Throwback to an old European Classic: Dobos Torte

I've made many classic cakes in culinary school, most of which I never thought I would make again. Not because they aren't good but because they are just too complicated and take too many steps and ingredients.

The Dobos Torte is a cake named after the pastry chef who created it, Josef Dobos. Its a cake consisting multiple thin layers of cake with chocolate buttercream and a caramel topping. This is the cake that I made in school. It looks super cheesy like something you would get at some local Italian bakery. I was in school and I did as I was instructed to get good grades of course.

Once again on assignment, for the August 2009 Daring Baker's challenge I made the Dobos with a Black Currant Jam in between the layers as well as the Chocolate Buttercream.

Cake Layers:

6 egg yolks

2/3cup 10x sugar

1tsp vanilla

6 egg whites

2/3cup 10x sugar

1cup AP flour

Whisk egg yolks, sugar and vanilla till ribbon stage.

In another bowl whisk egg whites till soft peaks then add sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.

Fold 1/3 of whites into the yolks then sift 1/2 AP over the mixture and fold till almost incorporated. Alternate between whites and AP till just incorporated. Should be very aerated and fluffy still.

Pipe thin layers onto parchment and bake at 400F.

Chocolate Buttercream

4 eggs

1cup sugar

2oz unsweetened chocolate (100%)

2oz semi-sweet (65-72%)

2 sticks butter

Whisk eggs with Kitchen Aid until ribbon

Cook sugar in a little water until just before soft ball (220F)

While whisking pour in sugar and whisk on high until almost cool.

Add cubes of butter until incorporated

Melt chocolate in microwave and whisk into buttercream

Thin out some blackcurrant jam and soak layers of cake.

To make a dry caramel and pour over a layer of cake and spread evenly before it sets. To cut into wedges heat an old knife over the flame of your stove and cut through the caramel.

Although its not my favorite cake to make, the addition of the blackcurrant jam really balances out a boring old classic. But I still wouldn't suggest you go through all the trouble. It took too much effort to clean up. Leave it to the professionals who have dish washer guys to clean up the mess.

Rice Omelette?

In honor of the NYC Japan Fair going on today I decided to make my own quintessential Japanese home cooking/ street dish... Omurice. Its essentially a omelette with fried rice in the middle. The egg is usually thin and envelopes ketchup fried rice. Although usually served with a scoop of potato egg salad I didn't think I needed more starch this morning. I added the Kimchee I had in my fridge to the rice to give it a little kick.

Not gourmet, not healthy, but oh so very comforting.

Magenta!

Red Beet Gazpacho, Cucumber Noodles

A chilled soup is a perfect starter to a meal on a hot summer day. Instead of a traditional gazpacho made with tomatoes or a white gazpacho made with cucumbers, the red beets were cooked and pureed with some cucumber, garlic, onion, lime juice and cayenne pepper. The color is what really draws me in, like a deep pool of blood.

Thowback to a Classic: French Apple Tart

Sometimes people don't want/ know enough to want something creative so you just give them a classic.

Tart Dough

1.5cups AP flour

2Tbls sugar

pinch salt

1 stick butter chilled, cubed

2Tbls ice water

Pulse flour sugar salt in food processor. Add cubed butter and pulse until looks like course meal. Add water and pulse until dough starts to come together. Wrap and refrigerate.

Once dough is chilled roll out and line tart dish. Dock dough and partially bake with weights at 350F.

Filling:

2 eggs

0.5cups sugar

0.5 cups almond flour

1 stick butter soft

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and almond flour. Spread on cooled tart shell

5 apples diced and cooked in caramel

3 apples sliced thin

Spread cooked diced apples over the filling. Shingle thinly sliced apples on top. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350F until golden brown.

Simplicity. Breakfast is Served

Sweet Corn Mushroom Fricassee, Crispy Fried Egg, Garden Herbs

"Don't boil me alive!" cried the lobsters

Lobsters are cheap now. The shells are soft and they are getting ready to molt. I personally prefer cold water winter lobsters which have sweeter meat. But hey I'm Chinese and when lobsters are cheap we eat them. My brother got ours at a restaurant supply place for $3.99/lb. They are super small though, most barely broke a pound. The smaller/ younger they are the more often they molt from May through November.

The first two I put into boiling water to kill them and removed the cooked meat. It was sad watching them twitch as they were cooked alive. I wonder if they have a inaudible scream.

I removed the tail and claw meat. The shells and heads minus the guts went into a pot of water for stock.

The tail and claw meat were used for Lobster Rolls, with Fuji Apples and Tarragon.

We then each ate a steamed lobster with BUTTER!

All the shells then went into the stock for the Lobster Bisque, which I made a few days later. We got one more lobster just for the bisque, which was a super concentrated creamy lobster soup.

I love lobster but after all this I think I've had enough for a while.

Total Lobster Overkill.

I <3 Papaya Milkshakes

This brings me back to summers in Taiwan with my grandparents. To make mine healthier I used a little skim milk and fat free yogurt, with splenda to sweeten it up. The good old days of regular milk and sugar are long gone....

Tapas Party!

My friends went to Spain without me and came back raving about the food so we threw a party and made our own versions. It took me forever to decide what to make. I found inspiration from several books but in the end it just came down to what ingredients I found at the market.

My version of Albondigas made with a mixture of lamb, beef and pork.

Spiced Meatballs, Spanish Smoked Paprika Aioli

Whenever I think of Spanish food I think of Chorizo so I incorporated them into two of the night's tapas.

Chorizo and Chickpeas, Smoked Paprika, Roasted Red Peppers

Chorizo and Herb Stuffed Mushrooms (Champinones Rellenos)

Baby octopus is also a very popular ingredient which needs to be cooked till tender then dressed up. I boiled the shit out of the fresh octopus in a pot of water with an onion, garlic, parsley, lemon and peppercorns. Once it was tender I pulled it out of the pot and cleaned off all the skin before dressing it in a savory vinagarette with anchovies and lots of herbs.

Pulpo en Vinaigrette

I know you're probably thinking where is the salt cod? Well the Bacalao would have been great but I didn't have time to soak and rinse it a thousand times... because I waited till the last minute to decide what to make ( typical). If I had soaked the cod I would have made salt cod fritters. Who doesn't love fried artery clogging balls of salty goodness?

Defonte's makes it good but I make it better

As I was lost in Brooklyn again. This time I was in Red Hook when I stumbled upon the original Defonte's. Famous for their Roast beef, Eggplant and Mozzarella Sandwich, so of course that's what I ordered. The sandwich was huge! Filled with really fresh tender thin sliced roast beef, slices of fried eggplant and fresh mozzarella. One of the sides of the crusty Italian bread was dipped in beef jus goodness. The beef was the best part. The eggplant was its usual greasy and soggy. The jus was good, just enough to moisten the bread without making it totally soggy like they like to do in other states.

(sorry photos taken with shitty blackberry camera above)

I could only eat half the sandwich and saved the other half for the next day. To freshen it up I toasted it in the oven till the bread was crisped up and the cheese was melted. To make it BETTER I put homemade Basil Pesto on side with the eggplant and Horseradish Hummus with a dash of Tabasco for heat on the meat side. If I had some banana peppers it would have been perfect.

Defonte's meat is worth stumbling upon or even making the trip out. They have a location in Manhattan now that I hear serves the same great quality meats. Maybe you can ask them to dress it up for you. If not just bring your own container of pesto.

Surf And Turf Night

Prepared way too much food for the bbq parties this weekend. Never got around to grilling the hanger steaks I marinated with garlic and herbs. I also had some grilled shrimp and Israeli cous cous salad left.

Pan seared hanger steaks to perfect rare.

Carmelized onion and corn fricasee, Chimichuri sauce.

Gotta start it out with some charcuterie.

A full spread to start the party right.

Cheese Plate: Basil and Olive oil marinated Mozzarella, Double Cream Brie, Sharp Vermont Cheddar, Pate de Campagna, Grapes

Anti Pasti: Marinated Olives, Artichokes, Mushrooms, Salami, Capicola, Sopressata

Chips: Fresh Mango Salsa

Cucumber Salad

Shrimp Israeli couscous salad with peas and herbs

But the MOST important part of any BBQ is the meat... yumm...

My favorite is the Rib Eye steak. Simply grilled with lots and lots of salt and pepper to rare/ Med rare. Crusty fatty goodness!

Of course there was tons of other food, BBQ chicken wings, Jerk Chicken wings (super spicy homemade blend of spices by a friend), the usual burgers and hot dogs, Korean short ribs, and of course beer lots and lots of beer but all were overshadowed by the perfect steak.