tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111236672024-03-07T01:20:48.644-05:00Our Patisseriezinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-9989284252917392272009-04-10T06:36:00.004-04:002009-04-11T08:29:45.652-04:00Cinnamon Raisin Whirls I made these for a group of nurses visiting our mosque. I could not be present during their visit, but found out later that the whirls were very well-received. In fact, some of the guests realized that they were homemade, and asked for the recipe which we emailed to them. The headmistress of the nursing school replied back, thanking and informing us that they made copies of the recipe zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-27039243518570798472009-02-05T09:38:00.002-05:002009-02-05T09:49:33.358-05:00Rice Pudding as I Like itMy least favorite amongst dairy desserts is rice pudding, but this version I found in Kate Zuckerman's The Sweet Life is an acception to the rule. It is still a rice pudding, but Kate Zuckerman's technique sets it apart from the traditional rice pudding as we know it. She first cooks the rice in coconut milk, and then mixes it with a rich custard base flavored with cardamom. Another flavor zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-58578004916903597742009-01-27T11:31:00.009-05:002009-01-29T21:47:05.454-05:00Chocolate Covered Pistachio Cookies Although nowadays I prefer bittersweet chocolate to milk chocolate, I still favor milk chocolate when the occasion calls for pairing chocolate with nuts. It must be homage to those childhood years when my favorite snack was a bar of pistachio-decked milk chocolate. I would have loved to make these cookies with milk chocolate, but I did not have any at home, so I used bittersweet chocolate zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-76439703776145188762008-03-13T07:08:00.009-04:002008-12-09T10:08:47.388-05:00A Very Busy Baking DayTwo weeks ago, I had a very busy baking day. To be exact, I made 4 Chestnut and White Chocolate Cheesecakes, 4 Chocolate and Pecan Cheesecakes, a Linzer Torte, a Sacher Torte, lots of Chocolate Hazelnut Sables, Raspberry Macarons and Chocolate Crumb Bars. Fortunately, the weather was on my side, and I was able to use our front porch as a walk-in refrigerator. As intense as that experience was, Izinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-41214579129086421252008-01-31T08:18:00.005-05:002008-12-09T10:08:49.358-05:00Catching UpHere are some desserts that I made in the past couple of weeks. None of them was made following a recipe, although I was inspired by what I saw on some blogs and cookbooks.Do you enjoy making cake rolls? I really do. First of all, I find them easier and faster to make than regular cakes. Secondly, there is a good deal of satisfaction that comes by completing the task without major cracks. Not zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-26249691682573142232008-01-17T10:21:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:08:49.855-05:00Plaisir SucreI finally got around to making Plaisir Sucre from Pierre Herme and Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Desserts. So much has already been said about this dessert, but I still want to add my two pence's worth of praises to the collection. This probably was the most fulfilling baking/cooking experience that I had. The well-written book took me step by step along the somewhat lengthy preparation, and when zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-57523966786054736932007-12-26T14:46:00.001-05:002008-12-09T10:08:50.553-05:00MacaronsI made a lemon curd based berry trifle the other day. The egg whites left over from the lemon curd stayed on the kitchen countertop until next day. When I noticed them next morning, I thought of making macarons. This time, I started with a new recipe (Hazelnut Macarons from The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman) and tweaked it a little to make coffee macarons with a coffee-caramel filling. The result zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-90382408851282867422007-12-25T11:11:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:08:50.871-05:00Merry Christmas We wish you fun-filled holidays with your loved ones.zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-29786543004176515572007-12-17T13:05:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:08:52.487-05:00Yule LogI made this yule log well in advance, so I could share the recipe early enough for people who might want to try it. Two days are already gone by. So, here I am posting a picture as a visual cue to myself to sit down and write the recipe... as soon as possible. Hopefully before the day ends. The recipe is from Francois Payard's Simply Sensational Desserts. The book has 3 of them, and I tried the zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-16276258943928663892007-12-09T09:29:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:08:53.633-05:00Molten Chocolate Raspberry CakesOnce again, it is the time of indulgence and there are excuses aplenty for baking. It is so much more enjoyable to bake when there are people around to share the bounty, and the holidays are just such times. Since we do not officially observe Christmas, I don't have to deal with the shopping frenzy either, and this leaves me plenty of time to enjoy the season and bake. Of course, there is always zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-88151952397957833662007-12-02T15:31:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:08:54.188-05:00Autumn Meringue Cake Another month lapsed without any posts. I do have a good excuse this time, though. My brother and his wife Fatima -- an ex-contributor to this blog -- had a baby, and I was off to California for two weeks to see my very first nephew. It was a very pleasurable experience for me to be so close to a newborn without the crazy hormones, aches and pains getting in the way. I went to college inzinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-30658881279040166292007-10-24T15:03:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:08:54.667-05:00Cream Cheese and Raisin PinwheelsThe yeast phase waned off, but I still have a couple of recipes to post from those days. These pinwheels from my Breads book (by Cynthia Scheer, et al) tempted me by their looks. Unfortunately, they stayed in the oven more than they should, and ended up being on the drier side. This, to my husband, was a desirable quality, as it made them a good accompaniment to his coffee. It must be said that zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-45872112396734691732007-10-17T09:27:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:08:55.265-05:00I Like Financiers I love macarons, of course, but they have an overhead. The hassle of grinding the nuts very finely, waiting for the egg whites to age and the piped macarons to crust, and the stressful anticipation for emerging feet sometimes make me think twice before I embark on a macaron journey. Another French egg white creation, on the other hand, could not be easier. I am talking about financiers. zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-46706551281252524402007-10-03T06:30:00.001-04:002008-12-09T10:08:55.781-05:00Pineapple Tea CakesThese mini tea cakes from Francois Payard's Simply Sensational Desserts appealed to me at first sight, but it somehow took me very long to put together the ingredients to make them. In fact, even when I thought I was finally ready to go, I noticed that I did not have the almond paste, which Payard notes on the side not to substitute with marzipan. Well, I ended up doing just that because it was zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-60019804811237199992007-09-21T05:40:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:08:56.404-05:00Walnut Dacquoise I baked dacquoise cakes a few times before, and had results ranging from mysteriously vanishing meringue layers to rather hard ones. Luckily, I made some memorably delicious dacquoise, too. It is one of those things that I am not yet confident about making, and this incorporates a healthy dose of suspense to my kitchen activities that involve dacquoise. Come to think of it, I never zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-4923159070910735262007-09-15T00:00:00.001-04:002007-09-15T00:25:51.914-04:00Chocolate SparklersThe Chocolate Sparklers from Pierre Herme and Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Desserts have a crumbly texture, but not all the way through. The logs are rolled in sugar before they are baked, giving the cookies a delicious crunchy edge. The recipe makes two logs, so you can enjoy one today, and keep the second in your freezer to be sliced and baked at your convenience. The Sparklers are easy to make,zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-72232489057984716622007-09-05T21:38:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:08:57.917-05:00Berry Creme Fraiche Cake I made this cake a while ago at the height of the berry season. Although the cake was made with buttermilk, and the layers then sprinkled with a berry syrup, this was not a very wet cake, and I would have preferred it to be more drenched with berries and berry juices. If you love berries like I do, go ahead and use more of them in the recipe. The tanginess of creme fraiche and the zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-32776853773233708462007-09-01T12:44:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:08:58.226-05:00Mahlab-Sesame RingsIn Turkey, these crisp savory rings are traditionally made to celebrate the 5 special nights known as Kandil Geceleri. There, one can simply purchase them from a bakery; but some of us --who, being away from home, do not have that luxury-- learn to make them ourselves one way or the other. There are versions made with yeast as well as others leavened with baking powder; some recipes even zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-65990548670125033372007-08-27T21:15:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:08:59.063-05:00Orange-Sour Cream TwistsDuring the many months I haven't been able to blog, I was busy baking. I remember diagnosing a "yeast deficiency" in Our Patisserie a while ago. Well, things have changed drastically since then. Nowadays, I cannot bake enough with yeast. Those long waiting times that deterred me from baking anything with yeast, now bring the sweetest anticipation with them. I love feeling the smoothness and zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-29160429064885875732007-05-04T07:46:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:09:00.596-05:00Overcoming Baker's BlockI have been fighting a serious case of baker's block lately. I even forced myself to make a pumpkin cake for a joint blog venture of the worthiest kind (the recipes will be used in a book to benefit needy children), but it did not come out as good as I wished, simply because my heart and mind were not put into it. I had even started to fear that I would not be able to bake any more; luckily the zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-79833232105256804762007-04-18T20:48:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:09:01.203-05:00Continuing with the Unposted...These mini tarts were inspired by P. Herme's famous Nutella tart. Although I wasn't faithful to his recipe, the result was very good. An interesting feature of this recipe is that the crust is baked, and then filled and baked briefly again. The second baking refreshes the crust just enough to give it a melt-in-your-mouth quality. But let me not forget the luscious and still slightly warm zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-22583392991442627732007-04-16T07:27:00.000-04:002008-12-09T10:09:01.545-05:00Ekmek Kadayifi (Bread Kataifi)I don't usually go for the traditional Turkish desserts, but Ekmek Kadayifi (Bread Kataifi) is definitely an exception to the rule. The name Ekmek Kadayifi refers to the dessert as well as its its bread-like base. As the latter can readily be purchased in Turkey, nobody bothers to make it at home and the recipe remains a mystery. Once you get your Ekmek Kadayifi, all you have to do is to prepare zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-76536838094811803842007-03-01T20:54:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:09:01.960-05:00Mostly Cookies...This post will be a recap of the cookies I baked in the last 3 months, but before I get to the cookies, let me mention this dome cake. My real project was another chocolate cake, but at the end of the day, it was the eclectic dome --made with leftovers from 2 seperate desserts-- that stole the show. It had white chocolate mousse, raspberries, pistachio praline, chocolate genoise, whipped zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-41648659898070314972007-02-25T14:33:00.000-05:002008-12-09T10:09:02.790-05:00More CakesAs far as I am concerned, December is the month for chestnuts. Time to use up whatever is left from last year's chestnut puree, time to make a new batch for next year's chestnut desserts... I first baked this dense chestnut cake over a year ago. Since then, I've been wanting to make it again with a chocolate glaze as in the original recipe (from Bruce Healey's The Art of the Cake). Finally, I gotzinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11123667.post-27110045905822861052007-02-24T12:52:00.000-05:002007-02-24T18:38:01.872-05:00I have been away for a long time; and the longer one is away, the more difficult it becomes to come back. As some of you might know, I also have a Turkish blog, and for a while I managed to keep both blogs in parallel. But that didn't last long, and I painfully realized that I have to make a choice. Since I did not want to let go of Our Patisserie, I attempted to convert it to a no-recipe, zinnurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08879154387759665659noreply@blogger.com0