By Jeanne, on December 20th, 2011
On these chilly winter mornings, it’s essential to fire up the oven and create something warm and comforting. Something with a hint of holiday spice and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Brew a cup of tea and wait for the sun to rise over the trees, finally slanting into the window later and later each day. During the dark days of December, my one small kitchen window receives only a precious hour or so of sunlight. This little window looks out on the white brick wall of our neighbor’s garage, which is about four feet away. My window faces east, but receives no direct sunlight due to the proximity of this garage. Instead, the early afternoon sunlight bounces off the white wall and into my kitchen. It’s the ultimate reflector for photography, and I am rewarded with great natural light if I time my baking just right.
Continue reading “Sourdough Gingerbread With Spiced Whipped Cream” »
By Jeanne, on December 9th, 2011
Take a long look at this picture. Allow your eyes to drift in and out of focus. Let the thoughts and stresses of the day drain from your mind. Introduce your brain to this whoopie pie and let the words flow through like a river. Cookie…cake…pie…filling…peanut butter…chocolate…ganache…sandwich. Acknowledge each word as it appears on your mind’s screen, briefly consider how it might describe this confection, then let it go. Take a minute to relax and just breathe. When you’re ready, remove yourself from your sweet reverie. I invite you to share your whoopie pie epiphanies in the comments below.
Continue reading “Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies: A Pictorial Meditation” »
By Jeanne, on November 10th, 2011
The sun may have come out for an hour or two today. But mostly the blue-tinted sky had an ominous look about it. There’s another storm brewing. Last Friday, we had a glorious thunder and lightning storm that filled up our rain barrel in no time flat. The mountains still show patches of white snow among the evergreens, a sure sign that it’s been a chilly week. Just perfect for curling up on the couch with a cat at my side and a mug of tea and an orange oat scone on the coffee table in front of me.
Continue reading “Orange Oat Scones” »
By Jeanne, on July 27th, 2011
Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.
Fluffy lemon chiffon cake, ice cold whipped cream, and just-picked organic strawberries. What more could you want from a summer dessert? Though it may appear daunting, all of the components can be broken down into manageable segments that can be spread over a few days. You won’t have to be in the kitchen all day to create such a masterpiece. And believe me, the taste is just as impressive as the presentation. The cake has a pleasant lemon flavor, while the pastry cream filling manages to bring out the fresh flavor of summer strawberries without overpowering them with artificial sweetness.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Strawberry Fraisier” »
By Jeanne, on May 27th, 2011
The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.
I love a good baking challenge, but my favorites are the challenges that lend themselves to creative shapes. For these challenges, my mind is able to wander through mathematical equations, searching for an appropriate symbol or pattern to re-create in edible form. This month it’s one of my favorites: Pi.
As excited as I was to mold the marquise into a shape of mathematical significance, when the dishes had piled up and the dessert was finally plated, I discovered an irrationally fabulous combination of flavors.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Marquise On Meringue” »
By Jeanne, on March 14th, 2011
For us bakers, it’s never difficult to figure out how to celebrate Pi Day! The most important component of any halfway decent Pi Day celebration is pie. Pie is the obvious choice, not only because it shares a name with the popular number, but because of its traditional circular shape. There are infinite (like pi!) ways to create a pi-themed pie. I’ve decided to forgo any circular pie references in favor of creating a custom shaped pi filled with tangy sweet blood orange curd.
Continue reading “Blood Orange Curd Pi” »
By Jeanne, on February 27th, 2011
The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.
I have good news and bad news. Shall we start with the good news? These florentine cookies manage to achieve both chewy and crunchy cookie status in the same bite. And as an added bonus, the dough is basically a big sweet bowl of oatmeal with tons of butter in it. Definitely good news.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies” »
By Jeanne, on January 27th, 2011
The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.
The purpose of this challenge was to create a beautifully molded dessert with a pattern baked into the side – which it is, in this picture. So, technically, I completed the challenge. However, upon cutting the cake it all fell apart – literally.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet” »
By Jeanne, on October 17th, 2010
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987…
Have you deciphered the pattern? Each term is the sum of the previous two terms, creating the Fibonacci sequence. I find the graphical representation of this sequence beautiful and intriguing. Using squares whose sides correspond to the numbers in the sequence, each consecutive square is placed in an outwardly spiraling manner. There is something satisfying about the way that each square nestles against the previous squares, and the pattern seems to contribute equally to the fields of mathematics and art. Since baking is a bit of both, I used this pattern as the inspiration for my berry dessert pizza.
Continue reading “Fi-berry-nacci Pizza” »
By Jeanne, on August 27th, 2010
The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.
I’ve built two houses this month. The first one (shown above) is make of butter, sugar, and flour. The second one is made of clay, sand, straw, and water (cob). They’re both a bit rustic, but full of flavor and character. Each house was built using a series of layers that form a strong bond when tied together.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Ice Cream Petit Fours” »
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