Christmas baking!

This year, I also went for baked goods for Christmas presents. I made a rough list of the number of people I was baking for (47!), then got to work! I procrastinated a bit, and started baking on December 23rd.

First up, I made 2 batches of Spéculoos cookies. Some are flower-shaped, but most are star-shaped, because I felt they fit the purpose better.

I followed up with a Cheesecake Crumble to bring to the family party:

I also had some leftover lemon-flavored mini cheesecakes, so I topped them with some forest fruit jam, and sent them along for the other side of the family's party.

The next day (24th), I rushed to try to make chocolate bark. I wanted to make peppermint bark, but the general stores around here don't carry peppermint candy canes, and the one store that I found that had some had sold out... So I had this vague plan of trying to melt down some other peppermint candy and using that instead, but that plan went literally down the drain as it failed beyond saving.

I settled for crushed pistachios (they're colorful... and go well with chocolate). Being my first time making this kind of stuff, I made the chocolate layers way too thick. Oh wells.

Quick snapshots of the cookies and chocolate in a pretty arrangement.

I cut each of the pieces in the picture into 2-3 pieces to make them more enjoyable to eat, and settled to package them with the spéculoos cookies.

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SPECULOOS RECIPE

  Ingredients

• 250 g (2 cups) flour
• 100 g (7 tbs) butter or margarine (margarine makes it vegan but softer)
• 150 g (12-13 tbs) brown sugar
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 4-5 tbs cold water

  Procedure

1. Take butter out ahead of time to let it soften.
2. Preheat oven at 180°C (350°F).
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
4. Cut in softened butter and rub into the flour into a sandy mix.
5. Add water progressively until it comes together into a smooth dough.
6. Roll out and cut into desired shapes.
7. Bake for 15 mins.

Spinach ricotta lasagna and Cheesecake crumble

December 22, 2013
Had some relatives over for dinner, so I made a lasagna and a cheesecake.

Mini apple tarts

December 08, 2013
These ones were much more successful than the last ones! I managed to make the crust in a way that satisfied me, and my friends' parents loved them, as they weren't too sweet. The apple parts of these tarts are exactly the same as before, except that instead of microwaving my apple slices, I boiled them in sweetened apple syrup (aka the water used to make the apple sauce + sugar). Just the crust is different (recipe below).

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SHORTBREAD PASTRY CRUST RECIPE (Pâte Brisée)

  Ingredients

• 250 g flour
• 125 g cold butter, cubed
• 4 tbs brown sugar
• 2-3 tbs cold water

  Procedure

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Add in cubed butter and rub into the flour until there is no trace of butter on its own.
3. Add water slowly until it forms a dough.
4. Let rest 1 hour.
5. Roll out and place into tin.

  Tips

     Poke full of holes with a fork and bake at 180°C for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

For better results, first cut the butter into the flour with two butter knives until it is smaller. The less the butter melts from body heat, the better.

Yet another gratin

December 6, 2013
I made another gratin at some friends' house, but this time I added pasta into the mix. We didn't have very good pans to bake it in, so I split it into a big glass bowl and a couple of mugs.

Apple cinnamon cake

December 3, 2013
I was staying at my uncle's house for about a week, and there were a lot of apples going old in the fridge. So I decided to make a cake out of them. Sorry, I forgot where I got the recipe from...

Cheesecake crumble

December 1, 2013
I learned this recipe from a family friend, but she used eggs in hers. I tried to adapt to make it egg-free, and added some lemon zest for extra fragrance.

Some friends asked for the recipe, so instead of typing it out, I made an image of it. On the image, I included a recipe for homemade egg replacer that I found here. The original recipe using eggs is also available on the image.

Tip: Don't use low-fat sour cream or cream cheese in baked cheesecakes, as they make it harder to hold together.

Gratin, cookies, and tarts

November 24, 2013
I went to one of my teachers' and mentors' house for a lunch. Baked a gratin (zucchini, carrot, mushroom, broccoli in white sauce). Accompanied with some baguette.

 I also tested out a recipe for Spéculoos, and I must say, they were pretty successful! (recipe below) I also baked them for some high school students I was spending a lot of time with. I used a cleaned tomato concentrate can as a cookie cutter. Mixed in some slivered almonds as extra texture fun. Baked a good... 100 of them.

Also used my new mini tart-tins (I have 6 of them) with removable bottom to make mini apple tarts! I tried making the crust myself instead of buying pre-made ones. I felt this one was too sweet, so I won't include the recipe in this post.

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SPECULOOS RECIPE

  Ingredients

• 250 g (2 cups) flour
• 100 g (7 tbs) butter or margarine (margarine makes it vegan but softer)
• 150 g (12-13 tbs) brown sugar
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 4-5 tbs cold water

  Procedure

1. Take butter out ahead of time to let it soften.
2. Preheat oven at 180°C (350°F).
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
4. Cut in softened butter and rub into the flour into a sandy mix.
5. Add water progressively until it comes together into a smooth dough.
6. Roll out and cut into desired shapes.
7. Bake for 15 mins.

  Tips

• Mix some sliced almonds into the dough for extra texture.

Butter cookies

November 11, 2013
I wanted to test whether it would be good to try making my almond cookies without the almond powder... I used some blackberry jam this time. Personally, I thought they weren't as good, but my friend (who hasn't had the original version) thought they were good...

Cake Pops and Apple Tart

September 16, 2013
For a family get-together, I made cake pops (using crumbs made from the leftover cupcakes from the friends' visit, cream cheese, chocolate, and crushed almonds), and an apple tart.

The cake pops were a great success! The last time I made cake truffles, I found them way too sweet, what with the cake crumbs, the frosting, and the chocolate. This time, in anticipation, I lowered the amount of sugar in the cake recipe, and using cream cheese also brought down the level of sweetness. Using toasted sliced almonds that I crushed to smaller pieces helped to even out the flavor.

Chocolate mousse and cupcakes

September 13, 2013
My mom had some friends visiting for a snack and tea get-together, so I made some desserts to go with the tea. Composed of failed egg-free chocolate mousse (I beat the cream too long) that turned almost into truffle filling. Topped with some whipped cream. Accompanied by some mini cupcakes made with my go-to cake recipe, just without the matcha.