YOUR OWN TEST KITCHEN

Having fun in science class was cool. Mixing chemicals to see them react. You know in life, it's all about chemistry period. Can you get along with your in-laws? Chemistry babe! It's all about chemistry.

Let's talk about food chemistry in this blog post. Let's talk about my favorite foods, and it's the rich stuff. Yeah yeah, I keep blogging these things. But it's a refresher again. Let's talk about the basics of say... making custard. You can fill ramekins with custard like creme brûlée, or fill custard in a cream puff, or Long John, or a pie shell to make custard pie. Let's do some Long Johns shall we?

LONG JOHNS
These are rectangular pastries filled with sweet custard. Whole milk is tempered and added to the egg yolks so they do not become omelets. (Chemistry).

Dough:

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoons salt
Deep frying oil

Custard: 

2 cups milk

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

5 large egg yolks

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 cup sugar 

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup Dark Cocoa Powder

1/3 cup brewed coffee

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for the dough:

Warm up the milk on the stove for just about one and a half minutes on low heat. It should be about 110º F,  if it's too hot it will ruin the yeast, just keep in mind if your finger touches the water and it's warm and doesn't hurt, it is good to go. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 3 minutes, then add the oil and sugar. Add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time, then add the salt. The dough will be moist, so knead for about 10 minutes with a stand mixer, or food processor. Put it in a greased bowl and cover with a wet paper towel. Let rise for about an hour until it doubles in size. At this juncture start to make your custard. Yay! Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Press it out into a large rectangle with floured hands, and cut it into the desired size for your doughnuts. Fry in a pot of oil that is 350ºF, use an instant read thermometer.

Directions for the Custard:

Add vanilla extract into the milk.  Bring it to a simmer. In a separate bowl beat together the eggs yolks, corn starch, and sugar until smooth. Once the milk is simmering, begin to temper the milk into the egg mixture ( Be careful to add a little at a time until you've added about half, then add the whole egg yolks mixture back to the pot). Bring this back to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and more vanilla extract. 

Directions or the Frosting:

Melt the the butter, and then add in the cocoa. Add in the coffee and powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached. Add the vanilla extract.

Directions on assembling Lohn Johns:

Fill the doughnuts with custard using a 

Wilton pastry bag with a 230 size tip. Do this as the doughnuts are still crispy out of the fryer, it makes it easier to insert the pastry bag tip in. Best to fill from one end and then from the other, from both directions. Spoon some of the frosting on top of each pastry, and some powdered sugar for decorations.

Science. The heat of the oil makes the pastry puffy and golden brown. The tempered milk, not too hot, makes the eggs and milk come together in perfect harmony, Yay!

          

© 2016