Mevrouw Cupcake

Well, there it is ladies and gentlemen.  I'd love to go into a big story about this beauty, but the truth is, I'm sick as a dog. Tomorrow this rich and decadent peanut butter torte (as chosen by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food) will be served up as a treat for E's colleagues, but for now, I'm just happy to have posted and be on my way to the bath.

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I've been trying to post this recipe forever, I posted this image on Flickr nearly a month ago, but life, love and baking seemed to come in between. This isn't a beautiful dish, but it's honest, easy to throw together and it's great comfort food. We have it on regular dinner rotation at ours, and it's especially favored when I don't really feel like cooking. I think that it works well whatever the season, in summer you can use freshly shelled peas and during the other three seasons frozen works just fine. This recipe is also just as tasty when made with veggie stock and without the ham, making it a perfect option for vegetarians, as well as meat eaters. Enjoy...

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The best thing about joining up with the kind, funny, supportive and variously talented ladies of the Tuesdays with Dorie blogger's baking group, has been the confidence that I have gained in my baking skills. From tackling brioche for the first time, to baking my first apple pie-cake, I am continuously stretching the limits of my comfort zone in the kitchen, and I love it! Not every recipe has turned out picture perfect and there have even been a few that I didn't care for, per se; but each recipe that I've made from Dorie Greenspan's beautiful ode to home baking has been a worthy challenge and a gratifying lesson in the art of dessert making.

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As far as my boy is concerned crème caramel is the crème de la crème of desserts. Don't let his very English accent fool you, his sweet tooth is all French, thanks to his French mother. Since we've known each other, I've heard nothing but how delicious his mother's crème caramel is, so you can imagine that I entered into this weeks TWD challenge with a bit of trepidation. Don't get me wrong, I cut my teeth on crème brûlée years back, so I'm mostly unphased by the intracacies of the water bath and I understand the gentle touch required for a custard, but I was going up against generations of my boy's mother's family.

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I'm getting this in right under the wire, but I didn't want the fact that my wallet got stolen on Good Friday (and the fact that the b$#%^@ds proceeded to empty out my bank account), keep me from blogging about these cookies that I baked as a part of the Cookie Carnival blog event happening over at The Clean Plate Club.

I found this recipe pretty easy, but I did make a few changes, I used a mixed fruit jam (cherries, strawberries and raspberries), added half a vanilla pod to the cookie dough, and omitted the sweetened flaked coconut, which you can't find here in the NL (and my boyfriend doesn't like). I found the idea of combining raspberry preserves and sweetened flaked coconut a bit of strange taste combo, but I'm curious to see what the other participants thought. Unfortunately, I forgot to add the salt, so I found my version of the recipe a bit on the bland side. I'd like to make the recipe again, and play around with it a bit.

This is my very first submission to Cookie Carnival hosted by Kate over at The Clean Plate Club.

 

For those of you who might be a bit late to the party, Tuesdays with Dorie is fabulous weekly food blog baking event started by Laurie of quirky cupcake, that has the participants baking our way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. This is my fourth round with TWD, having got my start last month with TWD's recipe attempt #9: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits.

Committing to baking one recipe a week, seemed daunting, but as I was looking to bake more often and with more variety in 2008,  TWD seemed like a great way achieve my goal. Not only is everyone baking the same recipe, but we're adding our own touches ("playing around" as Dorie calls it), pushing the boundaries of our baking comfort zones, and most importantly, we're supporting each other in the process. Troubleshooting is so much easier when you've got your very own forum to voice our insecurities (this week's hot topic of insecurity: flambéing raisins), our dislikes (substitutes for the raisin haters among us),  and put forth any problems and/or questions you may have with the week's recipe. You couldn't ask for a better learning curve really, and we have Laurie of quirky cupcake, to thank for coming up with, as well as hosting this event.

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When I read the recipe for this week's TWD (chosen by Natalie of Burned Bits), I have to admit that I contemplated opting-out, as I'm not really a baked apple fan.  I don't hate it, but if there's an apple dessert on the menu, then I'm most likely going to choose something else.

I'm not sure what changed my mind, but as we were having a friend round for dinner on Saturday night, I decided that it'd go nicely with my menu. Of course, nothing went as planned; I came home from work on Friday night with a scratchy throat and slightly swollen glands and ended up begging our guest for a rain check. In spite of feeling a bit poo, I decided that I would give the recipe a go, and I'm glad that I did.

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This week's Tuesdays with Dorie bake-off was a true challenge for me. This is absolutely not the sort of thing that I bake, nor is it the sort of baked good that I like to eat, but this is exactly my reasoning behind joining TWD. Baking is more then just cakes, it's pies, cookies, quick breads, and then some; and taking part in TWD helps me to move outside my comfort zone, expanding my experience and skills as a baker.

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