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

[emmalish]

Chufi, that cheesecake looks amazing! I made the espresso cheesecake brownies this weekend (not the correct name, just working from memory here). They're amazing. I had a little trouble with the swirl because the two batters were completely different thicknesses, but it baked up beautifully. I think next time I might just put all the brownie batter in the base and forget about trying to do the swirl.

[jumanggy]

Yikes, oli! Earlier in the thread Patrick made one and he didn't have such a problem. I'm guessing too much batter would cause that problem, given that everything else is controlled (no ingredient failures, oven errors). Anyway, I hope it is at least edible in a dark room.

[oli]

Yikes, oli! Earlier in the thread Patrick made one and he didn't have such a problem. I'm guessing too much batter would cause that problem, given that everything else is controlled (no ingredient failures, oven errors). Anyway, I hope it is at least edible in a dark room.

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I saw that, since when does he make anything bad, at least he hasn't disclosed that to us lately. I sure woundn't want to post my picture here of this what might be a disaster. I was thinking, perhaps I overblended my ingredients in the cuisinart. So is striking like something chocolate. It sure will be a surpise to everyone if it tastes anywhere like it is supposed to.

[oli]

Yikes, oli! Earlier in the thread Patrick made one and he didn't have such a problem. I'm guessing too much batter would cause that problem, given that everything else is controlled (no ingredient failures, oven errors). Anyway, I hope it is at least edible in a dark room.

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I saw that, since when does he make anything bad, at least he hasn't disclosed that to us lately. I sure woundn't want to post my picture here of this what might be a disaster. I was thinking, perhaps I overblended my ingredients in the cuisinart. So is striking like something chocolate. It sure will be a surpise to everyone if it tastes anywhere like it is supposed to.

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Well the tart was fine, but I prefer Herme's a bit more. I think that this tart, which includes the complete lemon, didn't have, as one guest said "it didn't have the clean lemon tart flavour as Herme's". It could also be that I had to bake this tart quite a bit longer than the recipe called for and this may allow for the distinctive flavour difference.

Other than the tart looking more like a chocolate tart than a lemon I feel anybody making this lemon tart for the first time would be very pleased.

[Aria B.]

I just made the Fresh Mango Bread. The taste is great. The bread overflowed the pan in the oven though so thankfully I'd followed the instructions to bake on a cookie sheet so the mess was contained. I was surprised it overflowed since I didn't have raisens and left those completely out. The raisens would have been an extra 3/4 cup in the pan.

Anyway, the bread tastes great and next time I'll double the recipe and divide the batter amongst three pans maybe. Yum!!

[FoodMan]

PECAN Lenox Biscotti. I was out of almonds! These are excellent cookies and I already have a request to make them again for this Friday for my mother in law.

[jasie]

I finally went and got the book 2 weeks ago. I've been "stalking" this thread, and eyeing things to make.

Everything just looks sooooo good!!! But I finally made the applesauce spice bars today. Didn't make the glaze though as I was out of cream and didn't add the nuts (Hubby hates nuts). What can I say? It was awesome!

Made the black and white banana cake last week, was quite nice too (seemed a little dense though?) but I think I prefer my banana bread to be chocolate free. lol. Thanks Dorie, for all the awesome recipes & book.

[RuthWells]

Seisei, The lemon cream can be made quite easily using an immersion, or stick, blender, as well.

I've been dying to make the Lemon Cream Tart, but I have a question:

Lacking a stand mixer or a large food processor, would it be alright to mix in the butter using a hand mixer, or will I risk separation? The recipe mentions emulsification to achieve a light creamy texture. Or should I just mix everything in stages in my teeny little cuisinart?

Thanks for the advice, and I love this thread, and the book.

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Many, many thumbs up for the Classic Banana Bundt, and don't forget to make the lemon glaze to go with it. This cake is moist and richly flavorful, with a lovely chewy crust. My extended family flipped for it over the holiday weekend.

[iii_bake]

Just want to jump on the wagon to say Congratulations to Dorie.

I just learned about your blog from this thread and also learned that i have all your books except the one with a Chef on the cover...sorry cannot recall the title of the book.

I did read thru all the books but not yet have a chance to bake anything.

I love them all.

Again, congratulations!

iii

[Chufi]

I made the chunky peanutbutter oatmeal chocolate cookies yesterday ( I may have the name wrong, but am too lazy to go downstairs and check )

Instead of chocolate chips, I added chopped peanuts and golden raisins as suggested in Playing Around! (btw I LOVE those playing around segments. I tend to substitute a lot, and Dorie´s recommendations are always much better than what I would have come up with myself).

These are great cookies, they feel ´healthy´because of the generous amount of oats, but still very delicious because of the peanutbutter. I liked them even better today than freshly baked yesterday.

The flavors seem to have blended more.

[Jean Blanchard]

I had just the right amount of rhubarb in my backyard to make the rhubarb strawberry crisp. The strawberries at the farmers market were also the best I've had in a very long time. This crisp is really fabulous. It has a layer on the bottom and on top with bits of crystallized ginger for a little spice and interest. I keep having to give some of my baking away so I'm making lots of friends.

[richardv]

As for metric measurements -- aarrrggh!  I adore using metric weights, but I don't think they're ever going to become the standard in America.  I had included metric weights in the first Pierre Herme book, Desserts by Pierre Herme, but they were axed in the final edit.  One reason for cutting them was space and another was their scarifying effect.  People thought the metric weights made the recipes look harder and more complicated than they were.  (What was hard and complicated was converting the recipes back to metric when the book was published in France!)

I didn't think the question was so much about metric as it was about using weights instead of volumn measurements. The inexact use of cups and teaspoons as measurements in baking seems to be an American thing.

Any baking recipe I've ever gotten from a professional baker has all ingerdients stated by weight.

To me, baking is a science and the more exact the recipe, the better chance of successfully replicating the result the author intended.

[emmalish]

I made the espresso cheesecake brownies again this weekend and brought them to work today. I've had several requests for the recipe, so I'd say it's a success. I'm very popular today.

I also made the mocha walnut bundt cake – but that one I've kept for myself. My gingko pattern didn't come through as pretty as the picture in the book – it was really hot this weekend and my "room temperature" butter was a lot softer than it probably should have been. I'll blame that. The chocolate batter bakes up incredibly dense and chocolatey, while the rest of the cake is lighter and moist. And once again, while it was good right out of the oven, I find the overall flavour much more intense the 2nd day.

[jgarner53]

I made the chunky peanutbutter oatmeal chocolate cookies yesterday

I just got the cookbook myself after reading through much of this thread (and wiping drool off my keyboard). These are the first thing I'm going to make (tomorrow). I told my husband about them, and he said they sounded, "busy." I'm sure he'll love them, though!

[jasie]

Flaky Apple Turnovers

Made these today... Made half a recipe and came out with like 12 baby ones, and 3 bigger(normal sized?) ones. LOL. They are soooooooo good!! I normally don't eat a lot of the sweet stuff I bake (I'm more of a savory person) but.. I've eaten 2 already!

[mukki]

I don't remember if anyone has made the sables yet, but they're great. I haven't had much luck with sables in the past, but these are perfect: crispy, delicate, buttery, flavorful. Will try to add a picture later. I did run into a problem with the ingredients list, though. The list called for 2 egg yolks and the directions then say to add "the egg yolks" to the batter. Fine, but, before baking the cookies, she tells you to beat "the egg yolk" for brushing on the log of dough. I assume a third egg yolk is called for here?

In contrast, the Linzer Sables were a huge disappointment. For my tastes, the recipe didn't call for enough butter and the resulting cookies were dry and hard.

[jgarner53]

I've been dissed! I sent husband off to work with a few of the oatmeal peanut butter chip cookies to share with his co-workers, who normally go nuts when I send in baked goods, and not a one tasted them! He got the usual, "Oh, I'm trying to cut back on sweets" types of responses (which to my ear sounds more like "I'm not sure about this combination but don't want to say it sounds icky"). I'm so over-sensitive!

I mean, who could resist this?? (even if the photo is a bit blurry - my camera didn't know quite what to focus on)

I mean, I'm not a pb cookie lover in general, but I am really digging these cookies. The oats seem to cut down on the greasy mouthfeel and overly peanutty taste of most pb cookies. So if I like 'em...what's wrong with husband's co-workers?

[Dorie Greenspan]

I've been a little crazed lately, so I've just been popping in and out for a quick peek, but you guys certainly have been baking away -- and the stuff looks so good!

Obviously, I'm a fan of the Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies, in fact, they're among my favorites. They might be, as Jennifer's husband said, a little "busy", but I think that's part of what I like about them -- they've got so much flavor and so much texture. And they look so good in Chufi's photo. But, as hard it is to believe, not everyone has the same taste as I do so I can understand if hubby and friends aren't fans. I like to think that when someone doesn't like something, it just means there's more for those of us who love whatever it is.

Jassi, the Flaky Apple Turnovers look perfect -- glad you enjoyed them. I really like that dough and am looking forward to using it this summer to make turnovers filled with soft fruits like peaches.

[demiglace]

In the July issue of Canadian Living Magazine

MUST- READ

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Though it's not brand new, this is one of our favourite baking books these days. The recipes are well selected and written, providing enough of a challenge for consummate bakers as well as a good introduction for those who are dipping their fingers into flour for the first time.

We are loving this book in Canada!!

[Chufi]

I made the rhubarb strawberrycrips today. I quartered the recipe and that gave me 2 individual desserts. I´ve said it before but I´ll say it again: I always halve or even quarter bakingrecipes, but I´ve never come across a book where every recipe I´ve tried so far, works brilliantly even after my messing with the amounts. I´m sure the recipes weren´t tested for this, but it´s remarkable the way they work in smaller quantities!

I let them cool to room temp and we had them with a spoonful of thick, drained joghurt. Very very good!

Edited June 9, 2007 by Chufi (log)

[emmalish]

I baked some cookies last night – can't remember the name, but they're the chocolate oatmeal cookies. I've only had one so far, but I have a baggie with me for snacks later. I found they baked a lot quicker than the 12 minutes in the recipe, so my first batch is a little darker on the bottom than it should be.

I waffled between doing this recipe, and the one on the opposite page (Midnight Crackles?), and when I started baking, I did a total Rachel Green (taking some elements from one recipe, and then shifting over to the other at some point). Thank god I noticed before it was too late!

[CaliPoutine]

Here are the choc. choc chip muffins. I don't have the book(yet). I saw these muffins on a foodblog.

I couldnt resist trying one. They were very good, not to sweet and a nice hit of chocolate. I used 2 oz of Perugina and 4oz of Trader Joe's pound plus belgium chocolate( i chopped up a bit more than was called for)

[Habeas Brulee]

(Post on my blog here.)

I made Dorie's Cocoa-Nana Bread, and soaked it with the rum syrup from her Rum Drenched Vanilla Cakes recipe, thus creating Rum-Drenched Cocoa-Nana Bread. It was wonderful! It was still moist and delicious when we finished eating it almost a week later (shocking it took so long, I know, but there's only two of us here). Absolutely perfect. I anticipate making this again and again.

[DesertCulinary]

I made the Caramel Crunch Bars today for the weekly thing at Jeff's office...

Reminiscent of Heath Bars indeed!

[emmalish]

I made the Caramel Crunch Bars today for the weekly thing at Jeff's office...

Reminiscent of Heath Bars indeed!

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Mmm, those look great. I almost made those on the weekend too. Maybe this coming weekend.