Tuesday, February 24, 2009

TWD - Caramel Crunch Bars

I had such high hopes for these bars. I mean come on, Caramel Crunch Bars: toffee, chocolate and a sablé crust all rolled into one cookie. How can it not be good? Well, apparently, I must have done something wrong because I thought these were... meh. The toffee was great because I made David Lebovitz' Buttercrunch Toffee minus the chocolate. So good! But the cookie part of these turned out greasy. I must have overmixed the dough or worked it too much while trying to "cajole" it into the pan. And the chocolate I sprinkled on top? It wouldn't melt! It just would not melt. I spread it as best I could, pressed the toffee bits on top and hoped for the best. The key word here is "hoped". The best? That didn't happen.

They don't taste bad, per se, they're just not what I had expected. But, as I said, it's probably me. I have the attention span of a coconut these days. That, combined with the fact that I waited until Monday to make the bars, well, let's just say that success was not written in the stars. Don't let my failure deter you though, please check out Whitney's blog, What's left on the table? for the recipe. And now I'm off to sulk in my corner see if the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie gang fared better with this recipe than I did.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

TWD - Devil's Food White-Out Cake

Have you ever seen such a fluffy-looking cake? I didn't think so. Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater chose THE recipe this week. Yes, Devil's Food White-Out Cake, the cover cake from Baking from my Home to Yours. It is a wonder that cake had not been chosen before and I think she made a lot of people happy with her choice.

She made a lot of people happy at my house, anyways! The cake, although a bit fussy to make, is worth all the effort. I did save myself a little work by baking it in a large cookie sheet and cutting it into rectangles instead of making a round cake. For the crumbs, I used the crusts, which I cut off the cake.

The frosting is a meringue-like, fluffy, sweet and oh, so delicious treat. I had made it before but in different proportions of egg whites/cream of tartar/sugar syrup. So I decided to use Dorie's recipe but instead of the sugar syrup, I used 1 cup of maple syrup. Oh. Yes. I. Did. The maple flavor is very subtle and complements the chocolate instead of competing with it. And that 3/4 tsp of cream of tartar really helps stabilize the meringue. I topped the cake with maple sugar flakes for a little more maple taste.

This will be my go-to meringue frosting recipe from now on. It's really easy and it stays fluffy longer than the one I used before. As for the cake, it is very good, but quite fussy to make. I might stick with my usual chocolate cake recipe and try it with this fluffy maple frosting. Check out Stephanie's blog for the cake recipe and the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers for chocolate cake overload!


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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

TWD - Floating Islands

I had never tasted Floating Islands before this week and if a friend of mine hadn't told me once that it was her husband's favorite dessert, I would have never heard of them either. This week, Shari of Whisk: a food blog, gave me, and all the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers, the opportunity to try something new.

The dessert, consisting of poached meringues served on crème anglaise, is fairly easy to make, about one hour start to finish, if you don't count the time you spend doing the dishes afterward. You can make each component ahead of time, (actually you have to, since they have to chill) and serve the islands when you like. I mixed in a little melted chocolate with some of the crème anglaise and drizzled it onto the meringues. You know who loved this dessert? My 5 year old son. His exact words were: Mom, you've got to make some more of these! So, since they were a hit with the kids, I might make them again, as per a special request. But I didn't find that this was a spectacular dessert. The crème anglaise was good and I had no problems getting it to thicken up, but since I already have a recipe that I like, which uses whole eggs, I'll keep using my tried and true. I have to say though that the meringue islands were very fluffy and refreshing. This was really different from the desserts I usually make.

For a few hundred Island variations, please check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll. And for the Floating Islands recipe, visit Shari's blog, her posts are always sure to impress!

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Nutella Hot Chocolate

It seems today is World Nutella Day and as I didn't want to be left out of the fun, I decided to concoct a little something using the famous hazelnut spread. Our favorite way to enjoy Nutella is usually to spread it on some hot crèpes, roll them up and eat way too many! But since I didn't have time to make crèpes today, I thought I could make a Nutella Hot Chocolate.

It worked very well. The Nutella is sweet enough that this doesn't need any extra sugar and a half teaspoon or so of instant espresso powder doesn't hurt either. Perfect for a cold afternoon, knitting, reading or... doing laundry... Whatever fun things come your way! :)

Nutella Hot Chocolate
1 cup milk
1 tbsp Nutella
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, whisk all three ingredients together until well combined, warm and frothy. If it's too sweet, add a little more milk. Serve in your favorite mug. Enjoy!


Thanks to Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso for the chance to participate!

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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

TWD - Korova/World Peace Cookies

What could I say about these bring-Peace-to-the-World-while-satisfying-a-chocolate-craving cookie that hasn't been said before? They are chocolatey, buttery, crumbly, sophisticated yet approachable, possibly the easiest sablé recipe there is out there and dare I say, the best chocolate cookies I've ever had.

I just love the subtly sweet and salty taste of these. I've made them probably a dozen times, using different chocolates and they always turn out perfectly. I've even used the dough in Ina's Espresso Ice Cream recipe instead of the chocolate covered espresso beans that she calls for. That was a few summers ago. Now I'm craving World Peace Espresso Ice Cream for breakfast. Oh, what Tuesdays with Dorie do to me!

Visit Jessica's blog, Cookbookhabit, for the recipe. She's the one responsible for a few hundred bakers posting about World Peace Cookies on the same day. One small step towards a happier World.

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