Must have liqueurs for the baker's pantry

[CanadianBakin']

I'm slowly getting a variety of liqueurs so I have them handy when a recipe calls for them.

Which ones do you find you reach for again and again?

[therdogg]

Grand Marnier, Kahlua, amaretto

[dianalane]

I use Kahlua, rum, Grand Marnier, framboise, and cherry Kirch

[Woods]

I'm slowly getting a variety of liqueurs so I have them handy when a recipe calls for them.

Which ones do you find you reach for again and again?

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I use Curacao instead of GM because of the price. Dark rum and kirschwasser are my main ones. Sometime brandy.

[JeanneCake]

I also have (in order by the frequency I use it): Meyer's Dark Rum, GM, Bailey's Irish Cream (or Emmett's if that's all I can find), Poire William, amaretto, and kirsch. I also have some framboise, a bottle of Frangelico and after my fruitcake experiment, I have a few bottles of brandy.

[bluechefk]

cointreau, myers dark rum, limoncello, brandy or cognac, amaretto, kahlua, framboise.

is anyone else thirsty now, or is it just me?

[kitwilliams]

kirsch, dark rum, calvados, bourbon, armagnac, cognac, poire william, framboise.

[alanamoana]

something my most recent pastry chef introduced me to is Stroh Rhum which is made in Austria. it smells like butterscotch and will melt your throat...it is actually called Stroh 80 because it is 80% alcohol or 160 proof. very strong stuff but deeee-lish when added to almost anything in the pastry kitchen. i use it to make my vanilla extract at home. just throw all the used vanilla pods in an old jar and fill to the top with Stroh. it really adds a distinct/aromatic flavor to baked goods. a little pricey at about $35/bottle retail, but a little goes a long way so it should last a while. also makes great rum raisins (a few of which could easily get you drunk!)

Edited October 25, 2005 by alanamoana (log)

[Tepee]

Cointreau, Brandy, Amaretto, Kahlua, Framboise, Tia Maria, Kwai Feh Lychee liqueur, Bailey's Irish Cream, Frangelico, Whisky, Grand Marnier.

What I covet is Myer's Dark Rum...can't find it.

Edited October 25, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[wesza]

For "Dark Rums" none are comparable to the "Demerra" from Guyana, especially for Baking. There is one newer type bottling called "Angostura Old Dark Rum" made by the bitters company that is good value with everything needed to enhance your baking.

Myers, Appleton, Cruzan, Lemon Hart or even Manila Dark Rum are acceptable but don't have the finish or finese.

"Triple Sec" is a more reasonable priced alternative then most other orange blends, especially with a touch of brandy added.

"Chambord" and "Cream Cassis" should also be considered as important for bakers.

Irwin

[Tepee]

Thanks, Irwin. Will go ISO Guyana and the other one. Have tried Lemon Hart...doesn't seem to pack a punch.

[Redsugar]

something my most recent pastry chef introduced me to is Stroh Rhum which is made in Austria.

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Austrian Stroh 80 is, to my palate, probably too fiery & astringently tannic for dessert cookery. (The distillery also produces a less potent Stroh 60.) Yet, although many top-rated rums are generally intended to be demonically pronounced in flavor, they do not all have culinary feasibility.

Recently, I've been using English Harbour 5yo .

However, the thread-starter explicitly asked for liqueur recommendations, rather than spirits in general.

My experience would subsume the following liqueurs in the must-have category:

Amongst the orange-flavored varieties, Grand Marnier is the most broadly useful due to its smooth, relatively mild cognac-based taste.

Cointreau, the other leading Curaçao, is more pronounced in flavor. It incorporates very successfully with strawberries and in soufflés; as well as in crêpes and other flambéed preparations.

Triple Sec is not a brand name – although that’s an error in denotation quite commonly made. It is, however, a type of Curaçao made from the peels of the same bittersweet green oranges as other Curaçao liqueurs.

Mandarine Napoleon is a mixture of distillate of Andalusian tangerines & old cognac, the type of tangerine used reportedly being a rare one. M.N. is styled softer than many Curaçao liqueurs. There’s also a Mandarine from Marie Brizard.

You can also find on the market, orange liqueurs produced by Dutch, German, and Italian firms.

Zwack (from Hungary) is the pear brandy I have most often used. (There’s also a German label called Kammer.)

Blackcurrant: The wonderful Vêdrenne Crème de Cassis; also Bramley & Gage from England and another French label, Lejay-Lagoute.

Black Raspberry liqueurs included the inimitable Chambord Royale and Marie Brizard Rose de Plombieres.

Coconut: Kalani from the Yucatan Penisula in Mexico.

Limoncello: Notably from either Caravella or Villa Massa.

You really ought to stock both Kahlua & Tia Maria for coffee liqueurs. Tia Maria is the spicier of the two.

The most notable nut liqueurs you'll want to shortlist are Amaretto di Saronno (almond), Frangelico and Crème de Noisette (hazelnut), and Nocello and Crème de Noix (walnuts). There're are lichee liqueurs, too, such as Soho.

The exotic La Grande Passion is a passion fruit liqueur from Grand Marnier.

Benedictine & Chartreuse (the yellow is sweeter than the green version) are palatable only to a minority of pastry cooks.

[ludja]

something my most recent pastry chef introduced me to is Stroh Rhum which is made in Austria.  it smells like butterscotch and will melt your throat...it is actually called Stroh 80 because it is 80% alcohol or 160 proof.  very strong stuff but deeee-lish when added to almost anything in the pastry kitchen.  i use it to make my vanilla extract at home.  just throw all the used vanilla pods in an old jar and fill to the top with Stroh.  it really adds a distinct/aromatic flavor to baked goods.  a little pricey at about $35/bottle retail, but a little goes a long way so it should last a while.  also makes great rum raisins (a few of which could easily get you drunk!)

←

...

Austrian Stroh 80 is, to my palate, probably too fiery & astringently tannic for dessert cookery.  (The distillery also produces a less potent Stroh 60.)  Yet, although many top-rated rums are generally intended to be demonically pronounced in flavor, they do not all have culinary feasibility.

...

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Thanks for reminding me of this, alanamoana. A lot of Austrian desserts do use rum and I've been wanting to try Stroh's myself. David Bouley in "East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube" describes it as a "dark, highly aromatic rum" used as the rum of choice in Austrian desserts. The substitute he offers is "dark rum".

The liqueurs that I use most often in baking or other desserts are:

Most commonly: Kirsch, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec, dark Rum, Bourbon

Less often: Poire Williams, Port, Sherry, Framboise, Tia Maria, Brandy

Thanks for all the great information, Redsugar!

[Franci]

On 10/25/2005 at 4:33 AM, wesza said:

For "Dark Rums" none are comparable to the "Demerra" from Guyana, especially for Baking.

 

 

I'm bumping up this old thread. Is the Demerra rum particularly intense? I've been using a bacardi rum  (just for flavor before baking not in rum cakes) and I find it already too intense for my taste.

 

Does anybody recommend a lighter rum for baking?

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Franci said:

 

 

I'm bumping up this old thread. Is the Demerra rum particularly intense? I've been using a bacardi rum  (just for flavor before baking not in rum cakes) and I find it already too intense for my taste.

 

Does anybody recommend a lighter rum for baking?

 

 

I haven't baked with rum in a long time, however I used to use Lemon Hart 151 for baking.  (As well as drinking.)  Unfortunately Lemon Hart these days is hard to find.  Most similar to Lemon Hart is Hamilton 151, at least that I know of, also from Guyana.  I am not familiar with Demerra, but I wonder if it is just a misspelling of Demerara, a river of Guyana?  Guyana rum is Demerara rum.

 

Bacardi is not a rum that I have tried but I know they make a range of styles.

[Franci]

Hi Jo, thanks a lot.

 

I have a big bottle of Bacardi to finish and we don't drink it. So, I'll try another brand after that but maybe, in the meantime, I'll half the quantity of Bacardi and maybe mix it with vodka.