Culinary Goods

First, this is the same cake, taken with a different camera. Isn't it interesting how different the color is? It was really dark, like the one on top. So, I know I have a problem with trying new chocolate cake recipes. I’m not sure this one is the best one, but it’s definitely good. I got the main cake recipe from the book “Bravetart” by Stella Parks. So, the method of making this cake was super easy. The cake itself was rich and dense, but not dry. My main problem is that it’s a lot of really rich ingredients for not much of an improvement in the cake. My original one doesn’t have dark chocolate or extra egg yolks or that much butter, and it’s perfectly fantastic. I would make this again, but I’m not convinced this is my go-to version. Her title is “One-Bowl Devil’s Food Layer Cake” on page 124 and here are the ingredients: 3 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups coffee 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 1 1/4 cups/6 oz. dark chocolate 2 cups/16 oz . brown sugar I only did 12 oz....

So, I have a thing for oatmeal cookies. I heart these a lot. These are the best I’ve personally had, so I’m done looking (feel free to send me over new ones if you think I’m mistaken). These are a great blend of chocolate, cinnamon, nuts, and raisins. The texture is fantastic, and they are just really good. The molasses is a must, as is soaking the raisins. I kind of combined this recipe I found on Pinterest with the Bouchon Bakery one. I doubled the recipe and got 18 big, bakery-style cookies. I give these an 8.5. Big and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies 1/2 cup butter room temperature I did 50% canola oil 1/2 cup Golden Barrel Organic Brown Sugar   I did 1/2 cup for a double batch 1/4 cup white sugar   I did 1/3 cup for a double batch and this could probably go to 1/4 cup 1 egg 1 tbsp Golden Barrel Blackstap Molasses 3/4 cup flour 1 1/2 cup rolled oats 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp cornstarch 3/4 cup dried cherries   I left this out 1...

So, I made this up for John’s birthday and it was a hit. It gets a 9.5. First, I made a gingersnap crust: Crust: 12 oz. gingersnaps, crushed 8 Tbs. butter, melted You push this on the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan Bake at 350 for about 5-7 minutes Next, you add the filling: 4 8 oz. packages of cream cheese 1 cup sour cream 1 1/4 cup sugar 4 large eggs 1 Tbs. vanilla Zest of 3 lemons 1/2 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup flour pinch salt 1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon extract You blend the cream cheese and sugar, then add eggs one at a time. You add the lemon juice, sour cream, flour, and flavorings next, and t hen fold in the zest You pour this on the crust, and bake it at 450 for 10 minutes and then at 250 for 1 hour. I often leave the cheesecake in the oven for 2 more hours after it’s turned off. The inner third of the cheesecake was still jiggly, but it ended up doing just fine in the oven after it sat. Put it in the fridge, and then top with lemon cream ...

So, this was good but not amazing. It came from carlsbadcravings.com, and the recipe is great. It’s just not that much better than traditional coffee cake. So, I think the cream cheese layer was too much, I would definitely cut this in half if I made it again. I put my changes below in bold: Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Coffee Cake Cinnamon Walnut Streusel 1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed Banana Cake 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar I cut this down to 1 cup 2 large eggs 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large ripe bananas) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups sour ream (not nonfat) We used light 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional) I would use Ghirardelli  big baking chips instead of chocolate chips 1/2 cup walnuts, c...

So, this is awesome homemade vanilla ice cream and it’s ice cream, so it gets a 9. The recipe came from Fine Cooking Magazine. We doubled it, and it was perfect for our family. I put my changes below in bold. Vanilla Ice Cream By Abigail Johnson Dodge Fine Cooking Issue 71 1 cup whole milk 1 cup heavy cream 1 vanilla bean, split, or 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract I increased this to 2 tsp. per batch and I also added about 1/4 tsp lemon extract b/c this is what my Grandma Peterson used to do 6 large egg yolks We had medium eggs 1/3 cup granulated sugar I decreased this to 1/4 cup 1/8 teaspoon table salt http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/vanilla-ice-cream You whisk the eggs, salt, and sugar together for about 1 minute. Then, you put 1 cup of cream in a metal bowl that is inside a bigger metal bowl filled with ice water. You put the remaining milk and cream on the stove and heat it to barely a simmer. Then temper the eggs, put it back in to the pan, and cook until...

The texture of this is just beautiful. It’s like butter, but not greasy. It’s light in color, and just a fabulous alternative to lemon curd (this has more butter than lemon curd, so it’s less like a pie filling and more like a cream texture—you could probably decrease the butter if you needed to). It is richer than lemon curd, but very tasty and we put it on top of the lemon cheesecake. I combined a couple of recipes and created this: 1/2-2/3 cup of sugar zest of 3 lemons 2/3-scant 3/4 cup lemon juice   3 whole large eggs 1 large egg yolk pinch salt 1 cup butter So, first you zest the lemons and mix them together with the sugar using your fingers. Then, you add the lemon juice and the eggs and whisk it. You set this mixture over a water bath of simmering water, and your stir is almost constantly so the sugar and eggs don’t screw up (I don’t remember the why, I just remember reading it). Anyway, it takes about 10 minutes, but eventually it gets to 180 degrees, and then...

So, this recipe came from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook. The recipe is solid. I screwed up the directions and they were heavy and terrible. However, if you just make them like normal muffins (or can pull of their instructions), I have no doubt these will be amazing. · 1 and 1/4 cups (161 g) Cake Flour · 1/2+1/8 tsp (3.4 g) Baking powder · 1/2 tsp (1.7 g) Kosher salt · 1 cup + 3 tbsp (234 g) Sugar I decreased this by about 25% · 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp (170 g) Eggs · 3/4 tsp (4.5 g) Vanilla paste · 6.8 ounces (194 g) Unsalted butter, melted and still warm · 1/4 cup (60 g) Fresh Lemon Juice · Generous 1 tbsp (6 g) Grated Lemon Zest · 1 and 1/2 tsp (4 g) Poppy Seeds from “Bouchon Bakery” by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel) So, they had you make this with an immersion blender, but next time I will combine sugar and butter, add eggs one at a time, and then alternate the dry ingredients with the lemon juice. You put these in the fridge overnight.  You preheat the oven to 4...