What are you baking these days? March 2013 edition... [old]

[buttertart]

Hello again, what's in the oven at your house right now or what are you planning to tackle this month? I think I "have" to make madeleines this weekend, and of course bread, and these little puppies that have been brought to my attention by a dear friend: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2013/02/...
Lots of girls around the kitchen, in other words, Madeleines and Magdalenas!
How bout choo?

[charmedgirl]

Slipping in under the wire, since I made this yesterday when it was still March. Coconut Cream Pie for Easter dessert. I've never made a cream-anything pie before, and for some reason coconut seems "Easter-y" to me.

The filling and topping were a resounding success. I used this recipe http://www.loriesmississippikitchen.c... with two changes. For the whipped cream topping, I used coconut extract instead of vanilla, and I also decreased the powdered sugar some and added a couple tablespoons of the cream of coconut that I had left over. That was awesome. I honestly can't imagine having done it the other way.

The other change was a disastrous one. I used a chocolate wafer cookie crust instead of a traditional pie crust. I've made them before, but for some reason this one stuck to the bottom of the pan like you wouldn't believe. I was straining and scraping to get any of it out. It totally ruined the presentation of the slices, which was a huge bummer. (You can see signs of the carnage in the picture.) Luckily though it tasted super delicious, and it was just my family of four, so no one cared.

I was pleased at how super easy the pie was to make. I think I'll be trying my hand at more custard/cream type pies in the future, especially with summer coming.

[Chocolatechipkt]

That looks SO good!

[Antilope]

I made up a Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe with everything but the kitchen sink in it. The added spices give it a spice cake like taste that complements the banana flavor. I added sour cream to make it moist and tender. This turned out really good. You can make it the standard way or in a Zo bread maker.

Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
http://community.kingarthurflour.com/...

[gini]

It must be a banana bread sort of day! I made banana chocolate chip muffins this afternoon.

[Chocolatechipkt]

Tomorrow I'm baking a lemon Maryann cake, filled with lemon curd and whipped cream and topped with raspberries

[roxlet]

The Easter Bread is done! I made four regular loaves instead of two braided loaves, since they're easier to share. We'll keep one and give three away.

[limoen]

Dutch babies, which don't really count, and also lemon souffle! My first souffle ever. I was expecting something light, airy and insubstantial but it was like the most delicate-textured cake ever, with intense lemony flavour.

[buttertart]

Sounds fab.

[sarahjay]

Congratulations on a successful soufflee!

[limoen]

Thank you! I was very proud. They didn't rise very high (my ramekins were a bit too big and the mixture didn't reach the top) but they did rise. And cold leftover souffle is pretty delicious, as it turns out.

[Lorry13]

Any chance you or someone else here has a good lemon souffle recipe to try out?

My only attempt at souffle was a chocolate one, the recipe coming from NYT and same as you I was just happy it rose!

[limoen]

I used this one, which I saw made on a British baking show: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mar... and it worked for me and was delicious. Although it's a British recipe it's unusual in being user-friendly for Americans and not requiring scales!

90ml would be a little over an 80ml third of a cup, and 110ml is a scant 120ml 1/2 cup (apologies if this is stating the obvious, but so many American measures which seem very 'obvious' to people I have to think about, so thought it might be the same! It's the 'stick of butter' that always throws me). I believe US and UK fluid ounces differ if you'd measure it that way.

[Lorry13]

Thanks for the recipe!!

Ha actually I do own and use a scale but I'm not that familiar with using "ml" for volume when baking so the info is very helpful!

[souschef]

If you want a lighter soufflé that will puff up more, fold the lemon mixture into the egg whites, not the other way round.

I prefer to bake a soufflé for 9 minutes at 425°F, which gives you a slightly runny centre as opposed to a cakey texture.

[buttertart]

How many eggs' worth of souffle?

[souschef]

4 yolks and 7 whites, baked in two 4" individual soufflé dishes. It is too much soufflé for some people........but not for me!

[rstuart]

I love dutch babies...

[grampart]

Last night I served guests Coquilles St. Jacques accompanied by some wonderful bread made from a recipe I got right here on CH. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe.... It came out great. Also, from a CH source, dessert was Nick Malgieri's SuperNatural Brownies served with quenelles of Talenti Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato. Our local Publix recently had a "buy one get one free" on this stuff. Wow! Super vanilla flavor! Highly recommend the recipes and the gelato.

[buttertart]

I'm very glad you like the brownies.

[buttertart]

I just saw the bread recipe, looks fab. I need more time on the KA website -- and here.

[sarahjay]

I ordered a stand mixer this week and it's being delivered tomorrow, so I see a LOT of baking this weekend! My sister has requested marshmallows (coconut flavored and coated) and angel food cake with strawberries for Easter dessert. SO EXCITED for the mixer!! (even if I have to store it under the bed)

[Chocolatechipkt]

Congrats! Hope you love it! :)

[Breadcrumbs]

That's very exciting sarahjay...keep us posted & congratulations!!

[sarahjay]

It came this morning. It's so pretty

[roxlet]

It's gorgeous! And have many years of fun baking with it!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Sarah, I think you've made a great choice in the Breville - and not just because it's so sleek and beautiful! I'm also planning to get my first stand mixer soon (I've never had space before, even taking space under the bed in account). I've been considering the Breville, too, and to that end I recently borrowed my friend's and had a good experience with it. He's very pleased with it and has had no complaints, and says it performs very well (and better than a KA he's used) in his marathon, all-day holiday cookie-baking sessions. I feel like the only consideration is that it doesn't support attachments like the KA (which I'm not considering) and Cuisinart (which I am) do. But I'm leaning toward it anyway, because I'm really getting it with baking in mind. Anyway, enjoy your new toy!

[sarahjay]

I did a lot of research before buying it and in the end was choosing between the breville and the cuisinart. I don't see myself needing the attachments because I already have a pasta machine, a food processor, and an ice cream machine and don't expect to need a meat grinder. I picked the breville because of the bowl shape mostly. I find that a curve on the bottom and higher straighter sides tend to keep flour in the bowl better.

[buttertart]

Possession lust is gripping me...

[Breadcrumbs]

I have a few Breville appliances and love all of them. That's a beautiful machine sarah. Good for you!

I have a KA mixer that I was incredibly excited to purchase almost 20 yrs ago now. It's still running beautifully though I do have to adjust the arms/bowl height every now and then. That said, there are so many options now and I think you've made a wonderful choice. Happy Baking!

[Breadcrumbs]

jic you didn't see this article (Breville vs KA):

http://news.consumerreports.org/home/...

[souschef]

The article mentions using the mixer for folding......how do you use a mixer for folding?

[biondanonima]

I improvised a carrot cake-inspired version of 7 Layer Bars last night - they're quite tasty, although I think the crust needs some work. Carrot cake is one of DH's favorite desserts, so he is thrilled.

[Breadcrumbs]

GIADA'S ORANGE RICOTTA POUND CAKE

The blood oranges are here, the blood oranges are here!!!

I so look forward to making this cake as soon as I can find blood oranges at the supermarket. I make this cake often but this is my favourite version. I think this is the first time I've ever used fresh ricotta as well. Super-moist and citrusy. Yum!

[rstuart]

Oh wow... so springy!

[limoen]

How sweet is this? It can be difficult to balance the sweetness of recipes with orange, but I do love the flavour of orange cake, so if not too sweet I'd love to try this out. Also, are blood oranges crucial to the taste, or would ordinary oranges do? I'm not sure I can find blood oranges here. The texture looks perfect in your version, by the way.

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks limoen. It's not overly sweet. I'd say the flavours balance nicely. I've posted the recipe here before as I make the cake frequently. I make it with all sorts of citrus including lemon, lime, oranges and Meyer lemon. We love all the versions.

Just a couple of notes on this recipe. I've never made the strawberry topping as we enjoy the cake as is. I've made the cake w the Amaretto but we prefer it when I replace it with juice from whatever citrus I'm using.

Here you go:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gi...

[buttertart]

Back in the day you could only get blood oranges at Kensington Market.

[roxlet]

I was 19 and in Switzerland for the first time. I ordered orange juice, and this glass of red juice arrived at the table. I remember how surprised I was when I took the first sip.

[Breadcrumbs]

Probably not so long ago either bt. I'm amazed now how much more variety there is at our supermarkets. btw bt, if mr bc's most recent man cold shows a remarkable sign of of improvement tomorrow I'm hoping to head down there and to the SLM to pick up all our Easter supplies. I'm craving a Mexican lunch and yearning for a visit to the Good Egg...seems fitting at Easter, no?

...as for me, I remember having my first glass of blood orange juice served to me at breakfast at the lobby restaurant at the Plaza hotel in NYC. I was on a business trip and I felt so cosmopolitan! I'd never even heard of blood oranges prior to that.

[souschef]

Loblaws carries them.

[buttertart]

The best ones I got this year were in a net bag, Sunkist brand.

[helen_m]

I made a ricotta orange cake yesterday too. Not blood orange but I used lovely organic spanish oranges and a recipe I found on Pinterest, it's possibly the same recipe actually as I see you mention amaretto. I just used the juice from the oranges too. I wasn't sure how it would turn out as I had a bit of an accident using my hand mixer (for the first time) and shot bit of sugar out of the bowl when I turned the beaters on but it's so delicious.

[Breadcrumbs]

Your cake looks lovely helen. I'm glad you had an opportunity to try this recipe, and that you enjoyed it.

[roxlet]

Today I made my Pizza Rustica for Easter. My son had some friends over, and since they wanted cookies, I whipped up a batch of CCC. I will probably make my Easter bread tomorrow.

[Breadcrumbs]

It came out beautifully roxlet. If you remember and have time, please take another photo when you cut into it! Such a mouth-watering dish!!

[buttertart]

I'm at my MIL's staying out of her way in the kitchen at the moment (and using her iPad, of which one I MUST GET...). She had made CCCs for a family party last night and I have been going nuts eating them :) -- Himself doesn't like them so I never make them.
Pizza Rustica looks mighty buona...

[Cherylptw]

Today I'm making a pan of banana & walnut bread pudding using a box of glazed donuts. Caramel with be drizzled over the top and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.. I can't wait!

[rstuart]

Wow! Now that sounds decadent!

[buttertart]

And then some.

[Candy]

Day before yesterday I made a dark chocolate torte. I found it so dark and rich that you would need a dollop of whipped cream to bring out the chocolate flavor. Very simple to make.

I made a very moist carrot cake that incorporated drained crushed pineapple and nuts. No gloppy cream cheese frosting. A taster said it was the best carrot cake he'd ever had.

My mother's 90th birthday is May 10. We are going to my niece's home for a birthday party. I'll be schlepping along pans, mixer and everything I will need to bake (she doesn't bake). I am planning on making the two cakes above and one pound cake. It might be lemon with some lemon curd.

[travelbyrecipes]

Mennonite Baked Oatmeal. Tastes good warm from the oven, but cold....not so much. I made a double batch in a 9"x13" pan. I didn't have enough rolled oats so I used some raw oats which added a crunchy nutty flavor. There are suggestions to use with ice cram, dribble with honey, mix with chocolate chips, etc.

[rasputina]

I have pumpkin scones ( King Arthur Flour recipe) with mini cinnamon chips in the oven and I'm going to put a maple glaze on them once they cool.

[Allegra_K]

Dear Canadian bakers;

I am looking at a recipe that calls for Lyle's golden syrup (home-made cream eggs http://food52.com/recipes/21276-homem...
) ....is this essentially the same thing as Roger's?
Thank you for your assistance, and for forgiving my confectionery incompetence !

[Breadcrumbs]

Hi Allegra, I've never heard of Rogers. Lyle's is a light cloured (amber) treacle made w sugar beets. It has a lovely, unique flavour, nothing like dark treacle....no bitterness at all. I see your recipe suggests corn syrup as an alternate but it will taste different.

[Allegra_K]

Thanks, Breadcrumbs...I think Rogers is a cane sugar syrup and was hoping the two were the same thing. Thanks for clearing that up! I've never seen Lyle's around here, and was wishing to avoid corn syrup, drat.

[Caitlin McGrath]

It looks to me (after a bit of googling) like Roger's is very similar to Lyle's. I'm sure it would work fine in that recipe.

[pavlova]

Lyle's is made with sugar cane, not sugar beets. Roger's is a fine substitute. Are you in western Canada? Roger's is more commonly found there.

[buttertart]

My dad was English and we always had Tate & Lyle's in the house when I was little (50 yrs ago, in London, ON) so surely markets have it there now?

[joharkins]

Madelines are also my favorite to bake ^.^
I use Ina Garten's recipe but add coconut to mine!

[helen_m]

I did my first baking in America, from a real American cookbook (the only cookbook I have until my shipping arrives) I chose Macrina Bakery's chocolate apricot and espresso bean cookies. Oh my word, I can not stop eating them, they are delicious! I wasn't sure about the combination and nearly missed the coffee out but it was such a small amount I threw it in hoping for the best and I'm so glad I did. It adds a really nice, subtle flavour and texture.

[buttertart]

Those sound terrific! What baking books do you like from your home country?

[helen_m]

I'm from the UK, so Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess is probably my most cooked-from baking book. I also like Donna Hay for reliable baking too.

[Chocolatechipkt]

The chocolate-hazelnut macaroon torte was SO good! Smitten Kitchen succeeds again. I also made an orange-amaretto ricotta tart, topped with berries and amaretto cream.

[helen_m]

Ooh, the chocolate-hazelnut macaroon torte sounds really good! Is the recipe on her site or in her book (which I don't have but could easily be persuaded!)

[Chocolatechipkt]

I'm not sure if it's in the book, but it's on her site: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/0...

It's seriously good!

[Lorry13]

Gourmet's Flourless Chocolate Cake and Coconut Milk Nutella Bread...Gotta satisfy the chocolate cravings!

[rstuart]

Coconut Milk Nutella bread sounds good.. where's the recipe from?

[HillJ]

Thank you for asking, curious myself!

[Lorry13]

The recipe came from this blog
http://noblepig.com/2013/03/coconut-m...

Have to say it was delicious, then again its hard to go wrong when Nutella is involved!

[HillJ]

Thank you my son happens to love coconut & Nutella. This combo will be a big hit with him.

[rstuart]

I'll second those thanks!

[Caitlin McGrath]

I made the Momofuku Milk Bar corn cookies (truly the only recipe from that book I've read about that's appealed to me at all), and they're super. Great texture, and the freeze-dried corn makes them taste like corn, not like a cornmeal or polenta cookie. Sweet/salty/corny goodness.

I've been baking since I was a kid, and have generally got by fine without a stand mixer, but according to Christina Tosi, you need one for her cookies (http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recip...). I'm currently borrowing my friend's Breville, so finally made them. Shout-out to kattyeyes, via HillJ, for the inspiration and the advice (from a blog, I think), to cut the butter by 2 T. Two tablespoons was also the amount of dough I used for each cookie, rather than the 1/3 cup in the recipe.

[biondanonima]

Made some quick lava cakes for stepdaughter's birthday dinner last night - she said she wanted chocolate, so chocolate she got! The recipe I used was a pretty standard lava cake recipe, but it was flourless, and I think I prefer a recipe that calls for just a bit of flour to give the cakes a touch more structure. I also prefer the type that are made with a truffle in the center to create the lava effect, rather than just leaving the batter underbaked, but I didn't have time to make truffles and I figured the kids would be happy with anything. And I was right - they had never had lava cake before and licked their plates clean!

[Antilope]

I've been looking at recipes and reviews of Hot Cross Buns.

It seems the British versions are less sweet and maybe closer to the original than most U.S. versions.

Here's a link to a British recipe called "Baker Tom's Hot Cross Buns" that was chosen as the winner of at least one taste test by a British magazine.

Stylist Magazine Hot Cross Buns Recipe Review
http://www.stylist.co.uk/home/taste-test-hot-cross-buns

Baker Tom's Hot Cross Buns Recipe - original metric recipe format
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Spice-hot-cross-buns/story-18480761-detail/story.html#axzz2OPS2lcgI

I made the Baker Tom's Hot Cross Buns. OMG are they good! Not heavy but light and HUGE. The recipe calls for 10, I cut the dough into 12 pieces. Six buns fill a 1/4 sheet pan.
The bun tastes somewhat like a spice cake. I substituted zest from 1 orange & 1 lemon for the candied mixed peel. I also substituted dried cranberries for the raisins. Finally on the cross piping, I added 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of orange extract. I also sliced the cross on the bun before it rose, leaving a nice recess when it rose to put the piping. I used the juice of the orange to make the glaze.

I mixed the dough in a bread machine dough cycle, adding the dried fruit and zest at the beep. I then put the dough in the fridge overnight. In the morning I allowed the dough to warm up and rise until double. Then I divided the dough into 12 pieces and followed the recipe. This is really a good recipe. Give it a try. I will be making this again.

The metric recipe is above, I converted the recipe to U.S. measurements and made some slight tweaks. Here's the link to the U.S. recipe version:

Baker Tom's Hot Cross Buns - U.S. measurements
http://www.copykatchat.com/seasonal-r...

[limoen]

I don't think of hot cross buns as being enormously sweet (I like in the UK). I have tried and failed to like them; the taste of candied peel is very characteristic (and is present in many baked goods) and I really don't like it. The cross piped on top varies from recipe to recipe but is usually a paste of flour and water. I have seen flavoured sugar and flour pastes, though, which seems more appetising to me.

[rstuart]

I made Joanne CHang's banana bread (but with toasted coconut instead of walnuts) to take for a friend's brunch. Pretty good, but I think that I was so afraid of an undercooked centre that I overbaked it.. oh well.

[rstuart]

Not content with this, I tried another recipe which upped to coconut ante.. this recipe had coconut oil and coconut milk.. and a coconut struesel. Of course, I'll have to freeze it to bring to work next week, because I am about to head out of town..

[buttertart]

I made my probably 150th go of the Supernatural Brownies (I was chuffed to see a new person recently agree they were the best ever on the brownie thread).
As is my wont, I tinkered with it, using 1/2 c oil for 1 of the sticks of butter, a drip of almond extract as well as the vanilla, 1/4 c cocoa for 1/4 c of the flour, and mini choc chips i/o nuts (they're to take to my new job tomorrow -- an old friend works there and she is dying to taste these again).
Must make bread -- I think George Lang's potato, from Beard on Bread, I love that recipe.

[roxlet]

Good luck at your new job, bt! But they should be feting YOU!!

[buttertart]

:) they're pretty good at that.

[rstuart]

COngrats on the new job Buttertart! Hope that it's not too much of a commute..

[buttertart]

Better, thanks!

[Chocolatechipkt]

Today I'm baking Smitten Kitchen's chocolate hazelnut macaroon torte. I'm making a second dessert too, but haven't figured that out yet (just found out there will be more people than expected.)

[Chocolatechipkt]

The macaroon layers are baked. I might have overcooked the amaretto cheesecake I made ... will have to see tomorrow (and be prepared to make something else fast, if I did.)

[mcel215]

I hardly ever bake, but love reading all of your delicious desserts/breads.

I decided to make baklava for Easter and this is my first attempt.

It's a little drier than I'd like, but I think my family will be fine with it.

I checked out the "traditional" Greek baklava and it was made with olive oil. I wanted to try that version, since it seemed to be authentic. I watched a few videos on youtube and this is is what my finished tray looks like.

I couldn't find many people who still use olive oil instead of butter, and if anyone here knows a link, please feel free to add it. Thanks.

Oh it was fairly easy to put together.

www.saffron215.blogspot.com

[jmcarthur8]

On recommendations from CHers, I used the Double Chocolate Cake recipe from Epicurious to make my mother's Million Calorie Cake. This is the one my sisters and I always requested for our birthdays growing up. Any favorite chocolate cake recipe will do- her 'million calorie' part is the thick custard filling and the chocolate cream cheese frosting. I hadn't made this in years, and hadn't thought about the fact that cream cheese frostings weren't a big thing in the 60's (when I was a kid), before carrot cake was all the rage. I don't know where she got the recipe from, but she used recipes from Sunset magazine back then. Anyway, that's what I made today to take to dinner at our friend's house. Everyone loved it.

[1MunchieMonster]

Greek spinach pie. Yummy for dinner last night and will probably be lunch tomorrow too.

I also finally made the "apple pie" granola someone suggested here. Tasty but it's too crunchy - like little pebbles.

[roxlet]

Two sour cherry pies, the rest of the dessert for tonight's dinner.

[rstuart]

Were these from sour cherries you had frozen? My mother loves them, and laments how hard they are to find..

[roxlet]

Well, I did have frozen sour cherries saved for this dinner, but we lost them when we lost power during Sandy. I wound up ordering these cherries from Amazon. They were canned Oregon cherries, and honestly, nobody knew the difference!

[rstuart]

That's good. Darn that Hurricane Sandy!

[pavlova]

I made a chocolate and chickpea cake. The recipe has been on my fridge for over a year, and I'm moving, and so now I can take the recipe down, and I also used up the last of the semi-sweet chocolate. The cake isn't too bad--heavy but not dense, moist but very crumbly.

[roxlet]

What an unusual combination!

[pavlova]

Yes. I don't think I'll make it again, as there's something about the texture that doesn't appeal. It's great for a 4-ingredient gluten-free cake though.

[Musie]

Could you share the recipe? Always like to try out the more unusual GF treats.

[pavlova]

Sure, here it is, paraphrased from Readers' Digest:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (540 ml/19 oz)
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
300 g/10 oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate, or 1.5 cups chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and line a 9" cake pan with parchment.

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, sugar and eggs and process until smooth. Add melted chocolate, and combine. Scrape into pan (it will be very thick) and bake 40 min, or until it tests done. Cool in pan on rack 10-15 min, then turn out to cool.

I added some baking powder, salt and almond extract to mine.

[buttertart]

Sounds interesting. Maybe if you skinned the chickpeas? Hmm.

[roxlet]

Part of the dessert for an annual dinner tomorrow night will be these "Hostess Cupcakes." I'll be making two cherry pies tomorrow morning.

[rstuart]

wow.. I'm so impressed roxlet! My piping looks like was done by an over-caffeinated 3-year-old.. so I generally don't bother anymore!

[karykat]

I made some butterfly tuiles. I used a butterfly template on a silpat on a cookie sheet to make the butterflies.

And shaped them when they were still warm so it looked like they were flying, not flat.

Perched on some sorbet my bf made with some fresh fruit.

For a light dessert for our bookclub.

I will definitely make again. Especially since he likes experimenting with sorbets and ice creams. And the butterflies made it a little different and special.

[bischlat]

Do you need a silpat to make tuile?

[jbsiegel]

I would guess that parchment paper would work as well. (although I could be COMPLETELY off base...)

[souschef]

I make tuiles directly on the baking sheet, and they work fine.

[buttertart]

Buttered or no?

[souschef]

Buttered.

[buttertart]

Figured.

[Musie]

Today I baked another successful loaf of bread. I also made some chocolate chip brioche pretzel from SK, they smell amazing! But since it is so close to supper I am resisting for now and will devour one afterwards.

http://www.thekitchn.com/chocolate-ch...

[Antilope]

I made Buttermilk Sourdough bread, thinking, why not use
buttermilk as the only hydration, it should contribute to a more
sour loaf than just plain water.

I made a sourdough bread boulie, with tender crumb, using cultured buttermilk as the only hydration. I used a regular sourdough starter (Oregon Trail) not a buttermilk starter. It turned out really sour with the help of 1/4 tsp of citric acid, almost too sour. I used 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 a cup of starter and 1 cup of cultured buttermilk.

I also used a stainless steel mixing bowl as a rising and baking pan. It shapes the loaf into a nice boule. If the dough is a little wet, the bowl helps the loaf maintain its shape. I've had sourdough spread out in the past, this method seems to be more forgiving, making a nicely shaped boule loaf. The dough took about 18 hours to double in size.

I'm really happy with how this turned out and will be making this again in the future. Next time I will leave out the citric acid and see how sour it is without it.

Here's a link to the recipe I used:

http://community.kingarthurflour.com/...

[bischlat]

miniature tarts, they're a hit!

[aching]

I made Badger State Muffins (http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/m...) - they were wonderful! I reduced the sugar, used half whole-wheat flour, and added nutmeg, but other than that followed the recipe. I was concerned that they might be heavy and/or dry, but they weren't - they have great texture and a lovely crispy exterior.

[Caitlin McGrath]

It's not clear to me how the recipe relates to Wisconsin (wonder if my Wisconsin kin know of them?), but it looks great.

[soccermom13]

Maybe the cranberries, Caitlin? IIRC, Wisconsin produces a lot of cranberries.....

I'm not sure I'd like that much coriander in my muffins. How did that flavor come through, Aching?

[aching]

I liked the spiciness (again, I added a dash of nutmeg too), but I don't think it would be bad to reduce the coriander by half if you were apprehensive.

[aching]

I forgot to mention - I served them with plain cream cheese rather than butter, and that was great too!

[sarahjay]

I'm making a carrot cake for a birthday party tomorrow. I've made the cake and will make the icing and assemble it tonight, just need to find room in the fridge

[LMAshton]

Cream puffs. Lots and lots of cream puffs. :D

I can't do them by hand, and we just got me a hand mixer - I know, I know, I'm really behind the times - so this was one of those things that was the *reason* I had to have a mixer, so I had to get these made. I usually make a double batch of the batter and then bake up, each day, however much we're going to have that day. It's only the two of us, and living in a tropical climate, it doesn't make sense to make more than immediate consumption requires.

I could have frozen the batter. Maybe I should... I've done that before and it works great...

[jbsiegel]

I plan to make Cherry Almond Quick Bread from Williams Sonoma very soon. I just got their most recent catalog, and it was featured in there...

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe...

[Cherylptw]

This weekend I made homemade fluffy dinner rolls that came out melt in your mouth! I also made German chocolate whoopie pies. I'll be making homemade cinnamon walnut sweet rolls this morning for breakfast.

[Emme]

Spent a lot of last week working on a cake for a cake competition, so did less experimental/fun/home baking and more just for work.

For a friend's birthday, I did a toasted coconut layer cake with an candied orange zest swiss meringue buttercream. She liked it quite a bit.

On tap this week, I'm going to make a grape cake based upon a recipe i developed for strawberry cake using powdered freeze-dried strawberries, of course, using freeze-dried grapes ground up instead. Kind of excited and contemplating the frosting or glaze... Possibly a browned butter cream cheese frosting... or maybe just a simple vanilla brown sugar glaze. We shall see...

And passover is coming up, so that will definitely entail some flourless chocolate cake, some toffee matzo, and some Almond Butter & Jelly cookie cups.... Not sure what else yet...

[gini]

I made Smitten Ktchen's grapefruit yogurt pound cake for Sunday breakfast. This is the third time around making this recipe and it is delightful.

[jbsiegel]

That looks good. I made lemon yogurt muffins yesterday. I'll have to try the grapefruit yogurt next time.

[Antilope]

Onion Poppy-Seed Buns to serve with homemade pastrami.

http://www.copykatchat.com/tried-true...

[buttertart]

I made Alice Medrich's seriously puckery lemon squares, sort of...I had 6 oz of Meyer lemon juice, so I used another egg and a yolk, and 1 1/2 tb more flour in the filling than she calls for. I also browned the butter for the crust. I wanted then to be green for St paddy's Day, so, not having any green food colouring, i added about 1/4 tsp of pandan extract (has a sort of a vanilla crossed with buttered popcorn scent, but there's not really enough in this to make that huge a difference). So now you know why "sort of". As usual with me.

[buttertart]

These are delicious...the crust is very short and sandy, my husband thought I had used crushed cookies for it. (I forgot to say that the filling wasn't terribly tart with the Meyer lemon juice, so I added 1/8 tsp (appx) of citric acid (sour salt).

[firecooked]

In celebration of pi day, I made blueberry lime tarts with a almond crust, and a pizza...

[roxlet]

Lovely looking wee thing!

[buttertart]

Both look great.

[rstuart]

Trying to decide if I want to make a half-batch of sugar cookies with green icing for a st Patricks day treat (from here: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/12...).. or some pretzel-scotchie cookies with browned butter.
Decisions!

[buttertart]

Spill on the pretzel-scotchies, Madame.

[rstuart]

I made the dough last night.. had browned butter, so tasted pretty good. will bake tonight..

[buttertart]

Have you posted the recipe before?

[rstuart]

Nope... it was pretty good.
http://www.unegaminedanslacuisine.com...
Based on Alton Brown's "The Chewy"... I added more pretzels.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I had some buttermilk that needed using, so I baked brown butter soda bread with porcini and dried apricots. Nontraditional to be sure (even as American soda bread goes), but super delicious!

[Breadcrumbs]

...lovely & with a little nod to the Irish too Caitlin!!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Yes, the date certainly dictated my choice to make soda bread, and I've always loved this recipe.

[buttertart]

You are all way ahead of me these days! Everything looks yum. Those almonds, hoboy. I just got Pure Vanilla...
I'm making melba toasts this morning from the old bread kicking around, and will make something fun either later today or tomorrow. Haven't decided what yet, but it may be a late for Pi Day pie, haven't had one of those in a good while. Stay tuned!

[Musie]

I recently successfully baked bread. I could always make other items using yeast like pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, some flat bread, but my attempts at loaves of white bread were nearing disaster. It had been a year since I had last attempted a loaf of bread (because for a year my oven was broken and we had to use a toaster oven!) and on Wednesday I tried again.

I've had a taste of success and I'm ready to expand my bread recipes.

[buttertart]

Good for you! I've been baking bread for so long, I bet we've saved thousands in food costs because of it. Check out "Beard on Bread", by James Beard, it's old but it's the book I learned from and has a wide variety of easy and delicious recipes. Just remember the salt he uses is Kosher, otherwise you will really get some salty results (that are still v tasty). He also uses more yeast than I do now, the instant ones (sometimes labeled "Rapid Rise") are more powerful than the active dry of the 70s and also can be mixed straight in to the dry ingredients without proofing.

[Musie]

Instant was the yeast I reverted to a couple years or so ago when I started playing with yeast. I found it to be more newbie friendly than active.

[buttertart]

Pretty much, yes. As long as your water isn't too warm, you're okeydokey.

[janeh]

Welcome to bread baking! I've baked all of our bread for years (there's no turning back!) and use recipes from lots of sources, but for getting started, I 'd suggest the recipes from
smittenkitchen.com - light whole wheat bread, black bread, NY deli rye, and more. The directions are straightforward, the photos often very helpful and the results consistently good. Have fun!

P.S. Your bread is gorgeous!

[Chocolatechipkt]

I just made a large orange-scented vanilla birthday cake (with not too sweet cream cheese frosting) ... halfway decorated and will finish with fruit etc on Sunday.

[Breadcrumbs]

BANANA-OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES – The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle - p. 68

This book just arrived on my doorstep yesterday and as soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try. We happened to have some over-ripe bananas that ultimately inspired my recipe choices and I’m delighted to have discovered this recipe! These cookies are truly scrumptious! Almost healthy-sounding don’t you think?

I used ½ cup of whole grain spelt flour in place of the same amount of All-Purpose flour (along w 1 cup of AP) and we loved the nutty flavour this brought to the cookie. The cookie is nice and crisp on the outside but very tender on the inside with nice oozy chunks of chocolate. Interestingly the banana is cubed and stirred in at the last minute. Though you don’t see any banana it does add a delicate flavour to the cookie and it’s that lovely banana flavour that lingers on your palate. Delicious cookie sure to become a staple here!

[rstuart]

I am sure that I took this book out of the library at some point.. looks like it's time to check it out again! Nice idea with cubed bananas.. unusual.

[blue room]

This is just barely baking, but it came from the book "Pure Vanilla", and it's worthwhile, I'd say.
It's as simple and sweet as blanched almonds, egg white, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Bake 'til gold.
Not hot and spicy like "cocktail nuts", these are dessert, and *really good*.

[limoen]

Those sound amazing - I found the recipe online and have bookmarked it. Where I'm from, candied almonds (Jordan almonds) are distributed at the birth of a baby - I'm sure these would be more delicious.

[Chocolatechipkt]

I made the Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies. They were really really good--and they're disappearing fast.

[Chocolatechipkt]

Oh and I made an apple crisp too, maybe the last one of the season. :)

[jbsiegel]

Does a stack of graham crackers and Cool Whip "decorated" with graham cracker crumbs count? (Lent version of the traditional ice box cake using chocolate wafer cookies when your kids give up chocolate for lent.)

Not much baking involved...um...none!!!

Tomorrow will be a little better - some lemon yogurt muffins.

[buttertart]

Book alert...
A MASSIVE TOME that is to die for, for the serious baker: "Patisserie: Mastering the Fundamentals of French Pastry", Christophe Felder -- have a look at this on Amazon, a gazillion photos...about the size of the Gourmet green and yellow books and too dang heavy to read in bed, but un vrai régal, mes chéris...

[rstuart]

For my rescheduled book club.. biscoff blondies with browned butter and streusel.. smelled good, that's for sure! Hope that I don't eat too many while "sampling" them...

[rstuart]

We had a farewell tea at work today, and my book club was meeting tonight.. I made a biscoff butter cake. I thought that the bottom layer was a bit dry, but over all, I found the cake so addictive that I ate 4 pieces last night (and it's rich AND sweet). Still feel slightly nauseous thinking about it.. a big hit. Also made "chubby hubby" rice krispie squares for book club (which ended up being cancelled). Rice Krispie squares with peanut butter, pretzels. and peanut butter chips, topped with chocolate. Good, but not as wonderful as I thought that they would be...

[buttertart]

I love plain old Rice Krispie squares.

[shaebones]

Made the almond squares from a recipe posted on this site years ago. Brought them to a talk I did for a group of young Doctors. 3 of them inhaled all 9 squares from an 8x8 baking pan..
I was a hero..;)

[buttertart]

kattyeyes has always been very fond of those, I know. They make a nice cookie with walnuts and browned butter i/o oil as well.

[roxlet]

I received Bouchom Bakery for Christmas, and Keller writes so lovingly of his mother's affection for Keebler's Pecan Sandies, that I decided to give Keller's recipe for a spin. I think his mother might be disappointed. This was an extremely lean recipe with only butter, confectioner's sugar, flour, and pecans. Maybe these need to age a bit, but at the moment, I'm thinking that they're kind of a fail. They are very dry and not at all as delicious as I remember the Keebler version to be. I've been searching for a recipe that will jibe with my memory of that.

[buttertart]

Hmm. The one thing I made from a Keller baking recipe flopped too (a hazelnut cake).

[roxlet]

I'm not sure it's a complete flop! My son loves them.

[buttertart]

He's happy, his momma's happy, I'm happy!

[maxie]

These pecan sandies from Claudia Fleming are tasty. I turned my back for a couple minutes, and a whole plate of them disappeared! I cut them into tiny 1" rounds.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sw...

[roxlet]

Thanks! I bookmarked it. Any Claudia Fleming recipe is fine with me, but does it really make 10 dozen cookies???

[maxie]

The Final Course says 24 dozen (!!!) 1" cookies. I've never counted them, but if you keep them tiny, there are certainly plenty to go around (or would be, if it weren't so easy to pop a dozen in minutes)

[karykat]

Love, love, love Claudia Fleming and have the book -- The Last Course.

With your good recommendation, I'm going to check out that recipe.

[maxie]

Thanks for the correction -- I can never get it straight. This one repeatedly slips through my brain sieve.

[roxlet]

Bake sale season is underway. Tomorrow it's the crew team's bake sale, so I made a tray of chocolate chip bars, and a tray of Supernatural brownies, which are currently in the oven. I have a bowl of left-over ganache in the refrigerator, so I'm thinking I might let them bake a tad longer than usual, and then frost with the ganache. I'll see...

[blue room]

I made a half recipe of banana upside-down cake (from the Lebovitz website, minus the chocolate chips he added.)
The bananas are so flavorful when carmelized like that.
It got a little scuffed coming out of the loaf pan but smells nice!

[roxlet]

That looks lovely, despite the scuffing! I wish I had a piece right now.

[HillJ]

That looks so good! I just visited the recipe on DL site, it's so simple too. Would be nice for a brunch I'm having Sunday. Thanks, blue room.

[HillJ]

blue room, I baked the banana upside-down cake (without chocolate chips) this morning. I just turned it onto a plate. It looks so good! Thought I'd better give the recipe a run through before Sunday. Had plenty of ripe bananas. I did double the dark brown sugar/butter/lemon juice topping because I wanted more syrup. I used two large bananas sliced and two large bananas mashed in the cake batter and had to add 15 mins. to the baking time. Has a nice rise to it.

Now if I can just wait until dinner to try a piece.....

I'm thinking a dollop of plain Greek yogurt with a bit of vanilla bean added would go nicely on top.

Do you eat upside down cake warm or room temp?

[blue room]

Both! I never wait 'til after dinner to taste.
Yes, the extra syrup & vanilla yogurt ideas are good ideas!
But don't obscure the top too much if your banana slices are in a wonderful design.
I think chocolate chunks in this would be too much.
By the way, you might be interested in this
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/721479
(the part about concentrating banana flavor) I've never tried it, but it's interesting.

[buttertart]

Here are the Magdalenas, in a plastic bag. They're very good but I think I overbaked them a bit, they're a tad dry. I didn't take yet another photo of the madeleines, but those got made too, this time with Seville orange rind as flavoring. YUM.

[Breadcrumbs]

Lovely bt and they sound delicious!

[souschef]

I just made Magdalenas too. The recipe states that instead of grinding nuts you can use almond or hazelnut flour; I used chestnut flour.

They are very tasty, but a bit too sweet to be eaten in the morning as breakfast. I will halve the sugar the next time.

I wonder how they'd be if I used melted butter instead of olive oil.

[buttertart]

I find them a bit oversweet too. Are yours dry?

[souschef]

They were great right out of the oven (at my last post), but they did dry out a lot after.

[souschef]

I was thinking that the next time I make them I should use sour cream instead of olive oil, so that they are moist. Can you think of any reason why it would not work?

[buttertart]

I don't know, it would be worth a try. I was surprised they were as dry as they were, that's a good dose of oil.

[Njchicaa]

I made Ina Garten's Coconut Cake today. Will bring to work tomorrow to treat coworkers. Very easy to make and that's coming from a non-baker

[Breadcrumbs]

Wow, just wow. Thanks for the inspiration Njchiacaa. I've eyed that cake for-ever so I really appreciate your candour.

[rstuart]

I just googled it.. love coconut cake. I noticed the almond extract in the frosting and cake.. did you notice the almond flavour? I'm not the biggest almond fan..

[roxlet]

My sister and her husband are coming to dinner tonight since it's my sister's birthday tomorrow. She wanted a chocolate cake, and although I didn't want to make my usual epicurious double chocolate cake, my husband convinced me that I should -- it was probably what she was thinking of when she asked for chocolate cake. That recipe is enormous, so I decided to make only two 8" layers and to use the rest for mini cupcakes. I have a party coming up later this month, and I am planning on making "Hostess" cupcakes as part of the dessert, so I decided to experiment with the mini cupcakes by piping in some Hostess-type "creme," as they call it. I can't show those because they disappeared -- all two dozen of them! I decided to use the same idea for the birthday cake by filling it with the same "creme," covering it with ganache, and scavaging a decorating idea from RLB's Heavenly Cakes. So here it is! I'm quite pleased with it.

[HillJ]

That's beautiful, roxlet. Love the paper cup.

[roxlet]

Paper cup?

[HillJ]

Sorry I was teasing you the cookie decoration around the cake is beautiful. From a distance it looks like the ridges in cupcake papers.

[roxlet]

Ah. I'm not sure that I see it, but lol anyway!

[buttertart]

Super! happy birthday to your sis.

[foodieX2]

Wow, impressive Roxlet!

[Caitlin McGrath]

That's gorgeous!

[rstuart]

Wow! That is truly a gorgeous cake...

[Breadcrumbs]

So festive and creative roxlet. What a nice sister you are! Love the use of the Piroulines. Is that red icing atop to simulate the flames?

[roxlet]

Yes, it's just the cheapola icing in a tube you get in the baking aisle of the supermarket. I just transferred it to a pastry bag with a small star tip and piped the flames.

[blue room]

I just saw this, and wow...

I should spend a lot more time in the "what are you baking" threads!

[roxlet]

Thanks, blue room!

[karykat]

Truly beautiful.

[foodieX2]

I have been baking a lot of bread these days but that's about it.

Love the look of the madeleines!

[gini]

Made a version of Mohnkuchen (German poppyseed cake). Except I ran out of poppyseeds (I made a lot of hamantashen this year), so I added some nutella to the poppy layer. Tasty and not too sweet.

[HillJ]

http://mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/th...

I've been working on this recipe touted as the life changing loaf of bread. Since I have a mild texture issue this really was a challenge for me. I adore the ingredient list but would it pass the musta....yes! winner.

[Antilope]

Today I made Dutch Crunch bread (also known as Tiger bread) for the first time. Really good! Tastes just like what you get from a bakery. It uses rice flour for the crunch coating. I made the rice flour in the Vitamix blender from uncooked white rice.

[buttertart]

Where did you get the recipe? I love that kind of bread. You could get it in California but I've never seen it in this area.

[Antilope]

I found a bakers formula for the Dutch Crunch topping through an internet search.

Here are links to the formula and my recipe:

http://modern-baking.com/formulas-amp-techniques/snap-crackle-crunch-bread

http://community.kingarthurflour.com/content/breadrolls

http://www.copykatchat.com/tried-true...

[buttertart]

Thanks!!!

[Caitlin McGrath]

I made a loaf of whole wheat sour cherry-walnut bread with buckwheat that's very nice with cheese, or toasted and buttered.

[buttertart]

Looks great.

[Sandwich_Sister]

Easter is March 31st year. So I'll be testing out some recipes for baked items.

My 3 and a half year nephew is not a big sweets fan except for jelly belly beans, but not a chocolate fan. I was going to make him a little basket with the baked goods he does like.

Still deciding on cookies. I know I'm doing Lemon crisps, I need to decide on the other 2.

My grandma has sent me 4 fruit cake recipes last week. Hint hint. So I need to start that.

We did some made some healthy whole wheat breads for my grandma recently too.

But I think we'll be making some baguettes soon. and for some reason I'm craving soft pretzels with a mustard sauce. So thats on my list too. May make pretzel buns at the same time to share with family and friends.

[buttertart]

Fruit cakes in what sense? As in Simnel cakes or cakes with fruit?

[Sandwich_Sister]

the ones she gave me were cakes with fruit. but I can see with my easter theme post why that would be confusing.

I don't know if I could make a good Simnel cake for her based on her dietary restrictions. I'm trying hard to make sure that what she wants fits in with that as well.

[cheesymama]

I made oatmeal muffins for my girls for breakfast. Have chocolate cupcakes cooling on the counter for a friend's surprise birthday party tonight that I will top with this chocolate cooked flour frosting http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/05/c... She doesn't like really sweet icing, so I hope this does the trick!

[catface1]

Right now I have dilly bread rising and chilie in the crock pot.

[cjohansen]

I'm baking a lot of no-knead bread these days. Just love the crunchy crust and juicy bread it produces. Here's my current favorite (slightly modified version of a recipe I found in a magazine):

400g strong bread flour
150g spelt
1,5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
2-3 carrots
Water

Mix the dry ingredients. Shred carrots on a fine shredder. I use my hand-held shredder that I use for parmesan etc. Add water to the shredded carrots so it makes 2 cups all in all. Mix into the dry ingredients. The dough will be very sticky. Leave in a covered bowl overnight, 12+ hours.

Turn dough onto HEAVY floured surface (I dump it on some parchment paper). Fold it a few times. Dump more flour on it and turn it over. Leave it covered for two hours.

Pre-heat oven with dutch oven inside to 250C. Dump the dough into the pot. Bake with lid on for 30 minutes. Remove lid, reduce temperature to 200C and bake for 15 more minutes.

[buttertart]

I bet that would be good, and healthy. I have to modify the heat on no-knead because my smoke alarms go nutso when the oven's that high.

[cjohansen]

Maybe it's time to clean your oven and/or dutch oven? :)

[buttertart]

Ha ha. Would that it were so simple. Even using the stovetop sets these wretched things off.

[DiningDiva]

From Carol Walter's Great Coffee Cakes etc., I made the Blueberry Buckle for breakfast this morning. It was very, very good. Lighter than expected and chock full of blueberries

[rasputina]

Oh thanks for posting a review of the recipe! I saw lots of blueberries at the store yesterday. I've been wanting to try more recipes from that cookbook. I'm baking a chocolate cake today so it will have to wait. I'll add blueberries to my shopping list though, maybe I'll make it Friday when my husband gets back in town.

[cheesymama]

I am loving this cookbook! I have it checked out of the library for now, but think I will end up buying it. Most recently made the vanilla muffins with chocolate chunks and am planning on the chocolate muffins later this week.

[DiningDiva]

I've made quite a few things from it since I bought it and I have to say, not one of them has been a dud.

If you're into muffins, try the orange cream cheese muffins with pepita topping.

[cheesymama]

Thanks for the rec. That one caught my attention so I will definitely be making it soon.

[rasputina]

The chocolate muffins are wonderful too!

[roxlet]

Her blueberry buckle is one of my favorite recipes from that book. The cake is so light, and the crumb topping is the best.

[DiningDiva]

Definitely a keeper, that's for sure. Have you tried the recipe with fruit or berries other than blueberry? I'm wondering if it works as well with other fruit.

[Tam38]

I've heard good things about the blueberry buckle, but I wasn't overwhelmed by the Apple Walnut Caramel Kuchen.

[souschef]

Those Magdalenas sound really good.....have to make them soon. I wonder how they'd turn out subbing almond flour for the AP.

Buttertart, have you ever made chocolate Madeleines? I make them by melting chocolate with the butter (equal weights), and they really taste great (even if I say so myself) - made some a few days ago. The chocolate does not weigh them down at all.

[DiningDiva]

Indeed they do sound wonderful.

[buttertart]

I am not allowed by imperial edict to tamper with the madeleines :)

[sarahjay]

The magdelenas have just been clipped to my evernote "to bake" list. I'm moving into a new apartment over the next couple of weeks, after having lived out of a suitcase in a spare room for the last few months and am SUPER excited to start baking again. I went all out over Christmas, but haven't really baked much since. Pretzels are first on my list, but those might just have to be second!

[buttertart]

I made them both and have Field's pane di Como rising...

[rstuart]

wow... never heard of magdalenas..

[WiscoKid]

Brought a fresh batch of Molasses Oatmeal Raisin cookies to work this morning =)

[Breadcrumbs]

Oh those sound so yummy WK. Is the recipe from a cookbook?

[WiscoKid]

no, my mom and I like to get together and have baking jam sessions=) This was just our newest creation. We are trying to make healthier versions of old favorites, as I am trying to improve my diet.

[Breadcrumbs]

Well they sound sensational! Sounds like fun too.