Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[helenjp]

Occasionally frozen cherries are in the supermarkets in Japan!

Wonderful baking, wonderful packaging!

[CanadianBakin']

I have such a backlog of things I've baked the last while, that I hope you don't mind if I post up some "recent" bakes.

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Holy smokes girl, you've done yourself proud! I didn't know about PH's florentines and I will definitely try them. I love the crust on your banana bread. I can almost feel the crisp texture in my mouth. You've also done a great job of photographing everything.

What exactly is it that you've placed on top of the Coconut & Chestnut Cream Tartlets? It looks like a little chocolate chunk that's been dipped in cocoa to take off the shine but I'm not so sure that's what it is.

Edited January 16, 2008 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[Tri2Cook]

WOW! Out of control indeed. I had to look up "nopales" I've never heard of it.

Most of the processes are inaccessible to me, but that mole paper is just inspired. Well done.

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The mole paper was inspired all right... inspired straight out of the Duby's latest book "Wild Sweets: Chocolate". They use it with a pork dish.

Which processes are inaccessible to you? Maybe we can find a way to help make them accessible. The pearls are juice + agar at 1% by weight boiled, sieved, cooled just slightly and dripped into a bath of neutral oil that was kept in the freezer for a day. They don't have that burst of liquid you get with alginate "caviar" but are still full of flavor. They could be done with gelatin instead of agar, poured thin and cut into tiny cubes. The foam can be done with gelatin and a cream siphon or (for a lighter version) blitzed with lecithin or even egg whites. The xanthan and methylcellulose (at .4% by weight each) just make a thick, creamy foam. For the soil without maltodextrin you can pulverize chocolate, cinnamon and chile powder in a processor. Or, if there are no legal restrictions where you live, you can PM me an address and I can probably hook you up with a few things to play with.

[Renka]

I have such a backlog of things I've baked the last while, that I hope you don't mind if I post up some "recent" bakes.

Why of course I mind! I mind that you didn't share any of those delicious sweets with me! And I'm sure you have more pictures in your backlog--post those, too!

Emily Luchetti's Black Forest Brownies with Mocha Ganache

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Even though I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, this one really speaks to me! It forced me to look up the recipe on the internet (I'm a big fan of Emily Luchetti recipes--I've never tried one that hasn't been a success--but I have none of her books!), and now that I have it...

Where did you get your cherries for this recipe at this time of year? I don't even think I could get frozen cherries in Japan right now (though if I could, do you think I could use those if I drained them well?). Do you think some sort of dried cherry substitution would work for the brownie? I could soak them in kirsch to plump them up if I had to. No cherry garnish, though.

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prasantrin: You're so funny! But thanks for being so nice about the baked goods. I'll make sure to post more as soon as I can upload them. I agree with you on recipes from Emily Luchetti. I also tend to do a lot of PH and Flo Braker. I have to crack open my other dessert cookbooks soon.

I have to confess something though, the Black Forest Brownies were baked when cherries were still available in the supermarkets. However I did see some (sold for only an arm and not the leg) this weekend at an Asian grocery store. No comment on how fresh they were. If you still wanted to try the recipe with the cherries in the batter, I would go with the dried cherries option (and of course, adding any leftover kirsch soaking liquid to the brownie batter) vs. using frozen cherries. It's less messy.

I have such a backlog of things I've baked the last while, that I hope you don't mind if I post up some "recent" bakes.

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Holy smokes girl, you've done yourself proud! I didn't know about PH's florentines and I will definitely try them. I love the crust on your banana bread. I can almost feel the crisp texture in my mouth. You've also done a great job of photographing everything.

What exactly is it that you've placed on top of the Coconut & Chestnut Cream Tartlets? It looks like a little chocolate chunk that's been dipped in cocoa to take off the shine but I'm not so sure that's what it is.

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Thanks CanadianBakin' for your kind words. Seriously, it slipped my mind to post the images to this topic.

You really should try the PH Florentines. I know that Fanny has baked up similar ones which would probably be a little less time consuming, but all the same delicious (she would know, lol, she has first hand experience with PH!). The treats are great on their own as I've been known to sneak a whole bunch for my own consumption before any chocolate dipping or drizzle.

In regards to the chocolate peg on top of the Coconut & Chestnut Cream Tartlet, it was store purchased (Callebaut). I just popped them in the oven at the same time that I baked the tartlets and out came the nice shine.

[Kim Shook]

Renka - your goodies are just gorgeous! I love the cupcake assortment, especially! And those scones are just perfect. I assume that you used fresh blueberries? I am so impressed with your work!

And I realized that I forgot to say that the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies that I posted about were from a recipe given to me by CanadianBakin'. They were so good that I doubt I'll ever bother making regular chocolate chips again!

Kim

[Brigid Mary]

Renka, I wish I was at you house when you made all those! They look absolutely stunning!

Yesterday I made Banana Bread...with yeast. I felt like experimenting, so I made up a recipe and gave it a whirl. I've only ever had this kind of bread with baking soda or baking powder, but It was actually...good! I feel like it could have been a bit sweeter. If I ever made it again I would definitely change the recipe a bit.

Haven't cut into the loaf yet. I'm very curious how it came out though!

Edited January 17, 2008 by Brigid Mary (log)

[monavano]

Chocolate, nut and dried cranberry cookies.

Edited January 18, 2008 by monavano (log)

[Renka]

Renka - your goodies are just gorgeous!  I love the cupcake assortment, especially!  And those scones are just perfect.  I assume that you used fresh blueberries?  I am so impressed with your work!

Kim

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Kim: Yup, fresh blueberries. It makes all the difference, especially when freshly baked (they're so plump and burst with natural jammy sweetness).

Renka, I wish I was at you house when you made all those! They look absolutely stunning! 

Haven't cut into the loaf yet. I'm very curious how it came out though!

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Brigid Mary: Thank you so much for your kind words. Now I'm curious about your banana walnut bread! It's real bread bread vs. the typical loaf, right? How was it? I love bread crusts and am curious to hear how yours turned out (and if fabulous, would you mind sharing the recipe?).

[Renka]

Here are some more past bakes. Again, these are not that recent (i.e. this week), but still delicious.

First off, cookies:

Biscuits Très Gingembre

Containing:

Organic candied ginger

Toasted Oats

Fresh ginger root

Cookie inspired by Seattle's Macrina Bakery and Café's Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Apricots and Espresso.

Containing:

Bittersweet Callebaut Chocolate Chunks

Organic dried apricots and pears

Macadamia Kona Coffee

White Chocolate Cashew Butter Cookies

Melt-in-your-mouth Shortbread

Cobs Inspired Date & Coffee Loaf (low-fat); Thick and Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies; Soft and Chewy Spiced Molasses Cookies

White Chocolate, Cranberry and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Matcha/Green Tea Shortbread

Crackly & Fudgey Brownies and Mayan Chocolate Cookies

Fudgey Brownies; Peanut Butter and Callebaut Dark Chocolate Cookies; Melt-in-your-mouth Shortbreads

Finally with Chinese New Year coming up, these might be a tempting treat (although ignore the pig on the lucky pocket for 2007 ):

Chinese Almond Cookies

Hope that's enough sugar for this morning.

[prasantrin]

I have to confess something though, the Black Forest Brownies were baked when cherries were still available in the supermarkets.  However I did see some (sold for only an arm and not the leg) this weekend at an Asian grocery store.  No comment on how fresh they were.  If you still wanted to try the recipe with the cherries in the batter, I would go with the dried cherries option (and of course, adding any leftover kirsch soaking liquid to the brownie batter) vs. using frozen cherries.  It's less messy.  

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Ah, a procrastinator after my own heart. I'm just glad you took the pictures and posted them, no matter how long after baking the pictures were posted!

Suprisingly, I saw cherries at Costco the other day! But at $25/kg, I decided to pass (I assumed they weren't very good cherries, though if they had been good, I would have bought them!). I'll look for some dried cherries.

I'm making some shortbread cookies this weekend, too! I've already made the dough, but then I saw your picture and recipe and thought, "Crap! Why didn't she post this earlier!" But no worries, I can't do any kind of cookie dough piping right now (It's only 7C inside my apartment, so I can't get the dough soft enough to pipe), so I'm not that angry with you.

More, more! (Like you haven't posted enough...there's never enough!)

Edited January 19, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[Jmahl]

This afternoon my young friend Maxim and I baked these outmeal cookies. We used the recipe on the box with butter and dried cranberries instead of raisins.

In a blind test the cookies passed with flying colors. Maxim said they were delicious. He is an eight year old cookie expert.

Keep baking,

Jmahl

[John DePaula]

This afternoon my young friend Maxim and I baked these outmeal cookies.  We used the recipe on the box with butter and dried cranberries instead of raisins.

In a blind test the cookies passed with flying colors.  Maxim said they were delicious.  He is an eight year old cookie expert.

Keep baking,

Jmahl

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I see you're inspiring the next generation of cooks, Jmahl. Bravo!

Those cookies look delicious, by the way.

Edited January 19, 2008 by John DePaula (log)

[jumanggy]

Renka, I am seriously wanting those fudgy and crackly brownies. Ditto for the Mayan Chocolate cookies, and I don't even know what they are! (Flickr was down a while ago-- lots of x's.....)

Jmahl and mona are reading each other's minds I want some! even if [small voice]I have never tasted cranberries[/small voice] before (just not a thing in my country).

This is sapin-sapin (er.. "layer-layer"), which I did not make, but I had to show (if only to make Rona jealous? ). It has 2 of 3 flavors I'm not a fan of (ube or purple yam, and coconut). But put it together with a 3rd flavor of pumpkin and it becomes one of my favorite Filipino treats. This is a variation, with pure sweetened ube in the middle and sweetened rice in the middle. Only the outer ring has all three flavors. I've wanted to make it, but it requires liters and liters of coconut cream.

Ebéniste (Cabinetmaker) from Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat's "The Art of the Cake." Super-special thanks to Kerry Beal for her demo on clean tempering chocolate. I nearly pulled all my hair out when my first batch of white chocolate was annihilated by a drop of water. That heat gun (er... I used a hair dryer) tip is genius.

Espresso-Chocolate Soufflé Cake from Alice Medrich (in Fine Cooking). Can be done in advance (w/o baking) and is still awesome.

[helenjp]

Shortbread with kinako (toasted soybean flour) and rice flour, shaped into square logs, rolled in sesame seeds and sliced...I was afraid the lack of wheat flour would make them too crumbly to hold together, but that wasn't a problem.

There were about 6 dozen of them, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera!

[CanadianBakin']

Ebéniste (Cabinetmaker) from Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat's "The Art of the Cake." Super-special thanks to Kerry Beal for her demo on clean tempering chocolate. I nearly pulled all my hair out when my first batch of white chocolate was annihilated by a drop of water. That heat gun (er... I used a hair dryer) tip is genius.

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Jumanggy, that is very impressive! Does it require any special equipment to get that look on top?

[Jmahl]

Jmahl and mona are reading each other's minds I want some! even if [small voice]I have never tasted cranberries[/small voice] before (just not a thing in my country).

Ebéniste (Cabinetmaker) from Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat's "The Art of the Cake." Super-special thanks to Kerry Beal for her demo on clean tempering chocolate. I nearly pulled all my hair out when my first batch of white chocolate was annihilated by a drop of water. That heat gun (er... I used a hair dryer) tip is genius.

Jumanggy:

Thinks for the comment. Your Eveniste is Wow - short for impressive. As to cranberries. Yes, they are a temporate climate bog fruit - in spanish they are called arandano. Chopped dates would work just as well - perhaps better.

Keep baking,

Jmahl

[Tri2Cook]

Ebéniste (Cabinetmaker) from Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat's "The Art of the Cake." Super-special thanks to Kerry Beal for her demo on clean tempering chocolate. I nearly pulled all my hair out when my first batch of white chocolate was annihilated by a drop of water. That heat gun (er... I used a hair dryer) tip is genius.

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That's really nice. What's going on in there flavor wise?

[jumanggy]

CanadianBakin, Jmahl, T2C, thanks! The only special tool (aside from acetate) is a wood-graining tool. I understand there is a special wood-graining tool for pastry, but I just used a wood-graining tool ($6) from the hardware store, making sure to never use it for wood stains ever. It's done on unsweetened chocolate, then once it sets on the acetate, it's covered with white chocolate. The cake's constructed upside-down. The flavors are coffee and chocolate through and through (coffee buttercream and coffee soaking syrup on chocolate genoise)-- very old-fashioned.

[gfron1]

Here's my first paid gig. Pros - you're not allowed to snicker or gafaw! A customer wanted a cake for their 60th. The only must-have was petit four icing (Thanks Jumanggy for the tip). I made an almond cake layered with damson plum jelly, with a bit of Grand Marnier simple syrup soaking. I should have thinned the poured fondant more than I did, and my decorative work needs work, but I was happy with it. I don't know if the customer was yet...I'm very nervous.

Then the next day I made two desserts for an Indian inspired meal. I wanted to play off of the sugar coated fennel at the doors of many Indian restaurants, so using the same batter as above, I added crushed fennel seeds and coated it with the same poured fondant. These were very good.

And my Madras Curry Marshmallow Project v.3. Generous amounts of madras curry, this time on top of crushed Domori cacao beans, and topped with leftover candied grapefruit peel. Okay - I've always loved my marsh, but on top of the beans - man was it good! The textural play and flavor balance....

[Kim Shook]

Renka - once again, I am in awe! Those shortbread cookies are amazing looking. I can just taste them. And like jumanggy, I don't know what Mayan Chocolate cookies are, but I really want them!

Jumanggy - that Ebéniste is incredible. I am so impressed!

I made two things today. Neither one of them was particularly impressive to me.

White chocolate cranberry bread:

See that dark corner? I tried this in my new toy - an Oster digital toaster oven with convection. It cooked so hot that the outside got very crusty and done looking with 20 minutes left to cook, while the inside was still raw (I didn't use the convection). I fiddled with the temperature and put foil over the top and it came out ok, but I guess I'll have to do some experimenting with it. As far as the flavor goes, it just seems a bit blah to me. Mr. Kim liked it a lot, so maybe its just me.

I also made Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti:

Also, blah to my taste and tasty to Mr. Kim, so maybe my meds are just messing up my tastebuds. But I liked dinner !

Kim

[jumanggy]

You're welcome Rob The cake looks very good. I'm guessing the main inspiration for the design is New Mexico? What's the flavor of the buttercream? Please do tell what the customer thought of it!

Goodness, someone should restock the spice racks here better... I have no idea what fennel tastes like

Thanks, Kim, I'm sorry that the tastes of your desserts were "blah." Maybe it's just the meds (I hope it wears off soon). It looks more of a poundcake than bread, and with the addition of white chocolate I imagine it would be very sweet and rich

Edit again: thanks, John I actually don't know what licorice tastes like either; thankfully I do know Anise.

Edited January 22, 2008 by jumanggy (log)

[John DePaula]

Rob, that all looks great! Esp. love the idea of the petit fours with the sugar coated fennel - which, by the way, tastes like anise or licorice.

[Renka]

I have to confess something though, the Black Forest Brownies were baked when cherries were still available in the supermarkets.  However I did see some (sold for only an arm and not the leg) this weekend at an Asian grocery store.  No comment on how fresh they were.  If you still wanted to try the recipe with the cherries in the batter, I would go with the dried cherries option (and of course, adding any leftover kirsch soaking liquid to the brownie batter) vs. using frozen cherries.  It's less messy.  

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Ah, a procrastinator after my own heart. I'm just glad you took the pictures and posted them, no matter how long after baking the pictures were posted!

Suprisingly, I saw cherries at Costco the other day! But at $25/kg, I decided to pass (I assumed they weren't very good cherries, though if they had been good, I would have bought them!). I'll look for some dried cherries.

I'm making some shortbread cookies this weekend, too! I've already made the dough, but then I saw your picture and recipe and thought, "Crap! Why didn't she post this earlier!" But no worries, I can't do any kind of cookie dough piping right now (It's only 7C inside my apartment, so I can't get the dough soft enough to pipe), so I'm not that angry with you.

More, more! (Like you haven't posted enough...there's never enough!)

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prasantrin: Ha ha. If I get in trouble for bombarding this thread with too many old pictures, I'll have you to thank for it.

Anyway, one cannot do with too many shortbread cookies (and I'm sure neighbours or coworkers would welcome extras (you can even do a taste test! I find those fun)). I like this simple recipe and find that it's quite popular.

Renka, I am seriously wanting those fudgy and crackly brownies. Ditto for the Mayan Chocolate cookies, and I don't even know what they are! (Flickr was down a while ago-- lots of x's.....)

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Renka - once again, I am in awe!  Those shortbread cookies are amazing looking.  I can just taste them.  And like jumanggy, I don't know what Mayan Chocolate cookies are, but I really want them!

<snip>

Kim

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jumanggy: Firstly, oh my gosh, your cakes and desserts look so wonderful. I love how you push yourself to try things that are above and beyond the simple home baker. Super impressive stuff.

Secondly, to answer both yours and Kim's question, the Mayan Chocolate Cookies are like rich chocolate cookies (with ground espresso and chocolate chip studded in the batter) but with a surprising "kick." Cookie lovers would be savouring the delicious goody, but will notice a little heat at the back of their throats when polishing off the last crumbs that stems from the pinch of cayenne pepper that was added to the batter before baking.

Thirdly, do try out the Fudgy & Crackly Brownies recipe. It's a spin off of Julia Child's and again well received. It may not look as impressive as many of your plated desserts, but it's taste and texture speaks volumes for itself.

BTW Kim, thanks for another kind comment. I hope that the next series of photos may be just as delicious.

Here's my first paid gig.

<snip>

And my Madras Curry Marshmallow Project v.3.  Generous amounts of madras curry, this time on top of crushed Domori cacao beans, and topped with leftover candied grapefruit peel.  Okay - I've always loved my marsh, but on top of the beans - man was it good!  The textural play and flavor balance....

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Rob: Congrats on being hired to have fun!! Your cake looks great. I hope to pick your brain one day about how to do proper pipping with icing. In the meantime I'm eyeing your Madras Curry Marshmallow! As usual you bowl me over with the unique flavour combos you come up with. Where do you get your inspiration?? (loved your revelation about soap for that last one )

[Renka]

Another splash of photos of past bakes. Here are some of the cakes that I've made.

La Bête Noire from September 2006's Bon Appétit

Damien Pignolet's Eve's Chocolate Cake

This cake was the talks, especially since it's a flourless chocolate cake that is topped with its own raw batter (the mousse that sits at the top). It is finished with a dusting of cocoa powder and grated chocolate.

Light New York Cheesecake from Cook's Illustrated

Coconut Pineapple and Honey Cake

Tiramisu from The Silver Spoon

Seriously, can you resist this?

Flo Braker's Triple Layered Devil's Food Cake

Payard's Apple Pound Cake

Rich Chocolate Cupcake with Caramelized Hazelnuts Cap

Alice Medrich's Low-Fat Chocolate Marble Cake

Flo Braker's Apricot Pound Cake

The filling was made from unsulfurized Blenheim California apricots.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Flo Braker's Chambéry Lemon Torte

New York Style Cheesecake

Edited January 22, 2008 by Renka (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Another splash of photos of past bakes.  Here are some of the cakes that I've made.

Coconut Pineapple and Honey Cake

Flo Braker's Chambéry Lemon Torte

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Omg, please tell me if you work in a bakery or restaurant because I want to eat there on my next trip to Toronto!!!