Daring Bakers March 2010 Challenge: Orange Tian

This month's Daring Baker's Challenge was Orange Tian. I'd never heard of Tian before this challenge, so I was quite pleased to learn something new.

tian
[TYAHN ]
A French word describing a shallow, earthenware casserole, as well as the food that it contains. A tian can be any of various dishes, but originally referred to a Provençal dish of gratinéed mixed vegetables.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

They call them "challenges" for a reason, folks. Everything must be made from scratch, including the marmelade, and there are a lot of steps. This is partly why I chose to make the dessert "family style" (this term will always remind me of The Salt Lick when we went to Austin, TX) rather than in individual portions. Also, I could bring this dessert to the manfella's mom's house for Easter this weekend.

Step 1: Blanch the orange slices 3 times to remove the bitterness from the orange peel and pith.


Step 2: Arrange orange (I used mandarins) segments in a shallow blow. Make orange carmel and pour it over top of the segments.


Step 3: Mince the blanched orange slices in a food processor, add an equal weight of sugar and pectin. Cook to make marmelade!


One orange, plus some orange juice made me a whole jar of marmelade!


Step 4: Make a pâté sablé crust.
Step 5: Spread the crust with a thin layer of marmelade.


Step 6: Layer the carmel-y mandarin segments in your tian vessel. In this case, I used a fluted rectangular tart pan.


Step 7: Layer stabilized whipped cream (that's whipped cream with gelatin, folks) over the mandarin oranges, then layer the pâté sablé crust--marmelade side down--over the whipped. Here you see the flaw in using a vessel that is narrower on the bottom than on the top, however it isn't THAT big a deal because the dessert gets inverted.


Step 8: Invert the vessel so that it is crust side down. Cut into slices.


Step 9: Before serving, drizzle each slice with some of the orange carmel you made in step 2.

Obviously I have over-simplified the steps for the sake of blogging, so the way I've presented it here may look like less work than it actually was. However, this dessert was very well-received! If I made it again, I wouldn't use equal weights of sugar and orange in the marmelade, as I found it a bit too sweet.

All in all though, my first Daring Baker's Challenge was a success!

March 29: Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkles are the original cake truffle! Made with real chocolate, these little balls of brownies-meet-fudge are easy to make, roll and bake. Don't let their small size fool you; they're bursting with chocolatey flavour.

After you make up the dough, you roll each ball in a thick layer of icing sugar then bake.

As the dough bakes it expands, causing the dough to "crinkle". The dark brown chocolate colour shows through the white, causing an interesting looking contrast.

You must not over-bake these cookies! If you do, they will be hard lumps, rather than the chewy fudgy little treasures they're meant to be.

Final Grade: A. You can find the recipe for Chocolate Crinkles on my Recipes Page. To purchase your own Chocolate Crinkles for a good cause, sponsor me for the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Challenge! Make your donation, then email me your order!

March 28: Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies originate in Austria, and is the cookie form of the Linzertorte. Linzer cookies can be "white" or "brown", depending on whether or not you toast your almonds. Traditionally the cookies are sandwiched with a layer of black currant jam, but raspberry jam will also suffice if black currant jam can't be found.



All you need are cookie cutters of different sizes, though they don't have to be the same shape. Experiment with different shapes for some really cool-looking cookies!



I had fun with these cookies and made the bottom halves "brown" Linzer, and the top halves "white" Linzer. I figured I'd get the best of both worlds!!



These are very delicious! Sweet and nutty, with a tangy raspberry jam filling. Be sure to find seedless jam if you can, as the raspberry seeds create an unpleasant texture.

Some of the best cookies I've made so far! Final Grade: A+. You can find the recipe for Linzer Cookies on my Recipes Page. To purchase your own Linzer Cookies for a good cause, sponsor me for the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Challenge! Make your donation, then email me your order!

March 27: Speculaas

Speculaas come to us all the way from Holand. Traditionally made and served before Christmas to celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas, this spicy cookie is served in both thin and crispy moulded forms, or soft and chewy rounds.



I made the chewy version because I don't own any cookie moulds, nor could I find any at the kitchen supply stores close to home. The chewy ones are much easier and less time-consuming, so you can mix your dough, roll balls, bake and enjoy all within less than an hour.



I'd used up all my sliced almonds on the Alfajores the night before, so I simply flattened the balls with a measuring cup dipped in granulated sugar. The result is a tasty cookie with a little sparkle.



Final Grade: B+. Speculaas are yummy, but they didn't blow my mind. I've baked and tasted a lot of European spice cookies in the past month, and still have a place in my heart for the Basler Läckerli.

You can find the recipe for Speculaas on my Recipes Page. To purchase your own Speculaas for a good cause, sponsor me for the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Challenge! Make your donation, then email me your order!

March 26: Alfajores

I discovered the recipe for this cookie while searching for international cookie recipes for March of the Cookies. I didn't need to see the recipe to know that they made the cut; reading "These almond cookies are sandwiched with creamy layers of dulce de leche" cinched it.

Probably the best sandwich cookie I've ever tasted.

Once I made up and baked these cookies, however, I realized that it wasn't just the dulce de leche (literally "milk candy") that made them great. The dough contains lemon rind, vanilla extract and almond extract, as well as ground almonds. My baking instructor once said that you have to think about your flavour pairings and not use competing flavours, then used vanilla and lemon as an example of a bad match. As much respect as I have for Vita, this Alfajores recipe proves her wrong. This is truly one of the most tasty cookies I've ever had.

This cookie is already delicious, then you add the dulce de leche...and BOOM: magic.

You can, of course, buy dulce de leche, but I have found that jarred versions contain things like corn syrup, potassium sorbate (a preservative), and artificial flavours. Why eat that extra garbage when you can make your own? There are two ways to make dulce de leche, I chose to cook a can of sweetened condensed milk in a water bath and the result was excellent. I cooked it until it was a very thick spread, which was perfect for sandwiching the biscuits together.

You can take the awesomeness one step further by coating these in chocolate.

I could say so much more about these delicious cookies, but I will finish my saying, they're probably my favourite cookie I've made this month.

Final Grade: A+. You can find the recipe for Alfajores on my Recipes Page. To purchase your own Alfajores for a good cause, sponsor me for the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Challenge! Make your donation, then email me your order!

March 25: Rugelach

Rugelach is a cookie that you have to taste to believe. I'd never heard of Rugelach before making it in my baking class, and I knew when assembling the ingredients that it would be delicious. First of all, the dough has cream cheese in it, so you know it's going to be tasty. Second of all...well, that's it actually. Cream cheese.

Little rolls of cream cheesy apricot goodness.

I work near Yonge & Eglinton, which is close to Toronto's Jewish community. As a result, us foodies are blessed with a plethora of Jewish bakeries and delis...all of which serve amazing goodies like Rugelach.


However, Rugelach tends to be a bit on the expensive side because...

• ...it's rather labour-intensive. After making the dough, you divide it into several pieces, and roll each piece into an 8" round. Spread the round with your filling, cut into 8 pie-slices, roll them up, egg wash and sprinkle with almonds. Repeat the process for each piece of dough. Woah!
  
• ...each round you roll only yields 8 cookies. This process would go much faster if if you could make up the whole dough at once, or if each piece yielded more, however you would not be able to get the small rolls called for by the recipe.
  
• it contains an expensive ingredient. Cream cheese is pretty pricey, compared to the rest of the ingredients used.
  

In the bakeries I've been to, Rugelach is sold by the pound. I would guess that this is because seeing the cost of each individual piece would scare people from buying them. However, given how labour intensive they are, I can see why people would pay a premium to enjoy them without the work. That said, when you enjoy baking, these are fun to make!

So yummy, so worth it.

Final Grade: A. I used a simple apricot filling, but next time I make Rugelach I'll use a recipe that has cinnamon in it; cinnamon pairs well with the tang of cream cheese (that's why Cinnabon's frosting is so darned good!).

You can find the recipe for Rugelach on my Recipes Page. To purchase your own Rugelach for a good cause, sponsor me for the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Challenge! Make your donation, then email me your order!

March 24: Parmesan Rosemary Cookies

Another savoury cookie!

At first I tried this recipe, but it was gross.

Instead, try this recipe. It is better!

See?

I'm already sold out out of these, but please consider sponsoring me for the Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Challenge! I have other cookies for sale, so make your donation, then email me your order!