soft to pipe, add more sugar.

 
Decorating:
    Fill a piping bag with icing and add a 199 star tip. Pipe a dab of icing in the center of the cupcake. Add a ring of stars around the periphery. Continue to pipe stars from the outside to the center. Add a cinnamon stick for garnish.

1. Payet, B. et al. "Comparison of the concentrations of phenolic constituents in cane sugar manufacturing products with their antioxidant activities." J. Agric. Food Chem, 2006, 54:19 (September 20).
2. Valli, V. et al. "Sugar cane and sugar beet molasses, antioxidant-rich alternatives to refined sugar." J Agric Food Chem, 2012, Nov 28. [Epub ahead of print]

Quick Birthday Cupcakes

The Art.
    The other day, I received a last-minute order for some birthday cupcakes. I'm never one to leave a friend in the lurch when it comes to desserts, since sweets are right up there with water and shelter on my list of Necessities for Survival. I didn't have much time to do anything fancy, so I threw together my usual yellow cake with buttercream icing. For the icing, I stuck to a monochromatic theme to save time, chose a tip for each icing color, and started piping. It actually turned out to be quite fun, because I could give each cupcake its own design, yet they all coordinated with one another. I would highly encourage everyone to try this at least once, it is a great way to come up with new decorating ideas and think outside the box.

The Science.
    Another advantage of having variation in your decorating technique is that it will cause people eat more cupcakes. This phenomenon was discovered in a study investigating the effect of visual stimuli on feeding behaviors. In the study, human subjects were given chocolates of different colors, that all tasted the same. They found that people lost appetite for the color of chocolates they had already consumed, but would continue to eat more chocolates if they were another color [1]. Thus, if someone has already eaten one of your cupcakes, they may not want another that's exactly the same, but they will probably eat an additional one if it looks different. I must admit that I look forward to using this finding to increase my bake sales.

The Recipe.

The recipes for the yellow cake and buttercream icing can be found here and here. I tinted my icing with a mixture of Wilton Icing Colors Violet and Pink.

Decorating:
    For these cupcakes, I used Wilton tips #1M (dark purple), #21 (lavender), and #12 (white). You can of course use any tips you wish, bearing in mind that the smaller the tip, the longer it will take for you to cover your cupcake with icing. I really like the effect of having a combination of large and small decorations that is provided by this tip selection. I used very simple decorating techniques for these cupcakes because of the time crunch, but they still turned out beautifully.


    As you can see in the picture below, I did a classic 1M swirl on a couple of the cupcakes, then added accents with the star tip or the round tip (center, top). Another variation is to make several small swirls on top with the #21 tip (upper left, lower right). You can also use the two star tips to make drop flowers (right). One of my favorites is the one where I made a grid with the round tip, and filled it in with little stars (lower left).

     Once I was done piping the icing, I tossed a few edible pearls on top for a finishing touch. I highly recommend keeping a stock of sprinkles, edible glitter and pearls, colored sugar, etc. in your pantry. They are great for when you want to dress your icing up in a flash. These particular cupcakes were delivered immediately to their recipient, but they can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for three days. So, there you have it: beautiful birthday cupcakes in an hour flat!

1. Rolls, Barbara et al. "How sensory properties of foods affect feeding behavior." Physiology and Behavior, 1982, 29:3 (September).

Apple Spice Cupcakes

The Art.
   Every fall, Handsome and I go apple picking at a nearby fruit farm. It's one of my favorite traditions, partly because we get to enjoy the crisp fall weather in a beautiful orchard, and partly because it involves things I can eat. While we both love apple picking, the two of us certainly have very disparate approaches to it. Handsome will pick as many apples as he can fit in his paper bag regardless of whether we can eat them all, because he thinks it's a great deal. I, on the other hand, always have a recipe in mind before we go, and I will pick the exact number of apples I need for said recipe, no more, no less. I like to pick Granny Smith apples for baked goods because of their crisp texture and tart flavor. This year, I made apple-filled spice cupcakes, topped with a tangy buttermilk icing. I decorated the cupcakes like little apples themselves, with pretzel stick stems and mint leaves on top.

The Science.
    While I used food coloring to make my apple cupcakes red, the skin of real apples contains a pigment called anthocyanin that gives them their bright red color. The Sangrado apple variant produces anthocyanin in the flesh of its fruit as well, causing it to be red throughout. Researches have recently found that this color pattern is due to a whole genome duplication that occurred in the apples long ago, and created a second copy of the gene that regulates anthocyanin pigmentation [1]. In Sangrados, the extra gene has a slightly different sequence from the original, and this change causes it to be expressed in the apple flesh, and make it a beautiful red. On the other hand, Granny Smith apples have green skin and white flesh, because they do not contain any anthocyanin [2]. I guess you could say that they are the albinos of the apple world.




The Recipe.

Apple filling:
3 tablespoons salted butter
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

    Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until apples are soft and juices are concentrated and syrupy, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly in pan while making cake batter.


Spice Cake:
Recipe can be found here. Makes approximately 28 cupcakes.

    Preheat oven to 350^oF. With a 1/4 cup measure, spoon batter into cupcake tins with liners. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons apple filling on top of the batter, in the center of each cupcake. Bake for 20 minutes or until tester inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Buttermilk Icing:
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk

    In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar while beating, then beat in buttermilk. Tint half the icing red and the other half green. I used Wilton Icing Colors Red and Burgundy for the red, and Kelly Green and Lemon Yellow for the green.

Decorating:
1 cup sugar, divided
Red and green food color
14 pretzel sticks
28 mint leaves

    To make the red and green sugar, place 1/2 cup sugar in each of two plastic sandwich bags. Add a few drops of either red or green food color and seal the bags shut. Massage the bags of sugar until the food color is distributed evenly. If needed, add more food color to get the desired color. Pour sugar into two saucers.
    Spread a dollop of icing onto each cupcake, making a high dome in the center and only a thin layer on the edges. Roll the cupcake in the corresponding colored sugar. If the icing has an uneven shape, you can reshape it on the saucer while you roll it. To make an indentation for the top of the apple, coat your finger in sugar and press the center of the icing down.

     For the apple stems and leaves, break the pretzel sticks in half and insert one half into the top of each cupcake. Gently press a mint leaf into the icing next to the pretzel. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.

  

1. Chagne, D. et al. "An ancient duplication of apple MYB transcription factors is responsible for novel red fruit-flesh phenotypes." Plant Physiology, 2012, 160:2 (October 24).
2. Takos, A. et al. "Light-Induced Expression of a MYB Gene Regulates Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Red Apples." Plant Physiology, 2006, 142:3 (November).

Almond Nutella Cake

The Art.
    The time has come for me to admit that I have a Nutella addiction. Nutella's entire "part of a healthy breakfast" ad campaign is completely lost on me. If there is a jar of Nutella in my pantry, I'm not going to scrape it over some whole wheat toast and wolf it down with a glass of orange juice as they suggest. I will eat it by the spoonful until I fall into a diabetic coma on the couch like a respectable human being. I am very good at coming up with excuses to eat it, and it was upon one such occasion that Almond Nutella Cake was born. This cake features my staple yellow cake layered with a light Nutella mousse and frosted with rich almond buttercream. The cute flower decorations are a technique developed by my youngest sister, who is nothing less than inspiring with her cake decorating. I love these almond flowers because they are so simple to make and the colors remind me of autumn chrysanthemums.

The Science.
     Unfortunately, some individuals suffer from hazelnut allergy and can't enjoy sitting on the couch with a jar of Nutella. How these people go through life I'll never know, but they are certainly braver than the rest of us. There are two culprits to blame in regards to this allergenic condition. First, there is the IgE antibody. This antibody flows through your bloodstream and generally does a lot of good things, like recognizing parasites. However, in some individuals IgE goes rogue and recognizes certain foods, such as hazelnuts, as allergens and causes severe reactions [1]. The other culprit is the Cor-a family of proteins, which can be bound by IgE and recognized as allergens. A scientific group has recently found that heating hazelnut flour to high temperatures (called autoclaving) denatures the Cor-a proteins. This changes their conformation in such a way that they cannot be recognized by IgE, thus diminishing their allergenic effects [2]. With such a technique in hand, people that are usually allergic to hazelnuts can consume autoclaved hazelnut products. In the future, everyone could enjoy autoclaved Nutella's sugary spell and only have to worry about a diabetes-related death, not anaphylactic shock.

The Recipe.

Moist Yellow Cake:
    Recipe here. Follow the directions, except use three 8-in round cake pans, coated with baking spray and lined with waxed paper. To make a perfect lining, trace around the bottom of the pan onto the waxed paper, and cut the circle out (see photo below).
    Divide batter evenly into the three pans, lift and drop onto the counter a few times to release bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. If your cake layers have high crowns, you can press them down as I described here. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks. Peel off waxed paper, cool until room temperature.

Nutella Mousse:
1 cup 40% heavy whipping cream
1 jar (370g) nutella, divided

    Whip cream over an ice bath with chilled beaters until stiff peaks form. Add Nutella, reserving 3 tablespoons for decorating. Beat until thoroughly combined and refrigerate until needed

Almond Buttercream:
1 1/2 cups salted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

    In a medium bowl, whip butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat in milk and almond extract.

Cake assembly:
    Place one cake layer on an 8 inch cardboard cake round. Spread half of the Nutella mousse over the cake, to within 1 inch of the edge. Place second cake layer on top, then cover with the other half of the mousse. Place third cake layer on top, and put cake in the freezer for at least 45 minutes.

    To make a perfectly smooth coat of icing on this cake, we will first put a crumb coat on it. Using an offset spatula, place a large dollop of icing on top of the cake. Scrape the icing over the cake, making a very thin, smooth layer.

    Use the excess icing to spread over the sides of the cake, sealing the edges of the cake layers and making the sides flat. The crumb coat should be thin and translucent, serving the function of providing a smooth surface on which to spread the decorative icing. Place the cake back in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, tint the remaining icing a buttery yellow. I used equal amounts of Wilton Icing Colors Golden Yellow and Brown.




    Take the cake out of the freezer and place on top of an inverted cake pan. This raises the cake off the countertop so you can spread the icing all the way to the bottom. Spread an even layer of tinted icing on top of the crumb coat with a large spatula.  Make the icing as smooth as possible. To get rid of any ridges, heat the spatula over a candle flame and use it to gently smooth the icing.



Almond flower decorations:
   Spoon the remaining Nutella into a plastic sandwich bag and snip off the bottom corner to create a piping bag. For each flower, press six slivered almonds into the icing in a ring. Fill the center of the flower with Nutella.

Cover and store finished cake in the refrigerator before serving, up to three days.


1. Flinterman, A. et al. "Hazelnut allergy: from pollen-associated mild allergy to severe anaphylactic reactions." Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2008, 8:3 (June 2008).
2. Lopez, E. et al. "Effects of autoclaving and high pressure on allergenicity of hazelnut proteins." Journal of Clinical Bioinformatics, 2012, 2:12 (22 May 2012).




 

Bacon and Apricot Gougères

The Art.
    Every summer I host a Bacon Explosion Party, and this year I smoked a whopping three Bacon Explosions for my dearest friends. This means that I rolled up 6lbs of sausage inside 6lbs of bacon, slathered it with two bottles of BBQ sauce, and smoked it for a day. As you can imagine, I had a substantial amount of bacon fat left over after frying up all this bacon. I strained the fat and tucked it away in the fridge, and I've been experimenting with adding it to different foods ever since. My most recent bacon fat adventure was when I tried my hand at making gougères.
    Gougères are a French puff made from choux pastry and cheese that are light and crisp, and are arguably the perfect party pastry. By replacing some of the butter in the pastry with bacon fat, I added a hint of bacon flavor. I then filled the airy puffs with a slightly sweet apricot gruyere mousse, to provide the perfect balance of sweet and salty. These pastries are wonderful to have as an appetizer or with an aperitif.

The Science.
    Needless to say, traditional French choux pastry recipes do not include bacon fat. Rather, the dough is made with butter that is melted into the liquid component, then mixed with the flour. Substituting fats in baking recipes can be a tricky business, and this goes double for pastry dough. Different fats used in baking are composed of different types of lipids, which have varying melting temperatures and reactivity with other ingredients. Butter is composed of milk fat, which is made up of mostly saturated fats and some cholesterol, and has a melting temperature of 90^oF [1]. Shortening, on the other hand, is solely composed of hydrogenated unsaturated vegetable oils, and has a melting temperature of 117^oF. The problem with shortening is that doesn't add any flavor. Lard is similar to butter in that it is made up of mostly saturated fat, has a low melting temperature of 86^oF, and provides scrumptious flavor [2]. The main difference between butter and lard is that lard does not have the small water component that butter does. However, equivalent amounts of lard can be substituted in most recipes without altering texture or flakiness [3]. I consider bacon fat to be lard's sexy cousin because it has a wonderful smokey salty flavor from the cured meat. Just be careful when using bacon fat in a recipe, it's strong stuff and can easily overpower your other flavors.

The Recipe.

Bacon Gougères: (makes 48)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons bacon fat*
6 eggs
3/4 cup finely grated gruyere, divided
1 egg yolk

    Preheat oven to 415^oF and place racks in middle and lowest position. Sift together flour and salt. In a saucepan, combine water, milk, butter, and bacon fat and place over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat and immediately add the flour/salt, stirring rapidly with a spoon.

    Put saucepan over heat again, and stir dough until it begins to pull away from the sides and form a ball. Turn dough out into a large bowl, and lightly beat with bread hook attachment for 30 seconds to cool. While the dough is cooling, beat eggs in a medium bowl. Gradually add eggs to dough while beating on medium speed, then continue to beat until a wooden spoon or spatula stands in the bowl, about 4 minutes. Fold in 1/2 cup cheese.
    Line two baking sheets with waxed paper. Spoon or pipe dough in 1 tablespoon rounds aprroximately 2 inches apart onto baking sheet. Lightly beat egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water and use to brush tops of dough. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup gruyere over tops. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the baking sheet with your fingertips, being careful not to dampen the dough.

    Place baking sheets in oven, and pour 1/4 cup water onto the bottom on the oven right before closing the door. The water will create steam in the oven which helps the gougères rise. Bake for 15 minutes, then very very gently switch the baking sheets, so the top one is now on bottom and vice versa. Switching the rack position halfway through ensures that all the puffs with bake evenly. Try not to knock them too hard while moving the trays so the gougères keep air inside them. Pour another 1/4 cup water onto the bottom of the oven, and bake 15 more minutes.  If your gougères start to deflate while you're moving them, don't worry. The second steam burst will help them puff right back up.
    When the gougères are done baking, they should be deep golden brown and sound hollow when you tap the bottom. Turn the oven off, leave the door ajar, and let the gougères dry in the oven 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Gougères can be stored in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. (Recipe modified from [4])
*To make bacon fat, fry up 6-8 slices of thick-cut bacon in a pan to your desired crispness. Eat that delicious bacon. Once the fat in the pan has cooled, strain it through a coffee filter into a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Apricot gruyere mousse:
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon brandy
1 1/4 cup 40% heavy cream
1/2 cup apricot preserves
3/4 cup finely grated gruyere

    In a large bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and brandy. Set bowl over a saucepan with 1 inch simmering water. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and beat for an additional 2 minutes, set aside. In another large bowl, beat cream on high speed over an ice bath until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg whites. Fold in apricot preserves and gruyere. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before filling gougères.

Assembly:
    If gougères have been frozen, warm in a 300^oF oven until crisp, then cool to room temperature on wire racks. Open the gougères halfway by gently prying at the side with fingertips. Spoon in approximately two tablespoons of mousse. Serve immediately.

1. American Baking Essentials Course 201. "Butter, Shortening, and Oils: The Fats We Bake With." The Prepared Pantry, 2005.
2. O Chef, "Turning the Heat up on Crisco (and Lard)." Available here.
3.  All Recipes, "Common Ingredient Substitutions." Available here.
4. Rogers, Juliet. The Essential Baking Cookbook. Millers Point, Australia: Murdoch Books, 2010.
    

Fall Spice Cake with Bavarian Cream

The Art.
    I once believed this dessert was born out of serendipity, in that I had 6 egg yolks left over from the Blooming Rose Cupcakes the other day, which just so happens to be the number of egg yolks required to make Bavarian Cream. But just when I thought Fate was smiling down upon me, I had to go and make an entire post about troubleshooting the Bavarian cream and thus bought another dozen eggs. C'est la vie I suppose. Since autumn is upon us, I decided to pair the cream with a moist spice cake. Flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and clove, this cake combines all of my favorite fall spices. I didn't want to interfere with the harmony between the cake and the cream, so I refrained from making an icing for the cake. Instead, I dusted it with powdered sugar in a leaf pattern to celebrate the season.

The Science.
    This Bavarian cream is made by combining a rich custard with light whipped cream. I previously did some troubleshooting on the custard component, so today I'll talk about cream. Whipping up a fluffy, stable whipped cream can be challenging for many bakers, but if you understand the chemistry of whipping cream it can be a cinch. First, you must select the correct type of cream. Heavy whipping cream with 40% fat is ideal, since higher fat content results in stiffer whipped cream. Some manufacturers go the cheaper route, and instead supplement 30% fat with additives such as carageenan and polysorbate to make stiffer peaks [1]. However, additives just can't replace good old milk fat, and these don't perform as well as the 40% heavy cream. Also, be sure that your cream is pasturized, not ultrapasturized. Ultrapasturization degrades the milk proteins, making the whipped cream less stable [1].
    Second, cold temperature is your friend while making whipped cream. Milk fat consists of mostly saturated fatty acids, which have lipid tails that pack tightly together at cold temperatures [2]. Keeping cream as cold as possible while it's whipped causes the fat to have a thicker consistency, and thus the ability to hold more air than if it is warm. This results in a fluffier, more stable whipped cream. To make the best whipped cream, chill your beater blades and bowl in the freezer before you begin. Place your bowl inside an ice bath while you whip your cream, and make sure you are in a cool area of the kitchen, away from the oven.

The Recipe.

One batch of Bavarian cream, recipe found here. You'll have to plan ahead, because the custard needs to set overnight.

Spice Cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)

    Preheat oven to 350^oF. Coat a 9"x13" pan with baking spray. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a medim bowl, beat together vegetable oil, sugars, and eggs on medium speed. Beat in buttermilk. Add to dry mixture, and beat just until smooth. Pour batter into pan and bake on center rack 45 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan.
    For this project, we want a nice, flat surface on top of our cake to dust our powdered sugar on. If your cake turns out "crowned," meaning it has risen more in the center than on the edges, it is simple to fix.

    Right when you take your cake out of the oven, lay a damp paper towel over the hot cake and gently press all over until the center is the same height as the edges. In the future, you can prevent crowning by wrapping strips of wet towel around the edges of your cake pan before you put it in the oven.

Leaf decorations:
    On a piece of cardstock, draw a leaf stencil approximately 3 inches square. Here is the pattern I used, it's a maple leaf that I drew. Of course, you can draw a much simpler leaf shape to make your life easier. Cut this leaf out and use it to trace 12 leaves.

     Cut your leaf patterns out and place them in a 4x3 grid pattern on top of the spice cake. Generously sift powdered sugar over the cake, until you can't see the surface of the cake. Very carefully lift leaves off of the cake, making sure not to drop powdered sugar back onto the surface.

    You now have 12 cake servings, each with a powdered sugar leaf on top. Do not cover the cake before serving, otherwise the collecting moisture will dissolve the powdered sugar decoration. Cut into squares and serve with a dollop of Bavarian cream. Enjoy by the fire with a hot cup of tea.

1. Galvin, Lori et al. Test Kitchen Favorites. Brookline, MA: America's Test Kitchen, 2006.
2. Larsen, M.K. et al. "Short communication: Within-day variation in fatty acid composition of milk from cows in an automatic milking system." Journal of Dairy Science, Available online 15 August 2012, ISSN 0022-0302, 10.3168/jds.2012-5815.