Croissants, how I love thee.

Have you ever squished a giant glob of cold butter through your hands? I can now say that I have. My new baking book has inspired me to make new and exciting things; things I never even thought of making before. Well, maybe I thought of making them, but the task seemed to great for me to comprehend. All that changed yesterday when I decided to make croissants. Delicious, flakey, buttery croissants. They were a lot easier than I thought, however very time consuming. About 24 hours to be exact, possibly more. I prepped the dough yesterday and kept it in the fridge for 12 hours (because I read the dough is better when it rests, though you can let it rest for 3 hours and still have great results). This morning, while enjoying my coffee, eggs with cheese, and toast with almond butter, I waited for the dough to proof (rise).

Then I popped them in the oven, and magically my apartment filled with the sweet aroma of baked goods. My apartment smelled like a bakery. In fact, my roommate said she could smell the croissants baking from outside of our apartment and down the hallway. If only this could be my lifestyle everyday. Baking all day long sounds like the perfect job...

if only I knew that before I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on a degree!

Croissant Recipe

makes 12 croissants

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup barely warm water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon sugar (my own addition)

1 3/4 cups cold butter

Combine 1 cup of flour with the water and yeast just long enough to break up the lumps of flour, and let rise for 1 hour.

Stir in the remaining flour, the cream, salt, sugar, and knead for 1 minute. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Knead the mixture by hand for about 10 minutes or with a stand mixture with a dough hook for 20 minutes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Work the butter with the heel of your hand or the paddle attachment until there are no lumps. Shape and roll the butter into a 8 x 8 inch square, using plastic wrap. Roll the dough into a 9 x 17 inch rectangle and place the square of butter on one end. (see picture)

Fold over the dough so the butter is encased in a square. Press together the edges of the square to seal in the butter. Press gently on the square with one hand while firming up the other sides to even out the square. Gently hammer the square of dough with a rolling pin to stretch the dough and the butter in it.

Now roll the dough into a 9 by 18 inch rectangle. Fold the rectangle into thirds as though it were a letter. Starting with a narrow end, fold the bottom thrid up and fold the opposite end down. If the dough is difficult to roll, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

When the dough is ready to work, turn it so that the large single fold, like the spine of a book, is on your left, roll it out into another rectangle again, and fold it in the same way. Your dough has now had two "turns", and it needs four in total.

Cover the dough and refrigerate for AT LEAST 1 hour. Continue in this way until you have given the dough 4 turns total.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour again (I did 12 hours). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into two 6 1/2 by 20 inch rectangles from 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick. Trim any uneven edges and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

For each rectangle, cut the dough in triangles, like pictured below (I forgot to take pictures of my own!). Then make a small 1 1/2 inch long slit in the middle of the triangles.

As you begin to roll up the croissants, curl the two sides of the triangle on each side of the cut, away from each other. Continue rolling with both hands, each one on half of the triangle. Point your hands away from each other as you roll.

Arrange the croissants on the sheet pans and cover them with plastic wrap to proof (again, I know!) for 3 hours in a cool place, or 1 hour in a warm place. They should double in size.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, brush the proofed croissants with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon of salt), and bake for about 35 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.

I took the liberty of making some chocolate croissants and a cinnamon sugar "croissant" with the leftover dough. Hopefully they will be good! I'm making my boyfriend taste them tonight.

Fondant!

Friday was my friend Aj's birthday and for his special day I decided to take on the task of making home made fondant for his birthday cake. I have always wanted to make and work with fondant, especially after watching Ace of Cakes, because they make it look so easy. It wasn't quite easy, however. After going through almost two bags of powdered sugar, I got the fondant to the consistency I wanted (i.e. not sticking to our kitchen table every time I tried to roll it). I decided to go with a Pokemon themed cake, because well, Aj's obsessed with Pokemon. After about 5 hours the cake was done, and I felt quite accomplished, though I think it could have been a bit better; I think I'll try a different cake shape next time.

For the cake, I used this All-American Chocolate Buttercream cake recipe, but I used 3 cake pans for 3 layers. I also made chocolate buttercream frosting in between the layers and around the cake before applying the fondant.

I also made the characters on top of the cake out of fondant, however I wouldn't recommend it because it was too soft. I would recommend using gum paste if you're wanting to decorate it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AJ!!!!!!

Ingredients required to make the fondant recipe:

• 1 Tbsp of unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup of cold water
• 1 tsp of almond extract (I used clear vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup of light corn syrup (If a corn syrup is not available, you can substitute it with a sugar syrup made with 1-1/4 cups sugar and 1/3 cup water, boiled together until syrupy)
• 1 Tbsp of glycerin (some recipes say it’s optional, believe me, it’s a must)
• 2 lbs 10X confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 tsp of white vegetable shortening

Directions how to make the fondant recipe:

• Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let it rest for 2 minutes to soften
• Place the bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds on High, until the gelatin dissolves
• Add the Almond extract
• Add the corn syrup and the glycerin and stir until the mixture is smooth and clear (if the mixture is not turning smooth and clear, microwave it for an additional 15 to 20 seconds on high and stir again)
• Sift 1 1/2 pounds of the sugar into a large bowl
• Make a hole in the sugar and pour the liquid mixture to it
• Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes sticky
• Sift some of the remaining 1/2 pound of sugar onto a smooth work surface and add as much of the remaining sugar as the mixture will take
• Knead the fondant, adding a little more sugar if necessary, to form a smooth, pliable mass
• Rub the vegetable shortening on your thumbs and knead it into the fondant
• Roll the fondant flat, until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick, and drape on cake

To color the fondant you need to buy dye gels, not the liquid food dye, add it to the fondant with a toothpick, and slowly knead the fondant, adding more color if necessary.