Zuccotto

Merry Christmas, friends! I hope your holidays have been filled with love and family and relaxation and delicious foods. I've basically been on a rotation of sleeping, reading, playing this game, and eating. We did our Italian, scaled down version of Feast of the Seven Fishes last night, and it was quite tasty. Lobster and clams are kind of a rarity in the midwest.

A while back OXO sent me some strange tiny measuring beakers for small amounts of liquids. I've been deliberating about how to use them for a while, and then remembered thatI've been wanting to make this super cute dessert called Zuccotto for a while. Zuccotto means little pumpkin in Italian, which is adorable, and it's traditionally a chilled, hemispherical dealie made with cake, ice cream, and brandy. The version I found used pound cake, chocolate, amaretto, and almond whipped cream, which is a is a little more my speed. The amaretto and almond extract were perfect in my measuring beakers, and made me feel like I was doing science things instead of just baking.

It turned out beautiful, like a little, perfect cake igloo! D'aw. It was a little too boozy for my tastes, but delicious nonetheless. 

But I've gotta go. It's time to eat more food! And then maybe take a nap. 

Zuccotto
From Baked Bree

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) pound cake (you can make one or buy one, no judging)
1/4 cup amaretto
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds (toasted)
cocoa powder for dusting

Coat a large bowl (1 1/2 quarts) with cooking spray. Cover the cooking spray with plastic wrap and let the wrap hang over the edges. Slice the pound cake into thin slices, and cover the bowl with the pound cake. Save some slices for the top. Brush the cake with amaretto.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Let cool.
Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar until thickened. Fold half of the cream into the chocolate mixture.
Spread the chocolate mixture on top of the pound cake.
Add the sliced almonds and almond extract to the remaining whipped cream. Fold gently until combined.
Add the almond whipped cream on top of the chocolate mixture.
Cover the top of the zuccotto with the remaining pound cake slices.
Chill for 3 hours, or overnight. Unmold onto a cake plate or platter.
Dust with cocoa powder and slice.

Cream Puffs

January is a strange time for me. Not because of New Year's Resolutions or anything, I don't do those. September is more of a new beginning for me than January anyway. It's mostly because I'm back at school already. High school friends are still relaxing on break at home and here on campus about 1/3 of the students are off campus doing month long study abroad trips or internships. I'm here, taking an Asian film studies class and enjoying the solitude. 

Those are my feet. Cool, huh?

Even the landscape here is silent, as if acknowledging the decreased activity on campus. Already, New Year's Eve seems a million miles away, the warmth of the kitchen just a memory. I made these cream puffs a mere three days ago, but it seems like so much longer. Funny how traveling to a new location changes one's perception of time so much. 

These cream puffs are exceptionally easy to make. The filling, in my opinion, is much nicer than Vanilla Pastry Cream (which still has its place!). It's a combination of vanilla pudding, homemade whipped cream, and almond extract. Genius. I'm expecting this January term will be a time of reflection and quiet, and lots of baking. Hopefully I can find enough people in this ghost town to taste test...

Cream Puffs

from Good Housekeeping

for Pate a Choux (aka, the puffs)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Spray 1 or 2 large cookie sheets with nonstick spray. Heat oven to 375.

In 2 qt saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, water and salt till butter mixture boils.

Remove from heat.

Add flour all at once. With a wooden spoon, vigorously stir until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. One at a time, add eggs to the flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Drop dough in heaping tablespoons (I used my cookie scoop) onto trays and bake puffs for 25ish minutes, or until golden. Let them cool completely before slicing each in half with a serrated knife. 

Almond Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cups milk

1 package instant vanilla pudding (one of the smaller, 4 serving size ones)

1/2 tsp almond extract. 

In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. In a larger bowl, prepare vanilla pudding according to package instructions, only using 1 1/4 cups of milk. Gently fold whipped cream and almond extract into the pudding until combined. Chill until ready to use. Spoon about a tablespoon into each puff and cover each with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate if not serving right away. 

Chocolate Glaze 

In a small saucepan over medium/low heat, combine 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons of corn syrup and 1 1/2 teaspoons of milk and stir until melted and smooth.