Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[isomer]

Wow, you guys are really rocking the house here. Everything looks fantastic!

Here's my minor contribution....

There are Chocolava cookies from the book One Smart Cookie by Julie Van Rosendaal. They're ... pretty good. The confectioner's sugar coating is a neat idea, and makes them look really cool. The taste and texture, though, are not totally my thing.

I am hopelessly addicted to baking Dorie Greenspan's World Peace cookies, which are very hard to beat. And every chocolate cookie I make or eat gets compared to those. So far, nothing's in the same ballpark.

[Tri2Cook]

Great stuff everybody. I'm loving all of the holiday baking, I used to do tons of it up until a couple years ago. Now I just don't.

I don't really want to post pictures since my camera died, the piece o' junk I'm using temporarily just isn't the same, but...

pecan pralines (I did cream and buttermilk versions) - pistachio and sea salt divinity - triple ginger cookies

...it's the return of the humbug. This is all of the holiday goodies I'm doing for friends this year (no, not just the three pieces ). It's more than they got last year.

[dystopiandreamgirl]

four pinecone cakes:

marzipan:

(chocolate almond cake with apricot filling;

coated with rum ganache;

chocolate marzipan scales;

coffee meringue pine needles)

modeling chocolate:

(coffee meringue with espresso buttercream filling;

coated with kahlua ganache;

modeling chocolate scales;

chocolate marzipan twigs with green tea marzipan pine needles )

orange peel:

(chocolate genoise with cointreau buttercream

coated with cointreau ganache;

candied orange peel scales;

bittersweet chocolate pine needles)

almond:

(chocolate almond cakes with raspberry filling;

coated with ganache;

sliced almond scales;

green tea marzipan pine needles )

wishing everyone a lovely holiday!

Edited December 25, 2008 by dystopiandreamgirl (log)

[Lisa2k]

four pinecone cakes:

marzipan:

(chocolate almond cake with apricot filling;

coated with rum ganache;

chocolate marzipan scales;

coffee meringue pine needles)

modeling chocolate:

(coffee meringue with espresso buttercream filling;

coated with kahlua ganache;

modeling chocolate scales;

chocolate marzipan twigs with green tea marzipan pine needles )

orange peel:

(chocolate genoise with cointreau buttercream

coated with cointreau ganache;

candied orange peel scales;

bittersweet chocolate pine needles)

almond:

(chocolate almond cakes with raspberry filling;

coated with ganache;

sliced almond scales;

green tea marzipan pine needles )

wishing everyone a lovely holiday!

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WOW!! Those cakes are works of ART - perfectly executed and so clean!! Great job!

Happy Holidays to all, and MERRY XMAS!

Edited December 25, 2008 by Lisa2k (log)

[lostbaker]

WOWW!! I still can't believe those are cakes. At first, I just passed over them thinking they were some random pictures of trees and stuff. :P

It wasn't until Lisa replied that I realised :$

Great job dystopiandreamgirl! One of the best creations I have seen, by far.

Makes me feel so embarrassed to upload mine.

[Darienne]

WOWW!! I still can't believe those are cakes. At first, I just passed over them thinking they were some random pictures of trees and stuff. :P

It wasn't until Lisa replied that I realised :$

Great job dystopiandreamgirl! One of the best creations I have seen, by far.

Makes me feel so embarrassed to upload mine.

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Ditto for me. I actually dragged my husband to see them and he was impressed too. They are incredible!!!!!

[emmalish]

I'll say it too: WOW!! dystopiandreamgirl, those are amazing! I love the varieties you've come up with, and the flavour combinations sound amazing. I can't decide which one I would want to try first, although it would be a crime to destroy any of them!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Whether you celebrate the day or not, I hope you all have a wonderful season!

(oh man, there were waaaaay too many exclamation points in this post...)

[gfron1]

is the wood actually cake or a serving platter? Stunning as usual. So when are you going to do a decorating demo for your adoring fans?!

[isomer]

WOW is right! Those looks beautiful. Very nicely done!

[Kim Shook]

DanM – I really like the idea of pumpkin whoopie pies!

isomer – I had the same experience with those cookies. The cool look really interested me, but that flavor was…a little blah.

dystopiandreamgirl – what absolutely gorgeous cakes! I am so impressed!

I’ve posted some of these, but this was the dessert spread for our Christmas Eve dinner:

this was a gingerbread layer cake with a cranberry-orange filling and an orange cream cheese frosting. A really good Paula Deen recipe.

the little tarts next to the cake were Ted Fairhead’s wonderful mince tarts.

[gfron1]

Kim - I still think your iced cookies are some of the prettiest I've seen this season.

[Shelby]

WOWW!! I still can't believe those are cakes. At first, I just passed over them thinking they were some random pictures of trees and stuff. :P

It wasn't until Lisa replied that I realised :$

Great job dystopiandreamgirl! One of the best creations I have seen, by far.

Makes me feel so embarrassed to upload mine.

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Ditto for me. I actually dragged my husband to see them and he was impressed too. They are incredible!!!!!

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I did the same thing to my husband!! Simply stunning dystopiandreamgirl!

[Shelby]

DanM – I really like the idea of pumpkin whoopie pies! 

isomer – I had the same experience with those cookies.  The cool look really interested me, but that flavor was…a little blah. 

dystopiandreamgirl – what absolutely gorgeous cakes!  I am so impressed!

I’ve posted some of these, but this was the dessert spread for our Christmas Eve dinner:

this was a gingerbread layer cake with a cranberry-orange filling and an orange cream cheese frosting.  A really good Paula Deen recipe.

the little tarts next to the cake were Ted Fairhead’s wonderful mince tarts.

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Kim, I love the gingerbread cake! How cute with the gingerbread men around it! And your cookies are iced so beautifully.

[cmflick]

Some things that I made for the holidays.

Pandoro:

Chocolates for friends and family:

[gfron1]

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates! Damn....you need to be posting more often!

[emmalish]

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates!  Damn....you need to be posting more often!

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No kidding! Can you tell us about the fillings, cmflick...?

[tsquare]

I assume I am years behind, but just tried making chocolate cake in a coffee cup - 3 minutes in the microwave. While it wouldn't be my first choice, with peppermint ice cream on top, it was pretty good for a 5 minute dessert prep. It would be better with some chunks of chocolate in there to add moisture, sweetness, and richness. I only had cocoa, no chips. I used a 12 oz. mug and next time would take 10-20 seconds off the cooking time. I used plain all purpose flour with good results.

one web location

Edited December 29, 2008 by tsquare (log)

[cmflick]

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates!  Damn....you need to be posting more often!

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No kidding! Can you tell us about the fillings, cmflick...?

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Thanks for the positive comments! I have been lurking in the forums for a very long time!

There are five fillings: peanut butter, chocolate & spice (cinnamon & cloves), Earl Grey tea, Dulce de Leche and Gianduja. There were actually three other fillings I made, but they weren't in this box: lemon, pistachio and dark & stormies. The lemon and pistachio were molded white chocolates for family members that won't eat dark chocolate and the dark & stormies were hand dipped. It was a busy holiday season!

[judiu]

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates!  Damn....you need to be posting more often!

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No kidding! Can you tell us about the fillings, cmflick...?

←

Thanks for the positive comments! I have been lurking in the forums for a very long time!

There are five fillings: peanut butter, chocolate & spice (cinnamon & cloves), Earl Grey tea, Dulce de Leche and Gianduja. There were actually three other fillings I made, but they weren't in this box: lemon, pistachio and dark & stormies. The lemon and pistachio were molded white chocolates for family members that won't eat dark chocolate and the dark & stormies were hand dipped. It was a busy holiday season!

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A dark and stormy HAND DIPPED CHOCOLATE! OMG, tell us more! Please!!!

[gfron1]

For the Daring Bakers challenge - Buche de Noel (French style)

Contained dacquoise, ganache, praline fuiellete, mousse, creme bruleè and glaze.

Gut shot:

A log version pre-thawed:

An individual for a VIP customer:

The one for me that I promptly dropped:

HERE is the full write-up at my blog.

[cmflick]

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates!  Damn....you need to be posting more often!

←

No kidding! Can you tell us about the fillings, cmflick...?

←

Thanks for the positive comments! I have been lurking in the forums for a very long time!

There are five fillings: peanut butter, chocolate & spice (cinnamon & cloves), Earl Grey tea, Dulce de Leche and Gianduja. There were actually three other fillings I made, but they weren't in this box: lemon, pistachio and dark & stormies. The lemon and pistachio were molded white chocolates for family members that won't eat dark chocolate and the dark & stormies were hand dipped. It was a busy holiday season!

←

A dark and stormy HAND DIPPED CHOCOLATE! OMG, tell us more! Please!!!

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There's not a lot to say about the dark & stormies. They were made using the recipe in Peter Greweling's book, Chocolates and Confections (white chocolate, ginger and dark rum). There has been a discussion of them before in the forums, but for the life of me I can't find it! Maybe someone else can help.

[scratch]

This is by far my favorite thread-- such inspiration! Here are a couple of things I have been working on over holiday (as well as my food photography):

Alfajores:

Here is my first try at molded truffles- hoping for more of a shine next time so my luster doesn't look like bloom! aagh.

Here is a Challah loaf that I made for a holiday breakfast:

Also, would anyone be able to point me in the right direction for as discussion in "food photography"?

bah! Edited to try and get picts to show!

Edited December 30, 2008 by scratch (log)

[Kerry Beal]

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates!  Damn....you need to be posting more often!

←

No kidding! Can you tell us about the fillings, cmflick...?

←

Thanks for the positive comments! I have been lurking in the forums for a very long time!

There are five fillings: peanut butter, chocolate & spice (cinnamon & cloves), Earl Grey tea, Dulce de Leche and Gianduja. There were actually three other fillings I made, but they weren't in this box: lemon, pistachio and dark & stormies. The lemon and pistachio were molded white chocolates for family members that won't eat dark chocolate and the dark & stormies were hand dipped. It was a busy holiday season!

←

A dark and stormy HAND DIPPED CHOCOLATE! OMG, tell us more! Please!!!

←

There's not a lot to say about the dark & stormies. They were made using the recipe in Peter Greweling's book, Chocolates and Confections (white chocolate, ginger and dark rum). There has been a discussion of them before in the forums, but for the life of me I can't find it! Maybe someone else can help.

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I think the discussion of the Dark and Stormies is in the thread about Greweling's book - here it is.

[emmalish]

I've finally gotten around to posting photos of some of my holiday baking.

I always make gingerbread – this is the first time I've used my snowflake cutters. I'm really happy with how they turned out...

I also made ginger chocolate crackles...

And marshmallows (I made both vanilla and chocolate)...

There were also spiced pecans, puppy chow and shortbread, but they all went before I thought to take pictures.

[mostlylana]

I've finally gotten around to posting photos of some of my holiday baking.

I always make gingerbread – this is the first time I've used my snowflake cutters. I'm really happy with how they turned out...

I also made ginger chocolate crackles...

And marshmallows (I made both vanilla and chocolate)...

There were also spiced pecans, puppy chow and shortbread, but they all went before I thought to take pictures.

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Wow, this is the first time I've looked at this thread - amazing accomplishments! Emmalish, if you're not a professional photographer you should be - your photos are SO GOOD! I've never done a search on this forum for how to do food photography - that would be a good thread...

I got some snowflake cookie cutters for Christmas - can't wait to try them. I love your white design... how did you do it - is that piping?