Baking With Anna Olson
Having plenty of cream in my fridge meant that I was going to make a custardy-type dessert, such as this maple crème topped with an almond crackle. It is not a crème brûlée per se because the top has not been coated with sugar that was burnt and caramelized to create the typical hard crust. In its place, a nut crackle is used to create the crunchy feeling usually obtained by the caramelization of the sugar.
Read MoreNeeding a garnish for a dessert that I wanted to make, I made this simple yet elegant nut crackle garnish. For my particular dessert I doubled the recipe, and for some reason the “crackle” never really solidified completely, making it difficult to break into pieces. Perhaps I should have kept in a bit longer in the oven to cook the syrup more, but I am not sure if that was the problem. I will keep you posted!
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Surplus of both apples and free time has led me to make these cinnamon-apple almond streusel squares. As Anna writes in her cookbook, this dessert does indeed smell like apple pie in the making, but it takes considerable less effort to make! The taste is as expected: the deliciousness of apples merged with cinnamon and butter. The format of these squares makes them easy to eat and to share!
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Lemon desserts are not my favorite thing on the planet, but when one cannot eat chocolate one has to adapt. I made these bars mostly because walnuts are involved and they are easy to share, which is a bonus and makes it easy to bring to work! Perhaps I was a bit biased to start with, but I was not a big fan of this recipe. I found that the base was much to thick compared to the lemon layer, which made for a more dense and nutty bar.
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Last night I desperately needed to bake something that did not contain chocolate and could satisfy my sweet tooth. I thus present to you – caramel walnut shortbread squares.
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After having been crazy-busy with my PhD for the last 3 months, I have finally found some calm again, enough for me to get back into baking at least. I made these coconut-almond-chocolate bars for a colleague’s birthday today. I wanted a recipe that didn’t look too complicated to ease back into it gently and I was not disappointed. These bars are simple to make yet taste delicious.
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What is one to do with a large amount of egg whites leftover from making crème brûlées? Make soufflés, of course! Now I had never made a soufflé as I, like the majority of people I think, have always been intimidated by soufflés. Nonetheless, I decided that I would give it a shot by making this Baileys chocolate soufflé. It was not too complicated to make, but I was still nervous about messing it up. The first moment that gave me doubt was when the “thick paste” that I was supposed to obtain from combining the melted chocolate and the milk mixture was not so thick.
Read MoreThe dessert I made next called for this velvety and creamy caramel sauce. What a delight! It is fast to make and excellent. I highly suggest the addition of Baileys as it changes the whole taste profile. It is like caramel sauce for grown-ups!
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Considering that I was, to my surprise, fairly successful in making the classic crème brûlées last time, I thought that I would be a little fancy and attempt the dulce de leche crème brûlée. Dulce de leche consists in sweet milk which can be obtained by caramelizing sugar in milk. I made the classic vanilla crème brûlée several months ago and sadly I had forgotten how delicious it was. I dare say, however, that this caramelized version is my favorite of the two.
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Like most people, I strongly dislike wasting food. As such, whenever I have some fruits or vegetables, or any other ingredient for that matter, laying around that I know will probably turn bad before I get to consume it, I search for a recipe that I could make to use it up and prevent wastage. Last week I had a combination of apples that were getting soft, raisins, dates and prunes, the last of which I wouldn’t even think of eating just like that. To my surprise, I was able to find a perfect recipe in “Back to Baking” that would allow me to use all of these ingredients! I call upon… the mincemeat pie.
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Valerie 