Daring Tuiles.....

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Making tuiles was a fun challenge and I would make this recipe again! The batter was easy to put together and used ingredients most homes have on hand. The only thing I purchased was the black sesame seeds, but you could use something else and not have to buy anything. I used the savory recipe from Thomas Keller "the French Laundry Cookbook". We were to use fruits in some way with our tuiles, so I used avocados, they are considered a fruit. I made my tuiles into mini taco shells and filled them with gucamole; very yummy!!! I used a large hanger to shape my tuiles and OMG they were very HOT! All in all a very diverse recipe that you can use for any occasion.

Fresh ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread.....

DH and I really like ginger, in all forms; I put fresh ginger in my green tea, mmmmmm. So a big thank you to Heather of Sherry Trifle for a great choice. Anyway this gingerbread did not disappoint, I added candied ginger because I couldn't find stem ginger; and I went to the huge 99 Ranch Market that carries everything Asian, you would be surprised what they have! I'm not too sure what they do with some of the interesting things they carry, LOL. I'm not a huge chocolate fan, I know wierd, so I did not add it to the cake batter. I used my Mary Ann pan and should have baked it 5 minutes longer. The icing was very good, I didn't have any coffee, so I used some espresso powder mixed with water. Dorie suggested a bit of creme fraiche would go well with this bread. I really liked it with the creme fraiche but DH didn't care for it very much. If you would like to see more wonderful renditions of this recipe check out the TWD blog roll.

Berry Surprise Cake.....

This weeks TWD recipe I was chosen by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen and was fun to make. After reading all the comments on this recipe, most of them commented on the cake falling, I decided to add a bit more flour and was very careful with my folding. I made two 5" cakes because it's just DH and me; I was very happy I did the small cakes!

My cakes rose just fine and only sunk a bit in the middle.

I carved my little nest and had DH taste what was removed, he said it had no taste, very plain. I told him the filling and syrup would take care of that, he loves raspberries. I thought the filling was OK; I cut the filling recipe in half but used the full amount of sugar, because the general consensus was it wasn't sweet enough. Since I was making a half recipe, I just used the Kirsch straight, why dilute alcohol? ;D And why go to the bother of making a syrup for such a small cake? Anyway, it all came together just fine and looked beautiful, BUT, no flavor, really to be honest not a cake I would make again without changes.

I like the concept, so I'm thinking a lemon pound cake with a white chocolate mousse as the filling, adding what berries you might like. The other cake is in the freezer and will probably not be used. I am looking forward to next weeks recipe, Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread chosen by Heather of Sherry Trifle.

Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins.....

This weeks pick comes from Rebecca at Ezra Pound Cake and it was a good one! I love all types of cornbread or corn muffins; I love corn. I used Ancho Chili Powder, which has a smokey deep flavor, and instead of red pepper I used sun dried tomatoes, yummy. I added 1 cup of corn instead of 1/3. I made the muffins and got about 15, would fill the cups a bit more next time. I was thinking you could make this in a 9 x 13 pan and cut squares of the cornbread and then cover with chili. Another addition would be some cheddar cheese. Check out the other wonderful results from the members at Tuesdays with Dorie.

Another week another Cheesecake.....

I did make another cheesecake last week for New Year's Eve and the texture was much better, more cheesecakeish! I had no problems with Dorie's cheesecake as far as taste, it was very good; my only dissatisfaction was the texture. Dorie's was more silky pudding like, and if you like that in a cheesecake then it was fine. So I reverted to my mom's recipe but without the sour cream topping she used. This cake was great, same wonderful taste from Dorie's but with the more firm cheesecake texture I was looking for; it also cut beautifully without being frozen. I really do enjoy trying different recipes of family favorites, otherwise how do you know if there isn't something better out there?

Mom's Cheesecake

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

1 1/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

5 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 Tabl. Vanilla

1/4 cup flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C.) Butter a 9 inch springform pan.

2. In a bowl mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto the bottom of the springform pan.

3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in cream and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours.

Mom never used a water bath but I really liked Dorie's method and will use it again. I read somewhere that you can use a roasting bag to put your cake in instead of aluminum foil and that pretty much eliminates the leakage problem.

I will be passing on this weeks TWD, the pear tart, I need a break from sweets, and I need to start my cutting program (I will still bake for my DH and friends), beacuse my next show is at the end of March. I bought the pears and will make the tart in a few weeks as a late post; will definately make the Savory Corn Muffins next week. Hope all of you have a Very Happy New Year!

Dorie's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake.....

Well here is the last recipe for the year, Tall and Creamy Cheesecake on page 235 from Baking from my home to yours, picked by Anne of Anne Strawberry. This sounded so good, I used the gingersnap crust and the orange filling, very yummy sounding, I love cheesecake and I couldn't wait to make it for Christmas Day dessert at my SIL's. Well, it smelled great cooking and tasted wonderful, but the texture was way too creamy for a cheesecake. Very difficult to cut cleanly unless it was frozen, my picture of the cut piece looks beautiful but it had to be frozen to make a nice cut. Everyone liked the taste just not the texture, no one finished their plate; not what I was expecting for this crowd. After reviewing other cheesecake recipes there seems to not be enough eggs and some recipes add a small amount of flour. Verdict: Not the best cheesecake but great ideas for different flavors. I will be making another cheesecake for a New Year's Eve party using my mom's recipe with Dorie's additions and will post on how this new one comes out.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies from Martha.....

I was reading Nichi's blog Bakeologie and she welcomed anyone to join and bake some of Martha's cookies, well why not? Cookies are easy for me to give away, I always have takers in the gym. These are some seriously good cookies from Martha Stweart's Cookies book. I have made them before and you really need to refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours like the recipe indicates; overnight would be better. This is a super stickey dough so having it cold helps rolling into balls. Martha's dircetions are very detailed, of course, but you can cut a few steps out. These are soft inside and slightly crisp on the outside. They never last long so I made a double batch this time and put half in the freezer to bake next week.

I am late posting, Christmas shopping got in the way, sorry!