Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Coconut Tapioca

So we skipped the last project, because although Limoncello cupcakes sounded good to me, there was a little too much alcohol involved for K. Plus, I am in the middle of Giro wine prep. 
K was not very enthusiastic about this one either. "Coconut? I hate coconut."  "I know K. But try it." As luck would have it, we made this on a night when she had a friend over. The friend had a lot more enthusiastic for coconut than K did. Plus the presence of an extra child meant that they could handle almost all of the steps on their own.

Links to other Tuesdays with Dorie Coconut Tapioca posts here. 


The verdict: Instructions: clear. Taste: nice alone, but it really came alive the next day when I paired it with strawberries and the first blueberries of the season.

Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars

More Tuesdays with Dorie. 

Cover a cookie base with melted chocolate and caramelized Rice Krispies? 
Count K in.
She is rather partial to her very special Rice Krispies Treats. 

The process:
Cookie base: easy. 
Melted chocolate: easy. 
Caramelizing Rice Kripsies? "Mama, can you help with this part?" Sure, K. 

The verdict: A little sweet for me, but a big hit with K.

Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Lemon Madeleines

Here we are again with Tuesday's with Dorie. Up this time: Lemon Madeleines. 

As you can see from the picture above, we had to acquire a Madeleine pan. Our neighborhood package thief was apparently less excited about the pan then we were. We came home to find the package open outside our front door, with the pan still inside. Luckily, that and the squeezing of the lemons for juice were the hardest part of this project. In other words: another easy and excellent recipe.

Although I meant to simply follow the recipe, K made the batter while I was out and used the Meyer rather than standard lemons. Close!  I came home to chilled batter that we then spooned into the molds. After baking we dipped each cookie into the glaze, which was K's favorite part.

The verdict: K: "These were really good and I hope we can make them again. The glaze made them even better." I say: Indeed, we will be making these again. They were simple, tasty and pretty. Plus, not that we have the pan, it would be silly not to experiment with other flavors. 

Next up: Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars on pg. 324

Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Blood Orange Tart (Pink Grapefruit Tart)

More Tuesdays with Dorie

In Baking Chez Moi, this recipe is for a Pink Grapefruit Tart with Campari included in the filling. That however was rather unappealing to bitter-hating K. To be honest, lemon and lime aside, she really does not care for citrus, so subbing lovely to look at blood orange seemed our best option. 

This was a recipe of many steps, so we made the tart over several days. On day one, K made the crust. That out of the way, next up was the lemon almond cream, followed by my favorite part, a blood orange cremeux. None of the steps were particularly complicated, but they include significant chilling time, so I'd suggest not trying to make this one the day of a party.

The verdict: Blood oranges instead of pink grapefruit and no Campari meant that we ended up with a different tasting final product. That said, although I agree with K that if we make it again, we'd try lime, we both enjoyed this one. Plus, pretty never hurts. 

Next up: Lemon Madeleines

Blood orange juice

Cremeux

A friend thought this looked like fancy little umbrellas.

Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Marquise au Chocolat

K eyed this recipe with some suspicion. "Mama, what is Marquise au Chocolat?" "Basically K, it is a frozen chocolate mousse." "Okay, I'll make that."

So make it we did, chopping and melting chocolate with butter over a pot of simmering water and allowing it to cool before adding our sugar and egg yolk mixture. Next up, one of K's favorite kitchen tasks, the whipping of the heavy cream. Finally, the chocolate mixture was folded into the cream, before being scooped into a loaf pan and frozen. As you can see above, if you don't fold completely, you may end up with a white streak or two in your finished product. It will taste just fine anyway.

The verdict: Another hit. Although we are more fruit than chocolate lovers, we'll be making this again. K loves frozen treats of all sorts and I appreciated being able to keep the leftovers in the freezer for a party later in the week. We'll make this again, though next time may add the suggested cookie crumbles.

Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Brown Butter and Vanilla Weekend Cake

The cake

Butter, melted.

Butter, browned

The night I brought the galley home, K made the Plain and Simple Almond Cake. Two days later, she made the Apple Weekend Cake. Suffice it to say, we are very much fans of the Simple Cakes chapter of Baking Chez Moi.
When the Brown Butter and Vanilla Weekend Cake was selected for Tuesday's with Dorie, I was pleased. The recipe is simple, but browning butter is something we can all use some more practice at.  Unlike the last project, we stayed fairly true to the recipe, though we substituted rye for  rum.

The verdict: No surprise that we liked this one. Straight out of the oven it was nice, but as promised was much better the next morning. I've been breaking off pieces for the last few days and look forward to trying it toasted, as suggested.

Tuesdays with Dorie with K: Granola Energy Bars

Here we are again, with a much easier recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie. In fact, the only challenge was finding the brown rice syrup. Three stores later, we were ready to go with more than a few changes to the recipe. K was rather enthusiastic about some of the listed add-ins so almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,  dried fruit and coconut became pecans, dried nectarines and chocolate chips.

The elusive brown rice syrup

Nuts and oats pre-toasting

Ready for the oven

After baking

The verdict: Easy to make and I appreciate the flexibility of the recipe, but this is not one that will go into regular rotation at our house. K is, sadly, not a huge oats fan and I just don't eat a lot of granola or energy bars. 

Next up: Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake!