Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[Ann_T]

Wow is right. Mama C, your pastries look soooo good.

Alinka, thank you for posting the link to your cookies. I wasn't going to ask you for that too.

I picked up some rhubarb at the farmers market yesterday and made a rhubarb pie.

Ann

[Ling]

^Beautiful pie, Ann! I've missed your pictures!

I had a lovely dinner last night that included quail stuffed with sweetbreads and boar bacon, pork belly, AND veal breast confit so we had something a little lighter for dessert--a few scoops each of Poire Williams sorbet and caramel and fleur de sel ice-cream.

[lexy]

Abra, it is my great pleasure to share the recipe with you: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106179

←

Thanks for the recipe - Abra beat me to it, but I was going to ask as well!

[gfron1]

This post is subtitled...Three Strikes and You're Out - A Dessert Disaster!

I could really use some help on this one.

The idea was simple, I wanted to have both the flavor of pistachio and the flavor of saffron in a dessert. I thought I would make a pistachio genoise, topped with a saffron custard and to add some twang to the otherwise subtle dessert, I added a strawberry gelee. Seemed simple enough.

First, the genoise was virtually flavorless. I used Julia Child's "Perfect Genoise" which was perfect except it didn't taste the like 1 C. of finely chopped pistachios that I put in.

Second, the custard was actually a cremieux that I have failed to get to set up on two other desserts posted here - this time I cooked it until it was very thick and doubled the gelatin. This is the base recipe from the orange exotic cake. And to make matters worse, I wanted to get the saffron color very vivid, so I kept adding more and more saffron...well, as you already know, more is not necessarily better with saffron - the taste was horrid.

Third, I topped this wonderful creation with a fresh strawberry gelee which might have been tastier had I added some sugar.

Well, here is my pride and joy (questions after the pic):

So, I obviously need some help, but I'm not done with this flavor combination yet! First, I'm considering switching the genoise to a shortcake, but I still want to supercharge the pistachio flavor - without the use of extracts, is there a good way to do this?

Then the overuse of saffron was my desire for natural color, but I was doomed because I was trying to cover the creamy/yolky color of the cremieux. I'm thinking about maybe a panna cotta although its not quite what I was going for, but it would work.

And finally...that damn cremieux! I don't know . I tried the suggestions offered when I made the Orange Exotic Cake but it still won't set up. Ideas to help it hold, or suggestions of other fillings that would have similar consistency (minus the runniness) would really, really be appreciated.

Thanks

[MamaC]

I picked up some rhubarb at the farmers market yesterday and made a rhubarb pie.

Thank you Ann,

Could you share the recipe for the crust, please?

I really love the way it looks.

[Ann_T]

Thanks Ling. We moved from Vancouver back over to the Island in December and I haven't been posting here much. I've missed reading about your eating escapades. I thought of you recently when I made a Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding. I'm trying to get caught up on all the wonderful pictures here and on the Dinner thread.

Mama C, This is the pastry recipe that I use for most pies/tarts. Very easy to work with and you can use it for both savory or sweet pies.

Ann

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Pastry Butter & Lard Pastry

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup lard (or shortening- Crisco)

5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water

(note: if using for a sweet pie, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar.)

Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard using a pastry knife or in the food processor.

Add ice water and mix with a fork. When the mixture comes together form into a ball and cut into two pieces. Form each into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least an hour.

[MamaC]

Thank you so much Ann,

I have my clasic recipe, but yours looks different. In fact is no much different than the one I use.

I'll give a try.

[MamaC]

Second, the custard was actually a cremieux that I have failed to get to set up on two other desserts posted here - this time I cooked it until it was very thick and doubled the gelatin. 

Did you place the gelatin while cream was very hot? You "shocked" the gelatin... and will not set even if you pray to it.

Gelatin powder has to be soaked in small quantity of water and then disolved over very low heat just about until is clear and liquid.

Add to cream when this is warm but not hot. Mix well. Use as desire, use molds for certain shapes.

[gfron1]

Second, the custard was actually a cremieux that I have failed to get to set up on two other desserts posted here - this time I cooked it until it was very thick and doubled the gelatin. 

Did you place the gelatin while cream was very hot? You "shocked" the gelatin... and will not set even if you pray to it.

Gelatin powder has to be soaked in small quantity of water and then disolved over very low heat just about until is clear and liquid.

Add to cream when this is warm but not hot. Mix well. Use as desire, use molds for certain shapes.

←

That might be it - thanks. I did add the gelatin (on all three occassions) to hot liquid. When I've added it to other recipes that weren't hot, it set up just fine. Okay, I won't give up on cremieux just yet...but it is its last leg! Thanks again.

[alanamoana]

gfron1,

unfortunately, i think pistachio is one of those flavors that really doesn't come out very clearly in pastry. even with pistachio paste (which is very expensive for the good stuff) you get more color than flavor. if you've tried pistachio syrups, they taste more like almond extract. we used to make a pistachio shortbread cookie with pistachio meal (finely ground sicilian pistachios approximately $70/kilo restaurant price) and they didn't taste like pistachios to me either!

if you post the cremeux recipe, maybe some of the other pros might be able to see if the formula is way off...

also, in your picture, the strawberry "gelee" looked frozen and a bit thick...was that what you were looking for? or were you looking more for a mirror glaze?

if you look at some french "entremets" you might be better served coming up with a saffron mousse, pour it into a ring mold half way, add your pistachio cake/genoise, fill up with the rest of the mousse and then mirror the top with the strawberry gelee...you can bottom it with a plain shortbread crust if you need it to sit on something sturdy.

to be honest though, i pretty much hate saffron...and i think that the flavor would mask anything else it was paired with. maybe just layers of pistachio? pistachio genoise with a pistachio mousse, strawberry gelee and chopped toasted pistachio on the outside?!

[gfron1]

if you post the cremeux recipe, maybe some of the other pros might be able to see if the formula is way off...

also, in your picture, the strawberry "gelee" looked frozen and a bit thick...was that what you were looking for?  or were you looking more for a mirror glaze?

to be honest though, i pretty much hate saffron...and i think that the flavor would mask anything else it was paired with.  maybe just layers of pistachio?  pistachio genoise with a pistachio mousse, strawberry gelee and chopped toasted pistachio on the outside?!

←

The strawberry was still frozen. I hadn't let it thaw completely when I realized how bad things tasted, so I just snapped the picture.

The cremeux recipe is from the orange exotic cake: 60g sugar for dry caramel, 360 g heavy cream hot, 1 vanilla bean seeds (original recipe called for 4), 120 g yolks, 3 g gelatin (I assumed sheet and translated to 2 g powder, which I then doubled in this recipe to 2 g powder). "Directions: Caramelize the sugar, add vanilla seeds, and hot heavy cream. Return to heat until thickened. cool slightly and add to the egg yolks, and finish with the gelatin. Cool and set aside." Obviously, some good ambigous professional recipe...

[persiancook]

This post is subtitled...Three Strikes and You're Out - A Dessert Disaster!

I could really use some help on this one. 

The idea was simple, I wanted to have both the flavor of pistachio and the flavor of saffron in a dessert. 

Thanks

←

You may want to try making pistachio-saffron ice cream. The traditional Persian version has big chunks of frozen cream, and a tiny amount of rose water. I do not care for the cream chunks, but the rest is sublime.

You will find the pistachio-saffron combination in quite a few Persian desserts. We supposedly produce the very best of both items, so they are featured prominently in quite a few dishes.

[Ling]

I had some 68% Scharffen Berger chocolate, a few peanut butter cookies, and a pain au chocolat from Sen5es.

[SweetSide]

if you post the cremeux recipe, maybe some of the other pros might be able to see if the formula is way off...

also, in your picture, the strawberry "gelee" looked frozen and a bit thick...was that what you were looking for?  or were you looking more for a mirror glaze?

to be honest though, i pretty much hate saffron...and i think that the flavor would mask anything else it was paired with.  maybe just layers of pistachio?  pistachio genoise with a pistachio mousse, strawberry gelee and chopped toasted pistachio on the outside?!

←

The strawberry was still frozen. I hadn't let it thaw completely when I realized how bad things tasted, so I just snapped the picture.

The cremeux recipe is from the orange exotic cake: 60g sugar for dry caramel, 360 g heavy cream hot, 1 vanilla bean seeds (original recipe called for 4), 120 g yolks, 3 g gelatin (I assumed sheet and translated to 2 g powder, which I then doubled in this recipe to 2 g powder). "Directions: Caramelize the sugar, add vanilla seeds, and hot heavy cream. Return to heat until thickened. cool slightly and add to the egg yolks, and finish with the gelatin. Cool and set aside." Obviously, some good ambigous professional recipe...

←

I think I found your problem. If you didn't read the entire thread on the Exotic Orange Cake carefully, you likely missed the correction for the cremeux. It's in the discussion somewhere -- I have it hand written on my printout.

Once you add the caramel/cream mixture to the egg yolks, YOU MUST RETURN THE MIXTURE TO THE HEAT AND COOK UNTIL IT COATS THE BACK OF A SPOON (as in anglaise). Otherwise it won't set properly... as you've found twice now!

Time for another go at your cremeux to save it from its last leg.

[lexy]

unfortunately, i think pistachio is one of those flavors that really doesn't come out very clearly in pastry.

←

Pretty much exactly what I was going to say - even eaten on their own, pistachios aren't terribly strongly flavoured. Maybe you could break the idea down into a pistachio component and a saffron component served together (say, saffron cake and pistachio ice cream), so that the pistachio can stand on its own a little more.

[gfron1]

Ya know...this is why I love EG! These are all super ideas and feedback. I had caught the update of the recipe to return it to the heat and did this time. I continue to wonder about the effects of living at 6000 feet on this recipe.

And the idea of separating the flavors...I've been leaning toward (because I'm not quite ready to give up on saffron in this dessert YET, a saffron panna cotta partnered with pistachio tuiles. And for the saffron, truly just stick with one or two threads.

Thanks again everyone, and I apologize for making this honorable thread transformed into a 'disaster' thread. I promise to post the successful conclusion of this epic here and leave my disasters to the EG masses. I just knew the right people would see my cause on this thread so thanks for baring with me.

[Swisskaese]

Ya know...this is why I love EG!  These are all super ideas and feedback.  I had caught the update of the recipe to return it to the heat and did this time.  I continue to wonder about the effects of living at 6000 feet on this recipe.

And the idea of separating the flavors...I've been leaning toward (because I'm not quite ready to give up on saffron in this dessert  YET, a saffron panna cotta partnered with pistachio tuiles.  And for the saffron, truly just stick with one or two threads.

Thanks again everyone, and I apologize for making this honorable    thread transformed into a 'disaster' thread.  I promise to post the successful conclusion of this epic here and leave my disasters to the EG masses.  I just knew the right people would see my cause on this thread so thanks for baring with me.

←

You could also make a pistachio flourless cake. The River Cafe cookbook has a very nice pistachio cake.

[lexy]

Did nobody else make hot cross buns for Easter?

Regarding the River Café pistachio cake, two points: although it's very tasty, it's also quite dense and quite rich (just a warning), and because it contains a mix of almonds and pistachios, I seem to recall it tasting more 'almondy' than of pure pistachios.

[Ann_T]

Not exactly dessert, but I made Croissants today using Julia Child's recipe. I love to bake but I've never made Croissants before.

Shaped and Rising

Inside

[MamaC]

Ann, once again... could you post the recipe please?

Never tried them before.

Not a dessert either. Because my Easter Holiday is this coming Sunday, I had to make 6 of these... 5 of which were mailed to NY today for some friends of mine. And one I kept for my tummy

All 6

And this is the sacrificed one

[CanadianBakin']

Not exactly dessert, but I made Croissants today using Julia Child's recipe.  I love to bake but I've never made Croissants before.

Shaped and Rising

Beautiful croissants! I haven't tried them yet either.

[merstar]

Ann, once again... could you post the recipe please?

Never tried them before.

Not a dessert either. Because my Easter Holiday is this coming Sunday, I had to make 6 of these... 5 of which were mailed to NY today for some friends of mine. And one I kept for my tummy   

All 6

And this is the sacrificed one 

←

MamaC,

That looks sooooooo good. Would you be kind enough to post the recipe?

[MamaC]

MamaC,

That looks sooooooo good. Would you be kind enough to post the recipe?

It is not very sweet... more like a coffee cake sort of bread. Great flavor.

Cozonac

[merstar]

Thanks.

[Abra]

Thanks to inspiration from Alinka and Pille, I made pashka, as well as Osterfladen, and capirotada for Easter dessert. Click here.

I need to get my camera surgically attached to my hand. When you don't have that bite shot, it all seems like wasted effort!