TWD: (Black) Amaretti & Palets de Dames

Quite obviously, I forgot to post some recipes. I made not all the things scheduled, but some as the Raisin-Swirl Bread... But here we go again. When I got the new book, I was immeadiately very much in the mood for baking! I have to say I did not get warm with Baking with Julia, don't know why exactly. But I have a great feeling for Dorie's new book and I am very much looking forward to the things to come!

But with two books and two "baking clubs" I got lost with when is which recipe due. So I have to post both, the Amaretti from this week and the Palets de Dames from last week (I thought it was the other way round... sorry).

I like anything almond and marzipan. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find american-style almond paste in Austria. I got some advice and help from fellow bakers - but I was too lazy for doing my own paste. So I went with marzipan even though I knew that the almond-sugar-ratio ist different than in almond paste and others reported dissapointing results with marzipan.

Don't be concerned by the colour - I had leftovers of black marzipan :-)

To make it short: It did not relly work out. The cookies turned out very flat and have more the taste and concistence of almond-caramel. I didn't bring them to work, as I am really not happy with the result. But they are good enough to be used for the anual Amnesty Cookies. Or maybe I cut them in little pieces and use them in brownies or chocolate cakes. I can imagine they will give a great crispy taste in them.

I am sure, if you have almond paste at hand (and if you like almond-taste) this recipe will be great. So: Have a look what it should look like, and for the recipe, see the book by Dorie Greenspan at p. 320

Completely different results for the Palets de Dames. Very easy in the making, great in taste and not too bad looking. I used yellow glazing I had left and some coloured sugar for decorating. The taste is easy and sublime at the same time and that's the treats I like most!

Here the link to the other great turnouts: http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/bcm-lyl-palets-de-dames/.
For the recipe, have a look at the new book by Dorie Greenspan, on pp. 272.

TWD rewind: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart and World Peace Cookies

I didn't do the Bagels lately, so I made two rewinds in October. Both recipes I wanted to try for a long time.

The Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart ist just marvellous. It is a bit work, because you have to chop nuts, prepare the caramel and make the chocolate ganache. But once you have all the parts ready, you just have to assemble them - and you're done! I stored it over night in the fridge and think this was a really good idea. Like that, the ganache got more dense and eventually a different texture to what was foreseen in the recipe. But it also gives you the chance to have a chocolate ganache that can be cut with a knife and a tart-filling that does not run out.

I liked it very muched, but would salt the caramel even more next time because I just love salt in sweets!
Besides: This was the first time I really REALLY managed the tart dough! Hooray! Finally! For the recipe, have a look at Carla of Chocolate Moosey who did host the week of Sept 29th 2009 (click), or buy the book by Dorie Greenspan and go to pp. 355-357.

My second rewind are World Peace Cookies. I am not so much a chocolate lover (funny both recipes this week are heavily chocolate loaded, though). But I wanted to try these because they are one of these "special" recipes. Some recipes in Dorie's book are paired with a special story, a very personal one. Like the Chocolate Armagnac Cake. The Rugelachs. Or - the World Peace Cookies. So I gave them a try.

For chocolate cookies, they are quite good. I'm not a chocolate lover, but a big shortbread/sablé-fan so I liked these. They are easy in the making. I used half bittersweet chocolate and half orange-infused bittersweet chocolate with tiny candied dried orange pieces.

Baking time was somewath shorter (more lik 6-10 mins, depending on the batch).
As so often, they do not look perfect but I really liked the texture - the cookie itself is more on the dry side, but there are very soft chocolate pieces in it, and I like texture-mixes.

Sorry for the bad pic. I am unable to get good pictures of chocoalte cookies. But if you google "World peace Cookies" and "Tuesdays with Dorie" you will get a hole lot of  of brilliant pictures! Some of them are by Jessica of cookbookhabit who did host the week of Feb. 3rd 2009 in "TWD-the first season". She has the recipe in her blog - or have a look on pp 138/139 in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking - From my home to yours".

TWD: Snickery Squares (rewind)

This is one of the recipes I always wanted to try since I opened the book. I love peanuts, and from all chocolate bars you can buy in the store, Snickers are for sure my favourite. I can't imagine that I had my first when I was already 23 years old! We didn't have them in Vienna before Austria joined the European Union. No, Austria never belonged to the Eastern block. But we just did not put so much emphasize on consumption when I was a kid. I definitely neither belong to the "small is beautiful" nor to the "simple things are best"-section. More is more. Period. But food and edibles are maybe the exception to the rule.

Anyways, I had my first Snickers when a german friend I met during my exchange year in France gave me hers, because she couldn't believe I never had one. As I love peanuts and also caramel, and the chocolate is not too dominant in it, and shortbread, sigh - shortbread.... it easily became my favourite disobeyance by the very first bite.

To me it doesn't come as a surprise that Snickery Squares was chosen as one of the first recipes back in March 2008. You can find the recipe on pages 120-122 in Dorie's book or here on Judy's blog "Judy's gross eats". (Funnily, she will also be our host next week, again.)

The Squares are easy to make but hard to cut. You either chill them, so the Dulche de Leche in the middle has the right consistency - but then the chocolate-peanut layer on top is very hard, and so is the shortbread-bottom. Or, you let it come to room temperature, but risk the caramel getting very, very soft and almost liquid.

And these were extremely sweet. Next time, I would definitely not caramelize the peanuts (toasting should be fine) and use unsweetened chocolate. I also would do a bigger cookie-layer and use much less Dulche de Leche. Like that, they should be perfection!

Despite the sweetness I liked the taste a lot, but judging by how much there was left when I left the office, my colleagues felt not quite the same - too sweet, and only eatable in small pieces.

But in the end: Now I can do marshmallows, every kind of icecream, shortbread and Snickers by myself. Wow. Seems I will never have to buy sweets again!

TWD: Gingered Carrot Cookies (and TWD-catch-up: Chewy Chunky Blondies)

It's the last day of my holidays. I spent some days in Riga and some in Frankfurt, visiting a friend, and today I had a final day off back in Vienna, which I love, because it gives you the possibility to come back, wash your cloths, have a final day of relaxation. And to do your baking "duties".

So I am going to make it short and simple, what is even the easier, as the Gingered Carrot Cookies, chosen by Natalia of gatti fili e farina where really easy to make (find the recipe at her page in case you don't have Dorie's book). They came together faster than fast, they baked much faster than the recipe said (about 10 mins for the first rack and the later batches even faster). And they are oh-my-gosh-good!


Natalia is one of the few Europeans partcipating in TWD and I got some helpful and great tips and hints from her about how to adapt the recipes to European conditions - thanks a lot! I am always wondering how other Europeans made it their way to TWD and I am always curipus to see what my "fellows" are choosing.

Carrots and ginger might not sound like a summer recipe, but they are indeed! Now that I tasted them I even think they are a pretty good pick for summer, because they have no chocolate and are a mix between sweet and savory.
Love them!

I will make an even quicker catch up for last week's recipe, the Chewy Chunky Blondies. I was on the road last week but I pre-made them, not at least because I adore Blondies - I even like them more than Brownies. Can you believe that you can't get Blondies round here? I have so far never seen them in Austria, Germany or France where I spent most of the last years. And I ate my first Blondie in February in NYC. Really. Not kidding.

Those were just great and I will have do re-do and re-do and re-do them again and again. My collleagues loved them. I adored them. So, thanks a lot to Nicole of Cookies on Friday for chosing them - I didn't post them in time, but I baked along with you!

TWD: Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

The second icecream-recipe this month!
I took the easy way and combined them. Instead of chocolate icecream, as in the original recipe, I used the Burnt Sugar Icecream (and some Dulche de Leche Icecream) - Bananas and Caramel go together well in my opinion, so I also decorated the pie with some caramel sauce (what is hard to see in the pictures due to the similar coclours).

I am the coconut-lover type, be it in savory dishes or sweets, shredded, toasted or as milk and juice.
But, to make it short: I liked this icecream pie, but it is not going to become an all-time-favourite. The crust was to buttery and fat, and there was not as much flavour on the whole as there should be. Maybe my bananas where not ripe enough. Or maybe the caramel icecream was not such a good idea in the end. Who knows.

Additionally, I always, always, always tend to make the "crust" too thick, be it for a tart or as here the pie. The relation between crust and filling was not appropriate, even though I really love the "crust" and can imagine to also use it with other recipes.

On the plus-side: It is easy to be made (especially with store-bought icecream), and can be assembled way ahead and stored for a longer time. I even re-fridged a part of it with the banana-topping on it and have the feeling it was alright.

For the recipe, go to Spike's homepage, who selected the Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie, or have a look on page 350 in Dorie's book.

P.S.: One of my friends said: "Uh, yummy, this muesli is not all too bad!" - but for some people everything that involves anything slightly healthy (as nuts - and coconutflakes do count in this book) is muesli....

TWD: Burnt Sugar Icecream

 (I'm sorry, but the pictures of the Burnt Sugar Ice Cream are not very impressive, so I have to bother you with some of my Paris-pictures.)

Since I spent some month in Paris last year and discovered David Lebovitz' blog (funnily, not even because I was looking for a recipe or a restaurant recommendation, but on the search for yoga classes in Paris...) I was curious for making icecream. I tried some before, but it more turned out as fruit sorbets (can live with that ...), and frozen mousse au chocolate (can definitely live with that...). The fact that I have no icecream machine didn't improve the situation. But when I came back to Vienna last autumn I started following David's recommendations. And I loved it right from the start. A definite highlight has been the Matcha Icecream with Red Bean Sauce so far. (incredible!)

The procedure is easy, just needs some time, because you have to stir and check your mix several times. You can find a step-by-step introduction here. Also very helpful are his hints for making icecream (with or without machine) softer.

But this is about recipes by Dorie Greenspan and not David Lebovitz, although I am pretty sure she won't be offended being named in the same blog as him when it comes to icecream.

Burnt sugar is a nicer name for caramel. I was very much looking forward to it, because I didn't make icecream for some time. So credits go out to Becky of Project Domestication, who has chosen icecream for a quick-start into the summer! You can find the recipe at her blog or on p. 432 in Dorie's book.

 

The procedure is easy-peasy. I didn't use ordinary sugar but caramel-sugar because I thought of it as a very clever idea. The problem was, that the already caramelized sugar was dark right from the start, so I wasn't able to see when the colour of the caramel was right. Maybe that was the reason why my mix didn't really freeze. Normally, I wait for two hours before stirring it up the first time and then continue to do so every 30-45 mins. I made the icecream-mix at noon, and mixed it up the last time before I went to bed, and it was not frozen by that time. (No, I don't go to bed that early; that was not the reason :o])

Anyhow, the next moning the texture was perfect. I had the feeling it could use some add-in. I couldn't imagine serving the icecream with cookies or brownies, as the Burnt Sugar Icecream itself is already sweet enough. I thought about a fruity side-dish, but had to use all my strawberries for something else. Dried apricots also came to my mind, but I used them in the Chockablock Cookies last week, and don't like to repeat myself too often.

So, what's left? As I came home late yesterday, I flipped through David's icecream book, looking for something fast and easy, and ended up with pralined almonds. I didn't taste the complete icecream so far. But I can't imagine how this can go wrong. Caramel and nuts - what more can you ask for?

(Maybe for reading the recipe properly, and not using one cup water instead of 1/4 cup... - but after a long, long time and adding more and more nuts and more and more sugar I somehow managed to rescue the nuts)

TWD rewind and May preview - Dulche de Leche Duos

I still have to catch up with some of the group's recipes I tweaked during Lenten season. As everybody was so excited about the Dulche de Leche Duos and I was so excited about the possibility of making it yourself I went for it some weeks ago. I didn't find enough time to bake the cookies themselves, but the DDLcan be stored for up to two month. Well, I didn't wait that long. But recently I got fed up with having a bowl of DDL in my fridge. I need the space. I need the bowl. I don't like to have left-overs for a long time. (I am still kind of in "lenten-mode": Before Easter, I start cleaning my stocks and cupboards).

So. Dulche de Leche Duos. Honestly, during making them I constantly thought "Never. Again. Ne-ver".

My kitchen was a mess. I had a hard time measuring the needed amount of DDL. Additionally, I was not well prepared. When I was ready to measure out the needed flour, I already had the DDL in my cup-measure, so I couldn't use it anymore. When I was ready to toss in the baking soda, I found out that I ran out of it. When I had mixed the dry ingredients in the only bowl actually available in my kitchen, I saw that I would have needed this one for beating the butter. I needed three tours for baking away all the batter (and I even made only the half amount), because I have only one baking sheet. So it took much longer to make the cookies than planed. And I thought about the long, long time for baking the DDL. I have no quick or rice cooker, condensed milk doesn't come in cans in Austria, and I know only one store where they sell DDL. An extremely, extremely high-end pricey shop. So, doing it myself the David-Labovitz-way was the only option.

But once they cooled down, and I tried a cookie, I was taken. Still, I am not sure if I will do them again because I know me - I am a lazy little person. But I hope when Christmas time comes, I remember how tasty these little caramel cookies are, and that they are a welcome change to all the chocolate and gingerbread. I can also imagine them to be a wonderful base for icecream-sandwich. Mabye with some caramel icecream?

(You know what I like most about these pictures? It's not that you can follow the DDL running down. It's the twin that is mirrored in the plate :o])

And that brings me to the other topic today - the May-TWD-preview is here!!

Four great bakers have opted for four great recipes with icecream and fresh fruits:

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream  chosen by Becky of Project Domestication

Quick Classic Berry Tart May picked by Cristine of Cooking with Cristine 

Apple-Apple Bread Pudding elected by Elizabeth of Cake or Death?, and finally

Spike of spikebakes decided on the Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie.

I am excited about the Icecream. I love doing icecream since I got "The perfect scoop". I have no machine, but David Lebovitz gives great directions about how to make icrecream by hand. I just decided to fridge some of the Dulche de Leche Duos-cookies and make DDL/Caramel Icecream Sandwiches with them!

The Berry Tarte is perfect for the season and I am so much looking forward to buying fresh berries on the market that week.

I have some brioche left from the Easter brunch, and planned to used it for a recipe proposed by Isa of  Les Gourmandises d'Isa (Apple and Pear Brioche Pudding), but in the very last moment I saw the May preview and the apple-bread pudding is a welcome use for the brioche.

The only thing troubling me is the Pie. Don't get me wrong - this sounds great. This sounds terrific. This sounds like a Pie I could slurp in one piece. But how the heck can I bring that to work? How can I store it there until afternoon? Usually, my co-workers scuff by the kitchen whenever during the day they feel like needing some sugar. I don't see how the icecream could survive that...
But lets see. Maybe I will have a better idea than bringing it to work, because - let's get serious. Icecream, coconut, bananas - I HAVE to try that!

TWD: Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake, or: If the kichen isn't a mess afterwards, you made something wrong

Wow, my first real TWD cake. The last two weeks I did fudge a bit on it, as I decided to do the cookies and the crisp. I don't want to say that cookies and crisps can't be a challenge and if you really want to make them excellent, not just ok, than you also have to put some effort (and love and soul :o]) in it. But they are knowen bround for me. In the end I know, that I can do them at least as good that hungry colleagues in the office take them.

But this week I had to show some guts and try the recipe, that sounds like the most challenging cake recpipe I ever read - the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

It was a two days project! And it was fun! Yeah, I am serious.

Everybody chooses its own demons, isn't it?

Day 1: Preparing the ganache that has to be chilled over night.

Chopping different kinds of chocolate (right: milk chocolate with caramel).

 Making caramel.

Bringing everything together.

Day 2: The rest.

Making the glaze and the cake itself.

Baking and cutting the cake.

Assembling the parts with the ganache. (what a mess...)

Chilling. Glazing. (again, what a mess...)

And then - into the fridge over night. 

(that's not a dirty plate - that's decoration ;o])

Until  Monday afternoon, it didn't know if it turned out fine, as I didn't try it. But, what can go wrong if you bring together chocolate, chestnuts and caramel? 

I like to do a small piece for trial and error, and a "normal" one. The round cake is the test-case I just enjoyed 5 minutes ago. And I loved it!!

Next time, I would use more chestnuts and a bit more caramel. But anyways, I am sososo proud of me, I can't tell anyone!

[I exchanged the milk chocolate for the ganache with milk chocolate that has caramel pieces added. I did cut the cake in only two pieces (mine simply wasn't high enough to be cutted in three parts). And I left out some of the sugar in the recipe, as I doubt if American recipes just have too much sugar for European tastes (something that was also a topic at the dessert-discussion in Paris). For the decoration I opted for "Schoko-Maroni", a typical Viennese sweet. First I wanted to take Marrons Glacés, but the guy at the chocolate shop convinced me, that candied chestnuts are not comparable to Eibensteiner Maroni. And he is right, as almost nothing is comparable to them!)]