filbertgateauwithpralinebuttercream!!!

Yes, it's a lot to say, and a lot to do... This month's Daring Baker's Challenge was, well, what I said up there... I don't want to say it again... whew!!! I know we are a day late in posting this, but this month was very busy for us... Onward...

This is a triple layer genoise, imbibed with a Grand Marnier infused syrup, filled with a dual layer of praline buttercream and whipped cream, then glazed with semi-sweet chocolate and decorated with more of the praline buttercream...





First of all, let's talk about filberts (or hazelnuts)... My experience is that they are difficult to skin... I did these in 2 batches, one for the praline paste for the buttercream, the other for the hazelnut meal that would go into the cake itself... I toasted them for the stated time, and then set to rubbing... and rubbing... and rubbing... The recipe stated that a little skin was okay... I gave up trying to skin them, and ended up just not worrying about it...

Baking the cake itself was easy... I was worried about the egg whites deflating as I folded in the hazelnut meal, but no worries there... The cake came out of the oven beautifully high and light... While it cooled, I made the praline buttercream, Swiss-style, heating and whipping the egg whites with sugar until it became Fluff-like and then whipping it off-heat, mixing it to a meringue... That was added to creamed butter until light and fluffy, and THEN, the praline paste went into the mix...





Now... The cake had to be split into 3 layers before Steven filled and glazed the gateau... The first layer came off beautifully, but the second cut was w-a-a-a-y off, and I had to have Steven fix it while I stamped my feet in frustration... He did his best and he got the layers cut more appropriately... After imbibing and filling the first layer, the second layer went on, and then a huge gasp escaped my pie hole, BECAUSE!!! I forgot to tell Steven to top the buttercream with whipped cream...

Ohwellanyway... so we skipped the whipped cream on the first and remembered on the second... Once the cake was filled completely, it went into the refigerator for 30 minutes while I prepared the semisweet chocolate glaze... It was late in the evening and I was tired and I suggested that we skip the trimming of the sides and just glaze it... Steven agreed and proceeded to pour the glaze over the top... It draped beautifully, and then left overnight to set up...

In the morning, Steven prepared to pipe the remaining buttercream, but we don't own a #114 leaf tip, only the tiny ones which would have been way out of scale for the cake... So you can see in the above photos that he just signed our name, and pearled the edge... IN the end, the cake tasted fantastic!!! For everything that went into it, it looked so much denser than it actually was...





Steven's co-workers were the beneficiaries of all this work and one stated that "if someone grabbed this slice from me, I would stab them to get it back!" Now that's a vote of confidence!!!

In the end, I only have one thing to say... Someone else is gong to have to skin filberts...

We're back and we're bakin'!

Refreshed is the word of the day - relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated by our trip to beautiful Mt. Shasta, California, where we dipped our toes into Trout Creek and languished in the sun with Lemon Drops and Amaretto Sours....and these are all feelings you will relate to when you try our amazing Mandarin Orange Cheesecake (with lemon poppyseed biscotti crust...to live for!). Summer is upon us and the temperatures are soaring, the humidity can make ya wilt, and there are days and nights when you just want to crawl into a lounge chair with a tall, cool drink, or the sweet Joey Biscotti equivalent - a slice of the coolest, most refreshing cheesecake you can imagine. We're considering it our special for August, and looking forward to supplying all you cool-cravers with the tangy summer tartness of this delicious concoction. Order yours today!

And get out those calendars and crayons, because X marks the spot - September 20. Why, you may ask? Well we'll tell you: That is the official day of our "Open Kitchen", when locals will be able walk in and taste free samples of many of our most unusual and delightful treats. We'll have slices of cheesecakes in great fall flavors. We'll provide bite-sized teasers of many of our great cake flavors (Malted Matinee, Lemon Flip, Red Velvet, The Night the Lights went out in Brooklyn, our famous Sour Cream Chocolate and many more) and maybe some sweet tarts to top it all off (not to mention our mouth watering Biscotti and bread puddings). We'll have plenty of baked goods to purchase, also, and will happily take orders for your up-coming special occasions, so be thinking about what you want to partake of this fall! (remember, the holidays will be right around the corner - Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas, to name a few).

More details to follow shortly, as we finish up the plans for our special day of sharing the love (Joey Biscotti Love!) We'll have the address, hours, directions to the Kitchen, and maybe even a surprise or two to "sweeten the pot!"

Keep your eyes open and keep your noses in joint, to sense the scents of our morsels, made in Hell's Kitchen, but Heavenly to the tastebuds!

Ciao for now -

'Da Boys.

Gone Fishin'...

...well, camping, actually. We leave this Friday, the 11th of July, for lovely Mt. Shasta California (at least thats what Joey says - and I can't wait to find out for myself.) We'll be gone until the 20th, so no goodies will come forth from our kitchens that week, but rest assured, we'll be thinking (dreaming, planning, wondering, conjuring...you name it) of new and exotic temptations for you to TRY to resist.

Keep at us with those suggestions, challenges and positive thoughts. We take all of them to heart, and can't wait to see what we come up with for you next. Hang on to your hats, folks...as the song says: "Could it be? Yes it could. Something's coming, Something GOOD...",

We promise.

'Da Boys