Desserts

[Too Tall]

We need a separate thread for desserts.

Test run for NYE Walnut Toffee with salt

OK, it wasn't a test run. We had a sugar craving. That pile is 1/2 of what it was 20 mins. ago.

toffee.jpg

[boxerboxer]

We need a separate thread for desserts.

Test run for NYE Walnut Toffee with salt

Toasted walnuts barely need any help, but that looks amazing.



This Hazelnut Torte (recipe credit Jamie Oliver) is the SHIT, keeping the nut trend going.

[Too Tall]

Ben,
My sister makes that. I went into rehab after one slice.

[RIHans]

For pure WOW! effect...a nicely crusted Creme Brulee is a great finish to a sit down feast. Plus, you do the custard ahead, and torch the sugar in the kitchen last minute.

Flan is a good one too, do a day before. Last course prepped ahead.

[rydesteel]

For pure WOW! effect...a nicely crusted Creme Brulee is a great finish to a sit down feast. Plus, you do the custard ahead, and torch the sugar in the kitchen last minute.

Flan is a good one too, do a day before. Last course prepped ahead.

One of the young ladies my daughter danced with had Celiac's. I was bringing treats for the cast of one the shows and she mentioned she couldn't eat cake. When I asked if she was allergic to egg's, cream, sugar or vanilla, and she wasn't I made creme brûlée. It was a real joy to see her eyes light up at that first taste.

[Too Tall]

One of the young ladies my daughter danced with had Celiac's. I was bringing treats for the cast of one the shows and she mentioned she couldn't eat cake. When I asked if she was allergic to egg's, cream, sugar or vanilla, and she wasn't I made creme brûlée. It was a real joy to see her eyes light up at that first taste.

Best dad ever.

We are asking people to bring desserts to NYE. This should be interesting.

[spopepro]

Oddly, winter is never desert making time in our house, as we go live somewhere else for the holidays. That somewhere else, however, not only has a pastry station but a chocolate *room* to avoid absorbing scents and flavors from the rest of the kitchen. Maybe I can talk my way into taking a picture or two for... research. Yeah. Research.

In other news, I'm still working on making better napoleons. My puff pastry always puffs too much, so if anyone has ideas... I'm all ears.

And because every thread in this sub-forum is better with pictures:



image-1494483767.jpg

Apricots on whiskey-vanilla cream.

[Too Tall]

Gasp!

[maunahaole]

The. Included link is for a Guinness brownie recipe. We did I it last week, but used a Sam Adams chocolate bock from the Costco winter case in place of the Guinness and the chocolate was a 50/50 mix of semisweet and 72% dark chocolate. The beer was not tasty to me, but I thought it would be good as an ingredient in something as it had some good character.

The end product was good, but the dark chocolate and beer gave a decidedly but predictable dark chocolate result. More grownup tasting than normal brownie. It would do well with a scoop of ice cream to buffer it some.

Guinness brownies | grown to cook

[spopepro]

Those brownies have my attention. Time for some experimentation.

Cooking with beer can be tricky. There's so much water. So much water! My beer ice cream finally turned out well when I narrowed down to the beer (Chimay) and was patient enough to reduce it to nearly a syrup (maybe 1/20 of starting volume?). Baking is more forgiving.

I can see Guinness working, but it's honestly a lightly flavored beer. It probably doesn't add much in the end. Although it would provide the awesome opportunity to make an Irish whiskey frosting. Other people might be down with hops and chocolate, but I'm not a fan. It's not the bitterness, but the pine and citrus that doesn't match chocolate for me.

Ideas for beers to try: dogfish Midas touch (no hops, spices and honey), a Scottish wee heavy (lots of malt, little hops), or a kreik lambic (many lambics use aged hops which are much tamer).

Now... Where to start?

[maunahaole]

We reduced the The beer to 50% of the original volume. It got pretty syrupy and bitter. That chocolate bock has a different flavor than Guinness, for sure. It is not real hoppy, but has some complexity. In any event, the dark chocolate used in the recipe was very strong.

[Too Tall]

Timely, I'm thinking seriously about whipping out our ancient hand crank white mtn. ice creme maker for New Years Eve. I've got a jar full of insanely sticky good vanilla bean mmmm.
Drunks can handle this task yes?

Those brownies have my attention. Time for some experimentation.

Cooking with beer can be tricky. There's so much water. So much water! My beer ice cream finally turned out well when I narrowed down to the beer (Chimay) and was patient enough to reduce it to nearly a syrup (maybe 1/20 of starting volume?). Baking is more forgiving.

I can see Guinness working, but it's honestly a lightly flavored beer. It probably doesn't add much in the end. Although it would provide the awesome opportunity to make an Irish whiskey frosting. Other people might be down with hops and chocolate, but I'm not a fan. It's not the bitterness, but the pine and citrus that doesn't match chocolate for me.

Ideas for beers to try: dogfish Midas touch (no hops, spices and honey), a Scottish wee heavy (lots of malt, little hops), or a kreik lambic (many lambics use aged hops which are much tamer).

Now... Where to start?

[spopepro]

Drunks can handle this task yes?

Absolutely. In fact, I do better when drinking. I tend not to rush cooling the custard or the churn because I want the ice cream RIGHT NOW.

[maunahaole]

If your drunks are not up to it, you need to find some new drunks.

[Too Tall]

If your drunks are not up to it, you need to find some new drunks.

Done. I need to resurrect a family recipe and I'm all set. Have not used the hand crank for ages. I'm thinking a straight up vanilla bean and strawberry creme base.

Spopepro - Is your custard based for electric? Guessing it is.

[joosttx]

Why did I click this thread. I hate you all!

[Too Tall]

Why did I click this thread. I hate you all!

You'd really hate me if I showed pictures of the test run I just did for peanut, walnut and cashew brittle. I tossed all that in front of my pals during a game of rummy 500 to see which was the favorite. THAT you'd regret, it's crack and is a definite for our NYE party.

[spopepro]

Spopepro - Is your custard based for electric? Guessing it is.

I have actually found the most success with the ben and jerry's sweet cream base, only cooked like a proper custard (slowly bring it up to 170F while stirring). It's simple, reliable, and flexible. I use the kitchen aid bowl/attachment. It works well, but is picky. The custard must be very, very close to freezing before pouring it into the chilled bowl.

[Jstone]

12 hours too late for a photo, except for the empty Staub pie pan that contained an apple cranberry pie. A photo of an empty pan would just be cruel. I made it for the family get-together yesterday. Recipe courtesy of Williams-Sonoma. Boy Hidee, if you like tart, the Granny Smith apples & cranberries will scratch that itch. I'll make another for Christmas...if you could bottle the aroma of the cranberries & apples cooking down & pump it into conflict zones, former enemies would embrace & sing kuhm ba yah.

[Shinomaster]

It's no secret I'm a lover of sweets and treats. I used to goggle at my mom's French pastry books hoping she would make me a Concorde, or a Charlotte. Lately my girlfriend has been baking very tasty apple tarts and has mastered Gaston Lenotre's vanilla pastry cream. I can make pretty good Turkish desserts as they tend to be fairly simple; most relying on the same simple syrup. I think a well made fruit tart is possibly my favorite though, with fresh seasonal fruit it's simply orgasmic.