middydd

Thanks for the recommendation of the Joy of Cooking recipe, I'm re-reading this thread as the urge to bake a Dobos Torte has struck again. Ludja, have you tried any Dobos Torte variations in the last while?

Vietnamese cinnamon. ← Oooh, that's a good one. Not a spice I've ever used, what is the difference between it and "regular" cinnamon? I'll ask one of the girls I speak to next week when I go for Vietnamese food, perhaps she can help. ← Apparently, it has a fuller, richer flavour. I can't say yet if it does because I've never come across it. The Spice Trader featured in today's Star sounds like a great place to check.

Vietnamese cinnamon.

I made this for Christmas dinner dessert last year. Impressive but easy. Chocolate Cranbery Torte http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108967

Does anyone know of a Toronto (or any Canadian) source for varieties of spices, similar to the American Penzeys? Penzeys might stock 3 or 4 different types of cinnamon etc.

Anybody know where to find fresh mozzarella, the kind that's made that morning and you eat it for lunch so it's never been refrigerated? Or New York City style black pepper biscuits, like a hard biscotti with pepper? Some bakeries use lard. Vesuvio bakery in Manhattan made the ultimate biscuit.

I used dutched Callebaut with this recipe, and the cake rose just fine. IIRC, Ling used Valrhona (also dutched) in her cake, and it appears to have risen fine also. ← I've made this cake with dutched VanHouten, Droste, Ghirardelli, Dagoba, Val Rhona, Chokolag cocoas, as well as natural Scharfenberger cocoa, it makes no difference to how well it rises.

My favourite is the Pumpkin Pie with Ginger Streusel from Epicurious. I add a couple of tablespoons of brandy to the filling. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/818

I saw an ad for diet Grape Crush. I've always hoped someone would come out with a diet grape flavour. Has anybody spotted diet Grape Crush in a store yet? Anybody tried it?

My weekly flyer from Loeb's featured them as "Lebanese cucumbers" with a big "new" item tag. http://www.1derwork.com/loebflyer1/

My two favourite recipes for green beans are the Mennonite Schnippled Beans, http://lloyd2.home.mindspring.com/m21.htm or steamed then tossed with some chopped basil, caramelized onions and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Inspired by this thread, and the fact that blueberries were on special offer at my supermarket, I made these last night, and I have to say, kind of disappointing. Sorry, middydd. Not lemony enough, too sweet, and the stub was soggy (top nice + crispy though). I will have to keep trying! ← Ahhhh!!! I'm so disappointed to hear these didn't work for you. It's amazing how a recipe works well for one baker and not another, I've never had them turn out soggy, more a little on the dry side even.

This one for Lemon Blueberry Muffins from Food Network is my current favourite. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cooking/re...36_4149,00.html Another really good one is from the Williams-Sonoma site, it's cinnamon spiced. http://content2.williams-sonoma.com/recipe...30F16E4A144F9C6

Pineapple Cake This cake is a nice, moist yellow cake flavoured with pineapple. The original had a brown sugar, pecan, coconut topping on a 9 by 13 inch cake but I'd imagine it would make layers nicely. 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup softened butter 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Preheat oven to 350. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Combine dry ingredients, set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, beat smooth. Add dry ingredients alternately with the pineapple juice. Beat after each addition until just combined. Fold in pineapple. Spread in greased and floured pan (or pans). The baking time for a 9 by 13 in the original recipe was 30 to 35 minutes. Layers, I guess you'd just have to watch and test. Frosting ideas might be sweetened whipped cream with pineapple folded in or caramel frosting sprinkled with pecans and coconut.

Thanks for reporting on your results. I'm about due to make a Dobos Torte, this recipe sounds like the next one to try.

I've been looking for the same recipe. I've been meaning to try the recipe here: http://magazines.ivillage.com/countrylivin...,637388,00.html But haven't gotten around to it yet.

The Epicurious site has a newly posted recipe for an Ambrosia cake with oranges in the filling. I'm thinking of making it this week, it looks very good. It was mentioned in the Slate article where the author cooks an entire meal from each of five or so cooking magazines.

I like pecans in my similar-to-the famous-pie, I've been making it for years after trying it at a Macy's take out counter. It's one of those things I've never exactly followed a recipe for but the closest to what I mix up is from Saveur magazine: http://saveur.com/article.jsp?ID=15143&typeID=120 Think they call it "Winner's Circle Pie".

I don't think twenty minutes is enough time to bake a 9 by 13 pan of cake. A few of the reviewers mentioned it had to bake longer. I'd try baking it longer.

To get them really fine I put them through the food processor twice.

There is an excellent raspberry muffin recipe at this link: http://labellecuisine.com/archives/fruit/b..._with_fruit.htm You just have to scroll down the page to "Raspberry Streusel Muffins". They're also good with blueberries.

I've tried about twenty recipes for carrot cake in the last two years. My favourite is from Southern Living. The buttermilk glaze between the layers just adds something really special to a great cake. http://food4.epicurious.com/HyperNews/get/...8005/1/1/1.html

Ruin a half decent dessert by squirting on whipped "creme".

I've made Clafoutis a few times and gotten this rather oily eggy custard described above. Inspired by sale priced cherries and hints given in this thread, I tried a recipe from Saveur that bakes at 425. I ended up with a rather lovely puffy thing that resembled a huge Yorkshire pudding with pancake-like browned edges and a custardy centre. I left the pits in the cherries and they really did seem to add an almond note to the batter. Is this how Clafoutis is supposed to turn out? I've never had one made by anyone but me, so have no comparison point.

There's another new variety of Coffee Crisp, Caramel seems to be the newest of the variations, I noticed it this week.