Posted by: Dawn on: March 3, 2013
Savarins are essentially a rum-soaked baba – a cross between a brioche bread and a cake. The dough is made very similarly to a brioche dough, in that it’s mostly eggs, flour and butter, but it has much more liquid in it. This allows you to pipe the dough into little doughnut-like molds for baking. [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: November 29, 2012
I was excited to make these things when I first saw them, partly because I thought they looked cool but mostly because of the name. Eggs! Snow! Two of my favorite things! Plus, the actual details are solid: a big of meringue poached in milk, coated in caramel and set upon a pool of crème [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: November 27, 2012
I’m not going to lie: crème brûlée just doesn’t excite me all that much. I’ve had it several times, and while it’s fun to break into the top crust and enjoy the contrast between the crunchy caramelized sugar and the smooth custard underneath, it just doesn’t do much for me. Perhaps because most of them [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: November 19, 2012
Before reading The Book, I’d never heard of cannelés before. I’ve been putting off making these for quite a while because they require a special mold. While you can get silicone cannelé molds pretty inexpensively, the recipe specifically states that you really don’t want to use those. It suggested using tinned copper molds, which seemed [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: November 2, 2012
Yes, my French pastry cookbook has a recipe for a milkshake in it. I was as surprised as you are, believe me. However, it all became clear when I realized that the French word for milkshake was, well, “milkshake.” That right there tells you that they took the concept from anglophones, which makes it all [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: July 3, 2012
Until I typed up the recipe for this one, I had absolutely no idea what it was. For some reason, when I saw “Gourmet Delights” my brain went to “Turkish delight” and I was expecting to make some sort of Chuckles-like candy. (Do they even make Chuckles anymore? I’m guessing no, since I can’t recall [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: June 10, 2012
After years of not really getting it, I’m starting to understand the beauty in a well-made simple custard. It’s creamy without being too heavy. It’s rich without being overwhelming. It’s lightly flavored without being bland. It really is just about the perfect dessert to pair with a cup of good coffee or strong tea, or [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: May 15, 2012
I know what you’re thinking, “Is there seriously a French toast recipe in the book?” Yes, yes there is. It may seem ridiculous, but there’s a very good reason for it. It’s because, as Americans, we have gotten lazy in how we make French toast. (At least everyone I know has.) Let me know if [...]
Posted by: Dawn on: March 21, 2012
I know this is way overdue, but this blog was down Sunday night when I originally tried to write this post and it’s been “week after Spring Break” hectic at school since then. (AKA, “Perhaps I shouldn’t have completely failed to get any sort of work or reading done last week….. naaaahhhh.”) I admit to fully [...]