"Baking: From My Home to Yours" (Part 2)

[KitchenQueen]

I just got this book yesterday.

I think I'm in Heaven.

[emmalish]

I think I'm in Heaven.

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Well put. The fact that this thread has consistently stayed on the first page of this forum since it was first started says it all.

[tmgrobyn]

I got the book two days ago and I am baking today. I chose the All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake. It is in the oven currently and the smell is making me sooooo hungry!

Dorie, I only have one question on the recipe. It is on page 187. The recipe calls for cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped. I assumed it was calling for fresh. I couldn't find fresh or frozen so I used dried and reconstituted them.

Any tips?

My husband is drooling all over the pages of this cookbook. I can already tell it will become a family favorite.

Thanks!

[juliachildish]

I have a quick question as well. I'm currently attempting to cook various desserts for a 100+ people (out of a dorm kitchen, no less). So, I'm trying to make stuff ahead of time. But I've never before frozen already-baked goods-I know everyone says you can, but I've always been afraid they'll come out tasting odd. The only stuff I've frozen is cookie dough, lemon curd, etc. Any tips?

But more specifically to this book, I'm making a cookie platter. Two of the cookies are going to be the espresso chocolate shortbreads and the pecan brown sugar shortbreads. It says in the book that they can be baked and then frozen, but I'm trying to maximize baking the day of, so things taste fresher. Would it be okay to just freeze the dough and then bake it? I can't think why not, but I just wanted to be sure.

I'm also going to be making the mini milk-chocolate bundt cakes tonight, and then freezing them. I assume it would be best to defrost them and then glaze, but it seems to imply in the recipe that you can freeze them with the glaze already on. Any ideas?

[Dorie Greenspan]

Laura, I know this isn't the first time I've said this and I'm sure it won't be the last -- you're AMAZING!!! 100+ people out of a dorm kitchen. I wonder if there's a section in the Guinness Book of World Records for your accomplishments!?

There's no reason you shouldn't be able to freeze the shortbread dough and then bake the cookies the day you need them. As for the glaze on the mini-bundts, you can freeze it. If the glaze looks dull when it's defrosted, give it a little heat from a hairdryer -- that should bring back its shine.

Can't wait to hear about your party!

[Marmish]

I made the almond biscotti and the Normandy apple tart today. The biscotti taste great, although I think I should have baked them slightly longer the first bake. The tart is very good. It tastes of pure apple. I used organic no sugar added applesauce and a Macintosh apple. I only needed one to cover the top. I was thinking that it needed more as I was making it, but it doesn't need anything else at all. I used some fig jam that has been hanging around to glaze since I didn't have apple.

Edited April 13, 2007 by Marmish (log)

[Jujubee]

I made the Apple Nut Muffin Cake and I think my husband and I decided that it was okay. A little too rustic for our tastes: very crumbly and rough. To be fair, this is exactly how it was described in the header, so it's not a matter of false advertising.

I also made the Applesauce Spice Bars. So very good. Don't skip the glaze; it completely makes the bar.

[Tepee]

When I first started to read this thread, I couldn't stand it after I reached page 4. In fact, I kept away for quite a while. I knew I had to have it. Due to the crazy shipping costs (cost much more than the book) and exchange rate, I limit myself to 4 or 5 books a year, and I choose this book as one of the Must Buys. I'm sure it's the right choice. The book arrived yesterday, and, as you can see, my book is filling up with markers and I'm only at page 10 of this thread. Everything looks so good that when I asked my kids which recipe first, one of them remarked, "Any one will do, mum, they all look good!"

Edited April 14, 2007 by Tepee (log)

[prasantrin]

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I had a similar problem with the post-it notes! I didn't want to bring the book back to Japan with me (thinking I was only going to be here one more year), so I went through it so I could photocopy the ones I wanted to make. I had so many post-it notes, that I had to cull it even further! Turns out I'll be here two more years, so when I go home this summer, I'm bringing that book back with me!

Are those the thumbprints for us big guys on your screen? I have a sort of funny story about those. When I went to the UAE in March, I brought some homemade cookies for some friends--the peanut butter cookies and thumbprint cookies. The friend I was staying with tried the thumbprints, said they were very good, but didn't eat any after that. She did eat all the peanut butter cookies, though, so I just assumed she didn't really like the thumbprints (I should mention they were quite ugly by the time they made it to the UAE).

After I returned to the UAE from Yemen, some other friends mentioned how much they liked all the cookies, and how they finished them all in a day. I said, "Oh, I don't think Gretchen liked the thumbprints because she didn't eat them," to which she piped in, "No! I ate them all the day after you left!" I had noticed they were gone from her kitchen counter, but I had thought she had thrown them away! Turned out she ate them all!

Very popular, they were...

About books, have you ever considered ordering your books from Amazon.jp, if you don't already? Shipping to Indonesia (or are you in Malaysia? I can't remember now, but it's the same price for shipping) is Y1900 per shipment, plus Y300 per book. Sounds a bit better than what you're paying.

[arriba!]

I guess I am the only one to have less than stellar success with the vanilla rum soaked pound cake. I had wonderful vanilla beans i was saving for this recipe and the vanilla flavor was wonderful, but the cakes were coarse and rubbery. I mixed according to direction, whisking eggs and sugar then stirring flour and lastly the melted butter. They baked in the time stated and I cooled them before cutting. The texture of my cakes was not as described and I would love to do better next time.

[kiliki]

I made the lemon cream tart for our big family easter dinner and everyone was just knocked out. What a fantastic recipe.

[MelissaH]

Here's another shout-out for the mocha-walnut marble cake. I was able to find ground walnuts at one of the grocery stores with a large Passover food section last month, and stuck a couple of packages in the freezer. They worked perfectly for this recipe. Since I still have half the open package left, I plan to make another cake for the chemistry department picnic this weekend.

The ginkgo leaf pattern is beautiful, and oh so easy!

MelissaH

[LT Wong]

arriba!

I, too, had a very disappointing experience with the rum vanilla cake. I had exactly the same results - great flavour, but not the texture that the write-up mentioned.

So, you're not the only one.

[demiglace]

I just got this book last week and I am three for three....tarte tatin, classic brownies and florida pie..all fab! What to make next...hmm.

[Kayakado]

Congratulations to Dorie for making the Top 50 Books for 2006,

Hooray, hooray, hooray!!!!

[bekkiz]

I hope Dorie is around to help answer this. I bought the book. I LOVE the book. World Peace cookies--unreal. Chocolate Banana cake--heaven. The applesauce bars--delightful...with one little problem.

I went to make the glaze, and I know my stove runs hot, so I cooked it over medium-low heat for the entire 5 minutes. As I was stiring, I could tell it wasn't quite right, but because there's only a time listed in the directions, I wasn't sure exactly what to look for.

After five minutes, I "poured" the glaze over the bars. Lets just say, I think it was closer to a hard caramel, rather than a nice thin glaze. It hardened rather quickly, and basically could have broken a tooth, had someone bit into it. Unfortunatly, the bars were unsalvagable (although I did steal some the the delicious cake part from the underside).

Please tell me, what exactly am I looking for in the glaze to know when it's done. I think 5 minutes was about 2.5 minutes too long, but again, I'm sort of new to this whole thing.

tia!

[Chufi]

I finally got my copy! Received it this week as a belated birthday present. I made the coffee and cardamom marble cake today:

definitely a cake for grown-ups with the faint bitterness of the coffee and the fragrant cardamom. Lovely!

I've read through the book and there are tons of things I want to make. I also really love the pictures.

2 tiny quibbles.. yes, as a European baker, I would have preferred weights.. and.. it's too heavy to take to bed for some late night reading!

[Dorie Greenspan]

Bekkiz -- glad you're enjoying the book. With the glaze for the Applesauce Spice Bars, all you really want to do is simmer the mixture until the sugar is melted and everything is blended and has turned a light-medium caramel color; the glaze should thicken slightly but still be liquid enough to pour over the bars and spread easily. I hope this helps and that you'll make the bars because they're awfully tasty.

Chufi -- your pound cake looks great!

[rjwong]

The 2007 James Beard Foundation/Kitchenaid Book Award for Baking and Desserts goes to:

Dorie Greenspan for "Baking: From my home to yours"

Congratulations, Dorie!!!

[emmalish]

Contratulations Dorie!!

I made the black & white banana loaf on the weekend (that's a healthy breakfast, right?). And I'm in the process of making the madeleines. I mixed up the batter last night, and will bake them when I get home tonight. Fingers crossed! I've had my madeleine pans for a couple years, but I've never gotten around to trying them. I'm a madeleine virgin.

Edited to add that I've made the madeleines, and they're delicious (of course). I don't know why it took me so long to try making these. I doubled the recipe and made two pans of larger ones, and one pan of smaller ones. I found that instead of spreading out to fill the mould and then rising, my batter just rose up, so the madeleines are pretty round. Any ideas what could have caused this? The same thing happened at both sizes.

Edited again to say that I brought the madeleines in to work today, and there are a lot of yummy noises around me.

Edited May 9, 2007 by emmalish (log)

[Patrick S]

Hi everyone! I've been ridiculously busy for the past few months, and haven't had much time to check in, but I wanted to share my picture of the orange berry muffins from the book:

And let me add my congratulations to Dorie for the JBF award! Bravo!

[Nina C.]

Hi everyone! I've been ridiculously busy for the past few months, and haven't had much time to check in, but I wanted to share my picture of the orange berry muffins from the book:

And let me add my congratulations to Dorie for the JBF award! Bravo!

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Patrick! It's so good to see you here. I've thought about pming you a couple of times to find out where you'd gone to, but then worried that would be too intrusive.

I myself haven't had anything to contribute to this thread because I just keep making the applesauce spice bars and the korova cookies. They're both very easy, and I know I've got the ingredients at home and the time to bring them together. I never make the glaze for the bars -- I think they're better without!

Congrats to Dorie on the cookbook award and the Who's Who of American Food and Beverage! They are both well-deserved.

(When I went looking for the exact title of the Who's Who, I found Dorie's blog. Why didn't I know about this before????)

[Dorie Greenspan]

Thank you for the congratulations! It was pretty exciting to win and my head is still spinning.

And let me also add a welcome back to Patrick. I, too, thought of a pm. Glad to see you back and lovely to see those muffins photographed in your wonderful style.

[Chufi]

Congratulations Dorie! You so deserve it!

I made the sugar cookies this week, and 'played around' by adding chopped crytallized ginger and lime zest. Picture here. I took them to a dinner and we had them with ginger/lime creme brulees, which was absolutely wonderful!

Now I have a question about storing. I stored half the cookies in an airtight tin, and the other half in a ziploc bag. Next day, all of them had considerably softened. Is that inevitable, or is there a way to keep cookies like this crisp?

[Mottmott]

Wonderful news about your well deserved triumph award for your delectable Baking.

It's become my go-to book. This weekend I shall go to it for a contribution to my DIL's heroic collection of our family's gaggle of grannies. Another granny will be making a Bundt cake of some sort, so I'm thinking lemon tart. The raves are still coming in for that contribution to last Tday's potluck!

This in fact is my complaint with this book. Each venture into it is so successful that people want repeats when I want further exploration. What a problem. We bask in your reflecting glory.