The Essence of Doughnuts

I've been psyching myself up to make doughnuts for a while.

As often happens, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.

The Essence of Rough Puff Pastry

This post is going to be a bit more of a tutorial, rather than an 'essence'. The ratio is dead simple, but in this case, it's the method that's the tricky part. I've got lots of lovely pictures of my technique and the appetising results, so it shouldn't be too boring.

The Essence of MacarOOns

It seems there's a bit of confusion when it comes to macaroons and their cousins. From where I stand, it seems there are two things. One of them looks like a little pile of dessicated coconut, usually dipped or drizzled in chocolate. That's what I'm making.

The other one looks like a fluorescent hamburger made of meringue. That is not what I'm making.

The Essence of Rice Pudding

Last week, we found a tin of rice pudding in the back of our kitchen cupboard. Its best before date was 2005.

Yes, 2005. And tins last a long time before their best before date, too. It could well have been ten years old.

The Essence of Choux Pastry

So. It's exam season.

The Biscuit Inquisitions: Part 1

OK, you're probably as bored as I am of my biscuit posts reappearing and disappearing . You may have noticed my recent biscuit post is gone again.

The trouble is, I still can't really decide where to put the borderline of the definition of 'biscuit'.

Challah

Here's an interesting fact about me: half my ancestors are Jewish. My maternal grandparents, and a big chunk of my family on that side.

Almond and Chocolate Cupcakes

It was another friend's birthday last week. I kid you not.

That picture is really starting to get on my nerves.

The Essence of Danish Pastry

The first thing I found when I started looking up recipes for Danish pastry was a load of articles saying "It's not as scary as you think!". Considering I actually didn't have an opinion on how scary it was before I started, that all actually made me feel worse about the whole thing.

The Essence of Chocolate Ganache

This was something else that I wasn't sure about making an Essence out of. But I decided to go for it. After looking at a lot of recipes, they all seemed pretty much the same, which I took as a good sign.

The Essence of Pancakes - American Style

I was born and brought up (although not so much bred) in London, England.

But because of the 'not so much bred' part, American pancakes are actually the type I grew up with. We never ate pancakes any more than the average family (once or twice a year at the most), but when we did, they were proper thick, fluffy, fried cakes.

The Essence of Pancakes - European Style

As I talked about in my other pancake post, European pancakes are not actually my 'mother dish', although it should be by rights of my geography. And in fact, if I was given the absolute choice, I think I'd simply have to opt for American style overall.

But flat, wide, unleavened European pancakes have their own unique applications too, and I can't deny that.

Bakewell Tarts

I loooove Bakewell tart. I mean, really, love it. To the level of, if-I-had-to-only-eat-one-thing-for-all-eternity-it-would-be-Bakewell-tart, kind of love.

I love almonds. I love jam. I love cake. I love pastry. It contains almost all of the things I love, and nothing at all that I don't.

Apple and Pear Muffins

Who likes fruit? I do!

The Essence of Shortcrust Pastry

I realised I needed to do an Essence of pastry when my mum was making a casserole.

It's to do with dumplings, actually. I expect some of you are already aware that the essence of pastry is the same as the essence of dumplings.

If you aren't, you might find it hard to believe. I wouldn't be surprised, I was certainly doubtful at first. But it's really true! I'll explain more when we get there.

The Essence of Brownies

Oh yes. I'm going there. Brownies indeed.

The Essence of Muffins

A lot of people think muffins and cakes are the same thing. I definitely used to be one of those people, until a few weeks ago.

Turns out, they're not.

The Essence of Cake - Part 2

Link to Part 1

Pound cake is not quite as light or fluffy as sponge cake - it's more dense and bready in texture, because the butter whipping method doesn't create quite as much air as the egg method. Which is why sponge cake is might lighter - eggs whip up to a much greater volume, meaning they've incorporated much more air, and so they rise more during cooking. Neither one cake is better than the other. The best one depends on the situation or occasion, your personal tastes, and a whole load of other factors. Of course I recommend you make them both at once in order to compare!

The Essence of Cake - Part 1

Cake.

I have an odd relationship with cake. That is to say, my feelings towards it have been rather changeable over my lifetime. I expect as a child, I always assumed it was an easy thing to make - the first thing you make, almost equivalent to a batch of biscuits in terms of ease.

The Essence of Fudge - Part 2

Link to Part 1

You might be disappointed that I'm going to tell you you need a piece of equipment which you may not already have. This is a sugar thermometer. If you search online, there is a lot of stuff about making fudge without a thermometer, judging by eye and appearance when the fudge is cooked the right amount. Feel free to do this if you wish. I have a (sometimes irritatingly) analytical mind, and so I simply couldn't cope with just 'judging' by eye. That's why I like to use a thermometer. If you're OK without, then I envy and admire you. If you're not, I bought mine for something like £6 online, it's really not a big deal.