Galette des Rois

I was asked to make a Galette des Rois with a request to make it not taste like almonds. Luckily, Dorie has a recipe in Baking Chez Moi for a Galette des Rois which includes either lemon or orange zest.  I thought that using orange zest would make a tasty Galette, but later I decided that a Galette with orange zest AND vanilla beans would be even better!

Desert Roses or Roses des Sables

Desert Roses or Roses des Sables are what I think the easiest things to make in Baking Chez Mois, and it tastes delicious, too! This recipe is basically melted chocolate poured over cornflakes. I didn't follow Dorie's recipe, at least by not adding dried fruits and nuts, and kept it very simple. This recipe is what she described the Rice Krispies treats of Paris; in fact, the recipe is included on the cornflakes boxes in France!

Rice Krispies Cookies

Happy Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year! I decided to make one of my favorite cookies: Rice Krispies Cookies. They're crispy and buttery and very addictive!

Valentine's Day Dessert

Valentine's Day came and went, but I was lucky enough to spend it with good friends. For dessert, we had Marquise au Chocolat with Creme Anglaise, Macarons with Rose buttercream and Macarons with a Vanilla and White Chocolate Ganache, and what Dorie calls Macaron Biscotti (inspired by Sadaharu Aoki).

Snickery Squares

I felt like taking a short break from Baking Chez Moi, so I started going through Baking: From My Home To Yours. I came across the recipe for Snicker Squares and immediately started drooling. It might have been the mention of dulce de leche or it might have been the candied peanuts. Either way, both the photo and the recipe caught my attention and made me want to eat it.

Marquise au Chocolat

The first time I had eaten Marquise au Chocolate was when a friend made it for a small group of us for New Year's last year.  It was incredibly delicious, but we didn't know what the proper name for it was - we called it "fondant." When I got Baking Chez Moi, I read through this recipe and thought it sounded extremely familiar, so I was very happy that it was a selection for the Tuesdays With Dorie group, and can confirm that it was like the "fondant" we had.

This is pretty much a fancy frozen chocolate mousse that I served with vanilla crème anglaise.  I was so happy that I made the crème anglaise because it really complements the chocolate well - I cannot express in words how good these two taste together! 

Soft Japanese Cheesecake

Today felt like a cheesecake kind of day, but more of the lighter Japanese souffle type of cheesecake kind of day.  This is really a moist and fluffy cheesecake that is pretty easy to make if you have all of your ingredients ready to go. I had all of the ingredients and some time so I decided to whip up a cake.

Edouard's Chocolate Chip Cookies (again)

I made Edouard's Chocolate Chip Cookies again. I think these are pretty good. They're crispy on the outside and a little soft in the middle. The almond flour adds a nice nutty flavor, too. I'm thinking these might taste good sprinkled with a little bit of salt on top, too. Maybe I'll try that next time.

Brown-Butter-and-Vanilla-Bean Weekend Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is the Brown-Butter-and-Vanilla-Bean Weekend Cake. It is the very first recipe in Baking Chez Moi. It doesn't require many ingredients, but it makes a pretty tasty cake. I think that the rum was a little overpowering for my taste, so if I were to make it again, I'd omit it completely. 

Granola Energy Bars

Happy New Year! The first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe of 2015 is for Granola Energy Bars. This was another first for me; I had eaten many energy bars before, but I never thought I would make them. What was interesting about this recipe was that it called for Brown Rice Syrup. I had never heard of such a thing until reading this recipe. Luckily I found it pretty easily at my local grocery store alongside the honey and syrup. I had to modify the recipe a little only because I did not have a 7x11 inch baking pan (I only have a 9x13 inch pan), so I increased everything by 35%.