Daring Bakers Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

We were allowed complete freedom for the filling and shaping of the dough. The only thing that was mandatory is to make the strudel dough. I decided to make a mixed berry strudel instead of the apple strudel. I used Cook's Illustrated Blueberry Pie filling recipe substituting frozen mixed berries.

My strudel started out great. I made some beautiful homemade bread crumbs (my first time making bread crumbs.) My filling was delicious. The dough came together perfectly and it stretched beautifully. My huge mistake which turned my strudel into a disaster was not using a big enough pastry cloth. I thought I could just use some silpats for the extra length. NOT A GOOD IDEA!


Then to compound the disaster I forgot to butter the dough and forgot to sprinkle my beautiful bread crumbs over the dough. Transferring the strudel to the baking tray was a nightmare. It twisted and broke open. Just not my day! But I decided to just bake it and see what happened.

It was definitely ugly, but the filling was great and with a couple of scoops of ice cream, my family certainly didn't complain. But I obsessed all night about my disaster. I'd never had a Daring Bakers' failure. I decided in the middle of the night to make a breakfast strudel in the morning and try to redeem myself. I made a bacon, egg and cheese strudel.


This time I thinly stretched the dough to the size of my pastry cloth and trimmed off the excess dough on all four edges. I gently spread the butter and sprinkled the bread crumbs. I used the pasty cloth to help roll the dough and transferred it perfectly to the baking tray. I moved the oven rack to the top third of the oven. I waited until the strudel was a golden brown and then sprinkled cheese over the top and returned it to the oven to melt.

I was rewarded with a beautiful, flaky, delicious strudel that I was proud to serve my family. I was so pleased with the delightful results that I am dreaming up other flavor combinations that I hope to make in the future.

This really is a great recipe. Be sure and visit other Daring Bakers to see some amazing strudels. A big thank you to Megan at Megan's Cookin for baking with me on Twitter! Thanks for the advice and the encouragement!

Mixed Berry Filling
6 cups frozen berries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons instant tapioca, ground
Pinch table salt

Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine.

Apple Strudel
from Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers

Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel dough
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with a table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.

Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Banana Nutella Bread and An Award

Nearly every day on our recent trip to Australia I had crumpets with Nutella for breakfast. Since we got home I've avoided buying Nutella knowing how many calories it had. But when I saw Anne's recipe for Banana Nutella Muffins, I decided I definitely needed to try it. And I'm so glad I did! (Be sure and visit Anne's blog to see her gorgeous muffins.)

I decided to make three mini loafs instead of muffins. I also decided to use our favorite Cooking Light banana bread recipe, which has less fat and a lot less sugar than Anne's recipe. Anne's recipe called for brown sugar, so I substituted brown sugar for the granulated sugar. The brown sugar complemented the wonderful Nutella swirl.

Not only were these loaves delicious, they were so pretty I immediately starting thinking of people I should give a loaf. I'll definitely be making this again. If you're a Nutella lover you'll definitely love this bread!


Banana Nutella Bread

1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 3 small)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup Nutella

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Spoon 1/2 batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3-inch loaf pan coated with baking spray with flour. Add 1/4 cup Nutella in dollops. Swirl a bit then top again with remaining batter. Add another 1/4 cup Nutella in dollops on top. Swirl again.

Bake at 350º for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Bake mini loaves for 35 minutes or muffins for 18 minutes.

Dana2dor left me the Super Duper Chef award on her terrific blog. She lives in Romania and follows my blog. I'm always amazed at the power of the Internet to bring people together. Thanks for the great award! I am going to pass it on to two terrific blogs that I've just started following:

The Changeable Table
Mom's Cooking Club


Next up homemade crumpets!

Greek Souvlaki

Every fall the Greek Orthodox Church of Salt Lake City holds a Greek Festival and every fall we go and have a great time feasting on the food and enjoying the Greek culture. One of our favorite foods is the souvlaki - tasty little bits of juicy, marinated, barbecued pork.

One year I decided having souvlaki just at the Greek Festival wasn't enough, so I went in search of a great recipe I could make a home. It was probably more than 25 years ago, before I could just hop on the internet and find a great recipe, so I went to the library and in a little Greek cookbook found this souvlaki recipe that my family loves and I have been making frequently ever since. It's easy and so delicious!
I am submitting this family favorite recipe to the Family Recipes: Memories of Family, Food and Fun event hosted by HoneyB and Laura. I'm looking forward to the roundup of great family recipes everyone is willing to share.

Souvlaki
2 T. olive oil
3 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 t. marjoram
2 lbs. cubed pork loin

Mix ingredients, marinate in a Ziploc bag 6 hours or overnight. Spear cubes on skewers. BBQ on high heat approximately 3 minutes per side.

(I doubled the recipe in the picture. It freezes and reheats well.)

I usually always serve the souvlaki with Greek rice from the same little Greek cookbook. The rice has a creamy texture, with a great lemon flavor. (I'll post a picture next time I make it.)

Greek Rice
1 T. butter
1 c. long grain rice
1/2 t. salt
1 T. lemon juice
3 cups chicken broth
Garnish with chopped parsley

Melt butter in sauce pan. Add rice and saute stirring frequently until rice is transparent. Add broth, salt and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Cover pan, turn heat to lowest setting and simmer 25 min. or until rice is tender.

The first Daring Cooks' challenge is ... Ricotta Gnocchi!

The recipe was chosen from the cookbook by Judy Rodgers, named after her restaurant, The Zuni Café Cookbook. The recipe was a very straightforward recipe. The challenge was in the forming and handling of the gnocchi. What we did with the recipe was up to us.

We were advised to use fresh ricotta and if fresh ricotta was not available, to make our own. I decided to make my own and use the Cooking Light homemade ricotta recipe to save a few calories. The ricotta was nice and creamy and had a great flavor. The recipe only made 1 1/2 cups so I had to reduce the gnocchi recipe.

I was a little bit nervous about making the ricotta and all the warnings about it being too wet, but after letting it sit in the fridge overnight, mine turned out nice and dry and I didn't have any problems with the gnocchi falling apart.

I used Not Quite Nigella's Ricotta & Chive Gnocchi with Browned Butter Sauce recipe as my inspiration for the gnocchi. I didn't have chives, so I substituted basil. I baked the gnocchi in a little browned butter topped with Parmesan. Then I served it with marinara sauce.

I was a little apprehensive about how gnocchi would be received by my boys since they've never eaten it before, but it got a thumbs up from everyone. I don't know if it's something I'll make again, but it was definitely a fun Daring Cooks challenge! For the complete recipe visit Lis at La Mia Cucina.

Coconut Lime White Chocolate Chip Cake

I made myself this cake for Mother's Day. I've been wanting to make the cake since Maria posted the recipe on her great blog, Two Peas and Their Pod, last month. Megan at Megan's Cookin did a gorgeous version of it for Easter.

Then a couple of days later, my good blogging friend HoneyB posted a recipe for Lime Coconut White Chocolate Muffins and I knew white chocolate would be a perfect addition to this cake. Also, since I rarely use buttermilk, I substituted light sour cream.

I absolutely loved this cake. It had just the right amount of tartness and sweetness. The lime glaze you pour on it after it's baked adds tons of flavor and a yummy coating like a glazed donut only tart. The cake is moist and dense like a coffee cake.

I even took a nice big piece and put it in a Ziploc bag and wrote "Mom's - Don't Eat" on it so that I could have another piece today. (It was my Mother's Day cake after all.) I'm thinking it might make a good breakfast as soon as I finish this post!

When I make it next time, and I will make it again, I'll make more glaze and drizzle the last half a cup over the coconut on top. Here's my version:

Coconut Lime White Chocolate Chip Cake
(adapted from Pinch My Salt)

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut, divided
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime zest (save a pinch to decorate the top)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup light sour cream, at room temperature
6 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom with a round of parchment paper then butter the parchment paper.

2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Measure out 1/2 cup of shredded coconut and process in a mini food processor until very finely chopped (you can also finely chop it with a knife). Stir the chopped coconut into the flour mixture and set aside. Combine sour cream and 2 tablespoons of lime juice; set aside.

3. Beat together butter, sugar, and lime zest with an electric mixer until very fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Turn mixer to low speed, add one third of the flour mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the sour cream. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of sour cream. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Stir in white chocolate chips

4. Spoon batter into the buttered cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of a preheated 350 degree oven until golden and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Cool to warm, then turn out of pan and discard parchment.

5. Whisk together powdered sugar and the remaining three tablespoons of lime juice. Poke top of cake all over with a fork then pour glaze over the top and drizzle down the sides of the cake, reserving 1/2 cup. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of coconut. Drizzle remaining glaze over coconut.

Kung Pao Chicken

I order Kung Pao Chicken almost every time I eat at a Chinese restaurant, but I've never made it at home. Recently, Pam at For the Love of Cooking posted a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken that looked easy and delicious - so I decided I should give it a try at home.

The Kung Pao Chicken at Pei Wei has carrots and pea pods it in, so I changed Pam's recipe to include them and make it a one dish meal. Also, instead of serving it over rice (which I was out of - who runs out of rice?) I served it over ramen noodles.

The chicken was a big hit. Thanks Pam for sharing it! I'll definitely be making it again. I changed it just a bit to accommodate my families' tastes. Here's my version:

Kung Pao Chicken
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into bite sized chunks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
6 green onions, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 1/2 cup pea pods, steamed until tender

Combine chicken and cornstarch in a Ziploc bag and toss until evenly coated. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and set aside for later. Heat a large skillet or wok with sesame oil over medium high heat. Once the pan is smoking hot add the chicken and stir fry for 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper and green onions (leaving a few for garnishing) to the pan and stir fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar mixture to the pan along with the cooked chicken, peanuts, carrots, and pea pods. Cook for a few minutes until sauce thickens up a bit and carrots are tender. Serve over rice or noodles and top with remaining green onions.