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Better with Age


nakji

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I was just reading through my Saveur December issue when I came across the article "Home for the Holidays". One sentence caught my eye,

One thing I've learned from cooking with my mom (and it's something she learned from her mother) is that desserts need time to develop their flavors...

Then, again, in the David Lebovitz "Baking" topic, a couple of people mention that some of the recipes get nicer over a couple of days. And of course, there's our Fruitcake topic, where everything ages gracefully.

I'm not much of a baker, but I guess I'd always assumed most cookies, cakes, and pies were always best fresh baked. Now that I give it some thought, though, it makes sense that some flavours take time to develop. Cake hardly lasts long enough to age in my house, but it's nice to know if you had to make dessert a few days ahead.

I can think of some things that DON'T seem to age well for me - like my meringue, which always seems to weep. But things that DO age well - what are your favourites?

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I used to be able buy a carrot cake from a local restaurant and it needed a few days to "homogenize" and become evenly moist as there was a lot of fruit in it. Mmmm I miss the carrot cake.

tracey

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I have a hunch that most sweets that are assertively spiced tend to improve with time (the exact amount of time depending on various other factors). For example, spice cookies always seem to taste a bit raw when they're fresh out of the oven, and don't really hit their stride until the next day. I don't know how long they'd continue to improve, since I never have them around longer than two days.

Michaela, aka "Mjx"
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I was just reading through my Saveur December issue when I came across the article "Home for the Holidays". One sentence caught my eye,

One thing I've learned from cooking with my mom (and it's something she learned from her mother) is that desserts need time to develop their flavors...

That's a "rule" I would take with a pinch of salt (or sugar, if you will). Nothing beats a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie or apple tart. In fact, some pastries are not so good after a few hours, if the crust loses its crispness.

The author of the Saveur article was talking about her family's food of Northern Italy, in an alpine village. She mentions an apple cake with red wine as one of their Xmas desserts. I recall other winter desserts from that area of Northern Italy as also being sturdy in the dough or crust, and filled with dried fruit. I can imagine those desserts would improve with a little aging.

For myself, I like to age homemade ice cream in the freezer for 4-6 hrs before service. I think the flavors mellow during that time.

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Raspberry Almond Squares

I'd made these a couple of times for larger events that I catered, so they were frozen for a week or so before serving, and they became my favorite bar dessert. The person who gave me the recipe advised to cut them into smaller squares because, as she said, a little goes a long way. Then I made them--again at least the day before--for a few parties. Took them at the last minute to a pot luck, and I thought a little didn't really go much of anywhere. One day later, the flavors had really brightened.

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Alice Medrich has some recipes like her whole wheat sables and buckwheat cookies with chocolate nibs that she notes are better a day or two later. Indeed, the buckwheat cookies were fantastic the next day and even better the day after. The fourth day I wouldn't know, since they were gone. Not generally a cookie person, it takes a lot to impress me. I don't know if my guests liked them as much as I did, but I liked them so much I didn't care.

This is a great topic, since I am less sure of myself when it comes to flour and sugar, and always look for a dessert that can be made the day before a dinner party. So I can toss it out if it's horrid of course.

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David Lebovitz' jam tart, which is fantastic, really needs at least one full day to rest, and then continues to improve/hold its own for another two or three days... Its a good one to preprare a day in advance for a dinner party, which takes the pressure off of baking that day...

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/07/jam-tart/

In a similar vein, I nominate linzer torte.

I think really fudgey gooey brownies are better after a day or two, or maybe just easier to get out of the pan :smile: .

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I believe all cookies, and many cakes, should be aged (not cheesecakes or sponges or angel foods). I intentionally freeze many cookies immediately after baking for a few weeks, sometimes months; they improve tremendously. I prefer many cakes 1-2 days after baking. Date nut bread must be made a few days ahead and left, wrapped, on the counter. Pies and other pastries, however: eat immediately!

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I intentionally freeze many cookies immediately after baking for a few weeks, sometimes months; they improve tremendously.

I'm curious - what kind of improvements do you see - in taste, texture?

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More for texture than taste, but nougat and butter toffee are two confections that definitely benefit from a bit of a rest - the texture gets shorter and they become less stick-in-your-teethy.

Patty

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What I've found with cookies, especially shortbreads and spritz, is that the floury taste subsides, leaving all the other flavors to shine.

Theresa :smile:

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This is more about ageing BEFORE baking, but the whole 36-hr chocolate chip cookie palaver that hit the net awhile back is worth considering. The original NYT article suggests that pre-ageing is "allowing the dough and other ingredients to fully soak up the liquid — in this case, the eggs — in order to get a drier and firmer dough, which bakes to a better consistency.”

The consensus of the blogosphere seems to be that the maturation makes the cookie dough taste fuller, rounder, deeper. Thisis a nicely detailed comparison of pre-aged versus cookies straight away.

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