by Gail Sokol | Jan 21, 2019 | Podcast, Recipes
Mangos are one of the most flavorful and colorful tropical fruits you can find. Learn about the mangos’ origin and its’ healthy nutritional profile. Chef Gail will teach you how to choose the best mango for your needs, and how to cut it up safely. She shares a wonderful, fruity dessert using the mango.
Strawberry Shortcakes with Mango Sauce
Makes 6 shortcakes
Shortcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup of whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling over
shortcakes
Strawberries
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Mango Sauce
2 mangoes, peeled and the flesh cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Zest from 1 lime
Assembly
Sweetened whipped cream
Confectioners’ sugar
Make the shortcakes
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking
powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the dry
ingredients until the butter is pea-sized.
- Using a large spoon, blend in the milk and stir
just until a dough forms.
- On a sheet pan covered with parchment paper,
drop 6 tablespoons of dough leaving a space between each.
- Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar over each
biscuit.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes or until biscuits are
nice and brown. Cool.
Make the Strawberries
- Combine the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice
in a bowl and allow to sit in the refrigerator for one hour.
Make the Mango Sauce
- Purée the mango cubes and lime juice in a food
processor or blender until almost smooth, with only a few small pieces of
mango.
- Pour into a bowl and stir in zest.
To Assemble
- Split each biscuit and place the bottom half
onto a dessert plate.
- Place a dollop of whipped cream, some
strawberries and some mango sauce. Cover with the top half of the biscuit.
- Dust with confectioners’ sugar through a sieve
and serve at once.
by Gail Sokol | Jan 14, 2019 | Podcast, Recipes
So many people love brownies. Discover that Chef Gail is a diehard brownie lover as well, and always on the look-out for the perfect brownie recipe. She will give you one of her favorite fudge brownie recipes, and then give you four incredible variations. Learn how to change flavors and dress up the simple little brownie.
Fudge Brownies
Makes 9 Brownies
½ cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped semisweet chocolate
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a medium heatproof bowl placed over a pot of
simmering water, melt both the bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates until
melted. Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Whisk the granulated sugar, the eggs, and the
vanilla into the melted chocolate. Mix well.
- Add the all-purpose flour and salt.
- Fold in the semisweet chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into a greased 8-inch square baking
pan lined with foil and greased again.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a small knife
inserted into the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Do not over
bake. Cool.
- Chill the pan of brownies in the refrigerator
for a few hours. Lift the foil out of the pan and peel it off. Cut brownies
into squares.
by Gail Sokol | Jan 7, 2019 | Podcast
After plating and decorating your beautiful dessert with sauces and/or powdered sugar, learn how to elevate your creation to a multi-dimensional experience using the thinnest of cookies known as wafer cookies or tuiles. Tuile is the French word for “roof tile”. Add texture and crunch to the plate by learning how to make a simple wafer cookie that is most versatile in how it can be shaped, and then placed on top of your dessert.
Wafer Cookies
Makes about 18 thin wafer cookies
2 large egg whites
½ cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons melted butter
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using the
paddle attachment, blend the egg whites and sugar together on medium speed
until just foamy.
- On low speed, add flour and melted butter.
- On a parchment-lined or silicone mat-lined sheet
pan place a teaspoonful of batter.
- Using a small spoon or offset spatula, spread
the batter into a three-inch circle.
- Repeat the above procedure with more batter
leaving a space around each circle.
- When the sheet pan is covered with circles of
batter, bake them for 6-9 minutes or until the cookies are light brown around
the edges.
- After baking, allow the cookies to cool and
crisp up to form circular wafer cookies. Or when still warm, you can roll each
cookie around the handle of a greased wooden spoon to make a pirouette. As the
cookie cools gently slide it off the handle and place it onto a plate. Repeat
with the remaining cookies.
- If the cookies cool and become hard before you
can roll them, return the sheet pan to the oven to soften them for a few
seconds.
- Repeat
the above procedure making circular cookies or pirouettes, until all of the
batter is used up.
by Gail Sokol | Jan 2, 2019 | Podcast
A slice of chocolate cake or a fruit tart on a plate looks nice, not very exciting, but nice. Learn some easy ways to elevate your desserts to a new level using powdered sugar, cocoa powder, dessert sauces and toothpicks. Picture the dessert plate as your canvas and you are the artist. Listen to Chef Gail’s tips on how to create gorgeous plates on which to place your beautiful desserts.
by Gail Sokol | Dec 18, 2018 | Podcast
The last episode of the series explores exactly what occurs when yeast bread goes into the oven to bake. Learn whether or not your bread needs a wash brushed over it before baking, and find out what washes are made of. Discover how yeast bread develops their structure, and what happens to the proteins and starches within the dough to create that structure. Proper cooling is discussed as well as proper storage techniques to prevent staling.
