Oliebollen {Dutch Doughnuts}

January 9, 2017 By Korena in the Kitchen 7 Comments

Oliebollen | Korena in the Kitchen

Made from a yeasted dough filled with apples, raisins, and currants, these little deep fried balls of delicious known as Dutch oliebollen were the December Daring Kitchen challenge, and yes, as per usual, I’m several weeks behind. I’m actually a little sad to be posting this challenge, because it is the very last one: participation in the Daring Kitchen has been on the decline for the past few years, so the group is shutting down and it’s time to move on. Since joining the group in 2011, I have made so many delicious desserts and baked goods that I never ever would have tried on my own, from the Mawa cake to the Esterhazy torte, homemade phyllo pastry to ensaimadas, sfogliatelle ricci and lobster tail pastries to Armenian nutmeg cake and nazooks. Not the mention the Battenberg cake, povitica, and sourdough bread, which started a whole other sourdough journey. The Daring Kitchen was one of the main reasons I started this blog, so while I understand and support the reasons for ending the challenges, it’s a little bittersweet.

Oliebollen | Korena in the Kitchen

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Torta Della Nona

December 7, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 2 Comments

Creamy custard inside a crisp, cookie-like tart shell, the whole thing flavoured with vanilla and lemon and topped with toasted pine nuts. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be, because I’ve just described an Italian dessert called Torta Della Nona and it is SO GOOD. Translated as “grandmother’s cake”, this was the November Daring Kitchen Challenge hosted by Ginger-Z, and of course, I’m over a week behind schedule for posting about it. But once again, better late than never – this one is worth the wait!

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Torta Hrapocusa (Dalmatian Dol Cake)

October 13, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 1 Comment

I got all proactive and made September’s Daring Kitchen challenge recipe – an almond and walnut cake called “hrapocusa” – at the beginning of the month, and then of course didn’t get my act together to post about it on time. Like, at ALL. Sigh. ANYWAY. Back in September, Jason of Daily Candor challenged us to make this regional specialty of the tiny town of Dol on the Dalmatian island of Brac. The torta hrapocusa is a two-layer cake primarily composed of nuts, with a bottom layer of orange and cherry liqueur-scented almond sponge cake and a sugared walnut topping that is meant to resemble the rocky shores of the island. This is certainly a unique cake and one that I never would have come across without the Daring Kitchen!

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Poached Plum Pavlova with Spun Caramel

September 4, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 4 Comments

I have majorly fallen off the Daring Kitchen challenge bandwagon (the last challenge I did was in May!), and even now, my attempt to jump back on is a week late. But better late than never, right? August’s challenge, set by Marcellina, was the pavlova: a crisp meringue base filled with whipped cream and fruit. While both New Zealand and Australia claim to be the originator of this dessert, it is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, because the billows of meringue and cream are supposed to resemble her tutu. That might be a bit of a stretch, but I completely understand why Australia and New Zealand are fighting over it, because DANG, pavlova is delicious! I’ve made several in the past, and for a while the header image on my blog was a pavlova, but somehow I’ve never actually posted a recipe. So finally, here it is….

Olive, Rosemary & Parmesan Twist Bread

May 27, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 1 Comment

The May Daring Kitchen challenge was brought to us by Tandy of Lavender and Lime, who provided us with a beautiful bread recipe and a fun twisting technique to shape it. I used to bake bread almost weekly, and this was a nice reminder of how much I like doing it. Homemade bread really is magical, especially when it looks this pretty.

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Kouign Amann

April 30, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 6 Comments

Kouign amann. Pronounced “queen ahmahn”, also known as “delicious”. Layers of yeasted dough, butter, and sugar, baked until puffed, holey, and caramelized, like an amazing caramel croissant/danish hybrid. It’s been on my “to make” list for a few years, and the Daring Kitchen challenge this month finally gave me a reason to try it.

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Serbian Katmer Pie

March 1, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 1 Comment

I’ve made a lot of different kinds of flaky pastry, and this month with the Daring Kitchen challenge, I made yet another. This version, shared by Milkica of Mimi’s Kingdom, comes from Serbia where it is used to make a dish called katmer pie. The pastry for katmer pie falls into the same sort of category as phyllo or strudel: thin sheets of dough brushed with butter, wrapped around a sweet or savoury filling.

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How to Make a White Chocolate Peony

January 27, 2016 By Korena in the Kitchen 18 Comments

This month marks a new direction for the Daring Bakers, who have now joined forces with the Daring Cooks in a single monthly Daring Kitchen Challenge. Shillpa of Cakeline the Journey kicked off this new format by setting us all the challenge of cake design – specifically the use of “edible clays” such as fondant, gum paste, and/or modeling chocolate to create fully edible cake decorations. I hardly need an excuse to bake a cake, so I was right into this challenge.