Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[Patrick S]

Last night I made beignets using the recipe from The Secrets of Baking. Yum. They're great with a little warm honey.

I'm excited about the bottom picture -- not because it is a particularly good one (its not --its badly composed and slightly underexposed), but because it is the first decent food photo I've ever taken with a flash. I borrowed an old flash with a swivel head that allowed me to do a "bounce flash". After experimenting with it for a little while and seeing the possibilities, I'm planning on getting a new Sigma flash (two of them actually) for my camera that will finally give me complete control over lighting. The top photo was taken under natural light.

[Ling]

The beignets look incredibly light!

I made the Elvis Presley pound cake from Epicurious today. I was really disappointed with the cake--very, very dense and heavy (yes, even heavy for a pound cake) and a bit too sweet for me. The only good part is the crispy sweet crust.

I wonder if I didn't beat the cake mixture long enough. Or perhaps it's just me...two of my students really liked the cake, but they are not terribly picky eaters. My mom also found the cake too heavy, and she's normally loves the other pound cake recipes I've done.

Edited January 31, 2006 by Ling (log)

[RuthWells]

Last night I made beignets using the recipe from The Secrets of Baking. Yum. They're great with a little warm honey.

I'm excited about the bottom picture -- not because it is a particularly good one (its not --its badly composed and slightly underexposed), but because it is the first decent food photo I've ever taken with a flash. I borrowed an old flash with a swivel head that allowed me to do a "bounce flash". After experimenting with it for a little while and seeing the possibilities, I'm planning on getting a new Sigma flash (two of them actually) for my camera that will finally give me complete control over lighting. The top photo was taken under natural light.

←

Oh. My. God. Can I come over?

[Megan Blocker]

GORGEOUS, Patrick. Wow.

[sazji]

Well... I really need a new digital camera with light adjustment.

I made the chocolate pudding cake from Lora Brody's "Basic Baking." It's a slightly more refined version of the common one that gets published every so often, with real chocolate and (more) butter in the batter instead of cocoa and margarine. It was a *wonderful* batter to eat raw actually, as I discovered when I licked the spatula... But this photo makes it look like Tar Baby spit up on a brownie. Sorry.

<img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b60/sazji/MVC-141S.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

[sazji]

Well... I really need a new digital camera with light adjustment.

I made the chocolate pudding cake from Lora Brody's "Basic Baking." It's a slightly more refined version of the common one that gets published every so often, with real chocolate and (more) butter in the batter instead of cocoa and margarine. It was a *wonderful* batter to eat raw actually, as I discovered when I licked the spatula... But this photo makes it look like Tar Baby spit up on a brownie. Sorry.

<img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b60/sazji/MVC-141S.jpg" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

[tarteausucre]

Here is the Raspberry Miroire cake I made for Chinese New Year - Year of the Dog. I apologize for the less than stellar quality of the image.

The cake is a cassis infused, raspberry mousse atop a layer of genoise sponge and dark chocolate ganache. The top layer is a cassis/raspberry jelly.

[Ling]

^Mmm...I bet that tasted good! Happy Chinese New Year!

I made Becca Porter's pound cake today. Her recipe is in Recipe Gullet. I liked this cake a lot more than the Elvis Presley pound cake, but I think I didn't beat the EP cake long enough.

I zoomed in on this picture to show the crumb.

[Patrick S]

Oh. My. God.  Can I come over? 

←

You'll always be welcome at my place, sweets.

tarteausucre, your cake looks delicious. I love raspberry and chocolate.

Ling, you're making me crave pound cake. As much as I like dense, deadly rich cakes, I'm surprised I haven't made more of them.

[Patrick S]

Last night I made Thomas Keller's lemon tart with pine nut pate sucre. Recipe

[Ling]

^I have the book, but I haven't made the lemon tart yet. The pine nut crust sounds really good! How did you like it?

Becca's pound cake is indeed very good! I think I mentioned in another thread that I made pound cakes all the time a few years ago, but then I went onto different things and forgot which pound cake recipe I liked the best. It may have been a cream cheese pound cake recipe. Anyhow, Becca's recipe is definitely a contender...it would be great with a lemon glaze or lemon curd! I followed her suggestion of using 5 eggs + 2 yolks for two loaf cakes.

[vkn]

Today at My Dhaba, we have prepared Onion Pudding/kheer/payasam. Has anyone tasted this before?

[Swisskaese]

Last night I made Thomas Keller's lemon tart with pine nut pate sucre. Recipe

←

I made this and it is a fantastic recipe. I highly recommend it.

Gorgeous picture as usual Patrick.

[Megan Blocker]

I made the toasted bread pudding from the Gourmet Cookbook the other night, but have been having trouble posting photos since then! I didn't have quite enough cream in the house, so it was a little dry, but I think I liked it better that way - more like bread soaked in goodness than goodness studded with bread.

The first night (the half-recipe lasted me three days), when it came out of the oven all toasty and good, I topped it with a little creme fraiche.

Edited February 2, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[RuthWells]

^Mmm...I bet that tasted good! Happy Chinese New Year!

I made Becca Porter's pound cake today. Her recipe is in Recipe Gullet. I liked this cake a lot more than the Elvis Presley pound cake, but I think I didn't beat the EP cake long enough.

I zoomed in on this picture to show the crumb.

←

I lust for that crust. Yum! You guys are killing me.

[RuthWells]

Last night I made Thomas Keller's lemon tart with pine nut pate sucre. Recipe

←

This is definitely going into the "to try" file.

[Ling]

I had my Scharffen Berger/Valrhona brownies today...they are so good, especially since I haven't made them in awhile. (SB is really expensive here.)

[ludja]

Today at My Dhaba, we have prepared Onion Pudding/kheer/payasam. Has anyone tasted this before?

←

Interesting recipe, vkn. From what you describe, the rinsing of the onions, slicing them thinly and then slowly sauteeing removes much of the 'sharp' or sulfur edge of the onions. Still, I admit it is difficult to imagine what it would taste like with the milk, ground almonds, cardamom, sugar, saffron and raisins. Can you describe the final flavor a bit?

You mentioned it as a 'restorative' dish, but is it also served for dessert? Is it a traditional Indian recipe, and if so, from what part of India?

Thank you for answering if you have the time.

[A Patric]

Hello all,

A few days ago I made some baklava (baklawa). I used a syrup of sugar, water, and rose blossom water, and then added just a bit of honey. It was filled with a full pound of freshly ground walnuts (my favorite nut), and each layer of phyllo (filo) dough was hand brushed with italian butter made from the milk of the same cows used for the best parmigiano (think Jeffrey Steingarten's Parmigiano article in one of his books).

I have to say that it was the best baklava that I have ever had, and I was surprised that it actually tastes better when served at room temperature after having rested for some hours. It is not one of those desserts that is great hot.

By the way, has anyone experimented with chocolate and baklava. I have been thinking about it a bit and have concluded that, like most things with chocolate, it might be a promising endeavor.

Sincerely,

Alan

Edited February 2, 2006 by alanmcclure (log)

[Ling]

Here's RLB's "Perfect Pound Cake"...yes, it's 1 p.m. and I'm already on my second dessert...

This recipe differs from Becca's in that it uses cake flour, whole eggs, more butter, less sugar and a bit of milk instead of cream.

I think I like Becca's recipe a bit more, except I would cut the sugar down just by a little next time I make that particular pound cake...and maybe use cake flour instead of AP flour.

Becca's cake rose evenly with a slight dome, while this cake domed sharply in the middle and is not as attractive. I prefer the even brown on this crust (higher temperature), but the crust on Becca's cake is crisper and tastier.

Edited February 2, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Patrick S]

By the way, has anyone experimented with chocolate and baklava.  I have been thinking about it a bit and have concluded that, like most things with chocolate, it might be a promising endeavor.

←

Yes. I've made this recipe for chocolate baklava twice, and think its delicious.

^I have the book, but I haven't made the lemon tart yet. The pine nut crust sounds really good! How did you like it?

←

The crust was fine, but not really outstanding, IMHO. Overall the tart was delicious. I forgot to point out that I cooked the filling with 3 lemons worth of zest, which I strained out at the end.

[Megan Blocker]

I'm really into madeleines recently! Tonight I made just a half-recipe of the madeleines from The Martha Stewart Cookbook, which I've found to be a really easy, foolproof recipe. I subbed Grand Marnier in for the vanilla and tossed some orange zest into the sifted flour. Very good...and addictive as sin.

[Ling]

^You make me want to get one of those special pans and start making madeleines too! They're beautiful!

[Ling]

Here are my brownies with ganache, fleur de sel, and a cocoa nibs

Edited February 3, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Pan]

Wow, Lorna, that's positively indecent!

vkn, I'd definitely order that onion kheer if it were offered in a restaurant, just because it sounds a bit unusual, but that said, I've had Thai items that combined some sweetness with salt and onions and found them OK. They weren't desserts, really, I don't think, but your kheer doesn't have salt, and I like onions.