Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[Kerry Beal]

I made Turkish delight yesterday using andiesenji's recipe I put some pistachios in it. It's quite tasty, but I'm not sure what it should look like. Does this look remotely like it should? It's pretty soft so I'm hoping that it's not going to get too sticky and/or runny over the next couple of days.

Looks like it should to me.

[janeer]

I made Turkish delight yesterday using andiesenji's recipe I put some pistachios in it. It's quite tasty, but I'm not sure what it should look like. Does this look remotely like it should? It's pretty soft so I'm hoping that it's not going to get too sticky and/or runny over the next couple of days.

Looks like it should to me.

looks excellent

[ChrisTaylor]

Leckerli. More Larousse, of course.

[Katie Meadow]

Apple Gateau with Vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce-

David, I made this as per your recipe, and it was delicious. We had it for dessert last night after our Coq au Vin, serving it as you did, with ice cream and caramel sauce. I used two granny smiths and two pink ladies. Both my husband and my picky Walla Walla daughter declared that it was even better this morning at room temp or slightly warmed. It is more custardy and eggy than I would have imagined, but that's why it was so good for breakfast.

Edited December 26, 2010 by Katie Meadow (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

Marble cake from Larousse Gastronomique.

[jsmeeker]

For Christmas dinner dessert, I made a Tres Leches cake. Did it as a simple sheet cake. Turned out pretty good, except that the batter didn't get spread evenly in the pan. One corner had very little batter, so it was thin and really dry. Thankfully, there was enough to go around that I didn't have to worry about serving that portion.

[JimmyD]

Hi all.

This is something of a self-introduction as it's my first post on here.

I'm what you would call an enthusiastic amateur who, though I have served time in various kitchens, is self taught. My own love is growing my own anything and then finding the perfect something to make from it.

Over the years I have developed half a dozen drinks ranging from an elderflower based spritzer in the spring through to sloe gins for the winter.

The last two months have been spent developing chocolates based on these drinks .. and this leads me to my question:

I have the flavours perfected, but I'm still not happy with the moulding or the tempering so can you advise me where to look for advice on these things - either in the forums here or books that you have found helpful?

Thanks in advance,

Simon

[E.T.]

Hi Simon,

Welcome! I'm also a newbie at chocolate making (there are a lot of pros here though!), and I found the two Greweling books very helpful:

1) Chocolates and Confections at Home

2) Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner

I started with the first one, since the recipes are simpler and use easier-to-find ingredients. The second one has better explanations of theory, shelf life, and other things of interest to a professional.

For help with specific problems or recipes, nothing beats this forum. Just about every problem I've had, somebody has solved and posted a solution!

[Mette]

For new years eve: traditional danish almond cookies (kransekagekonfekt), althoug some of them are non-traditional by the addition of ground pistachios and others by the addition of candied orange peel.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Mette (log)

[dystopiandreamgirl]

this year's buches...

oak leaves, with toasted hazelnut/frangelico buttercream filling:

three botanicals, coffee, chocolate, vanilla:

(disclaimers:

coffee does not blossom and fruit at the same time, except on my cake;

actual vanilla orchids are more slender;

the chocolate cacao leaves were not cast from real cacao as i can't get my hands on them in the pacific northwest;

the cacao pods are from xocoa)

rum and caramelized chestnuts

and my first time playing with a woodgrain tool (chocolate fondant cones, matcha marzipan needles):

happy new year everyone! thanks for all the inspiration and information shared here!

[Darienne]

dystopiandreamgirl. You are my heroine for sure!

[curls]

dystopiandreamgirl it is all lovely. I especially like the vanilla orchid. Happy New Year to you too!

[oli]

dystopiandreamgir, absolutely outstanding as always. I know whenever you post something its going to create alot of wows here. I have that tool for creating woodgrain. Did you create the woodgrain on a sheet of chocolate and then cover the log with that woodgrain chocolate?

[Kerry Beal]

Not sweet really - but yummy none the less. Thanks to deensibat's suggestion in the New Years Foods thread - I made these Blue Cheese and Jam Savories.

I just happened to have exactly 4 ounces of blue stilton in the fridge just calling out for a purpose. I used the Bourbon Bacon Jam linked to on kayb's recent blog in place of apricot.

Of course my failure to read instructions resulted in me pinching them into balls and making them like a thumbprint instead of rolling and cutting - so they aren't quite as pretty.

[Shelby]

this year's buches...

oak leaves, with toasted hazelnut/frangelico buttercream filling:

three botanicals, coffee, chocolate, vanilla:

(disclaimers:

coffee does not blossom and fruit at the same time, except on my cake;

actual vanilla orchids are more slender;

the chocolate cacao leaves were not cast from real cacao as i can't get my hands on them in the pacific northwest;

the cacao pods are from xocoa)

rum and caramelized chestnuts

and my first time playing with a woodgrain tool (chocolate fondant cones, matcha marzipan needles):

happy new year everyone! thanks for all the inspiration and information shared here!

Unbelievably beautiful. I'm sure you hear this a lot, but it's too pretty to eat!

[CanadianBakin']

[quote name='Kerry Beal' timestamp='1293905225' post='1777775']
[attachment=9178:DSCN2343.jpg]
I just happened to have exactly 4 ounces of blue stilton in the fridge just calling out for a purpose. I used the Bourbon Bacon Jam linked to on kayb's recent blog in place of apricot.
[/quote]

Kerry, how did you like the Bacon Jam? I have a friend who's a bacon addict, thought this might be nice for her.

[Kerry Beal]

I just happened to have exactly 4 ounces of blue stilton in the fridge just calling out for a purpose. I used the Bourbon Bacon Jam linked to on kayb's recent blog in place of apricot.

Kerry, how did you like the Bacon Jam? I have a friend who's a bacon addict, thought this might be nice for her.

Liked it a lot. Very similar to an onion jam really, but you've got the bacon cachet!

[Darienne]

Liked [bacon jam] a lot. Very similar to an onion jam really, but you've got the bacon cachet!

I have put off trying it. But having now made some luscious tomato jam, I guess I could spring for bacon. Can you please point me towards the recipe? Thanks.

[Kerry Beal]

Liked [bacon jam] a lot. Very similar to an onion jam really, but you've got the bacon cachet!

I have put off trying it. But having now made some luscious tomato jam, I guess I could spring for bacon. Can you please point me towards the recipe? Thanks.

There is a link in my original post.

[Darienne]

Liked [bacon jam] a lot. Very similar to an onion jam really, but you've got the bacon cachet!

I have put off trying it. But having now made some luscious tomato jam, I guess I could spring for bacon. Can you please point me towards the recipe? Thanks.

There is a link in my original post.

Thanks. Did I mention that my mind was going....????

[patris]

Tomorrow is my oldest sister's birthday. Her very favorite dessert is tiramisu, but she was quite smitten with the macarons I made for Christmas... so I made her some tiramisu macarons. Just added a slurry of espresso powder and water to the macaron batter and made a filling by beating the heck out of unmeasured quantities of mascarpone, butter, powdered sugar, a bit of Choco-Bake, vanilla, and dark rum. Not too happy with the texture of the filling - it's kind of broken and weepy (Yum!), but it is quite tasty. The feet are smaller than I would like, but overall they turned out great and are quite evocative of tiramisu - the point of the whole endeavor.

[Tri2Cook]

Nice macs, they sound tasty.

[CanadianBakin']

Tomorrow is my oldest sister's birthday. Her very favorite dessert is tiramisu, but she was quite smitten with the macarons I made for Christmas... so I made her some tiramisu macarons. Just added a slurry of espresso powder and water to the macaron batter and made a filling by beating the heck out of unmeasured quantities of mascarpone, butter, powdered sugar, a bit of Choco-Bake, vanilla, and dark rum. Not too happy with the texture of the filling - it's kind of broken and weepy (Yum!), but it is quite tasty. The feet are smaller than I would like, but overall they turned out great and are quite evocative of tiramisu - the point of the whole endeavor.

Sounds delicious! Do you know how to avoid the small feet issue next time? I just learned but don't want to explain if you already know.

[Kerry Beal]

Those macarons look great to me! I love tiramisu flavours.

[patris]

Tomorrow is my oldest sister's birthday. Her very favorite dessert is tiramisu, but she was quite smitten with the macarons I made for Christmas... so I made her some tiramisu macarons. Just added a slurry of espresso powder and water to the macaron batter and made a filling by beating the heck out of unmeasured quantities of mascarpone, butter, powdered sugar, a bit of Choco-Bake, vanilla, and dark rum. Not too happy with the texture of the filling - it's kind of broken and weepy (Yum!), but it is quite tasty. The feet are smaller than I would like, but overall they turned out great and are quite evocative of tiramisu - the point of the whole endeavor.

Sounds delicious! Do you know how to avoid the small feet issue next time? I just learned but don't want to explain if you already know.

Oh please do tell! They seem to develop nice feet while they are baking, but somewhere between minutes 9 and 12 they fall on themselves and flatten like that. They have great texture and no airspace at their crowns, so a resolution to the feet issue would be wonderful.