Pete Fred

Basque cheesecake is not something I've made or even had, so time to dip my toe in... I resisted the temptation to chase a bronzed top and pulled it at 57C/135F. It carried over to 63C/145F... After taking the chill off to serve... While the ooze has a certain visual appeal, I'll probably pull it at 60C/140F next time for a slightly firmer set - the creamier part didn't taste as cheesecake-y as the rest. I know Basque cheesecake is having its moment these last few years but I didn't find it anything remarkable, just a nice cheesecake. I liked its simple, rustic charm. Next time I'll do a deeper one.

What the French/Germans think the "American Way" of eating is still tickles me. I think they're just trolling now. Next week in Lidl...

@Shel_B Amazon (France)

I've only ever used generic supermarket peppercorns. Spurred on by the comments here, I thought I'd broaden my horizons... Well, night and day, innit? Thanks.

I didn't manage to check out the apricots at the market over the weekend, so went rummaging in my to-do folder for something apricot adjacent, and there was Nigella Lawson's Apricot Almond Cake with Rosewater and Cardamom using dried apricots, which I had... I very rarely make food processor cakes, and I think I significantly over-blitzed it. The crumb was extremely tight, and there was a thin, gummy layer at the top. My bad, perhaps. But that aside, it disappointed in the flavour department, tasting of neither apricots, rosewater or cardamom. It just tasted of 'cake'. Sorry, but it's a "no" from me, Nigella. Feeling melancholy from this fail, I attempted to raise my spirits with a cherry crumble/crisp... I left the cherry sherbet out to soften a little too long, so by the time I'd finished futzing about taking pictures it was half melted. But it did the job, and the funk lifted.

Pierre Hermé's sablés viennois (Spritz cookies)... I should make these more often when there's a spare egg white knocking about. Quick to rustle up and tasty.

Nicola Lamb's Substack had a deep dive into almond cakes yesterday. I already have several recipes to draw on should the urge take me, but gave hers a go anyway... It's not the most exciting thing to look at and doesn't add much to what's already shown her article, but it's a nice cake and easy to make. I have a soft spot for this kind of thing, paired with minimally fussed-with fruit and a bit of thick cream. I'd just picked another tub of cherries fresh off the branch... ...and thought about making a quick compote, but ultimately couldn't be bothered just for the sake of a photo (sorry). Anyway, simply warmed gently in the microwave gave it a lovely moist, buttery almondyness. It'll freeze well for a handy stash as the summer fruits come and go. And I'll now be on the lookout for some of those sweeeeeeeet apricots and peaches, as above.

@Jim D. I don't disagree, but it strikes me that plated desserts like this are meant less to be eaten as a whole with each element in every mouthful. One can mix and match... except for the lovely smooth ice cream, which now can't fail but to have crumble attached. Of course I might also be the nerd who just wants to check the ice cream for ice crystals. ;-)

Another mention of the eGullet of yore here. "eGullet was the feral frontier of early internet food culture"

Brown cake... Or, to give it its fancy-pants name, Buttered Walnut Cake with Espresso Glaze by Yossy Arefi. Like most of her cakes it's a quick wet-dry method that yields a muffin-like texture. It was acceptable as cakey things go, but 'brown' about sums it up.

Other than chug it by the spoonful I couldn't think of much to do with the baked custard. After a quick rummage in the freezer and pantry I came up with... Tinned pear pan-fried in butter and sugar, brown butter cake, crumbs, and plum caramel. It made for a nice photo but I'm not sure it worked as a plated dessert. And I will berate myself for putting the rocher on top of the crumbs. I never understand why chefs do this (apart from the visual). I don't see the point of taking a lovely smooth, creamy thing and immediately contaminating it with crunchy rubble. But I was weak and followed the herd.

@Kerry Beal No, just vanilla and soft, light brown sugar as per O/G. (As an aside, I've been using Ugandan vanilla beans of late and have been pleasantly surprised with the quality. At less than a third of the price of similarly sized Tahitian/Madagascan here in France, it's a relief not having to sell body parts to fund my hobby.)

I saw an interesting technique for baked custard from a blogger based on an Ottolenghi/Goh recipe, so I went to the source. You make a stovetop custard and then bake it in a screaming hot oven until blackened and curdled; this monstrosity gets blitzed with a stick blender until smooth, then chilled to firm up a little. I ended up with this... Straight from the blitzing it had the texture of pastry cream. I baked the custard longer than indicated because I like that burnt milk flavour, so mine set up quite firm and ganache-like in the fridge, which made it rocher-able... Good Lord! it was delicious, like a grown-up dulce de leche, or a smooth version of the skin from a baked rice pudding or flan Parisien. I'll have to try it with a softer set at some point. Incidentally, I made the meringue brittle element of the Ottolenghi recipe a few months ago but didn't think to make the custard. I can definitely see how this take on 'affogato' would work.

@AAQuesada I prefer Gâteau Basque with the cream filling. But I've never made one with my own jam, so this might be a good reason to revisit. Thanks.

A Bakewell tart seemed like a good excuse to chip away at the cherry mountain... I threw some mahleb into the almond cream but I'm not sure if I could taste it because I was quite generous with the almond extract. Rookie error. The pastry scraps went towards half a dozen bite-sized egg custard tarts...