Lemon Squares, French Style ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana~

The lemon squares that we baked this week from BCM are so delicious 

that I am absolutely going to freeze them, the temptation is too much. 

I am not a big fan of lemon flavor and seriously considered cutting the 

recipe in half. When I realized that they could be frozen, I changed my mind.  

The crust, made with the addition of almond flour, is so delicious, and then

 to use more of the same for a crumb topping was absolutely scrumptious. 

When I first removed the pan from the oven I thought they were

 over-baked, but when I cut through them, the crust was tender, 

the lemon curd held nicely, and the crumb topping did not fall apart. 

We are still trying to decide whether they are more delicious at 

room temperature or refrigerated. In any event, they will not

 go to waste and I will be making these again. 

Per Tricia~

Unlike Nana, I love lemon flavored desserts. 

Granted there are few desserts I am not a fan of, 

but lemon is a true favorite. 

No wonder that this was a hit in my house. My only regret is that I didn't

 make this ahead of time when my older taste tester was still home

 - he adores lemon.  But I was like Nana in having to put the little 

temptations in the freezer, so lucky for him there is a stash
 waiting when he visits home. A little incentive never hurt.

this was only half way through the snow fall - another foot or so fell....

Incentive was also involved as I made this recipe during "the Blizzard of 2016".  

(hopeful thinking that we will not be having another big storm, even though it 

is only January).  My hubby was a trooper and handled the almost 30" of

 snow outside while my contribution was a lemon reward inside. He was 

happy. Ok, there may have been a well earned single malt involved as well.

Doris's wonderful crust, ready to go-

Assembled, before baking. 

Out of the oven.

This was the first time that I made lemon curd at home and I 
would not hesitate to do it again. I have always enjoying it when 
buying a container and like most things, making it at home was 
a value. Since the quality was fantastic (not all things are better 

made at home....or at least in my kitchen ) I'll gladly revisit the curd 
even if not making the lemon squares. But likely I will be doing both.....

This marks another Tuesday recipe testing as we cook along with the "Tuesdays with Dorie" online group.  Please note that we do not post the recipes, per the group rules, but we do encourage others to RUN out and buy their own copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi".  Better yet, buy the book and JOIN THE GROUP ! www.TuesdaysWithDorie.wordpress.com

Fluted Carrot-Tangerine Cake ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana~

The group's selected recipe for this week from Baking Chez Moi

 is a delicious carrot-tangerine cake. I was fortunate to have all the

 ingredients on hand even though my carrots were small ones for snacking.

 A lot of fun on a box grater without losing skin, but I succeeded. 

In place of tangerines I used two clementines which were delicious

 and very juicy. The cake baked up beautifully and was easy to 

remove from the pan without a problem.  

I prepared a drizzle using confectioner's sugar, a bit of milk 

and orange extract. It accented all the flavors in the cake. 

The cake is very moist and wonderfully delicious.  I will definitely be 
keeping this one in my files for a great snack cake that is quick to prepare. 

Per Tricia~

This cake is exactly the type of recipe that I enjoy cooking as

 part of a blogging community, because had not been "assigned"...

I likely would have just skipped right over it in the book. 

Not because it sounded bad but simply because I could not

 get my head around the combination of carrots with citrus. 

So I likely would have kept thumbing through until I hit something

 chocolate :)  And that would have been a shame because this was

 a delicious combo. The cake was moist and dense and combined with

 the citrus from the orange I used (yes, neither of us actually used the

 tangerine for which the cake is named...) was a welcome combo for 

a cold winter's day.  The fact that this was truly a quick and easy

 cake makes it a sure repeat. So glad I gave it a try.

This marks another Tuesday recipe testing as we cook along with the "Tuesdays with Dorie" online group.  Please note that we do not post the recipes, per the group rules, but we do encourage others to RUN out and buy their own copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi".  Better yet, buy the book and JOIN THE GROUP ! www.TuesdaysWithDorie.wordpress.com