Wed, 25th January, 2012

Yesterday I juggled baking day with another event I've been wanting to do for a little while - TACO PICNIC!  I love tacos, I love parks, I love extended twighlights (thanks, daylight-saving) and I love people.  So baking day ended up played second fiddle to taco preparations.

In a last minute change of plan, I decided to shelve macaroons until next week (too fiddley) and make lamingtons instead.  Very Australia Day-esque.  And I must admit that lamingtons have climbed a good few rungs on my favourites ladder.  So easy (especially when you use a packet mix for the sponge) and TONS OF FUN!!  Who wouldn't like dipping chunks of cake into a bowl of liquid chocolate and then tossing it around in sprinkles of coconut-delight?!   

Just in case you're not convinced, take a closer look...

 Mmmmmmmm........

A quick note about packet mix:  For quite a while, I wanted to make everything from scratch.  I still really enjoy the challenge.  But one factor gets in my way sometimes: room temperature butter.  I never remember to leave butter out to soften, and often microwave it for a little too long so it starts melting and doesn't cream properly.  Grrrr.

And packet mixes are by no means fool-proof!  I managed to overbake these sponge cakes until they were well and truly DENSE...and after I had let one cool down I flipped it to discover a massive black hole of gooeyness underneath.  Double Grrr.

 

But I'm happy with the result.  And I baked and photographed, so I'm going to go make myself a cup of tea to celebrate four weeks in a row.  Everybody join with me in a group shout of "Huzzah!!!"

Tues, 17th January, 2012

I know, I know, Tuesday???  But I have a rehearsal all day tomorrow so Baking Day happily arrived early this week.

One area I think need to improve in all this: PREPARATION.  I once again found myself, the night before, scrambling to find a recipe that I already have enough ingredients for, and that I will be able to cram into an afternoon (ie. no time for any of that "...and let it chill for up for 4 hours..." business).

The lucky winner (okay, the only option left in Tartine that met these requirements) was:

                                                  Banana-Date Tea Cake

I had an automatic advantage with this recipe - it didn't have a photograph.  So I wasn't concerned with any unrealistic expectations of how well-manicured this cake should 'apparently' turn out.  Lucky, too, because I put it too high in the oven and came mighty close to singeing the top while the middle was still embracing wobblehood.

But apart from that minor setback, it all ended well.  Only the decision of how to photograph it remained...I thought perhaps it suited a picnic setting, so what better reason to actually go have a picnic!  My homies and I strolled down to the local park around 8pm (who loves daylight saving? I do!!) and ate way too many slices.  Yums.

Wed, 11th January, 2012

Week two of Wednesday baking day advenures.  I decided to stick with Tartine, this time trying Lemon Bars on Brown Butter Shortbread.  I LOVE thick lemon slice.  Soooo much.

What I'm realising though, is that Tartine is no 3-times-tested Women's Weekly cookbook. Just like last week's Clafoutis, reality does not necessarily mirror recipe.  Here's what I faced this morning:


1: Base mixture does not resemble soft dough as described - more like a loose mix of fine gravel that won't stick together.  No worries, add a little more butter.

2. Added too much butter. 

3. Pan too small for large amount of dough.  No worries, use excess in a small single tart case.

4. Completely burn the batter in the single tart case. 

5. Realise that the main baking tray is too shallow to hold any of the filling.  No worries, chop off edges to fit into deep pyrex dish (the edges were kind of burnt anyway...)

6. Pour filling over the base, and watch it ooze through a gap in the baking paper to form a thin layer UNDER the shortbread. Winner.


And the final result? Well...

Not exactly what I had hoped.  Plus the big crack down the middle is from where I thought I could transfer it to the cooling rack without supporting it from underneath.  Genius.

But from here on in things only got better.  Once I cut the edges off - Glory!! Oozy Lemony goodness!! 

Add some icing sugar and voila, amazing! And they taste REALLY GOOD!  This recipe is a keeper.

                         (Heehee! See the layer of lemon under the base?)

Wed, 4th January, 2012

My first official baking day.

I hadn't planned what I would bake, so I needed to find a recipe I could make quickly and with ingredients on hand.  I decided on a peach clafoutis from "Tartine", one of my favourite recipe book from the San Fransisco bakery of the same name.

A clafoutis is a french baked custard.  I LOVE custard, and with a vanilla bean and new super-sharp knife in hand, I was confidently optimistic.  And all was going well!   It was exactly the consistency described when I took it out to add a layer of sugar to caramelise (barely set).  All I had to do was sit back (actually, drink tea and learn how to set up this blog) and wait for the magic to happen.

No magic.  The sugar just kind of soaked in, or didn't in patches, and the mixture didn't thicken much further. After a LONG time I took it out of the oven and it sank in a deflated kind of way into the pie dish.  Nice.  What a delight to photograph. Stupid blog.

Anyway, here are the pics:

Well things always look better with a bit of icing sugar right???

 

I was surprised at how a picture could actually make it look a bit better than it does in real life.
But of course, how did it taste???

Fine.  It tasted fine.  The vanilla bean totally saved it.  But the texture did not - frankly, it was just on the firmish side of sloppy.  I don't think any 'lucky' friends or family are going to be gifted with this delightful creation. (PS I tried it cold the next morning.  Not so good.  Not. So. Good.)

But I baked and photographed, so mission successful! See you next Wednesday!

PS  I am still getting my head around blog templates.  Methinks this blog will look awkward for a little while.