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

[Pete Fred]

I collected some rather good plums from one of the trees last night...

 

 

They went into this Hot Summer Spoon Cake by Anna Stockwell...

 

 

I had it with a mascarpone chantilly and some of the leftover macerated plums (whose juices included a good glug of moonshine that a neighbour makes 🤫)...

 

 

It's kinda like the Marian Burros/NYT Plum Torte, except with an almond sponge. I made one last year with peaches and summer berries...

 

 

I really like this cake. Recommended.

 

A German friend came to visit and brought me some honey from her mum's bees...

 

 

I'm no bee connoisseur but I've never had honey with this texture before: thick and very smooth, almost like clotted cream. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly flavourful, just mainly sweet.

 

I thought I might get the most out of it in these Caramelised Honey and Tahini Cookies...

 

 

I took the honey really dark, but the cookies were disappointing. Too cakey, as well.

 

Also this week I settled something to my own satisfaction that I'd been curious about for a while...

 

 

I keep reading about the differences between the two, and how some cooks prefer one over the other. I've used both in the past but never had a side-by-side comparison. So I made two batches of creme anglaise...

 

 

And....

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand.....

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I couldn't tell the difference!

 

If I really, really had to pick one over the other then I'd go with the Tahiti, but I couldn't particularly tell you why. The subtleties, it seems, are beyond my palate. But at least I now know that I'm happy with either. (And eating 750g of Pierre Herme's creme anglaise is absolutely no hardship, let me tell you.)

[Pete Fred]

A Tom Kerridge recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding caught my eye in the paper yesterday, mainly because it uses suet, and I'm a sucker for anything suet (obviously eschewing the vegetable kind for the beef variety). Most STPs have baking powder so I was looking forward to a denser sponge, including the generous spike of booze.

 

 

It was a good cake. However, as you can see, I made a schoolboy error when adding the toffee sauce...

 

 

Far too little. Quickly remedied, though...

 

 

More is more in this part of France, so...

 

 

I would've killed for a scoop of vanilla ice cream but had to make do with crème fraîche instead. First-world problems, and all that.

 

 

It's a good, fuss-free STP. If you don't have access to suet, there's a very similar one that uses butter.

 

[rotuts]

@Pete Fred 

 

that STP looks fabulous .

[RWood]

Pistachio and Plum Galette. Tasty! 

[heidih]

16 minutes ago, RWood said:

Pistachio and Plum Galette. Tasty! 

Was there a pistachio paste involved over the bottom of crust or just the top sprinkle. Like the combo.

[RWood]

3 minutes ago, heidih said:

Was there a pistachio paste involved over the bottom of crust or just the top sprinkle. Like the combo.

Homemade pistachio frangipane. The recipe as written is a little wonky. It called for 5 small plums, and I used six, still needed more. The frangipane is especially tasty though.

[Pete Fred]

I've such a surplus of plums at the moment, it's ridiculous. It's a bit of a contest between me and the wasps as to who can get more; I may be winning.

 

I check a couple of times a day. Yesterday morning there was about three kilos lying on the ground...

 

 

I made some plum and tonka jam, and some plum ice cream, then gave the rest to neighbours.

 

A few of today's bounty went into a Plum and Cornmeal Upside-down Cake adapted from a Yossy Arefi recipe (Snacking Cakes)...

 

 

The fruit is nestled in a sort of caramel, hence the mushy top. In retrospect I should've anticipated the gaps between the plums and pressed in some berries (there's literally an infinite supply of blackberries in the fields around here).

 

I had it with some of the aforementioned ice cream...

 

 

It was pleasant.

 

The cake was also an opportunity to dip into a bag of fine yellow cornmeal that's been hanging around for a few months since I made this lot...

 

 

Mexican Sweet Corn Cake on Milk Street.

 

 

Double-corn Tea Cake by Dorie Greenspan.

 

 

Cornmeal Buttermilk (Loaf) Cake also by Dorie Greenspan.

 

 

Hazelnut Chocolate Corn Cake by ?????. (This was probably just a way of polishing off some ricotta and a bag of ground hazelnuts.)

 

I can't remember much about them now. I suspect they were all at least "pleasant" or I wouldn't have bothered writing them up. I think the Milk Street one was the best of the bunch and worth making again, but the recipe seems to be behind a paywall. Anyway, I thought I'd retrospectively post them in case anyone's interested.

 

Finally for today, my fig tree that delivered exactly one (perfect) fig last year has outdone itself this time around. I've had about a dozen fantastic figs so far. They're huge...

 

 

The half-dozen I grabbed today were perfectly soft and ripe, the skins just starting to split and ooze their sticky juices...

 

 

There didn't seem much point in messing around incorporating them into anything else, so I simply chopped 'em up with a dollop of Armagnac whipped cream and a drizzle of chestnut honey...

 

 

Several notches above "pleasant", this one.

[heidih]

@Pete Fred Your "simple" is most people's "fancy". Thanks for the cornmel based sweets - up my alley.

[Kim Shook]

@Pete Fred & @RWood  - I’m just blown away by your recent contributions to this thread. 

 

@RobertM – I’m intrigued by the Philly Fluff cake!  I’m finding a lot of different recipes online.  Which one did you make?

 

At a recent auction our church had to raise funds, I offered making 6 batches of cookies (every other month for a year).  I did the first batch for the winner the other day.  She chose Key Lime Meltaway Spritz Cookies:

Couldn’t find any key lime juice, so these are just regular lime, but they are delectable.  No granulated sugar – just 10X.  And with the addition of cornstarch, they are so incredibly tender.  A wonderful, delicate cooky.

[MaryIsobel]

8 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

@Pete Fred & @RWood  - I’m just blown away by your recent contributions to this thread. 

 

@RobertM – I’m intrigued by the Philly Fluff cake!  I’m finding a lot of different recipes online.  Which one did you make?

 

At a recent auction our church had to raise funds, I offered making 6 batches of cookies (every other month for a year).  I did the first batch for the winner the other day.  She chose Key Lime Meltaway Spritz Cookies:

Couldn’t find any key lime juice, so these are just regular lime, but they are delectable.  No granulated sugar – just 10X.  And with the addition of cornstarch, they are so incredibly tender.  A wonderful, delicate cooky.

They look delectable. Is the recipe on your site?

Edited to add: Pardon my speed reading - apparently I missed the link!

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by MaryIsobel (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

4 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I did the first batch for the winner the other day. 

I checked out your recipe for these in it looks delicious. I don't have a cookie press nor any way to get one, can they be made as a rolled cookie or will it press the dough too much?

[Kim Shook]

14 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I checked out your recipe for these in it looks delicious. I don't have a cookie press nor any way to get one, can they be made as a rolled cookie or will it press the dough too much?

You could try that, but what I'd do - if you can - is use a piping bag.  You could either use a large piping tip or just cut a 1/2-inch hole in the bottom.  

[Pete Fred]

Joanne Chang's Sticky Sticky Buns (YouTube)...

 

 

Like me, you may be thinking "ooooooh, they look good"....

 

 

...and "can't wait to dive in"...

 

 

Sadly, they didn't live up to the hype.

 

The brioche dough wasn't as enriched as my usual one, so we were off to a bad start. Then there was so much "goo" that the bottoms (tops) turned more mushy than sticky. And they were achingly sweet and a bit sickly.

 

But apart from that...

 

So, not for me this time. More like Sickly Mushy Buns.

[blue_dolphin]

13 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

You could try that, but what I'd do - if you can - is use a piping bag.  You could either use a large piping tip or just cut a 1/2-inch hole in the bottom.  

 

I was going to make the same suggestion, @Tropicalsenior.  Most pressed cookie doughs I've used would be difficult to roll and cut but they work nicely in a piping bag. Especially with a fluted tip, you can make little "S" shapes.  Or just pipe long strips, cut them to the length you like and dip the ends in the icing.  

Now, I've talked myself into trying them!

[Kim Shook]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I was going to make the same suggestion, @Tropicalsenior.  Most pressed cookie doughs I've used would be difficult to roll and cut but they work nicely in a piping bag. Especially with a fluted tip, you can make little "S" shapes.  Or just pipe long strips, cut them to the length you like and dip the ends in the icing.  

Now, I've talked myself into trying them!

I agree!  If you do the strips just pipe a long strip down the baking sheet and cut them on the sheet, but do NOT separate them.  They are so tender that they will come apart easily when they are baked.  

[oli]

2 hours ago, Pete Fred said:

Joanne Chang's Sticky Sticky Buns (YouTube)...

 

 

Like me, you may be thinking "ooooooh, they look good"....

 

 

...and "can't wait to dive in"...

 

 

Sadly, they didn't live up to the hype.

 

The brioche dough wasn't as enriched as my usual one, so we were off to a bad start. Then there was so much "goo" that the bottoms (tops) turned more mushy than sticky. And they were achingly sweet and a bit sickly.

 

But apart from that...

 

So, not for me this time. More like Sickly Mushy Buns.

Do have a favourite recipe?

[Pete Fred]

1 hour ago, oli said:

Do have a favourite recipe?

 

Wouldn't you know it, @oli, but we've been here before  ...

 

 

I never did make them again, though. Here's the recipe (I swapped in a brioche-style dough).

 

I must have been on a Sticky Bun quest around that time because a little further up that page are some not too dissimilar Chelsea Buns.

 

I also found a picture on my computer of these Stella Parks Double-Caramel Sticky Buns from a few months previous...

 

 

I never wrote up the recipe, so I can't have been too impressed. Maybe it's the proofing and cooking of the buns in the sticky glaze (like the Chang buns) that I don't care for. Baking the buns then drowning them in sticky glaze seems to be more my thing.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Pete Fred (log)

[oli]

6 hours ago, Pete Fred said:

 

Wouldn't you know it, @oli, but we've been here before  ...

 

 

I never did make them again, though. Here's the recipe (I swapped in a brioche-style dough).

 

I must have been on a Sticky Bun quest around that time because a little further up that page are some not too dissimilar Chelsea Buns.

 

I also found a picture on my computer of these Stella Parks Double-Caramel Sticky Buns from a few months previous...

 

 

I never wrote up the recipe, so I can't have been too impressed. Maybe it's the proofing and cooking of the buns in the sticky glaze (like the Chang buns) that I don't care for. Baking the buns then drowning them in sticky glaze seems to be more my thing.

 

 

 

 

Have you tried Americas test kitchen version? I saw an unedited video of the recipe and the two girls were having so much fun at the end that Julia had to hold onto the table as she was laughing so much she couldn't hold herself up. Just because they were having so much fun is enough for anyone to be tempted to make it. Sad that this is a edited version and you can't see all the fun.

 

[Kim Shook]

14 hours ago, oli said:

Have you tried Americas test kitchen version? I saw an unedited video of the recipe and the two girls were having so much fun at the end that Julia had to hold onto the table as she was laughing so much she couldn't hold herself up. Just because they were having so much fun is enough for anyone to be tempted to make it. Sad that this is a edited version and you can't see all the fun.

 

I remember this episode and you're right - their obvious enjoyment alone makes you want to make the buns.  I am not a huge fan of wet nuts, but I still printed out the recipe to try!   

[Pete Fred]

15 hours ago, oli said:

Have you tried Americas test kitchen version?

 

Not when I woke up this morning I hadn't. However...

 

 

It was 35C/95F today, so rolling and cutting the dough was an absolute nightmare, hence the rather shonky portioning. Plus my pan was a little smaller than called for, resulting in a snug fit. But no big deal once the buns were turned out.

 

 

It was a relatively lean dough, but the tangzhong worked well, producing a nice soft bun, and the glaze didn't overly soak into it. I didn't have dark corn syrup so I substituted golden syrup cut with a little black treacle. I've no idea if it tastes the same but I liked the slight bitterness. It was a little gritty in places, though, where the sugar hadn't dissolved well. I'm not sure if that was down to my substitution or maybe differences in sugar. I'll have a think about how to fix that.

 

 

Next time, as well as tweaking the glaze,  I'll alter the process slightly and chill the dough for easier handling.

 

But these sticky buns were good. I much preferred them to Chang's.

[oli]

3 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I remember this episode and you're right - their obvious enjoyment alone makes you want to make the buns.  I am not a huge fan of wet nuts, but I still printed out the recipe to try!   

I would really like to hear what you have to say about these ATK buns.

[lemniscate]

1 batch of Pina Colada gelatin (1 can of Jumex Coconut Pineapple, some lime juice and Knox gelatin)

and

1 batch lemon posset 

in the fridge for tomorrow.

 

[Kim Shook]

51 minutes ago, oli said:

I would really like to hear what you have to say about these ATK buns.

I haven't yet made them, but I have always had fairly good results from ATK baking recipes.  

[Smithy]

Our tests of ready-to-bake sweet rolls continue. Back here I posted about a new-to-us brand of cinnamon roll. It was more satisfying to my husband, for whom I'm making these, than the Pillsbury rolls we've gotten in whomp packages. A week ago when we were visiting his daughter she treated him to realio, trulio, actual bakery caramel rolls: fluffy, pillowy, delicious, huge. Quite good. The gold standard. He liked the caramel.

 

Yesterday, in the grocery store, I discovered that Rhodes "AnyTime!" rolls are made in caramel rolls as well as the cinnamon rolls I've tried in the past.

 

 

 

I bought. I baked.

 

With the cinnamon rolls, you put them in the pan, bake, and frost afterward. (This collage is from the post linked above.)

 

 

With the caramel rolls, you spread the caramel on the bottom of the baking pan, arrange the rolls, then set the pan atop a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes. When they're done baking, you invert them onto a baking sheet or into another pan so the caramel layer is on top.

 

 

The verdict? He's happy. I think they're as toothachingly sweet as any of the other rolls we've had, but these are for him. As with the cinnamon rolls, these came out soft and pillowy. Not as good as the realio, trulio, good bakery sticky rolls, or the beautiful sticky buns folks are making from scratch and posting about here, but close enough for my darling.

[Pete Fred]

Another bake from Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi. This time it's the Salty Caramel Peanut Butter Cake...

 

 

I didn't think much to this one. The cake itself was ok, if a little dry, but the fudgy caramel icing was not at all to my liking. I'll scrape it off and bin it, and we will never speak of it again.