A TRIO OF SUPERSTARS

Posted in Cake, Cookies, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Today my blog pays homage to three amazing bakers who put great effort into each post they compose. Their blog articles end up as detailed tutorials that allow even a beginner baker to tackle what might seem very intimidating at first. I share three recipes, in the chronological order I baked them in the past couple of months.

SUPERSTAR BAKER #1
HELEN FLETCHER
BLUEBERRY LEMON POKE CAKE

BLUEBERRY LEMON POKE CAKE

One of the tastiest cakes baked in our kitchen, and I am not exaggerating. Moist. Sweet to the perfect level. Luscious. Everything works in this cake. For the recipe and very detailed tutorial, visit Helen’s blog with a click here. You will make a blueberry jam to fill the cake, and I advise you to give enough time to allow it to set a bit, just to make it easier to work with…. Below, a little comparison between Helen’s neat work and yours truly… my jam was still bit too loose. No major harm done, though, I just thought it was funny to share.

Helen’s site and her cookbooks are a constant source of inspiration for me. Plus, she is tremendously helpful and whenever I get into trouble I drop her an email. She has rescued me more than once. A lot more than once (wink, wink).

Every once in a while, Helen offers online classes, and I’ve taken a couple of them. One of my favorites was last year, in which she taught how to make Chocolate Tartlets with a caramel filling. A thing of pure beauty and absolutely decadent! Make sure to subscribe to her blog, so you get notification of upcoming classes.

SUPERSTAR BAKER #2
CAROLINE
RED VELVET OREO STYLE SANDWICH COOKIES

RED VELVET OREO STYLE SANDWICH COOKIES

Absolutely delicious, you can make them without the cutouts if you’d like to simplify your life, but of course turning them into Linzer territory is not a bad move at all! For the full recipe click here. I made a very slightly modification adding strawberry extract to the filling and a touch of pink gel color. Other than that, I followed her recipe to a T.

You can modify the filling, use jam, or Nutella, the cookies are very flavorful and will be perfect no matter your choice of filling. Caro has countless baking lessons in her site, I highly recommend you pay her a visit and subscribe to be notified of new posts. Caroline is one of the moderators of a Facebook group with almost 18 thousand members, for lovers The Great British Bake Off, and that’s how I got to know her. I don’t know how she manages to do all she does…

SUPERSTAR BAKER #3
TANYA OTT
RED VELVET CAKE DONUTS

As you can see, I’ve been on a red velvet kick lately. These are spectacular and simple to make, especially if you follow the detailed instructions and the very helpful video available in Tanya’s blog. Essentially two bowls, no need for an electric mixer until you get into frosting territory.

Another example of a great baking instructor, Tanya’s articles are always carefully composed, and I am in awe of the amount of work she puts into the making of each of the videos often included in her posts. In case you don’t know, Tanya was one of the contestants in season 5 of The Great American Baking Show, and I shared the tent with her a few times. She even got a handshake from a certain guy with penetrating blue eyes…

That’s all for now, folks! I hope you visit my friends’ sites, and get as inspired
by their baking as I do…

ONE YEAR AGO: Turkey Meatloaf

TWO YEARS AGO: Prue Leith’s Smoked Salmon and Beetroot Blinis

THREE YEARS AGO: Mandioca Frita 101

FOUR YEARS AGO: White Chocolate Raspberry Dome Cake

FIVE YEARS AGO: Blueberry Crumble Coffee Cake

SIX YEARS AGO: Pickled Red Onions

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Mini-Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

NINE YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Grated Tomato Sauce

TEN YEARS AGO: A Taste of Yellow to Honor Barbara

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Gratin of Beefsteak Tomatoes

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Tour de France Final Stage: PARIS

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Snickerdoodles with a Twist

4Jul2022

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

For those in the USA, have a nice celebration… please do your part to minimize the fireworks, as it is so difficult for pets and for many human beings, for all sorts of reasons.

To learn more about this set of cookies, stop by my cookie blog with a click here…

13Jun2022

UKRAINE, NO WORDS NEEDED

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

ONE YEAR AGO: Mini-Pullman Sourdough Bread

TWO YEARS AGO: Gibassier

THREE YEARS AGO: Sundried Tomato Twist Bread

FOUR YEAR AGO: And now for something completely different….

FIVE YEARS AGO: Parsnip, Coconut, and Lemongrass Soup

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2016

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Paleo Moussaka

EIGHT YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2014

NINE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2013

TEN YEARS AGO: Crimson and Cream Turkey Chili

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Taking a break from the nano-kitchen

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Chip Cookies

6May2022

A TRIO OF COOKIES

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

As you may remember, I have a blog dedicated exclusively for cookies (click here), but it does not include recipes. It is a venue to document my path through cookie decorating. Come to think of it, check out my 3D macs that were published yesterday...) When I try a new, blog-worthy recipe, it will be shared right here. Today I offer you three recipes, all from bloggers I follow and love. They are listed in chronological order, the last one I made last weekend.

SPRITZ BARS
(from Helen Fletcher)

I made these cookies in October last year, and they were a huge hit. The instructions in Helen’s site are super detailed, and you’ll end up with little cookies that look very professional, uniform in size, the type of bake that makes me think of a certain tent of my past. For the full recipe, visit this post. I just love the use of Swedish pearl sugar.

CREAM CHEESE SUGAR COOKIES
(by Tanya Ott)

When Tanya raves about a sugar cookie, I listen. She knows her cookies well… The addition of cream cheese tames the sweetness and gives it a wonderful texture. She mentioned they hold the shape well – notice the recipe does not call for leavening agents – so I put it to a harsh test, using a patterned rolling pin. As you can see, the recipe passed the test with no issues! This batch was made in November last year, right after Tanya blogged about it (for the full recipe, click here)

The cookies would be perfect without any adornment, but I could not resist brushing a little pink luster dust and then some pearl. Just because…

TOFFEE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH BROWN BUTTER BUTTERCREAM FILLING
(from Josette, TheBrookCook)

If you read Josette’s post about it, you’ll understand why I jumped on making them right away. I was intrigued by the use of Toffee bits in the dough. Works like a charm. And the combination of cookie plus brown butter buttercream is outstanding. Make them, you won’t be disappointed. I changed the decoration to a drizzle of chocolate, but check her version for the authentic recipe (click here).