Delectable Deliciousness Celebrates a Birthday

Hard to believe it's already been a year since I began my blogging journey. So much has changed. In fact, so much so that it feels like two years ago, not just one.

I've enjoyed my slow but steady pace along the way this first year and while things have (really) slowed down over the past several months, I hope to pick it up in the future. I have a renewed excitement over many things and as most bloggers and food enthusiasts, a looong list of things I wish to try and experiment with.

One thing I'm truly focused on is improving my photography skills. There's always more to learn and I am very eager to do so! It truly makes me happy to look at some of the images I've captured and this blog certainly is a collection of a lot of them. I feel I can see a bit of growth in my images from last year at this time and that makes me happy.




I am still excited to read every new comment from you, my readers ("I have readers!" She says, excitedly) and appreciate every single one of them. I know things can be slow around here and I am so happy to know that there are people out there, taking time out of their day, their busy life, to stop by here to look around and sometimes even say a word or two of encouragement.

For that, I thank you.

And if I could, I'd bake you all a batch of these scrumptious macarons and send them to you to show you that I really mean it! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Delectable Deliciousness!

Welcome to my kitchen

So I've been holding out on posting this for nearly two weeks, partly due to laziness and/or busyness and also in part because I cringe a little when I think about showing my much less than gourmet kitchen. I have almost no counter space and because we live in an older home, the set up is rather odd.

However, I thought it might be strangely inspirational to other bloggers who may find themselves in a similar less-than-stellar kitchen situation. I know I love seeing other bloggers kitchens and, get this, even more when they are tiny and small and when you see them you think, 'Wow! They make everything they do IN THERE?'

Yep. Sometimes you just have to make it work and that is what I do every time I head into my kitchen.It has become my mantra, and so far, so good.

You can read my brief interview and take a tour here, over at Cafe Mom.

Make this bread.

I'm gonna cut right to the chase: I'm obsessed with this bread. OBSESSED. Obsessed I tell you! I'm so obsessed with it that I've said the word 'obsessed' so many times that it no longer sounds like a word.

I'm so in love with this bread that I even have the recipe memorized. That is no small feat, my friends because let me tell you - I have a horrible memory. Terrible. I instantly forget people's names upon being introduced to them. I couldn't tell you what I had for dinner two days ago. I lose my train of thought like you wouldn't believe.



after the first rise

What were we on about again?

Oh! Right. This amazing coconut chocolate bread I can't seem to get enough of!



forming the boule

This wonderful bread is another variation of the infamous no-knead bread from Jim Lahey. I was given his new book My Bread as a gift and this was the second recipe I tested. This is also the recipe that seems to be preventing me from testing out any others in the book, as I can't seem to muster up the desire to try any others (yet). I've made this bread more times than I can recall (no surprise there) and I would guesstimate, at least once a week for the past month and a half (and sometimes multiple times a week!).

I've basically been living off of this stuff. I eat it for breakfast. As an after lunch snack. Perhaps a small slice before dinner. And definitely a thick slab for a late night treat. Admittedly, I start to feel a slight sense of panic when the loaf nears it's end. It's almost gone! I need to make more! I'm going to run out! GAH!

And by 'slight' I mean, 'immense'.

One thing I really love about this particular recipe is that it's not too sweet. I wouldn't call it a 'sweet bread' as the coconut doesn't add much sweetness and using bittersweet chocolate doesn't really either. It's a perfect blend of chocolate and coconut flavor with the amazingly chewey/crunchy texture of no-knead bread.



before and after the second rise

If you've never ventured into the world of no-knead bread, I highly encourage you to do so. It is truly a beautiful thing. Not to mention, quite yummy.

Just a few notes on this recipe...

• No-knead bread dough is usually very sticky and wet - this variation is less so. Don't be alarmed if it seems too 'dry'. Don't add more water! I tried this and ended up with a very flat loaf.

• The original recipe calls for half of the coconut to be added to the dough and the other half sprinkled over the top of the dough just before baking. I tried this and the coconut just ends up burnt during the last part of baking (after removing the lid to your baking vessel). Because of this I add all the coconut at the beginning, which is what probably causes it to be more dry than other no knead doughs, but it works out well
  

• I always strive to get my no-knead breads to be taller and more round, so I've taken to putting a strip of parchment under the dough ball during the final rise. This way I am able to lift the dough ball easily into my pre-heated dutch oven without mangling it. If you happen to run out of parchment, use a strip of well oiled foil and whatever you do, don't attempt to use a cut up paper Trader Joe's bag instead. Trust me on this.
  

Coconut Chocolate No-Knead Bread
adapted from My Bread by Jim Lahey

280 grams (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) bread flour (all purpose works fine as well)
100 grams (2 cups, loosely packed)  large flake unsweetened coconut
150 grams (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chunks
4 grams (3/4 teaspoon) salt
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
280 grams (1 1/4 cups) room temp water

1. Combine your ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and let sit for at least 12 hours and up to 18 (longer would probably be okay too).

2. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and shape into a round boule. Lightly grease a large bowl and place a long strip of parchment a few inches wide in the bottom. Place dough ball on top of parchment strip. Cover with a towel and let rise for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

3. 30 minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat your oven to 450 F with your dutch oven inside (any large baking vessel with a lid will work too).

4. Gently lift your dough using the parchment as handles and place into your pre-heated dutch oven and put the lid on. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15-20, depending on how dark you prefer your crust.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Valentine's Macarons

Oh macaron, how I love thee. Your crunchy outer shell with your chewy insides. The way you melt in the mouth and taste so dreamy with your various fillings. How cute you look in every color of the rainbow. ♥ swoon ♥

Will you be my valentine?



These macarons make me smile. Inspired by a seasonal offering from Williams-Sonoma, they were an experiment of mine to attempt a red velvet macaron flavor and I am more than pleased with the result. Red velvet is very much an elusive flavor to describe. Technically, it's a buttermilk cake with a hint of cocoa and of course, the excessive red food coloring. The frosting also adds to the red velvet experience and can range anywhere from cream cheese frosting to vanilla sour cream or even a more modern twist - cinnamon buttercream.



The latter is what I chose for these macarons, as I have used it previously on a red velvet cake for my mom's birthday that was met with rave reviews. The recipe comes from Baked, a well known bakery in Brooklyn that I had the pleasure of visiting last September. I tried a few of their cupcakes, including a red velvet, and while the cake was a bit on the dry side (perhaps it was due to my late in the day visit?) the frosting, oh the frosting! Every single one of them was divine. Not overly sweet at all and deliciously creamy. I'm usually the one to scrape off most frosting on baked goods piled high (as is usually the case with cupcakes) but theirs was so good I didn't dare. While a cinnamon buttercream may not be traditional for red velvet, I think it is an excellent modern twist on an old classic that has seen a resurgence.



To make a macaron red velvet, I simply modified a recipe I'd used before (employing the Italian meringue method) by adding a bit of cocoa powder. I was hoping to add a hint of cocoa flavor to the shells without turning them brown or chocolate flavored, however, there wasn't any hint of cocoa to be found. Had I added more I don't think the food coloring would have covered up the brown tint, though I may experiment more in the future with this.

All in all, I am still very pleased with the final result. I love the cinnamon buttercream with these but would think that a cream cheese frosting would go just as well with them.



**EDIT: I found a great new blog dedicated to these lovely little sweet treats called Mactweets and will be entering these in their Mac-a-Valentine round up. Check out!

A little note on this recipe - it makes A LOT. I easily filled 3 sheet pans worth. Also, please do yourself a favor and use two pastry bags for the batter. I made the mistake of only using one; I thought the 16-inch size I had would suffice but I ended up overflowing some batter while filling the pastry bag and then also had batter oozing out of the top and all over my hands. Lesson learned!

Red Velvet Valentine Macarons
adapted from Kitchen Musings

for the TPT (tant pour tant)
300 grams almond flour
300 grams confectioner's sugar
110 grams aged egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
red food coloring (I used a gel coloring)

Sift together the almond flour and confectioner's sugar. Mix in the egg whites to create the "mass" (mixture will be very thick). Add in your desired amount of red food coloring and mix well. Note: I didn't measure the amount I used, I just kept adding until I had a bright red color, keeping in mind that the color will be diffused a bit when the Italian meringue is added.

for the Italian meringue
300 grams granulated sugar
75 grams water
110 grams aged egg whites

Bring water and sugar to a boil until it reaches 239F on a candy thermometer. Start whipping your egg whites in a stand mixer to soft peaks once your sugar/water mixture reaches 239F. Continue boiling your sugar/water mixture while simultaneously whipping your egg whites.

Once the sugar/water mixture reaches 245F, remove from the stove and let bubbles settle. Turn your mixer to low-medium speed and slowly pour in your sugar syrup mixture while continuing to beat the whites. Beat until you get soft peaks that gently food over when you turn the whisk upside down.

Preheat your oven to 350F

Fold in 1/4 of your meringue mixture into the TPT "mass" to lighten the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining meringue until the mixture "flows like magma". Transfer to two pastry bags with a plain tip.

A note on how to pipe heart shaped shells: This takes some finesse. I started out with heart shapes drawn on parchment underneath my silpat which helped somewhat. This particular batter was more 'oozy' than the French meringue method I typically use, so it was a bit difficult to pipe them exactly into the shapes I traced. I ended up piping them freehand in a gentle 'V' shape that turned out well.

Allow for shells to dry at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (I almost always wait 1 hour) then bake at 350F for 12-20 minutes (depending on your oven).

Cinnamon Buttercream
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

NOTE: I halved this recipe which made plenty for the amount of macarons I had. Double the amounts below if you want to make a full batch

3/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1/8 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. (recipe states "about 20 minutes" but my mixture thickened in under 10)

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of stand mixer and beat on high, using the paddle attachment, until cool. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the butter, piece by piece, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy. If frosting is too soft, chill in the refrigerator and then beat again until proper consistency.

Decadent Chocolate Cake

This is some serious chocolate cake. I'm talking, for REAL. I don't often make something I find myself thinking is "the best". As hard as I strive for perfection, I almost never achieve it. That's not to say I don't think the things I make turn out well, because they (usually) do. It's just that I always see the room for improvement. I'm often left thinking of substitutions or additions I could make to change the recipe I'm using to make it better.

This time, dear reader, that is not the case. This one is IT. Lean in and listen close because I don't say this often.



This, right here, is - to date - the BEST chocolate cake I have ever made. BOOM. Period. The end. Dare I say, best CAKE I've ever made! Oh yeah, we're not just talking chocolate cake here, we're crossing borders! We're taking down yellow cake, white cake, red velvet and any other cake that has ever crossed my path! This one is it and I have to say, I'm quite proud of myself about it. Did you just hear that horn? Yeah, I'm tootin' my own over here because yes, I have really out done myself this time. A personal best, for sure (and trust me, it takes a lot for me to even think that, let alone proclaim it!).

It's not just this particular cake recipe that makes it the best (this one is equally as delicious but was more cake than I needed), but rather all the components put together. In total, there is over a pound of chocolate in this cake. And it is good. So good. So good I felt the need to italicize and bold the fact that it is so good. This is serious people! I think I mentioned that? Wait - yes, I did. Whew. Just wanted to be sure.

I promise you, if you make this cake, it'll make you proud. People will rave. The skies will part and a rainbow will shine down on you and glitter will fall from the sky.




The cake itself is incredibly moist (even days later if wrapped well and stored in the fridge) and despite all the chocolate components, it's not at all overly sweet. It has an intense, deep chocolate flavor that is truly decadent.

Now, I must forewarn you - a cake of this caliber does take some time to produce. None of it is very technical but give yourself an afternoon to put it all together. You can most certainly make it a day ahead, just be sure to store it in an airtight container of some sort (or wrap it very well in plastic wrap) and keep it in the fridge.



Beatty's Chocolate Cake
from Barefoot Contessa at Home (Ina Garden is my hero. She never fails me.)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, room temperature (I used 2 large eggs and about half of another egg)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet to combine. Slowly add the hot coffee just until combined.

4. Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.


For the filling:

Chocolate Mousse
adapted from Cooks Illustrated, via Orangette

*Note - you can probably halve this recipe depending on how much filling you like. I prefer a very thick layer of filling and had just enough left over for some simple decoration for the finished cake, plus a couple extra spoonfuls for a taste test ;)

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
5 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon whiskey
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar, divided into 1 1/2 teaspoons each
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold heavy cream

1. Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, espresso powder, water and whiskey in a medium heat proof bowl. Heat over a double boiler, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In another medium bowl, combine the egg yolks, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and salt. Whisk until mixture lightens and thickens slightly (about 30 seconds if using an electric mixer). Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture and whisk until combined. Set aside until mixture cools to just warmer than room temperature.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat egg whites on medium speed until frothy; add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and increase speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form. Stir about 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until only a few white streaks remain.

4. Using your now empty mixer bowl (no need to wash it), whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate/egg white mixture until no white streaks remain. Cover and refrigerate until firm for at least 2 hours (or up to 24).



For the frosting:

Simple Ganache
adapted from various sources of ganache ratios

5 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
6 oz. heavy cream

1. Place chopped chocolate and espresso powder in a medium bowl. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes.

2. Whisk cream and chocolate mixture until smooth. Cool until ganache is of spreadable consistency.

December Daring Baker's Challenge - Gingerbread House

I was really excited when I saw what this month's Daring Baker's Challenge was because this is something I have been doing for the past four or five years now. The very first one I made was so much fun, and such a success that making a gingerbread house from scratch has become a holiday tradition of mine.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

For most of us, this is a busy time of year. For me, however, it's busier than the average person. In the months of November and December there are 7 family birthdays including those of my mom, my sister, my niece, my daughter and also my own. Add to that this year the brilliant idea of moving over the Thanksgiving weekend and you've got yourself enough going on to cause a near total and complete melt down! Luckily, I survived, but to be honest, we're still living partially out of boxes and I continue to have clothing packed away in every suitcase I own. All in due time (I hope).

My daughter turned 7 on the 21st so the weekend before we had a birthday party for her with 7 of her friends. As the main activity I decided to make each girl her own little gingerbread house to decorate. Originally I was going to make our usual large gingerbread house that we decorate together as a family along with the smaller ones for the birthday party. Well, apparently I have a thing for biting off way more than I can chew because I ended up scrapping the large gingerbread house this year (to save my sanity - or what little bits of it I actually have left) and only made the smaller ones. I can laugh about it now, but let me tell you, I was frantically rolling out dough and cutting and baking tray after tray of little gingerbread pieces the night before the party, cursing myself for coming up with such an idea. "Oh, no problem! I'll just whip up some homemade gingerbread houses, yeah! So simple and easy! Why go the easy route and use graham crackers when I can make the gingerbread from scratch! GREAT IDEA!"**

**Note: NOT a great idea!



Thankfully, I did manage to get it all done, and the whole party was a success. The girls were very excited about decorating their houses and it was the perfect activity for them. It was great to see their faces light up when they realized they would get to take home their gingerbread house and get to eat it too.

The Daring Bakers hosts chose two different gingerbread recipes which you can find here and here. I chose to go with the recipe I've been using for years now because it's familiar and it works really well for me.



Gingerbread Dough

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
6 eggs
6 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice

1. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until well blended. Beat in the molasses and the eggs one at a time.

2. In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and spices.

3. Slowly incorporate the flour/spice mixture into the creamed butter/sugar mixture until combined.

4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.

While the dough is chilling, make your house templates. Also, preheat your oven to 325° F.

Here is what I used as my templates. I cut the pieces out of thick cardboard and cut each piece individually with a sharp knife.



When your dough is thoroughly chilled, roll it out on a generously floured surface to approximately between 1/4 and 1/8th - inch thick. Once this dough gets to about 1/8 - inch thickness, it has a tendency to stick to the counter top (or rolling pin) really badly unless you're very careful about keeping everything well floured. Also, keep in mind that the dough will stretch a bit when you lift it to transfer to the baking sheet. If you're having problems with it being too sticky, refrigerate the dough for a while longer and re-roll it out thicker and that should help.

5. Lay your cardboard templates on the rolled out dough and working quickly to keep the dough cold, cut out your pieces and gently transfer to a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.

6. Bake for approximately 18 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. Let pieces dry overnight, uncovered.

To assemble, you will need royal icing. It dries fairly quickly and is almost as tough as concrete! But be forewarned, it doesn't taste good. In fact, it's horrible. It does, however, do the job it's supposed to quite well.


Royal Icing

3 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1. In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar. Beat until the egg whites are stiff but not dry.

2. Slowly incorporate all the confectioners sugar and beat until well combined.

3. Transfer icing to a pastry bag with a plain tip and you are ready to go.


Assembly

Start out with a gable end (that would be the one with the point in it) and a square side piece. Don't be shy with the royal icing. Yes, you can over do it, but generally as long as your icing is freshly made, you can't really use too much. Be sure to use a nice thick bead of icing on the bottom of each piece and if any of your pieces don't quite match up, just fill in any gaps with extra icing.

I like to let the four walls dry just a bit before I put the roof on, just to be sure things stay together. It really helps to have an extra set of hands, but if you're going totally solo, I've found that cans work really well at holding things up as they dry.

Once your house is fully constructed, let it dry for a couple of hours (or overnight) and you are ready to decorate! There is no limit to what you can use to decorate your house with. Things I've used in the past include: necco wafers (for roof tiles), Nilla wafers (also as roof tiles), dots, spice drops, candy canes, red hots, red licorice, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, M&M's, etc. etc. etc. I tend to just grab any and all red and green candies I can find.

All in all, this really is one of my favorite holiday projects and if you've never made your own, I highly encourage it!

October Daring Bakers Challenge - Macarons

Ah yes, the macaron. I love them so.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. of Baking Without Fear. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

It took a few trials and errors before I became comfortable making the oh-so-finicky macaron. I know which recipes work for me and most of the time end up with a final product that is every thing I set out for it to be.



Was I alarmed when I saw this month's Daring Bakers challenge involved a new, never before used (by moi) recipe for macarons? No. I felt fairly confident that I know what I'm doing and wouldn't have much of a problem with this new recipe. I thought, "Oh, hey, I'll just whip these up really quickly, no problem. I'm such a rock star macaron maker! I'll conquer this recipe too! Yeah!"

Cockiness is so unbecoming, isn't it?



I'll be straight with you: I was TOTALLY wrong! I most certainly did not conquer this recipe. Nope. Not at all. This recipe gave me a good bitch slapping, a la Rick James to Charlie Murphy. Not only once, but TWICE! Yeah, didn't learn my lesson the first time apparently. I thought maybe the first time was a fluke, or perhaps it was just one of those macaron....things. You know, they don't work out sometimes. However, I like to think I've surpassed the days of not really knowing what I'm doing when it comes to making macarons. I can usually tell if something is not quite right before they're baked, and I tend to be correct.


I love this part

Such was the case with this recipe. There seemed to be a lot of egg white to powdered sugar/almond flour ratio going on - 5 egg whites to roughly around the same weight of powdered sugar/almond flour that is used in recipes that tend to call for about 3 egg whites. Okay...I thought, how could more egg whites be a bad thing? Well, it was. I could tell the batter was different than usual after the macaronage stage. I persevered anyway and ended up with...well, not macarons. No feet. Undercooked. Sticky. Bleh. Not good.


I could tell something just wasn't quite right with this batter...

For some silly reason, I gave the recipe a second chance, despite being very pressed for time. What a waste that was! The second go-round was just as much of a failure as the first.


whaaaaaat the effffff?!?!

Of course, having a bit of a perfectionistic nature, I had to bake them again...only this time using a tried and true recipe that doesn't fail me.

Success.

So in the end, I (finally) got what I set out to achieve and that pleases me. It pleases me greatly.

Rather than post the Daring Bakers recipe (which you can find here, if you're so inclined) I'm going to include the recipe that worked for me. If there's one thing I've learned about making macarons, it is this: not every recipe works for every one. Find what works for you and by all means, stick to it! Whatever tickles your fancy and gives you the results you set out to achieve is the best recipe to use.

Coffee Vanilla Bean Macarons
adapted from the always inspirational Helen of Tartelette

For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (about 3)
30 gr granulated vanilla sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds
1 teaspoon espresso powder

method:
In a stand mixer, whip egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue to beat until you have a glossy meringue with nice peaks (you can test if they're stiff enough by turning the bowl upside down - if the meringue stays put, you're good to go.)
Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almonds and espresso powder and pulverize until the almonds are ground very fine.
Gently fold in the almond mixture into the meringue (I do this 1/3 at a time) being careful not to over mix. You want the batter to "flow like magma".
Place the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe onto silpat or parchment lined baking sheets. Allow the shells to dry for at least 30 minutes (I usually let them sit for an hour).
Bake at 280° F for approximately 15-20 minutes.

To paint the shells:
Take approximately 1 teaspoon of instant espresso or coffee powder and add enough water to make a thick paint-like texture. Use a clean paint brush to add brush strokes to the top of the baked shell. Allow the tops of the shells to dry before filling.