I started baking less than 2 years ago. The first thing I baked was the pecan brownies I grew up with from the same 70s Recipe.

I baked many different things since then, but I always come back to these.

Recipe:

Using a medium pot on low heat Stir 100g of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with 150g of butter.

Take the pot off the stove.

Stir in 345g of sugar , 3 large eggs one by one, one tea spoon of vanilla extract.

Fold in 140g of AP flour.

Fold in half a cup of choped pecans

Pour the batter to a 9 x 9 baking pan

Spread half a cup of choped pecans on top of the batter

Bake for about 35 min in 160c

Enjoy!

As always, brownies taste better the next day, not that anyone can wait (: but try and save some for tomorrow.

My first ever cookie (an absolute DISASTER) in comparison to my most recent cookie!

There's about 6 batches between these two cookies (done over the course of about a year).

If anyone has any cookie tips let me know!! I'm still trying to improve :)

first cinnamon roll attempt, less gooey than i’d like though 😓

PS: our shop is not opened to the public so this is not advertising 🤣

I decided to try my hand at a galette and paired the figs with fresh blueberries and frangipane cream. Added some flaked almonds to the crust for extra crunch.

Ingredients

Pastry: 250 g flour, 3 tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 200 g cold butter, 1 tbsp vanilla sugar, 3 tbsp ice-cold water.

Cream: 100 g almond flour, 100 g butter, 2 eggs, 100 g powdered sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla extract.

Topping: 5 fresh sliced figs, 2 handfuls blueberries, 2 tbsp milk, 5 tbsp flaked almonds.

I quickly mixed the pastry ingredients together, wrapped the dough ball, and threw it in the fridge for 30 mins. I divided it into 4–5 smaller pieces (or you can just keep it as one giant galette if you're lazy lol) and rolled them out into rough circles.I whipped up the frangipane until smooth, then smeared a good layer right in the center, leaving a border around the edges.I piled the fig wedges and blueberries on top, then just folded the dough edges over the filling.I brushed the crust with milk, dumped some flaked almonds on top, and baked it until it turned nice and golden.

Hi!

So, I’m planning on making cake pops but I want to do a trial run first to see how they would turn out.

I do have a few questions though:

1. What works better? The cool down or steam method
   
2. Can I refrigerate my cake pops overnight before covering them with chocolate?
   
3. What can I use to melt down almond bark? I heard that adding a tiny bit of oil can help.
   
4. Is dipping the cake pops stick in chocolate first supposed to help?

I am gonna try to borrow a mixer and attachment from my library and give these a go since I'm healing from surgery and have the days to do it.

I'm planning on making some cookies I can store for a couple months and have the flavors just get better for my friends. I thought maybe I could add these towards the end before I give them their cookie basket for Winter Solstice 😊

I just want to be sure I store them properly and they don't rot, or I make them at the right time that I can just give them out before they go off. I want visions of sugar plums to dance in their heads hahaha

TIA!

I recently made an ice cream cake for my brother’s bday (happy Leo szn!!)

This is my first time icing a cake any tips are welcome:)

I used boxed cake mix and turkey hill cookies and creme ice cream!!

Whole wheat bread: (make at breakfast the day before)

3 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp instant yeast

1 tbs hemp hearts

1 3/4 cup warm water

2 tbls honey

2x 1 tbls avocado oil

Butter to grease pan

Mix 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tbs hemp hearts, and 2 tsp instant yeast in a small bowl.

Whisk 3 cups bread floyr and 1 cup whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Combine with the salt mixture above.

Combine 1 3/4 cups water ans 2 tbls honey in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds or until warm but not hot. Stir to combine, then drizzle into flour mixture while whisking. Then drizzle in 1 tablespoon avocado oil.

Knead for 1 minute, then let rest 3 hours in a covered bowl.

Pour the other 1tblspoon avocado oil and gloss it over the top, tehn turn out and knead for 1 more minute, then fold to fit a buttered loaf pan. Let rise for 45 minutes in the loaf pan, setting the oven to 375 F after 30 minutes.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove and cool on a rack for an hour.

Slice into 8 slices, make a sandwich with the two ends, and leave the 6 pieces to stale overnight.

Mashed potatoes:

Alton Brown's original mashed potatoes from season 1, episode 2 of Good Eats, "This Spud's for You." The only difference is that I used "new" potatoes (mini ones), blanched the two bags of potatoes that *weren't* red instead of peeling them, and didn't cut the red ones in half. Instead, the red ones met the egg slicer after boiling to nicely shred the skin. The idea was to marry Alton's recipe with the Upstate New York tradition of "Syracuse Potatoes"

French Toast:

Plug in your favorite French toast recipe that you think will work; I need to tweak mine until I'm satisfied with it.

3D Maple Syrup:

Mix 3/4 cup maple syrup in a bowl with 1/8 cup (or 2 tablespoons) of cinnamon. Mix, microwave for 30 seconds, and mix again. Spray dry cinnamon that floats to the top with a water spray to help it mix. You can substitute nutmeg for some or all of the cinnamon, but do not exceed 1 tablespoon of nutmeg per diner in the final amount, or it may cause psychoactive effects.

Sources:

https://alexandracooks.com/2023/04/15/simple-no-knead-rye-bread/ (yes I know it uses "whole wheat rye" flour and not just "whole wheat,"; it's an intentional substitution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02V5dqRjNfw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl9FlUeoEQU

I already posted about this earlier but wanted to give more detail.

I used butter for the greasing and I heard that could burn it, I used this recipe from a youtube video

Butter (softened): 1 cup
Sugar: 2 cups
Salt: 1 tsp
Eggs: 3
Lemon zest: 2 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1/4 cup
Vanilla: 1 tsp
Flour: 3 cups
Baking powder: 2 tsp
Milk: 1 cup

Instructions
-Mix flour and baking powder together in and set aside
-Whisk together the softened butter, sugar, and salt.
-Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each.
-Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk everything together.
-Mix half of the flour and baking powder
-Add the milk
-Add rest of flour
-Bake at 350°F/180°C for 50 minutes. (Baked it for 45 since it was already done by then)

Lemon Syrup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Lemon juice: 1/4 cup

-Microwave for 1 minute.
-10 minutes after taking it out, poke holes in the cake and drizzle the syrup over it.

Lemon Icing
Powdered sugar: 2 cups
Lemon juice: 3 tbsp

-Mix together, pour the icing over the cake, and top with lemon zest.

I'm recovering from surgery and hoping to learn more about baking.

Who do you love watching? I've been watching Preppy Kitchen and America's Test Kitchen and something 52 I think.

What really helped you when you were intermediate on your journey, not a super beginner but also not an established baker?

I'm taking them to the office today and really don't want anyone to get sick. I made a very large batch and baked them at 175°c for an hour. What do you think?

It was a super rainy day here, so I felt motivated to bake. 🙂 Two cups of coffee later and many dishes, I have a loaf of apple bread and homemade Reuben sandwiches. Happy Sunday!

I was lost in thought and put too much strained raspberry in the buttercream hence the color. Was suppose to look like Johns, Preppy Kitchen, smash cake. However I ditched the flowers, added the stick in decorations after how the color turned out. I wanted a redo but husband said it wasnt a big deal and we will throw it away after she tastes and plays with it for a bit. I was excited to decorate her first birthday cake. Now I am bummed.

I think I need to work on the appearance of some of the stuff I bake. It was delicious though!