Brunch in Three Parts

Part three: Quiche her?! But I hardly know her!

I can't believe I've never posted my quiche recipe before. It may not be what most people consider a quiche. Many quiche I've come across have a filling that's more of a puree of ingredients than anything. Mine is a dense, eggy tart and I love it.

The crust is a new experiment, but one that has definitely worked out. I'm using, verbatim, the Cook's Illustrated foolproof pie dough. I can't find a copy online, so I will post it here for my own benefit. Interestingly, it uses vodka (though I had to make a quick whiskey substitution) because the ethanol in the vodka adds moisture, making the crust easy to handle and roll out, while not contributing much water. The result? An easy to handle dough that isn't overly watery or leathery in texture.

Quiche

Cook's Illustrated Single-Crust Foolproof Pie Dough

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces

2 tbsp cold vodka
2 tbsp cold water

Combine 3/4 cup flour, all of the salt, and the sugar in the bowl of a food processor*. Pulse to combine, about 2 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade.

Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over dough. WIth rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Blind bake the crust in a 9-inch pie plate at 350 until golden and set, about 12 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and make the filling in the meantime.

*I do not have a food processor. I used a pastry blender, kept everything chilled, and worked very quickly. As near as I can tell, the results were nearly identical to those in the recipe from "cottage cheese curds" to an easy-to-handle disk.


Spinach and Parmesan Quiche Filling

6 eggs
1 cup half and half
2 tsp salt
pinch of ground nutmeg

1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 10oz bag, washed spinach

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half and half, salt, and nutmeg to blend.

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until softened. Add the spinach and only saute until it's partially wilted. Some raw leaves are fine; the varying textures are very pleasant in the quiche. Place the spinach mixture in the baked and cooled crust. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the filling. Gently pour the custard mixture over the filling, moving the filling around so that it is evenly distributed and completely coated with the custard.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes until the filling is slightly puffed and golden. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Brunch in Three Parts

Part Two: Pancakes

Alton Brown's recipe for pancake mix and instant pancakes creates, perhaps, the most delicious pancakes I have ever made. Why mess with perfection? Alton Brown's Pancakes.

Brunch in Three Parts

Part One: Coffee Cake

I've found that breakfast pastries, coffee cakes and muffins in particular, hold up well to some healthier alterations. In this recipe, I used my applesauce+greek yogurt combination in place of butter. The resulting texture was less stiff and coarse than most coffee cakes; however, the wheat flour and crumb topping added some pleasant nuttiness. I used Splenda as well to help round out the healthfulness of this breakfast treat. The result? A low-guilt brunch accompaniment or a nice, light afternoon snack to tame that sweet tooth.



Low-Guilt Coffee Cake

Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, packed
1/3 cup Splenda
1 tbsp butter, browned
1 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

Combine the sugars with the browned butter until a wet sand forms. Toss in the almonds and combine. Set aside.

Coffee Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8x8 square pan. A 9x9 would work in a pinch, though you may have to reduce the cooking time.

Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Whisk the buttermilk, sugars, vanilla, eggs, applesauce, and yogurt together until smooth. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold the liquid into the dry until incorporated. Stir until the batter is smooth and well combined. Fold in about 1/2 of the streusel topping.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining streusel topping evenly over the cake. Bake at 350 degree for 25 - 30 minutes. Cool cake on wire rack for 15 minutes before slicing, serving, and enjoying.



*I used a combination of 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 soy flour and the coffee cake turned out great. I would imagine most combinations of flours (wheat, all-purpose, quinoa, brown rice) would work fairly well in this cake, though you can simply use all-purpose to avoid the fuss.

Addendum: I went ahead and calculated the calories and whatnot. Keep in mind that most of the calories (1/3) and fat (3/4) comes from a good source: almonds. Still, this is a relatively light, low-guilt snack.

Assuming 12 servings per pan:

Fat: 7g
Calories: 185
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 9g

Cupcakes in three parts

Sunday: Cupcakes and assembly

I developed the filling and frosting recipes on my own with the help of reliable sources like Cooks Illustrated and other blogger's experiments. Ultimately, my frosting turned out lighter and fluffier than most Bailey's frosting recipes I found (many were simply butter, confectioner's sugar, and Bailey's). I will say that the cream cheese subdued the Bailey's flavor a bit, but the flavor is still delightful. I suppose I'll get official results from my coworkers and friends tomorrow.

Rather than try to develop my own cupcake recipe, I decided to use a recipe from a reliable source: Dave Lieberman from the Food Network. Here's a link to his recipe for Chocolate Stout Cupcakes. The only things I changed were halving his recipe and not using his icing.

In general, I found his recipe incredibly easy. It's interesting that he uses a brownie or muffin method to make the cupcakes. For cupcakes (and regular cake) you incorporate dry ingredients into a fat/sugar mixture alternately with a liquid like buttermilk. However, these guys are less labor intensive; you simply incorporate the dry into the wet, fill some muffin tins and bake. Easy as pie. Or cupcakes. Or whatever.

Assembly

I took a small pairing knife and cored out each cupcake. I aim for a hole the size of a nickel and a depth of about halfway into the cupcake.

Then, I used a pastry bag fitted with a narrow tip to fill the cupcakes with the Kahlua pastry cream. *See below for pastry cream and frosting recipes.

Next, I used a wider rose tip on a pastry bag to frost the cupcakes. I started by going around the opening to 'cap' the pastry cream.

The result? Deliciousness. I will say that these cupcakes turned out very well, but the Kahlua pastry cream is definitely gilding the lilly a bit; they would be great with the frosting on its own if you didn't want to go to the trouble.



My apologies for the crappier than usual picture. For the life of my I can't find my digital camera...

Cupcakes in three parts

Saturday: The frosting

Irish Cream Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
2 cups of powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and the butter until combined and creamy. Stream in the Bailey's with the mixer running until incorporated. Mix in the powdered sugar until smooth.

Taste. Add a little more Bailey's for flavor or powdered sugar as needed. The frosting will appear a little thin compared to traditional American buttercream or cream cheese frosting, but put it into a bowl and let it chill. It will become a thick, luscious delight.

Cupcakes in three parts

Friday: The filling

Kahlua Pastry Cream

2 cups half & half
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks

4 tbsp butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup kahlua*

In a medium saucepan bring the half & half, espresso powder, vanilla bean (the whole bean and the scraped seeds), and 6 tbsp of the sugar to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the espresso powder and sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by gradually whisking in about a cup of the hot half & half mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and whisk constantly for about 30 second to a minute. The mixture will thicken very quickly.

Remove the pastry cream from the heat and whisk in the butter and kahlua. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to the surface to avoid a skin from forming and chill until cold. Can be made 3-5 days in advance.

*Two notes:

1.) The kahlua does not cook out. If this is a problem, simply eliminate it from the recipe; you will be left with a delicious mocha pastry cream because of the espresso powder.

2.) By removing the espresso powder and the kahlua, you will have a delicious vanilla pastry cream that is perfect as a filling for pate choux cream puffs or fruit tarts.