TWD: Depths-of-Fall Butternut Squash Pie

This week we had the option between two of my biggest challenges: Madeleines, which are hard to handle for me, as I have no Madeleine-mold, and they just do not turn out as they should in Callisson-molds or anything else. And - when I made them for the first and only time in my life they didn't get fluffy and soft as they should. I am no Madeleine-Master....
The second option was a challenge as well, as I am physically not able to do a decent pie/tarte crust. No idea why. I just always always always have troubles with them.

Nevertheless, I choose the Pie. I love pumpkins. And when we first made a pumpkin pie for the TWD-group I was more than thrilled by the result. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving round here, therefore it never came to my mind to make something sweet with pumpkins - although now it seems so evident, because they naturally bring a sweet taste with them.

Besides the crust, which was an, uhm, let's say adventure, as always - the filling and baking was very easy. I had to cover the pie with foil very soon (after about 15/20mins) and did bake it slightly longer. For the optional dried fruits I voted for cranberries because it seemes more interesting than rasins and more thanks-giving-ish. Instead of the nuts I used pumpkin kernels and it worked out perfectly.

I can only say that I love this pie! The pumpkin and pears and cranberries match perfectly. If you haven't already - go and try it! It's just what I imagine Thanksgiving should taste like in my humble european view!

For the recipe you can go to Valerie's blog "Une Gamine dans la Cuisine". She did pick this Fall Butternut Squash Pie for us this week. Or have a look in Dorie's book on pages 328-329.

For the Mini-Madeleines, look here how they turned out for my fellow bakers. The recipe can be found on Di's blog "Kitchen Notebook" or on page 172 in "Baking".

TWD: Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf

 And another breakfast-recipe for the last week auf August! Caitlin of Engineer Baker chose Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf from p. 43 in Dorie's book for this week's TWD. You will find the recipe also on Caitlin'spage.

The recipe is pretty easy and quick. I made some exchanges: I used polenta instead of cornmeal, but I guess that doe almost not really count as an exchange, as it is fairly similar.
I opted for a fresh pear but dried apples.
And I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup, used nutmeg an no cinnamon - and  did include some freshly grounded pepper (I used a colour-pepper-mix). And I added a bit dried rosmeary, althoug there was no recommendation for it in the "playing around" section. But I recently developped a fond love for rosemary and think it matches very well with the pear.

I am pretty happy with the result! The cornmeal/polenta gives it a tiny crunchy side I like very much. As it is an easy-made, fast recipe, that is open for some exchanges, I guess I will do it some day again, in one version or the other.

[The pictures show the little test-piece I made, but the original-sized loaf was not standing behind in taste and looks!]

TWD: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

When I read "Brown Sugar Bundt Cake" I thought: Hm. Dunno. Sounds not too exciting. I usually use brown sugar anyways. But then I read that the recipe calls for prunes and pears - complete change of mind! Prunes and pears are some of my favourite ingredients.

To make it short: This cake tastes wonderful and is easy in the making! I halved the recipe and still got two little children-bundts and three minis. (I use minis as "test-pieces" because I don't want to give somehting to my co-workers I have not tested before.) I made no changes to the original recipe but did cut the baking time due to the smaller mold I used.

Dorie says, the cake will be even better tomorrow, because the taste will spread through the cake. Well - I am looking forward to it! [P.S.: Now it is tomorrow - and Dorie is right, as so often!]
Thanks to Peggy from Pantry Revisited who has chosen this recipe for this week's TWD. Go to her page for the recipe or have a look at Dorie's book page 179.

P.S.: This was a big cooking and baking day for me. First, I made the bundt. Then I made some vanilla frozen yogurt (taken from David Lebovitz great book "Perfect Scoop") - my first frozen yougurt ever. Then I went to the monthly "Guerilla Bakery" - three friends baking once a month in a pop-up "store" (in fact it is their flat) and did taste some great little cakes: mini-cheescake with crumbles, peanutbutter cookies, lime cakelettes, lemon ricotta muffins and coconut-almond muffins. And no, I didn't eat all of it alone ;o]. Back home I started making vegetable soup, which is still simmering in my kitchen, made some strawberry-champagne-sorbet (also adapted from the champagne-raspberry-sorbet by David L.) and strawberry-rhubarb-compote. I guess my duty for this week is done :o] 

TWD - Fold-Over Pear Torte

And another fall recipe this week... This month of October is full of them for the TWD-community with the Double Apple Bundt Cake last week and the Caramel Pumpkin Pie (can't imagine this one - sounds, uhm, special...) and the All-American, All-Delicous Apple Pie to come the weeks to follow.

But let's talk about this week. Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen selected the Fold-Over Pear Torte. Go to her page to have a look at the recipe, if you don't own Dorie's book (pages 348 and 349). But I recommend to have a look at her page anyways, because she is one of the few non-American-TWD'ers and I always find it very interesting how non-Americans find their way to TWD, and what they choose. I think they often choose the most typical-american of all, funnily. And (more important) - she is very supportive, always kind, leaves a lot of hints, tricks and comments and bakes wonderful treats.

I like pears and fall recipes, and I extremely like this Torte. Even though I think of it more as a pie than a torte, but maybe that's a language problem. The dough is wonderful. I could eat tons of it even without filling. But why should I, when I have additionally this tasty pear-filling?

I had way to much filling, so I made some minis. Unfortunately my torte didn't turn out very photogenous.I feel always sorry for not being able to picture the baked goods I like most in a way that comes up with their taste. But taking pictures of baked goods is maybe a bit like baking itself - the more often you do it, the better you get...

TWD: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tarte, revisited

Oh boy, it's still Tuesday, even here in middle-Europe, and I got to give a confirmation of operation!

I made a new dough in the evening. A friend passed by and patiently waited until I did fit the dough in the tarte shell. While it was baking I wanted to present him the remaining failed dough shell.
And - miracles happen - after two days on the sill between the outer and the inner window, the tarte shell was perfect!! So I spread the remaining pastry cream on it, placed the pears and caramelized pistachios on it - and it was perfect!
My friend and I just LOVED it! It did not only taste so wonderful, it also looked great!

 Before baking                                                                                                 The tarte formerly known as Failed

Now, lets hope that the two mini-tartes I baked today for my nice colleague are still well tomorrow. I placed them in the fridge, although the recipe calls for eating them in between 4 hours. But I had to cheat a bit - because I made an easier, safer dough today I had to bake the tarte with the cream and the pears already on it. So, it looks a bit  different than it maybe should, and they have to wait until tomorrow to be eaten. I cross my fingers that in the fridge they won't get too soggy.

TWD: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tarte

So, first I got to say that this Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tarte chosen by Lauren of I'll eat you is tasty, tasty, tasty. Just what I like. A tarte dough tasting a bit like shortbread (which is similarly crumbly), poached pears, a colorful and at the same time perfectly taste-matching topping by caramelized pistachios. The pear-pistachio combination is not only an eye-catcher, but also a wonderful combination of tastes.
And now the bad part.

First, again I had to learn the hard way to stick to the recipe. When it calls for poaching the whole pears, don't cut them in slices, only because you think that's easier to handle. The result will be, that the whole fruit is deep red. What is ok, but I sliced only one pear and halfed the other one - and there I saw how it was ment to look like, and what the text mentioned as "you will see how wonderful it looks with the deep red outside and the rosé inside of the pears".

Secondly, I really had troubles with the dough. I could not imagine that it should be that crumbly and not sticking together to one piece. So I filled way too much dough in my little molds. When I baked it, it came up. I tried to give it an emergency relief and put a whole lot of beans on them, and it was a bit better afterwards. But in the end, I do not think that's what it should look like.


It was the first time I made a dough that deviated a bit from the completely easy tarte dough I usually make, and what came out was a slight desaster. And the dough was really not a tough cookie. So I am a bit frustrated.
The dough was too high and thick, there was not enough room to really fill in the cream (I more or less spread some of it as good as possible), and, what was the worst part - it was too hard to cut.

As I said in the beginning, nevertheless I really liked it. It did look ugly when I started to eat it because I more or less had to spoon it out the mold. But it was more than tasty. So I really have to try it again, some other day. When I find enough courage.

I am not going to bring the other second little tarte to the office tomorrow. What is a pitty, because I made it for one of my nicest colleagues, who didn't arrive to get anything I made in the last weeks. And who has to listen to everybody else in the department, still weeks afterwards speaking about the cakes and crumbles and cookies I made (I guess they are, just like me, still surprised that I should be able to bake - that's not the usual image of me...). I have to think about something else to compensate her. And about what to do with the tarte shell, the poached pears and the pistacchio cream...