Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[Ling]

It's basically a chocolate graham crust pie with a really thick, rich, chocolate pudding. I made one before and it was so good and thick...I remember the recipe called for whole milk and I used heavy cream instead...

[alanamoana]

ling, your pecan bars look lovely. i like that there doesn't seem to be as much syrup in relation to nuts (unless it's hiding underneath!). i like it nuttier (like myself) and don't always love how sweet pecan pie is...although i looooove pecans. did you use a recipe from recipeGullet?

[Ling]

No, I didn't...I didn't really follow a recipe. I just made a shortbread base, made caramel (sugar, butter, cream) then added a lot of nuts until there wasn't any more "excess" caramel. You're right, it was a very nutty pecan pie bar. There wasn't any goopy stuff underneath. It was the first dessert gone. A lot of people came up to my last night and told me it was by far the best thing at the party.

[miladyinsanity]

It's basically a chocolate graham crust pie with a really thick, rich, chocolate pudding. I made one before and it was so good and thick...I remember the recipe called for whole milk and I used heavy cream instead...

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Thanks!

And, you know, it ought to go in the gilding the lily thread.

[miladyinsanity]

[Kerry Beal]

Still had about 6 cups of wild blueberries available today. So I made 2 batches of blueberry oatmeal muffins to take to work and this amazing blueberry buckle. It was one of the nicest desserts I have ever made with blueberries. The perfect end to our paella dinner.

[ruthcooks]

Being a diabetic, I don't make too many desserts, but for July 4th I decided to make my Great Aunt Bertha's Burnt Sugar Cake. It brought back a lot of memories to me.

My daughter's non-foodie family made comments like "the frosting was too sweet" and "not my favorite, but OK". Drat their little hides, but 'cha know what? 24 hours later there was only a 2-inch section left, while there was an equal amount of chocolate cake left from a few days earlier.

I don't need accolades, if they eat it up, I'm cool.

[alanamoana]

i had a bunch of cherries, blueberries and strawberries...so i made a sauce with some which i then poured over the fresh berries. layered that with sponge cake and some pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and had a berry trifle!

[Ling]

^Yum...I love berries!

My bf made white peach ice-cream last night with lots of vanilla bean and he should be bringing it over the border in a cooler for me...can't wait.

[Abra]

Ling, I'm making your Coffee Chiffon Cake right now, with espresso and coffee liqueur in it. It's making 6 mini Bundts plus half a regular Bundt pan - that is a seriously large recipe. It's smelling great as it bakes.

[Ling]

^That sounds really good, Abra! Did you just replace some of the brewed coffee with the liqueurs? I bet that would make the cake even tastier...how much of each did you add?

I just checked my recipe in Recipe Gullet and noticed I meant to say "angel food cake pan" instead of bundt pan, but a bundt pan should work too. It does make a very big, soft-textured cake!

Edited July 7, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Abra]

Arrgggh, this project didn't work. I replaced the full amount of coffee with espresso. Then I used 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp of coffee liqueur, so the liquid was the same. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly, including the injunction to use an ungreased pan. I have nearly new heavy duty nonstick mini Bundt pans, to which the cake stuck impossibly, so I couldn't get a single one out intact. And the remainder of the batter went into a silicone Bundt, which also stuck! I didn't think anything stuck to silicone.

Now I'm in a quandary, and have guests coming in 3 1/2 hours. Should I make all the broken pieces into some sort of pudding? I have no cream in the house and no time to go get some, but I do have some creme fraiche. Or should I just serve slices of the larger cake, which is pretty flat, since it had only half the batter, with ice cream and fudge sauce and call it a night? Make something altogether new?

I know this is the what I HAD for dessert thread, but I'm hijacking it for a few minutes into Can This Dessert Be Saved? Thanks for any brilliant ideas!

[Ling]

Oh no, I feel terrible! It would've probably worked with an angel food pan, so sorry Abra!

I would just serve slices of the cake with vanilla ice-cream and caramel, or maybe serve it with espresso-flavoured creme fraiche and chocolate sauce. If you have cream cheese or marscapone, you could use the espresso chiffon cake as ladyfingers and make a modern interpretation of a tiramisu.

So sorry again...ack...I feel so bad...*hugs*

Edited July 7, 2006 by Ling (log)

[miladyinsanity]

I remember Pam R talking about Shmoo Tortes in her foodblog, Abra. It's chiffon cake in some kind of mousse, I think. Maybe google up a recipe? Seems pretty easy to make, since you already have the cake.

[Abra]

No need to feel bad, Lorna, I should have greased the pan on my own recognizance!

Anyway, I decided to apply the "tres leches" principle, split the flat round cake, stacked it with the split sides up, and slathered the cut surfaces with a mixture of equal parts creme fraiche and chestnut jam, and stuck it in the fridge to moosh together. It's a very winter-seeming dessert, and although I have fresh blueberries in the garden just waiting to be cooked into something summery, my husband doesn't eat fruit, so there you have it. I probably should announce it as Shmoo Torte when I serve it, that's such a great name.

Keep your fingers crossed that the cake will soak up the creme, and I'll let you know how it turns out. I have to work on the rest of the dinner now, or I might have gone for a more elegant solution, but it is what it is, and probably everyone will eat it happily.

[jayhay]

but it is what it is, and probably everyone will eat it happily.

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I love this expression, & I keep repeating it to myself when things could be going better in the kitchen!

[prasantrin]

I remember Pam R talking about Shmoo Tortes in her foodblog, Abra. It's chiffon cake in some kind of mousse, I think. Maybe google up a recipe? Seems pretty easy to make, since you already have the cake.

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A schmoo/shmoo torte is chiffon cake with chopped (ground?) pecans, served with caramel sauce. The topping (can I call it icing?) is usually whipped cream. Won't help in this case, but it is delicious and simple!

Edited to add: it might be angel food cake, and not chiffon, but I can never remember...

Edited July 8, 2006 by prasantrin (log)

[Ling]

Yesterday, I had the Cook's Illustrated oatmeal raisin cookies, and also ate the white peach ice-cream. The cookies were good, but I've used better recipes.

After dinner at Sanafir, we also had:

berries, meringue, whipped cream

baked yogurt, tuile, grape granite (this was the best)

chocolate sushi roll...this was as tasty as it looks...

[alanamoana]

ling, it seems to me that at every canadian restaurant you eat in, they garnish so many of the desserts with gooseberries. are they indigenous to the western regions? i'll never understand why people garnish with ridiculous items that don't add anything to the dish/dessert...unless of course with the chocolate sushi it was the only decent thing on the plate

the baked yogurt sounds good...can you describe it a little more please?

[Pam R]

Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly, including the injunction to use an ungreased pan.  I have nearly new heavy duty nonstick mini Bundt pans, to which the cake stuck impossibly, so I couldn't get a single one out intact.  And the remainder of the batter went into a silicone Bundt, which also stuck!  I didn't think anything stuck to silicone.

You really don't want to grease a pan when baking a chiffon. It's the fact that the cake does stick to the sides that allows it to bake and remain high. If the pan's greased, it will slide down as it bakes and you'll have a flat unleavened cake. The best thing to do for a chiffon is to bake it in something with straight sides (angle-food, regular old round or square pan) - then you can run the knife around the edges after it's cooled (and you cool it upside down). But you DO want to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Because sticking to the sides is good, sticking to the bottom is bad.

I remember Pam R talking about Shmoo Tortes in her foodblog, Abra. It's chiffon cake in some kind of mousse, I think. Maybe google up a recipe? Seems pretty easy to make, since you already have the cake.

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A schmoo/shmoo torte is chiffon cake with chopped (ground?) pecans, served with caramel sauce. The topping (can I call it icing?) is usually whipped cream. Won't help in this case, but it is delicious and simple!

Edited to add: it might be angel food cake, and not chiffon, but I can never remember...

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It's chiffon.

ling, it seems to me that at every canadian restaurant you eat in, they garnish so many of the desserts with gooseberries.  are they indigenous to the western regions? 

I'm not Ling and don't have any answers - but I've noticed that gooseberries are everywhere this year. Every grocery store is selling them - and that's new. You never used to see them around - so maybe it's just that they're using what's 'new'.

And this is way too late - but I thing a coffee chiffon that's crumbled would be fantastic in a tiramisu trifle.

[Ling]

ling, it seems to me that at every canadian restaurant you eat in, they garnish so many of the desserts with gooseberries.  are they indigenous to the western regions?  i'll never understand why people garnish with ridiculous items that don't add anything to the dish/dessert...unless of course with the chocolate sushi it was the only decent thing on the plate 

the baked yogurt sounds good...can you describe it a little more please?

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Yes, I do see Cape Gooseberries (aka ground cherries, physalis) everywhere as dessert garnishes, and have been seeing them ever since I started dining out in nicer restaurants when I was 17 or so. A quick search tells me they are native to the Andes. Yes, you're right...it was the only edible thing on the chocolate sushi plate.

The baked yogurt was great. It had the texture of cheesecake, but with a bit more tang. I'm guessing they drain the yogurt with cheesecloth, then mix it with sugar and cardamom before baking it.

(Just finished the last of the oatmeal raisin cookies...)

Edited July 8, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Abra]

It's embarrassing, but I'm putting this up just cuz I said I would. This is half of the coffee chiffon, flat as a pancake, layered with a mix of creme fraiche and chestnut jam.

As predicted, my by-then-sated guests gobbled it up, with some vanilla ice cream and fudge sauce on the side just in case. And my husband ate the broken pieces for breakfast, spread with cream cheese and Dutch chocolate sprinkles, so nothing was wasted. Still, not my finest hour, dessert-wise.

Edited July 9, 2006 by Abra (log)

[Ling]

I think it looks good, Abra. What did you think of the way it tasted?

[shaloop]

vanilla panna cotta with strawberry coulis. 1st time making and will be making again, very easy and light. Great for summer!

[CanadianBakin']

Yesterday, I had the Cook's Illustrated oatmeal raisin cookies, and also ate the white peach ice-cream. The cookies were good, but I've used better recipes.

Ling, which recipe do you like better? I really like the Cook's Illustrated recipe but if you've found a better recipe I'd be willing to try it.