Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[Megan Blocker]

Those are some of the best-looking madeleines I've seen.

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Thanks, Patrick! Coming from a baker of your caliber, that is high praise indeed.

Ditto on that, Ling!

[sugarbuzz]

I just did a tasting for a place here in Berkeley so now I have tons of leftovers..so tonight I'm making an apple strudel with a dollop of caramel mascarpone cream & candied pecans.

[Beanie]

Now Beanie you have struck me to the heart.  I am sworn to silence on the recipe by my dear late Mother. This is the only recipe I can't share.  Its silly but that's were I am.  However I can tell you it is not cakie since it contains no flour.  Just cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla.  The whites are beaten to peaks and then incorporated into the batter.  After being in the oven for approx one hour the oven is turned off and the cake is allowed to remain in the oven until cool.  It drops somewhat, cracks a little and is wonderful warm or cold.  With a little fruit sauce and an expresso.  Its a sin.

To make the point, My mother's hand written recipe card says "do not open the oven door."

Over the years my wife and I have made literally hundreds of these.  And they are still great.

As to why the "French Style" I was just reading the other day that New York Cheese Cake is "dense" while the French make a lighter, soufflé style.  So that is why I call it that.  The truth is I really don't know.  My mother started making these 50 years ago  in the Bronx - I have no idea where the original recipe came from.

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Thanks for giving me enough "clues" to make mama's secret recipe.

[sanrensho]

That looks really delicious. What is the French style? It looks more cakey than a dense, NY-style cheesecake. Would you share the recipe?

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Hi, I know this isn't Jmahl's recipe, but here's a really simple souffle-style cheesecake Mid-Atlantic recipe

There are also Japanese cheesecake recipes (I know you're familiar with these, Lorna!) that give a similar, fluffy texture. Again, these are leavened with egg whites but typically use a small amount of flour or cornstarch. I much prefer these to the (too) heavy NY-style cheesecake.

http://www.kyokoskitchen.com/recipes/recip...esecake〈=en

Edited January 17, 2006 by sanrensho (log)

[sazji]

I had a few requests for my caramel apple pie recipe, and it's now entered in Recipe Gullet.

Ling's caramel apple pie

Sorry about the delay! I hope you decide to try it. 

(And yes, I do realize that the instructions are a little anal...)

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blessyoublessyoublessyou I have been fantacizing about this thing for 2 weeks now.

Edited to mention my dessert (sorry no picture my camera is defunct). Took half a piece of Turkish yufka (phyllo but tenderer and moister and a bit thicker), brushed it with butter, then spread a thin layer of homemade orange preserves on a rectangular area of it, followed by chopped bittersweet chocolate. Folded it up, brushed the outside with butter, then flipped it onto the cast iron skillet till it was crispy outside, tender inside. Chocolate-orange gözleme! (you can get Turkish yufka from www.tasteofturkey.com by the way)

Edited January 17, 2006 by sazji (log)

[Ling]

^You're welcome!

I made Karen Barnaby's "Ginger Buttermilk cake" today. It is WONDERFUL!

(Those are some cocoa nibs in front of the pomegranate seeds, in case you're wondering. My chocolate swirls look really crappy b/c I spent half an hour looking for my digital camera and the the creme anglaise started bleeding... )

[Jmahl]

Hi, I know this isn't Jmahl's recipe, but here's a really simple souffle-style cheesecake

Dear Ling:

You are good, really good. I always enjoy reading your posts.

Jmahl

[avocado]

(Those are some cocoa nibs in front of the pomegranate seeds, in case you're wondering.

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Ling, I love your recent pomegranate-seed garnish trend. The uniform little lines of them are just darling!

[Ling]

^Thanks, Jmahl and avocado!

I've done it. I've eaten the whole gingerbread cake. It was lunch too, so I don't feel too bad. I'm going to post the recipe in HERE, and you can find my version of Karen's recipe HERE.

[ablosh]

Mine's two kinds of brownies--peanut butter swirled and mint glazed. Then, I made a red velvet cake topped with my own strawberry buttercream.

Yuuummm... Calories!!! LOL.

[sazji]

Tonight: orange infused flan. Made the milk/egg/sugar mixture and then held orange peels close to the surface and squeezed them double as I whisked it. (You know, like you do when you shoot them into a candle...I assume everyone has done this..) It gave the whole thing a delicate orange aroma, with no bits of peel floating around in it. I had extra mixture (I sorta winged it) so I poured it into two custard molds, sans caramelized sugar, and added a small bit of saffron to one. Then couldn't wait for it to cool completely but still, it's a keeper. Technically I can't wait for the main flan to cool either, but I have a big verbose translation project, and free access to an internet cafe 15 minutes from my house...so I figure if I work here, I can keep away from it long enough for it to actually cool and fully set....

Okay, time's up I'm outta here..

bob

[Ling]

peanut butter cookies!

[sugarbuzz]

Well..I have alot of caramel mascarpone left so I'm making a chocolate tart shell..filling it with the caramel cream & slicing some vanilla poached pear on top.

[Irishgirl]

peanut butter cookies!

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Nice photo Lorna.

Your presentation is always great, but the composition of this photo is well thought out. Has Patrick been giving you hints?

I LOVE peanut butter cookies. Must stay away from this thread.

[Ling]

^Wow, thanks Irishgirl! My friend bought me a bunch of plates for Christmas (in addition to the Feenie's cookbook), and I thought the cookies would look cute all lined up on that plate. I got a picture when the sun appeared for a bit today, so the picture isn't as dark as usual.

[Ling]

I modified yesterday's PB cookie recipe, and then sandwiched the cookies with Valrhona ganache and rolled them in chopped honey roasted peanuts. They are super good! I think This is the PB cookie recipe I'll be using from now on!

After a huge Filipino lunch today, we had casava cake, sticky black rice with caramelized sugar, and a coconut milk dessert with sweet potato, jackfruit, and mochi. The sticky black rice was my favourite of the desserts.

[Pan]

Whoa! You put HOW much butter in those cookies, Lorna? They look -- well, let's just say I'm glad looking at them is no-cal, because I'd love to eat them all up!

[Ling]

^Only 3/4 cups of butter and just under 2 cups of peanut butter...that's not so bad, is it? Peanut butter is good for you! Oh yeah, and maybe 1/4 cup of butter in the ganache too. But dark chocolate is good for you too! There are two good-for-you ingredients in these cookies; thus, they are practically health food.

[Rebecca263]

Lorna, I don't know HOW you eat everything that you eat. I know that I'd like to, but I can't imagine doing it!

[sazji]

Lorna, I don't know HOW you eat everything that you eat. I know that I'd like to, but I can't imagine doing it!

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She doesn't work. She just goes back and forth from dining room to gym to dining room to gym, taking time out for sleep of course.

I'm going to try the caramel apple pie tomorrow...unfortunately my freezer is big enough to take two ice trays only, not an apple pie, so I'll have to do it the traditional way.

[Ling]

^Hey man...I'm a hard worker! I work full-time hours just like the rest of you.... I can't wait to see your apple pie!

Today, however, was my day off. I had an extraordinary amount of goodies...I have photos too! Photos will be uploaded tomorrow...I've gotta waddle off to bed now.

I had the fortune of going to Thomas Haas' chocolate factory/retail location in North Vancouver today. Here's the website: Thomas Haas

I "shared" (I use that term loosely...I think I hogged most of the following items )

-twice-baked almond croissant (filled with almond paste, topped with sliced almonds...this was one of the tastiest, flakiest croissants I'd ever had!)

-chocolate mousse mini bombe with poached pear

-an incredibly light-tasting tiramisu that contained almond paste

-Sacher torte (quite dry...but I gather this is authentic?). This was the least favourite by far. It also had a shortcrust base, which I found unusual.

-a selection of chocolates, my favourites being the salted caramel with fleur de sel, and the cardamon whiskey (Thomas also gave me a free sample of the Grand Marnier and the dark chocolate with coffee during our tour of the kitchen)

-chocolate Sparkle cookie (that surprising didn't taste as...Valrhona-y (?) as the ones I've made at home...although the texture was smoother. I must grind my almonds finer next time I make them. They definitely did taste of almond though.)

-a double chocolate cookie (again, not as spectacular as I hoped it to be...)

The chocolates and the twice-baked almond croissant were the standouts.

Then I went with my friend to a Filipino bakery and we ate these meringue cakes filled with sweet cream and ground cashews. They were pretty good.

After dinner at Diva at the Met, I had two desserts, and tasted my friend's dessert too. I had the stilton cheesecake with rhubarb compote, followed by cranberry beignets with hot chocolate, and vanilla gelato. The gelato was good, but not as rich and custardy as I would've liked. I can tell they use Valrhona in the hot chocolate. The beignets were disappointing--very bready. The stilton cheesecake had a bruleed topping, and it was wonderful. It had a shortcrust bottom, as opposed to the almond sable you find when you buy the same dessert from Sen5es.

My friend had the chocolate souffle with chantilly cream...the souffle was very dense (for a souffle, I mean...) It was almost like a soft chocolate cake. It was delicious.

(Oh yeah...I had a piece of blueberry cake for breakfast that someone bought last night, and two of the peanut butter cookie sandwiches pictured above.)

I think that's all.

What a day.

(Oh yeah, my dress was unzipping itself when I was in the safety of my car. Luckily, I have a long black jacket to conceal my food baby.)

Edited January 21, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Pan]

[...](Oh yeah, my dress was unzipping itself when I was in the safety of my car. Luckily, I have a long black jacket to conceal my food baby.)

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You're hilarious! Well, let it not be said that in your case, youth is being wasted on the young.

I look forward to all the pictures.

I loved the line about the peanut butter/chocolate cookies being "practically health food," too.

[Ling]

Here's the three desserts from Diva at the Met:

stilton cheesecake

chocolate souffle

cranberry beignets

Haas photos to come tomorrow...

I forgot to take a photo of the Filipino cashew/meringue cake, but it was oval and white and not too fancy anyway.

[Ling]

Here are some more of the desserts I had yesterday:

twice-baked almond croissant

Sacher torte

almond marscapone (the mouthfeel of this dessert was so incredibly light!)

chocolate walnut pear bombe

tarts

pastry case

chocolate/truffle case

my chocolate/truffle selection

Not pictured, but I also enjoyed the lychee gelee, passionfruit gelee, and cassis gelee...and also the double chocolate cookie and the Sparkle cookie.

[Jmahl]

Amazing, it looks like Paris.