Gratifying Concoction

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”.

Earlier this year I tried my hand at a version of Baked Alaska, so this time I opted to just complete the Petit Fours part of the challenge. I made a browned butter pound cake, sandwiched between a rich yogurt lemon ice cream and coated with a dark chocolate glaze.

I also attempted Petit Fours for my nephew's baptism earlier this year. I thought it would be such a fun idea to make small square Petit Fours, cover them in green frosting and pipe CTR on the top with white frosting. The sponge cakes varied from this cake, and I filled them with Blackberry Pear jam, but whichever, or whoever came up with the Petit Four glaze I used for the frosting should never pick up a spatula, rubbing scraper, or bowl again. The frosting was disgusting, and the proportions all wrong. It ruined my brilliant idea. I'm still mad about it, partly because the lesson learned to not wait until the last minute is one I still haven't grasped, and party because although the recipe seemed a little off to me I went with it anyway.

Ice Cream Petit Fours (click for Elissa's recipe and instructions)

Browned butter is a simple yet exhilarating baking discovery. As the butter simmers in the pan, it fills your kitchen with its scent metamorphosing into a deeply rich and gratifying concoction of butter brought to the brink of ruin, and finished with a sweet, thick, resonating flavor. Elissa describes brown butter has having a lovely nutty smell, and while true, to me, it smells like the beginnings of toffee. It is a smell I remember from my Grandmother's house-exquisite and comforting.

*Although the cake in this recipe is a pound cake, I found the batter much to thick for my liking and added 1 cup of butter milk to the recipe alternating with the flour. I also substituted my own lemon ice cream recipe found below.

Lemon Yogurt Ice Cream
2 cups milk
Pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
Zest and juice from 3 lemons
Whisk together and place into stovetop pan
Turn heat to high to scald milk and bring it to the boiling point, stiring constantly
Remove from heat, and add 2 cups heavy whipping cream
When mixture has cooled slightly add 1 cup plain yogurt
Chill overnight
Churn according to Ice Cream Maker Instructions