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

[Lindacakes]

I did the brown sugar bundt cake with hazelnuts and double pear (fresh pear and dried pear instead of prunes) for a brunch yesterday.

Absolutely delicious cake, I loved the hint of hazelnut, although I heard someone who took a piece (this was pot luck) say, "Needs more hazelnut and less pear."

The pear made the cake a bit damp and heavy, especially at the bottom, but I couldn't stop eating it.

[ALTAF]

yesterday i made the classic banana bundt cake. My huspend said: i don't like banana cakes, but this one is so delicious!

Thanks dorie for this great book.

Edited March 26, 2007 by ALTAF (log)

[Dorie Greenspan]

I'm so glad you've all had such a successful baking weekend -- happy enough to use a clickable smilies (if this isn't a first for me, then it's only a second):

I just pulled some rugelach out of the oven (next I'll learn how to post pictures). My mom came in from Florida and has to fly back this afternoon, so I'm going to put them in her snack pack.

[laniloa]

I made the Chocolate Oatmeal Drops tonight. These are going to be a big hit at my regional coordination meeting tomorrow. Part cookie, part brownie these are rich, fudgy with a nice crust on the outside but chewy inside. These call out for a tall glass of milk.

Edited March 27, 2007 by laniloa (log)

[Lindacakes]

Ah, sweet dreams are made of this: Dorie Greenspan's snack pack for travelling.

[Jean Blanchard]

Rugelach...fantastic, pop in the mouth and gone in an instant....ate too many!

[Becca Porter]

Baking From My Home To Yours, is featured in the April 2007 Gourmet. It is listed as one of the new cookbooks, which is destined to become a classic. They say "The book is a welcome compendium, especially after a slew of less than practical recent books that focus on just one sweet (decorated cookies, for example, or pies)."

Of course, we all knew it was destined to become a classic....

Edited March 27, 2007 by Becca Porter (log)

[Jean Blanchard]

Amen!

[Pat W]

I still read this forum but haven't had much time to bake or post lately. I just had to add my name to the chorus. This book is indeed destined to become a classic. (And has there ever been a nicer author?)

I have other baking books but this one has become my friend.

By the way, I gave our daughter, who is our family's master baker, a copy & she too, is smitten. (A happy thing for us, since she shares!)

pat w

[Dorie Greenspan]

Is the pink icon with the hearts coming out of its head the one meant to be used for blushing???

Thank you all -- again and again -- for your enthusiasm. And even more thanks for sharing that enthusiasm.

[emmalish]

Congratulations Dorie! You've definitely earned the accolades. I haven't even bothered putting this book away on the shelf since I bought it last year – why bother when I know I'm just going to pull it back out to use it again within a week. No matter what I'm in the mood for, there's a recipe in this book I can try. And I haven't hit a dud yet. Definitely destined to be a classic.

[Marmish]

Hey, Dorie,

In the Normandy Apple tart recipe, how much applesauce do you estimate I would need if I didn't make my own from scratch? I have a good quality unsweetened jarred applesauce, but I'm not sure I have enough left for this tart.

Thanks,

Marmish

[Dorie Greenspan]

Emmalish -- thank you! What a great thing to say about the book!

Marmish -- I'm not anywhere where I can measure now, but essentially you just need enough applesauce to fill the tart to a little below the rim. Put a piece of plastic wrap in your pan, spoon in your leftover applesauce and see what you've got. I hope it's enough, so that you can make the tart -- I hope you'll it.

[Becca Porter]

I made my second batch of bostock yesterday. You can read my blog for the details behind it.

[colls509]

What? No Lemon Bar recipe? Darn!

Here's what I'm thinking: My 'go to' Lemon Bars come from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Christmas Cookie book. The crust is blind baked, the lemon curd is poured on, then the pan is baked 10 mins at 350. Now, is there some way to use Dorie's Lemon Cream instead? Would 10 mins in a hot oven completely destroy the delicate texture? My inclination is to not tempt fate, but my heart craves the silky Lemon Cream. All advice appreciated!

Colleen

[Marmish]

Marmish -- I'm not anywhere where I can measure now, but essentially you just need enough applesauce to fill the tart to a little below the rim.  Put a piece of plastic wrap in your pan, spoon in your leftover applesauce and see what you've got.  I hope it's enough, so that you can make the tart -- I hope you'll it.

←

Thanks. I don't think I'll have enough, so I'll have to wait until I make a trip to the store. It's definitely next on the list.

I made a marbled pound cake for a dinner I gave to one of our secretaries who is sick. I of course presliced it for them. So it would be less work. And I could eat those "ugly" end pieces. And a few more. Had to test it, right? They enjoyed it very much, as did we.

[alanamoana]

What?  No Lemon Bar recipe?  Darn!

Here's what I'm thinking:  My 'go to' Lemon Bars come from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Christmas Cookie book.  The crust is blind baked, the lemon curd is poured on, then the pan is baked 10 mins at 350.  Now, is there some way to use Dorie's Lemon Cream instead?  Would 10 mins in a hot oven completely destroy the delicate texture?  My inclination is to not tempt fate, but my heart craves the silky Lemon Cream.  All advice appreciated!

Colleen

←

can't you just blind bake individual tarts and allow them to cool then fill them with Dorie's lemon cream without baking? you'd have smooth cool creamy lemon tarts...then top with meringue or whipped cream!

[choux]

The Lemon Cream does set up firmer than normal lemon curd, so I'd just put it on top of the already baked shortbread crust and chill.

[lisa_antonia]

I tried a few recipes yesterday: Chocolate Cinnamon Squares, Rum Soaked Vanilla Cakes, and the Cream Puff Ring.

On the cream puff ring: I had the same trouble I've had with some cream puff recipes. Even though I baked it until well firmed and browned, it collapsed shortly after I took it out of the oven. Any suggestions on how to fix that? Some recipes have you let choux dough cool in a turned off oven. Is there a problem with the amount of egg i'm adding?

The rum/vanilla cakes are utterly fantastic. One of the best recipes i've made from the book thus far, I think.

[BarbaraY]

I alway stick the puffs along the side with a sharp pointed knife to let some of the steam out during the last 10 minutes or so of baking. I just checked the recipe in the book and everything appears right.

Perhaps your oven is like mine, Even though it tests accurate I almost always have to bake things a bit longer than recipes suggest.

(Reminding self not to read recipes like this before breakfast.)

[oops]

I've been wanting to make a chocolate bundt cake. Does the mini-bundt cake convert easily to a regular bundt cake? (i.e., can I just use the same bundt cake pan I've been using for all of the other wonderful bundt cake recipes, for about the same time I've been baking those?)

Also, I made the banana bundt cake last week. WOW! I tried it shortly after it came out of the oven (against the advice of the recipe, I believe), and it was so-so. Then I tried it for an unhealthy breakfast the next day and it was out of this world good. This book has been so wonderful for me as a relatively new baker--no misses!

[FoodMan]

I made the Brown Sugar Bundt cake again this weekend with much better results. When I made it before a long time ago, I followed the instruction not to grease my silicon baking pan and it was a sticking disaster. It tasted good but was horrible looking. This time I greased and floured the pan. I also followed someone's advice upthread and used half the quantity of pears for a lighter cake. I love prunes and along with pears and hazelnuts this beauty is a winner. I've been eating it for breakfast with a sharp cheese too...

[Aria B.]

When I made the Perfection Poundcake, the center ended up falling. This seemed to happen after I used a knife to check the middle for doneness like the recipe states. Could this have done it? I will taste the cake later today at a party but I am hopeful it will taste great. Any ideas why it sunk? Just hoping to avoid a sunken center next time around. Thanks! --Aria

[Dorie Greenspan]

Aria, I don't think checking the doneness of the cake with a knife would have caused the center to sink. I'll be interested to hear how the cake was -- I'm wondering if perhaps the center of the cake isn't a little underbaked. Let us know.

[Aria B.]

Thanks, Dorie. So when I cut the cake it looked just like a big air bubble happened to be sitting in the upper middle of the cake just under the top and when I inserted the knife to check for doneness it popped the bubble. The cake seemed perfectly done and everyone raved about it.

--Aria