Oh Gosh, it's Ganache

 Ganache is actually surprisingly easy to make. It can be a little time consuming (depending on what you deem as "time consuming,") but it's totally worth it since it's such a versatile baking tool. Basically, ganache is a mixture of chocolate and cream but its texture can change depending on the ratio of chocolate to cream that you use. A firmer ganache can be used as truffles and rolled in nuts, cocoa powder, powdered sugar... you name it. A softer ganache can be used as more of an icing to top cakes, ice cream, etc etc. At the pastry shop I work at we use a ganache that's sort of "in the middle." We use it as tart filling with raspberries, cake icing/filling, piping and a number of other things.

Now, a "good" ganache can be expensive to produce and use but luckily it keeps in the fridge pretty well and you can adjust portions to your own desired amount. It could just be a good excuse to give sweets to your friends or even people you just sort of like (if you're feeling really friendly that day.)

*And as a note: the higher the fat content on the chocolate you use the better the ganache is going to turn out so really try and crank up that sucker's fatty fat fat.

Now let's get started! What you'll need:

• 1/2 lb Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate
• 5 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 oz. Room Temperature Salted Butter
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tbsp Curacao or Triple Sec
• Small Pot w/Lid
• Whisk

So, Start out with half a pound (or 8 oz.) of the chocolate you've chosen.

 Chop up the chocolate as finely as you can (don't go crazy overboard or anything, but you don't want thicker pieces that will be tricky to melt.) Be careful while doing this because the oils from the chocolate can cause the knife to slip fairly easily.

 Feel free to leave the chocolate on your cutting board, I just prefer to have something a little easier to handle, but either way cut your butter into pieces and throw it in with the chocolate because when it's time you'll be tossing both into your pot quickly and at the same time. But for now you can leave these to the side.

Now we are going to focus on the cream. You're going to want to stay on top of this because it's pretty much the only place you can go wrong. Pour your cream into your pot and set your burner's temp between med and high. You want the cream to start to boil and bubble. It'll form a skin which is okay because you aren't going to touch it, you're just going to watch it. Once the cream has begun to bubble (see pic to the right) you're going to throw in both your chocolate and your butter, take it off the heat, throw on the lid (make sure it's secure) and swish the contents together a few times so it's a little blended then just leave it there and don't touch it for about 15 to 25 minutes.

After you've let it sit long enough for the contents to melt together you can go back and take off the lid. It's going to look really "watery" and odd so don't let this appearance make you think you've messed up. Take a whisk and just stir the contents as long as it takes for the chocolate, butter and cream to all blend together. Now you can let it sit and cool for a little while longer because the next step will require the ganache to be hot enough to work with but cool enough to add more ingredients.

So, you've whisked it and let it sit. Now you can add a Tablespoon of Vanilla extract and a Tablespoon of Triple Sec for added flavor. If the ganache is really hot the alcohol on both of these will simply evaporate so you'll be canceling out the flavor you're trying to add. (If you want: start out with 1/2 Tablespoon for both and then flavor to your own taste depending on how sweet you want it.)

Experiment with your flavor additions as much as you want. I added a little almond extract to mine but you could pretty much add anything you want: candied orange peel, mint, toasted almond slices, caramel... it ends with your imagination.

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake (derived from southernfood.about.com)

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (1 cup) softened butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 3 cups cake flour, stir before measuring
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or no salt if you decide to use salted butter)
• 8 ounces sour cream, light or full fat (oh for peet's sake, just use the full fat... you've already put in a cup of butter!)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers (culinary grade!!!)
• juice and zest of 2 lemons, about 5 to 6 tablespoons juice and 1 tablespoon finely grated zest
• ***Glaze***
• juice of 1 lemon, about 2 1/2 tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons dried lavender flowers (this too needs to be culinary grade, duh)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan.

Cream butter with granulated sugar until light (preferably using a kitchen aid mixer of a pretty color...if stirring by hand....wear a pretty apron and tell yourself you're burning off all the calories you're about to eat when the cake is ready!). Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, along with half of the sour cream. Beat until well blended. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining sour cream, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until smooth and well blended.

Fold in the 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried lavender flowers and the juice and zest of 2 lemons. Spoon into the prepared baking pan.

(Now what I will do next time I make this, is heat the lavender flower in the lemon juice, and then STRAIN into a bowl. (Chill before adding to the cake batter). I thought the lavender flowers in the cake were slightly too severe).

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Make Glaze:
Heat lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon) and 2 teaspoons lavender flowers in the microwave or on stovetop. Strain out flowers; set juice aside and discard the flowers.

In a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, hot lemon juice, and enough hot water to make a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the cooled (can be slightly warm) cake.

This recipe would make neato cupcakes as well, of course with a much shorter baking time.

helpful links...

culinary lavender:

http://www.localharvest.org/royal-velvet-culinary-lavender-buds-C7830?r=fr

cupcake liners:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/16331722/60-striped-cupcake-liners

How to Make Lavender-Rose Extract... Maybe?

Experiment One:
What started out with a desire for lavender extract has evolved into something a little more elaborate.
Ingredients:
Culinary Lavender
Rose
1 pt. Vanilla Vodka

Typically, you want 100 proof vodka for the extract. However, I mistakenly only got 75 proof. The recipe I found asks that you let the lavender and vodka marinate for eight days in a cool, dry  place away from direct sunlight. I'm going to let it go a couple of days longer because the alcohol I got was of a lesser proof. I'm even thinking about going out to get some 100 proof to add to the batch if I think it's not coming together correctly.

Additionally, I didn't measure out the lavender and rose petals. The recipe I had called for 50 dried lavender flower heads, but since I was adding rose to it and the only culinary lavender I found was not in "head" form, I sort of just had to guess. Plus, since I knew the vodka was not 100 proof, I added more than I thought was necessary so that the flavor wasn't lacking.


(Choosing the vanilla vodka was sort of a last-minute decision at the liquor store. Even though the flavor might simply evaporate, I figured it was worth the experiment since even a subtle vanilla undertone to the extract would only help out both the lavender and the rose flavors.)

Now, put your pint (or 2 cups) of vodka in a sterile jar and add your desired amounts of rose/lavender (or just lavender if you want.) You will need to shake this so to prevent possible spilling put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the jar before screwing on the lid.

 After the lid is securely on the jar simply shake it until it seems well mixed and then put it aside in an easy-to-get-to place. Shake the jar every day to stir the contents and in about a week we'll see if this has worked. (I started mine last Sunday.)

To Be Continued...