ב''ה
Not as indulgent as the Bostini but still pretty fab!
If you get bored at any point during this post just play some Bach:
I know I did. :)
Mis en place:
I only got three cakes out of the first batch of genoise batter so I made a second batch. My little spring-forms must be bigger than maryanne pans. The first batch, shown below, came out pretty spongy. I actually forgot to add the sugar to the eggs until I was half way through the beating.
The second batch came out a bit denser for some reason and I only got two cakes out of it, even though I added the sugar at the right time and made sure the eggs were good and warm before I beat them. Perhaps it was affected by the mixing bowl that I neglected to clean in between genoise batters (since I'm being honest here, and would like to figure out what went wrong.)
After cutting the holes. I wonder if there is a more precise method for doing this?
After the syrup. I used cheap brandy since I was not about to blow $53 on a bottle of cognac. One of these days..
Bubbling apricot preserves...
After straining. I added apricot brandy.
De glaze.
Looking good. That chocolate stuff sure is yummy!
On closer inspection, I think I see Hello Kitty...
Maybe its just me, but I'm starting to see that face in everything since we got my daughter one of these toasters for Chanukah. :)
I poured the drizzle into only one side of the sandwich bag so it would not all squirt out when I cut the other end.
The "Ez Man" wants more chocolate...
The apricot syrup and glaze added a really nice flavor and chocolate center was really tasty and creamy.
We also made some Jewish ginger bread from our new favorite cookie book:
On the BBA bread baking front, some Vienna bread torpedos. These made the most incredible peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. :)
With this, I officially finish my way baking through The Bread Baker's Apprentice. There are just a couple variations of breads I have already baked I would like to try. Maybe I'll bake trough it again using the mixer with dough hook, since I have never really gotten used to using the mixer/dough hook. Or, Maybe I'll start going through Maggie Glezer's book.
Wow - what gorgeous, happy children!
ReplyDeleteI am bemoaning the fact that I spent 3.5 hours on 6 itty-bitty little cakes. You were smart, as usual, and they look gorgeous. I love your adventuresome spirit - I wish I could fly out of the box more like you, and improvise with pans, etc. You are truly inspirational!
Kudos on baking your way through BBA. I have to borrow it from the library (again) but this time, I should make time to actually bake from it. I've heard nothing but good things about it.
ReplyDeleteYour Genoise mini cakes look great! I was lazy and baked one large MaryAnn-ish cake instead f minis :o)
Congrats on finishing a BBA bake-through! I'm just contemplating starting the official challenge--I have my copy of the book, and am reading through all the intro stuff (and clearing my freezer of existing stashed bread) before I jump in. Did you do them in order, or by whatever appealed?
ReplyDeleteLove your flexibility on the pans for the bull's eye cakes....
Beautiful, Mendy. I have to agree about the face, I think it's Mickey Mouse.
ReplyDeleteYour kids are gorgeous and so cute! I'm with Lois..i saw Mickey Mouse too.. I have to bake this..i have so many to catch up.... Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteWow Mendy! That's just incredible baking all that bread. And yes, agree with you completely, once Hello Kitty enters your life she pretty much takes over. Love your little cakes.
ReplyDeleteMendy, it looks more like a mini turkey to me :).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing the BBA. That's quite a feat!
Your cakes looks awesome.
I made the full recipe of the bull's-eye at once, and half of them turned out denser (at the bottom) than the rest. Not a noticeable difference once syruped, but still, odd. This often happens to me with this type of cakes. I also don't know why - just want to tell you that I experience the same thing.
when i was home over the holidays my parents pulled out a box of my stuff to sort through, and i found about 20 hello kitty erasers i had collected when i was a kid! i would have loved that toaster when i was 6.
ReplyDeletecongrats on baking through the BBA! that is a major achievement. plus, your mini genoise look great. do you have a better idea about what differed between your two batches?
ב''ה
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your kind words.
Still not sure what went wrong with the cakes though.
Come to think of it, that does sort of look like Mickey...
:)
Mendy, your kids are so cute! And your cakes and rolls look delicious! Perhaps the little bit of flour that was left in the bowl from the first set got overmixed when you whipped the second round of eggs and made the cakes denser. I'm no expert--just surmising. They look very yummy regardless :)
ReplyDeleteWow, looks very delicious.
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