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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Secrets to Making Berry Scones

Scones in America have the reputation of being thick, heavy, dry bricks. To enhance their appeal, theyre often disguised under a sugar shellac of achingly sweet glaze or filled with chocolate chips. Despite these feeble attempts to dress them up, its no secret that todays coffeehouse confections are a far cry from what a scone should be: tender, flaky, and, if the season allows, filled with fresh fruit.

For the all-important light and airy texture, take a hint from puff pastry, where the power of steam is used to separate super-thin layers of dough into striated flakes. This comes from turning, rolling, and folding the dough several times, which creates hundreds of layers that steam apart from each other when the scone is baked. This lift depends on distinct pieces of butter distributed throughout the dough that melt during baking and leave behind pockets of air. For this to happen, the butter needs to be as cold and solid as possible until the scone enters the oven. Theres just one problem: your hands, which inevitably warm the butter as you touch it. The best way to avoid this is to start with very cold butter straight from the freezer and grate it on the large holes of a box grater. This method of distributing the butter keeps the interior of the scones tender and moist without being dense.

FREEZE THEN GRATE

Long shreds of butter are key to the flakiness of these scones and many pastries. To make grating butter easy, you need to first freeze a wrapped stick of butter until firm. Once firm, remove the wrapper over the portion of butter to be grated, leaving the rest of the stick wrapped. Using the wrapped end of the stick as a handle, grate the unwrapped portion on the large holes of a box grater. (To easily grate an entire stick of butter, we suggest freezing two sticks and grating just half of each.)

MAKING BERRY SCONES

1. Roll the dough out into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured counter. Fold the top and bottom of the dough over the center (like a business letter).

2. Fold up the sides of the dough to form a 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured plate and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

3. Roll the chilled dough out again into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured counter. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the dough and press them lightly into the dough.

4. Roll the dough up into a tight log and pinch the seam closed.

5. Lay the log seam side down, then press into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle.

6. With a floured knife, cut the dough crosswise into 4 rectangles, and then cut each rectangle into 2 triangular scones.

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Secrets to Homemade Flag Cake

Sure, there are lots of desserts that are perfectly appropriate for a backyard barbecue. Trifles highlight some of the seasons best bounty. Ice cream cakes are a cool way to deal with the summer heat. And fruit pies are as American as, well, apple pie. But when that barbecue falls around the 4th of July, theres only one dessert that should be on the menu: a flag cake.

The key to a flag cake is a perfectly cooked sheet cake base. To achieve this, use the baking times as a guide. Rely more on visual cues, which are the best way to determine doneness. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs attached, and the cake should spring back when pressed lightly. From there, its a matter of carefully turning out the cake, frosting it, and decorating it in the likeness of the American flag. America the beautiful, indeed.

TURNING OUT A SHEET CAKE

1. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cooled cake to loosen it. Be careful not to scratch the bottom of the cake pan.

2. Gently flip the cake out of the pan onto a wire rack.

3. Peel the parchment paper off the bottom of the cake and place a large inverted platter over the cake.

4. Holding both the rack and the platter firmly, gently flip the cake right side up onto the platter.

MAKING A FLAG CAKE

1. Using fresh blueberries, outline a 6 by 4-inch rectangle in the top left corner of the frosted cake.

2. Make diagonal rows of blueberries within the outline, leaving just a blueberrys width between the rows.

3. Lay additional blueberries evenly between the rows to make a blueberry checkerboard. Gently press on the berries so that they adhere and have an even height.

4. For the red stripes lay raspberries on their side and gently nestle them next to one another. There should be 4 short rows of raspberry stripes across the top of the cake and 3 long rows of raspberry stripes across the bottom of the cake. Gently press on the berries to adhere.

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Secrets to Strawberry Cream Cake

Creamy, sweet frosting and strawberry puree sandwiched in between three layers of lean, light gnoise cake, decorated by ripe, juicy strawberries. What summer dessert can top that?

Our approach to strawberry cream cake includes a couple adjustments to most versions, which promise fruity flavor but lose it to dense cakes and cloyingly sweet fillings. To highlight the strawberries in our recipe, we treat them as a separate layer. Dividing the quantity of berries in halfusing one portion to decorate the edges of the filling layers, and turning the other half into a quick puree that we spread across the center of the cakemeant big fruity flavor in every bite.

We also found a way to guarantee even, flat layers of cake: baking the gnoise in one springform pan instead of two standard round cake pans. When baked in two pans, the exterior crust was thicker than we liked and the tops domed slightly, so we had to cut them away. It seemed a shame to discard so much cake, so we turned to a springform, which is deeper than a standard cake pan. This way, we were able to bake all the batter in one pan and the crust baked up thin and even, which made it easier to slice into three even layers.

Making Gnoise

1. Cook the eggs and sugar: Cook the eggs and sugar together, whisking constantly, in a large bowl set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

2. Whip the eggs and sugar until they ribbon: Once the egg mixture is warm, remove it from the stovetop and whip with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is thick, voluminous, and pale colored. The mixture should fall in thick ribbons that rest on top of the batter.

3. Sift the flour: Reserve 1 cup of the whipped egg mixture in a separate medium bowl (this batter will be mixed with the butter later). Working with the remaining batter, sift half of the flour mixture gently over the top. Sifting the flour makes it easier to incorporate evenly into the batter and helps to prevent clumping in this delicate cake.

4. Mix but dont deflate: Very gently fold the flour into the batter with a large rubber spatula until just combined, 12 to 15 folds, then repeat the sifting and folding steps with the remaining flour mixture. Be careful not to overmix as you fold the flour into the batter.

5. Temper the butter: Pour the melted butter into the reserved cup of whipped egg mixture and then fold it gently into the cake batter until just barely incorporated, 4 to 6 folds. Tempering the butter with some of the batter first helps it incorporate more easily into the batter without deflating it.

6. Keep the batter from deflating: Immediately pour and scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan, being careful not to deflate the batter. Hold the bowl as close as possible to the cake pan when scraping in the batter; second, dont scrape any batter off the rubber spatula into the cake pan; third, dont jostle the pan as you put it into the oven; and fourth, dont rotate the cake during baking.

Cutting a Cake Into Layers

1. To cut a cake into two or three even layers, first measure the height of the cake and determine the thickness of the layers. Then, using a small knife, mark the thickness of the layers at several points around the cake.

2. Using the marks as a guide, score the entire edge of the cake with a long serrated knife.

3. Following the scored lines, continue to run the knife around the cake several more times, slowly cutting inward, to slice the layers apart.

4. Carefully separate the layers by gently slipping your fingers in between them and lifting the top layer away.

Building a Strawberry Cream Cake

1. Place 20 strawberry halves evenly around the edges of the cake (they will be visible once the layers are assembled).

2. Cover the center of the cake completely with cup of the pureed berry mixture.

3. Spread 1 cups of the cream filling over the berries, leaving a -inch border. Repeat with the middle cake layer, 20 more strawberry halves, remaining cup berry mixture, and 1 more cups cream filling.

4. Press the last cake layer into place, spread with the remaining cream filling, and decorate with the 8 remaining strawberry halves.

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Secrets to Lemon Tart

With its minimal interplay of ingredients and straightforward style, the lemon tart achieves a near-transcendent simplicity of form and content. Light, refreshing, and beautiful, when lemon tart is good it is very, very goodbut when its bad you wish youd made lemonade instead.

A lemon tart can slip over the edge of sweet into cloying; its tartness can grab at your throat; it can be gluey or eggy or, even worse, metallic tasting. The best way to get bracing lemon flavorbut not too muchis to make your own lemon curd. But lemon curd is fickle in its own right. When youre cooking it, its important to use nonreactive cookware and bowlsthat means stainless steel or glass, or cookware with nonstick or enameled surfaces. Reactive cookware such as cast iron or aluminum will react with the metal and your sauce will wind up tasting metallic, which, last we checked, is far from transcendent.

How to Make a Lemon Tart

1. Fully bake the tart shell: Bake the tart shell, lined with foil and filled with pie weights, for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Then remove the foil and weights and continue to bake until the shell is deep golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Because the filling only takes 10 to 15 minutes in the oven to be fully set, the tart shell must be fully baked first.

2. Make the curd on the stovetop: Combine all of the curd ingredients, except the cream, in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened to a sauce-like consistency.

3. Strain the curd: Strain the hot curd immediately through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl. By straining the curd, you can ensure the silkiest filling, free of clumps of curdled egg or zest. Stir in the cream. Adding the cold cream to the finished curd tempers the acidity of the lemon and lightens the texture of the curd.

4. Fill and bake the tart: Pour the curd into the baked tart shell while still warm and bake until the center jiggles slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes. When baked, the color of the curd deepens and it sets up, remaining supple and creamy, yet firm enough to be sliceable.

5. Remove the outer metal ring: Before serving, remove the outer metal ring by supporting the tart from the bottom and gently taking the ring off, letting it slide onto your arm. The tart will be easier to slice without the sides of the pan on.

6. Slide the tart onto a plate: Slide a thin metal spatula between the bottom crust and the tart pan bottom to release the tart and then slide the tart onto a cutting board or serving platter. Alternatively, if the tart seems stuck or fragile, leave it on the tart pan bottom, and set it on a cutting board or serving platter.

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Secrets to Raspberry-Coconut Cloud Cake

Since store-bought angel food cake is pretty good, we wanted use it to make an attractive (and easy) dessert that looked and tasted as though we had spent hours in the kitchen.

But we were after more than just a slice of cake topped with some fresh berries and whipped cream. What if we found a new way to incorporate the fruit into the cake, other than simply lining it with them? We developed an elegant dessert that allowed us to include a generous layer of quick homemade raspberry mousse without harming the baked goods delicate structure. The key was to think inside out: cutting a 1-inch layer off the top of the cake and then hollowing out the center of the cake to make a tunnel. After that, its simply a matter of spooning the mousse inside (making a raspberry-mousse tunnel of love), replacing the top layer, and decorating the cake with a snowy blanket of whipped-cream frosting and coconut.

Assembling a Cloud Cake

1. Use a serrated knife to cut a 1-inch layer from the top of the cake.

2. Using a fork, scrape out the middle of the cake, leaving a -inch border on the sides and bottom.

3. Spoon the raspberrywhipped cream mixture into the hollowed-out cake and smooth the top. Return the top layer to the cake and transfer the cake to a serving platter.

4. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the reserved whipped cream mixture, press the coconut into the frosting, and chill the cake for 2 hours. Before serving, place some of the berries in the center of the cake and arrange the others around the sides.

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Secrets to Quick Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Achieving the super-flaky, buttery layers of puff pastry requires a process called turning, in which the dough is wrapped around a butter square, rolled, and turned, then chilled between a sequence of turns. Sure, its worth the work if youre making it yourselfbut its also time-consuming and, some would argue, unnecessary when virtually every supermarket carries prepared puff pastry that works just as well in recipes like our Quick Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts.

Because the dough is frozen, however, it must be defrosted before you can use it; otherwise, it can crack and break apart. Our defrosting preference is to leave it in the refrigerator overnight, but countertop defrosting works fine too.

A two-step baking methodstarting in a hot oven for lift and browning, then lowering the temp to dry out the shell for maximum sturdinessmade for a crust that was flaky yet rigid enough to hold our tarts toppings. But the tomatoes had a tendency to slide right off the crust. No problemwe found a quick and easy solution for a quick and easy recipe. We simply made our own raised edge by cutting a border around the baked pastry shell and then pressing down the center.

HOW TO MAKE QUICK TOMATO AND GOAT CHEESE TARTS

1. Using the tip of a paring knife cut a -inch border around the edge of the baked puff pastry shells.

2. Press down the center of each shell so that it rests about inch lower than the edge.

3. Gently spread the goat cheese mixture in the center of the shells, leaving the raised edges clean.

4. Gently spoon the tomatoes evenly over the cheese without disturbing the edge.

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Secrets to Light New York Cheesecake

Of all the desserts that people long for in a low-fat form, cheesecake is probably the most popular. But its also the most difficult to lighten, since just one modest slice has more fat than most people should consume in a day, never mind in one dessert. Cheesecake requires a serious makeover.

The big culprit behind cheesecakes exorbitant fat and calorie count is the fatty cream-cheese base. But the best substitute isnt simply swapping out all the good stuff for the low-fat version. Instead, a combination of three ingredientscottage cheese, light cream cheese, and yogurt cheeseworks together to mimic the rich, fatty original. Cottage cheese provides a low-fat, neutral-flavored base for the cheesecake, while light cream cheese provides the requisite rich silkiness. And the yogurt cheesealso called labneprovides the tanginess and serves as the final key to cheesecake heaven.

HOW TO MAKE LIGHT NEW YORK CHEESECAKE

1. Make a graham cracker crust with butter: Make a graham cracker crust in a springform pan, then parbake it and let it cool completely before adding the filling. We tried lots of low-fat crusts here, but they all turned soggy. Although this cake is low-fat, it is necessary to use some butter in the crust.

2. Drain the cottage cheese: To prevent the cottage cheese from adding too much liquid to the filling, we found it necessary to drain it. To drain the cottage cheese, line a medium bowl with a clean dish towel or several layers of paper towels, then spoon the cottage cheese into the bowl and let drain for 30 minutes.

3. Use three cheeses: For a smooth, creamy filling, use cottage cheese, cream cheese, and yogurt cheese and process them until very smooth. You can either buy yogurt cheese or make your own. To make yogurt cheese, set a fine-mesh strainer over a deep container and line it with 3 paper coffee filters or a double layer of cheesecloth. Spoon 16 ounces plain low-fat yogurt into the lined strainer, cover, and refrigerate for 10 to 12 hours (about 1 cup of liquid will have drained out of the yogurt to yield 1 cup of yogurt cheese). Then just transfer the yogurt cheese to a covered container and refrigerate.

4. Cool the crust and add the filling: Before adding the filling to the pan, make sure the crust is completely cool and spray the sides of the pan again with vegetable oil spray. If the crust isnt cooled completely, it will quickly turn soggy underneath the filling.

5. Start on high heat and finish on low heat: Bake the cake for 10 minutes at 500 degrees, then without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and continue to bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the cheesecake reads 150 degrees, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. This method yields a nut-brown surface and a soft and creamy center.

6. Unmold with a towel: After the cake is baked, it is cooled at room temperature then refrigerated until chilled and firm, about 3 hours. For easy unmolding, we find it best to wrap a hot, wet towel around the cake and let it stand for 1 minute before removing the pan sides.

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