Back on the Masterbaking Wagon - Boozy Tres Leches Cake

So my roommate and our close mutual friends had birthdays in August, and I missed the big celebration due to stupid work travel. Anyway, when I finally made it home, it was cake baking time. Deepa is a huge fan of Tres Leches, so I made one . . . but with alcohol. I did it with cachaça. The cake in and of itself was great, and the whipped cream topping awesome too. But, probably too much cachaça. According to the roommate, it was much better the next day (less alcohol taste), so maybe I didn't let it rest long enough. I am going to try again, but less booze, and more wait time. Wish me luck!

Not That I Stopped Masterbaking - Coconut Chocolate Cream Tart

Yes, yes, yes, a pause from the blog. I didn't stop baking mind you, but between a trip to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago, a trip to Kenya to go to the Turkana Cultural Festival, and then a whole lot of running around in the US, I have not had the time to post. I have made some great goodies during my hiatus, the best probably being some Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cookies. Genius.

This weekend my roommate had her family over for dinner, and I made the dessert. Her cousins picked out what I was going to make - Coconut Chocolate Cream Tart. It was pretty spectacular, the crust I got from another recipe, and it turned out pretty well, I need to roll out the dough more next time, it was a little thicker than I would have liked. But overall a success. I might make more of the coconut cream since I like coconut just that much. It was a hit with everyone, it had so many great things going on . . . whipped cream, short crust pastry, chocolate cream, coconut cream. YAY for masterbaking!

Oh Yeah, Right There - Cinnamon Banana Swirl Bread

I never would have come up with this flavor combination on my own. I get the bananas with chocolate, or butterscotch, but cinnamon . . . it just didn't sound right to me. But boy oh boy did it taste right. Not much that I would change, although I might do two layers of cinnamon, and have less of it on the top. I did like the way the top formed a nice crispy crust with the cinnamon and the sugar as it baked. The bread wasn't too moist, which can sometimes be an issue. And not too sweet, like other breads can get. Perfect for tea or for a snack.

No Matter How I Try, Sometimes My Master Baking Doesn't End Happily - Chocolate Oatmeal Date Cookies

This cookie should have been great. I love dates, they are such a wonderful sweet and chewy addition to anything, it should have made this cookie spectacular. Chocolate chips, cocoa, oats, dates . . . recipe for a winner. Sadly, this one fell flat. It just wasn't remarkable on any level. Not a strong chocolate flavor, not a strong date flavor (I wasn't even sure I could taste the dates, I knew they were in there). And the consistency was off. It was really dense, and not for any redeeming reason. Oh well, it was a good try, but in the end, just ok.

On A Coconut Thing . . . Crispy Salted Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

Not pretty to look at, but boy were they yummy to eat. I really liked this cookie, crisp on the outside, but chewy on the inside. All of the flavors worked well together, the butterscotch with the oatmeal and coconut, and the salty taste on the top of the cookie, it brought the whole cookie to life. I was trying to think of what I would change . . . I might add more coconut (but that is just me, I love the taste of coconut). Really solid meaty cookie.

- Lemon Coconut Squares

Wow, what a horrible photo! I didn't look at it after I took it, but this is pretty bad. Oh well, the end product was pretty darn good. So I this particular week was a bar cookie week, and the lemon coconut bars were good. I think I took them out of the oven too soon, I would have liked to have seen the coconut get a bit crispier. And they were a little loose, sort of damp. I need to cook the cookie base for a longer amount of time, and then I need to cook the entire thing for longer as well. The taste was great, the folks that sampled said it was one of the best lemon bar cookies that they had consumed ever! Tweak, tweak, tweak.

So Much Master Baking, So Little Time - Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies

Well, I seem to be taking my sweet time in getting these posts out there for mass consumption. Anyway, did a lot of baking the last couple of weeks, some good, some bad, and some very very messy. These Nutella Caramel Hazelnut brownies were good, not great, but good. I think the topping turned out well, but there was not enough caramel in the middle to be able to tell that there was a layer of it. And the brownie itself . . . well, I have made better brownies. So next time, I will use my favorite brownie recipe, and add more caramel, and leave the topping the same. And then, we will have SUCCESS!