Daring Bakers - Baked Alaska

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

I was thrilled with the challenge, however I only managed to make the Baked Alaska. It was an incredible coincidence the fact that in the book I'm reading, The Group by Mary McCarthy, there is a reference to a Baked Alaska.

I made mango sorbet and the brown butter pound cake, which is delicious.

In the final stage of the recipe I started by using the torch that my parents offered (yay!). The meringue was very nice but the ice cream was "hard as stone" (those were my husband's words). 

Then, I put the individual "Alaskas" in the oven for 5 mins. and the ice cream gained the right consistency.

Comparing both methods I'd advise the oven, which is more effective.

It is a wonderful dessert that has the ability to amaze family and guests. Thanks!

Brown Butter Pound Cake

19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See “Note” section for cake flour substitution)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.
3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Meringue
8 large egg whites
½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
1 cup (220g) sugar
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Instructions

1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid.

 2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.

3. Make the meringue (see above.)

4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.

5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.

6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

Cadeira Suspensa | The Magic Chair

Trata-se de uma cadeira muito interessante, baseada numa ilusão de óptica simples e eficaz, recorrendo ao uso de placas transparentes. Esta criação é da autoria do designer italiano Davide Conti.

(c) Davide Conti via TrendsNow

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It is a very interesting chair based on an optical illusion created by transparent plaques. This object was created  by the Italian designer Davide Conti.

Laços Originais | Original Ribbons

Descobri recentemente o trabalho de um artista japonês, Maeda Baku, que criou o projecto Ribbonesia, a arte de criar laços em tecido com formas de animais. Talvez seja uma reinvenção do origami e o resultado é muito interessante.

Os laços são encantadores e podem ter diversas aplicações como enfeitar presentes, mesas de refeição, o que a imaginação quiser.

O melhor mesmo é ver as imagens.

(c) Ribbonesia

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Recently I found a Japanese artist, Maeda Baku, that created a project called Ribbonesia which is the making of animal forms using ribbon. The result is lovely and each ribbon can be used in lots of things, for example, table settings and presents.

Take a look at the pictures above.

Plantação de Legumes na Cozinha | Kitchen Nano Garden

Gostava de ter a sua produção de legumes, mas vive num apartamento? Bem, a solução já foi inventada.

O Nano Jardim da Hyundai é a opção para quem quer cultivar os seus vegetais orgânicos, sem recurso a pesticidas ou fertilizantes.

Em vez do recurso à luz solar, é utilizada luz artificial e todos os nutrientes são controlados automaticamente.

Aguardemos...

(c) Bornrich.org

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Want to grow your own vegetable garden even if you don’t live in a mansion? Hyundai’s Kitchen Nano Garden is the solution for space-conscious home owners. The nano garden is a vegetable garden for the apartment kitchen, using hydroponics rather than pesticides or fertilizers to let you grow your organic food right in your kitchen. Instead of the sunlight, the Nano Garden has lighting which promotes the growth of plants. The amount of light, water and nutrient supply is also controllable, so users can decide the growth speed.