New year. What’s in your oven?
Me: Please stop asking me to make layer cakes. I only make them occasionally when I want to try out something and I prefer to make simpler cakes or also entremets. I want to make tarts, cookies, and everything else!
Everyone here: So can you make me a layer cake?
In this case some cake decorated with palette knife leaves which I’ve never done because I like baking, not decorating, and rarely does the mood strike to attempt intricate cake decorating. But they knew I’m not a decorator and I don’t even have the tools necessary to do a lot of cake decorating, including palette knives, so they said my interpretation would be fine. And this is it. I’m just glad it’s over. Don’t mind the mess on the table. 
When people here try cheesecakes and tarts I make they exclaim how much better they are than cake. Still all they know is cake, so it’s hard to get them to not be so single-minded.
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It’s pretty and original looking. I like it.
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Thank you!
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Looks perfect to me.
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This month, I am going to keep it simple(r).
Bread, as usual. Rye, Wheat Boule, and Pullman.
And I am going to try some shortbread variations to see which one is my favorite.
If I have time and inclination, I may surprise the neighborhood with some Cinnamon Rolls or Coffee Cake as I am interested to try the Vanilla Bean Blog rolls and the highly-hyped King Arthur Cake of the year.
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I know, right??? What is the big deal? Must try and find out.
Looking at their previous ROTY, it does seem like they aim rather low. Or broad. However you want to put it.
I decided to try the one bowl, no mixer recipe for pound cake from Smitten Kitchen Keepers that is posted on alexandracooks.com blog:
https://alexandracooks.com/2022/12/04/better-than-classic-pound-cake-one-bowl-hand-mixed/
I baked in the little 6 at a time pans. Somehow, I am not inclined to repeat. What pound cake recipe do you experts love? I was thinking of trying Paul Hollywood’s Lemon Drizzle Cake. Also, I’m due to buy new baking powder, don’t want to order from KAF just for that … what brand should I buy? The last one I bought was 365 from WF.
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I buy Rumford, as I prefer aluminum-free BP. You can get it most places, certainly WF.
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I just buy whatever baking powder I can find here and there’s pretty much never any info on the label other than “baking powder”, so I don’t think it makes much difference. One month I’ll use one brand, then when I run out a different one because there’s no guarantee the same ones will be in stock.
In the USA I bought Rumford for years, but used Davis, Clabber Girl, and other powders with aluminum in restaurants. No taste or performance difference. Stella Parks seems to think the same, fwiw:
I prefer the Bob’s Red Mill Baking Powder, also, aluminum-free.
For pound cake, I love the Fannie Farmer version. You can even just add the rind and glaze to that one for a lemon drizzle…
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I also buy aluminum free. Why would i want todigest aluminum. But i do understand that sometimes its unavailable.
I made a slight riff on the Buttery Brown Sugar Peat and Cranberry Cake from Snacking Cakes. I subbed a half cup (by volume) of natural almond flour for the equivalent amount of AP flour (and weighed everything else), and put almonds on top instead of hazelnuts. Otherwise I pretty much stuck to the recipe, but used only 80g of brown sugar. It didn’t rise tall, but had a very nice crumb, and the brown butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla pair wonderfully with the pears and cranberries.
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I made crème brûlèe from What’s for Dessert. Crème uses demerara sugar which gives it a toasty look for the brûlee you repeat it twice which gives you a nice thick surface to bre
ak thru. Its very nice and creamy.
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Chocolate cream pie. Refreshingly unsweet. Filling from smitten kitchen, leftover pâté brise and whipped cream with marshmallow fluff ala Jesse sheehan. I like the texture and stability.
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“extremely special”
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Had cheddar, jalapeños, scallions, kefir cream, and kefir hanging out in the fridge, so I made some cornbread.
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Gorgeous! I want this!
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