I made the berry layer cake in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. It was just like the asian style cakes and it was delicious. I used strawberries, whipped cream, and also pastry cream in the layers. This should be just like the geniose cakes in the Cake Bible, I think. The only thing was that my mixer was so full that I didn’t get all the way to the bottom when scraping so there were some hard floury bits. oops. I’ll have to try this with mangos sometime soon.
Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/carrot-cake-sandwich-cookies?autonomy_kw=carrt%20cake%20cookie&rsc=header_8
If I judge these cookies on the speed they disappear when I take them into work, these cookies were really great. I liked them without the cream cheese frosting as well.
The only change a made was soaking the raisins (well worth it I think). Next time, I think I’ll change the cream cheese frosting by not adding as much butter. I’d like a stronger cream cheese flavor.
Also, these were great even though I froze them for a few weeks before baking them. I just scooped and flattened them out a bit. A few of them totally melted when I baked them…not sure why. They might have been the last few a scooped out that didn’t have a lot of carrots/oats.
We’re looking for the perfect peanut butter cookie. Something with a fine texture — soft and crumbly. I also would like a ribbon of peanut butter or peanut butter chunks in it (I love Reese’s peanut butter chips but would rather have something with natural ingredients), although this is not necessary. Is there anything from the Martha Stewart cookie book that looks like it might work as a starting off point?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_23697,00.html
Everyone at the BBQ really liked these lemon bars. I decreased the sugar in the filling to 2.5 cups because some of the comments said it was too sweet. I think I could have decreased it even more if I wanted to. Or maybe added a little more zest. I also did not cool the crust before pouring in the filling.
One annoying thing was that when I dusted them with powdered sugar, the sugar just soaked in. So they weren’t as pretty as I would have liked. Maybe next time I’ll do a glaze with the sugar and lemon juice instead.
Overall, definitely worth making again. Especially in the summer. Doesn’t hot weather just seem to go so well with lemon bars?
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Ina’s Lemon Bars
For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Today’s class was on pate a choux. My partner and I made garlic gougeres and swans. That’s right…swans! I think they were the fanciest things I’ve ever made. Some of them came out very pretty. And some not so much. But it was pretty cool to make! You just pipe out the pate a choux body shape and neck shape and use creme mousseline (pastry cream with whipped cream folded in) to stick in the wings and neck in. This is a prettier version of what they looked like: http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif.
I really liked the cheese puffs and want to have a party so I can make them as an appetizer!
All the creme puffs, éclairs, and everything else was really good. The thing I love about French pastries is that they aren’t too sweet. Very rich, but not overly sweet.
Martha Stewart’s Cookie page 170
These cookies were a big hit at work today. They are a cross between chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. While they were very delicious, I had a bit of an issue with just how soft they were. There was a lot of butter in them (a stick and a half) and I wonder if a little less would make these cookies a little more chewy. But it might just be the banana that makes the texture what it is. Of course, maybe its just me. One of my co-workers did mention that he loved the soft texture of the cookies.
And one nice thing about them was that they have pretty healthy ingredients (if you ignore the extra butter). It’s made with some WWF, oats, and bananas. And there is only a cup of sugar total (1/2 white and 1/2 light brown).
Page 290: The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
I love bread! How do I know this? Because there is nothing left of this loaf of bread. I made it on Sunday. I didn’t share. Yum! Instead of using regular WWF, I used White WWF. It made the bread look like it wasn’t wheat and probably gave it a more mellow taste. I will definitely try this again with the regular WWF. Yum!
Class #5 was about custards. We made baked custards (flan, creme caramel, pots de creme, and creme brulee). I’ve actually done (more than?) my share of custards before. But everything was yummy and RICH. We also did ice cream. My group did mint chocolate chip–my favorite! We just put a ton of mint leaves in the cream when we were boiling it. It turned the creme a light green color. At the end, we just added some chopped up chocolate. I definitely need to get an ice cream maker! I think I’m going to try the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment…
I’ve made the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook ones twice. The first time I did it with powdered buttermilk. The next time with real. Both came out good, but they rose up kind of rounded and weren’t as flaky as I’d like. Maybe the same recipe would be OK if I made them thicker, used a bigger biscuit cutter, and/or refrigerated them before baking…
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25046,00.html
Jam Thumbprint Cookies
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
Raspberry and/or apricot jam
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.
