As you know, I was out of the country for the whole month of October, before this month’s recipe was even posted. So although it is almost a week late, here is my pizza.

This month’s host is Rosa of Rosa’s Yummy Yums.  Check out her post and all the others by visiting The Daring Bakers website.  Besides the set dough, we could top the pizza any way we like.  At least one sauce and one topping, so the options are practically limitless.  I chose a very simple Chicken Buttermilk pizza.  I chose extra-virgin olive oil as my sauce, then added 2 grated garlic cloves, about a teaspoon of kosher salt and pepper, a sliced potato, about a quarter of a chicken breast (that I had already cooked and shredded), then topped with grate buttermilk cheese.  If you have never had buttermilk cheese, I highly recommend it.  I get mine from a local farm, Sweetwater Valley Farms.

I really enjoyed making this dough, as it was my first time tossing pizza.  I have made my own dough and never even thought of tossing the dough.  I probably won’t do it again, due to my lack of coordination, but it was fun to do it once. Enjoy!

(dough recipe after the jump)

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This month’s Daring Bakers Challenge is an absolutely delicious pastry treat: Chocolate Eclairs!  Making these eclairs seemed like a breeze compared to last month’s cake.  Although, I did have some problems with the finished product falling, which seems to have become a consistent theme in my baking as of late.  I must learn why this keeps happening.  Interested in seeing how others faired? Check out The Daring Bakers website.

On a side note, I am away for the Labor Day weekend to Marble Hill, MO (population 1,502).  It is the Husbands 10th high school reunion.  Tons of fun, even if I have never met most of the people before and will probably not see them again for another 10 years.  But in my hasty packing job (didn’t I just unpack?)  I left the disk with the eclair pictures back at the house.  This post will be updated shortly after my return.  Until then, I leave you with the recipe for the chocolate covered clouds of goodness. [Ed's note: Pictures are up now!]

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs

(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

The Cream Puff Dough

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

The Steps:

1. In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
   boil.
2. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
   and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
   quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
   need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
   will be very soft and smooth.
3. Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
   handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
   beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
   You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
   not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
   have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
   should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
4. The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
   positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
   waxed or parchment paper.
6. Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
7. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
   Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
   The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
8. Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
   handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
   oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
   baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
   time should be approximately 20 minutes.
9. The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
The Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The Steps:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.  In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
2. Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
3. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled.  Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
4. Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it  remains smooth.
5. Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Chocolate Glaze
The Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

The Steps:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
2. Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Sauce
The Ingredients:

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

The Steps:

1. Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly.  Then reduce the heat  to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
2. It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1. Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
   bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
2. The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
   degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
   the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
   bottoms with the pastry cream.
3. Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
   with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
   and wriggle gently to settle them.

My very first foray into Daring Bakers - and while studying for the Bar too.  I have pretty much given up all of my joys because of the massive amounts of studying I have been doing.  But there is something about baking that relaxes me and focuses me.  This should have actually been conducive to my Bar studying.  If I hadn’t screwed it all up!

Have you heard of the Daring Bakers?  A long, long time ago, a group of adventurous food bloggers got together and decided to challenge themselves in the kitchen.  The Daring Bakers were formed and every month they (now we) try a new, challenging, hand-picked recipe.  Interested in joining? Learn more at The Daring Bakers website.

This month it is Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream.  We are allowed to make substitutions and slight variations, depending on the recipe.  I stayed pretty close to the recipe, only omitting the alcohol-based ingredients and changing the frosting from a Swiss buttercream to a cream cheese and butter frosting.

My biggest problem occurred when slicing the single cake into three layers.  The center layer ended up being too thin, split in half, and started sliding out the sides.  That left portions of the cake without the middle layer.  Also, the buttercream was originally too runny for the filling in between the layers.  The firmness was corrected for the decorative frosting.  All in all, I have enjoyed my first leap in to The Daring Bakers and look forward to participating again.

The recipe is very, very long, so I have put it after the jump!

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Mmm… I love spinach.  One of my favorite dishes in the world is Spinach Artichoke Dip.  This is no dip, this is a soup.  That makes it healthier, right?  However, it is not far off from a spinach dip, as it incorporates some of the best parts: spinach and cheese.  This was a perfect lunch soup with a nice salad served along side of it.  The Husband is not crazy about spinach, so was similarly not crazy about this soup.  I would make this soup again, especially if I were going to a spinach-lovers convention.

I leave on my cross-country journey tomorrow so the next recipe you will get from me is after I have settled into my kitchen in East TN.  Wish me luck!

Cheesy Spinach Soup

Ingredients

• 2 10-oz packages of frozen spinach
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 Tbs flour
• 1 aseptic box of vegetable broth
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 cup light cream
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling

The Steps

1. Cook the spinach according to the directions on the package.  Drain the spinach well and then transfer the spinach into a food processor.  Process until the spinach is pureed.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then saute the onions and garlic until the onions are tender, but not browned.  Stir in the flour.  Add the vegetable broth and spinach.  Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil.
3. Stir in the milk,  light cream, nutmeg and salt.  Stir in the cheeses and continue to cook until the cheese melts and the soup is heated through.  Do not bring to a boil.  Serve the soup and garnish with the remaining grated parmesan.

You might start to think that I love me some banana bread.  After all this is the second time I have posted a banana bread recipe.  The truth is that I love bananas and usually end up buying way too many of them so into the freezer they go.  More often than they turn into banana milk (1 frozen banana plus 1 cup almond milk is all it takes).  However, a call has been sent out to bloggers everywhere. There is a Banana Bread Bake-off going on at Not Quite Nigella.  I just had to answer the call.

I wanted to try something a little different but was not sure where I wanted to go with this banana bread.  After reading about a recent banana bread experience over at Bakers’ Banter, I thought I would take a look at the King Arthur Flour banana bread recipe.  Using that for inspiration, I decided to wing it from there with my secondary inspiration being my fridge and pantry.  In 13 days I am moving to East Tennessee so packing, cleaning and trashing are in my very near future.  Time to clear out the pantry!  This recipes should actually list the ingredients as “whatever is left in the honey jar”  but I have included estimates for your convenience.  I highly recommend putting your own twist on it and tossing in what ever is hanging around in your pantry.

Clean Out Your Pantry Banana Bread

The Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsalted butter, at cool  room temperature
• 2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 medium mashed ripe bananas (about 14 - 15 oz.)
• 2 tablespoons  apricot preserves
• 1 Tbs honey
• 3 Tbs Maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups Flour, all-purpose
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup sugar

The Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Mix the peanut butter and granulated sugar together and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt,  and mix till smooth.
3. Add the mashed bananas, jam, honey, maple syrup and eggs, and mix until smooth.
4. Add the flour and mix stirring just until smooth.
5. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips until evenly combined.  Very gently stir in 1 Tbs of the peanut butter and sugar mixture until it is distributed in the dough until they are only small pieces, about half the size of a pea.
6. Spoon the 2/3 of the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth it level.  Take the remaining peanut butter mixture about a 1/2 teaspoon at a time and squish it flat in between your fingers.  Lay the flat pieces on top of the mixture, side-by-side, creating a long strip of peanut butter in the middle of the loaf.  Top with the remaining 1/3 of the batter and smooth the top.
7. Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning.
8. Bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean, with at most a few wet crumbs clinging to it.
9. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove it from the pan, and cool it completely on a rack.

Inspired by King Arthur Flour Banana Bread.

More recipes available in my recipe archive.