Monday, October 29, 2007

Daring Bakers October Challenge: Bostini Cream Pie


Whew! What a dare! That’s right this month marks my first entry as a Daring Baker. Mary of Alpineberry was our lovely host this month. She chose Bostini Cream Pie for our monthly dare. Yum! Then fear and anxiety set in. First, I have never made a successful chiffon cake (until now). Oh, I had my worries and doubts. I was so sure it was not going to work out for me; that I bought 5 dozen eggs and a half gallon of heavy cream. Everything worked out in the first run through so, if you need to borrow a pint of cream or a dozen eggs stop on by.

The chiffon cake is unbelievable; it’s like rich angel food cake with a hint of orange. Mmm! Like the chiffon cake, I had never made pastry cream that had to set either. This is where it got tricky. The problem was that I had a ton of ramekins all the same size, but I was not sure what size they were. (I ended up with 16 tiny Bostini Cream Pies). I knew that I was going to be giving away all but two of the Bostini’s. My plan was to place the cream in between the tiny cake layers that way I could transport them easily. A little of the pastry cream oozed out but, it tasted so good that no one minded.

I really enjoyed the cake, thanks Mary, and I am definitely going to make this again very soon. My mom would love this cake (sans the cream and chocolate) with her morning tea. Again, Mary thanks for hosting and picking a recipe that allowed me to acquire two new baking skills. If you’d like to see the rest of the Daring Bakers Bostini Cream Pie click here.

Bostini Cream Pie
(From Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala's Bistro)
Serving Size: 8 Generous Servings


Ingredients:

Custard:
3/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten
9 egg yolks, beaten
3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter

Instructions:

To prepare the custard:

Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.

To prepare the chiffon cakes:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups.

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not over beat.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter.

Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not over bake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.

To prepare the glaze:

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm.

To assemble:

Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

56 comments:

steph- whisk/spoon said...

your little teeny bostini is adorable! love that nice squishy custard layer

glamah16 said...

Your Bostini looks excellent.

Cakespy said...

Congrats, you daring baker! I just found you through Cookie Lynn's links (anything with Cakes in the title catches my eye!) and saw this beautiful entry and just had to comment. Bostini Cream pie...never knew it existed but now I can't get it out of my mind!

Katie said...

Oh wow they looks so cute! Congratulations on your first challange. You have got the glaze to cover them perfectly.

The Caked Crusader said...

Beautiful presentation! We have all presented so differently.

PS. I love "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" too!

kellypea said...

Congrats on your first challenge! It's fun, isn't it? I love that you bought all those eggs and cream and were ready for anything. Your bostini is very cute -- I love the sandwich effect!

Anne said...

Lovely presentation! :) Good job!

Anonymous said...

Love how you sandwiched the custard. Looks almost like an ice cream sandwich.

Anonymous said...

That looks wonderful! I am a new member as of this month and it's nice to see what everyone has come up with!

www.chocolateshavings.ca

Bharathy said...

What a daring fantastic baker you are!!!Amazed to see the lovvvely collections here!!:)..

I have a small doubt regarding the utensil needed to bake...done have much collection of baking tins right now...can I use a disposible aluminium weightless container ..err something like this to bake?? http://pusiva.blogspot.com/2006/06/weekend-baking-session-15.html
would be looking forward to your helpful hint,Gigi..

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Excellent job and photography on your first challenge. You will have the support and encouragement of all those wonderful ladies of the Daring Bakers.

Brilynn said...

Your little bostinis are so cute! And you can always send some eggs my way, I keep saying I need some chickens the way I go through eggs...

Anonymous said...

welcome to the daring bakers! your glaze looks so thick and sinful!

Henny A. said...

I like your Bostini Cream Pie and how you made a "sandwich" out of them--it looks so cute.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Dare is right Gigi! Sometimes for some of us it's a double dog dare.
Had to laugh at all the eggs & cream you bought. Maybe that's why it all worked so well for you. Sort of like if you carry your umbrella, it doesn't rain.
Super Bostinis!

Gigi said...

Bharathy:Yes, you can bake the cake the in the disposable cake tins. I baked mine in little ceramic dishes.

Lis said...

Terrific Bostini, Gigi! I love how you sandwiched the cream - even if you weren't transporting them, I think that's even better than laying the cake on top of the custard.

And I'm dyin' for your chocolate.. it looks so thick and delish! :D

Congrats on your first challenge!

xoxo

BC said...

I loved the cake too. I've made a lemon olive oil chiffon cake that was very similar in texture. Yum!

slush said...

Grats on your first challenge completed! They are sooo cuute!

My husband loved the cake as well. Hes been eating all the scraps for days now.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your first challenge, Gigi! Wonderful job :)

Belinda said...

I really like the look of the two layers of cake in your presentation...its very pretty and nicely balanced...great job! Aren't the Daring Bakers just a ton of fun?! :-)

Annemarie said...

Fabulous job on your first challenge - your bostinis look perfect, and the soft-focus of the picture of it makes it look a bit like a film star (which it is, it is).

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Good job, Gigi! It looks fabulous.

Elisabeth said...

Congratulations on your first DB Challenge. It looks like you succeeded very nicely on your first attempt.

Now what to do with all that cream you have. More baking?

Unknown said...

love the inside layer, good idea. congrats on finishing your first challenge

Anonymous said...

Beautiful job, Gigi! Congratulations on completing your first Daring Baker challenge!

Alpineberry Mary said...

Welcome to the group and nice job on your first challenge!

Elle said...

Gigi, Fantastic entry for your first DB challenge. Wish I knew that you had extra eggs...could have used them a few days ago :)
Glad you are a Daring Baker!

Anne said...

It's so cute that I don't have the heart to eat it :) and I liked how you captured it, so lovely.

breadchick said...

Great job on your first challenge. I love the oreo cookie Bostini presentation!! Glad to have you with us!!!

Bharathy said...

Thanks gigi..hugs!!:)...it is a great tip and help to a baker who is in her baby steps :)..thanks again :)

Truffle said...

This must be cutest bostini ever. So gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Congrats to you! I love your idea of sandwiching the cream between the cakes. Looks soooooo yummy!

April said...

Congrats on completing your first challenge! It look wonderful!

Anonymous said...

5 dozen eggs and a half gallon of cream – now there's some preparedness I can really admire. Great Bostini sandwich!

Jen Yu said...

Such a cute bostini :) Btw, I used to live in Pasadena! Send a wave to the good old San Gabriels for me. Congrats on the first of hopefully many DB challenges!

jen at use real butter

Sheltie Girl said...

You did a beautiful job on your teeny tiny Bostini!

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Anonymous said...

Aww! Your presentation came out so cute! Love it!

Deborah said...

I love how you sandwiched the custard between the cake layers! It looks awesome!

Madeleine said...

I like your idea of cake under the custard... Your bostini look very cute! :)

Unknown said...

I love how white your cream is. Perfect!

thepassionatecook said...

this is so amazing... everywhere you look, there's a bostini pie, but they all are so different in the way they're presented! yours looks great!

Christine said...

Great plating, and I like how you layered the custard between the cake.

iCook2live said...

Great presentation.

Ohh, and I got biscuits to bake this weekend so I stop by for the eggs.

Anonymous said...

What a cute little Bostini! :) Lovely presentation...and lucky recipients!

marias23 said...

Ooo, your bostini layers are wonderful! Lovely and delicious!

Helene said...

Congrats on your first challenge, you did a fabulous job!

Julie said...

It's just so cute and dreamy looking! I love that you got it to all stay together--that in itself was very daring! Congratulations on your first challenge!

Brittany said...

beautiful job Gigi! Yay Daring Bakers!! This was fun, huh?

Anonymous said...

Gigi- Great job and welcome to the Daring Bakers!
xoxo

Inne said...

Congrats on completing your first DB challenge, Gigi. You did a great job and your Bostinis look absolutely adorable!

Dolores said...

All that fear and anxiety, for naught... you came away with beautiful Bostini (and were wise to devise a distribution plan!)

What are you making with the leftover eggs and cream?

Jenny said...

How very cute!
(Sorry it has taken me so long - doing this alphabetically and just finally reached the G's!)

Peabody said...

Lovely. I should have sandwiched the cream too...I loved the cake but not so much the cream.

Chez Us said...

Your bostinis are so cute! Love them!

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Looks great and very cute!!