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

[chromedome]

On 2017-6-7 at 0:57 PM, Shelby said:

Thanks, Andie.  I think I didn't dig a big enough hole.  That and I bet we didn't have a hard enough freeze that year.  Maybe I'll try again.....

The roots grow surprisingly large. When we moved my grandmother's plants up the hill from her old house (halfway from lake to road) to her new house (up closer to the road) some of the roots were larger than my leg. Mind you, that patch had been in its previous location for four decades or so, so you won't see that any time soon. 

[patris]

One of my sisters is preparing to re-enter the workforce after quite a long time and she came over this morning for a bit of wardrobe assistance and an encouraging word, which I supplemented with Ina Garten's lemon pound cake:

 

 

It calls for the warm loaf to be soaked with a lemon syrup, which enhances both flavor and moistness to such a degree that I almost regret sending her home with the second loaf.

[shain]

Clafoutis

[RobertM]

Put this together for a party tonight.....

 

[pjm333]

Key Lime Petit Fours !

[JohnT]

Interesting! What did you use to mould your Petit Fours and what is the diameter of them? They really do look good but definitely a bit messy for eating as "finger food". I am sure, if served on a small white saucer with a cake fork, the presentation would be enhanced. Here, where I live, if you present them on a tray like that, you will get somebody loading up a plate with half a dozen or more and sitting in a corner with a cup of coffee, skoffing the lot and going back for seconds.

[pastrygirl]

Another Hello Kitty cake!  I made a Hello Kitty wedding cake for this couple last summer, the bride just graduated with her MBA and hubby wanted to surprise her with another one.  I tried to keep it simple with fondant on the top only, but it still took all day.

 

[RWood]

I've been working on a better way to offer my cake tastings.  It's hard for me because I don't have random cake available, and I don't get a lot of cakes outside of work right now. 

But, when I do get one, I want it to have a nice presentation and be easy to transport. They are usually just taken to go so they can try them at home. So, I got small 3" cake pans and decided on this. 

It was a lot faster to assemble them, and they are sturdy. These were for four people to taste, but I might change the size. I ordered updated stickers since all I had were my old chocolate ones. 

 

[pjm333]

JohnT - made in flexipan 1 1/2 " diameter and the crust was firm so it was not messy to pic up. 

[Kasia]

The strawberry season started  - Strawberry dessert with chia seeds

 

 

 

 

[Patrick S]

Staying with the pistachio and red fruit theme for the moment, the latest creation consists of: a soft pistachio and almond cake covered with crushed pistachios, fresh raspberries glazed with red currant jelly, and whipped white chocolate ganache infused with pistachio paste. Recipe adapted from Christophe Michalak.

[pjm333]

Peppermint Patty !

[Tri2Cook]

8 hours ago, pjm333 said:

Peppermint Patty !

Nice! But now I'm going to be somewhat disappointed if the next thing you post here isn't titled "Marcie". 

[Kasia]

Something with rhubarb once again - Rhubarb and strawberries under a coconut crumble topping. 

 

the recipe is here on the RecipeGullet

 

 

Edited June 17, 2017 by Kasia (log)

[pjm333]

On 6/16/2017 at 3:38 PM, Tri2Cook said:

Nice! But now I'm going to be somewhat disappointed if the next thing you post here isn't titled "Marcie". 

 

  I'm confused ??? 

[curls]

25 minutes ago, pjm333 said:

 

  I'm confused ??? 

I believe they are making reference to two characters from the Peanuts comic strip (Marcie & Peppermint Patty).  See this article for more details, http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/11/12/peppermint_patty_and_marcie_s_relationship_in_peanuts.html.

[pjm333]

31 minutes ago, curls said:

I believe they are making reference to two characters from the Peanuts comic strip (Marcie & Peppermint Patty).  See this article for more details, http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/11/12/peppermint_patty_and_marcie_s_relationship_in_peanuts.html.

 

 I am no longer confused...

[shain]

I was the lucky receiver of a box of baklavas. 

They are of quite good quality for boxed baklavas, which tend to be poorly made and stored.

This one was made with good quality nuts, not skimping on pistachios with cheaper nuts. Although I believe it was made with margarine, as I'm missing the butter flavor.

You can see that each kind was made slightly differently, some are crisp and flakey, some are tender and some are made with crisp chewy kadaif noodles instead rather than filo.

There is also a variation of flavoring, other then using different types of nuts, some are flavored with rose water, some with cinnamon, some plain. The cigar shaped one in the middle is quite salty and is as savory as it is sweet.

[cakewalk]

I found a recipe a while ago for oat crunchies, and I was reminded of my friends in Israel who used to make them all the time. So I tried the recipe, and as I was making them I thought, hmmm, I think they need more sugar, and I think brown sugar is called for here. But instead of listening to myself, I went ahead with the recipe. The result was oat crunchies that needed more sugar, and brown sugar at that. So I decided to look up another recipe, and I was surprised to discover that oat crunchies are a South African specialty. (My friends who used to make them are not South African.) All the recipes I found on-line were called "Granny's Famous Oat Crunchies" or something like that. (And they all had more sugar than the recipe I used, and brown sugar, of course.) 

 

So I'm calling on our resident South African, @JohnT, for a lesson in oat crunchies. (With more sugar; and brown sugar, at that.)

 

[cakewalk]

I just read on David Lebovitz's blog that Flo Braker died. Stunned by that one. She was one of my idols. Her buttermilk cake is hands down my favorite cake ever. Those almond cookies that Lebovitz has on his blog are excellent. RIP Flo Braker. 

[JohnT]

The only recipe for Crunchies that I have is one from the doyen of South African recipes, Mrs SJA de Villiers. She was THE source for local recipes since the 60's and her book "Cook and Enjoy It" has been re-printed 23 times since 1961.

 

Now, there is no brown sugar in it, but you can sub some for a portion of the standard sugar - it is up to you!

 

Please note that the cup measurements are metric ones - I have included them in case that is the way you wish to measure the ingredients.

 

CRUNCHIES

Ingredients:
750ml (3 cups) desiccated coconut
250ml (1 cup) cake flour (AP flour)
1000ml (4 cups) oats
375ml (1½ cups) sugar
2.5ml (½ t) salt
5ml (1 t) ground cinnamon
250ml (1 cup) butter or margarine
45ml (3 T) golden syrup
10ml (2 t) bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in 60ml (¼ cup) milk

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine all the dry ingredients.
3. Melt the butter and syrup and add.
4. Add the dissolved bicarbonate of soda.
5. Press the mixture into a bracing sheet so that the layer is about 1cm thick.
6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Cut into squares according to the preferred size, lift out and cool.

(The recipe makes about 72 squares.)

Source: Mrs SJA de Villiers

Edited June 20, 2017 by JohnT
Corrected teaspoon measurement for bicarb. (log)

[Kim Shook]

Father’s Day desserts - Brown Sugar Peach Pie w/ ice cream and bourbon caramel sauce & Kiwi-Lime Pie:

 

I missed getting a picture of the whole peach pie.  It was fantastic, but had NO structural integrity.  The Kiwi-Lime was a new recipe.  You bake a lime zest/juice, egg yolk and sweetened condensed milk layer on a graham cracker crust, chill and add sliced kiwi:

 

Then a layer of sweetened whipped dream and decorate with more sliced kiwi:

Very pretty, refreshing and really good.  A perfect summer dessert.

[cakewalk]

2 hours ago, JohnT said:

The only recipe for Crunchies that I have is one from the doyen of South African recipes, Mrs SJA de Villiers. She was THE source for local recipes since the 60's and her book "Cook and Enjoy It" has been re-printed 23 times since 1961.

 

Now, there is no brown sugar in it, but you can sub some for a portion of the standard sugar - it is up to you!

 

Please note that the cup measurements are metric ones - I have included them in case that is the way you wish to measure the ingredients.

 

CRUNCHIES

Ingredients:
750ml (3 cups) desiccated coconut
250ml (1 cup) cake flour (AP flour)
1000ml (4 cups) oats
375ml (1½ cups) sugar
2.5ml (½ t) salt
5ml (1 t) ground cinnamon
250ml (1 cup) butter or margarine
45ml (3 T) golden syrup
10ml (2 t) bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in 60ml (¼ cup) milk

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine all the dry ingredients.
3. Melt the butter and syrup and add.
4. Add the dissolved bicarbonate of soda.
5. Press the mixture into a bracing sheet so that the layer is about 1cm thick.
6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Cut into squares according to the preferred size, lift out and cool.

(The recipe makes about 72 squares.)

Source: Mrs SJA de Villiers

 

Thanks! I would cut that recipe in half, it is really huge! I read a bunch of recipes, some had coconut and others did not. Thanks also for the scoop on Mrs SJA de Villiers. I wonder how this came to be a South African thing in the first place. When my friends made them, I just thought they were a remnant of the hippy-dippy sixties! I look forward to trying them. I might add some brown sugar, but I think it's the golden syrup here that does it. 

[JohnT]

On 20 June 2017 at 10:07 PM, cakewalk said:

Thanks! I would cut that recipe in half, it is really huge! I read a bunch of recipes, some had coconut and others did not. Thanks also for the scoop on Mrs SJA de Villiers. I wonder how this came to be a South African thing in the first place. When my friends made them, I just thought they were a remnant of the hippy-dippy sixties! I look forward to trying them. I might add some brown sugar, but I think it's the golden syrup here that does it. 

I think that when the ingredients are all mixed and pressed into a pan, you may find that it will fill a 9" x 13" baking pan - maybe a bit thicker than the 1cm quoted in the above recipe.

[patris]

My dear friend and pottery mentor is having a birthday, and he adores the combination of lemon and fresh berries. Inspired by @Darcie B's post in the "Dorie's Cookies" thread, I made the Corked Breton Galettes, making the imprint with the smaller end of my tart tamper rather than a cork to create a larger well. Filled with lemon curd and topped with blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, these are destined to be shared at the studio with plenty left to send home with the birthday boy. Lucky for me, the recipes for both the cookies and lemon curd made enough extra to supply me with sweet treats for a few days to come.

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2017 by patris (log)