Posts by Friday Baking Project
Caramel Ice Cream
This is one of the two very special ice cream recipes in my files. It is extremely smooth, with a rich caramel flavor that is outstanding on its own or as a complement to an apple or pear dessert. The key to this ice cream is cooking the caramel, along with a vanilla bean, to…
Read MoreSimple Syrup
Basic Simple Syrup has a multitude of uses, from sauces, to moistening sponge cake layers, to cocktails. PRINT Simple Syrup Yield: 1 ½ cup # of Servings: 12 Ingredients 1 cup (8 fl oz) cold water 1 cup + 1.5 tbl (8 oz / 227 g) sugar Tools and equipment needed: 1 small saucepan Liquid…
Read MoreRaspberry Sauce
This bright tang of raspberry sauce is a perfect accompaniment to many desserts. Easy to make from frozen raspberries. This freezes so well that I usually make double the recipe and freeze the remainder in ½ pint containers, to be pulled out when needed. PRINT Raspberry Sauce Yield: 1 cup # of Servings: 8 Ingredients…
Read MoreVanilla Mousseline Sauce
This delectable sauce is an excellent substitute for crème anglaise or whipped cream. PRINT Vanilla Mousseline Sauce Yield: 3 cups # of Servings: ½ cup Ingredients 1 ¼ cups heavy cream 4 large egg yolks ¼ cup (1 ¾ oz / 50 g) sugar ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped Tools and equipment needed: Countertop…
Read MoreBavarian Walnut Stollen
My interest in pastry baking had just begun in December 1979 when I came across an article in Gourmet Magazine from the previous year on German Christmas baking. Among the many enticing recipes, one stood out – Bavarian Walnut Stollen. Totally different from Dresden Stollen, with its raisins and candied peel, this one was based…
Read MoreIvoire et Chocolat
This wonderful cake came to life as I was working on a chocolate roulade based on the delicious and versatile flourless chocolate souffl© sheet, from Paula Peck’s The Art of Fine Baking. The roulade is not a thing of beauty (it tends to crack) but the flavor contrast of the dark chocolate cake and the…
Read MoreApple Crisp
I was cleaning out my freezer when I came across a Ziploc bag of oatmeal crisp topping, a leftover from a late September Blueberry Crisp. Several summers ago, in search of a good way to use beautiful farmers market blueberries I came across a Williams-Sonoma Blueberry Crisp recipe. It is wonderful in its simplicity. The…
Read MoreSour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins
Among baking book author Maida Heatter’s many contributions to the American dessert repertoire were her recipe for Budapest Coffee Cake. It appeared in her first book in 1974, and by the late 1970’s and early 1980’s it was on the counter, under many different names, in specialty food stores across the country. In Philadelphia, a…
Read MorePlum Torte
For many in the northeast, early fall baking always includes the simple, yet wonderful Plum Torte from Marian Burros of the New York Times. According to the Times, this recipe was reprinted annually from 1983 to 1989, and there was an uproar when they stopped. The base itself is a simple butter cake that rises…
Read MoreWild Blueberry Streusel Pie
This summer my partner and I took a drive to Woodstock Vermont and later that day crossed into New Hampshire to visit her stepsister and her husband. Upon our arrival we were given a tour of the house, and I spied a large bowl of beautiful wild blueberries on the kitchen table, picked from bushes just…
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