Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[DesertCulinary]

While I didn't get any and Jeff technically had his piece before dinner, I made a giant 5 layer chocolate chip cookie cake yesterday.

This cake was a blast to make and got a great response from his co-workers. I need to make this one again soon so I can at least taste a bite!

[gfron1]

I think its good that you didn't give us perspective on the cookie cake - it looks like its 50 pounds and 2 feet tall. Heaven!

[Nina C.]

That cookie cake is so cool! Did you use a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe? and what's between the layers?

[patris]

That cookie cake makes my teeth hurt in the best possible way. Cookies and frosting, together at last...

[GTO]

Wow, Joe. It looks like you could scale that thing. Mt. Cookiebirthday.

Not a lot of messing around today. I did plums on spiced oat cream.

[DesertCulinary]

Hee hee, yes it does look like a mountain in the pictures! It was actually about 9 to 9 1/2 " across and just about 6" tall.

That cookie cake is so cool! Did you use a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe? and what's between the layers?

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It was an unusual chocolate chip cookie recipe - a lot of the fat actually comes in the recipe later on in the form of heavy cream.

In between the layers is cream cheese whipped and lightly sweetened with confectioners' sugar. It seemed to help cut the sweetness from the cookies.

[jende]

Hee hee, yes it does look like a mountain in the pictures!  It was actually about 9 to 9 1/2 " across and just about 6" tall.

That cookie cake is so cool! Did you use a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe? and what's between the layers?

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It was an unusual chocolate chip cookie recipe - a lot of the fat actually comes in the recipe later on in the form of heavy cream.

In between the layers is cream cheese whipped and lightly sweetened with confectioners' sugar. It seemed to help cut the sweetness from the cookies.

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Lovin' it!! I just started a topic asking for ideas for incorporating Nutella into a dessert for a dinner party. I think the "giant cookie cake" would be excellent with some Nutella spread between the layers, and such a fun dessert for a party.

Edited September 20, 2007 by jende (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Lovin' it!! I just started a topic asking for ideas for incorporating Nutella into a dessert for a dinner party. I think the "giant cookie cake" would be excellent with some Nutella spread between the layers, and such a fun dessert for a party.

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You might want to find a way to cut the nutella a bit for that one. I've smeared nutella on fresh baked chocolate chip cookies just out of curiosity and found it way too sweet. Then again, I like making desserts more than I like eating them so maybe it wouldn't be too sweet for most people.

[jende]

Lovin' it!! I just started a topic asking for ideas for incorporating Nutella into a dessert for a dinner party. I think the "giant cookie cake" would be excellent with some Nutella spread between the layers, and such a fun dessert for a party.

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You might want to find a way to cut the nutella a bit for that one. I've smeared nutella on fresh baked chocolate chip cookies just out of curiosity and found it way too sweet. Then again, I like making desserts more than I like eating them so maybe it wouldn't be too sweet for most people.

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Yeah, I agree. I would probably blend it into the cream cheese and cut way back on the confectioners sugar. I love desserts, but not those that are overly sweet. I think that's why I love Nutella spread on crusty bread. The bread is just like a plain delivery system for the sweet Nutella!

[jumanggy]

apronstrings: I'm dying to make the cheesecake now that I've seen yours! Finally found it on msnbc.

GTO: You totally reminded me I haven't satisfied my craving for plums yet (heh) since you made the plum cake. I think I will skip the cream, though, I don't want to see icing sugar again for at least another month.

Joe: I'm surprised there's only 6 tablespoons of butter in the batter! Happy birthday to Jeff!

I pirated a recipe for sugarpaste/ rolled fondant from a book I forgot while bored at a bookstore. This is my first (quite unambitious) attempt at using the stuff. I haven't crossed the dark side, don't worry, I don't think I'll use sugarpaste again unless someone pays me a lot of money (which: they probably won't). I still would want to perfect using the pastry bag, somehow.

Inspired by Rob's using up his leftovers, the cake is an extra loaf of PH's cocoa cake (someone bought 2 Fauburg Pavés from me, which I find makes 2 loaves and an extra mini-loaf), with a wedge cut off the top to make a "V" on the cross section. I filled the chasm with apricot preserves, then slathered bittersweet chocolate ganache (also leftovers from truffle-making) before enveloping it in sugarpaste.

[GTO]

Mark - That looks awesome. How do you achieve the different coloured stripes?

[jumanggy]

Hee! Thanks, but if you go to Flickr and search for "fondant," there's tens of thousands of really inspired cake art out there! This was for experimentation/ see if I could do it just in case a crazy friend ever asks for a special themed cake or whatever (I am still much cheaper than a bakeshop...).

Just divide the sugarpaste into three, then color two of the balls of paste light blue and yellow. Divide each into smaller balls and roll them out into snakes, then place the snakes side by side, finally roll over all of them with a rolling pin to make a thin slab of striped sugarpaste. Kind of fun, brought me back to my childhood playing with Play-Doh! (but I was kind of an OCD kid, I would never mix different colors haphazardly.)

[GTO]

Cool. Play-doh made your hands smell so bad.

[Tri2Cook]

Some very nice stuff going on folks.

I just did my first fall dessert of the year... mac 'n' cheese.

McIntosh apples and Stilton 3 ways. Didn't turn out as nice on the plate as I pictured it, needs more color, but the flavor is there. Just gotta work on the artsy part.

Cheesecake flavored with stilton topped with fresh-made McIntosh apple butter.

Stilton cheesecake mousse (pureed some of above cheesecake and folded in stabilized whipped cream) under McIntosh frangipane.

Stilton cheesecake Ice cream (pureed cheesecake blended with vanilla custard) on maple-poached McIntosh tart with McIntosh juice reduction.

P.S. It's not as huge as it looks. Each component is probably 3 bites, maybe 4 for the frangipane/mousse.

[Dianabanana]

Plum tart made with prune-plums from our backyard tree, sprinkled with Toast Dope, baked, then glazed with apricot jam. Doesn't it look like a chrysanthemum? Or a chrysantheplum!

Before baking:

And after:

[sanrensho]

^^^Stunning presentation. Right now, we are working our way through a case of organic prune plums that the family picked just last weekend. Best...snacking fruit...ever.

It remains to be seen whether any will be left for baking, but I'm not complaining.

Edited September 21, 2007 by sanrensho (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

my pictures and food will never be as beautiful as what you guys post here!!! wow!!!

but my dessert is really good!

pumpkin custard made with coarsly cracked mix of toasted peppercorns, black mustard seeds, coriander and cumin ..the some sweetened whipping cream with madras curry on top ...

that bite of the seeds with the custard is outstanding!

next time I am guilding with a frozen pineapple dessert chutney and cillantro...it seems very right!

[Dianabanana]

Thanks, sanresho. Prune-plums are one of my favorites! So delicious dried, and so totally unlike supermarket prunes.

Here's another one. Just vanilla pastry cream, fruit, and glaze. It was prettier before I glazed it and I kind of wish I had just dusted it with powdered sugar, but I was afraid it would melt before anyone saw it. Sorry about the hideous picture--it's in my Lock & Lock cake carrier, on its way to the office, and I was late for work.

[eskay]

Beautiful tarts, Diana

I found these huge pears of a variety I'd never seen before in the grocery store today, so I bought one and decided to do something with it for dessert. Ended up cutting it up and poaching it in a ginger syrup and eating a few pieces with some very soft because I just churned it vanilla ice cream...mmmm.

[Dianabanana]

I offered to make someone a birthday cake this week, and when he requested a yule log, I tried to think of a version which evoked summer rather than christmas.  So, here is a cake of driftwood:

flourless chocolate souffle roll filled w ganache and candied orange peel;

covered with white chocolate modeling paste;

belgian white chocolate seashells;

candied angelica seaweed

caramel beach glass

raw sugar sand...

I'm calling it bûche de été.

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This is freaking INCREDIBLE. A new classic. Absolutely brilliant concept and gorgeous execution.

[David Ross]

Last night I made one of my favorite Fall desserts-Gingerbread. I served it with a Rum Raisin sauce which is the same basic sauce I use when I make Sticky Toffee Pudding. I poured the gingerbread batter into large cupcake molds so I would have individual servings.

[alanamoana]

hmmmmmm...rum raisin sauce! would have been perfect here today as the weather suddenly got gloomy.

[David Ross]

I make a big batch and keep it in the fridge. It is a delicious sauce on any warm spice cake like gingerbread or sticky toffee pudding. And REALLY good warmed as a sauce over vanilla ice cream!

Rum Raisin Sauce

4 cups whipping cream

2 cups (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2/3 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup dark rum

Place the whipping cream, brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

Bring the cream mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and reduce, stirring occasionally, until the sauce until is reduced by half or to about 3 1/2 cups. This should take about 20 minutes.

Stir the rum soaked raisins into the sauce.

Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Cover and refrigerate the sauce.

The sauce can prepared in advance. Simply re-warm the sauce in a double-boiler over gently simmering water. Serve the sauce warm.

[Ce'nedra]

Argghh! I'm so envious at all of you people! Do you know what I have for 'dessert' every night after dinner? FRUITS! Only! It's rare for us to have an after-dinner treat -so sad so sad...

And OMG! dystopiandreamgirl...I am just lost for words at your shell cake...

Dianabanana: Your's makes me feel so homey and warm inside...it's the comfort kind of dessert that grandma makes! That's my mum's favourite sort of cake (ish). Can I have the recipe for it please? It looks just delish!

And David Ross: that is THE ultimate winter dessert

Mmm...desserts...fats...cream...mmm...

Edited September 24, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Oh and just so everyone can have a good laugh at me -check out my failed green tea creme brulees

Silly me and my sister made these in muffin paper cups for some diddlydoo-dumb reason...and you know how you're supposed to half-fill the baking dish or whatever with water? Well my sister thought you had to add water to the actual CREME BRULEE!! Sad to say, our creme brulees weren't quite creme brulee considering they never seemed to solidify

Oh and we don't even have a flaming torch to make the crisp sugary topping NOR does our grill work! 'Tis was a gloomy day