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

[Pete Fred]

Pick a card, any card...

 

 

These are almond, pistachio and sour cherry wafers from Ottolenghi Sweet*. The dough is chilled then sliced thinly (2-3 mm or ⅛-inch) and baked. I expected it would be difficult to slice, given the nuts, but it was pretty straightforward with a sharp knife. However, despite having what seemed to be the indicated thickness, they baked-up a little tough. Only where an edge or a side was a lot thinner were they crisp and wafer-like. He says that at the bakery they use a meat slicer, so maybe that's where my issue lies. To avoid the toughness I underbaked them a touch, yielding a more gingerbread-like texture. They're handsome cookies, no doubt, but I'll wait until I get a Benriner before tackling them again.

 

Flicking through Richard Sax's Classic Home Desserts, I alighted upon the Whipped Cream Pound Cake...

 

 

I liked it a lot. The crumb was light and delicate, and you could definitely taste the cream. I made a whipped cream cake a few months ago from the King Arthur website, but that used a different method. This Sax version is better. 

 

The only issue I had was folding the cream into the eggs/flour. Looking at the slices you can see the top is a little paler than the bottom...

 

 

...and you can make out a swirl here and there, so the cream could've done with a few more folds to incorporate better. (The top of the cake is where the last of the batter was gathered together in the bowl, getting that extra blending). Having said that, I wouldn't want to risk knocking out any more volume and impacting the texture. It's really just a visual thing.

 

*It's an excellent book. The Kindle version is currently discounted on Amazon - five bucks on the US site, but they're practically giving it away for 99p on the UK site.

[rotuts]

@Pete Fred

 

your Pound Cake looks stunning .

 

I can see your Expert Concerns about that lighter top.

 

I know you willl work that out 

 

not too fat 

 

as you can send me all the imperfect ones .

 

Id love them .  we all have our histories of baking PC.

 

mine , right out of Fanny Farmer .  

 

Two Loafs , very nice and tasty .

 

My sister , send me that same loaf , in college .

 

I enjoyed it.   it had a good chew , at that point .

 

wondered about the other loaf.  the Rx made two.

 

3 0r 4 months later , back at homer vacation

 

my father pulls out a small log , from the ' flour drawer '

 

yes , a ' flower drawer '   not used at that time

 

and then shaved off parts of the log

 

to put on ice cream , had packed from both Baskin Robbins 

 

and Swensons , in they very early days.

 

worked fine ..

[Pete Fred]

Continuing to browse Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax, the St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake sounded like it might be on to something. Gooey. Butter. Cake. What more do you need to hear?

 

After a little digging around it turned out to be one of those bakes that stirs up strong emotions in its devoted followers. As far as I could make out there are two broad types: bready base, buttery top; or (yellow) cake base, buttery cream cheese top.

 

I figured the bready kind was more my kinda thing...

 

 

 

Having no frame of reference for this particular regional delicacy I have absolutely no idea how it measures up. I followed almost identical recipes at the NYT and King Arthur, and both indicated pulling it while the centre was still liquid. I'm guessing the idea is you can choose your desired level of gooeyness: corner, edge, or middle...

 

 

I can't say I was particularly enamoured. It was a bit one-note: mainly sweet, and not especially buttery. I preferred the breadier bits, so I guess that makes me a corner person. I'll have another nibble tomorrow and see if that makes a difference.

[Kim Shook]

1 hour ago, Pete Fred said:

Continuing to browse Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax, the St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake sounded like it might be on to something. Gooey. Butter. Cake. What more do you need to hear?

 

After a little digging around it turned out to be one of those bakes that stirs up strong emotions in its devoted followers. As far as I could make out there are two broad types: bready base, buttery top; or (yellow) cake base, buttery cream cheese top.

 

I figured the bready kind was more my kinda thing...

 

 

 

Having no frame of reference for this particular regional delicacy I have absolutely no idea how it measures up. I followed almost identical recipes at the NYT and King Arthur, and both indicated pulling it while the centre was still liquid. I'm guessing the idea is you can choose your desired level of gooeyness: corner, edge, or middle...

 

 

I can't say I was particularly enamoured. It was a bit one-note: mainly sweet, and not especially buttery. I preferred the breadier bits, so I guess that makes me a corner person. I'll have another nibble tomorrow and see if that makes a difference.

I think that I'd agree with you.  I'm a corner of the cobbler, pie crust, edge of the cookie person.  My daughter makes a gooey butter cake that's very sweet, but with good flavor.  Hers uses a cake mix, which your didn't, of course.  But one ingredient that hers does have that the KA doesn't is cream cheese.  I think it adds a nice tang that balances the sweetness a bit.  

[Pete Fred]

I did a little more tinkering with the recipes from the last week or so...

 

 

Banana pudding: I used my regular pastry cream recipe (more yolks) for a richer custard; infused the milk with bananas; custard powder instead of cornflour (for a yellow hue); a saltier, darker caramel; and a dusting of fresh nutmeg. All successful upgrades, so job done.

 

Nutty cherry wafers: managed to cut super-thin slices with a regular knife so they were easier on the teeth! Big hit with the neighbours.

 

Whipped cream cake: folded in the cream a little more, and reduced the amount of batter for the tin. Still had the colour banding at the top, and the crumb might have been a touch tighter. Seeing as you'd probably never notice the colour thing unless it was pointed out, in future I'll under- rather than over-mix. It's a good cake.

[Pete Fred]

Another one from The Joy of Sax (Classic Home Desserts), the Peanut Butter Pie...

 

 

 

It's really just a set cheesecake, and somewhat mousse-like. The book has a Graham cracker crust with sides and a chocolate ganache topping. I used some of the leftovers from the banana pudding instead: the crushed wafers for the base, and the salted butter caramel for the topping. Would've been nice with a scattering of chopped peanuts for crunch, and the filling would benefit from a pinch of salt.

 

All together now... 🎵 Try, try some peanut butter pie 🎵

[RWood]

Got around to finishing my birthday cake (somewhat). 
Ran out of buttercream for the layered retro piping thing that’s going on now. 
All chocolate throughout (and the one Rocher on top, even though I decided against hazelnuts inside this time).

[BeeZee]

I didn’t bake this, but enjoyed it at a little French bakery in Sarasota, FL. The lemon merengue tart was outstanding for it’s tart lemon filling (not overly sweet) and the merengue was closer to marshmallow texture.

 

[Pete Fred]

(Yet) another lemon polenta cake...

 

 

It does get a good soak with lemon syrup, but the photo makes it look a little more sodden than it eats.

 

With all the leftover egg whites from recent banana pudding adventures, I made marshmallows (Thomas Keller recipe). Vanilla...

 

 

And chestnut (crème de marrons)...

 

 

As you can see, the chestnut purée didn't add much colour-wise, just a hint of beige, and the flavour was quite subtle, but it was pleasant enough.

 

I picked up Yossy Arefi's Snacking Bakes on Kindle for a buck-fifty and have bookmarked a few recipes. First up were the Raspberry Mazurkas (or Polish Wedding Cakes)...

 

 

 

Apparently, Mazurka Bars were a thing in 90s Seattle. Yay! for Emerald City.

 

I didn't have enough raspberry jam so bulked it out with fig jam. (Figsberry, anyone?) Anyway, they were good. Crumbly, jammy, and a little chewy. Recipe here. (Oh, and like any recipe published after 1976, it NEEDS MORE SALT! )

 

 

Edited March 17 by Pete Fred
Spelling (log)

[gulfporter]

Blueberry Breakfast Cake....that's what the recipe is called.  Waiting for it to cool.

 

Update: after cooling and tasting, I would make again.  It's dense and a bit on dry side (which I like with morning coffee), not too sweet other than the topping. 

 

I increased blueberries to 2.5 cups and I added pinches of salt to both the batter and the topping as I think most baked goods benefit from some salt.  "Batter" so thick I used my hands to mix in the fruit and to pat it into the pan.  

 

This is recipe,  https://amandascookin.com/blueberry-breakfast-cake/

 

 

Edited March 21 by gulfporter (log)

[RWood]

Another strawberry cake for a benefit for a local dog rescue. They are having a cake walk as part of the event. 

[ElsieD]

@RWood. Beautiful!  How long does it take to decorate a cake like that?

[RWood]

4 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@RWood. Beautiful!  How long does it take to decorate a cake like that?

I started this morning, with a few breaks in between since my back has been out for the past week. I finished about an hour ago.

[Pete Fred]

Fruit cake is not something I have much of a history with. This one caught my eye, being a little different (egg-free and using condensed milk)...

 

 

 

I can't decide if it was nice and moist, or simply just wet and stodgy. The cake in the online recipe looks drier and more cakey, so I'm not sure what accounts for the difference. It was certainly fruit-packed (almost a pound and a half!) but I'm not sure you could distinguish the individual elements. For such relatively expensive ingredients, I'm unconvinced the game was worth the candle. But I'll probably happily pick away at it in the coming days.

[rotuts]

@Pete Fred

 

you may pass any F.C.you make along to me.

 

well made , and possibly aged , its a cake in its own class.

 

and w expensive ingredients  ( the good stuff )  

 

I looked into many Rx's before 2000

 

as I decided to make several smaller ones 

 

age them , and give some of them away.

 

most dried fruits came  from Trader Joes , 1999'

 

many of those they  no longer carry

 

prices and skyrocketed for quality ingredients.

 

makes a quality FC  that more delicious and rare

 

I encourage you to Try , Try Again , and Try some more.

 

sending me the extra.  

 

I wish I had that Rx.  the crumb was excellent.

 

it makes in a 300F oven for quite some time

 

and the batter was very moist.

 

 

[oli]

31 minutes ago, Pete Fred said:

Fruit cake is not something I have much of a history with. This one caught my eye, being a little different (egg-free and using condensed milk)...

 

 

 

I can't decide if it was nice and moist, or simply just wet and stodgy. The cake in the online recipe looks drier and more cakey, so I'm not sure what accounts for the difference. It was certainly fruit-packed (almost a pound and a half!) but I'm not sure you could distinguish the individual elements. For such relatively expensive ingredients, I'm unconvinced the game was worth the candle. But I'll probably happily pick away at it in the coming days.

I will be in Europe in June and will stop by for any left overs.

[Pete Fred]

Biscoff bars from Snacking Bakes by Yossy Arefi...

 

 

 

They were a little bit chewy with crumbly edges. The icing is a rum butter glaze. They were fine, but I won't be in a rush to make them again. Any speculoos cravings are better served by the plain cookies, I think.

[Pete Fred]

Another one from Snacking Bakes by Yossy Arefi. Date and Pistachio Coffee Bars...

 

 

 

The picture in the book looks like they were made with light brown sugar but I used the dark brown called for in the recipe. They had a nice chew, and the flavour profile was coffee with a very dark, almost bitter, caramel note. The coffee and coconut combo is a new one on me; I couldn't taste coconut, but could tell there was something different to the coffeeness. I quite like unusual and somewhat challenging flavours like this. I'd be interested to try light brown sugar next time, just to see if the dark, bitter character is the point of difference.

[Pete Fred]

Sabrina Ghayour's Carrot Cake from her book Persiana...

 

 

Very moist with a delicate crust on top. It was ok, but unremarkable. The accompanying rosewater whipped cream livened things up...

 

 

Recipe on YouTube (although it appears to be somewhat overbaked compared to the book).

[MaryIsobel]

Frustrating bake today. Tried a different recipe for Hot Cross Buns. They didn't get nearly the browning desired but the internal temp was spot on and they feel very light. 6 for us, 6 for each of my daughters and 6 for our elderly widowed neighbour who loves any kind of baked goods.

[gulfporter]

Blueberry cream cheese tart on puff pastry.  

 

 

[MaryIsobel]

On 3/30/2024 at 2:05 PM, MaryIsobel said:

Frustrating bake today. Tried a different recipe for Hot Cross Buns. They didn't get nearly the browning desired but the internal temp was spot on and they feel very light. 6 for us, 6 for each of my daughters and 6 for our elderly widowed neighbour who loves any kind of baked goods.

Update on the HC buns. They were very good - not nearly as dense as other ones I've made and were enjoyed by all. I will use this recipe again but bake them hotter as was my initial instinct which I ignored as it was the first time making the recipe.

 

[RWood]

Finally used the salted caramel chips from Trader Joe’s in some brown butter oatmeal and pecan cookies. Pretty tasty.

[rotuts]

@RWood

 

Oatmeal Pecan Chip (  of choice ) cookies are my favorite.

 

yours look very very tasty.

 

bet they didn't last long .

Edited April 9 by rotuts (log)

[RWood]

7 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@RWood

 

Oatmeal Pecan Chip (  of choice ) cookies are my favorite.

 

yours look very very tasty.

 

bet they didn't last long .

They are headed to my aunt’s later, so I have to bake us some more 😊