Posts by Friday Baking Project
Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is a wonderful comfort food dessert, but it is not as straightforward to get right as I initially thought when I started testing recipes. I assumed you just needed to make a custard, pour it over some day-old bread slices with dried fruit in a baking dish, and bake it in a water…
Read MoreChocolate and Caramel Éclairs
Éclairs are among the finest examples of French Pâtisserie. In the classic Chocolate Éclair, a crisp choux pastry shell is filled with a luscious vanilla pastry cream and covered with a bittersweet chocolate glaze. In the Caramel Éclair, a variation picked up from my Patisserie Lanciani days, the pastry cream is flavored with coffee essence,…
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The Friday Baking Project
Chocolate and Caramel Éclairs
PRINT Chocolate and Caramel Éclairs Yield: 12 éclairs Serves: 12 Difficulty: Advanced Ingredients1 recipe Pâte à Choux1 recipe Pastry Cream 1 cup (8 fl oz) heavy cream Ganache Icing½ cup heavy cream4 oz chocolate, 61% to 64%, wafers or chopped 2 tsp light corn syrup Coffee Flavoring:2 tsp powdered instant espresso, or powdered instant coffeeHot…
Read MoreMocha Pecan Torte
In this Mocha Pecan Torte, flavorful pecan flour replaces the almond flour often used in French-style chocolate cakes and tortes. The mocha glaze, crafted with milk chocolate and coffee, beautifully complements the tortes dark chocolate interior, resulting in a unique and delightful taste sensation. The key ingredient is the pecan flour, also known as pecan…
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The Friday Baking Project
Mocha Pecan Torte
PRINT Yield: 1 8†cake Serves: 10 Method: Modified creaming Difficulty: Moderate Ingredients6 oz (170 g) 60% to 64% chocolate, wafers or chopped6 oz (170 g) unsalted butter, cut into six pieces, room temperature 4 large egg yolks, room temperature ½ cup (3.5 oz / 99 g) sugar 1 cup (3.25 oz / 93 g)…
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The Friday Baking Project
Lemon Meringue Cake
PRINT Lemon Meringue Cake Yield: 1 seven-inch cake # of Servings: 12 Difficulty: Advanced Ingredients 1 8-inch Butter Sponge Cake1 recipe Lemon Curd ½ recipe Italian Meringue Special equipment needed: Pre-recipe preparations: Directions
Read MoreLemon Meringue Cake
This Lemon Meringue Cake is an absolutely delicious variation on the pie of the same name. In this cake version, soft butter sponge cake is layered with tangy, rich lemon curd, covered with Italian Meringue then browned with a kitchen torch. A stainless steel cake ring provides structure for the cake as it is being…
Read MoreButter Sponge Cake
PRINT Butter Sponge Cake Yield: One 8-inch cake # of Servings: 12 Difficulty: Moderate Ingredients: 8 tbl (4 oz / 113 g) butter, room temperature1 ¾ cup +2 tsp (3.6 oz / 102 g) pastry flour, sifted1 tbl + 2 tsp (.5 oz / 14 g) potato starch or cornstarch 6 large egg yolks1 ½…
Read MoreButter Sponge Cake
Basic yellow cake is the foundation of a multitude of layer cakes in both the American and European baking traditions. In America, it is the creaming method yellow cake, rich with butter, eggs and milk and baking powder as the leavening agent. In France, it is the Genoise, where whole eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract…
Read MoreLemon Curd
PRINT Lemon Curd Yield: 1 pint # of Servings: 12 Difficulty: Moderate Ingredients ¾ cup (6 fl oz) fresh lemon juice2 ¼ tsp grated lemon rind1 cup (7 oz / 198 g) sugar9 large egg yolks 12 tbl (6 oz / 170 g) butter, cold, cut into cubes Special tools and equipment: Pre-recipe preparations: Directions
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