Cherry Squares Done Two Ways

 I love London.  Several people in my inner circle either live there or have lived there so visiting this city has always been more about connecting with friends than being a tourist.  While there are so many great things about London (Wimbledon, Harvey Nicks, TopShop, the Tube and Pimms, to name a few) I have to admit that British cuisine hasn't necessarily made it to the top of my list.

I can hear my friends protesting as I write this, but I will concede that English food has improved greatly over the years, beyond the ubiquitous fish and chips, which is one of my favorites btw.  But when it comes to baking I think most would agree that  English desserts  haven't reached the same echelons as the Frenchies, and I daresay, us Yanks!

So when I read that April's Daring Bakers challenge was to make a British pudding I definitely felt some hesitation.  There are different types of puddings in the UK, savory or sweet.  Anyone care for steak and kidney pie?  No thanks!  I chose to go the sweet route since I don't really like savory puddings.  We were tasked use suet, a type of animal or vegetable fat, and also to steam the pudding.  I've never heard of suet before and my local market doesn't carry it but based on what I've read it's similar to lard or Crisco.

I ended up using a recipe for cherry squares, which is essentially a Victoria sponge cake topped with cherry pie filling.  Using suet didn't sound too appealing in the batter so I stuck with butter.  Since I failed at using the required fat, I instead focused my efforts on the  challenge's baking technique: steaming.  I've never steamed a dessert before so I was very curious to see what the end product would be compared to one made in a conventional oven.  

I split the cake batter in half and steamed some and baked the rest.  To my surprise the cakes cooked in the steamer rose as high as the one in the oven.  But the main difference between the two versions was the crust.  With steaming there wasn't one.  The cake was perfectly cooked but lacked the golden brown color and crunchy texture I was looking for.  Let's face it, the crust is one of the best parts of any baked good.

I'm glad I did this month's challenge.  I learned a new baking technique that I never thought of before.  But to be honest, steaming just isn't for me.   However, if my oven continues acting up as it has been recently I now have an alternate approach I can use.

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.    

Cheeky Monkey Cupcakes

These cupcakes are so darn cute, aren't they?   And the fact that they're super easy  to  recreate  makes them even more delightful.   Got the idea to make these when I was passing by the bakery counter of an upscale supermarket the other week.

I loved the idea of a cupcake resembling a monkey.   What I didn't like was the $5 price tag.  Why pay so much when you can make them yourself.  And they'll taste better too.

When I got home I set about doing some internet research and found so many adorable  versions.  The design I ended up using seemed like the most simple to make.

All you need are some cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla frosting and vanilla wafers.  You don't need to make these from scratch either..a boxed cake mix and canned frosting will work just fine, although I do find they are a lot sweeter than homemade recipes.

I think these would be so cute for a kid's birthday party or a baby shower.  Or for anyone who loves monkeys.   Try it!

Spring Macarons

left to right: lemon, pistachio, passion fruit, raspberry

One of the things that's so great about baking is its resourcefulness.  What I mean by that is how one recipe can influence and inspire the next.    After making the crème brûlées a few weeks ago I found myself with a lot of egg whites.   Normally I'll freeze them for use later to make swiss meringue buttercream frosting.  But this time I decided not to.  I haven't made macarons in a while so I ended up saving the whites to whip up a few batches. 

The weather over the last few months in the Bay Area has been pretty dismal.  I can't remember a time when there's been so much rain and gloom.  It was downright depressing.  But sunny days are now upon us, knock on wood, and I hope they're here to stay.  

These macarons are inspired by spring colors.  I used Tartelette's basic recipe as a starting point and tinted them with powdered food color.  The filling is swiss meringue buttercream mixed with the following:

lemon: Trader Joe's lemon curd

pistachio: pistachio paste

passion fruit: passion fruit puree cooked with Certo pectin and cooled

raspberry: raspberry fruit puree cooked with Certo pectin and cooled

 HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!!!

Susanne's Eplekake (Norwegian Apple Cake)

For the past couple of years I've been fortunate enough to spend New Years with some very very dear friends in Norway.  They're like family, except they don't speak Vietnamese!   Mornings are normally spent hitting the ski slopes of Norefjell, just behind the cabin.  The rest of the day is pretty much devoted to one (or more) of the following: eating, surfing the net, reading, watching tv or just chatting. 

We always eat great meals up in the mountains.  There's nothing like exercise and cold weather to fuel an appetite.   During that time of year way up north there's only a few hours of daylight.  So when you're inside for most of the day you can't help but think , "what's next on the menu?".  It also doesn't hurt that we all love to eat and are foodies in the making.

When it comes to Norwegian baking I always turn to Susanne, the family's expert.  This is her recipe for eplekake, or apple cake, a traditional and popular dessert in Norway.  I've heard that most every household has their own favorite recipe.  The ingredients are simple and the cake is absolutely delicious.  I dusted the finished cake with some icing sugar, which is a bit unconventional, but I don't think Susanne will mind.  Tusen tusen takk Susanne!!