Today I am going to share with you three of the random-ish bakes I did over the summer. All three were meant to fulfill Bake Off challenges... Except I didn't write down the recipes. Regardless, one was nearly a complete failure, and only one came out amazingly well. Therefore, it is no loss that I shall have to try to recreate them, and in one case, very much improve on it.
I will try not to distress you too much, dear readers, so I will start with the bake in the middle of the pack... a white peach and raspberry pie. This bake was meant to fulfill the double-crusted fruit pie signature challenge from Series 4, Episode 4.
I was very excited about this pie because I love white peaches. They are only available during summer months, so I went a little crazy with them for a while. For the double-crusted white peach raspberry pie, the fruit is mixed with white and brown sugar, a little lemon juice, some spices, and a little cornstarch as a thickening agent.
The slits are cut in the top pie crust in order to allow steam to escape. The cornstarch did help thicken the filling, but the placement of the fruit was evidently not ideal. While the pie turned out generally quite well, the juices leaked out through the slits and pooled around the edges of the pie- hence the discolored result. Final verdict: tasty, but not quite presentable enough.
To leave the best for last, I will continue with the disaster bake. I attempted a Charlotte Russe (not the now-closed clothing store). Charlotte Russe was the showstopper bake from Series 6, Episode 7. A Charlotte Russe is traditionally comprised of a layer of mousse, topped with a layer of jam, all enclosed with a ring of ladyfingers.
Well... You can see my ladyfingers...
I tried piping my ladyfingers along measured, drawn-out lines. Clearly the batter was not quite thick enough, because they spread out every which-way. Plus, I had to bake them in two batches, which came out of the oven drastically different colors and consistencies. And somehow some of them came out tasting salty. What on earth?
Then came the mousse and the jam. I think the mousse was peach flavored? I don't remember. It certainly could have been thicker. I still need to play around a bit with how much agar agar powder to use in lieu of gelatin in certain bakes, and how to use it appropriately in said bakes. The mixed berry jam came out fine. At least something did...
The final result looked quite disastrous. And inconsistent. I tried to pretty it up with some glazed berries and whipped cream, but I didn't quite know at that time how to glaze fruit properly. It was just a major fail. I could almost submit it to show how I should be on the TV show Nailed It. Almost.
The last bake I am sharing with you today is the spiced pear frangipane tart that I made for the signature challenge of Series 6, Episode 6. When I developed this, I did not realize that Tamal made a spiced pear frangipane tart on the show; I promise I did not steal his recipe. My inspiration was from a delicious drink I had a few months back at a pub near Vincent's office.
This tart was quite a fun experience to make. I have, of course, made plenty of pies and tarts in my time, but I had never made frangipane, nor had I poached pears. Poaching the pears was actually rather easy, albeit time-consuming. The spiced poaching liquid helped make the pears nice and soft to top the tart, as well as infusing them with a light spice-ey flavor.
I gave this tart to one of my favorite trivia hosts. He absolutely loved it! And yes, he does tell me when he doesn't like my bakes. He didn't initially recognize the pears for what they were, and he had never before experienced frangipane. But he told me it was amazing. I cannot wait to make it again. Perhaps it will be a new staple at my Pi Day parties.
Coming up, I will provide a step-buy-step picture tutorial on how to make a 6-strand braid (traditionally done on challah). It looks daunting, but it is actually pretty easy once you get going.
I will try not to distress you too much, dear readers, so I will start with the bake in the middle of the pack... a white peach and raspberry pie. This bake was meant to fulfill the double-crusted fruit pie signature challenge from Series 4, Episode 4.
I was very excited about this pie because I love white peaches. They are only available during summer months, so I went a little crazy with them for a while. For the double-crusted white peach raspberry pie, the fruit is mixed with white and brown sugar, a little lemon juice, some spices, and a little cornstarch as a thickening agent.
The slits are cut in the top pie crust in order to allow steam to escape. The cornstarch did help thicken the filling, but the placement of the fruit was evidently not ideal. While the pie turned out generally quite well, the juices leaked out through the slits and pooled around the edges of the pie- hence the discolored result. Final verdict: tasty, but not quite presentable enough.
To leave the best for last, I will continue with the disaster bake. I attempted a Charlotte Russe (not the now-closed clothing store). Charlotte Russe was the showstopper bake from Series 6, Episode 7. A Charlotte Russe is traditionally comprised of a layer of mousse, topped with a layer of jam, all enclosed with a ring of ladyfingers.
Well... You can see my ladyfingers...
I tried piping my ladyfingers along measured, drawn-out lines. Clearly the batter was not quite thick enough, because they spread out every which-way. Plus, I had to bake them in two batches, which came out of the oven drastically different colors and consistencies. And somehow some of them came out tasting salty. What on earth?
Then came the mousse and the jam. I think the mousse was peach flavored? I don't remember. It certainly could have been thicker. I still need to play around a bit with how much agar agar powder to use in lieu of gelatin in certain bakes, and how to use it appropriately in said bakes. The mixed berry jam came out fine. At least something did...
The final result looked quite disastrous. And inconsistent. I tried to pretty it up with some glazed berries and whipped cream, but I didn't quite know at that time how to glaze fruit properly. It was just a major fail. I could almost submit it to show how I should be on the TV show Nailed It. Almost.
The last bake I am sharing with you today is the spiced pear frangipane tart that I made for the signature challenge of Series 6, Episode 6. When I developed this, I did not realize that Tamal made a spiced pear frangipane tart on the show; I promise I did not steal his recipe. My inspiration was from a delicious drink I had a few months back at a pub near Vincent's office.
This tart was quite a fun experience to make. I have, of course, made plenty of pies and tarts in my time, but I had never made frangipane, nor had I poached pears. Poaching the pears was actually rather easy, albeit time-consuming. The spiced poaching liquid helped make the pears nice and soft to top the tart, as well as infusing them with a light spice-ey flavor.
I gave this tart to one of my favorite trivia hosts. He absolutely loved it! And yes, he does tell me when he doesn't like my bakes. He didn't initially recognize the pears for what they were, and he had never before experienced frangipane. But he told me it was amazing. I cannot wait to make it again. Perhaps it will be a new staple at my Pi Day parties.
Coming up, I will provide a step-buy-step picture tutorial on how to make a 6-strand braid (traditionally done on challah). It looks daunting, but it is actually pretty easy once you get going.
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