Jessica's Bake Off Challenge

Welcome back, as always. Today, I am sharing my recent bake- cinnamon, cardamom, chocolate, and orange babka. It fulfills the chocolate loaf signature challenge from Series 7, Episode 3 of The Great British Bake Off .  What is babka? The word babka  technically refers to a sweet yeast cake, but in the Jewish tradition, is specifically filled and twisted into a loaf shape. It is something of an alternative form of a rugelach, and is usually filled with either a chocolate or a cinnamon filling. Mass produced chocolate babka is readily available (Trader Joe's has an awesome chocolate babka), but the addition of orange and spices gives my recipe a unique flair. The cake ends up just sweet enough, making it a perfect accompaniment to tea. Babka looks difficult to bake, but it is not really hard... it just takes patience. Unlike most cakes, babka needs time to rise. Like most breads, it needs two rises, but as an enriched dough, the rising time takes longer than a typical loaf

I am finally getting around to posting a little bit about my annual Pi Day party (March 14, 2019). Pi Day is my favorite secular holiday- and it might even beat out a few religious holidays. It is also Vincent's and my anniversary. And yes, we did have wedding pie instead of wedding cake. Be prepared to see more Pi Day party posts in future years. I made a lot of food. In previous years, I have served only pie, but I did set this party around suppertime. Therefore, I served some savory food as well... Including some savory pies. Since I keep kosher, and cannot serve dairy and meat products simultaneously, this was a fully meatless shindig (albeit with some fish). I served appetizers of mushroom and tomato basil bruschetta, inarizushi, sushi, three types of deviled eggs, and Greek salad. I also made a pasta primavera as a non-pie main dish and a side of asparagus. And then there were the pies (not all of which are seen above). Unfortunately, I was super busy and did not ac

I admittedly made this bake a few weeks ago, when I had some leftover coconut milk from a savory recipe and a lot of leftover mango. I was really determined to find a Bake Off challenge with which I could use up my leftovers before they went bad. I found that Series 8, Episode 1's signature challenge was to make a fruity cake! Coconut, mango, and lemon are all fruits, so this cake idea quickly formed. I had a few issues with the construction of the cake (due to my own impatience), so it ended up only being two layers instead of the three I had planned. The recipe is for a three-layered cake, so keep in mind that the final result will be a little taller than seen in these pictures. I had some homemade lemon curd in my refrigerator, but store-bought will do just as well. Likewise, store-bought mango jam will work just as well as my homemade jam. The cake went over a storm at Vincent's office. One of Vincent's coworkers specifically loves lemon curd, so she really app

Hello everyone! I know it's been a quiet couple of months... I've been focusing a lot on my schoolwork, and haven't been able to post any of my bakes since Pi Day. Yes, I have been baking (albeit less frequently), but it is amazing how much time it takes to edit photos, write an article, and compile the recipe! Also, I bake for stress relief and for a break from writing. I have a little bit of a backlog of recipes, although I am going to post a "fresh" recipe today. I baked this rhubarb, cinnamon, and cardamom custard tart earlier today, and want to write about it while it is still fresh in my memory. I have been wanting to do this bake for quite a while, but couldn't do so until rhubarb was in season. I finally found it at the supermarket a few days ago, so here the tart is! This tart is my attempt at the signature bake from Series 5, Episode 5 of Great British Bake Off . The challenge is to make a signature family-sized custard tart. Due to the fact th