Matthew.Taylor

Ok, so for a little over a year, I’ve been working on a recipe. A very peach-forward cake. I haven’t been able to focus too much on it this summer, due to family losses, but I haven’t given up on the idea. These are the components: 1. A classic French Genoise sponge forms the base. Whether it will be composed of two layers, or one sponge sliced in two, I haven’t decided yet. 2. the filling is a French pastry cream, flavored with peach purée and cognac. I’ve made a test-run of this just today, and am waiting for it to cool to taste it. 3. frosting is stabilized whipped cream, with some being mixed with raspberry purée to make a criss-cross pattern on top. 4. A crunchy feullitine, flavored with cinnamon and all-spice. Maybe crushed into medium sized chunks and spread around half-way up the sides. 5. Now we come to the difficult part. It’s Genoise so it needs a flavoring liquid soak. Classic Genoise is mostly tasteless, serving as a vehicle for the flavoring liquid. I have two potential options. One is a simple homemade peach liquor. This is a classic. But a part of me wants to do something different. I found a recipe for a tippel called a Peach shrub. I would like to flavor it with some cinnamon and all-spice. The original recipe calls for ginger, but I replaced it with all-spice. This really appeals to me as a soaking liquid for some reason. I’d love to hear you guys thoughts on this idea. Is there anything I’m missing? Any advice?

Where can I get this soft peanut brittle recipe?

Ok, excuse me for nitpicking, but please take a look at these! These are not burnt! I had some leftover Dutch process cocoa, so I decided to make a thin, crisp cookie with it. These are the results after two other baking methods failed to get what I wanted. These are pretty crisp around the edges, but I can’t seem to get the middle quite like I want it. here is my ingredient list, and basic baking method. 1 cup of flour. 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter. 1 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 eggs 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans 1/2 cup 60% chocolate chips. 375 degrees. 9 minutes. Middle oven rack. What can I do to get that final bit of crispness?

Dang! looks really good!

Here’s today’s work! Dark Chocolate and Stout Brownies!

Coffe cake for my parents Bible Study. Doesn’t look as good as the magazine shot, but I bet it tastes great! does ANYTHING smell as good as baked cinnamon?

Made these over the last few days. You guys might remember Chocolate Shard Shortbread? Real big on, I think, Instagram a few years ago.

EPIPHANY CAKE First, a story. There are many stories about the creation of the yeasted cake called Kugelhopf. My favorite is this one: It says that after giving the three gifts to Jesus Christ, the three Magi returned to their homelands (some say Persia) by a different route in order to avoid King Herod. In this story, they eventually found themselves in what is now Alsace, France. Overjoyed to meet them, the locals baked for them a cake that was made to look like their turbans. This would eventually be called the Kugelhopf. Whether or not this is accurate (there are many stories as to how this cake came to be), it’s one of the inspirations for this recipe. While sitting in church one Epiphany Sunday, the Pastor (my mother) was talking about the Magi, and while this was going on, I was struck with inspiration. I genuinely believe it came from God. A cake made to celebrate Epiphany, using the Kugelhopf and its legend as a base. I decided right then and there to make. I saw it in my head, a round Kugelhopf with four cherries on top, three red cherries to represent the Magi, and one Gold Cherry to represent Christ. I decided that the mix-ins would all symbolize the three gifts the Magi brought to Jesus. For the Gift of Gold, I used Gold Raisins (raisins being a common Kugelhopf mix-in). For the Gift of Frankincense, I used some leftover Gingerbread seasoning I had. The Gift of Myrrh was the difficult one. It was used for burial in ancent Israel, so I needed something that symbolized death. I later chose apple, as it often symbolized life and death (and Christ both died and rose from the grave). With everything set. I had my recipe. INGREDIENTS. GINGERBREAD SPICE MIX 1. 5 TBSPs Ground Cinnamon 2. 1 Tsp Ground Ginger. 3. 2 Tsp Ground Cloves. 4. 1 Tsp Ground Cardamon 5. 1 Tsp Ground Coriander 6. 1 Tsp Ground Anise. 7. ½ Tsp Ground Mace. STEPS. 1. Mix all together and store in an airtight container. Will last up to a year. EPIPHANY CAKE. INGREDIENTS. (Sponge) 1. ½ a cup of Whole, or Lowfat milk. 2. 3 TBSPs of Sugar 3. 2 ¼ teaspoons of Active Dry Yeast. 4. 2/3s of a cup Flour. INGREDIENTS (Dough) 1. ½ of a cup Golden Raisins 2. 1/3 of a cup Diced Apple. 3. 1 and ½ Teaspoons Gingerbread spice (heaping, do not level off). 4. 10 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter at room temperature, and cut into cubes. 5. ½ teaspoon Salt. 6. Zest of one Navel Orange. 7. 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract. 8. 1 Large Egg at room temp. 9. 1 largeEgg Yolk. 10. 1 and 1/3 cup Flour. INGREDIENTS (TOP) 1. 1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream. 2. 2 Heaping Tbsps of Sugar. 3. Juice of one orange. 4. I/2 cup of water. 5. ½ cup of sugar 6. 3 Red Cherries. 7. 1 Gold Cherry. STEPS. 1. Make the sponge by heating the milk over a low heat in a small saucepan until it is tepid. 2. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer (or the bowl you intend to mix everything in.) 3. Add the Sugar, and sprinkle in the yeast. 4. Stir in the 2/3 of a cup of flour, scraping down the sides to make sure it is all mixed in. 5. Cover with a kitchen towel, or plastic wrap, and let sit until it becomes bubbly, about 20 minutes. 6. Lube your intended pan, whether it be a Kugelhopt pan, or a bundt pan. Use non-stick spray or butter and flour. Make sure it is lubed well, as the dough will be sticky. 7. Add the cubed butter, zest, Gingerbread Spice and Vanilla to the sponge. Use a paddle attachment (or an egg beater) to mix them well. 8. Beat in the Egg and Egg Yolk until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 9. On Low speed, mix in the Flour until fully combined, scraping down the sides as needed. 10. Once flour is fully incorporated, turn mixer to high and beat until elastic and smooth, around 3 minutes. 11. Beat in raisins, and apples. 12. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, or plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until the dough starts to puff. About 30 minutes. 13. Wet down your hands and transfer dough to the intended pan, making sure that it is equally spread around the pan. 14. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let sit in a warm place until it is double in size. 1 to 1 and ½ hours. (using a larger pan will probably require the full time.) 15. 15 minutes before baking, turn oven to 375 degrees F. 16. Bake until it is a deep golden brown across the top. (base recipe called for 40-45 minutes. I checked and found it done at 35 minutes. 17. While the cake is baking, start on the toppings. Take the sugar and water, heat them in a small saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved, add orange juice and mix well. Take off the heat. 18. When cake is done, let cool for ten minutes. Pierce the top with a fork in a few places, and brush some of the orange syrup over it. Make a few rounds of brushing. 19. Remove the cake onto a cooling dish, and let cool completely. 20. Once cool, mix Tbsps of sugar with whipping cream, until stiff peaks form. Place dollops of cream on each of the four “points of the cake” and stick one cherry to each one. Serve as you desire.

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Could I possibly get a recipe for that? Or is it just a “throw together” thing?

Thank you! They’re food colored white chocolate.

This doesn’t look as professional as I’d like, but my nephew liked it. Made for his 8th birthday! Vanilla buttermilk cake, with cocoa cream cheese frosting, and homemade marshmallow fondant.

And it went pretty well! I used Meathead’s instructions, and it took around 9-10 hours!

Here’s today’s bake. Peach Strusel bars from the latest issue of Bake From Scratch.

Hah! Sorry. I completely forgot about this. My bad. Anyway, I’m in southern Ohio, and never see it anywhere.