The Holiday Thread
- Thread starter QueenofWrapDress
- Start date
Gorgeous! Are you using 6-inch (~15 cm) diameter pans? It is amazing how your buttercream filling holds up to the weight -- specially with how thick the cake layers are. Even with the light genoise layers, mine always bulges out. I'll have to look into German buttercream. I've only made American, Swiss, Italian, and French buttercream.
I used 7" pans, but I've thought about getting 6" ones. We are usually around 12 people and it's a ton of cake.
So that's my next birthday cake, due today. I have no clue what happened besides the fact I used another recipe than my usual one (method and ingredients looked fine). I got up at 5 a.m. to take advantage of birthday person's schedule Oh, and I'm out of eggs.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
From noon clockwise: almond horns (I'm particularly proud of these, they came out looking perfect), Black Forest cookies and Sacher coins (both modelled after popular German/Austrian cakes. Same chocolate dough, cherry jam with Kirsch for one, apricot jam with apricot brandy for the other. One drizzled with white chocolate, one dipped in milk chocolate and finished with pistachio), vanilla crescents (I guess that would have been the appropriate term for the almond horns as well, but now I advertised them to everyone as horns
), spritz cookies after my grandma's recipe, almond bars (new recipe, complete win), a varation of Linzer cookies where the jam is baked instead of filling cookies after baking (not a win for me, won't do again), stollen bites, chocolate cashew biscotti and in the middle Baileys fingers and nut bars.
The almond horns, almond and nut bars are usually sold as a pastry at much bigger size in German bakeries (the nut ones cut into triangles). Almond horns are marzipan based, almond bars are caramel on top of shortcrust ans nut bars are hazelnut macaroon batter on top of shortcrust.
From noon clockwise: almond horns (I'm particularly proud of these, they came out looking perfect), Black Forest cookies and Sacher coins (both modelled after popular German/Austrian cakes. Same chocolate dough, cherry jam with Kirsch for one, apricot jam with apricot brandy for the other. One drizzled with white chocolate, one dipped in milk chocolate and finished with pistachio), vanilla crescents (I guess that would have been the appropriate term for the almond horns as well, but now I advertised them to everyone as horns
), spritz cookies after my grandma's recipe, almond bars (new recipe, complete win), a varation of Linzer cookies where the jam is baked instead of filling cookies after baking (not a win for me, won't do again), stollen bites, chocolate cashew biscotti and in the middle Baileys fingers and nut bars.The almond horns, almond and nut bars are usually sold as a pastry at much bigger size in German bakeries (the nut ones cut into triangles). Almond horns are marzipan based, almond bars are caramel on top of shortcrust ans nut bars are hazelnut macaroon batter on top of shortcrust.
Baking is such an exact science - it’s too much for me. I find making gingerbread too stressful.
Going to properly start Christmas shopping today. I love going to the old school department stores and seeing the decorations.
Going to properly start Christmas shopping today. I love going to the old school department stores and seeing the decorations.
I went to a wreath making class yesterday with my mum and we had a lovely time 
it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be!
it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be!
Does anyone send Christmas cards anymore? I send to a few relatives overseas.
I almost fainted at this description. love your posts here thank you for sharing
I used to bake a lot, including elaborate cookie assortments to give away, but stopped bc of pre diabetes. Nowadays, I stick to assorted breads for holidays and dinners, and desserts for guests. If I’m feeling like I want a particularly easy cookie for gifting, I turn to bar cookies like brownies (Maida Heatter or King Arthur recipes) or ono butter mochi (all recipes with bourbon added). But, when I’m feeling truly lazy, a sourdough plus yeast item, like cinnamon rolls or some such Allows the starter or yeast to do most of the work.*
Amanda Hesser had an easy cake made of almond paste that reminded me of your description above that I used to make (Amanda Hesser, Cooking for Mr. latte)
How it is | Orangette
I think I might have told you about my father’s friend Michael. Sometime in the early ‘90s, Burg was on his way out of the grocery store, and being something of a car buff, he stopped to check out a Citroën in the parking lot. While he stood there with his grocery bags, the owner of the car came...
some years, the holidays seem to come up too quickly after thanksgiving.
my recent discovery is Stella Parks Devils Food Choc Ice Cream; David lebowitz‘s White Choc ice cream and my own standby Corby Kummers (athe Atlantic Magazine) ice cream
all three make a nice accompaniment to a dessert table for the holidays
*I recommend bulk SAF instant yeast (no proofing or aggravation)
for my holiday stuffing recipe, homemade brown stock and homemade bread cubes plus aromatics (celery, onion, shallot, apples) , sautéed in duck fat, plus fresh herbs is popular with my guests. I use a sourdough focaccia recipe from King Arthur plus a southern cornbread recipe from A Perfect Recpie (Pamela Anderson, a former cooks illustrated editor). the cornbread is made with duck fat, not bacon drippings; and the bread croutons tossed in duck fat before drying in rhe oven.
ETA: something else that’s very easy and only requires an instant read thermometer is
smoked almond brittle (recipe by Shirley corriher) or chocolate almond toffee (rose levy berenbaum)
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I give them with gifts! I usually make hampers for anyone outside my immediate family that I want to give a gift to (husband's cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.) and also give nicer hampers to my in-laws and parents. I include a Christmas card in with these
I love baking, I find it super relaxing...maybe because you have to be all there, measure exactly and pay attention to details? I've had my fair share of fails too, though. This year I'm ordering all my presents online, I just can't be bothered to go outside and face people
I went to a wreath making class yesterday with my mum and we had a lovely time
Oh wow, that's stunning. I was suprised to learn by bff makes her wreath from scratch each year. While I've occasionally decorated ours I wouldn't know how to start beating those twigs into submission.
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I don't but I really want to start the tradition because I love receiving mail that's not just advertisement and bills
I almost fainted at this description. love your posts here thank you for sharing
The best part of being the one doing the baking: first dibs on the cut-off edges. They were particularly good with the almond bars (extra caramel-y).
I used to give away cookies but this year I'm chronically tired after a somewhat trying year. I'm keeping it simple for once. BUT: do you have a suggestion for dessert? I have a smaller group the 24th and a bigger crowd the 25th and I'm going back and forth between elaborate creations and just buying icecream
This year, my food gifts are simple too, a herb/spice mix for bread dipping oil with a small bottle of olive oil and for the sweet ones homemade granola.
My one big project I have left (besides wrapping 20+ present...already made and printed gift tags) is trying to make French nougat because my mother loves it and usually buys an assortment at the Christmas fair but I don't think anyone is going this year.