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

rotuts · April 9

Id check the cookie container before you leave.

you now , just in case

JoNorvelleWalker · April 12

Joy of Cooking Sour Cream Apple Cake Soufflé Cockaigne. One of my favorites.

oli · April 12

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Joy of Cooking Sour Cream Apple Cake Soufflé Cockaigne. One of my favorites.

Nice, would like to see what the interior looks like.

Pete Fred · April 14

When I lived in Lyon, I think I tried pretty much every patisserie and boulangerie within five miles of the centre. Some good stuff, plenty of average stuff, and quite a few clunkers. C'est la vie, I suppose. Amongst the more memorable things I ate was the Praluline at Maison Pralus*, which is a kind of laminated brioche with pink pralines. (You can watch them being made here and here.) The main shop is slap-bang in the middle of the old town, tourist-central, so I feared it might be hype over substance. But that turned out not to be so. They're good, especially if you luck-out and get one still warm from the oven, in which case they're transcendent.

Anyway, this is all a preamble to say that when Lidl had pink pralines last week, I thought I'd have a crack at making one...

I unfortunately overproofed it a little, so it lost its shape and spread somewhat, but that's easily remedied next time. One thing that's immediately apparent, and shouldn't really come as a surprise, is that Lidl pink pralines in no way compare favourably to the ones that Pralus make in-house (using Piedmont hazelnuts and Valencia almonds). I suppose you get what you pay for, and in this instance I'd say theirs are worth every penny.

I only had enough pink pralines to make one Praluline, so with the extra brioche dough I made a chocolate/hazelnut/almond version using the same method...

And the remaining off-cuts were repurposed into a couple of mini Tropeziennes (just with whipped cream rather than the traditional filling)...

*There are shops in Paris and several other cities around France, should you be nearby. They're renowned chocolatiers, and I'd give another thumbs-up to the Barres Infernales, especially the milk chocolate one with Piedmont hazelnut praline. Diabolically good.

JoNorvelleWalker · April 15

On 4/12/2024 at 9:46 AM, oli said:

Nice, would like to see what the interior looks like.

Please pardon iPad shadow. It's not an eclipse.

Pete Fred · April 15

Galaktoboureko (Greek custard pie)...

The filling is a semolina custard (orange and vanilla) and has some texture to it, and the whole lot gets drowned in orange syrup. My recollection from the last time was that the best thing about it is the filling so I bumped up the quantity - hence the sizeable wedge. It was ok, but nothing memorable. The filo layers were disappointing.

It made me think how much better portokalopita is, so I took the last few sheeets of filo and made some individual ones...

Another random culinary adventure this weekend was attempting a soufflé omelette for the first time...

Could've done with a couple more folds of the mixture, and cooking over induction made the task more difficult than it needed to be, but it made a nice change.

Fernwood · April 16

On 4/12/2024 at 1:08 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Joy of Cooking Sour Cream Apple Cake Soufflé Cockaigne. One of my favorites.

Which edition JoC, please? I don't find this in the book in my kitchen (1997) but I have at least 3 others readily accessible.

blue_dolphin · April 16

1 hour ago, Fernwood said:

Which edition JoC, please? I don't find this in the book in my kitchen (1997) but I have at least 3 others readily accessible.

Eat Your Books shows it in the 1975 Sixth Edition and the 2006 75th Anniversary Edition

Pete Fred · April 19

Chocolate cake...

It's from a Clare Damon cake (hers has a gianduja topping and the whole thing is encased in a chocolate glaze). Being oil- and cream-based, it's very soft and moist. The chocolate element is cocoa powder, so it doesn't exactly scream chocolate, but it's chocolatey enough and I like the texture. One of these days I'll get around to doing the gianduja and glaze.

**curls** · April 20

crunchy almond cake from Claire Saffitz - Dessert Person

cruncyalmondcake-slice-20240418_130442892.jpg.bd97a3d5f9930052aeb5d38b3113839b.jpg

Really like this cake. Lots of almond flavor (the cake uses 7 ounces of almond paste) and moist. Definitely a keeper.

Pete Fred · April 22

Anzac cake by Helen Goh...

The cake has oats, golden syrup and coconut milk; the topping coconut. I liked it. Recipe here.

rotuts · April 22

@Pete Fred

very interesting topping technique

Pete Fred · April 22

2 minutes ago, rotuts said:

very interesting topping technique

It reminded me of Toscakaka or Drømmekage in Scandinavian baking. Works well. 👍

Pete Fred · April 25

Flicking through an old cookbook, I was tickled to see a recipe for Simpson's Treacle Roll. Simpson's-in-the-Strand (now closed) was one of London's oldest restaurants and a bit of an institution, celebrated for its roast meats. This particular pudding seemed a little incongrous for a supposedly 'fancy' restaurant, being just a square of suet pastry spread with golden syrup, rolled up like a Swiss Roll and then steamed. I was under no illusions as to what it would turn out like, but I enjoy a bit of nostalgia...

It was as imagined: soft, fluffy pastry that had soaked up the sticky syrup within. Nothing remarkable, but pleasant enough.

The recipe said to serve with extra golden syrup, but it would be unimaginable that Simpson's didn't have a jug of custard to hand if requested...

I found a menu from 1974, and there it was for the princely sum of 35p (80c)...

1970s London must have been pretty grim if this is what passed for fine-dining.

rotuts · April 25

thank you for the menu.

Ive been to London late '60's /// early '70's

you are correct . pretty grim

in restaurants it was Chops , or at better restaurannts : Superb Indian.

unless you passed a Fish and Chips take out first.

Edited April 25 by rotuts (log)

BeeZee · April 26

Orange date coconut macaroons, prior to dark chocolate drizzle

Edited April 26 by Smithy
Rotated photo at poster's request (log)

Pete Fred · April 27

A popular biscuit in the shops here is a Galette St Michel which is a type of sablé breton (Breton butter cookie). I was talking to Jean - the guy I often bump into on the lane and who gets a lot of my cakey castoffs - and he seemed to be a fan. So I bought a box out of curiosity. Turns out they're nothing special, in fact I'd say they're quite underwhelming. I guess it helps to have grown up eating them. Looking at the box, they skimp on the butter and eggs, and bulk up the flour (quelle surprise!). So I picked up some top-notch Isigny butter and made my own to erase the disappointment...

Now we're talking! I'll drop off a bagful tomorrow and see if I can lure him away from the industrial stuff.

And I came across a tub of dried figs left over from Christmas when I made a couple of Figgy Puddings. So on the basis that every day can be Christmas Day, I gave myself a present...

I'm not sure what Jean would make of an English steamed pudding, so I'll spare him the befuddlement.

blue_dolphin · April 27

Had a ladies lunch yesterday and made the Lemon Oat Bars from Sarah Kieffer's 100 Cookies. It's handy that the recipe uses the same oat mixture pressed into the pan for the crust and crumbled on top.

They were very well received.

I made a half recipe in a 9-inch square pan and doubled the lemon zest.

Kim Shook · April 29

On 4/12/2024 at 1:08 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Joy of Cooking Sour Cream Apple Cake Soufflé Cockaigne. One of my favorites.

You kindly directed me to the recipe a few years ago and it was a huge success when I served it. SO good! Thanks for the reminder.

**ElsieD** · April 30

On 4/12/2024 at 1:08 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Joy of Cooking Sour Cream Apple Cake Soufflé Cockaigne. One of my favorites.

A question for @JoNorvelleWalker and @Kim Shook. When you made this, was the amount the recipe stated for the topping enough? I'm in the process of making this and figured out that a half recipe can be baked in an 8 x 12" pan which is what i'll be using. The topping doesn't look like it'd be enough.

JoNorvelleWalker · April 30

56 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

A question for @JoNorvelleWalker and @Kim Shook. When you made this, was the amount the recipe stated for the topping enough? I'm in the process of making this and figured out that a half recipe can be baked in an 8 x 12" pan which is what i'll be using. The topping doesn't look like it'd be enough.

I may have made extra since I was roughly scaling down the recipe. However if memory serves, for a full recipe the stated amount of toping was sufficient.

**ElsieD** · April 30

41 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I may have made extra since I was roughly scaling down the recipe. However if memory serves, for a full recipe the stated amount of toping was sufficient.

Thanks. I eyeballed the amount of batter and decided to bake it in an 8 x 8 pan instead and the amount of topping was fine. It's baking right now and smells wonderful. I just hope I didn't deflate the egg whites too much. I'm not too good at "folding".

**TdeV** · May 1

On 3/30/2024 at 4:05 PM, MaryIsobel said:

... 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.

MaryIsobel, could you please post the recipe?

**MaryIsobel** · May 2

Gladly. It was this one. Next time I think I would bump the temperature 25 degrees. They tasted great and even better split and toasted. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/hot-cross-buns/

Kim Shook · May 4

I’d love the opportunity to taste all of the gorgeous goodies that you all have been posting. I’ve only got a couple and they are not as delectable as all of these!

For what has turned into an annual event, Jessica and I spent the Saturday morning before Easter at church dipping strawberries, marshmallows, and pretzels in chocolate for the champagne reception after the Easter Vigil. Marshmallows and pretzels:

IMG_6797.jpg.abcae3649b86129f2f290b8f666ea83f.jpg