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Pete Fred

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  1. Pete Fred
    Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated. I'll do the docking next time and will try your patterning. 👍 It did get a light glaze - perhaps too light - but no return to the oven. Will be sure to do that next time. (Although next time will probably be next year, so don't hold your breath for an update. ☺️)
  2. Pete Fred
    Perhaps a little late for Epiphany, but here's this year's Galette des Rois. Those vertical indentations are due to a technique I saw where a rack is positioned above the galette to stop the puff rising too much and doming. Not sure I'll bother in future. And next time I'll be little bolder with the scoring so the design is more apparent. The pastry was an inverted puff. Highly recommended if you've never tried it; incomparably delicate and melting, and not as difficult to make as you might imagine (the butter is on the outside when laminating 😲).
  3. Pete Fred
    Dorie Greenspan's Moroccan Semolina and Almond Cookies. They look quite pretty but I don't think I'll be bothering again. Couldn't taste the citrus (lemon zest, orange blossom) and the texture was quite dry and cakey. I have no idea how the NYT could describe them as "moist and rich". Each to their own, I guess. I asked myself what would a Moroccan do in this instance, and ended up dunking them in a cup of tea, which improved matters no end.
  4. Pete Fred
    Another bite-size treat from Dana Cree... Coconut Haystack Cookies. I have no idea if I made them correctly. The method is a new one on me: make a butter/sugar emulsion, incorporate whole egg and (dessicated) coconut, cook the mixture on the hob, chill the dough, roll into balls (10g for me), bake. There was plenty of guesswork on my part as to how each step should look or feel. Anyway, I really liked them. Best served warm, I think. Initially very buttery, with caramel notes from the bottoms, then finishing strongly with coconut. Quite different from your regular macaroon. Once cooled, they're more dense and chewy, the butteriness somewhat lessened.
  5. Pete Fred
    A slab of Dana Cree's Nutterbutters (although I think they're now known as Nutterbuddys). The base is peanut butter and chocolate, with cocoa nibs and feuilletine for texture. The top is white chocolate caramel ganache (oh the bubbles! 😭). Very moreish. Highly recommended. Recipe here. (And a bit more backstory here, if you like that sort of thing).
  6. Pete Fred
    The Nutella, Sesame and Hazelnut Rolls from Ottolenghi 'Simple'. Quite tasty. I liked the orange note. Not sure the sesame seeds added much; I'll probably skip them next time. Warm out of the oven (or after a quick blast in the microwave) they're soft with a little crispness on top; once cooled, they're chewier (no bad thing).
  7. Pete Fred
    I could only find three people online who'd made it, commenting on the "natural gooey chocolate sauce", the "thin, shiny glaze" and a texture "half cake, half mousse". Either we're all doing it wrong or that's how it's supposed to be. When cooled (L) it went quite fudgy (and definitely needed cream or custard), but a quick nuking in the microwave brought the moussey-ness back (R, not that you can tell).
  8. Pete Fred
    One for us nostalgia freaks... Barbara Kafka's Microwave Chocolate Pudding. I think this came on my radar when reading her obituary in the New York Times back in the summer. I'm curious.... is it meant to be "self-saucing", or is mine just undercooked? The recipe makes no mention of this film of batter. The crumb might look a little dense in the picture but it was actually really light, and even if the "sauce" is technically incorrect it worked well. This was a pleasant surprise. Beautifully simple and just half an hour from opening the cupboard to doing the washing up. A good recipe to have tucked away in case of dessert related emergencies!
  9. Pete Fred
    Idly browsing the discount shelf at the supermarket last night, I was shocked and delighted to see them clearing out their stock of maple sugar. So I picked up ten 100g bags at 90% off! 😲 I made Pierre Herme's Financier Carré Blanc which are little maple and cranberry almond cakes. The traditionally shaped ones (L) were made in metal, the others (R) in silicone. I prefer traditional because the edges crisp up a touch more for a nice textural contrast. After getting all excited about the maple sugar, it wasn't a particularly forward flavour and was somewhat lost behind the brown butter. I like financiers, and these were good, but not worth the premium for speciality sugar. Just gotta find a way now to use up the remaining 934g of Canada's finest!
  10. Pete Fred
    It's not hollow. It's made just like a Swiss roll. 👍 Bake a flat sheet of meringue on a tray lined with parchment. Once cooled, place a tea towel on top, flip and remove parchment. Spread with a layer of whipped cream and cover with fruit. Then roll into a log using the tea towel to assist. As you roll, the meringue cracks into that crazy-paving effect. Place seam side down on a serving tray or plate. It's from this recipe by Ottolenghi. I thought the oven temperature was way too high so did my meringue at 130C/260F until pale beige and suitably cooked (crusty on top, marshmallowy inside).
  11. Pete Fred
    A batch of Thomas Keller's bouchons. These are excellent little cakes. I make them in Ø 45 mm (1¾") dariole moulds. Quite dinky and gone in two or three bites... They're a tiny bit crispy on top, and are like a cakey brownie. I find them best warm, when the chocolate chips are still gooey. Once cooled, they're a touch more dense (not that that's a bad thing!). Mr Keller certainly knows a thing or two about cookin'. 😀
  12. Pete Fred
    I know, I'm always complaining about lack of flavour and blaming it on the fruit. I didn't want to waste any rum or wine on what was just a test run so didn't do myself any favours. Come July, when I make another one, I'll no doubt be moaning about the strawberries or cherries. 😁😉
  13. Pete Fred
    A surfeit of egg whites was all the excuse I needed to have a go at pavlova for the first time. This was 'winter fruits'. A baked meringue, spread with vanilla whipped cream and poached, spiced apple and pear segments, a sprinkiing of blackberries, then rolled. Finally, more cream piped on top and a faintly ridiculous 'artful' placement of more fruit. It was a bit 'meh' in terms of flavour. But this was mainly an opportunity to practise technique and construction ahead of (hopefully) better fruit in the summer, and I was happy with the process and texture of it.
  14. Pete Fred
    Dunno if Bruno Albouze was one of your fails or not. Recipe and video here. I tried 55, 60, 70 and 85% cocoa solids, and all worked well... but I can't remember which I preferred. 🙄
  15. Pete Fred
    Thanks. Worth a lot more than two cents. I'll file these tips in my culinary mind palace. ☺️
  16. Pete Fred
    Halva babka, based on the one at Breads Bakery in New York. Their filling, but I swapped in a brioche feuilletée for the bread. Not much of a looker at first glance (that's a tahini glaze on top)... ...but more appealing once opened up... A bit disappointing, sadly. The flavour was quite muted. I much prefer their chocolate babka.
  17. Pete Fred
    I did not. I'll keep my ear to the ground for the digital edition. Thanks. 👍 I do like Mr Harvey; his focus and attention to detail are right up my street. He talked abour cannelés on npr a few years ago, if anyone's interested.
  18. Pete Fred
    Cannelé. Batter made with egg yolks, moulds coated with beeswax. The difference between the dark and light ones is just oven position. Vive la France!
  19. Pete Fred
    In Sweet, Ottolenghi has Vineyard Cake. It uses a bottle of Muscat (de Beaumes de Venise in this instance) and is based on a recipe from Gourmet magazine. If you search, you'll find several bloggers who've made it. Epicurious has a Beaumes-de-Venise Cake which seems to be the aforementioned original. Do have a look at the comments where it receives a largely positive response. I haven't made it myself so can't add anything beyond that.
  20. Pete Fred
    The one above is the original recipe that Ducasse liked. Hopkinson did tweak it later on, though. I've made both but can't remember if the revision was a game changer or not. Surely a good excuse to make two?!?
  21. Pete Fred
    Here's a good, old fashioned English steamed pudding made with beef suet. It's the ginger pudding that Simon Hopkinson served at Bibendum in the 90s. Alain Ducasse thought it "one of the best things he'd ever eaten". The pressure of that evening's service caused Mr Hopkinson to suffer what he described as a "mini-breakdown" and shortly afterwards he left the world of professional kitchens, never to return. So it's a pudding with quite a tale. I had mine with thick cream, but props to the fearless amongst us who went all-in and had custard too. Mentalists!
  22. Pete Fred
    Another custard tart. This time it's the salted caramel one that Phil Howard served a few years back at his two Michelin star joint in Mayfair. (The UK guide certainly seemed enamoured with uncomplicated desserts back then!) I like to take my caramel quite far - in this instance over 190°C (375°F). And I was quite bold with the salt. Oh, and I brûléed the top for giggles coz, well, what's the point of having a torch if you're not gonna use it? 😉 It didn't add much to the party, other than a pleasingly delicate snap when digging in. And I always look forward to freezing the leftovers, which magically transform into a kind of biscuity, ice cream fudge. Yum.
  23. Pete Fred
    I have an aunt who lives in Mississauga. Sadly, the last time I visited was in the 80s, with no future plans to return; otherwise I'd be requisitioning her kitchen and dropping by with a slice or three.
  24. Pete Fred
    My first bake of the year was a classic English-style egg custard tart. It's from a recipe by Marcus Wareing who served it in his two Michelin star restaurant in London. That makes it sound a little more grand than it actually is: after all, it's just a custard tart. Having said that, it did win the first series of Great British Menu and he subsequently made it for The Queen. Unfortunately, royal protocol dictates that we'll never know whether she liked it or not. However, I can tell you that mine was very nice. 😜
  25. Pete Fred
    Stella Parks' Pumpkin Skillet 'Thing'. Underwhelming. It took much longer than indicated (internal temp 96°C) which accounts for the overcooked edges. The streusel topping was dry and powdery. I used Ovaltine for the malted milk powder, so it's darker than her version. Several commenters had similar problems so I'm not sure what to make of it. Even if the texture would've been better, the flavour was decidedly 'meh'. It just seemed an expensive way to waste some quality white chocolate. I enjoy reading Ms Parks' articles and have picked up some valuable tips but this isn't the first time I've been disappointed with the results, whether technical or taste. So no hard feelings - no doubt operator error is partly to blame - but her bakes are seemingly not for me.
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