TWD: Lemon Madeleines

I almost didn't get to take a photo of these. My husb and I scarfed these down so fast. They kept disappearing! Ack!

I love the lemony goodness of these cookies. The lemon zest really adds a good kick to it. I also like how they make my breath all lemony fresh afterwards. I know it kind of makes it sounds like it might be too lemony, but it's not. It's the perfect amount of lemon and it's great with coffee or tea. Also, they were super easy to make! Huzzah! I'm totally going to make these again and try it with different flavors. Maybe lime. Maybe lilikoi. Guava would be interesting too...

For the recipe, you can find it in Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan. Also, check out the blogroll to see more pretty madeleines!

TWD: Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake

Oh drat. Always a day late on posting. I could've done it last night but the Husb made some sashimi (woo who!) and we had some sake (double woo who!). Oh such lovely, delicious yuzu sake that made me quite sleepy and happy. But yes, this cake was very easy to make and it smelled amazing when you put the ingredients together.

However, the flavors were very subtle once completed. I thought the brown butter and vanilla would be more prominent, but it wasn't. Wah wah. The good thing is that it's still a good cake. Very much like a pound cake, but denser and not at all oily.

I didn't try it until the next day, but it definitely tasted better after toasting the slices. Also, it does a good job soaking up syrups. I had it for breakfast with some lilikoi syrup and it was quite yummy.

For the recipe, you can find it in Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan and also, you can check out the blogroll for more weekend cakes!

TWD: Palets de Dames, Lille Style

Tuesday with Dorie is cooking from a brand new book, Baking Chez Moi! Very exciting times! Lately, well, actually for a quite a while now, I've been feeling a little guilty since I didn't stay on track with Baking with Julia. But now there's new rules and I feel free! Yippee!!! Ahhahahaha!!!

Ahem. Anyway. Today's recipe was Palets de Dames, Lille Style. And I have no idea how you pronounce that, but sounds pretty fancy. If anyone knows, please fill me. :D It's a cute little cookie that is kind of cake like and with the icing, is very sweet. It would pair well with a black tea, such as earl grey. MmMmM It is definitely very difficult to eat just one.

I actually didn't like them the night that I made them. They were better the next day. And I feel like most of the "sugar cookies" I make, I don't like until the following day. I think it has something to do with the icing. It firms up more and the sugary water moistens the cookie a little bit. My SO, didn't like them at first either, but the next day, he thought they were better. Yay!

For the recipe, get Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan and join us on this baking adventure! Also, check out the blogroll for more pretty picture of cookies!

TWD: Oven-Roasted Nectarine Cake

Alright..two in a row!

This week's TWD was to make Oven-Roasted Plum Cakes. In the book, they look super pretty! They are baked in individual soufflé cups. I didn't have those, so instead, I made a cake in an 8 inch square cake pan. Also, the market didn't have any plums! Ackk! So I used two nectarines instead. I was so lucky too. They only had 6 left. Whew.

It didn't come out that pretty. Some of the nectarine halves were being enveloped by the cake. Also, it was kind of hard to eat because the nectarine would just coming flying out. So, I cut the cake into quarters and then cut the quarters into quarters. So much easier.

I had a piece shortly after baking and I have to say, it was awful. The nectarines tasted like steamed chestnuts and the cake was kind of dry with not much flavor. But! I had it the next day and the flavors melded together much better. The nectarine tasted more like sweet nectarine preserves and the cake soaked up all the nectarine/brown sugar syrup. Yum.

For the recipe, see Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. You can also watch the video here. Also, check out the TWD's blogroll for more beautiful cakes!

TWD: Fresh Rhubarb Upside-Down Baby Cakes

At first, I didn't really like the taste of these cakes. I thought the cake itself was too thick and processed. I also thought that the rhubarb and the butter cake didn't work well together. I was about to call this batch a massive FAILbake, but then, I tried it the next day and it was so much better. 

I used three different pan sizes for the cakes; mini muffin, regular muffin, and ramekin. The ramekin one was definitely my favorite. It was the perfect ratio of rhubarb and cake. Also, it had a large surface area to plop a dollap of whipped cream on top. The juices from the rhubarb took it's sweet time as it slowly seeped into the cake and gave it a nice pang of sourness. And even though, I don't like the consistency of the cake, I thought it was very nice when you have only a small layer of it. The muffin pan ones had way too much cake and not enough rhubarb. 

Though I have to say, no matter what pan size I used, the cakes looked really ugly. When I flipped my first batch of cakes over, I was so sad. They were so chock full of crevices, it gave me the chills. BLEHHH.....I think next time I'll just frost the whole baby cake with whipped cream.

For the recipe, check out Erin's blog, When in Doubt...Leave it at 350 or better yet, get a copy of Baking with Julia and join in the fun! Also, if you're interested in how other TWD baker's made their cakes, check out the blogroll!

TWD: Gingerbread Baby Cakes

Crapola. I need to get off my behind and start shopping for Christmas presents. I can't believe it's already December! I'm usually pretty good and have ideas on what to get people by mid-October. But this year. Oh man....

Oh well! I'll just distract myself with baked goods instead. This week's TWD recipe is Gingerbread Baby Cakes.

These things are evil! EVIL I SAY! I couldn't stop eating them! Maybe because they are packed full of caffeine. Or maybe because they are just spicy enough for your body to release some endorphins. I don't know...but I sure did scarf a lot down.

Alone, they are rich and sticky from the molasses, with a big kick in the face of ginger power. The black pepper is really apparent in the aftertaste. It lingers on your tongue, just long enough, that you lose your willpower and have to take another bite.

To tone down the spiciness, I made some lemon mascarpone. The sweetness definitely mellows the cake out and brings in yummy tartness into the mix. Yay.

I liked having the cake either way, but I think I enjoyed it more on its own. Every time I took a bite, my mind would immediately think of the fight scenes from the old Batman TV show. KAPOW! WHAMM!

For the recipe, check out Karen's blog, Karen's Kitchen Stories. She was this week's host!

Notes: I used random amounts of molasses, because I was running really low on unsulphured molasses. I had 1:1:2 ratio of unsulphured molasses, blackstrap molasses, and agave nectar. Also, I used grated ginger instead of minced ginger. The batter was baked in a mini muffin pan and some of it was placed on a parchment paper lined sheet pan to make mini-cookies/whoopie pie-ish things. Yum.

TWD: Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

I'm such a slacker. I made these yum yums last night. They were lovely and quick to make. They're not the most filling breakfast, but they taste pretty good right after they are baked or straight from the toaster oven the next day.

I love how they are moist and fluffy. It kind of reminded me of a good, not so dense coffee cake or banana bread without the banana. I guess shortening can do that to muffins. Never knew.

I also liked the subtle tanginess from the buttermilk. It was so delicate, it made me want to eat muffin after muffin to bring out the flavor. Oh muffins, you're so fun and addicting.

The muffin top was fun too. The small brown sugar crystals gave it a tiny crunch, which reminded of rock candy. Kind of.

If I make these again, which I probably will, I would want to up the healthiness to these muffins. Maybe add some wheat bran. Or maybe I'll just eat a head of broccoli on the side to make myself feel better. We'll see.

If you would like to make yourself this quick breakfast treat, check out Alisa's blog, easier than pie, for the recipe.

TWD: Nectarine Upside-down Chiffon Cake

Labor Day weekend was pretty slow for me. I was a sloth. I couldn't get myself off the couch. I mean...I did get a lot done, I guess. Well, a lot done for being glued to the couch.

I finally got off my butt and made this yummy cake. I really enjoyed the chiffon cake. I loved the super fluffiness of it and how it tasted like angel food cake but not as sweet.

I'm not sure if I'll make it again. I wasn't super impressed by it. I think it was due to the streusel being in the middle of the fluff. However, I did like the combination of the ginger and cinnamon with the nectarines. If I end up making it again, I would probably change up the layering of the items. Maybe even take the nectarines out and make into an ice cream. MmmMM a sweet caramel topping on a chiffon cake and a scoop of nectarine or peach ice cream with generous amounts of streusel on top. Yum.

Yeah...maybe I'll try that.

For the recipe, check out Marlise' blog, The Double Trouble Kitchen, or Susan's blog, The Little French Bakery. They were this week's hosts!

TWD: French Peach Cake

This week at TWD, we were suppose to make a French Strawberry Cake. Instead of strawberries, I made it with peaches.

We had a bbq last week and had some leftover peaches when we made grilled peaches with rosemary ice cream (from Cooking with Michele). Yum!
Since I couldn't get myself to buy strawberries when I had perfectly yummy fruit at home, I went with peaches.

This was a pretty intimidating recipe. From reading the TWD bakers' failures and successes, I got a little scared. Since it's a genoise cake, the egg/flour folding was the make or break stage of the recipe. I took the advice of a fellow baker and sifted the flour into the batter. This definitely helped decrease the clumps and decrease the folding.
I didn't have a 8" pan, so I used a square pan, which made the cake look like a cute french cake. Yay.

The day I made the cake, I felt it had a very subtle peach flavor and the cake itself was quite dry. I was quite disappointed with it all and was thinking of throwing the whole thing away. But good thing I'm a lazy bum and just stuffed in the fridge, because the next day...man oh man....it was soooooo much better! It seemed the cake just needed a little time to absorb the moisture from the peaches. It turned out to be moist and airy with a beautiful peach flavoring. Very nice.

Since I had some leftover grilled peaches with brown sugar syrup, I drizzled that on top of the cake. It made it even better. It gave the cake a smoky flavor to it.

If you are interested in making this wonderful cake, check out Sophia's blog, Sophia's Sweets, and Allison's blog, Sleep Love Think Dine.

Notes: I used 4 good sized peaches for the filling. Since they were pretty juicy, I cut them a little differently. I cut them in half, twist the halves apart, and then using a paring knife, ran the blade around the seed. I grabbed the tip of the seed and popped it out. If anyone knows a better way to keep a peach intact, please tell me. It took me a few peaches to figure this method out. Hmm..I guess I could’ve googled it. Lesson learned (the hard way).
I didn't have a slotted spoon, so I used a colander with a bowl under it to drain the peach mash liquid.

TWD: Lemon Loaf Cake

I love lemony baked goods. I love lemony baked goods so much I want to take it behind a middle school and get it pregnant. - Tracy Jordan (Well, I added the lemony goodness part)

I really do love anything with lemons in it. Lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, lemon tarts. You name it!

This lemon loaf cake was a pretty simple recipe and comes out pretty tasty. Well, only around the edges. If you follow the directions straight from the book, like I did, you might find it a little dry in the middle. The edges were moist and full of potent lemon flavors, but the middle was lacking. I kept reaching for some milk when getting to the center. I thought adding lemon icing would help, but it didn't. It just made the edges taste even better! 

Next time, I'll have to add lemon juice before or after baking. MORE LEMONS! ha ha! 

I love lemons. :) 

Oh, also I think it helped that the lemons I used were from my coworker's really old lemon tree that produces a TON of fruit. They are also small in size (I used 5 lemons for the zest) and potent in flavor. Yuuuumm yum. 

This week's TWD hosts were Truc of Treats and Michelle of The Beauty of Life. Check out their blogs for the recipe.