Sooo…the base recipe here is identical to Flo Braker’s Crystal Almond Pound Cake from The Simple Art of Perfect Baking (originally published in 1985), though unless I missed it, Zoe François doesn’t credit her. The only differences are that Braker calls for both orange and lemon zest in the batter, and instead of a powdered sugar glaze applied to the cooled cake, Braker’s uses a glaze of lemon and orange juices and granulated sugar brushed on the hot cake, which both soaks in and sets on the exterior to a delightfully crunchy, sugary crust (that’s the “crystal” part). I really love Braker’s recipe (with a 25% reduction of sugar), which is moist, with a lovely marriage of almond and citrus flavors, and perfect with fresh fruit.
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I made yet another batch of Bravetart’s cinnamon rolls for a coworker to take to work yesterday. I kept one for my breakfast and it was very good.
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I have made Flo’s cake and loved it. From now on I’ll stick with her glaze technique for it. Thanks for comparing !
Side note, I had another slice today before giving the rest away. Gosh darn it’s good.
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Just returned from a weekend visiting my mother in ottawa: we were invited to one of her friends for Easter dinner, and I was tasked with dessert. The host specifically requested a chocolate dessert, so I made Nigella Lawson’s Nutella cake, an old favourite… https://www.nigella.com/recipes/nutella-cake. I should have baked it 5 minutes less but otherwise good…
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My starter died. It was negligent homicide. Had to restart my starter. That bread looks great!
Hadn’t made a Pineapple Upsidedown Cake in years, decided Easter would be a good opportunity.
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Personal-sized impossible spinach quiche, because I didn’t keep any of the egg bites, and I was craving it.
I will have to make a real quiche next, because these are not eggy enough for me – I miss the custard.
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Gorgeous!
Boston cream pie for Easter. 9” genoise, 1 batch of Dorrie’s pastry cream(with a bit of w cream ), amaretto sugar syrup brushed inside and chocolate ganache. A tiny bit sloppy but that made it even better!
I recently read a tip to fold a bit of the fluffy batter into the clarified butter then fold that back into the batter. Made folding in the butter easier and quicker. I love genoise and don’t seem to see it used in many recipes.
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It’s beautiful! And I’m sure it was delicious.
I also use the trick of folding the butter into a small amount of batter and then incorporating it into the larger amount, definitely a better way.
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I love Boston cream pie and haven’t had any in soooooooo long!
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Fellow bakers: will be sending a box to a friend soon for her birthday. I usually send jam and cookies. Have send Anzac cookies last 2 years… would like to send something different this year. Any suggestions for sturdy cookies that mail well?
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Other than chocolate chip cookies, I was thinking shortbread cookies, Snickerdoodles or peanut butter cookies (the one with the fork criss-cross on top, not the Blossoms with Hershey’s kisses, as those take up too much room in the box).
ETA: What about fudge?
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Bar cookies do well. Strawberries and cream? Blondies?
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I use the same trick, except that I whisk (not fold) a small amount of batter into the butter. This is something I picked up from RLB; hope I didn’t get it wrong! In any case, it works.
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Shortbread, biscotti, bar cookies — if the box you send will accommodate it, you can wrap a whole panful of bar cookies uncut and they will be sturdier and keep fresh better than after they are cut.
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Will try the whisk rather than fold method!
Some kind of shortbread cookie (choc chip?) if you can protect it from crumbling at the edges, or sables (Dorie has a bunch of variations). A savory / cheese cookie might be a nice second if you are sending jam too (the linked one is meant to have a dollop of jam).
More ideas for mailable treats on some previous threads:
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I may do some kind of oatmeal chocolate chip bar cookie? In the interim… I have a few birthdays coming up, so made these. https://buttermilkbysam.com/rye-brownie-cookies-with-caramelized-white-chocolate-chunks/ I buy blonde white chocolate rather than caramelizing myself.
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They look amazing – do you taste them or just give them away?
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