TWD/BWD: Curd, Cream, and Berry Cake

 

 

Who doesn't love blueberries and lemon?  For the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group, I made the Curd, Cream, using fresh blueberries as my berry of choice.

The cake is a delightful, tender cake, especially when soaked with an orange/lemon syrup.  The layers are filled with a mixture of mascarpone, whipped cream, and whipped egg whites, then topped with the blueberries and homemade lemon curd.  As you can see, I was very liberal with the lemon curd, one of my favorite treats..

I chose to make half a recipe (a 6" cake is exactly half of a 9").  It was the perfect size for me, and lasted for several days - with great willpower! 

The recipe for this cake can be found in Baking with Dorie by Dorie Greenspan.

BBB: Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Buns

 

This month, our Kitchen of the Month is Aparna, of My Diverse Kitchen.  Aparna asked us to bake a very interesting bread:  Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Buns, a popular street food that is both sweet and savory.  It is a delicious bun filled with cream cheese and dipped into a garlic butter sauce.  Who knew that a sweet garlic-flavored filling would taste so good? 

 

This was a straight-forward recipe to make, with good results.  I passed on the panko crumb topping, but that would add an extra crunch.  I also didn't refrigerate the leftover buns (bad me), but I'm still here so I wasn't poisoned.  Next time I would refrigerate and reheat them as needed.

 

For the recipe, head over to Aparna's blog.  If you feel like joining in, send your link and photo to Aparna by the end of May.  Also, take a look at what the other Babe's did.

 

 

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna  (Kitchen of the Month)
• Bread Experience  - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna  
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle

 

TWD/BWD: Mocha-Walnut Torte plus

 

Two great selections from Baking with Dorie this month.

Today's post features a Mocha Walnut Torte, a flourless, chewy, nutty cake with chunks of walnuts and dark chocolate and a hint of coffee.  It lasts for several days, and can be baked ahead of time.

As an add-on this time, I'm also including the Cinnamon-Raisin bread from earlier this month.  It's a high-rising, delicious bread that I would definitely make again.  I used golden raisins as they are my preference in breads.

Once again, Dorie has offered two more great recipes!  Check out the Tuesdays with Dorie group to see what other bakers thought.

Mixed Grain Seeded Ciabatta

 

 

The Kitchen of the Month for April was Cathy, of Bread Experience.  Cathy asked us to make Mixed Grain Seeded Ciabatta, which turned out to be a straight-forward, delicious bread.  

I used a combination of all-purpose flour and spelt for the basic dough, then added in pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  I had plenty of fresh seeds on hand, since several of my baking projects this year have included them.  Must be the Year of the Seeds!

The loaves turned out fine, but I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of an open structure, one that I associate with ciabatta.  It's been abnormally chilly here, so maybe a lack of heat contributed.  Aside from that, the bread is very tasty and makes excellent toast, even with small slices.

 

Go to Cathy's website for the recipe, and check out the lovely ciabatta that the other Babes baked.

 

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna 
• Bread Experience  - Cathy (Kitchen of the Month)           
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna  
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle

 

TWD/BWD: Lick-the-Pot Chocolate Pudding Pie

 

Who doesn't love homemade pudding, especially chocolate pudding?  For this challenge, the TWD group made the Lick-the-Pot Chocolate Pudding Pie.  I chose to skip the crust, and put the pudding into individual little pots, topped with a whipped cream cheese/heavy cream concoction, which was delicious.  I also made the pudding using a technique I learned years ago, where all the ingredients are combined and then cooked, thus eliminating the egg-tempering step.  No discernible difference in the end results, so why not?

Go to the Tuesdays with Dorie website to see which baked treat the bakers posted today.

BBB: Horiatiko Psomi/Greek Village Bread

 

The Kitchen of the Month for March was Elle, of Feeding MyEnthusiasms.  Elle chose Horiatiko Psomi, or, Greek Village Bread.   My first thought was – Yay!  A bread I can’t screw up!  No special ingredients, minimal kneading, Dutch oven baking.  Ah, but that last item did cause an issue.  Why don’t recipes tell you the size of the Dutch oven?  There are a range of sizes, and mine happens to be a 4-quart.  Many of these recipes require a larger pot.

 

So, I ended up making this bread twice.  First time, I followed the recipe.  The dough was barely contained by my banneton, which did not bode well for my Dutch oven.  It barely fit.

 

For the second bake, I halved the recipe, and experienced no volume issues with either the banneton or the Dutch oven.  In fact, it came out perfectly, and had a much nicer crumb.  Having an analytical mind, I intend to study the ingredient list and make notes for amounts for future bakes based on my Dutch oven size, so I don’t have similar issues.

 

This is a straightforward, lovely bread, which I definitely plan to bake many more times.

For the recipe and instructions, go to Elle's website.

Check out the other Bread Baking Babes:

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
• A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
• My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna 
• Bread Experience  - Cathy           
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna  
• Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle (Kitchen of the Month)

 

 

TWD/BWD: Swedish Fika Cake

 

 

For the second February challenge, I made the Swedish Fika Cake.  I love the Swedish Visiting Cake, so I was looking forward to giving this one a try.  It turned out to be a moist, tender cake with a fine crumb, and the almond topping reminded me of pralines.  Using my serrated bread knife made slicing pieces a breeze, and the cake, itself, held up over several days.

 

I did end up baking it about 10 minutes longer than specified, but that was the only change.

 Definitely a keeper!

Great choices for this month's baking over at Tuesdays with Dorie.