Deep Fried Goodness and a Relaxing Weekend for the Chef

Hi guys!!!

Welcome back!!! 

It's finally Saturday, it's hot and it's sunny. Summer seems to have arrived in my beautiful country and though I despise the scorching heat, I do relish in the idea of enjoying a chilled piña colada  in the sun. Not that I have any immediate plans to visit the beach anytime soon, but I can dream, right? I am just very happy as I don't have any pressing matters to attend to this weekend and this is a first in a very long time.  I was asked this past week to collaborate for the May edition of the magazine I first appeared in, which will feature only cakes and I was asked to bake the cover page cake, do another step-by-step procedure and provide two cakes and their recipes. I do have one cake to practice: I'm attempting to make an Apple Stack Cake, so good luck to me. I will also be making a rainbow cake for Monday, so I'm pretty stooped about that. The Carrot Cake and the Blackberry Yogurt Cake will also be in the magazine (their pictures were already taken), and if you keep reading, you'll find the recipe for the latter. So there's much to look forward to.

I had some serious fun with this experiment

When we met last, I was simply happy that was a new week. I had had a couple of terrifying days in the kitchen, with orders to fill pouring out of my ears. I was exhausted and burnt out. But I orders steadied  down and I was able to breathe again. This past week has been somewhat weird. My body was threatening to come down with a cold, so there were days when even opening my eyes was a pain. But I overcame the symptoms (I hope so), because I feel much better. 

This week I was asked to try out something new by one of my customers. She asked if I could make her deep fried cookie dough balls. I wasn't really sure of what to expect out of this trial, and so I went ahead and did my research and found the perfect chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, alongside the batter to fry them in. Tuesday morning, I quickly fixed the batch up. I left the raw dough balls to rest in the fridge for over an hour. I mixed up the batter and heated up the oil to the suggested temperature with the help of a candy thermometer. Once heated properly, I began to fret. I really didn't want to burn my hands. I had everything ready: chilled dough balls handy, frying batter, paper towel covered dish and a slotted spoon (I might invest in a frying skimmer). 

Beautifully simmering in the scalding oil

And so I took one cookie dough ball, dipped it into the batter, allowed it to drip off the excess and dropped it carefully onto the hot oil. It was like magic. I half expected the oil to pop and explode the way it does when it comes in contact with water, but it just simmered quietly. It swam around in the oil for a few seconds when it reached the surface again and rapidly cooked the batter. I had already dropped three other balls into it. They took no more than 2 minutes each and the result was magnificent, golden brown little globes. 

I'm sure I'll be making some
 more this coming week.

I continued the process with the remaining dough and halfway through, I realized that the cookie dough needed to be cold for the process to work. Two dough balls were lost, as the batter didn't stick properly and cooked on its own, while the raw cookie dough melted away, leaving my oil dark and full of fried gunk. I fished it out and placed the dough in the freezer for a quicker chill, keeping on eye on the oil, as I didn't want it to overheat. By the end of it, I had fried 33 cookie dough balls and a bunch of Oreo's (a suggestion from one of my cousins) which were good, but seriously, one if enough. It was like a sugar overdose. Once cooled down, I sprinkled the fried dough with confectioner's sugar, packed them up and delivered them. By the end of the day, I had an order of 140 fried cookie dough balls for Friday. It's safe to say that they were good. 

Dough Balls ready to be deep fried.

Wednesday was yet another busy baking day for the café, and I was already feeling  down. My dance instructor had cracked my back that morning and said I was too tense and I need to take things slow, which is really hard to do, because everything stresses me out. By the end of the day, I felt like dying. My eyes hurt, my head hurt, my back hurt, I was having hot flashes and yet I didn't have a fever. I took a couple of cold tablets and headed to bed. I could barely wake up Thursday morning. My car was in the shop, on its routing check, so I hitched a ride with my parents, and although it was ready to be picked up that morning, I was in no condition to drive. My dad drove it home. I was barely keeping my eyes open, but I had a photo shoot in the morning for two of the cakes in the cafe, and I needed to be ready for the people. 2 hours later, I was saying goodbye, having successfully presented the desserts. I had lunch with my mom, picked up a few ingredients and was driven home. All I know is I passed out in the car and once home flopped into bed. I'm sure I only slept for 30 minutes, but they seemed to have upped my energy bar. I reluctantly got up and got ready to bake...again. I finished everything early, and left the 140 dough balls resting in the fridge overnight. I had a tea and was gone.

Can't wait to check on them tomorrow morning.

I woke up feeling much better and refreshed. I put the final touches on several things and once that got out of the way, I set up my kitchen for the frying process. An hour later, I was done and headed out. The cakes were set up in the café, where they were picked up and I was free. I had lunch at my mother's office again and after a couple of errands, I was back home, baking the only thing on my list. I was done before 5 p.m and enjoyed my evening by binge watching T.V, having dinner, tea and delighted myself with the thought that I had no reason to wake up early this Saturday morning. I did...my dogs can be very noisy in the morning. But, I enjoyed my morning coffee with reruns from FRIENDS and showered just before lunch. I have to say, I've had more productive days, but it's been the first Saturday this year with no stress and no schedule. I delivered the only cake due a couple of hours ago and it was ready since 10 a.m. I came back to fix up the dough for my stack cake, which needs refrigeration before baking and with that done, I began the long procedure of dehydrating apples, as the recipe I got requires dried fruit. But that takes time and little space (I'm using a dehydrator...an oven takes too long and my mom needs it at the moment) and with that covered, I am basically free. Tomorrow I simply have to make my rainbow cake (supposedly it's for the magazine cover...not sure I believe them) and switch the apple trays. And wait to see if the dessert fridge needs replenishing. All in all, not worried and very excited. 

With this, I take my leave. Enjoy the rest of Saturday and I wish you a happy Sunday!!! Keep reading, there are two recipes for you to enjoy!!!

Until next time.

xx

Blackberry Yogurt Cake

(suitable for Diabetics)

Adapted from BakeNoir

Light, delicate and basically sugar free

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 C. graham cracker crumbs

2 T. butter, melted

Filling:

400 g. natural yogurt (a little less than 2 cups)

2 T. Truvia*

grated zest of 1/2 a lemon

3 t. gelatin + 4 T. water

200 ml heavy whipping cream (a little less 1 cup)

200 g. blackberries, washed (about 1 cup)

Topping:

200 g. blackberries, washed (about 1 cup_

3-4 T. Truvia*

1-2 T. lemon juice

*you may use any sweetener you like. I like Truvia personally.

Procedure:

In a bowl, combine the melted butter and graham crackers until it is moist and sticks together. Press the mixture on the base of a 9" springform pan. Chill in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, the sweetener and the lemon zest. Measure the gelatin into a heat resisting bowl, add the water and place the bowl on a bain marie (water bath) and gently stir until the gelatin dissolves completely. Add this to the yogurt mixture and whisk to incorporate fully.

With the help of an electric mixer, whip the cream until you obtain a firm peak. Gently fold into the yogurt and gelatin mixture until no cream streaks remain. 

Remove the prepared base from the freezer and arrange the blackberries on the bottom as you wish. Gently pour or spoon the filling, covering the blackberries. Level the surface and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours before serving. Enjoy a slice with the blackberry topping.

For the topping:

In a small saucepan, combine the berries, the sweetener and the juice and cook on medium-low heat until the berries release their juice. Mash the fruit if you wish. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.

*If you want a thicker sauce, add a pinch of cornstarch dissolved in a teaspoon of water to the mixture and cook until thickened. 

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Deep Fried Cookie Dough Balls

Original Recipe by Sugar Hero

Yields: 35 (16-17 g.) cookies

Try it out. You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

1 stick butter, room temperature (1/2 C.)

1/3 C. granulated sugar

1/3 C. brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

1 1/4 C. flour

1/2 t. salt

1 C. chocolate chips

Frying Batter:

1 1/4 C. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1 C. + 2 T. milk

2 t. vegetable or canola oil

About 2 C. vegetable or canola oil for frying

Procedure:

Cookie Dough:
Combine the butter and both sugars in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat them together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on low speed until combined. Stop the mixer, add the flour and salt, and mix again on low speed until most of the flour streaks are gone.

Add the chocolate chips, and stir everything together with a spatula until it’s well-mixed. 

If possible, roll up dough into balls that weigh between 16-17 grams and place them on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. If you do this, the recipe should yield 35 cookies.

If you don't have a weighing scale, take a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon and form 1" cookie dough balls. This, however, will yield less cookies, approximately 20. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour. The dough can be made several days in advance and kept, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Batter:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the milk and 2 tsp of vegetable oil, and whisk until the batter is smooth and free of lumps

Frying:

Pour the frying oil into a medium saucepan so that it’s a couple of inches deep. Insert a candy thermometer  and heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 360 F (182 C). Once at 360 F, take a chilled ball of cookie dough and dip it in the batter, turning it over until it’s completely covered. Let excess batter drip back into the bowl, then gently drop it into the oil. Repeat with 2-3 more dough balls, so you’re frying 3-4 at a time.

Fry the balls for about 2 minutes, flipping as necessary so that they cook evenly. Fry the cookie dough balls until they’re puffed and a dark golden brown on all sides. Remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon or frying skimmer if you've got and place them on a paper towel-lined dish or baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough balls and batter. Watch the temperature of the oil and keep it between 360 F-370 F (182 – 188 C)—remove it from the heat if it gets too hot, or let it warm up in between batches if the temperature drops too much.

Allow to cool down slightly and sprinkle some powdered sugar and enjoy!!!