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What are you baking these days? September 2011, part 1 [old]

Hello everybody, so the summer is slipping by and fall is tuning up, with all of its lovely apples and other cool-weather delights.
Even though the summer was SO (dang) HOT in my and many other parts of the US and my native land, Canada, these threads were remarkably active with tons of great ideas and recipes.
So...with cool fall breezes and occasions in mind, what are you baking these days?

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  1. I'm going to take another stab at the Pierre Hermé chestnut pie this weekend, with a tweaked recipe and chestnuts I have caramelized. And using a slightly larger pan. I may even use Devon cream instead of whipping cream as the texture of the whipping cream compared to the rest of the ingredients just didn't seem right. The leftover Devon cream could be used on scones - have you made my recipe for almond scones yet? Remember, they have to be round.

    9 Replies
    1. re: souschef

      No I haven't - could you please link the recipe again? Your biscotti are terrific.

      1. re: buttertart

        I'm glad that you who does not like biscotti think that mine are terrific.

        Here's the permalink to the scones recipe. If you want to enjoy them as I do, please make them into rounds; don't take the lazy route and make them into wedges with concrete points.


        1. re: souschef

          Mercy buckets as we used to say, mon chef. Well noted.

      2. re: souschef

        Took a look at my freezer, stuffed so full of frozen fruit I could barely close it, and realised it was time to start baking with it.. so I made a rhubarb struesel cake from Lauren Chattman's "Cake Keepers Cakes", which was quick and very tasty. For rhubarb cakes I still prefer the NYT Big Crumb Cake, but I was out of cake flour, and wanted to try something new.
        Very tasty, and my co-workers seem to like it!

        1. re: souschef

          I made the chestnut pie again. This time I followed the recommendation of the infallible Buttertart and used a 10-inch pan; the height of the pie was perfect.

          As much as pressing the dough into the pan is easy, I'm not too crazy about doing it as I get an uneven crust. Very nice crust though.

          I baked the pie for 30 minutes instead of 20 minutes before filling it. This time the crust was very brown, as I like it.

          The last time I found that it was not sweet enough, so this time I switched the amounts of the chestnut puree and paste. I also made sure that the chestnuts were caramelized; they were not rubbery this time. The sweetness is just right. This is one that the resident pie expert, Roxlet, should make.

          I used Devon cream, and added 2 tbsp of rum, just because run goes well with chestnuts.

          The pie is very tasty, but I have come to the conclusion that I'm not a pie person; I'm very definitely a cake person. My wife is shying away from sweet stuff, so I'm faced with a 10-inch pie and a single non-pie face to feed. Gotta find me some victims to feed, heh heh heh !

          1. re: souschef

            I tried a piece of pie again last night, and decided that despite my love of chestnuts, I don't like it after all. Maybe it's a texture thing - not cakey and too much like pumpkin pie (I can just hear Buttertart saying, "Quelle horreur!". Sorry Buttertart.

            I will be tossing out the leftovers. BTW it's a very expensive pie to make.

            1. re: souschef

              That's a shame. We loved it and as far as we're concerned it's nothing whatsoever like pumpkin pie (shudder). We're more pro-pie here than you are, souschef.

              1. re: buttertart

                I can just imagine you shudder. I must say, though, that the crust is really nice. It would be great to work some marzipan into it - easy, as I make it in a food processor. I just realized that the summer has almost gone by and I haven't yet made a fruit tart. I should rectify that, using this crust.

                1. re: souschef

                  That's be terrific, but I remember it being one of the best crusts ever just as it was.

        2. Still planning to bake the 2 cakes and the mochi.

          1. I'm making a double recipe of Kattyeyes' mounds brownies today and maybe some bread if there's time during/after that.

            2 Replies
            1. re: Chocolatechipkt

              These are a big hit, thanks Kattyeyes! I added almonds in the middle, so they're kind of like a mounds and almond joy collided. Yum.

              1. re: Chocolatechipkt

                Just saw this--I'm thrilled to hear/read! Definitely almond JOY! :)

            2. It's spring in NZ and I feel like making a decadent chocolate cake... I haven't selected a recipe yet... still on the lookout for a fudgy-brownie like cake. I think I should go with a flourless cake since I like my cakes/brownies to be rich/decadent. I made Hershey's Black Magic Cake the other day and wasn't really impressed with the taste... it was moist but I thought it lacked the oomph. Not sure what it is... probably butter. :)

              1 Reply
              1. re: jalapenocheese

                I have had the baking bug myself, in the last three weeks I have made a carrot cake, old fashioned blueberry muffins, and 2 triple chocolate cakes; I am so going to gain a few pounds this year.

                My chocolate cake is so dense it really doesn't need any icing, but I had to go all the way and drizzle some chocolate glaze over the dark beauty!

              2. I'm attempting to make 2 individual serving brownies for dessert tonight. I only made a third of the regular recipe, since I only had one egg, and see no reason why it shouldn't work, but the batter seems extremely stiff.

                I'm tired, so I probably forgot to adjust the measurement of something or other.

                Ah well. I'm sure they'll still be edible, especially with freshly picked strawberries sliced over the top.

                8 Replies
                1. re: BananaBirkLarsen

                  I find scaling down recipes with eggs in them very stressful... I am never quite sure how to cut one egg or 3 eggs in half!

                    1. re: souschef

                      Sigh.. just not that technically proficient. ;)

                      1. re: rstuart

                        rstuart -- a "large" egg is about 3 1/4 tablespoons of liquid if you beat it --

                        * 1 tablespoon AND 2 teaspoons* of beaten egg will get you very close to 1/2 egg.

                        1. re: blue room

                          That's good to know. I have actually just beaten an egg and eyeballed "half" in the past.. but 1 TB and 2 ts is much more accurate!

                    2. re: rstuart

                      I didn't think I'd have a problem with this recipe, since it called for three eggs and I was making a third of the recipe. Nevertheless, the batter turned out stiff. I think I must have messed up the math somewhere along the line and put in twice as much flour or some such nonsense.

                      Surprisingly, they turned out fine in the end. A bit greasy, actually (perhaps I messed up the butter measurement as well?), but very dense and chewy. The lesson here is that I shouldn't mess with recipes when I'm really tired.

                      1. re: BananaBirkLarsen

                        I've always found that even "bad" brownies get eaten!

                        1. re: rstuart

                          The fact that there is no brownie left proves your point.