Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[RuthWells]

Gorgeous as always, Patrick. Your crust looks amazing -- is it a pate sucree, or a standard pie crust, or what?

[Patrick S]

Gorgeous as always, Patrick.  Your crust looks amazing -- is it a pate sucree, or a standard pie crust, or what?

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Thanks, Ruth. The crust is actually some of Dorie's good-for-Almost-Anything pie crust, which I already had in the freezer.

[GTO]

Wow, Patrick, that caramel tart looks like a piece of historic architecture.

Also, alanamoana, you quoted me for your signiature! I'm honoured!

[Ling]

Such beautiful things on this page! I especially love the chocolate mousse spiral and Abra's festive cake.

I made these tiny chocolate tartlets today--some for me, some for Dorie Greenspan, and some for the chefs I'm working for tomorrow. There's caramel underneath the ganache, and I topped them with a candied violet.

Edited November 15, 2006 by Ling (log)

[RuthWells]

Gorgeous as always, Patrick.  Your crust looks amazing -- is it a pate sucree, or a standard pie crust, or what?

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Thanks, Ruth. The crust is actually some of Dorie's good-for-Almost-Anything pie crust, which I already had in the freezer.

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Thanks for that. I'm making her cranberry lime galette for an early Turkey celebration this weekend; I hope my crust looks as good as yours!

[RuthWells]

Double post -- apologies!

Edited November 16, 2006 by RuthWells (log)

[RuthWells]

Your tarlets are beautiful, Ling, and what fun to be baking for Dorie! I had the pleasure of meeting her when she was in Philly kicking off the book tour -- she is as charming and personable in the flesh as she is in print. Have fun!

[apronstrings]

I made Fleur De Sel Caramels today. They are Great! Next timeI will dip them in chocolate before sprinkling with salt.

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You've motivated me to finally make these. Share your recipe?

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Thanks! Sure-- It's Epicurious' recipe for Fleur de Sel Caramels. I used twice the amount of salt called for in the recipe (as recommended in the reviews) and organic corn syrup from Whole Foods. I don't know how to do the hyperlink for you---duh!

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Apronstrings,

I made the fleur de sel caramels this past weekend, coated in dark chocolate. My husband promptly labeled them crack and made me take the rest of them to work where my secretary promptly swooned and the boss and I finished off the rest.

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I know just what you mean!!! I have found that the caramels that are dipped in chocolate retain their shapes a lot longer than the plain fleur de sel caramels.

[GTO]

Wow, Ling. It doesn't matter how manly I, or any other guy thinks they are, you can't look at those candied violets without thinking "God, that's cool."

[LittleIsland]

Leftovers from my 4-year old's party cake - it was carrot cake and all the coloured frosting was cream cheese frosting. Happily, loved by the kids and adults alike.

[adamru]

I've been reading this forum for months and this is my first contribution. it was a mild day in NYC today and I didn't feel like making an apple pie for a birthday today and last night I stumbled upon October's Gourmet and opened it up to Claude Colliot's apple puree with crisp apple skin and spiced syrup. It made for a very refreshing dish and went over as a success. I just think I left too much meat on the skins which affected their crisping. Now I just have to work on my presentation skills.

[Ling]

Your tarlets are beautiful, Ling, and what fun to be baking for Dorie!  I had the pleasure of meeting her when she was in Philly kicking off the book tour -- she is as charming and personable in the flesh as she is in print.  Have fun!

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She mentioned she met you! She was wonderful in person! She asked me, "Are you Ling...on Egullet?" and then said she was so excited to meet me...imagine that! I got to sit next to her at the event.

Thanks GTO...I love those candied violets as well.

[chefmoni]

hi ling! your tarts are lovely, as are all of your other creations...are they chocolate ganache or baked custard tarts? and, may i ask, for what occasion do have the opportunity to bake for dorie greenspan?!

did you ever go to culinary school or work in a professional establishment? or is all of your fabulous work self-taught? just want to say i've admired your work (desserts + writing) for quite some time now.

[Ling]

^Thanks for the kind words. I met Dorie at an event at Macrina here in Seattle. I am self-taught. I just started doing some desserts for Veil yesterday, and have been invited into several kitchens to help with desserts before that.

[Shaya]

Ling, those tarts are just gorgeous.

I am posting tonight's dessert not so much for their beauty or finesse, but with the hope that someone can help me understand where it went wrong.

I have never had a hard time whipping eggwhites into perfect peaks. I usually add salt at the start and then acid partway through.

Today I was making little Italian almond foams called Spumini Mandorlati, from Ciao Italia by Mary Ann Esposito. She says to beat the egg-whites until foamy, then to add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until shiny peaks form.

Then slowly whip 1/4 cup flour into the eggwhites. Then fold in almonds and voila!

Well I did this twice, and both times the egg whites collapsed. I put in a bit of salt at the start.

Could it be the sugar I used - organic cane sugar?

Here they are before and after:

I appreciate any input. Thanks.

[alanamoana]

were the almonds ground or chopped? often, when making nut meringues, the fat that is present in the nuts causes the meringue to deflate. you might be better off tossing the nuts in the flour and folding that mixture into the meringue rather than doing two additions of ingredients thus overmixing/deflating the meringue.

[chefmoni]

well keep up the great work ling and thanks for responding!

[Shaya]

were the almonds ground or chopped?  often, when making nut meringues, the fat that is present in the nuts causes the meringue to deflate.  you might be better off tossing the nuts in the flour and folding that mixture into the meringue rather than doing two additions of ingredients thus overmixing/deflating the meringue.

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The nuts were ground. The flour went in during whipping and the nuts were folded in at the end.

But the whole thing deflated after I added the sugar, not the flour.

[alanamoana]

now that i re-read your post, it is possible that the organic cane sugar you used is the culprit. although it doesn't sound like it should be. just because it is organic, doesn't mean that it isn't refined. but maybe it isn't as refined as regular cane sugar. if there's any trace of fat(?) that could have caused your meringue to deflate.

[Ktepi]

Mini dark chocolate bars in four flavors:

Candied kalamata olive (I had previously candied kalamata olives using the two week increasing sugar concentration method, and diced them for this)

Aniseed

Sesame seed and coarse salt

Green peppercorn

Liked all of them enough to make again, but the candied olive one is just fantastic -- which I wasn't expecting, especially since it tastes exactly like dark chocolate and kalamata olives, but somehow manages to be great anyway.

[ellencho]

So here's a pic of the results of a tart idea I had been knocking around in my head for a while - a chai tart. I asked for help in garnishing it in another thread last week. So I went with my original plan of chopped pistachios, but I also threw in some flaked white chocolate. It turned out pretty good, I would definitely make it again.

[Parmhero]

Sky High Apple Pie

Apple pie is a family favorite, so I make a fair number of them in the fall. My pies are pretty basic and rustic. The only real difference is in the number of apples and the height of the pies. And this week we’re going mile high.

The apple of choice is Macintosh. Sometimes I’ll use Granny Smiths, sometimes a mix of Grannys and Macs. The filling is apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar, lemon juice, and ¼ cup flour. I like the apples to be softly firm, holding shape but yielding. Not hard. And not swimming in gooey goop. I cut the apples into quarters, and each quarter into thirds or halves.

Inner sanctum, apples heaped, dotted with butter.

Top on, ready to go

The final result. Fresh from the oven.

A slice.

A slice ala mode.

[Chufi]

Parmhero, that applepie looks fantastic!!

I made banket today. a traditional Dutch December-pastry. It's almond paste wrapped in puffpastry.. which sounds simple enough.. except I made both the almond paste and the pastry myself. It was a lot of work but worth it!

[miladyinsanity]

Klary, are you a puff pastry addict too now? I made my first batch recently and I will never ever buy the frozen stuff now.

I've had a slice of Bittersweet chocolate terrine, some Frozen Honey Mousse and Felipe's Cocoa Chiffon cake which does not have the texture of a chiffon cake.

That must be why I'm in such a good mood today.

[prasantrin]

It was a beautiful fall day in the Kansai area yesterday, and also a national holiday!

I took it upon myself to visit a chocolatier in Kobe by the name of La Pierre Branche.

I had the cake set, complete with chocolat chaud.

The inside of my cake thing

.

It was the perfect treat for a cool autumn day!