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

[David Ross]

My annual Cherry Clafouti.  The WA cherry crop is a little late this year as it was last year, but the cherries are huge and sweet.  These are dark Bing cherries from the Yakima Valley, which is the richest agricultural region in our state.  I usually soak the cherries overnight in Kirsch, but I didn't have any so this year I used Maker's Mark Kentucky Bourbon.  What a match, cherries soaked in bourbon.  I use a recipe from Simply French by Patricia Wells that is recipes from Joel Robuchon.  It's my most cherished cookbook as Chef Robuchon signed it for me some years ago when I met him in Las Vegas.

[David Ross]

This is the recipe from Simply French written by Patricia Wells and was one of America's first looks at the recipes of Chef Robuchon.  I was at a private dinner in Las Vegas in 2005 and took my cookbook down there for him to sign.  The book had come out in 1991 and here I was with the tattered pages for him to sign. The Cherry Clafoutis recipe had been loose for years.  He had a big smile on his face as I sensed he was very proud that someone would come to meet him with this cookbook.  At the time, he was a French Chef who had come to America with a recipe for "Puree de Pommes de Terre."  It would quickly become a potato recipe for the ages.

 

[pjm333]

8 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

I love seeing your pictures, you do such beautiful work.  

 

ElsieD, Thank you !

[caroled]

On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 5:36 PM, pjm333 said:

Red Velvet !

 

Shut Up!!!  😍

 

Edited June 23, 2018 by caroled (log)

[pastrygirl]

The freaking ginormous wedding cake I delivered yesterday - bride wanted "big & impressive" ... mission accomplished?  😂

 

I won't go into all the things I could/should have done differently, though I'll admit I almost forgot one layer of supports.  I did enjoy gold leaf-ing, which I had never done before.  The transfer sheets were easy to use, and when I wheeled it through a sunny spot on the way to the venue, the gold was beautifully, blindingly brilliant.

 

 

 

[rarerollingobject]

Today’s office cake! Vanilla and cinnamon butter cake, with lemon syrup, pear curd, vanilla buttercream and white chocolate-coated popping candy.

 

Dusted in edible rose gold and topped with white chocolate shards painted gold.

 

OBVIOUSLY. 

 

[kayb]

 @rarerollingobject -- I always get excited when I see you've posted in this thread. I know I'm going to be astounded and envious.

 

Once more, I'm astounded and envious.

 

[Shelby]

My mom brought me some rhubarb from Colorado where it grows like a weed.  I have tried to grow it here, it doesn't work for me.  I love love love rhubarb.  First up I had to make a pie.

 

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

My mom brought me some rhubarb from Colorado where it grows like a weed.  I have tried to grow it here, it doesn't work for me.  I love love love rhubarb.  First up I had to make a pie.

 

Nice looking pie. 

 

Have you got a compost heap? Have you tried growing the rhubarb right next to it?  That’s worked for me when I have had problems.

[Jim D.]

8 hours ago, Shelby said:

My mom brought me some rhubarb from Colorado where it grows like a weed.  I have tried to grow it here, it doesn't work for me.  I love love love rhubarb.  First up I had to make a pie.

The pie is beautiful. How I wish my last attempt had come out so well. I did a mix of rhubarb and strawberry. I even microwaved the rhubarb first to get rid of some of the moisture, but it was ridiculous. I think I baked it for two hours, and it still was almost impossible to cut, had to be served more like a cobbler. Delicious, but....So what's your secret?  Adding 5 cups of flour? ☹️

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, Jim D. said:

The pie is beautiful. How I wish my last attempt had come out so well. I did a mix of rhubarb and strawberry. I even microwaved the rhubarb first to get rid of some of the moisture, but it was ridiculous. I think I baked it for two hours, and it still was almost impossible to cut, had to be served more like a cobbler. Delicious, but....So what's your secret?  Adding 5 cups of flour? ☹️

Oh thank you!  A very high compliment

 

My mom had cut up, vacuum packed and frozen the rhubarb so I thawed it overnight in the fridge and then dumped it in a colander to get a lot of the moisture out.  I later pressed it gently to get a little more liquid out.  I used about 3 cups of rhubarb (it was 5 cups before it was frozen) and 2 cups of fresh strawberries.  A third of a cup each of brown and white sugar and 1/4 cup of cornstarch.  Also a TB of OJ and pinch of salt.  Baked in the CSO using the convection setting--375 until bubbly and crust is browned--about 40 mins.  

 

I probably just got lucky because many times my pies are runny but this really did set up nicely.

[shain]

Ricotta, cream, strawberries and rose water. Crisp butter-fried kadaif with pistachio paste and sugar syrup (cooked around hard-ball stage for crispness). Cherry.

[kayb]

Well, kadaif sent me to Google. Sounds marvelous.

[ChocoMom]

Wild Strawberry Cheesecake....

 

[rarerollingobject]

I made my friend's 40th birthday cake;  the bottom tier is four layers of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, feuilletine crispy toffee flakes, salted caramel and crushed, crunchy hazelnut praline with smoked salt; top tier is four layers of chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream, and crunchy Callebeaut chocolate pearls.

 

Decorated with fresh and sugar roses, jonquils and Australian gumnut foliage, and we ate it by Sydney Harbour with champagne and lots of laughter. She was pretty happy. ☺️

 

(And I was so happy to see her so happy, but almost as happy again when after I made sure that every kitchen and waitstaff got a slice, the head chef came out to say it was the best cake he'd ever tasted and what was the name of my cake company..haha! 😭)

 

[ElsieD]

6 hours ago, ChocoMom said:

Wild Strawberry Cheesecake....

 

 

Lucky you to have access to wild strawberries!

[kayb]

Well, @rarerollingobject, I am, as usual, amazing and astounded. Absolutely astounding!

 

@ChocoMom -- That wild strawberry cheesecake looks just gorgeous. Wild strawberries are SO good.

 

[trisme11]

The second to last offering of my stop being lazy and make things in June project. 😁

 

[jmacnaughtan]

First fraisier of the year

 

I've managed to simplify it, too.  Only takes an hour or so now.

 

Fraisier

 

 

Madeleine sponge

Lemon and ginger white chocolate chantilly

Gariguette strawberries

Candied citron, etc.

 

This is the first one I've done without a pastry-cream based cream - it's now lighter, if a little sweeter.  The ginger works really well with the strawberries, too.  Who knew?

[Kerry Beal]

Damn that looks good!

[ElsieD]

7 hours ago, jmacnaughtan said:

First fraisier of the year

 

I've managed to simplify it, too.  Only takes an hour or so now.

 

Fraisier

 

 

Madeleine sponge

Lemon and ginger white chocolate chantilly

Gariguette strawberries

Candied citron, etc.

 

This is the first one I've done without a pastry-cream based cream - it's now lighter, if a little sweeter.  The ginger works really well with the strawberries, too.  Who knew?

 

Beautiful.

[Kim Shook]

For coffee hour at church I made this coffee cake:

 

It's called Lois' Best Coffee Cake and it was the subject of @maggiethecat's lovely eG essay "Swans and Streusel" 10 years ago.  I've been making it ever since and it is always a success!

[pastrygirl]

On 7/1/2018 at 12:24 AM, rarerollingobject said:

I made my friend's 40th birthday cake;  the bottom tier is four layers of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, feuilletine crispy toffee flakes, salted caramel and crushed, crunchy hazelnut praline with smoked salt; top tier is four layers of chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream, and crunchy Callebeaut chocolate pearls.

 

Decorated with fresh and sugar roses, jonquils and Australian gumnut foliage, and we ate it by Sydney Harbour with champagne and lots of laughter. She was pretty happy. ☺️

 

(And I was so happy to see her so happy, but almost as happy again when after I made sure that every kitchen and waitstaff got a slice, the head chef came out to say it was the best cake he'd ever tasted and what was the name of my cake company..haha! 😭)

 

 

 

What is the pink color, heavy luster dust?  Amazing work, as usual!

[shain]

More playing around with pistachio paste kadaif. I toasted the kadaif in butter than mixed it with the pistachio paste and honey. Topped with kishta (clotted cream), mixed with honey and rose water. And the last few cherries of this year.

[pjm333]

Strawberry Eclairs !