Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

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[sazji]

Sazji!!!!! I got my LOKUM package today! Since it is freezer cold in Korea, I had to let the package come to room temperature (when I got it from our friendly postman - it was hard as a rock). When I figured it was time to open it, I found....

I find myself reaching again into the box... somebody stop me.. they are so goood! Sazji, your Korean sweets will be on their way to you soon! I expect a full report like this. Once again, from the bottom of my heart - maraming salamat. Thank you very much. 

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I'm so glad they pleased! I can't wait for the Korean ones and will gladly post a report.

[Pille]

Alanamoana - thanks for letting me know about cloudberries in Newfoundland!

C. sapidus - after seeing your lemon vanilla pistachio shortbread, I found the recipe from Epicurious and made them, too. Delicious! Thanks for the inspiration!

Apronstrings - that pistachio praline strudel looks wonderful!

I made a typical Danish Christmas dessert, risalamande, few days ago. It's a rice pudding enriched with whipped cream and chopped/flaked almonds, and served with warm cherry compote:

There's one whole almond hidden inside - whoever finds it, gets a small marzipan gift

[cherimoya]

I made Opera cake for my brother's birthday this weekend.

Edited January 8, 2007 by cherimoya (log)

[Sararwelch]

I have quite a few Meyer lemons in the house, so I made the Barefoot Contessa lemon cake. It was really good, and a great way to use a lot of lemons.

[Lumas]

Been awhile since I have posted anything, but I am now baking again!

I need some help with what went wrong with this dessert. Brioche Bee Sting Cake from Perfect Cakes. The brioche came out good. The problem was that it baked unevenly. Some spots were high and some were low. The second problem was the almond brittle topping. It was suppose to carmelize, but most of the liquid just dripped down the sides and formed on the bottom of the cake. The third problem was the pastry cream. The cream was way too thin. It started to look like it was cooking and it became lumpy so I got scared and pulled it off the hear. I think I should have kept cooking it a little longer. Any help. Thanks.

[racheld]

I turned on the oven as I straightened the kitchen after supper, and slid one of the red Silpats onto the smallest air-bake cookie sheet. During the next commercial in this evening's "Enterprise" marathon, Chris took out the last frozen roll of the dozen or so of Chocolate Chip/Toasted Pecan cookies he made for Christmas gifts, and sliced off six.

He slid them in the oven, watched a few more moments of interplanetary rescue/battle/negotiation, and put them out on a rack to cool just enough to handle safely, and we bit into them while the chocolate chunks were still melty and the pecans crisp and toasty. He had a frozen mug of milk and I finished my glass of iced tea with my half cookie.

Lovely way to serve them---all the labor and cleanup done long ago, and just the baking and enjoying left to do.

[alanamoana]

It started to look like it was cooking and it became lumpy so I got scared and pulled it off the hear. I think I should have kept cooking it a little longer. Any help. Thanks.

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if your pastry cream is corn starch based (or even flour based), you pulled it off at exactly the moment when the starch was being activated...right when it comes to a boil. if you whisk vigorously during this stage, you won't have any lumps, it smooths right out. then you continue to cook at a boil, whisking constantly, for another 20-30 seconds to cook out the raw starch flavor. pour it into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to avoid a skin and cool in an ice bath. when ready to use, stir it up to make it spreadable.

not sure about the topping though. is the cake baked with the topping or is it added afterward?

it looks like it would be delicious though!

[alanamoana]

I have quite a few Meyer lemons in the house, so I made the Barefoot Contessa lemon cake. It was really good, and a great way to use a lot of lemons.

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Sararwelch, where do you live?! I want some meyer lemons!!

If you have more than you can handle (do you have a tree?), I'll come and pick some for you ...

I live in Cupertino!

hehehe, alana

edited to add: nice looking cake, by the way!

Edited January 9, 2007 by alanamoana (log)

[shaloop]

Lovely way to serve them---all the labor and cleanup done long ago, and just the baking and enjoying left to do.

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Whenever I make cookies I make extra and scoop the dough into balls, freeze, and then put into plastic freezer bags and keep in the freezer. Whenever we want cookies I just preheat the oven and bake. So convenient and I usually have a variety in the freezer. My husband can make fresh baked cookies for the kids anytime.

[Lumas]

not sure about the topping though.  is the cake baked with the topping or is it added afterward?

it looks like it would be delicious though!

Yea, the cake is baked with the topping on it. Some of it is suppose to drip down, but it seemed like ALL of it did. I might just try a non-liquid based topping next time. It was really good even if it didn't come out 100% right. Thanks for the info.

Edited January 10, 2007 by Lumas (log)

[Lumas]

A few desserts from the past month:

Vegan Tiramisu

A not so pretty Herme's pave

Coffee Crumb Cake

[sazji]

During my food blog, Domestic Goddess in Korea offered to trade me a box of Korean sweets for a box of lokum (Turkish delight). I just got back into Istanbul the other day and found they'd arrived! There were two things - one was sort of like a peanut-covered honey nougat, it reminded me of Bit-o-Honey but really hard at first - takes a little doing to get started. There were also some other things in separate packages.

The packages were more mysterious. The peanut confection was straightforward enough; peanuts joined by some sort of syrup. The dark ones though...!

At first I thought the larger, darker one was pumpkin seeds, but the seeds were much thicker, and the texture is different. Now I'm guessing green soybeans...? The other one I took for sesame at first, but the seeds are very round. Millet? The flavor of the binder is quite different too, almost like there is a bit of seaweed in it. Almost surely something I would never have tasted if not for eGullet!

[Domestic Goddess]

Sazji - I thought I sent you the poppy seed one but I was mistaken (re:my PM to you). I sent you the millet one! Hope it didn't wreck too much damage to your chompers. Next time, I'll send the more tooth-friendly mochi.

[Gruzia]

I made this a couple of weeks ago but finally got around to figuring out how my camera and the egullet image thing works

This is the Concorde from Pierre Herme's Chocolate Desserts....umm, the plate looks dirty because that was my second slice...

This is three layers of meringue with chocolate mousse. He recommended to freeze the cake overnight and defrost in the fridge to give the meringue a chewier texture. I had it about 30 min after i took it out of the freezer and four hours later...it is really amazing how much the meringue texture changes because of the freezing/defrosting technique. What was very dry and crumbly became chewy and more moist....though I did prefer it more after the shorter defrost time as I thought the contrast of textures was sharper. Anyway, this was both my first Pierre Herme recipe, and the first time making meringue, as well as my first time eating raw eggs in the mousse (no small feat for the germaphobe that I am )....I must say it was not the best looking cake, but it tasted pretty damn good!

[Sararwelch]

I am still working my way through my meyer lemon supply. Here's the granita I made last night:

[Natho]

Here are some of the desserts I made for my dinner party on New Year's Eve- Croissant Bread Pudding (forgot to take a pic of the cinnamon rum sauce), Galaktobourekos for my Greek friend, Halvah, and Pistachio Chocolate Praline Strudel. Clarity of pictures and amount of wine consumed at that time are obvious.

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Could you post the recipe for the Halva please? I have been looking for a good halva recipe.

[Stephanie Wallace]

Spiced Pavé - Slab of ganache steeped with spices:

[Lumas]

This was really yummy...

Caramel Pudding Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust with Fleur de sel spinkled over the Carmelized Almond brittle

[deensiebat]

A few desserts from the past month:

Vegan Tiramisu

how do you make a vegan tiramisu? and one that looks so good?

[Sararwelch]

I made an angel food cake and served it with blood orange sauce, creme anglaise, and citrus salad.

[rnsmelody]

here is what i made, wild turkey bourbon pumpkin cheesecake during the holidays last year. its been too cold for me to bake lately. but its as good as it looks enjoy!

Edited January 17, 2007 by rnsmelody (log)

[RuthWells]

Sorry no pix -- but I inaugurated my copy of Emily Luchetti's Passion for Desserts this weekend with her Apple Filo Napoleans. Golden delicious apples lightly cooked with sugar, lemon and apple juices, layered with pecan&sugar dusted layers of filo and a dollop of cinnamon cream. Terrific flavor and texture combos, but a bit too much sugar in each of the elements as written.

[Joni]

Melange..what recipe did you use for the Pave! Beautiful..am assuming the cubes are individual serving size....