Free Choice week is like going down Memory Lane for me. I love reading about peoples' discovery of the recipes I've already made--makes me feel like The Old Baker who says, I remember when I made that Tiramisu back in 2009. Those were the days.
I also have noticed that most of the recipes picked for Free Choice week tend to be from the Quick & Easy list. This makes sense to me because why would you voluntarily make a lot of trouble for yourself?
For example, both Mendy and Andrea made the Heavenly Coconut Seduction Cake. If you like coconut at all, how can you nut be tempted by a cake that has both "heavenly" and "seduction" in its name? Andrea decorated it beautifully, although she kind of apologized for just using her "standard shells and rosettes"--don't know how to break this to you, Andrea, but there are some households where shells and rosettes are not standard. Mendy doubled the recipe, for a tall, lovely layer cake, and said that his guests commented on how "fancy" it looked.
Gartblue made the Golden Lemon Almond cake, also on the Q&E list. She was actually sure that she had already made it; but then, checking her blog, realized that it was still on her to-do list. How much did she like it? Here's her response: "Whatever possessed me to make the Holiday Pinecone cake and miss this?" Hmmm. I have noticed that no one has done the Holiday Pinecone cake for a Free Choice week.
Jenn did the Spice Cake with Peanut Buttercream--on the Q&E list and the first cake that I did from Heavenly Cakes. But Jenn doesn't get full credit for doing a cake from the Q&E list because she also made Whoopie Pies, for a double catch-up week. Check out Jenn's Heavenly Cake List, in which she gives the full list of cakes to bake with the ones she's already baked crossed out. Congratulations, Jenn!
I thought at first that Vicki also did a double catch-up because she blogged about two cakes as well: the Deep Chocolate Rosebuds and the Fruitcake. But it turns out that the fruitcake is a repeat: it has already become an annual event at Vicki's house.
Lois salso did the Fruitcake Wreath, but it was brand new to her, and she was doubtful about the whole fruitcake thing: "I haven't eaten fruitcake since I was a child, and my memories mainly involve disappointment. Shouldn't a cake have frosting? And even in its candied version, I couldn't understand why anyone would eat citrus peel." But she gave it a try, and was glad she did--she likes it so much she's been eating it for breakfast.
Raymond and Jennifer both did the Apple Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake, which I assumed was on the Q&E list, but, try as I might, I couldn't find it on the list. I have no idea why it isn't, especially since Raymond said he chose it out of "pure laziness" and Jennifer has already made various incarnations of this cake from The Cake Bible. Of course, both of them liked it--how can you not like a sour cream coffee cake filled with apples and topped with crumbs?
Not everyone went the Quick and Easy route--a few took detours off to, for example, Tiramisu-land and Bostini-ville.
Nancy is not a big fan of tiramisu, but she definitely liked this, as did one of her tasters who considers herself a connoisseur of tiramisu. And Hanaa was thrilled that she finally got a make the Bostini that had received such rave reviews. She made it three different ways, and liked all three.
Katya was finally able to work in the Torta de las Tres Leches at her parents's house. She said, "The tasting panel was enthusiastic, although they refused to write down pithy, witty commentary on an index card, citing exhaustion. Several did, however, reach for a second slice." I have that same problem with Tasting Panels--they're eager enough to eat the cake but but balk at being required to come up with pithy, witty comments.
Kristina resisted the Q&E temptation and tackled one of the more complicated cakes ("really fussy" is how she put it): the Chocolate Featherbed--and did a bang-up job. You should see the thin, beautiful layers she carefully made. Kristina's post is also noteworthy in that she therein confesses to a secret vice (that is no longer secret).
I have the good luck to have already made the next two cakes on the list: the Cranberry Crown Cheesecake and the Chocolate Bulls'-Eye Cakes. (I had two parties to go to, and said I'd bring dessert to both). I know that many of you will be super busy the next few weeks, but don't miss these cakes! The cheesecake is one of Rose's patented light-but-rich cheesecakes, and it's absolutely beautiful in a ladyfinger crown.
And don't be put off by the four components in the Bulls'-Eye Cakes. All components are easy to make, and come together to make an impressive, delicious dessert. I used my MaryAnn pan (which is nice, but not essential), and I was very glad that I had it--the chocolate filling (superb!) fits perfectly in the indentation made by the pan.
Happy Solstice, everyone! At least everyone living in the northern hemisphere. Maybe you can't quite tell it yet, but days are starting to get longer at last. You can't say spring is right around the corner, but I think you can believe that it's a possibility.
Dec 23, 2010
Dec 19, 2010
Ladyfingers--Take Two
I remember when I blogged about the Lemon Canadian Crown with the misshapen ladyfingers, and I said if I ever made them again, I should have my head examined. Well, I tried them again, and I actually think that my head is in pretty good shape.
Would you believe me if I said I made these chocolate ladyfingers?
I thought not. This picture is courtesy of Dana Bellefeuille, a blog reader who took pity on my woeful attempt, and showed me how they make them at the resort she works at. The pictures she sent, and her narrative accompaniment, helped me quite a bit.
Would you believe me if I said I made these?
Yes, you probably would, because, although they look considerably better than my first attempt, they still don't look professional. The main reason they look better is that I bought the appropriate piping tip. As in so many things, having the proper equipment is key. You'd think I would have figured that out before now.
This is the biggest tip they had at the kitchen equipment store. It's about three times the diameter of the tip I used before. I can't tell you how much easier it was to use the recommended piping tip. As I keep saying to myself (although it doesn't seem to take), following directions is usually a good thing.
From Dana, Hector, and Rose's video, I learned that the template for the ladyfingers should go the length of the pan, not the width. Through Rose's video, I learned that you can put dabs of ladyfinger batter under the four corners of the parchment paper, which will make the parchment stay in place. Rose also tells you to turn the paper over because you wouldn't want to get pencil marks on your ladyfingers. Having traces of graphite on my ladyfingers was the least of my worries, but I turned the paper over anyway because I didn't want to seem like I didn't care about culinary hygiene.
Presto! Eight minutes in the oven and reasonable facsimiles of ladyfingers emerge from the oven. And, better yet, I'm all set for next week's cheesecake. In fact, I have so many ladyfingers, I might have to make two.
Dec 15, 2010
Last Cake, Next Cake
We are on a roll here. The second cake in a row from the Quick & Easy list (I hate to break this to you, but there are only 3 cakes left to do on that list, which may mean we have some killers ahead of us). That is, we will have some exciting challenges.
Most people loved these easy little gems, although several missed the richness that egg yolks generally bring to something named "pound cake," and a few thought the cake was just okay.
Jennifer, for example, was just a wee bit grumbly when she discovered there were no egg yolks in the cake, but she recovered, and admitted that once she got "over the lack of egg yolk, they really are quite lovely. Almost tea cake-like in their dense crumb, and with wonderful flavor." See, she's really quite open-minded.
Neither Nancy nor her always-willing-to-give-it-a-try family members were "wowed" but this cake. Nancy prefers the "tighter crumb" of traditional pound cake, and liked the "classic financier" best of the four financier (or pseudo-financier) recipes she's tried.
Monica also tsk-tsked a bit about calling these "pound cakes" when they're made sans egg yolks. Her final conclusion: "They were good, not spectacular; I guess I was missing the rich, dense texture that a true pound cake gives you."
On the other hand, ButterYum found them "moist and addictive," as well as "delicious and very easy to put together."
And Raymond liked them so much ("pound cake, vanilla, butter! Are there any better or sweeter words in the English language?") that he barely complained about their baby size, although he did say that the next time he made them, he'd try using his mini-loaf pans, brought back from Paris. They are "mini" but not as mini as a financier pan.
Mendy made his ("the taste was very vanilla-y eand fantastic") in his brand new tiny silicone fluted pans--a thoughtful Hanukkah present from his wife.
Gartblue sounds like she'll be making them again. Not only were they buttery, she said but she also loved "the vanilla bean effect on them. Pretty and tasted heavenly. Another winner in my book"
(By the way, Gartblue's post was the first one I read that pointed out that Rose had foresaw the curdling problem. I missed that little warning in the directions, so when I was making them, I thought, "This is weird--the batter is curdling. Hope that's okay." It was.)
Vicki also gave them high marks: "Topped with a dab of marscapone and apricot jam, these were delicious. Everyone very much enjoyed them and they go on the Make Again List."
Lois focused on their Q&E nature. How easy? "So easy that I've just whipped them up in the wee hours of the morning - before the sun is even up. If you can tackle a recipe before you're really awake, how hard can it be?"
Kristina also liked how easy they were. And how easy it was to write her blog post because she "refused to spend longer typing it up than [she] did making it."
Lola didn't make the pound cakes [yet}, because computer problems forced her to play catch up. She posted about last week's chocolate velvet fudge cake. Like everyone else, she liked it. And she also shared her "BTG" technique for baking, but not eating, whenever she pleases. "Buy-Taste-Gift."
The beauty of these little cakes is that they don't need much dressing up. They can be served as is or with a little fruit. But Maria, our FEATURED BAKER, showed that they also take well to getting dressed up. Maria put a single sour cherry atop the batter, and then carefully placed some green pistachio slivers around the cherry. Who would have thought these little financiers could double as Christmas cupcakes?
I warned you that I was going to load up the "Free Choice" weeks as we go into the final stretch. (I have only 16 cakes left!) You'll see from the "Next in the Oven" list that there's one scheduled for next week and another one on January 17, just a month later.
After the Free Choice week, the Cranberry Crown Cheesecake is up. It'll be a perfect winter dessert, whether or not you celebrate Christmas. You may notice that the cheesecake can be made with soft ladyfingers as a base. It can also be made with Savoiardi biscuits or angel food cake. YOU CAN BUY ANY THESE. You do not have to make the base unless you really, really want to.
And then, believe it or not, it will be 2011! We started this project in 2009. Holy crap.
Most people loved these easy little gems, although several missed the richness that egg yolks generally bring to something named "pound cake," and a few thought the cake was just okay.
Jennifer, for example, was just a wee bit grumbly when she discovered there were no egg yolks in the cake, but she recovered, and admitted that once she got "over the lack of egg yolk, they really are quite lovely. Almost tea cake-like in their dense crumb, and with wonderful flavor." See, she's really quite open-minded.
Neither Nancy nor her always-willing-to-give-it-a-try family members were "wowed" but this cake. Nancy prefers the "tighter crumb" of traditional pound cake, and liked the "classic financier" best of the four financier (or pseudo-financier) recipes she's tried.
Monica also tsk-tsked a bit about calling these "pound cakes" when they're made sans egg yolks. Her final conclusion: "They were good, not spectacular; I guess I was missing the rich, dense texture that a true pound cake gives you."
On the other hand, ButterYum found them "moist and addictive," as well as "delicious and very easy to put together."
And Raymond liked them so much ("pound cake, vanilla, butter! Are there any better or sweeter words in the English language?") that he barely complained about their baby size, although he did say that the next time he made them, he'd try using his mini-loaf pans, brought back from Paris. They are "mini" but not as mini as a financier pan.
Mendy made his ("the taste was very vanilla-y eand fantastic") in his brand new tiny silicone fluted pans--a thoughtful Hanukkah present from his wife.
Gartblue sounds like she'll be making them again. Not only were they buttery, she said but she also loved "the vanilla bean effect on them. Pretty and tasted heavenly. Another winner in my book"
(By the way, Gartblue's post was the first one I read that pointed out that Rose had foresaw the curdling problem. I missed that little warning in the directions, so when I was making them, I thought, "This is weird--the batter is curdling. Hope that's okay." It was.)
Vicki also gave them high marks: "Topped with a dab of marscapone and apricot jam, these were delicious. Everyone very much enjoyed them and they go on the Make Again List."
Lois focused on their Q&E nature. How easy? "So easy that I've just whipped them up in the wee hours of the morning - before the sun is even up. If you can tackle a recipe before you're really awake, how hard can it be?"
Kristina also liked how easy they were. And how easy it was to write her blog post because she "refused to spend longer typing it up than [she] did making it."
Lola didn't make the pound cakes [yet}, because computer problems forced her to play catch up. She posted about last week's chocolate velvet fudge cake. Like everyone else, she liked it. And she also shared her "BTG" technique for baking, but not eating, whenever she pleases. "Buy-Taste-Gift."
The beauty of these little cakes is that they don't need much dressing up. They can be served as is or with a little fruit. But Maria, our FEATURED BAKER, showed that they also take well to getting dressed up. Maria put a single sour cherry atop the batter, and then carefully placed some green pistachio slivers around the cherry. Who would have thought these little financiers could double as Christmas cupcakes?
I warned you that I was going to load up the "Free Choice" weeks as we go into the final stretch. (I have only 16 cakes left!) You'll see from the "Next in the Oven" list that there's one scheduled for next week and another one on January 17, just a month later.
After the Free Choice week, the Cranberry Crown Cheesecake is up. It'll be a perfect winter dessert, whether or not you celebrate Christmas. You may notice that the cheesecake can be made with soft ladyfingers as a base. It can also be made with Savoiardi biscuits or angel food cake. YOU CAN BUY ANY THESE. You do not have to make the base unless you really, really want to.
And then, believe it or not, it will be 2011! We started this project in 2009. Holy crap.
Dec 13, 2010
Financier-Style Vanilla Bean Poundcake
These little "financier"-style "poundcakes" are not true financiers (no ground nuts) and not true poundcakes (eggwhites only, not whole eggs). They may not have a technically accurate name, but you could call them tender, moist, buttery little nuggets of flavor. They don't knock your socks off, but they might cause you to wiggle your toes in delight. I ate one just two hours ago, and I wrapped up the rest to put in the freezer so I wouldn't eat all the rest of them in one sitting.
If you thought last week's cake was easy, wait until you try this one. Jim missed the photogenic slicing and seeding of the vanilla bean. The second step--mixing the dry ingredients, including the aforesaid sugar, turned out to be not very photogenic. Ditto for the third step, whisking eggs, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl.
Had I piped the batter into the financier molds, as recommended, I might have gotten something more photogenic, or (more likely) something a lot messier. You know how I feel about piping. Instead, I used the time-honored glob and smooth method of filling the pan.
Mixing everything together was only marginally more photogenic, and that's just because the Beater Blade made nice designs in the batter.
We had a kazillion inches of snow today. Our neighbor Fred used his snowblower on our front sidewalk this morning, so we took him and his wife a little plate of cookies and cakelets to thank them. The cakes look a little on the pale side, but they were perfectly done. If they'd been browner, they might have been too dry. As it was, they were perfect.
The tasting panel this week was cancelled due to a blizzard. Jim says to tell you that he liked these cakes a lot, although there weren't very many of them (9 because that's the number of openings my financier pan has), and he wishes I hadn't put them in the freezer.
Dec 8, 2010
Last Cake, Next Cake
Here are Rose's pictures of the original marzipan candle, and the original recipient of the cake and candle:
I'm afraid that this week's roundup may be a little boring. One after another, bakers reported that the cake was not only easy, it was also delicious. But how many ways are there to say "good" and "easy"? Let us count the ways.
For example, Jennifer found it "simple to make" and "satisfying to eat."
Joan said it was "luscious" and "not difficult or time-consuming."
Raymond judged it "so easy" and "nice and light and flavorful."
Katya thought it was "very simple" and "easy to eat," although, to be honest, she was perhaps more enthralled with her new Heritage bundt pan than with the cake.
Lois, still cooking in her "little Polish kitchen," thought the cake was "soft and tender." She thought it was easy even thought she had to substitute migdałów aromatycznych for the aromat waniliowy, which you'd think would be enough to drive anyone to drink.
Vicki declared that the cake was "incredibly light crumbed" and "very easy to make."
Andrea thought it was "super simple," but hadn't tasted yet as of posting time.
Monica really said it all: The cake is "perfect because its easy to make, easy to decorate, easy to served and the most important easy of all? To eat."
For Kristina, it was so easy that it didn't present enough of a challenge--she had to try the marzipan candle in order to make it interesting.
Mendy, who found the cake "delicious," also tried the marzipan candle. Nice work, Mendy, but the marzipan decoration isn't as pretty as your Hannukah candles.
For Sarah, the candle was the hero (or villain) of her piece. Villain because she thought it looked "ridiculous," and made both her and Steve "burst out laughing."
Although Jenn found the cake "dense and fudgy," she wasn't jumping on the quick and easy bandwagon, mostly because she broke her stride when she realized she'd forgotten to add sugar. She recovered, but worried about overbeating, and also worried that part of the cake stuck to the cake pan. She's going to give it another shot, though.
And Nancy was having so much fun making quick and easy chocolate cakes that she added another one: the Black Chocolate Party Cake, which she made in addition to the assigned chocolate fudge cake.
Our featured baker this week is Gartblue. As you may have noticed, I'm a pushover for anyone who goes all out, since I like to go all out myself. So I love it that Gartblue gave a birthday party for her daughter Ayisha that included not only the Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake ("what a surprise this cake turned out to be despite its deceptive appearance"), but also the Lemon Canadian Crown, which she'd stashed in the freezer last week, AND the chocolate ice cream cake. A birthday lunch at Gartblue's also includes lamb kebabs, meatballs in black pepper sauce, and fried vegetables. Coincidentally, this is what I want for my next birthday lunch.
Our next cake should also be quick and easy--unless, of course, you try making it with marzipan candles. Then I'm not responsible. It's the Financier-style Vanilla Bean Pound Cakes. You'll need half a vanilla bean, as you might guess, and egg whites only. Check your freezer. And isn't it about time for you to break down and buy those silicone financier pans?
After that, it's another Free Choice week. We've never had so many, but I want to give everyone a chance to play Catch-Up.
By the way, since cocoa is the basis for nearly all of the chocolate cakes--which means almost half the cakes in the book--Jenn was wondering if people have found a brand of cocoa they're satisfied with, and, if so, what is it and where do you get it?
I used Droste almost exclusively. Then I ordered a big bag of Perugina from King Arthur, and I've been quite pleased with it. It has a higher fat content than cocoa you can buy in the supermarket. I'll either buy it again when I run out, or I'll try some French cocoa and compare.
For example, Jennifer found it "simple to make" and "satisfying to eat."
Joan said it was "luscious" and "not difficult or time-consuming."
Raymond judged it "so easy" and "nice and light and flavorful."
Katya thought it was "very simple" and "easy to eat," although, to be honest, she was perhaps more enthralled with her new Heritage bundt pan than with the cake.
Lois, still cooking in her "little Polish kitchen," thought the cake was "soft and tender." She thought it was easy even thought she had to substitute migdałów aromatycznych for the aromat waniliowy, which you'd think would be enough to drive anyone to drink.
Vicki declared that the cake was "incredibly light crumbed" and "very easy to make."
Andrea thought it was "super simple," but hadn't tasted yet as of posting time.
Monica really said it all: The cake is "perfect because its easy to make, easy to decorate, easy to served and the most important easy of all? To eat."
For Kristina, it was so easy that it didn't present enough of a challenge--she had to try the marzipan candle in order to make it interesting.
Mendy, who found the cake "delicious," also tried the marzipan candle. Nice work, Mendy, but the marzipan decoration isn't as pretty as your Hannukah candles.
For Sarah, the candle was the hero (or villain) of her piece. Villain because she thought it looked "ridiculous," and made both her and Steve "burst out laughing."
Although Jenn found the cake "dense and fudgy," she wasn't jumping on the quick and easy bandwagon, mostly because she broke her stride when she realized she'd forgotten to add sugar. She recovered, but worried about overbeating, and also worried that part of the cake stuck to the cake pan. She's going to give it another shot, though.
And Nancy was having so much fun making quick and easy chocolate cakes that she added another one: the Black Chocolate Party Cake, which she made in addition to the assigned chocolate fudge cake.
Our featured baker this week is Gartblue. As you may have noticed, I'm a pushover for anyone who goes all out, since I like to go all out myself. So I love it that Gartblue gave a birthday party for her daughter Ayisha that included not only the Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake ("what a surprise this cake turned out to be despite its deceptive appearance"), but also the Lemon Canadian Crown, which she'd stashed in the freezer last week, AND the chocolate ice cream cake. A birthday lunch at Gartblue's also includes lamb kebabs, meatballs in black pepper sauce, and fried vegetables. Coincidentally, this is what I want for my next birthday lunch.
Our next cake should also be quick and easy--unless, of course, you try making it with marzipan candles. Then I'm not responsible. It's the Financier-style Vanilla Bean Pound Cakes. You'll need half a vanilla bean, as you might guess, and egg whites only. Check your freezer. And isn't it about time for you to break down and buy those silicone financier pans?
After that, it's another Free Choice week. We've never had so many, but I want to give everyone a chance to play Catch-Up.
By the way, since cocoa is the basis for nearly all of the chocolate cakes--which means almost half the cakes in the book--Jenn was wondering if people have found a brand of cocoa they're satisfied with, and, if so, what is it and where do you get it?
I used Droste almost exclusively. Then I ordered a big bag of Perugina from King Arthur, and I've been quite pleased with it. It has a higher fat content than cocoa you can buy in the supermarket. I'll either buy it again when I run out, or I'll try some French cocoa and compare.
Dec 6, 2010
Chocolate Velvet Fudge Cake
If I were naming this cake, I think I'd just call it Plain Chocolate Cake. Not plain as in ugly, but plain as in unadorned, simple, essential. If you only had one chocolate cake in your baking repertoire, you'd want to give serious thought to making it this one.
First of all, unlike some of the other recent cakes which seemed easy, but weren't on the Q&E list, this one really is. That is, it's on the list, it's quick, and it's easy. Easy enough that I had it almost entirely put together by the time Jim went upstairs and got his camera. (He's kind of a slow walker).
In fact, the hardest part was picking the pan. I already announced I wasn't going to buy a new silicone bundt pan when I'd mortgaged the house for various Nordicware pans. I decided it was time to bring out the Christmas wreath pan again.
Here's how you put it together.
1) Mix cocoa and boiling water.
2) Mix eggs, water, and vanilla.
3) Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, and cocoa mixture.
4) Add egg mixture.
5) Put in pan.
6) Bake
Really. If you can make a cake mix, you can make this.
My cake took a few minutes less than the minimum 50 minutes, probably because the pan was wider and flatter than a typical bundt pan.
The simple decoration of powdered sugar brought out the ribbon and pine cones that you couldn't see before sugar was sifted over the cake.
And that's it--eat, taste, love.
You could also serve it with ice cream or whipped cream, if you wanted to gussy it up. If you wanted to further gussy, you could put some chocolate sauce on the ice cream that sits next to the cake. (Maybe you have some leftover sauce from the Bostini?) But I like it best plain.
Even writing the blog was quick and easy. Whereas it took me hours to write about the Lemon Canadian Crown cake, and required multitudes of photos, not to mention a fair amount of complaining, this blog virtually wrote itself. Thanks, Rose. I needed that.
TASTING PANEL:
Jim: "Really good chocolatey taste. I like the light texture. I think I'd like it even better with whipped cream."
Rachel: "Delicious. I don't think it needed anything else."
Steve: "I'd eat it with ice cream or with frosting or plain because I'm so agreeable."
Dec 1, 2010
Last Cake, Next Cake
It was a pretty small group that tackled the Lemon Canadian Cream this week, and an even smaller group that made the ladyfingers as well. But those of us who did were rewarded with a wonderful, (deceptively) light dessert that was perfect for Thanksgiving. And perfect for just about any other occasion.
Since I was obsessed with my own ladyfingers, and their lack of professional smoothness, I was also obsessed with checking out how the other Heavenly Bakers fared in the ladyfinger department.
Frankly, I was most impressed with Gartblue and Vicki, who both bought their ladyfingers. Not only did they buy them, but they bought the "wrong" kind--Saviordi instead of soft. But what they did with their "mistakes" was pretty impressive. Vicki turned hers into a kind of trifle, adding blueberries to the mix, to make a "showstopper" dessert. And Gartblue's looked stunning, even though she thought she'd burned the meringue.
Kristina also burned her meringue; she claimed that it looked bad enough that she had to scrape it off and start over. I couldn't tell because I was too jealous of her ladyfinger perfection. I tried not to be jealous, I really did, but when I saw her beautiful concentric circles, I couldn't help myself. But enough about me.
Special praise to Lois, who made her ladyfinger baking debut in Poland, using the white powdery substances she explained to the authorities were her baking supplies. And then she realized that she didn't have powdered sugar with her, so had to go to a Polish supermarket. And then, after all that, she remarked about how easy it was to make ladyfingers!
Nancy also found the ladyfingers to be "surprisingly easy." She had the good sense to watch Rose's video before tackling them--something which Hector also recommended and which, of course, is an excellent idea. Nancy made a half recipe, as she often does, and ended up with something both beautiful and, because of its small size, cute.
Raymond found the ladyfingers to be "so easy it hardly seemed worth the effort of tracking down the store bought ones." He also described the whole dessert as "deceptively simple." And, I have to say, his pictures make it look like he's been making ladyfingers his whole life.
Monica didn't think they were easy to make; in fact, they drove her to distraction. But they were on her "kitchen bucket" list, so she went at them with determination--and success--and then she wrapped her "crown" up with a big blue ribbon. So pretty!
But the FEATURED BAKER this week is Mendy, who likened his his ladyfingers to the "Great Wall" of Ladyfingers, or, perhaps, to a baseball glove. Mendy made his ladyfingers with a makeshift piping bag (a Ziploc bag), and his trusty toaster oven. I loved his wall of ladyfingers, his sprightly ribbon, and his good humor.
No piping bags next week, with the Chocolate Velvet Fudget Cake, although you will have to make a Marzipan candle if you want to imitate Rose's presentation. You would then cut the candle into very thin slices and drape a slice over each individual piece of cake. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be opting out of the Marzipan candle, but a good dusting of powdered sugar sounds like a great idea. We haven't made a plain butter chocolate cake for a while, and I'm excited about getting out a bundt pan and seeing what happens. (By the way, Rose recommends a silicone bundt pan, but after investing in a half-dozen different Nordicware pans, I think I'm committed to using one of them).
Next up are "Financier-Style" Vanilla Bean Pound Cakes--not really Financiers, as Rose says, because they don't have ground nuts in them, but you can make them in silicone financier molds. These baby pound cakes are, I think, going to look very elegant on a holiday dessert platter. (And in case you're missing your piping bag after the chocolate cake, you're welcome to bring it out in order to neatly pipe the batter into the financier molds).
Since I was obsessed with my own ladyfingers, and their lack of professional smoothness, I was also obsessed with checking out how the other Heavenly Bakers fared in the ladyfinger department.
Frankly, I was most impressed with Gartblue and Vicki, who both bought their ladyfingers. Not only did they buy them, but they bought the "wrong" kind--Saviordi instead of soft. But what they did with their "mistakes" was pretty impressive. Vicki turned hers into a kind of trifle, adding blueberries to the mix, to make a "showstopper" dessert. And Gartblue's looked stunning, even though she thought she'd burned the meringue.
Kristina also burned her meringue; she claimed that it looked bad enough that she had to scrape it off and start over. I couldn't tell because I was too jealous of her ladyfinger perfection. I tried not to be jealous, I really did, but when I saw her beautiful concentric circles, I couldn't help myself. But enough about me.
Special praise to Lois, who made her ladyfinger baking debut in Poland, using the white powdery substances she explained to the authorities were her baking supplies. And then she realized that she didn't have powdered sugar with her, so had to go to a Polish supermarket. And then, after all that, she remarked about how easy it was to make ladyfingers!
Nancy also found the ladyfingers to be "surprisingly easy." She had the good sense to watch Rose's video before tackling them--something which Hector also recommended and which, of course, is an excellent idea. Nancy made a half recipe, as she often does, and ended up with something both beautiful and, because of its small size, cute.
Raymond found the ladyfingers to be "so easy it hardly seemed worth the effort of tracking down the store bought ones." He also described the whole dessert as "deceptively simple." And, I have to say, his pictures make it look like he's been making ladyfingers his whole life.
Monica didn't think they were easy to make; in fact, they drove her to distraction. But they were on her "kitchen bucket" list, so she went at them with determination--and success--and then she wrapped her "crown" up with a big blue ribbon. So pretty!
But the FEATURED BAKER this week is Mendy, who likened his his ladyfingers to the "Great Wall" of Ladyfingers, or, perhaps, to a baseball glove. Mendy made his ladyfingers with a makeshift piping bag (a Ziploc bag), and his trusty toaster oven. I loved his wall of ladyfingers, his sprightly ribbon, and his good humor.
No piping bags next week, with the Chocolate Velvet Fudget Cake, although you will have to make a Marzipan candle if you want to imitate Rose's presentation. You would then cut the candle into very thin slices and drape a slice over each individual piece of cake. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be opting out of the Marzipan candle, but a good dusting of powdered sugar sounds like a great idea. We haven't made a plain butter chocolate cake for a while, and I'm excited about getting out a bundt pan and seeing what happens. (By the way, Rose recommends a silicone bundt pan, but after investing in a half-dozen different Nordicware pans, I think I'm committed to using one of them).
Next up are "Financier-Style" Vanilla Bean Pound Cakes--not really Financiers, as Rose says, because they don't have ground nuts in them, but you can make them in silicone financier molds. These baby pound cakes are, I think, going to look very elegant on a holiday dessert platter. (And in case you're missing your piping bag after the chocolate cake, you're welcome to bring it out in order to neatly pipe the batter into the financier molds).
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