Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[ColleenD]

hi ling!  would you mind posting the recipe for those chocolate chip cookies?  they look divine.  always looking for ways to improve upon the classic.

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Those cookies look so good. I think this might be the recipe;

Olivia's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Café Cookbook, Sasquatch Books

http://www.parentmap.com/aug_04/0804_1.htm

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I've become obsessed with this forum! I promise to post a picture of something soon to contribute!

Ling--those cookies look unbelievable! I have never made chocolate chip cookies with part shortening--how does that change the texture or taste versus using all butter? Thanks.

[Chufi]

I was eyeing this Dutch ginger pastry recipe from Chufi, but I was really craving a chocolate dessert tonight. I figured ginger and chocolate can work well together, so I replaced some of the butter and sugar with melted chocolate chips. The result was pretty good, like a chewy, slightly flaky brownie. I really liked the ginger bits, but I think it would have been better with a more bitter chocolate. Here's a slice, topped with some powdered sugar and orange zest:

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Nishla, what a great idea! I'm going to steal that!

[Ling]

Ling--those cookies look unbelievable!  I have never made chocolate chip cookies with part shortening--how does that change the texture or taste versus using all butter?  Thanks.

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Well, they are not as buttery, obviously. You do sacrifice a bit of taste for the thick chewiness that the shortening gives. And the cookies seem to stay soft longer than all-butter chocolate chip cookies. The book says you can keep them wrapped for 3 days, so I wrapped two cookies individually and purposely ate one 2 days after baking, and one 3 days after baking. (The rest were consumed day-of.) The second day cookie is still quite soft and chewy, but there's a big difference with the third day cookie...much drier and getting crisp/stale. I wouldn't keep them for 3 days, despite what the book says. (I realize this post is making me sound incredibly anal. )

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Today I'm still finishing the Guinness stout gingerbread. It is definitely tastier today than it was yesterday. I would make this again, the day before I plan to serve it.

I have a few cans of Guinness left so I'm going to make a Guinness chocolate cake now.

(BTW--no pics for the next two weeks. My parents took the camera with them on vacation.)

Edited October 15, 2006 by Ling (log)

[gfron1]

Today I finished a project I had worked on for a while. Curry marshmallow on a digestive biscuit (modified to be thicker and not as hard) covered in Cluizel Mangaro Lait. I couldn't quite pull of the presentation but it was nice. I still really like the curry marshmallow.

[Ling]

^Are those round things the marshmallows? Either way, sounds great. I've been wanting to make curry mashmallows for awhile. My idea was to make a curry marshmallow spread to use as the filling for chocolate cookies (like Whoopie Pies.)

Today I made the Chocolate stout cake that chefpeon mentioned awhile back. It was absolutely delicious! I used extra cocoa than the recipe called for though...I used cake flour instead of AP and thought I might as well replace the missing "bulk" with cocoa instead of extra flour.

[lexy]

Today I finished a project I had worked on for a while.  Curry marshmallow on a digestive biscuit (modified to be thicker and not as hard) covered in Cluizel Mangaro Lait.  I couldn't quite pull of the presentation but it was nice.  I still really like the curry marshmallow.

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What recipe do you use for your biscuits? Much as I adore Mcvities, I've been wanting to try my hand at a homemade version for a while.

[gfron1]

What recipe do you use for your biscuits? Much as I adore Mcvities, I've been wanting to try my hand at a homemade version for a while.

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Here's the recipe. I modified it by grating the dough to make it easier to eat for this dessert, but it actually called for the dough to be rolled to 1/8 inch. And yes Ling, those are the curry marshmallows. The last batch I added much more turmeric to make them more yellow, but since I was coating them anyway, I didn't bother this time.

[Domestic Goddess]

Fresh Fruit Cobber that got not only 2 thumbs up from my son but 10 fingers up.

[meredithla]

^I had another slice after it cooled down, and it definitely tastes better. You still get the bitterness from the stout, though. I prefer thisthis fresh ginger cake. I just love fresh ginger. The Guinness stout cake recipe also contains a bit of fresh ginger, but not as much. It's a great recipe for those who like stout...nice and moist, rose evenly, etc.

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I agree this cake was a little bitter for my taste too. I think the combination of the molasses with the stout does it. However, with sauteed apples and warm caramel drizzled on it...YEEHAW!!!!

[Ling]

^Yes, I do like the recipe very much but agree I need to serve it with something to better suit my taste. Maybe sweet potato and cinnamon ice-cream. Regardless, I would definitely make it again.

Edited October 16, 2006 by Ling (log)

[MReichle]

Last night I made a financier with a chocolate ganache topping. The only problem is that it didn't rise! I used Nick Malgieri's recipe. The whites are whipped to stiff peaks and the melted butter is folded into the meringue. Perhaps the butter was still too warm? But it felt barely warm.

All was not lost. My wife thought it was a very tasty (if unreproducible) almond-butter torte.

[sazji]

I think I've found an ensemble perfect for Ling...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15240970/

[Chufi]

I was eyeing this Dutch ginger pastry recipe from Chufi, but I was really craving a chocolate dessert tonight. I figured ginger and chocolate can work well together, so I replaced some of the butter and sugar with melted chocolate chips. The result was pretty good, like a chewy, slightly flaky brownie. I really liked the ginger bits, but I think it would have been better with a more bitter chocolate. Here's a slice, topped with some powdered sugar and orange zest:

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I was so intrigued with this twist on a Dutch classic that I had to make it right away!

I didn't have chocolate chips though, so I just added 2 heaping tablespoons of Dutch cocoapowder to the dough.

Thank you so much Nishla for this idea. It's really good!

[alanamoana]

Last night I made a financier with a chocolate ganache topping.  The only problem is that it didn't rise!  I used Nick Malgieri's recipe.  The whites are whipped to stiff peaks and the melted butter is folded into the meringue.  Perhaps the butter was still too warm?  But it felt barely warm.

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that actually looks really good! but funny because my recipe for financiers is just a dump and mix. nothing is done to the egg whites.

almond meal

egg white

browned butter

flour

sugar, granulated

sugar, powdered

salt

flavoring, vanilla extract or liqueur

dump and mix, portion and bake

[Ling]

I think I've found an ensemble perfect for Ling...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15240970/

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I'll keep that in mind for when the time comes.

[sazji]

I'll keep that in mind for when the time comes.

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Though honestly I see you more in something involving very dark chocolate...perhaps you could get married in a chocolate shell? It would have to be a mighty quick ceremony though...!

[jende]

I troll through this topic and drool almost daily. I assume that you're all working stiffs like me, so I'm always wondering: how do you find the time to bake these amazing creations?!

[Domestic Goddess]

Some of us actually slave at home. LOL

[Nishla]

I was so intrigued with this twist on a Dutch classic that I had to make it right away!

I didn't have chocolate chips though, so I just added 2 heaping tablespoons of Dutch cocoapowder to the dough.

Thank you so much Nishla for this idea. It's really good! 

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Ooh, your cake looks so pretty with the ginger on top! I'm very glad you liked the variation...I was a bit worried that I had horribly butchered a classic recipe The cake tasted even better the next day, and was so easy to make I'll definitely be trying it again.

[apronstrings]

This the Maida Heatter recipe I've wanted to make for umpteen years. Italian Sesame Cookies, just like they make in Little Italy--really!

[MReichle]

alanamoana,

Thank you. It was very tasty, more like a candy than a cake. I've baked dump-type financiers, also. They did rise. Not sure what happened here, but I'll probably go back to teh Sweet Almond Financier from Williams-Sonoma.

Michael

[Ling]

I troll through this topic and drool almost daily. I assume that you're all working stiffs like me, so I'm always wondering: how do you find the time to bake these amazing creations?!

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I make pretty simple things during the week. A cake, like the Guiness stout cake or the chocolate stout cake I made this week only takes like 10 minutes to do. 15 if the recipe calls for 5 minutes of beating the eggs or something. And then clean-up and doing the dishes takes another 10 minutes or so. It doesn't take that much time.

I made the Olivia chocolate chip cookies again today. This time with less sugar, and I used half semi-sweet, half white chocolate chips.

Edited October 18, 2006 by Ling (log)

[sazji]

I troll through this topic and drool almost daily. I assume that you're all working stiffs like me, so I'm always wondering: how do you find the time to bake these amazing creations?!

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Actually with the exception of some of the really labor-intensive things, many baking projects like simple cakes, quick breads, bar cookies etc. really don't have that much hard labor. People say for example, "Bread, doesn't that take a lot fo time?!" Yes, it does, several hours, but mixing and kneading bread takes around 10 minutes; the yeast is doing most of the work and you can do other things.

Also, when something is a little unfamiliar you take more time thinking about it, working out the details, but once you've done it a few times, it goes much more quickly. Make a pound cake every day for a week, you'll see how much faster you'll do it by Saturday! (Eat a pound cake every day for a week, see how much you weigh by Saturday...or become very popular at the office and see how much your coworkers weigh by Saturday.) And then lots of it becomes variations on a theme.

Ling's mention of cleanup also reminded me -- I think the more you cook, the more you (well, some people...) get into habits that also make it all more time-efficient. For example, if there are a couple different steps to something, I might take a minute to wash up things in between, like when a piecrust is blind-baking, or chocolate is sitting on the double boiler. Um...this also has to do with the fact that I don't have a lot of extra mixing bowls... My mom was a real stickler on this, by the time a cake was out of the oven, there was never a dirty dish left.

[gfron1]

I agree. My spouse always talks to friends about my desserts that "take 3-5 days to make." Well...they do, but that means 15 minutes a day for 3-5 days as I build the components and then I assemble them on the last day which takes minutes. And for the record, if I have 2 free hours a night I'm lapping in the luxury of free time

[miladyinsanity]

It used to take me 6-8 hours to bake 3 cakes and a batch of cookies (say, 2-3 half-sheet pans). Now it takes less 4, including mise en place and washing up.

It also helps as you learn to gauge how long it'll need in the oven, and when to start on the next thing to go into the kitchen.

I've had strawberries. Yum.

An unsuccessful vanilla sponge. Unsuccessful because it didn't taste very vanilla-y. Anybody know how to use vanilla powder? Should I buy Vanilla Beans instead?

A slice of Flo Braker's Smore Squares. I cut the sugar by a quarter and it's still way too sweet. Not to mention, not chocolatey enough.

Two slices of coffee sponge. Not bad, but could use more coffee.

If Ling tops this, I'm finding a new hobby.