Dorie's Peanutbutter Torte

Wow. This is rich and decadent and so good. If you love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you will adore this...and for me, the non-baker, it's not even really baking. This is this week's Tuesdays with Dorie achievement (anything I bake is an achievement, trust me on this).

Of course, I managed to not make it look like the photo in Dorie's Book. First of all, I have an 8-inch spring form pan. You don't THINK it will make so much difference, but that's a lot of volume (you do the math; I didn't understand 7th grade math until I was 40, but then the boys moved on to more difficult stuff and I forgot everything again). Second of all, she says either crush the Oreos for the crust by hand (that's what I said--an OREO cookie crust. How cool is that?) OR with a food processor. Because we all know how much I don't like cleaning the food processor, I crushed by hand. My crust is not so so much a crumb crust as a cookie pebble crust. How very Flintstone.

Taking it out of the springform was easy (thank goodness I've moved that pan from NYC to Philadelphia to KY to the first apartment in Florida to the second apartment here in Florida. I just knew I would need it!). I had to alter the topping a bit because even though I asked two different people in the house (one husband, one son) if they could stop and buy me a measly cup of heavy cream for the ganache topping, neither one remembered...So instead I stirred a touch of melted butter into the chocolate to give me something spreadable that won't turn brittle in the fridge...It works. (Not like I was saving calories at this point...)

But that doesn't mar the flavor. A bite of heaven. This and a cup of good espresso is on the menu for my afternoon break. Life is good.

(The picture shows how challenged I am with the whole crust thing...but I like its "rough" form...forget pebble crust. When cut, this looks like boulder crust...still tastes great. Lucky office workers at Florida Table, because this is so NOT staying in my house for me to eat. I should be everyone's favorite!)

Brioche Beautiful Part 2

I woke at 7.15. Visions of brioche and pecan sticky buns by way of Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours invaded my mind...I knew I had a lunch to go to with a food professional, and I have a feeling she's bringing me some farm-fresh eggs. I don't want to show up empty handed. Brioche will be my gift.

So, I was anticipating a sticky mess--but I forgot what butter does in the fridge...it hardens. So the dough was extraordinarily easy to handle. I divided it. Half is for a loaf, the other half for sticky buns. (What? What diet?) And I divided the sticky bun dough in half again, making 8 today, then rolling the other half for the freezer. One day I'll be able to take that little spiral out of the freezer at 10 p.m. and wake up to bake fresh brioche sticky buns. I am wonder woman, I am Supermom.

Let's see. The sticky buns go in about an hour and 45 minutes after prepping. The loaf, about 2 hours later...Look at my results...

And I will vouch for the taste (hey, it's in the job description: eat). A big complaint I had with a batch of sticky buns I made relatively recently was that the bread part itself was leaden. Why bother with that gooey goodness if the bread is like a rock? Well, this brioche sticky bun recipe absolutely knocks that problem out of the park. They are melt-in-your-mouth, buttery lightness. I've eaten half of one bun. 7 1/2 brioche pecan sticky buns are now staring me in the face. I'm watching out the window for my neighbor to come home so I can give her some (my town is such a pain. All the women are on "social x-ray" diets, to borrow that phrase from Tom Wolfe. But at least my neighbor has two little girls...)..then I'll be able to take a couple to the woman I'm meeting for lunch...then if I'm really inspired, I'm going to drive to Boca to deliver the remaining few to the great people at JES Publishing/Florida Table offices. They'll help me salvage my own nutritional crisis...

On to the brioche loaf...

Brioche Beautiful Part 1

Dorie Greenspan is a delight. I had the incredible good fortune of meeting her recently at The Greenbrier. In fact, I had the funny and near-silly experience of sharing a bar of Vosges Chocolate Bacon bar with her. Picture about 10 avid food writers, food literature readers, food magazine editors...I think it was Dorie who did the honors of breaking it into pieces for everyone to experience. It was passed around the table like a communion plate. We all took a shard of chocolate...Then someone read the near zen-like instructions from Vosges on how to enjoy the chocolate...At one point we all had our eyes closed...no sounds were being made...and then you couldn't keep us quiet...because of COURSE we all had opinions. (For the record, we didn't like the chewy texture of the bacon left in our mouths when we let the chocolate melt first...some of us liked it more when we chewed right into it, releasing salty, smoky, sweet all at once...)

But this post isn't about the chocolate. It's about my discovery: Dorie's Brioche. I got the lowdown from the insiders: The Brioche is to die for. And the sticky pecan buns--to die for a second time...So when my signed copy of Dorie's Baking: From My Home to Yours arrived in the mail (no way I was dragging those pounds and pounds of books home on the plane...), I had to get started on the brioche.

I knew enough that the process would be easier if I made the dough the day before...Clever me: I'll throw it together at 10 PM and get it right into the fridge. Mmmhmmm.

Like any bread, the ingredient list is short. Yeast, water, milk, flour, salt, sugar, eggs and butter. Lots of butter. But it is lovely. Once again, Kitchenaid comes to the rescue. When discussing this with Dorie, her first question was: Do you have a mixer? Apparently her first experience was with this dough, a wooden spoon and her aching shoulders. At any rate, it starts as an ugly, mealy dough.

Then the eggs go in and it looks a bit better. And then you start beating the butter in, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Here's me holding the mixer to keep it from walking itself off the counter as it works that dough...
When all is said and done, you are left with a glossy, silken mass of dough.
It is gorgeous (I happily had about 1/2 pound of lovely, yellow Irish butter on my counter to use here...)

Oh, back to my cleverness...First punch down: after one hour. Then every 30 minutes or so FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS. Until it stops rising. And THEN you get to go to bed...I mean and THEN you get to put it in the fridge (and go to bed...)

It will be a late night...This last shot is of the dough rising on the back porch, where it's warmer.
Just did the first punch down..The dough is just so nice to touch...Do you think anyone else is out on her balcony punching down brioche dough? Now it's 12.43 a.m. Do you know where your brioche is?