Danish Braid-Baking With Julia

Danish Braid

Danish Braid

This Danish Braid was filled with homemade berry jam and confectioner’s cream.  The confectioner’s cream was similar to a pastry cream.  I used milk instead of cream and it came out fine.  I also used frozen mixed berries for the jam.  There was more liquid due to the frozen berries, so I poured some off.  This danish was so good!  Even the next day.

My baking adventures this summer

imageI took a break from the blog this summer, but continued baking. The cupcake tree was for my sister’s wedding. Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting. The topper was a coconut cake.

I will be posting again on Tuesday for the Baking with Julia cookbook group. Happy Baking.

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Double Chocolate Espresso Cookiesimage

Princess Cake

Princess Cake

Johnny Cake Cobbler

Johnny Cake Cobbler

Profiteroles

Profiteroles

Lemon bars

Lemon bars

Savory Brioche Pockets – Baking with Julia

brioche

These brioche pockets have a savory filing of onion, goat cheese, mashed potatoes, chives and butter.  The recipe calls for asparagus tips but i decided to use carrots.  The dough works best when it is on the cool side.  It was a very warm day so the dough was a bit tricky to work with.  They are brushed with an egg wash and topped with a sage leaf that gives them a nice golden color.   I thought these were delicious–very tasty.

Carie at Loaves and Stitches has the recipe.

Madeleines – Baking with Julia

madeline cookie

This is a little late.  I was busy with my sister’s wedding cakes.  It was an outdoor camping celebration so the big challenge was keeping the cakes shaded and cool until serving.  They were a huge hit.  The madeleines came out nice.  I had a new pan in the shelf that had never been used, so i seasoned it and they popped right out.  They would be nice with some lemon or orange zest added.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to Katie and Amy of Counter Dog for hosting this month.

Mocha Chocolate Chips – Baking with Julia

choc cookie

 

I made half of this recipe which made quite a few cookies.  I skipped the dried apricots and used white chocolate and semisweet chocolate.  The cookies had a nice coffee taste by adding 2 tablespoons of coffee powder.  Next time i would add some walnuts.

Thank you to Peggy of Galettista for hosting this week.  See her blog for the recipe. Check out all of the bakers at the TWD website.

 

Foccacia – Baking with Julia

pizza

 

This week’s recipe is Foccacia bread.  It was an involved  recipe which I made over two days.  It has two risings then it is put in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  I made a pizza topping from sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, jack cheese and chicken apple sausage.  When it came out of the oven  I added some sliced fresh basil.  My dough did not seem to have the bubbles when I was flattening it out.  I think this was due to adding all the flour then trying to add water to make it not so stiff.  In hindsight I would have held back on some flour.  It was still pretty yummy.

Thank you to Sharmini of Wandering Through for hosting this week.

French Apple Tart-Baking with Julia

Apple tart

 

This week’s recipe is a French Apple Tart.  It has a buttery flakey crust and the filling is similar to chunky applesauce.  I made this on Sunday afternoon which was good because it takes a few hours to prepare.  I liked this tart because it had a good apple flavor-not too sweet.

Go visit Laws of the Kitchen to see photos and the recipe. Check out the other bakers and their variations here.

Finnish Pulla – Baking with Julia

Finnish Pulla

 

The Finnish Pulla bread was basically an easy recipe.  You just needed to have a good amount of time to make it.  That said I have made it twice in the past week and both times it turned out beautiful.  The ground cardamon adds an interesting flavor to the bread.  The pearlized sugar gave a nice crunch and slight sweetness to the top of the bread. It is a wonderful bread for breakfast or brunch.  Yum, I could eat this anytime.

The next time I make this I want to add a cardamon, sugar and ground nut filling to the braid. I am not sure if I will have time to make the Finnish Pulla for Christmas morning, but this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Be sure to check out the recipe at Erin’s blog and the other postings at TWD.

Happy Holidays and may there be more time for baking in the new year.

 

Buttermilk Crumb Muffins – Baking with Julia

This weeks recipe is Buttermilk Crumb Muffins.  They  are made with solid vegetable shortening.  I  like baking with butter but I have to say these came out very tender and also not  too sweet considering the 2 cups of brown sugar.  I  might make these again and use butter instead.

Thank you to Alisa for hosting this week.  Click on Alisa’s blog; easier than pie