Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2016 – 2017)

[Franci]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Franci

 

nice   Excception-ally nice

 

like the Chex roof !

 

do you eat it later ?

 

 

 

 

It  is mostly gone. We have some of the roof and the base left. But it's so good that my kids keep snacking on it. It's not the classical American gingerbread house, it's a British recipe with golden syrup and butter, no eggs and just some ground ginger.

 

[rarerollingobject]

I have a major horror of dried fruit and generally think mince pies, Christmas pudding, and things of that ilk are disgusting.

 

But when I really look myself squarely in the face think about it, I think what I have a problem with are shrivelled little dead insect-adjacent fruits, like raisins, currants and sultanas. Even typing those words makes me feel ooky.

 

So my mission today was to make non-vomitous mince pies; fat, plump cranberries I'll macerate in orange juice, sour dried cherries, luscious Luxardo Maraschino cherries, sweet Chinese stem ginger in syrup, dark molasses-y muscovado sugar, bourbon vanilla bean paste, almond oil, a bit of Fortnum and Mason mulled wine Christmas jelly with gold leaf in it (naturally), orange zest, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and a dash of black pepper.

 

And I DID put raisins in them but they're giant, fat juicy golden raisins I've been steeping in spiced rum for 3 months now, so they're actually a lot more like highly alcoholic, only slightly deflated grapes. So I think I can live with that.

 

[nickrey]

14 hours ago, rarerollingobject said:

I have a major horror of dried fruit and generally think mince pies, Christmas pudding, and things of that ilk are disgusting.

 

But when I really look myself squarely in the face think about it, I think what I have a problem with are shrivelled little dead insect-adjacent fruits, like raisins, currants and sultanas. Even typing those words makes me feel ooky.

 

So my mission today was to make non-vomitous mince pies; fat, plump cranberries I'll macerate in orange juice, sour dried cherries, luscious Luxardo Maraschino cherries, sweet Chinese stem ginger in syrup, dark molasses-y muscovado sugar, bourbon vanilla bean paste, almond oil, a bit of Fortnum and Mason mulled wine Christmas jelly with gold leaf in it (naturally), orange zest, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and a dash of black pepper.

 

And I DID put raisins in them but they're giant, fat juicy golden raisins I've been steeping in spiced rum for 3 months now, so they're actually a lot more like highly alcoholic, only slightly deflated grapes. So I think I can live with that.

 

How can you be sure that the rum has not affected your perception of shrunken fruit?

[rarerollingobject]

11 hours ago, nickrey said:

How can you be sure that the rum has not affected your perception of shrunken fruit?

 

Frequent and voluminous sampling, Nicholas.

[trisme11]

I know the snow has already started but since I usually limit my intake of pumpkin bread to just during the fall months  I tend to extend it just a little into winter to get the most out of my favorite quick bread.

 

Eta: Woah, did not expect it to be that big lol. Is there a perfect size for posting?

Edited December 20, 2016 by trisme11
Huge picture lol (log)

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, trisme11 said:

I know the snow has already started but since I usually limit my intake of pumpkin bread to just during the fall months  I tend to extend it just a little into winter to get the most out of my favorite quick bread.

 

Eta: Woah, did not expect it to be that big lol. Is there a perfect size for posting?

 

That looks like the perfect size to me!

[suzilightning]

Today's kitchen session included 6 small loaves of pumpkin olive oil bread with macerated raisins.  I also used gluten free flour ... now am waiting for them to fully cool down before cutting into one.  For quality control of course.

[Kerry Beal]

Chefstep's Sticky Toffee Pudding before and after sticky

 

 

 

 

The glass bowl is one a neighbour brought over with custard in it for the rug rat - it will be returned tomorrow with STP. 

[Shelby]

My Grammy always made buttermilk candy this time of year.  I found her recipe in a box that my mom gave me so I decided to give it a go.  My first batch last night set up beautifully.  My second batch, done this morning around 6:30 did not set up.  It's more like caramel sauce with nuts in it.  Sigh.  I have no idea what I did wrong.  I boiled it until it hit 235F just like the first batch.  The only different thing I did is double the recipe.....  Need to google to see if it can be salvaged somehow.  Any ideas?

 

This is my good batch:

 

 

Lessons I learned:  Never make candy early in the morning.....and I do way better at candy while drinking wine.

[David Ross]

Just when I was looking for ideas for the Christmas sweet, I came upon this Facebook memory from back in 2010--Apple Gateau with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream.  Sometimes I look at past dishes and think, "me, I made that?" 

 

 

[David Ross]

I have two store-bought plum puddings on hand, but after being reminded of this wonderful apple cake, I think that's what will be on the dessert table.

[Kerry Beal]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

My Grammy always made buttermilk candy this time of year.  I found her recipe in a box that my mom gave me so I decided to give it a go.  My first batch last night set up beautifully.  My second batch, done this morning around 6:30 did not set up.  It's more like caramel sauce with nuts in it.  Sigh.  I have no idea what I did wrong.  I boiled it until it hit 235F just like the first batch.  The only different thing I did is double the recipe.....  Need to google to see if it can be salvaged somehow.  Any ideas?

 

This is my good batch:

 

 

Lessons I learned:  Never make candy early in the morning.....and I do way better at candy while drinking wine.

Is it a fudge? Do you beat it while it cools?

[Shelby]

45 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Is it a fudge? Do you beat it while it cools?

It's sugar, butter, Karo syrup, buttermilk, soda and vanilla.  Yes, you beat it just like fudge while it's cooling.  Then you add the nuts and vanilla.

[Kerry Beal]

10 minutes ago, Shelby said:

It's sugar, butter, Karo syrup, buttermilk, soda and vanilla.  Yes, you beat it just like fudge while it's cooling.  Then you add the nuts and vanilla.

So if it didn't set up - you may have started beating it while it was too hot - a double batch would change the cooling time I expect. Perhaps melt it again, cool undisturbed to 110 F, then beat.

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

Here is the Chefstep's Sticky Toffee pudding - 

 

 

I made a couple of changes - I used 100 grams instead of 150 grams of sugar, and I cut the baking powder back from 38 grams to 20 grams - I wonder if it was supposed to be 3.8 grams? Anyway it is a lovely pudding - nice texture, great flavour.

[Tri2Cook]

6 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Here is the Chefstep's Sticky Toffee pudding - 

 

 

I made a couple of changes - I used 100 grams instead of 150 grams of sugar, and I cut the baking powder back from 38 grams to 20 grams - I wonder if it was supposed to be 3.8 grams? Anyway it is a lovely pudding - nice texture, great flavour.

The last time I made sticky toffee pudding was almost 9 years ago for a catering job. I enjoyed it, not sure why I haven't made it again for myself. I'll have to add it to the "things I need to do" list.

Edit: Just dawned on me what you posted while looking at their recipe myself. 38 grams of baking powder? The recipe I have calls for 5 grams of baking powder and 5 grams of baking soda for a 170 grams of flour. The chefsteps recipe uses 270 grams flour but that still sounds like a lot of baking powder.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Shelby]

29 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

So if it didn't set up - you may have started beating it while it was too hot - a double batch would change the cooling time I expect. Perhaps melt it again, cool undisturbed to 110 F, then beat.

 

 

Thank you so much!  So, I don't have to hit the 235F, just melt it again?

[Kerry Beal]

26 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Thank you so much!  So, I don't have to hit the 235F, just melt it again?

Maybe add a bit of water or buttermilk and bring up to 235.

[pastrygirl]

4 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Here is the Chefstep's Sticky Toffee pudding - 

I cut the baking powder back from 38 grams to 20 grams - I wonder if it was supposed to be 3.8 grams? Anyway it is a lovely pudding - nice texture, great flavour.

 

Yeah that's a ridiculous amount of baking powder - must be st least 2 TB for scant 2 flour. You can't 

taste it?

[Kerry Beal]

8 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

Yeah that's a ridiculous amount of baking powder - must be st least 2 TB for scant 2 flour. You can't 

taste it?

I only added 20 grams - it rose very well! Not tasting it though.

 

[Anna N]

9 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

Yeah that's a ridiculous amount of baking powder - must be st least 2 TB for scant 2 flour. You can't 

taste it?

If you read all the comments the amount of baking powder comes up and Chef Steps confirms the amount given in the recipe, i.e., 38 grams. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I made cherry muffins with a little real almond extract.

 

I started going at the Chilean cherries with a knife, out of habit. I don't have one of those specialty cherry pitters. Then on the very first one, my tired old brain remembered a tip I'd gotten here on eG to use a chopstick. It took three or four cherries to remember the best way to do it, but once I did, the work went faster!

 

These were very good with a lot of bing cherry flavor augmented by the almond essence. I used about a cup and a quarter of chopped cherries, and they distributed though every bite. They were ripe and very juicy, so it took about five minutes longer for the muffins to cook through and turn golden brown than it usually does with my recipe normally, even with inclusions like plenty of blueberries.

 

I had to freeze most of them, and hope I can eat them before they get tired of the freezer. It's really hard cooking for only one person who doesn't eat much. My food gifts have been increasing due to my new situation. Sadly, folks feel the need to reciprocate, and I end up with a bottomless pit of food. Could be much worse, I reckon.

 

I know out-of-season fruit is eG-lame, but when I saw cherries in December, and they looked so perfect, I lapsed into hunter/gatherer mode, and you know what? I'm not sorry I did. 

 

 

[Franci]

@Kerry Beal that sticky toffee pudding looks so go! It's since I left London that I've not had one... Looking for time to make it!

[Tri2Cook]

8 hours ago, Anna N said:

If you read all the comments the amount of baking powder comes up and Chef Steps confirms the amount given in the recipe, i.e., 38 grams. 

I didn't read any of the comments, just the recipe, but it still sounds really excessive even with them confirming it. I mean, Kerry used ~1/2 that amount and it still did what it was supposed to. I'm not saying they're wrong and the extra amount hurts it, I haven't tried the recipe, it just seems like overkill.

[pjm333]

Pinched Macaroon's !