what are you Baking? February 2024

From the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, although the linked recipe doesn’t include custard or pastry cream, which Sally’s has.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/raspberry-tart-5201627

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Thank you!!! I’ll find it in the am. I had extra crust for another tart so made a 6” tart with Dorie’s pastry cream but we preferred Ina’s / it’s smoother. Very similar recipes but Ina’s has you add cream at the end.

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Just thought I’d mention …

I was at Target today and they have a “Magnolia Home” section, nice display, soft browns and greens.

They had a gorgeous Kitchen Aid mixer in a special color, like a matte dark forest green. (I don’t need a new mixer!)

I grew up with a professional birthday cake icing that I might now describe as a cross between a cocoa ganache and a mirror glaze – definitely had gelatin in it, definitely not chocolate, set with a nice slip, not heavy so most likely had no cream. Oh, and it was hot weather.

Every come across anything like that? I’d love to replicate it.

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Without seeing it and tasting I couldn’t say. I would imagine either starch would be involved or if was you say there was gelatin, I wonder if it could involve something else like agar/kanten, which are more heat-resistant and also vegetarian.

I’ve never made cocoa ganache and I see both cream and butter versions. Your frosting probably does start with something like that based on your description.

Not likely to be your frosting, but since chocolate frosting was brought up previously, I ran into this one and thought it was interesting:

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Also on the subject of frosting, I made Sugarologie’s sweet cream buttermilk frosting:

And I liked it, particularly in a chocolate roll cake, but I’m not sure if I found the flavor less buttery than something like ermine frosting. I would say they’re pretty comparable. It came together easily and was nicely stable. In my climate, I’m sure things like roll cakes are the best use for it. I added more salt to taste and it definitely needs the optional vanilla to me.

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Here’s the link to Ina’s pastry cream. I used vanilla instead of the cognac and large egg yolks.

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Valentine’s Day had to be postponed a couple of days, as Sunshine’s car developed an electrical issue. It took me a couple of days to figure it out (I’m not very good at reading electrical diagrams/schematics) and another day to get the right part. But all is fixed and I (now) had the time to make Sunshine a homemade Valentine’s Day Cake with homemade butter cream frosting. The chocolate inlay is an idea I got from a Hungry Onion poster (last year). I used a cookie cutter to form the chocolate frosting heart. Thank you to the poster that shared that idea!!

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If you have a favorite Victoria Sponge recipe, I’d love to see it! (Yes, I can google, I’m asking if you have a recipe you prefer.)

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You are welcome😁! Yours looks wonderful!

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There’s not much variance in Victoria sandwich recipes because it’s a pound cake, so it really comes down more to good standard technique for pound cake than anything.

British recipes tend to be like this, telling you to weigh everything and do equal parts.

Funny enough the Victoria sponge has seen popularity in Korea, and they’re a bit more precise about the measurements. This is a delicious cake, but not exactly true to the classic recipe as it incorporates buttermilk and uses cream cheese in the filling, which is extra scandalous.
Personally I don’t like whipped cream and other cold fillings in butter cakes, so that’s my one real strong feeling about Victoria sponge along with the usual which is the darn salt, which many seem to think isn’t needed. :joy:

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Got my chance to try out chocolate ermine sooner than I expected - a friend asked me to bring dessert to a dinner gathering tomorrow night. I used the Serious Eats method (cook flour and liquid to a paste, then stir sugar into hot paste so it melts fully. Cool to room temp and whip slowly into pre-whipped room temp butter).

Sadly, it got used to make cake pops since said friend adores them and I wanted something that could be used as a party favor as well. Next time, it will be part of the layer cake it deserves!

Also made the lemon brownies someone here mentioned recently. Always good to have options!

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I’m a little confused; you used Ina’s Raspberry Tart recipe for the tart crust and then used her Strawberry Tart recipe for pastry cream. So you didn’t use raspberry preserves?

Thank you again, for sharing your idea. Sunshine loved the little chocolate inlay.

I plan on doing some variation of this each Valentine’s Day. This year was a bit hectic with the car and everything, so I didn’t get to shop for red sprinkles. Hopefully next year, I’ll do a red heart.

I was thinking about heating up some sugar (like when I make peanut brittle) adding some red food coloring and pouring it into the heart cookie cutter. I don’t know if that will work or not… I’ll try a test batch before next Valentine’s Day.

Thanks, again!!

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I think it would work but maybe add at the last minute so there’s no melting into the frosting.

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Correct. She recommends this as an alternative to using preserves.

That’s the part that’s missing on the FN reprint of the recipe.

Oh

And I was thinking preserves would make it too sweet.

What brand/size is your tart pan? I might treat myself to one.

I was looking at this one, stainless steel:

Fox Run 44531 Rectangular Tart Pan, 14.1 x 4.7 x 1 inch, Silver Stainless Steel with Removable Bottom, Large

Fox Run 44531 Rectangular Tart Pan, 14.1 x 4.7 x 1 inch, Silver Stainless Steel with Removable Bottom, Large

About $10