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

[CatPoet]

I made two jars of  Cloudberry jam.   I had a kilo of cloudberries in the freezer so I took half and made jam for my daughters breakfast.

 

 

My daughter and I made a tray of rainy day biscuits.  I have cookie dough frozen for just such days. Seams to be many this summer, it is cold and rainy down here,

[CatPoet]

I have to maintain 6 ice cream flavors plus a sorbet for our sampler we offer. In the summer, that's a lot.  So, there's been a break in wedding cakes for the next couple of weeks, and I've started stocking up.  These are a few of the flavors I've been making:

 

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Cherry Almond Chip

Kahlua Espresso

Blueberry

Nutella Hazelnut

Fennel

Apricot Sorbet

 

And more in progress    

'

 

Have your ever had sweet saffron ice cream or gingerbread ice cream?  That used to be   my two favorite ones when I could eat  normal ice cream.  Oh that right Glögg used be good too, it is a  mulled wine ice cream.

[DianaM]

I like the look of your galette better than the one I made today. I followed The first recipe but I didn't have enough rhubarb, so I used 380 g rhubarb and a 340?g of frozen raspberries (unthawed). Maybe rhubarb is not as moist and 2 tablespoons flours to add to the filling are sufficient but for juicier fruit I think the directions of the messy bakers are safer. 1/4 cup flour, plus tapioca...I had a big leak.

I couldn't taste at all the amaretti powder at the bottom. It was not bad and the crust was not soggy in the end but the cranberries galette that I linked before, cannot compare to this...love that one

Franci, I think yours looks very good, the rhubarb cut lengthwise like that looks very nice. And yes, I agree about the flours - 2 T of flour does not seem like enough. But I used less than the messy baker, so I was somewhere in the middle. I think I used the 1/4 flour but only 1 T cornstarch (had no tapioca).

Ann_T wow that first pie looks amazing!

[DianaM]

The dough rolled out beautifully, and soon I had the galette assembled, using a combination of nectarines and peaches. (If I've missed this point, I apologize: is it a good idea to put something like an egg wash down first, to seal the dough? I did so with beaten egg whites, before the fruit went on.)

The galette received enthusiastic praise, and the sincerest compliment of not having much left. The accompaniment was nectarine/amaretto ice cream (today's other project), whipped cream, both or neither, depending on the eater's preference.

I was quite proud of the whole thing, until I went back up and looked at photos of galettes from the pros in the last 2 pages. It's only partly the quality of the photos; I can see that the pastry wasn't as flaky. But it was a hit, and a lot of fun, and I figure that's what counts - at least as a starting point - for this amateur.

Smithy, I'd gladly have a slice of your peach galette, looks delicious. Did you try a bit a bit of almond extract in the fruit mixture? It makes any stone fruit pie sing, imo.

Until the pros have a chance to answer, I can share my experience. I do not use egg wash beneath the fruit, but I do use almond flour, just sprinkle a handful onto the rolled out crust, mostly for stone fruit, but also for blackberries. For apples, I do not use almond flour, just pour the apple mixture straight in.

To get flaky pastry: I measure the cold butter, straight from the fridge, then grate (yes, you read that right) it into the flour-salt-sugar mixture using the large wholes of the box grater. Then just a very brief "rubbing in" of the butter into the flour, maybe 3-4 strokes, then I add the water. Mix (not too well), and very briefly knead, again maybe 2-3 strokes. Keep everything cold. I refrigerate the bowl I'll be using, the butter stays in there until the very last minute, and I put plenty of ice in the water I'll be using for the dough.

Just writing this up makes me realize how much I love pies.

[RWood]

Have your ever had sweet saffron ice cream or gingerbread ice cream?  That used to be   my two favorite ones when I could eat  normal ice cream.  Oh that right Glögg used be good too, it is a  mulled wine ice cream.

I have made gingerbread before.  It was during the holidays.  I've never made saffron or mulled wine, but those are some ideas .

 

Here are the last few.

Lemon, Creme Fraiche Cherry, Pistachio, White Peach Sorbet, Honey Roasted Fig, Banana.

[Darienne]

Big wonderful blueberries on sale today.  Ed picked up two huge flats.  Made my favorite Blueberry Cobbler Recipe.  Delicious.  Took three recipes and made my own out of them.  So I guess I can safely call it My Blueberry Cobbler Recipe...which I did. 

 

 

The scrabbly little empty bottom left hand corner was my taste of the cobbler...just in case it was poisonous.  I always look out for my family.

[rotuts]

please share that Rx

 

i too have some BB waiting for this or a Crisp

 

thanks

[Darienne]

My Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

 

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1 t. freshly grated lemon zest
1/3 c. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

1 t. cornstarch

 

1/2 c./4 oz/1 stick butter
1 c. AP flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Melt butter and pour into baking dish. (I used an 8" square glass dish)

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add milk and mix into smooth, thick batter. Pour into dish and try to spread fairly evenly over melted butter.

Mix berries, zest, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch until combined and spread on top of batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes

 

It's not a diet recipe with that amount of butter, but it sure is good.

[Smithy]

Smithy, I'd gladly have a slice of your peach galette, looks delicious. Did you try a bit a bit of almond extract in the fruit mixture? It makes any stone fruit pie sing, imo.

Until the pros have a chance to answer, I can share my experience. I do not use egg wash beneath the fruit, but I do use almond flour, just sprinkle a handful onto the rolled out crust, mostly for stone fruit, but also for blackberries. For apples, I do not use almond flour, just pour the apple mixture straight in.

To get flaky pastry: I measure the cold butter, straight from the fridge, then grate (yes, you read that right) it into the flour-salt-sugar mixture using the large wholes of the box grater. Then just a very brief "rubbing in" of the butter into the flour, maybe 3-4 strokes, then I add the water. Mix (not too well), and very briefly knead, again maybe 2-3 strokes. Keep everything cold. I refrigerate the bowl I'll be using, the butter stays in there until the very last minute, and I put plenty of ice in the water I'll be using for the dough.

Just writing this up makes me realize how much I love pies.

Thank you, DianaM! Yes, I did put a little almond extract in the filling; I agree that it helps add that extra je ne sais quoi to stone fruit fillings. I didn't know about the almond meal, though. I picked some up yesterday and will try that with the next galette...or pie or mini-tart...now I've got fruit pastries on my mind.

Your dough treatment sounds worth trying. I was trying out a method that uses a mixer. The recipe notes that it's easy to overmix the dough. I think I may have done that, or possibly added too much water; there's a certain level of judgment necessary to gauge things like 'until it just pulls together'. Am I correct that yours is strictly a hand-mixing method? Do you rest your dough between kneading and rolling it out?

[Shelby]

For the first time EVER in the zillion years that we have lived here on the farm, our sand hill plum bushes have made fruit that isn't mealy and wormy.  I need to make some jam or jelly out of them, but, yesterday I had a cup or so of them that I needed to use up--along with a few plums picked from my in-laws tree.  SO, I decided to make a sour cherry pie that included the plums.  You can't taste the plums....but it was a way to use them up.  

 

I learned to put almond extract in my cherry pies from my Grammy.  Ohhhhhhh, she made the BEST cherry pie ever.  I've said it before here, but her crust was the most delicious, flaky, light crust with a sugary finish on the top.  I miss my Grammy so much.  I used a store bought crust--the kind you roll out. The crust was ok, but nothing like hers.

 

I'm having a piece for breakfast 

 

 

 

Edited June 29, 2014 by Shelby (log)

[rotuts]

Pie for breakfast is Fantastic

 

don't forget the scoop of ( Vanilla ) Ice Cream !

Edited June 29, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[CatPoet]

 

Custard tart with  whipped cream and strawberries...  YUM.   Yes I know it isnt picture perfect BUT  I rather  go for the inside then the outside when it comes to dessert and I had sourced these lovely corona strawberries, know for their sweetness,  rich flavour and chubby berries.

 

 

Look at  this , this was one of the bigger ones and the only  split one of the punnet.

Edited June 29, 2014 by CatPoet (log)

[Franci]

Ok, I had enough galettes for now. This was very flaky, not too runny. But I should have used less sugar on the cherries, I wished for more acidity.

 

 

[DianaM]

Your dough treatment sounds worth trying. I was trying out a method that uses a mixer. The recipe notes that it's easy to overmix the dough. I think I may have done that, or possibly added too much water; there's a certain level of judgment necessary to gauge things like 'until it just pulls together'. Am I correct that yours is strictly a hand-mixing method? Do you rest your dough between kneading and rolling it out?

Yes, you are correct, hands only. I admit, this is mostly because I am too lazy to wash the parts of the food pro or mixer. And indeed, it is harder (though not impossible) to overmix the dough by hand.

I do rest the dough before rolling, I find it makes a difference. I basically leave the dough alone at room temp, in a cooler spot, while I prep the fruit. I don't refrigerate it, because it gets trickier to roll it out.

If you're exploring fruit pastries, don't forget hand pies: easy to transport, and no cutting required once they're baked.

[DianaM]

One of my friends celebrated his birthday this Saturday, and he asked that I make him a chocolate cake. And so I did.

[Smithy]

Wow! That's brilliant! What does the inscription say? The many years,...? Eh?

I hope he appreciated it!

[DianaM]

Wow! That's brilliant! What does the inscription say? The many years,...? Eh?

I hope he appreciated it!

Thank you. You're very close - the literal translation would be "to many years." It's the expression used to wish someone happy birthday in Romanian.

Edited June 30, 2014 by DianaM (log)

[Lior]

what a gorgeous cake. I happened across this, and thought that it was a good and cool way to cut a cake and keep it as fresh as possible!!

[Anna N]

Diana,

You are very talented. That cake is gorgeous.

[DianaM]

Thanks, Anna. I just do things many times over, until I no longer botch them. 

 

 

[emmalish]

Every time I post, I promise I'll be better about posting more often. And then before I know it, it's been almost 2 months since my last one. Oops. So once again, we have several weeks worth of goodies. So, in order that I baked them...

 

First off, these triple chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. These cookies are fantastic! Loaded with milk, white, and dark chocolate chips, AND peanut butter chips, AND walnuts. No lack of flavour in these.

 

 

 

Then I made these chocolate crackles. These have both the flavour and texture of a slightly cake-y brownie. A friend of mine loved them so much she asked for the recipe, and has since made them at least three times. 

 

 

 

Next up are these white chocolate cranberry cookies. This is one of my favourites. They have both dried and frozen cranberries, and orange zest, which is one of my absolute favourite flavour combinations.

 

 

 

Then I made these sugar crunch cookies. I'm going to be honest – not my favourite. I thought they were too crunchy. But everyone else seemed to love them, so I'm going to say it's just personal preference.

 

 

 

Then there are these rum raisin chocolate chip cookies. SO GOOD. The raisins are soaked in dark rum for SIX HOURS. So. So. Good.

 

 

 

Then I got on a bit of a caramel kick, starting with these coconut caramels. I'm experimenting with some different techniques. For these, the sugar is heated to the point where it smokes before adding the rest of the ingredients, resulting in a less-sweet caramel with a deeper caramel flavour. Definitely liking these.

 

 

 

Then there are these chocolate espresso white chocolate chip cookies. You can't go wrong with chocolate and espresso.

 

 

 

Back to the caramels with these chocolate coconut caramels. This is based on a recipe from Martha Stewart, but I changed the cooking instructions. This is my new favourite chocolate caramel. Seriously good.

 

 

 

And finally, some cinnamon animal crackers. They don't really taste like "animal crackers" – a little too cinnamon-y, and too soft from the honey. Still a good cookie though. It just means I'm still looking for that "animal crackers" recipe.

 

[Shelby]

WOW Emma! The rum raisin ones REALLY are calling to me......I may have to try to make those ASAP.  May I ask what brand of rum you used?   And, I hate to ask because I KNOW that recipes are spectacular the way they are....but what would happen if I omitted the pecans.  Totally would change the flavor???  

[DianaM]

Wow, emmalish - so many choices, and all look awesome! It's too hot here right now to turn the oven on, but when it cools down, I want to try one of these. Although it is hard to pick just one.

I have a question about the animal crackers. Can you please share where you bought the cookie cutters? The jungle theme suggests a set. Am I right? I think my son would love these.

[emmalish]

WOW Emma! The rum raisin ones REALLY are calling to me......I may have to try to make those ASAP.  May I ask what brand of rum you used?   And, I hate to ask because I KNOW that recipes are spectacular the way they are....but what would happen if I omitted the pecans.  Totally would change the flavor???  

 

Thank you! If you like rum, you will LOVE these cookies. And the flavour works so well with the chocolate chips. I used Appleton dark rum – honestly, it's just what I had on-hand. And I'm sure you could skip the pecans with no problem. They don't add flavour so much as a bit of crunch in texture. In fact, the original recipe had them listed in the ingredients but not in the instructions, so they might not belong there at all.

 

 

 

Wow, emmalish - so many choices, and all look awesome! It's too hot here right now to turn the oven on, but when it cools down, I want to try one of these. Although it is hard to pick just one.

I have a question about the animal crackers. Can you please share where you bought the cookie cutters? The jungle theme suggests a set. Am I right? I think my son would love these.

 

Thank you! I'm totally with you on not wanting to bake in this weather. I'm going to be switching to no-bake recipes for the summer. Very soon. I got the animal cutters from another set that includes a couple of different animals – I may need these too... Is it possible to have too many cookie cutters?

Edited July 1, 2014 by emmalish (log)

[cakewalk]

Everything looks great, but those chocolate coconut caramels have really caught my eye, they are stunning. The animal crackers look wonderful. I have that cookie-cutter set (from Williams Sonoma) and I made the cookies once. I don't remember which recipe, but it used nutmeg, not cinnamon, and it worked very well. I brought the cookies to a family function for the little ones, but the cookies got broken up during the flight. I was upset but no one else seemed to mind, the kids had fun matching the giraffe's head to the lion's body, etc. The cookies were good, I thought the nutmeg would be too overpowering but it wasn't. I have to try out those caramels.