Orange cream bars - a layered treat with some layered music on the side

I love layers. Layered cakes, layered performances, layered music... That is one of the reasons why I love most of Silverchair’s songs so much, especially the ones in "Diorama": they have so many different layers, so many different details that one can really feel that there was real effort put into those melodies – as their audience, I feel spoiled and lucky being treated that way. One of my favorite songs is “Across the Night” – how can one not love a song that starts with the sound of a harpsichord, followed by a big band feel? And then, in the end, there is a complete change in music, it’s like getting two different songs in one (which reminds me of the amazing “Layla”) – sublime doesn’t being to describe it.

With those talented boys and their layered music in mind, I bring you some delicious layered bars, which might seem like a lot of work but it’s not: it’s just a bit time consuming (I’ll admit that), since you need to make the layers separately and they need to cool/firm up in between; I used that time for a little TV treat since I hadn’t started reading this book by then.

Orange cream bars
from the always delicious The Good Cookie

Crust:
1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (94g) confectioners' sugar, sifted if too lumpy
pinch of salt
10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, cut into 1cm (½in) cubes

Orange curd filling:
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
pinch of salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Topping:
¾ cup (180ml) sour cream*
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 23cm (9in) square baking pan with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil.
Crust: place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until blended. Scatter the pieces of butter over the mixture and pulse 6-8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Process until the mixture forms large clumps and holds together when pinched between two fingers, 15-20 seconds (I had to add 1 teaspoon ice water to the pastry to get the right consistency).
Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and pat into an even layer. Using a fork, prick the dough all over. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Curd: set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the citrus juices, orange zest, salt, and butter and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 7-8 minutes (do not let the mixture boil, or it will curdle). Immediately strain the mixture through the sieve, pressing it through with a rubber spatula.
Transfer ¼ cup of the curd to a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate. Scrape the remaining warm curd onto the cooled crust and spread it into an even layer. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or until the curd is cool and firm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Whisk the sour cream, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla into the reserved orange curd. Gently spread the mixture over the cooled orange curd layer.
Bake the bars 10 minutes, just until the topping is set**. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely, then chill in refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or up to a day).
Using a thin sharp knife, cut the bars into 16 squares, wiping the blade clean after each cut (I wiped the blade clean 3 times, tops). Serve chilled.
The bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

** my bars were in the oven for 25 minutes (!!) and the topping did not firm up – I removed if from the oven and it ended up firming in the refrigerator, but not enough to hold its shape once the bars got sliced

Makes 16 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) square pan

Rangpur lime and almond muffins and a grumpy baker

I must be honest: these muffins did not get the best of me while I was making them – little old grumpy me kept thinking “muffins are supposed to be practical and quick to make!”, and “with these many steps I could be making a cake!”. Yes, I know, not very civilized of me, but it IS a fussy recipe and there ARE too many steps and too many ingredients. But in the end the result was so good I had to let it all go and share the recipe with you, especially because less than 30 minutes after the muffins had been placed in the oven I was biting into one of them already, which is something I would not be able to do with a cake. :D

The original recipe called for lemons, but I decided to use the super fragrant rangpur limes I had around instead.

Rangpur lime and almond muffins
slightly adapted from one of my latest purchases

Topping:
½ cup (55g) sliced almonds
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Muffins:
1 ¼ cups + 1 tablespoon (185g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (46g) confectioners’ sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 ½ tablespoons whole milk
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
finely grated zest of 1 rangpur lime
1 tablespoon rangpur lime juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (36g) sliced almonds, toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter a muffin pan with twelve 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin cups – you’ll use 10 of the 12 holes.
Make the topping: in a small bowl, mix together the almonds, sugar, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, rangpur lime juice and zest and vanilla.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and almonds on medium speed for 1 minute. On low speed, slowly drizzle the liquid ingredients into the bowl – the mixture will look lumpy. By hand, quickly fold in the flour in 3 additions but do not overmix.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, filling each cavity 2/3 of its capacity. Place spoonfuls of the topping on the top of each muffin. Before baking, fill the empty cavities halfway up with water.
Bake until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.
Let cool in the pan over a wire rack for about 7 minutes then carefully unmold and place on the rack to cool.

Makes 10

Cream cheese apple cake - the most tender cake I've ever seen + another great movie

My good movie wave continues and apparently it is in full bloom: I watched the fantastic "Animal Kingdom" a few days ago and I’m still stunned by it.
I first read about “Animal Kingdom” at my source for all things cinema, and could not wait to watch it - as it usually happens to many great films, it took the movie forever to arrive here and it went straight to DVD. But it was worth the wait: a great script, beautifully directed and with equally wonderful performances. Guy Pierce, one of my favorite actors, was the only name I recognized from the cast, and I remembered Jackie Weaver from the Oscars, but that was it: the director was completely new to me, and he’s also responsible for the script.

* spoilers *

I might not be familiar with the cast, but everyone impressed me in a great way: James Frecheville could not ask for a more powerful debut – he perfectly nails J., dealing well with the way his character starts the movie and the curve ahead of him (not to mention the poetic ending); he’s sublime in the scene in the bathroom at his girlfriend’s house. Ben Mendelsohn’s character, who at first to me looked like a crying baby desperate for attention, asking everyone to talk to him, slowly shows why he’s the leader of the pack – he’s pure evil and also seems to be the only one not gravitating around the mother, who is brilliantly portrayed by Weaver; minutes into the film I kept waiting for the Best Supporting Actress Nominee performance to show – see, I love Judi Dench but I don’t buy that 8-minute-performance-Oscar-thing, so I wanted more from Weaver and when I started doubting her she smashingly brought it: her character looks both angelical and devilish, motherly and incestuous at the same time – just divine. Later on I learned that David Michôd had written the part especially for her – wise man. And that same wise man directs this great movie beautifully, putting his own ideas and words into action, moving the camera around at different speeds and getting the most amazing effects with slow motion (something Zack Snyder completely ruined in “Sucker Punch”, it drove me crazy and made me hate the movie), combined with a subtle yet efficient music that reminded me of the music in “The Insider”.
“Animal Kingdom” is an excellent movie, one I would love to have at home to watch it over and over again.

* end of spoilers *

The idea of mixing butter and cream cheese in a cake batter not only seems genius – it IS. This is the most tender cake I have ever seen, made or eaten and I believe that the recipe can be made in several ways: forgoing the apples for berries or chocolate chips or simply omitting them and turning the cake into a citrus treat by replacing the cinnamon with zest; just a couple of ideas I think you would like. :)

Cream cheese apple cake
adapted from the delicious and great The Grand Central Baking Book

2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g (9oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons (375g) granulated sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500g Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced into 1cm (½in) chunks
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very light in color – almost white – and the texture is fluffy, about 8 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice during the process to ensure that the butter is evenly incorporated. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients; stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated. Fold the apples in by hand using a stiff spatula, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes over a wire rack, then carefully unmold onto the rack.
Cool completely, then dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Serves 10-12

Lemon brioche rose cake

One of my ideas for the weekend was to bake bread, and I after the huge hit I’d had with his passion fruit cake I wanted to make Dan Lepard’s sticky toffee apple buns; unfortunately, all the apples in my fridge disappeared quite mysteriously, and I had no fruit left to bake with, except for a bag of lemons.

You know what they sat, when life gives you lemons make delicious and super tender brioche with them. :D

Lemon brioche rose cake
from the beautiful Dolci: Italy's Sweets

Dough:
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
2 ¼ teaspoons (7g) dry yeast
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:
½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For brushing and sprinkling:
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with a fork
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Make the dough: warm ¼ cup (60ml) of the milk and transfer to a large bowl. Add the yeast and mix with a fork. Set aside until it bubbles. Stir in 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (55g) of the flour, stirring until a dough forms, and adding a few drops of milk if the mixture is too dry. Knead the dough inside the bowl until smooth, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
To the dough, add the remaining flour, the remaining ½ cup (120ml) of milk, the egg yolks, the sugar, the oil and salt. Stir until a dough forms, then knead until smooth (I used the Kitchen Aid for that). Set the dough aside while you make the filling. Lightly butter and flour a 23cm (9in) round cake pan.
Make the filling: in an electric mixer, beat together the butter, the granulated sugar, the lemon zest and the cinnamon until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 30x45cm (12x18in) rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough all the way to the edges, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) strip uncovered at the long end. Gently roll the dough, starting at the long end of the rectangle closest to you, forming a cylinder. Using a sharp knife, cut into 8 thick slices. Place them cut side down in the prepared pan, about 1cm (½in) in apart. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for about 1 hour or until risen.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Brush the cake with the egg white and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Makes 8

Orange-blossom madeleines and the end of another trilogy

After two months of ups and downs, I have finally finished reading "Mockingjay", and I want to thank the readers Gertrude and Debora for their comments, for they were the reason I did not give up on the book; after what seemed to be ages – but was actually a handful of pages – the story got super interesting again, like it was in the two previous books: I could not put the book down and seriously considered taking it to the shower with me. :D
A quick visit to one of my favorite websites shows that the list of great actors for “Catching Fire” grows almost on a daily basis, and now that Peter Jackson has made me lose all the interest in “The Hobbit” I can go on and focus my attention – and anxiety – on another movie. :D

I love making madeleines and hadn’t made any in quite a while – I guess they were sort of forgotten, just as the poor “Mockinjay”. The orange blossom water adds a subtle and delicious touch, but if you haven’t gotten any – of don’t like it at all – omit it and use the zest of the whole orange to make orange madeleines.

Orange-blossom madeleines
slightly adapted from the always stunning Australian Gourmet Traveller

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter + a bit extra, melted, for brushing
1 tablespoon honey
finely grated zest of ½ orange
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (124g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange-blossom water, or to taste

Cook butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until light golden. Remove from heat, stir in honey, orange zest, orange-blossom water and vanilla and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, whisk flour, sugar, salt and eggs in a bowl until smooth and creamy, then set aside to rest (10 minutes). Gradually add cooled butter mixture, beat until smooth and just combined, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest (overnight).
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Lightly brush 24 madeleine molds (1 tablespoon capacity each) with the extra melted butter, then refrigerate for 10 minutes. Spoon in heaped tablespoons of the madeleine batter into the molds. Bake until golden around the edges and humped in the middle (10-12 minutes), then unmold onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes 24