Meringue Filled Coffee Cake : March Daring Bakers Challenge

I have never experienced so much stress in school. My team and I have been working on a business plan and it literally has forced me to put everything else on hold. I kind of had to squeeze making this Daring Baker's Challenge between making financial statements! It took me a while to make because of the rising time, but honestly, it was very worth it!

I've been having an obsession for anything hazelnut, so I decided to add chopped toasted hazelnuts to the sugar, cinnamon and chocolate for the filling. I followed everything else according to the directions Jamie and Ria had posted and was very impressed with the result: a brioche-like coffee cake with chocolate and hazelnut filling, perfect for a breakfast, brunch or any other time of the day! This is a keeper :)

My First Daring Bakers Challenge: White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Florentine Cookies

After debating for a long while if I was ready to participate in a baking group (since FFwD didn't really work out...), I decided to join the Daring Bakers! I was looking through the past challenges and they're all things on my baking wish list, so why not?

This February was my first Daring Bakers challenge and panna cotta was something I was not very familiar with. As I started making it, I realized it was a lot like making ice cream, except with some gelatine!

I decided to make a raspberry gelée and what better than a white chocolate panna cotta to go with it? There were a few things that weren't mentioned in the challenge that I would have found helpful:

If you want a layer of gelée in the panna cotta: first make half the panna cotta recipe, refrigerate it well, make the gelée and let it cool, pour some on top of the cooled panna cotta (equally dividing it between all the servings), refrigerate it, then make the second half of the panna cotta and pour it on top of the gelée.

Since I didn't realize this, I made all the panna cotta and gelée at the same time, refrigerated the panna cotta and then had to reheated the gelée in order to pour it at the very top! It still tasted great, but I would have rathered have the raspberry gelée inside. I would definitely try this again, maybe with dark chocolate next time? As for the cookies, I love this recipe because it was the first time I made oatmeal cookies and they actually spread! A bit too greasy in my opinion and I would make them a bit smaller next time. So here's the recipe for my February Daring Bakers challenge:

White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Florentine Cookies

White Chocolate Panna Cotta

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes about 6 servings

1 cup whole milk

1 tbsp (15 mL) (7 g) (1/4 oz) unflavored powdered gelatin

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup (145 g) (5 oz) white chocolate

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pour the milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top and set aside for 2-5 minutes.

2. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir in cream, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a low boil.

3. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk the milk/gelatin mixture into the chocolate cream mixture. Whisk until gelatin has dissolved.

4. Transfer to ramekins, or nice glasses for serving.

5. Cover and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Fruit Gelée

Recipe by Mallory

1 cup (230 g) (8 oz) fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mango, blackberries, etc.)

*Note: Certain fruits interact with gelatin and stop it gelling like pineapple and kiwi.

3 tbsp water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) (3.5 g) (1/8 oz) unflavored powdered gelatin

1. Sprinkle gelatin over water.

2. Place fruit and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until sugar has dissolved. Now mix the gelatin into the raspberry mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved.

3. Remove from heat and allow to cool (close to room temperature). If you're planning on layering by pouring on top of your Panna Cotta, a hot mixture will also heat up your chilled Panna Cotta.

Florentine Cookies

Adapted from Nestle

Makes 2-1/2 to 3 dozen cookies

2/3 cup (150 g) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter

2 cups quick oats

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1-1/2 cups (250 g) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare your baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.

2. To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Drop a tablespoon full, 3 inches apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.

4. While the cookies are cooling, melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1.5 minutes) or on the stove top (in a double boiler).

5. Peel the cookies from the Silpat or parchment and place face down or a wire rack set over a sheet of parchment paper (to keep counters clean).

6. Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.