Circling back on this. Sadly, I would put the loaf down to a failure. The texture was much denser than the tester, as I was afraid it might be from the sinking.
My friend’s family were all very kind about it as I was trying to figure out what went wrong. Her mom (who is an experienced baker) guessed it was over baked, which I tend to agree with, even though I baked it 5 mins less than the shorter end of the range given for a loaf.
Very disappointing. I might try again, but I’ll use orange next time as none of us loved the aftertaste of grapefruit either.
Both times I baked that cake, I used a small Bundt and the texture was fine…but…I thought the cake was painfully sweet. I only used a dab of glaze , it was the cake itself . IIRC, herby made it first and enjoyed it, then I made a lemon lime version. My review was positive as I thought it was a matter of personal taste regarding the sweetness level. The second go around was pink grapefruit and I can’t say that I felt any differently. Having said all that, I think I was in the minority as most seemed to enjoy it! À chacon ses goûts!
ETA…I shaved the chocolate from a bar and added it in three layers in the pan…
I wanted some bread to go with dinner tonight. So, I made up two loaves this afternoon – that should hold us for a couple of days. One with “Everything But the Bagel” seasoning and the other with white sesame seeds.
My first time making this yogurt-based, basic muffin recipe - I made a half-batch (one disappeared) to use up some extra blackberries which were rolling around in the fridge. The muffins came out of the oven nicely domed, but collapsed. Sorta cute, in a Flintstone’s kinda way.
I topped them with raw sugar, which gave a crunchy-chewy crust to them. The crumb was tender, and they are not overly sweet. I liked them enough I’ll try it again, probably using WW flour and possibly a tad more than called for. If I were ever to make a full batch, I’d try swapping out some of the oil for applesauce for some fall flavor, and maybe boiled cider in lieu of vanilla.
I guess this is baking. An apple cinnamon dutch baby for brunch. This used up some granny smith apple languishing in my fridge. The recipe is from Modern Comfort Food by Ina Garten.
This is a potato and buttermilk shokupan and I was wondering when putting it in the oven if I was giving it enough clearance, as the top rack was on the second level. I figured it should be enough because it was plenty of room. Ha, I went to check on it and moved the rack to the top.
Blackberry/raspberry tart, blind baked pâte sablée brushed with a little blackberry jam.
Served with crème anglaise and raspberry/blackberry gelato. A little pour of crème de cassis and crème de framboise added an extra berry element.
Peach shortbread from smitten kitchen. I made half a recipe in an 8 x 8 pan, but I kept the amount of salt & peaches the same. Baked for 35 minutes with Maldon sea salt sprinkled on top.
Yeah, I think I was questioning my own reaction to the flavor vs all the other reviews.
I’ve bought lemons and an orange, toying with the idea of trying it again vs going back to the recipe that always works for me. But there are also two cakes in the COTM that are very appealing – lemon elderflower, which is one of my favorite drink combinations, and marzipan, which is on my mind after the pignoli cookies – so maybe the redo will have to wait!
Curious what you think about trying the marzipan cake without marzipan or almond paste… I was toying with the idea of making my own paste using almond flour and sugar, though am debating whether that’s even necessary given almond flour cakes have that rich, moist texture too.
Is the marzipan cake from a European source? I’ve noticed that they frequently use marzipan interchangeable with almond paste. The distinction is not quite the same as here.
Yep, whenever I see European and also Asian recipes that call for marzipan it’s what in the USA is almond paste.
If you have almond flour you can definitely make your own paste. I make mine with almonds that I grind in the food processor then the coffee grinder and it works perfectly.
Cakes made with almond paste are different in texture and flavor than ones made with almond flour. They’re both good, but different. I’ve made a lot of almond paste cakes and my favorite is still Karen DeMasco’s. I like it more than Flo Braker’s easily and more than some others. I do prefer less almond paste to flour than others do, as I like the lighter crumb when the ratio is lower.
I was just googling around and someone made the cake with 130g almond flour and 70g confectionery sugar, a few drops rose water. Processed and used 150g for the recipe. I would be inclined to do that as the almond is in high ratio to the sugar. I notice Nigella says either almond paste or marzipan. Usually, as I’m sure you know, marzipan is a lot sweeter. I just ordered the book from thrift…I have a soft spot for Nigella!
. So many other cakes to bake! Both of the other cakes you are interested in are certainly worth a go!