What are you baking? August 2023

From Edd Kimber’s Small batch baking: peanut butter cookies. Recipe is supposed to make 6, but I got 9. You are also supposed to dip them in chocolate, but I was too lazy. Based on the Ovenly recipe. Gluten free, so going to a friend with celiac disease.

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If you make ice cream, this stuff is easy and amazing.

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Philly Fluff cake. I’d never heard of it before tho it’s seems pretty famous. Cake is delicious but I don’t get the ‘fluffy’ part. It’s like a nice pound cake. Has anyone here seen/eaten the original?

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The claim is that it’s lighter than a pound cake, but given that it contains cream cheese and a significant amount of fat, I go with the more likely explanation that in typical fashion the creator used “fluff” as a general positive descriptor. It’s a pet peeve of mine that people use the word “fluffy” all the time to describe things that are often the opposite just because “fluffy” sounds like a desirable quality to have in food. :joy:
On the matter of this cake, Food & Wine in their introductory note says this:

“A Philly Fluff Cake, despite the name, is dense, moist, and tender, with rich swirls of bittersweet chocolate and a well-browned, sugary crisp exterior. It is more similar to a pound cake than a fluffy cake, and a generous portion of cream cheese in the batter lends the cake a gentle tang, and perhaps offers a clue to half of its name. A mixture of canola oil and butter stand in for traditional shortening, still giving the cake a pleasant moisture while adding delicious buttery flavor.”

And from Serious Eats:
“The moistness made me think there was oil involved, but from the taste it was pretty clear that a heavy dose of butter had been on the scene as well. I could see how this might appeal to someone who’s not into shi-shi or overly complicated sweets. I was intrigued. Where exactly in Philly did this cake come from? Who named it Philly fluff? And why wasn’t it the least bit fluffy in texture?”

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Dorie Greenspan’s Everything Cake with seasonal peaches and blueberries on top. Peach brandy whisked in for flavor, and granulated sugar and sprinkle of lemon juice on top.

I’m always learning something:

  1. My peaches sank a little bit. I haven’t had this problem with this recipe before. In any case, I think next time I bake a peach cake I’ll up the flour from 180 g. to 195 g., and possibly swap in a little almond flour.

  2. I baked the cake early in the morning, and my fruit was stone cold outta the fridge. I had to let it bake a little longer than I wanted in order to get the center-top fully baked. Next time I’ll be sure to bring the fruit to room temp.

In any case, the cake came out lovely for our purposes, and it won’t last long at our house. I might try and squeeze one more of these out before the end of peach and blueberry season.

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Tomato and cheese tart

I’ve been wanting to make one of these for mom for ages, but tomato prices were insanely inflated until recently.

I sliced and roasted a pile of plum tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. A bit of sugar and a tiny splash of vinegar at the end to balance it out.

The cheeses I used were parmesan to line the crust, robiola, taleggio under the tomatoes, and cheddar on top.

Dough was an oil crust with some ghee added for flavor, and milk instead of water for a slightly more tender result.

The tart was INTENSE in the most delicious way. Concentrated tomato flavor, melty and strong cheese, flaky crust: all good things.

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(Leftover) Mixed Vegetable Galette

The other half of the crust dough I turned into a galette to use up some cooked vegetables near the end of their life — baby corn, cauliflower, and carrot. I chopped them up, added a bit of leftover bechamel, parmesan, and cheddar, and that was the filling.

Probably could have used a bit more cheese, but I wanted the galette to be a bit lighter given how intense and rich the tomato tart was going to be. (No egg wash because: vegetarian.)

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Forgot to mention the crust was half WW chapati atta, half AP

Both really gorgeous!!

Thanks!

My first freeform galette (I was a bit anxious last time and put it in a tart pan :joy:) and it’s not as pretty as with an eggwash, but I was so relieved I didn’t tear the pastry!

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You can use milk and a bit of fat or cream to glaze if you don’t want to use eggs.

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Chocolate fudge peanut butter cookies

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I used milk, which is what I usually do. Didn’t do much this time.

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Oops.

A birthday cake for my grandson’s 16th birthday which we are celebrating tomorrow, its a sour cream dark chocholate cake with milk chocolate frosting and decorated with chocolate macarons. I really dont like icing cakes. After i finished i was so tired we got takeout.

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Haha, that’s how I feel about frosting cakes and part of why I like making entremets so much more. Cake looks and sounds delicious, though!

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So I had a FAIL!! I was attempting to make a chocolate on chocolate “Sock it to me” cake. After baking the cake, I poked holes in it and attempted to pour a chocolate glaze into the holes. It poured through the cake and gathered on the plate, so I made a chocolate butter cream frosting and put that on.
I called my mother (the expert on everything cooking/baking related) and after a few questions she determined my two mistakes. I made the holes too deep and the cake was still hot when I poured the glaze in those holes.
Sunshine tried a piece and still very much enjoyed my failure. I’ll try again at some point.

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When I do this, the pan warps pretty badly. :thinking:

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These are beautiful!!!

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It’s been too hot here to bake much, but I did put together a quick torte to use up some subpar plums. I topped it with chopped pistachios, turbinado sugar, and Maldon sea salt.

Cake:
1/2 package (or ~7.25 oz.) Wal-Mart Great Value deluxe yellow cake mix
1/2 c whole milk vanilla yogurt (Brown Cow)
1/4 c butter, browned in microwave
1/4 c almond meal/flour (Trader Joe’s)
1 drop almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c water
2 eggs
Pinch each ground cardamom and cinnamon

Topping:
3-4 plums pitted and cut into thin wedges
1/2 c pistachio nut meats, chopped
Pinch Maldon salt
1-2 Tbsp Turbinado sugar

Based on: https://www.food.com/recipe/sour-cream-yellow-cake-99866

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix cake ingredients until well combined. Spread in a greased springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom. Nestle plum slices on top, pressing down into batter slightly. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios, turbinado sugar, and flaky salt. Bake 30 min or until a tester comes out mostly clean. Use a knife to loosen the cake from the pan edges and cool completely.

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He’ll be thrilled.

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