Pete Fred

@Jim D. I just ignored it (and the lemon). I'd be interested to try it with the inclusions; I'm always up for a challenging dessert!

@liuzhou In the Ivy version the berries are plated for five minutes to "lose their chill" then the sauce added. When I had it the berries ranged from warmed to still frozen. That's all I can tell you.

@liuzhou Not all the berries defrost. There is a range.

Back in the 90s when The (original) Ivy restaurant in London relaunched, a dessert that had its moment was "Scandinavian Iced Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce", created on the recommendation of a customer who had something similar in Sweden, apparently. Recipe via Ina Garten here (although The Ivy always stuck to small berries).

@Katie Meadow Specifically, it was a 1.5x version of this one (partly using crème fraîche, and minus the oil and lemon), which itself is not dissimilar to this one. But when I looked around most recipes seemed to broadly follow these ratios. Yup, it was good. I'm not sure the subtle 'burnt' flavour is a game changer, but it certainly looks nice. The outside also baked up a little firmer, so the transition from smooth and creamy to rich and dense was most appealing.

Basque cheesecake 2.0... This time I cooked it in a regular oven. The last one was only a two-thirds mix and somewhat protected from the heat. This time I filled to the brim so the surface was more exposed... I wasn't quite sure when to pull it, but stuck with 57C/135F figuring the greater depth might give me a few more degrees of carryover, and it seemed to work fine.

Sticking with the fruity theme... Honey and Grand Marnier roasted figs, with crème fraîche. One of the fig trees bears fruit around now, and again in early September. The ones at this time of year are always disappointing, so this was an attempt to zhuzh them up a bit. Unsuccessfully, as it turned out.

Peaches poached in white wine and vanilla... Served with a little Madagascan vanilla fromage frais and a drizzle of the poaching liquor... Can't imagine I'll eat anything better this summer.

Here's an example with the OG chocolate fondant.

@Susanwusan I often make individual cakes in small mousse/entremet rings (10cm/4-inch). I just scale the recipes down and it seems to work fine. I usually seal the bottoms with tin foil, but if your tray isn't warped or the batter too runny, any leaks soon seal themselves in the oven. I've seen plenty of videos of bakeries do this.

Well, unleashing the flamethrower did not salvage matters... It just smelled, and to a lesser extent tasted, burnt. Still, I could get used to cheesecake - burnt or not - for breakfast.

I'm not confident my puny toaster oven will get that deeply caramelised/burnt look. I might just see what happens if I stick it under the grill or flamethrower it! While I'd like to achieve that signature look, La Viña seem to have a variety of colours and textures, so I'll attempt to peddle that as my excuse. 🤨

@Smithy I'm quite partial to that burnt dairy flavour so will have to figure out a way to get more colour without impacting the texture too negatively.

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.)