audreybakes

A journal chronicling my adventures (and misadventures) in baking. Sit and stay a while. Then go and bake something!

[audreybakes]

Whole wheat banana bread from Ovenly

pros: do you see that crumb? perfect, delicious. and it has bananas, flaxseeds, and whole wheat flour, so it’s practically a health food! no, really, though, it does seem healthier and kind of more delicious for it. sometimes banana breads can get a little stodgy thanks to the banana, but the whole wheat flour holds up to the bananas a little better, I think.this is perfect for breakfast, tea, a snack, dessert, whatever!

cons: not here, friends!

notes for next time: a handful of chocolate chips never goes wrong in banana bread, but it would tip the scales towards “less healthy,” if you care about that kind of thing.

I couldn’t find a recipe on the internet that wasn’t “adapted,” which, I understand, you want it to have less sugar. I’d like to link to the real recipe, thanks. so for now, you’ll have to check out the Ovenly cookbook.

[audreybakes]

Strawberry Pavlova from the New York Times Dessert Cookbook

pros: I made these to use up all the egg whites from the eggs I used making the Thai Coffee Crème Caramel, and it did an admirable job at that. also, this was pretty close to perfect. meringues aren’t difficult. whipped cream is also not hard. and then top with some fresh strawberries, or whatever fruit you have on hand. it’s the easiest, lightest, summeriest dessert out there.

cons: well, I suppose you would have a lot of egg yolks leftover if you started from scratch, but you can save them for a day or two and make a custard. problem solved!

notes for next time: I should not that I didn’t macerate the strawberries in balsamic vinegar and sugar. it just seemed like overkill. 

Here’s the highly recommended recipe, if you’d care to try it!

[audreybakes]

Thai Coffee Crème Caramel from The New York Times Dessert Cookbook

pros: if you like Thai iced coffee (and really, who doesn’t?), you will like this. it’s like a coffee custard, mmmm! It’s a silky custard, very light and refreshing, especially if you are not the baker and don’t know about all the condensed milk and egg yolks!

cons: there was one thing I didn’t like. The dessert is supposed to have a layer on top that is just caramel, but my caramel layer seemed to mix in with the rest of the custard. The custard was super sweet to begin with, so it really didn’t need that extra dose of sugar.

notes for next time: I’m going to lessen the cup of sugar for the caramel to 1/2 a cup. That way, even if it mixes in, it won’t be sooooo sweet.

here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try!

[audreybakes]

Tarte au Citron from Nick Malgieri’s A Baker’s Tour

pros: very lemony and a very nice crust. My friends liked it a lot, although I had a problem or two.

cons: this is an extremely eggy tart, in taste, texture, and in the actualy number of eggs used. eight, maybe? yeah, a ton of eggs, basically, for one tart. if you like that kind of thing, then this is your tart. Me, not so much.

notes for next time: I probably won’t be making this tart again. there’s a lot of lemon tarts that are not this eggy.

here’s the recipe, should you want to try it.

[audreybakes]

Lemon Ginger Bars from Nick Malgieri's Bake! pros: these have all kinds of pros. they're basically a ginger bar cookie with a hint of lemon and a very lemony icing. gingerbread plus lemon is almost up there with gingerbread plus chocolate for me. the cookie isn't super zingy gingery, but just the right amount. as I've come to expect from Nick Malgieri, this is a super solid, reliable cookie! cons: no, none here! notes for next time: everything about this is pretty straightforward. it uses ingredients you probably have on hand already, except for the crystallized ginger, which is worth a special trip to the store IMO. here's the recipe, go bake it!

[audreybakes]

Chocolate and Pear Cake from Italian Kitchen

pros: very moist cake thanks to the pears. I’m not sure if it counts as a pro or a con, but the texture of this cake is unusual, probably because all the other ingredients get folded into whipped egg whites. it was light. I may have beat the egg whites a little long, which is why perhaps this cake is not as high as the one in the photograph. It makes a nice teatime snack, or even breakfast, as it’s not too sweet.

cons: I’m not sure if I would call the texture a con. It’s just not your everyday cake.

notes for next time: well, I guess I would be careful not to beat the eggs too long. otherwise, I think it’s pretty straightforward.

Here’s the recipe if you want to try it yourself!

[audreybakes]

Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie from the New York Times Dessert Cookbook

pros: well, it's main ingredient is a vegetable so this definitely qualifies as a health food! also, it's super boozy and delicious. it was easy to make, too, as long as you are okay with making pie crust, which I guess I am at this point. I felt so old-fashioned for making a sweet potato pie and it was seasonal, to boot!

cons: well, the only thing I can think of is the pie crust thing. if you fear making pie crust, you can always buy the pre-made crust in the store! otherwise, this is pretty con-free.

notes for next time: totally straightforward. no notes needed!

here's the recipe. go bake it!

[audreybakes]

Lemon wafers from The New York Times Dessert Cookbook

pros: these were little cookies that were easy to eat, and easy to make. all the ingredients were already in the pantry. sometimes it's nice to be able to whip up some cookies without making a special trip to the store.

cons: on the down side, they were pretty lacking in pizzazz. just not enough lemon flavor! they tasted downright floury. I've made Nick Malgieri's Lemonade cookies before, and that cookie blows this one out of the water.

notes for next time: next time, I'm just going to make the lemonade cookies. I can't find the recipe online, but I can't recommend Malgieri's book Cookies Unlimited enough.

if you want to try these, they're from a Barbara Kafka recipe here on the New York Times website.

[audreybakes]

Custardy Apple Square from Dorie Greenspan via Food 52

pros: these were pretty pro-heavy. the apple slices are thin, thin, thin and are surrounded by the vanilla-flavored, squidgy custard filling. and it's super easy to make! they cook up in an 8" square pan, and make about nine pieces, so you don't even have to find a crowd to eat them!

cons: I wouldn't recommend trying this recipe if you don't have a mandoline. I just don't see how you could get the apples sliced so thinly and evenly.

Here's the recipe, definitely try it!

[audreybakes]

Apple Hand Pies from Fork Knife Swoon pros: they were delicious, for one thing. For another, I completely forgot to put sugar in the filling, but it didn't really matter. The apples by themselves were sweet enough, although they weren't super juicy. cons: These were not the easiest to make or transport. The dough was very brittle and kept breaking, as you can see in the photo there. I made these for some friends of mine who'd recently had a baby. The idea was they could keep them in the fridge or freezer and warm them up when they needed a little treat. By the time I'd gotten them to my friend's house, a bunch of them had completely broken up, even though I'd carried them carefully. So, not the easiest to transport. Still delicious, though. notes for next time: I guess I would add a bit more water to the dough to make it a little easier to handle. And not forget the sugar in the filling. I'm kind of dying to try it again and see how it comes out! Here's the recipe (and in their picture, they came out perfectly, of course). Go try them!

[audreybakes]

Spicy gingerbread from the New York Times Dessert Cookbook

pros: this is pretty pro-tastic. It has all the good stuff (lots of ginger), and it's not too sweet. The texture was spot-on, even though I had a make a white sugar substitution.

cons: I would call this a con, but it didn't really come up to Dorie Greenspan's gingerbread (my all-time favorite gingerbread-of-my-dreams). But would anything compare to that? Probably not.

Notes for next time: I added a small handful of chocolate chips at the last minute, and that was a great idea. I would even put upwards of the 1/3 cup that I probably put in, say 1/2 cup or 2/3. As I noted, the gingerbread isn't that sweet so it could take it. I had it for about a week, and while it got a bit dried out by the edges, the rest of it kept pretty well. Here's the recipe, go make it!

[audreybakes]

Chocolate Chip and Salted Peanut cookies from The New York Times Dessert Cookbook

pros: these are decent enough cookies. Who can say no to salty peanuts and chocolate chips? Not me, apparently. Also, these are extra large, about the size of three regular cookies. cons: all that being said, these were not my favorite. I just felt like they could’ve had a little more…more. Maybe some peanut butter? notes for next time: I’m not sure I’ll be making these again. Like I said, they just seem a little lacking to me. These are actually called “My Favorite Cookies” from Nigella Lawson, although if you search her site for “my favorite cookies,” you get another recipe entirely. I got this recipe from the New York Times Dessert Cookbook, and it’s also available here on the New York Times Cooking site.

[audreybakes]

Greek New Year’s Cake from Epicurious

pros: It’s supposed to be good luck to eat this cake on New Year’s Eve, so that’s a pro, right? There's a lot of nice flavors here what with the orange juice, brandy, and almonds. Cons: It’s just so floury. I mean 4 cups of flour! The egg whites get whipped up separately and get folded in to the rest of the batter, which lightens it some, but even all those egg whites can’t fight *four* cups of flour. Notes for next time: I added a teaspoon of almond extract just to make it a little more exciting, and then a pinch of salt too. I cooked it for about 40 minutes instead of an hour, and that was plenty. If I was going to make this again, I’d just use a little less flour, half a cup, maybe? But will I make it again? Probably not. There are just too many delicious cakes out there to spend time futzing with this one. Here’s the recipe if you want to try it!

[audreybakes]

Pear Almond Ginger Tart from Food and Wine

pros: delicious, fairly easy to make, for a tart. I had some worries about the crust because it seemed really soft and sticky, and it rolls out pretty thin, but it came out perfect. I took it to a party and it was happily devoured to rave reviews! Five star! I like this a lot better than the last pear pie I made. I really like seeing the pear slices like this. Somehow it's just not the same when the pear is all diced up. And almond pastry cream! Everything should have almond pastry cream all over it. But it's the crystallized ginger that takes this up over the top for me. cons: As with any tart, it’s time-intensive, but that’s it. notes for next time: I made a change in the pastry cream, leaving out the almond meal and subbing in a little less than a teaspoon of almond extract because I like the cream to be smoooooooth! I actually met a lady at the party who made an argument for the almond meal, saying she liked the texture of it in the cream. I guess it’s just a matter of personal taste (but come on, ew!). I probably used more crystallized ginger than was in the recipe because why not?! Also, please note that the recipe makes *two* tarts. I made the entire batch of tart dough and will keep it in the freezer until the next time I bake a tart. If you’d like to give it a try, here’s the recipe!

[audreybakes]

Pear Bourbon Pie with Oat Crumble from Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pros: the crust was great! the filling was very bourbony… cons: maybe a little too bourbony? On top of that, the filling tasted overly sweet. Notes for next time: hmmm, I have a lot of pie recipes. I’m not sure this one would make the cut to make again. I have a whole book of boozy desserts should the mood strike. Still this wasn’t terrible or anything. Here’s the recipe, give it a try yourself and let me know how it goes!

[audreybakes]

Oatmeal Cream Pies from Food 52

pros: if you like Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, these will ring your bell. And they have oatmeal, so it’s practically a health food! Plus, they definitely don’t have all the crap in them that the processed version does. Just butter. Lots and lots of butter. And a touch of bourbon. Cons: For real, though, between the cookies and the cream, this had a pound of butter. And the recipe is for 16 cookie sandwiches. That’s right: a pound of butter, 16 servings. Do the math if you want, but I can tell you right now: it’s bad. But, what? Do I bake because it’s healthy. No, I do not. But these were also a little sweet for me. I found the cookie by itself too sweet and a little uninspired. Then again, it’s not meant to be eaten by itself. But with the cream, it’s still suuuuper duper sweet, with a little vanilla something. Notes for next time: They’re probably not something I would make for myself since I found them too sweet, but I took them to a party, and they were a big hit. It really tickled everyone’s nostalgia bone (is there a nostalgia bone?). Here’s the recipe, let me know what you think!

[audreybakes]

Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies from Epicurious

Pros: these are pretty-pro heavy. With three different kinds of chocolate chips, you would think they’d be too sweet, but the oatmeal makes them a little hearty and the cranberries add a tart note so the chocolate doesn’t overwhelm. These are actually from the Bon Appetit Christmas issue from years ago, but I find myself making them as soon as cranberry season comes around. Cons: the pretty pretty magazine photo has white chocolate drizzled over them, but I wasted a fair amount of white chocolate trying to make it drizzle-able. It melted, but didn’t get thin enough for drizzling. Very annoying. Notes for next time: I could have sworn that last time I made these, I used white chocolate for the drizzle, so I’d like to figure that out (do I seem obsessed with the drizzle?). Other than that, I’ve made these a bunch of times and they are easy to make, easy to eat!

Here’s the recipe, go bake ‘em!