just saw that you included the recipe link in the original post. Of course you did. It’s Shellybean, the baking queen! Thank you.
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Looks impressive to me despite your caveats! Also, that slicer looks impressive. What is it?
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J. A. Henkles International, Forged Synergy Stainless Steel, 16006-200 (8")
It’s my partner’s. She’s had it for about a zillion years.
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Alice Medrich’s low fat chocolate pound cake to use up some whites. I made half a recipe and reduced the sugar down to 250 grams. I would still reduce it a further 50 grams. I doubled the salt. The cake is really good other than the sugar could still be brought down.
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Looking for a gluten-free cookie to mail a friend (with celiac) for her birthday… something small batch. This appeared in my IG feed: https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/04/almond-horn-cookies/ . Do you think that I am deluding myself in thinking that these would mail well?
rstuart - if you’re confident she likes marzipan/almond paste, go for it. Mailing success is all about the packaging. For these, I’d cradle each cookie in parchment or waxed paper, place the set in a ziplock so they can’t move around, then cushion that in a box with crumpled parchment or waxed paper. Put that box in a sturdy mailing box.
If chocolate is her go-to, look at this Chocolate Espresso Snowball recipe posted here on HO by “Wonderwoman”
This GF Almond Nutella cookie is soft and brownie-like. From CH poster “Nothingswrong”
ALMOND BROWNIE COOKIES
Makes about 2 dozen
-1 cup (very fine) almond flour
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
-1/3 cup cocoa powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/4 cup Nutella
-2 large egg whites
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-sliced toasted almonds for garnish (optional)
Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and add Nutella, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir dough until thoroughly mixed.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving a few inches between (they will spread). Press almonds into centers if desired.
Bake @ 325 for 10-15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let sit on sheets for 5-10 minutes to set fully (they will be very soft when you remove them–be careful). Let cool completely on wire racks.
They will stay soft and chewy for a couple days at room temp, or you can stick them in the freezer to enjoy any time
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Thank you!!!
is there any way you could translate the proportions for the glaze?
thank you!
It’s 200 g chocolate (minimum 70%)
120 g sugar
120 ml water
It’s all in the description box when you click “more”
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This looks so good! Thanks for the tips.
For anyone interested, I found a link:
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Shellybean - have you experimented with natural cocoa vs the Dutch Processed listed in the recipe? The text version MuchkinRedux cited has 3 exclamation marks after do not substitute, but the King Arthur baking site seems to say that for a recipe like this (which already has both baking soda and baking powder) the only impact will be visually more-pale cake
I haven’t since I only have natural cocoa once in a while and only have Dutch process atm, and Medrich does specify Dutch process for the recipes in this book. I would think it would be fine since both baking powder and soda are used in the recipe and pound cake in general often doesn’t even include leavening.
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In the oven now - Orange Yogurt Scones, which I used to make all the time. My old notes say “best with orange yogurt, rather than other fruit yogurts.”
Freezer clear-out of some sugar combined with orange zest that’s been in there a couple of years. And fridge clear out of some plain yogurt to which I added a heaping T. of orange marmalade.
Photo and taste-test coming soon…
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very grateful for the ingredients and bonus tutorial.
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I had sugar w/zest for a 1.5 x recipe, so cut my square-round into 14 pieces. Great flavor – we each tasted two pieces, just to confirm. I’ve left myself a note that using plain yogurt plus orange marmalade works just fine. These rise in the oven to double their original height, and are nicely moist. I’ve kept out 4 for breakfast tomorrow (or bedtime snack tonight), frozen the rest.
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Thank you for letting us know that Medrich specifies Dutch process cocoa powder in this book.
In her earlier book, Cocolat, she states that she prefers natural cocoa. I always have Dutch process cocoa on hand, but I never have natural.
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Oh yeah, I was surprised because in her ingredient notes in the back she specifically says she likes Dutch process cocoa for its flavor (as well as richness and color) in the recipes and like you I had known of her preference for natural cocoa. It’s possible that because this is a low fat book the Dutch process cocoa’s less acidic flavor worked better when she was developing the recipes.
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The book preceded her association with Scharffen Berger Chocolate Co. Then there was a shift to natural cocoa, I’m under the impression that the association is no longer in effect.
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But Cocolat, in which she apparently states a preference for natural cocoa (as she does in some later books) was her first book, predating Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts. My money’s on Shelleybean’s supposition that it’s tied to the lower-fat recipes.
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Medrich’s book, Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts, predates Chocolate and the Art of Low Dat Desserts.
In Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts she expresses her preference for natural cocoa powder.
