Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[zpzjessica]

I made a fabulous apple cinnamon crisp last night. My mom gave me her recipe, which was originally for peach crisp (cobbler), but since I can remember we have always substituted apples instead of peaches.

In any case, it came out FABULOUSLY! The apples were cooked perfectly so they were just soft enough but still slightly crunchy. And the crumbly topping was so delicious - right when it came out, I picked a couple of hot little crumbles off the top. YUM

I'd be happy to give anyone the recipe, just PM me!

[doughgirl]

An almond cake called Balois from the cookbook Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgeri. It turned out very delicious! It was a dense yellow cake made with lots of eggs and lots of almond paste and I brushed it a healthy coating of coffee syrup and then covered it with a thin chocolate ganache and decorated it with a heavier ganache.

As you can see, hubby got to it before I could get a photograph of the entire cake.

[Ted Fairhead]

Pears in puff pastry.

Today, at our local "gourmet" grocery(LOL)...I found some pears that were an unusual color, very pale yellow, almost white. The little sticky label called them 'Ya Pears', with no indication of country of origin. They looked very good with no bruising or apparent flaws. Unfortunately, when I got home I found they were extremely hard and with very little taste. Sauteed in sugar and butter and encased with pastry they were o.k, but hardly memorable.

I have the impression that they are an Asian variety because of their placement in the store. Has anyone heard of these, and were they simply unripe?

[alanamoana]

Ya pear

Scientific classification

Kingdom:  Plantae

Division:  Magnoliophyta

Class:  Magnoliopsida

Order:  Rosales

Family:  Rosaceae

Subfamily:  Maloideae

Genus:  Pyrus

Species:  P. bretschneideri

Binomial name

Pyrus bretschneideri

Rehd.

The Chinese White Pear ("bai li") (Pyrus x bretschneideri) is a naturally-occurring interspecific hybrid species of pear native to northern China, where it is widely grown for its edible fruit. These very juicy, white to lightly yellow pears, unlike the round Nashi pears, also grown in eastern Asia, are shaped more like a European Pear with a narrower, elongated base. They taste like a cross between a rose and a pineapple, and are crisp and sweet from the tree. 'Ya Li' is one cultivar widely grown in China, and has been exported to Europe and North America.

from wikipedia. it sounds like it looks european but eats like an asian pear. often (but not always) asian pears that are grown in the united states taste nothing like the same pears grown in asia. a pale imitation if you ask me!

Edited March 30, 2007 by alanamoana (log)

[sanrensho]

Today, at our local "gourmet" grocery(LOL)...I found some pears that were an unusual color, very pale yellow, almost white.  The little sticky label called them 'Ya Pears', with no indication of country of origin.

Based on the name, I see these all the time here in Vancouver. Ours are imported from China. It's been awhile since I had any, so no comments on the taste.

Wait, it's coming back to me. The texture and taste resembles the round Asian nashi pears (crisp, like a cross between apple and pear). Shaped like a Bartlett but yellow and smaller?

Edited March 30, 2007 by sanrensho (log)

[JasonTrue]

Nashi and Yali pears are fantastic raw, perhaps suited for sorbets and such, but generally that fantastic crisp texture does not translate well to baking. I think the flavor and aroma would get beaten up by cooking, as well.

[GTO]

doughgirl - Shiny, shiny delicous cake. Very nice. I was wondering though, what happened to the rest of it? Big family? Does it keep? Or, did you do the ultimate and finish it all?

[doughgirl]

doughgirl - Shiny, shiny delicous cake. Very nice. I was wondering though, what happened to the rest of it? Big family? Does it keep? Or, did you do the ultimate and finish it all?

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Thank you! Actually, I have two kiddos (18 months and 5 years) and they are oddly enough, not big dessert eaters. My 5 year old just scraped off the decoration and ate that, I think she had maybe a tiny bite of the cake. Hubby ate two pieces for dessert and a piece for breakfast this morning and I had a small one for dessert.

It was a pretty rich cake and we had a lot left, but fortunately I have two wonderfully giant brothers that could each eat a horse and they both came over this morning and inhaled what was left. That's usually the way it works. I bake: hubby and I eat a little bit and then my brothers come over and finish it off or I send it home with them. Works for me! It doesn't matter how much I bake, I can bake two cakes and a batch of cookies and have nothing but crumbs left by the next day.

[Ted Fairhead]

Ya pear

from wikipedia.  it sounds like it looks european but eats like an asian pear.  often (but not always) asian pears that are grown in the united states taste nothing like the same pears grown in asia.  a pale imitation if you ask me!

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Thank you for the quick reply. I really must use Wikipedia more often, it didn't occur to me to look. I suspect this was a home grown one as it had hardly any flavor at all, even before I cooked it.

Ted

[tamih]

This is my first post to eGullet after being a long-time lurker and admirer!

I made this cheesecake a few weeks ago - my first one! It's Grapefruit and Ginger Cheesecake, courtesy of a recipe i found on Epicurious.com. Very time consuming to prep but well worth it if you are a fan of ginger. The ginger taste was VERY pronounced. The cheesecake had amazing texture and was just gorgeous!

[gfron1]

That really is pretty tami. Were you able to serve it, keeping its beauty?

[doughgirl]

This is my first post to eGullet after being a long-time lurker and admirer!

I made this cheesecake a few weeks ago - my first one! It's Grapefruit and Ginger Cheesecake, courtesy of a recipe i found on Epicurious.com. Very time consuming to prep but well worth it if you are a fan of ginger. The ginger taste was VERY pronounced. The cheesecake had amazing texture and was just gorgeous!

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It's a beautiful cake and sounds absolutely delicious!

[Becca Porter]

Peach Pie! I made one for a photo demo on my blog. It turned out way better than expected.

[Jmahl]

It's been a while since I have posted to this thread - but I do check it out pretty often and some of the things I see just knock me over.

Here is my latest attempt - Pecan Spice Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from the cover of Gourmet April 2007.

I'll report back once we cut into it.

May life be sweet for you.

Jmahl

[DesertCulinary]

We had some Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting tonight...

Edited April 1, 2007 by DesertCulinary (log)

[Becca Porter]

Joe, I absolutely love that picture! Is that just a standard cream cheese frosting?

[DesertCulinary]

Joe, I absolutely love that picture! Is that just a standard cream cheese frosting?

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Thanks!

Pretty much - it is 4 ounces of cream cheese, 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar and just a bit of lemon zest (you can kind of see the wisps of yellow streaking through the first cupcakes)

[Jmahl]

Here it is. This cake is worth making, light, flavorful - wonderful. Suggest that you down load the receipe.

May your life be sweet.

Jmahl

[Kim Shook]

Today I made Martha Stewart's strawberries and cream cheesecake. It was great. The pictures not so much...

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Rebecca - is this the one that you make with roasted strawberries??? If so, I make that one, too and it is awesome (I am 47 and rarely use that word, but it is correct in this case)!!!

[Kim Shook]

Pears in puff pastry.

Today, at our local "gourmet" grocery(LOL)...I found some pears that were an unusual color, very pale yellow, almost white.  The little sticky label called them 'Ya Pears', with no indication of country of origin.  They looked very good with no bruising or apparent flaws.  Unfortunately, when I got home I found they were extremely hard and with very little taste. Sauteed in sugar and butter and encased with pastry they were o.k, but hardly memorable.

I have the impression that they are an Asian variety because of their placement in the store. Has anyone heard of these, and were they simply unripe?

←

Disclosure: Ted is my dad. I will have to show you how to post your photos here - that way you could show a photo of the hard little pear, too!

Ted is going to Europe in a couple of weeks. Take plenty of pictures so that you can do a report when you come back! I know I will want to see that. He's a great writer (brag, brag)!

Kim

[doughgirl]

We had Bittersweet Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting and Grated Bittersweet Chocolate on top. (and then we all lapsed into a diabetic coma.... )

[miladyinsanity]

We had Bittersweet Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting and Grated Bittersweet Chocolate on top. (and then we all lapsed into a diabetic coma.... )

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I want! Can we have a recipe?

Edited April 1, 2007 by miladyinsanity (log)

[gfron1]

My April Fool's food...

Potato Chips and Dip

Actually it is a sugar cookie with white chocolate mousse made on creased parchment paper.

And while not a dessert, this one was fun too:

Savory herb cupcakes with red pepper or broccoli cream cheese spread.

[alanamoana]

gfron1, i love your april fool's chip-n-dip and frosted cupcakes!!! what a great idea. i never would have thought to apply foolin' to food.

[DesertCulinary]

Double ginger cookies tonight!