Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2015 – 2016)

[Patrick S]

4 hours ago, excv_ said:

That's interesting, the recipe I used was indeed a french meringue one; I should try Italian meringue- based recipes sometime later as well. Good to know that it (probably)wasn't an error on my part or anything. As for the moisture/fresh whites part, would it help to let the egg whites age uncovered longer? This time I only gave them about 3-4 hours at room temperature- minimum time suggested by the recipe- so maybe overnight or so the next time.

 

In the past when I was doing lots of macaron recipe testing, yes aging the whites did seem to result in shells with better "structure," including vertical feet and fewer wrinkles on top. In those days I think most of us were aging a few days. Hermes macaron book calls for a whole week in the fridge covered with punctured plastic wrap. Another strategy was adding powdered whites to the fresh whites, which would have the same effect of increasing the protein/water ratio. But as you no doubt have seen in the macaron troubleshooting threads, there were always differences in outcomes that were tough to nail down. Did you flavor your shells at all (e.g. with espresso powder), or did you let the ganache do all the talking? The Herme version flavors the shells with powder and the buttercream with Trablit coffee extract. That's one I'm definitely excited to try.

 

Edited to correct: the Herme shells actually include the Trablit. And in the Lenotre version, the buttercream is flavored with powder. In the infiniment cafe version, the filling is an ivoire ganache infused with Brazilian coffee.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Patrick S (log)

[excv_]

7 hours ago, Patrick S said:

Did you flavor your shells at all (e.g. with espresso powder), or did you let the ganache do all the talking?

The shells are flavored with a liquid coffee extract- about half a teaspoon for a batch that yielded about 35-40 filled cookies. Could the extra moisture introduced there have contributed to the issue? Using espresso powder does seem like a great idea, too, I'll have to try that in the future.

[Vlcatko]

So I tried struvor (rosette cookies) for the first time... I was shocked how well the little irons worked (got them as a Christmas present) and I loved the results:

 

My question is, if I make the batter a bit thicker would the struvor be not so thin? I followed the recipe that came with the irons but I keep thinking I have seen struvor that were not so crispy but more waffle like...

[jmacnaughtan]

16 hours ago, excv_ said:

 

- Some of the shells were a bit difficult to release from the parchment without having the tender insides ripped out, although I'm quite sure they weren't undercooked. Does anyone have an answer for that? Most did come off swiftly after they were cooled so it might be just that, but I think I've heard that they're supposed to release easily while still hot?

 

 

Where I used to work, we would turn the paper with the shells on it upside down, then spray it with water and leave it a couple of minutes.  That got them off OK.

Edited January 24, 2016 by jmacnaughtan (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

First dessert of the year!

 

Orange tart

 

 

Sablé breton

Grapefruit confit

Whipped orange curd

Candied orange peel

Toasted hazelnuts

[Franci]

I made again Giovanni Pina Amorpolenta. This time much better, I think there was a typo in the book and last time I must have used the wrong measurement 

 

[Kim Shook]

VIcatko – your struvor are absolutely lovely.  I get why you want thicker ones, but those are truly ethereal!

 

Cleaned out and cataloged the freezer yesterday.  That effort resulted in (among other things) bananas, whole wheat flour and pecans.  So – Brooke’s Banana Bread:

I added chocolate chips:

I got this recipe from an online friend years ago.  I probably have almost a dozen banana bread/muffin recipes and this is still my favorite. 

[Patrick S]

Vanilla Infiniment macarons using recipe from Herme's macaron book. For the filling, I used Valrhona Ivoire with both Tahitian and Madagascan vanilla beans. I did not use any Mexican vanilla beans. The Ivoire is very pricey, but really is a superior white chocolate. The ganache had to be cooled quite a bit to firm up. I cooled it in an ice bath to about 50F before it reached a firm consistency. The shells are flavored with a bit of vanilla powder. The whites were aged in the fridge for 7 days, as called for in the recipe. Taste and texture are perfect, but the shells are not as smooth on top as they should be. I may have slightly over-beaten the Italian meringue, but it did seem to be at bird-beak stage. Also, the first batch, baked at 350F, resulted in unwanted browning. The second batch, pictured, were baked at 325F for 2 minutes longer with better results. In any event, I can't claim to be to unhappy with the result.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Patrick S (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Beautiful macarons!

 

I made a big batch of David Lebovitz's chocolate chip cookies (from Ready for Dessert). I was out of walnuts so I used a mix of pecans and Italian almonds. The chips are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I baked a dozen and froze the remaining ones (already sliced), so they are ready to go whenever the mood strikes.

 

[shain]

Lemon-mandarin pound cake, with Greek yogurt and olive oil (both are not notable flavor-wise). An incredible cake, very moist, fresh tasting and light yet rich, just sweet enough.

Edited January 29, 2016 by shain
Pictures (log)

[Smithy]

@shain, I rarely bake sweets but I would like to add that lemon-mandarin pound cake to my repertoire; it looks like just the thing for my next dinner party.  Is that a recipe you can share? 

[shain]

Here you go.

I always use a scale when baking, so my measurements are in grams, I hope that you are comfortable with those.

 

EDIT: I've moved the recipe originally posted here to recipe-gullet, where I think it will be easier to find in the future.

Edited March 5, 2016 by shain (log)

[gfron1]

Slow day so I made Girl Scout cookies - thin mints and samoas. (for perspective, these are 4" across)

Edited January 30, 2016 by gfron1 (log)

[excv_]

Mini chocolate & PB cupcakes.

 

I wasn't originally going to decorate them but the frosting came out a bit thick so I decided to hide the broken tips with some chocolate shards- they ended up looking even better than I intended.

[Patrick S]

Macaron infiniment cafe - coffee macarons - another recipe from the Pierre Herme. The shells are infused with a strong coffee made with Sumatran coffee beans. The recipe called for Trablit extract, but I didn't want to spring for that. The filling is a Valrhona Ivoire white chocolate ganache infused with more Sumatran coffee beans. The filling, if made according to the recipe in the book, is extremely soft. In the future, I will probably increase slightly the chocolate-to-cream ratio just a bit.

[Franci]

As some of you on Egullet know , I've started a home business...which might become soon too big for my home.

Today I baked 55 cakes. 21 of which are my limoncello cake (aka caprese bianca)

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

25 minutes ago, Franci said:

As some of you on Egullet know , I've started a home business...which might become soon too big for my home.

Today I baked 55 cakes. 21 of which are my limoncello cake (aka caprese bianca)

 

 

I have to ask:  is your business on the Internet?

[pastryani]

Franci - I have to ask:  How long did it take you to bake 55 cakes?!!  Guessing you have multiple ovens?  And how many rounds of dishes??! 

[Tri2Cook]

7 hours ago, Franci said:

As some of you on Egullet know , I've started a home business...which might become soon too big for my home.

Today I baked 55 cakes. 21 of which are my limoncello cake (aka caprese bianca)

That's awesome. That's a lot of f'ing cakes for a day in the home kitchen (unless you have one serious home kitchen). Best of luck with the business.

[rotuts]

lets just say Im familiar with this cake.

 

you should be very happy F's cakes are not in your neighborhood.  

 

if they are, well, plan on letting that waist line out.

 

delicious they are, the best Ive ever sampled.

 

just saying.   and no, I do not have a commercial interest here. The I-Pot has done enough damage already to the waist line

[shain]

Cinnamon rolls (with brown sugar) & Cheese pastry (filled with farmers cheese, egg yolk, orange zest and raisins)

[Franci]

12 hours ago, pastryani said:

Franci - I have to ask:  How long did it take you to bake 55 cakes?!!  Guessing you have multiple ovens?  And how many rounds of dishes??! 

 

I started 9:30 am and finished at 8pm, including a short break for lunch. I picked up the kids from school, made a simple dinner for them and yelled at them to get ready to go to sleep.

When the kids where not at home I was more productive but I try to keep it as clean as I can as I go and try to  keep the process more efficient as possible.

 

9 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

That's awesome. That's a lot of f'ing cakes for a day in the home kitchen (unless you have one serious home kitchen). Best of luck with the business.

 

I bought a cadco, half sheet size, convection where I can bake at most 8 cakes at a time and I still use my ancient Chamber stove oven! 12 cakes yesterday came from there.

Plus I have a good size working table with all my work stuff stored there. Only 1 KA 8Qt., maybe I'll need another one, especially now that I found another person from my cooking school helping me, maybe from next week.

 

16 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I have to ask:  is your business on the Internet?

 

I have a web site, that you find at my signature but I'm not selling on internet. Only in 5 locations in Brooklyn at the moment.

 

6 hours ago, rotuts said:

 

delicious they are, the best Ive ever sampled.

 

just saying.   and no, I do not have a commercial interest here. The I-Pot has done enough damage already to the waist line

 

Thanks Rotuts! BTW, I gained 6kgs since starting this business, definitely not good for the line.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Franci (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

4 minutes ago, Franci said:

I have a web site, that you find at my signature but I'm not selling on internet. Only in 5 locations in Brooklyn at the moment.

 

Congratulations on your business Franci!!! The cakes (and the website) look fantastic! It's impressive what you are able to do in a home kitchen.

 

[Smithy]

Yes, I wish I could try those beautiful cakes for myself - but I'm glad at least to see photos. I'm impressed!

[Franci]

Thank you, Frogprincesse and Smithy it is very rewarding but sometimes I also feel overwhelmed. 

Now, I have 12 cakes for tomorrow plus my little one is turning 5 and having her birthday party on Sunday and need to start making things for her as well.