Your Daily Sweets: What are you making and baking? (2012–2014)

[emmalish]

Kerry, I would love to reach in and grab one (or two) shortbreads. I don't know why, I never think to make shortbread through out the year and not just at Christmas.

~Ann

I'm with you - I typically make shortbread only at Christmas. But Dad wanted it. A couple of weeks ago it was chocolate cake. Doesn't really eat a lot any more now that he's 94 - but still wolfs down desserts and cookies.

Same here. Shortbread and gingerbread seem like such a Christmas thing. Which is a shame because they're such good cookies! I made some lime cookies the other day that were basically a shortbread with lime zest added, but then topped with white chocolate and a zest-sugar combination. Very summery. I'll try to get a pic up tonight sometime.

Ann, I honestly don't recall ever seeing coconut cream pie in real life anywhere. Now I'm going to have to keep an eye out for it though! Now I want pudding though... beautiful.

[Ann_T]

This was a quick dessert to satisfy a chocolate craving: a chocolat liégeois made with chocolate ice cream from Strauss Creamery, homemade chocolate sauce, whipped cream, almonds, and brandied griotte cherries.

The chocolate sauce was from the Larousse of Desserts and is quite thin, similar to hot chocolate but served cold obviously. This brought me back to France where it is typical with ice cream. Very different from the super rich & thick American chocolate sauce. The good thing is that it feels light so you have a good excuse to drown your ice cream in it.

Love the idea of a sundae with chocolate sauce. Thankfully I have that cookbook. I had to substitute Callebaut Milk Chocolate for the semi-sweet, but I had everything else on hand including creme fraiche, Thanks for the inspiration.

I just realized I grabbed the wrong cookbook. I used the Chocolate Sauce recipe from Lenotre's Desserts and Pastries.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Ann_T (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Ann_T: you are very welcome. Your photo looks beautiful!

[Mette]

Looks fabulous. I look for elderflowers whenever I am on a hike, but haven't had any luck so far. I know we have them (Sambucus mexicana/blue elderberry) so I keep looking. I guess I need to hike more often in the spring.

They seem quite common in Denmark?

They are very common in Denmark and grow wild, and used for cooking and tea. The ones that grow here are Sambucus Nigra - you may want to check that the ones growing over there are safe. If yes - get picking - its a lovely drink

[FrogPrincesse]

They are very common in Denmark and grow wild, and used for cooking and tea. The ones that grow here are Sambucus Nigra - you may want to check that the ones growing over there are safe. If yes - get picking - its a lovely drink

You got me worried for a second. The flowers are edible. It's the woody parts of the plants that are highly toxic, and the stems. Hank Shaw in Northern California blogged about making fritters and cordial with them. In Santa Cruz, Pim Te uses them in jams (paired with blueberry).

[Mette]

Strawberry tarts for St. John's Night in Denmark (bonfire night). Similar to a frangipane tart, with chocolate, vanila pastry cream, strawberries and a thin layer of elderflower jelly.

[blue_dolphin]

They are very common in Denmark and grow wild, and used for cooking and tea. The ones that grow here are Sambucus Nigra - you may want to check that the ones growing over there are safe. If yes - get picking - its a lovely drink

You got me worried for a second. The flowers are edible. It's the woody parts of the plants that are highly toxic, and the stems. Hank Shaw in Northern California blogged about making fritters and cordial with them. In Santa Cruz, Pim Te uses them in jams (paired with blueberry).

Thank you, FrogPrincesse, for that bit of research. I see elderflowers blooming along trails in my area (in Ventura County) in April. I'd wrongly assumed the toxicity extended to the whole plant so this is good news to me, at least for next year!

[Darienne]

My birthday. Guess how old I am. And I made the cake. Not fancy, but delicious. The cake base has cocoa in it. The top mousse is milk chocolate. The bottom mousse is 54% dark chocolate. The topping ganache is 70% chocolate. It should have white chocolate decoration on it, but alas! I have no white chocolate. I had better had another birthday next year to make up for that. The plastic wrap is because our daughter will take the cake home with her on the bus and train and we have to move the remnants to pack them.

Today for lunch with Moussaka and Spanakopita. Which I also made.

Happy Birthday me. Older than dirt.

[Katie Meadow]

You're 80, right?

[pquinene]

Walnut babka from Nick Malgieri's book, Bread:

It was delish! This is great for those who love cinnamon and walnuts; who prefer a not-so-sweet version of sticky buns/cinnamon buns.

Edited June 23, 2013 by pquinene (log)

[emmalish]

Darienne, that cake sounds amazing! There's no such thing as too much chocolate. And happy birthday!

And Paula, that babka is beautiful. I love babka but have never made it. Difficult?

[pquinene]

Darienne, that cake sounds amazing! There's no such thing as too much chocolate. And happy birthday!

And Paula, that babka is beautiful. I love babka but have never made it. Difficult?

Nick did a great job explaining the process in his book, Bread. The actual recipe, "babka's babka" was for poppy seeds, but he included the option for a walnut filling. The only thing I found difficult was transferring the roll to the Bundt pan. I think what would have been easier it a tube pan (with removable base) that is the size Nick noted in the recipe. I would have taken the insert out, placed it close to the roll, shimmied the roll onto the insert, and finally placed the insert into the pan. Mmmm, I just had the last slice about 30 minutes ago!

[merstar]

Today I'm baking my favorite blueberry muffins.

[emmalish]

This week I made toffee pecan cookies from Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie. OMG, these are GOOD COOKIES. I was very tempted to keep them all to myself. They're loaded with English toffee bits and toasted pecans.

(Recipe here).

[teapot]

This is the sour cherry pie I made to give to a friend. . . both before and after it crashed on the garage floor. I call it Pie ala NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

[tsp.]

I just made a prune and rum frangipane tart. Double the prunes, double the rum. Keeping you regular. Actually, it's pretty good.

[emmalish]

Oh teapot, that's tragic. It was so pretty in the before picture!

[FrogPrincesse]

Warm apricots with orange blossom from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries.

Making the best of apricots that are not completely ripe by roasting them with a little bit of orange blossom water. This can be topped with chopped pistachios.

[rotuts]

wow those are my kind of cookies!

[curls]

This is the sour cherry pie I made to give to a friend. . . both before and after it crashed on the garage floor. I call it Pie ala NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

So sad!!! The pie looked gorgeous. You not only lost a pie but a very nice pie plate. Hope you can get more tart cherries and try again.

[teapot]

So sad!!! The pie looked gorgeous. You not only lost a pie but a very nice pie plate. Hope you can get more tart cherries and try again.

As it happens I went to store tonight to replace the pie pan, an Emile Henri, and they wanted 50 bucks! There's no way I'm spending 50 bucks on a pie pan.

I will say that we managed to taste the pie (5 second rule!) and it was the best cherry pie I've ever had. Ground tapioca was the perfect thickener. Sigh.

[janeer]

Considering the brevity of the sour cherry season, the droppingof the pie it is truly tragic. There is nothing so great as sour cherry pie--do eat it off the floor rather than let it go to waste!

[furzzy]

We had a Family Gathering Saturday. The desert was from an idea on the KAF blog:

Used 4 oz. jelly jars, graham cracker crumb crust (w/cinnamon & nutmeg & lots of buttah), and Mother's friend's refrigerator cheesecake recipe. Topped w/Williams-Sonoma's jarred cherry pie filling.

[emmalish]

As it happens I went to store tonight to replace the pie pan, an Emile Henri, and they wanted 50 bucks! There's no way I'm spending 50 bucks on a pie pan.

I thought that pan looked familiar. Now it's doubly tragic. :-(

[merstar]

Today I made chocolate covered caramels and chocolate caramel peanut clusters.

And...It looks like I posted this under the wrong category.

Edited June 26, 2013 by merstar (log)