Matcha Financiers ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana~

One of the things about cooking together through any specific cookbook is that 
we eventually come across ingredients in a recipe that are not familiar 
to us. This week's recipe for matcha financiers is a perfect example. 
 I had not heard of matcha tea before (I am not a tea drinker at all) 
but was fortunate to locate a small tin of it at Wegmans (.07 oz).  
When I opened it I was positive that I would not like the recipe at all. 

The aroma and color of the matcha did nothing to convince me these 
little cakes were going to be tasty.  That said, I decided to go ahead 
and try it but prepare only half of the recipe.  The recipe was quite simple 
and I luckily had some frozen egg whites in the freezer.  The baking time

 was exactly 14 minutes and I ended up with 15 financiers. With all my 
complaining about green cake, I will admit they tasted very good
........ and certainly disappeared quickly. 

Per Tricia~

This week's recipe reminded me of the many other times during our blogging
 adventures that my mom "ran recon" and secured some unusual ingredient
 for us well before I had even read the recipe ! She gave me the heads up
 we were going to need "match" and that she was going to find it for us.
 SOLD. 
While I am a tea drinker, I have not tried matcha. I took one look at
 the bright green powder Nana delivered in one of her little blue 
tupperware and wondered how this one would play out.  

I decided to go the madeleine pan route.  I was still 

skeptical as the batter took shape. The color reminded me of 
a huge bowl of baby food. And not our favorite flavors...

The concept of "eating with your eyes" did not play favorably for this one. 
Once baked and in the madeleine shell shape they looked more appetizing. 

And the actual flavor ? Pretty darn nice frankly. We enjoyed them and
 I was relieved. They had a subtle flavor that was actually quite nice. 

That said, I will likely not revisit this recipe when their are many other 

financier recipes to enjoy- not to mention the actual madeleine recipes !

But it was truly fun to try something new (and hip).
 Funny story, I was ina trendy store this week and no lie- they young couple 
behind me in line were discussing whether they would pick up more matcha. 
The young man said no because the matcha he got from Wegmans "blows his
 mind every morning- it is just so phenomenal". (I can't make this stuff up....).
 And I sat there thinking that at some level I may have actually
 "out-hipstered" them because I not only had that same mind-blowing 
matcha but I was making fancy little cookies with them. 
Score.

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

Odile's Fresh Orange Cake ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana ~

This week's recipe from Baking Chez Moi was a simple cake 

infused with orange flavors. Not only is there zest flavored sugar 

in the batter, but freshly squeezed orange juice is added as well. 

I attempted to make the poached orange topping that Dorie suggests as her 

"Bonne Idée" but I did not end up poaching enough orange slices to cover

 the top. Actually, when I poached them, the slices ended up falling apart

 so I had to do a patch job and decided to only cover the center of the cake.

I then added the orange syrup to the cake and finished with an orange 

marmalade glaze. We both thought the cake was moist and quite delicious. 

Per Tricia ~

This was a fun little orange cake. 

I found myself charmed at Dorie's backstory about receiving the recipe from

 her friend Odile de Lannoy. Arriving at Dorie's home for the first time, Odile 

brought not only the namesake cake but the handwritten recipe as well.  She

said she hoped the cake was not "too simple", but wanted to share it because

 it is one that she actually prepares for her family (i.e. not fancy food). 

Right up Dorie's alley.

 And mine.

I was lucky enough to score some blood oranges at the local market so I used those. 

 We hemmed and hawed about whether I should try to cut the recipe in half but I 

decided to just make the whole thing (the devil on my shoulder usually wins.....). 

I was glad I did this time around, as it does not make a large cake.  

My pan is actually a German braided loaf pan.  Bought at Williams-Sonoma

 in the late 80's, it is evidently now considered "vintage". Ouch.

It is roughly 4 inches by 11 inches, to give you an idea of the finished cake size. 

And while we do not reprint recipes from this book as part of the "Tuesdays 

with Dorie community, the recipe can be found on the web where it was 

reprinted with permission, if you Google search for it. Go forth.

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

Soft-Centered Chocolate Teacup Cakes ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana ~

This week's recipe from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi" is a soft-centered teacup

 cake that would be a chocolate lover's delight.  The batter came together easily and 

baked in only 10-12 minutes. Unfortunately, I over baked mine by about 2 minutes

 but they still had a soft center when I removed them from the oven.

I used the bittersweet chocolate, melted with butter, for the cake portion but since I ran 

out of chocolate I used some semi sweet chocolate chips for the centers instead. 

The only cups I could find that were small enough to use for these cakes were my Dansk 

coffee cups, which were still a bit too big. I decided to remove them from the cups after

 baking and served them on a platter with a dusting of sugar.

Having had two cakes leftover, the next day I found them to still be tasty but extremely chewy.

 In any event they were still quite good, almost like eating a brownie. (A very rich brownie....)

Per Tricia ~

This is my first time posting from an iPad as I am away on vacation in Vermont.

 The photos are from my iPhone so that is also a first. I hate it and want my Mac.

Luckily this week's recipe could not have been more of a breeze and while I am late
 to the whole "mug cake" party, it was a revelation to find out how quick and
delicious these little desserts are. Dangerous, in fact ;)

I typically have baking chocolates on hand, not to mention the other standard ingredients

 (confectioners sugar, bit of flour, butter and eggs) so it will be a cinch to knock this recipe

 out again on a cold winter's day when a chocolate fix is needed.

While the ingredients were not exotic, it was a special treat to use farm fresh 

eggs brought by our friends Bryan and Karen of nearby Two Mountain Farm.  

And that wooden spoon turns out to be quite exotic. 

Sourcing your ingredients locally always makes them taste better but having the farmers

 as friends - well that just adds a smile to your face as you taste the results. 

The beautiful spoon you see in the photo was also a gift, hand carved in Ghana and brought
 to us from Bryan who is an amazing volunteer and has set up a non-profit school
educational foundation. I will share more about that in a post when I am not fighting
 with "i-related" technology and just trying to get this published. (if curious, please
check out their site- www.BlackStarEdu.org, it's an amazing foundation).

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

Hot Chocolate Panna Cotta ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana

The first time I tasted a panna cotta was in July, 2015 when we made 

the vanilla mango version for this blog. I'm not fond of mango at all 

so I made two plain ones for myself, but Jim enjoyed the original recipe. 

But this week's panna cotta rendition, made with unsweetened

 cocoa and bittersweet chocolate is so delicious !  

My first taste made me think of chocolate mousse but as I continued 

eating it I realized that the gelatin really gave it a much thicker texture.

  I added a dollop of whipped cream but it really wasn't necessary. 

I think Dorie's idea of serving it with a cookie would be better. 

Per Tricia

I made the panna cotta this evening as the Tuesday deadline loomed. 

The weather has finally been wintery and we have gone from snow to more 

snow. As a result I have started way too many of those "save it for bad 

weather" projects (and finished too few). The "storm before the calm" scenario. 

I decided I would only knock out this week's recipe, prioritizing my projects 

instead, if I had all the ingredients on hand and no special trip to the 

store was needed. As it turned out, I had it all. Lucky for us :)

heavy, wet snow falling outside our front door as we waited for the panna cotta to set......

 The most unusual ingredient for this rich and company worthy 

dessert was a box of unflavored gelatin.  Chocolate, cream, sugar, 

unsweetened chocolate, milk - all present and accounted for.  

Average ingredients with minimal effort and above average results.  

While we typically enjoy "hot" hot chocolate as we watch the snow fall, 

this chilled hot chocolate panna cotta was a lovely change. And provided

 some wonderful inspiration and energy for getting back to those other projects.

 Tomorrow, that is ..........

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

Stained Glass Cookies ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Tricia ~

This is a makeup week, or "rewind", as the Tuesdays with Dorie

community calls it.  I hadn't yet completed the Stained Glass Cookie

 recipe from Baking Chez Moi so I decided to go for it.  I expected 

the process to be time consuming so I tackled it AFTER 

Christmas, but while both sons were still home on break. 
 The process WAS time consuming. 
Even with Dorie's detailed  instructions, when you start thinking
 that tweezers would be a useful tool as you are cooking it's a good 

indicator that the process is involved. I'm not that patient :)

These were lovely when held up to the light. But even better to eat :)

The verdict ? 

Off the charts delicious and fun to look at. 
That said, I have no intention to ever make these cookies -per the recipe 
and for the holidays -again. I also have every intention to make the 
COOKIE part of the recipe many times.  I'll just omit the labor intensive/
arts & crafts cutting and filling with candy I have crushed by hand.

I cut the edge of a plastic bag and piped in the crushed candy, rethinking my choice of snowflake cutter the whole time.....
 

The cookie recipe is hands down the best butter cookie I have ever made. 

While many might not think its a compliment, the fact that the cookies

 tasted like the old school blue tins of little shaped butter cookies I grew 

up with is a huge compliment in my book. To have those little 

delights in a warm and fresh version was a wonderful surprise. 

I added an egg wash to the dough before cutting. The inserts got the extra candy on top- delicious !

And while it was labor intensive to this admittedly lazy baker, I really did 

enjoy trying - at least once - Dorie's technique for decorating the cookies 

this way. Trying is what it is all about.  And I am totally planning to steal

 the idea of one of my blogging peers who's going to revisit this with 

heart shaped cutters and red candy for Valentine's Day. Love it.

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