Ekmek

Ekmek (Byzantine Dessert With Fresh Cream)

SPONGE  CAKE
4 eggs -                  A1
1 cup sugar             A2
1 cup flour              A3
Pinch of salt            A4
4 tbs melted butter  A5

CUSTARD CREAM
2 cups whole milk         1000 gr         B1
½ cup sugar   (100 gr)           B2
3/4 cup corn flour     (100  gr)            B3
4 eggs       240 gr                             B4  
6 Tbs butter      90 gr                     B5
½ tsp vanilla                           B6
1 cup fresh whipping cream  230 gr   B7

FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups fresh whipping cream                -C1
1 Tbs sugar                                         -C2-
½ tsp vanilla                                        -C3
½ cup slivered and toasted almonds     -C4

Preparation  


The above dessert consists of three layers.

The first layer   -A- is a spongy cake with a sweet syrup,

the second layer -B-  is a custard pastry cream that has been lightened with whipped cream and

finished with a generous layer -C- of whipped cream that has been whipped and flavored with vanilla.

Finally topped with toasted slivered almonds.

In a mixer whisk on the highest speed four eggs -A1-  with one cup of sugar -A2-until frothy and pale in color.

Remove from mixer and fold in the flour -A3-  with a shifter.

Take turns in mixing melted butter  -A5- and sifts of flour  -A4- so that you uniformly combine the ingredients.   Do not over mix.   You need all the air and bubbles. 

Put in a rectangular cookie sheet on top greased baking paper.  Bake in a 350 preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool.  When cooled down, wet with a light simple syrup.

To make the syrup put in a sauce pan 1 cup of sugar with ½ cup water.  Allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes. 

Now proceed with making the pastry cream. 

In a large mixing bowl we whisk the eggs(2)  -B4- with sugar(½ cup)-B2- and flour (¼ cup)-B3-.

In a sauce pan we heat the milk(2 cups)  -B1- slightly and pour the above paste (eggs, sugar, flour  B4-B2-B3-) into the sauce pan with the milk.

We return the cream to the heat and whisking constantly on medium heat the cream will thicken.

Then we add the butter(3 Tbs butter )  -B5- and vanilla(½ tsp)  -B6-. We mix to incorporate and remove from the heat.  Set aside and allow to cool down. 

Prepare the third layer

In the mean time whip all three cups of the cream -B7&C1- with 1 TBS sugar -C2-  and vanilla C3-until stiff.

Take one cup of the cream and slowly with careful motions incorporate into the pastry cream.

Cover and put in the fridge for ½ hour.

Now you are ready to assemble the dessert.  It sounds like a lot of work but after you make it once and you
know the steps it is really easy. 

Choose a nice large platter with agreeable shape of your sponge cake.
Place the sponge cake in the dish.

Spread the cooled-down pastry cream. Finish with the whipped cream on top and toasted almonds.

Place the dessert in the fridge and allow to cool down for a couple of hours before serving.



 conversion-tables

CUSTARD CREAM
2 cups whole milk                  B1
½ cup sugar                           B2
¼ cup flour                            B3
2 eggs                                    B4  
3 Tbs butter                           B5
½ tsp vanilla                           B6
1 cup fresh whipping cream    B7

FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups fresh whipping cream                -C1
1 Tbs sugar                                         -C2-
½ tsp vanilla                                        -C3
½ cup slivered and toasted almonds     -C4

Baking Conversions

 

http://dessertfirstgirl.com/baking-conversions

 

Here’s my philosophy on measurements in baking in two sentences: Use a scale. It’ll make your life so much easier.
In the US, most cooking measurements are still done in volume: measuring cups and spoons for dry ingredients, liquid measures for liquids. However, for baking, where precision is key to the success of many a recipe, once you measure in weight, you’ll realize the imprecision of using volume.
I use measuring flour as the best example. Use a measuring cup to scoop out a cup of flour from a bag and weigh it on a kitchen scale. Now scoop out a second cup and weigh it. What’s the difference in weight? Whether you packed in the flour tightly, levelled off the top of the measuring cup, shook the cup as you were filling it – all these variables will affect how much flour actually goes in your recipe – and it can vary every time. On the other hand, if you weigh out 5 ounces or 140 grams of flour on a scale, you’ll get the same amount every time.
That’s why I consider my kitchen scale to be one of the most indispensable tools in my kitchen. By using it, I eliminate one of the biggest factors that can influence the outcome of baked goods: imprecise measurement.
That said, many of my recipes on this site are still in US standard measurements (cups, pints, teaspoons, etc.) because I adapted them from recipes that used these measurements, and I wasn’t diligent enough at the time to convert everything to metric as well.
I am in the process of converting all the recipes on my website to have both standard and metric measurements (and to have them printable as well), but in the meantime I’m also putting up this page of conversions that I’ve accumulated over the years. If you come across one of my recipes and it isn’t converted, go ahead and use the conversions below. Note that this information is based on baking references I’ve consulted and my own personal experience. Please use caution when applying them to your own recipes – a little tweaking may be required as the translation between volume and weight is always a tricky thing. If you have any questions or any conversions you’d like to see, please e-mail me!

Flours/Other Dry Ingredients
All Purpose Flour (unsifted, dip and sweep): 1 cup = 5 ounces = 140 grams
All Purpose Flour (unsifted, spooned into cup):  1 cup = 4 1/2 ounces = 125 grams
All Purpose Flour (sifted before measuring): 1 cup = 4 ounces = 112 grams
Cake Flour (unsifted, dip and sweep):  1 cup = 4 2/3 ounces = 130 grams
Cake Flour (unsifted, spooned into cup): 1 cup =  4 ounces = 110 grams
Cake Flour (sifted before measuring): 1 cup = 3 1/2 ounces = 100 grams
Cornstarch:  1 cup = 4 ounces = 110 grams
Cocoa Powder (spooned into cup):  1 cup = 3 1/4 ounces = 91 grams
Baking Powder, Baking Soda: 1 teaspoon = 5 grams
Instant Yeast, Active Dry Yeast:  2 1/4 teaspoons = 1/4 ounces = 7 grams
Salt: 1 teaspoon = 6 1/2 grams

Sugars
Granulated White Sugar:  1 cup  = 7 ounces = 200 grams
Brown Sugar (Light or Dark):  1 cup = 7 ounces = 200 grams
Confectioners’ (Powdered/Icing) Sugar (dip and sweep):  1 cup = 4 ounces = 110 grams

Dairy
Milk (All Kinds), Half and Half, Buttermilk:  1 cup (liquid measure) = 8.2 ounces = 230 grams
Heavy Cream, Sour Cream, Yogurt: 1 cup (liquid measure) = 8.2 ounces = 230 grams
Butter:  1 cup (2 sticks) = 8 ounces = 220 grams

Other Liquids
Water:  1 cup (liquid measure) = 8.2 ounces = 230 grams
Corn Syrup:  1 cup (liquid measure) = 10.9 ounces = 310 grams
Molasses:  1 cup (liquid measure) = 9  ounces = 260 grams
Honey:  1 cup (liquid measure) = 10.9 ounces = 310 grams
Vegetable/Canola/Safflower Oil: 1 cup (liquid measure) = 7  ounces = 200 grams

Eggs
1 large egg, in the shell = 57 grams
1 large egg, without shell = 50 grams
1 large egg white = 30 grams
1 large egg yolk = 18 grams

Common Units of Dry Measurements
3 teaspoons =  1 Tablespoon =  1/2 ounce =  14 grams
4 tablespoons = 2 ounces = 1/4 cup = 56 grams
32 tablespoons = 2 cups = 16 ounces = 1 pounds

Other Common Conversions
1 ounce = 28 grams
1 fluid ounce = 30 milliliters
1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 128 ounces = 3.8 liters (liquid)

The Yeast Treatise

The Yeast Treatise 

Preface

A baker learns early in the baking process that it is difficult to make fine bread unless he or she gains a fair degree of insight into many of the chemical, physical, biological and mechanical aspects of the baking craft.  It is fitting that one of the seemingly most simple of organisms - a yeast cell - offers challenges that defy that assumed simplicity.  Yeast is a very complex organism, and its effects on baking are complex.  In this treatise we have tried to review as much of the literature available to us, and to distill it into a reasonable brief review of that literature. Since The Artisan has no research facilities capable of doing independent research aimed at better understanding what yeast does and why it does it,  we have relied on many sources.  However, that does not mean that any errors or misconstrued conclusions are the fault of those sources.  Errors of either commission or omission are ours, and ours alone.  We hope that visitors will inform us of any errors that we have made, and allow us the opportunity to correct said errors as appropriate.

Source materials for this Treatise have come from those authors and the works cited in the Bibliography found at the end of this document.

Introduction

The baking process represents a highly complex set of physical, chemical, biochemical and biological activities. The microscopic yeast cell is responsible for the most important of these - Fermentation. Thus, yeast is the primary biological agent in dough formation, and discussions of yeast and its functions in the baking process are invariably intertwined with those pertaining to fermentation, and visa versa.