I absolutely love this chocolate cookie. Treat them like a sugar cookie, roll out the dough and cut out your favourite shapes. They can be decorated with royal icing, butter cream or fondant.
1 cup of unsalted butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg (room temperature)
2 tablespoons strong coffee or a coffee liqueur (coffee can be made with 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder with 2 tablespoons of hot water, and cooled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
METHOD
1.Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.Set aside.
2.In a large mixing bowl beat together the white sugar, brown sugar and the butter. Beat until
light in colour, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the egg and beat well. Add the coffee or liqueur and beat until incorporated.
4. Add the flour mixture, 1 cup at a time and mix until all the flour is incorporated.
5. Divide the dough in half, form into 2 disc shapes and wrap in plastic wrap.
6. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours.
7. Roll out the dough to desired thickness on a floured surface and cut out your favourite shapes.
8. Place the cookies onto a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.
9. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for 6-8 minutes. The size of your cookies will determine if they need more or less time.
10.Once cookies are baked transfer them to a cooling rack to let them cool.
11.Cookies can be stored for a week at room temperature and they freeze well for 3 months. Make
sure they are well covered in a container.
TIPS FOR BAKING CUT OUT COOKIES
- To ensure even thickness of the dough, use dowels (desired thickness of your cookie) on either side of the dough while rolling. This will also ensure that your cookies bake evenly and at the same time.
- To ensure that your dough doesn't spread while baking refrigerate the cut out cookies on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before baking. You can also put them in the freezer for 5 minutes if you are in a hurry.
- To make sure your cookie dough doesn't stick to the cookie cutter, dip the cutter in flour in between
cutting out shapes.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
CAKE TIPS
CAKE FLOUR VS. ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
For best results when baking cakes, cake flour does produce a more fine, soft texture. Cake flour is a finely milled and typically bleached variety of flour.It also has a lower content of gluten-producing protein. The bleaching process in flour also raises the acidity of the batter, which allows the starch in the flour to absorb more moisture, further enhancing the cakes tenderness. If you can't find cake flour you can substitute 3/4 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for each cup of cake flour called for in a recipe.
TEMPERATURE: EGGS, MILK & BUTTER
For a smooth batter you want to make sure that the eggs, milk and butter are at room temperature when mixing them into a cake batter. Cold eggs and milk can harden butter when mixed in. This can result in a curdled appearance. You can heat up butter and milk in the microwave but this is not ideal as overheating can occur. The eggs you can put them in a bowl of warm tap water to bring them to room temperature. Once you put the eggs into warm water the cold eggs will bring the water temperature down so drain the first lot of water and then refill with more warm water from the tap. This should bring the eggs to room temperature after about 5 minutes. Ideally you want to let the butter, milk and eggs come to room temperature on there own but if you have not planned ahead use these techniques.
OVER BEATING BATTER
We have all learned that over beating a batter can cause the cake to become tough due to over working the gluten.. This is the case when you use all-purpose flour as it contains more gluten than cake flour. When using cake flour (very low gluten content) beating it for a short period of time actually helps smooth and aerate the batter. Once the batter is mixed, beat it on high speed for five seconds and you will notice it immediately transforms into a smooth emulsion, ensuring that the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
AIR BUBBLES IN BATTER
Large air bubbles in a cake can be pretty unsightly in a beautiful slice of cake. You can avoid this by dropping the pan onto your countertop to burst any bubbles. Once you have filled your pan with batter and smoothed the top with a spatula drop it from about 3-4 inches above the countertop. The impact will force large air bubbles out and settle the batter in the pan, producing a more even shape. Only do this for cakes leavened with baking powder and baking soda. Egg foam cakes like the Genoise need the air bubbles to rise.
For best results when baking cakes, cake flour does produce a more fine, soft texture. Cake flour is a finely milled and typically bleached variety of flour.It also has a lower content of gluten-producing protein. The bleaching process in flour also raises the acidity of the batter, which allows the starch in the flour to absorb more moisture, further enhancing the cakes tenderness. If you can't find cake flour you can substitute 3/4 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for each cup of cake flour called for in a recipe.
TEMPERATURE: EGGS, MILK & BUTTER
For a smooth batter you want to make sure that the eggs, milk and butter are at room temperature when mixing them into a cake batter. Cold eggs and milk can harden butter when mixed in. This can result in a curdled appearance. You can heat up butter and milk in the microwave but this is not ideal as overheating can occur. The eggs you can put them in a bowl of warm tap water to bring them to room temperature. Once you put the eggs into warm water the cold eggs will bring the water temperature down so drain the first lot of water and then refill with more warm water from the tap. This should bring the eggs to room temperature after about 5 minutes. Ideally you want to let the butter, milk and eggs come to room temperature on there own but if you have not planned ahead use these techniques.
OVER BEATING BATTER
We have all learned that over beating a batter can cause the cake to become tough due to over working the gluten.. This is the case when you use all-purpose flour as it contains more gluten than cake flour. When using cake flour (very low gluten content) beating it for a short period of time actually helps smooth and aerate the batter. Once the batter is mixed, beat it on high speed for five seconds and you will notice it immediately transforms into a smooth emulsion, ensuring that the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
AIR BUBBLES IN BATTER
Large air bubbles in a cake can be pretty unsightly in a beautiful slice of cake. You can avoid this by dropping the pan onto your countertop to burst any bubbles. Once you have filled your pan with batter and smoothed the top with a spatula drop it from about 3-4 inches above the countertop. The impact will force large air bubbles out and settle the batter in the pan, producing a more even shape. Only do this for cakes leavened with baking powder and baking soda. Egg foam cakes like the Genoise need the air bubbles to rise.
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