So January 30 is National Croissant Day, as designated by someone, somewhere, so I thought that I would make this casserole along the banana theme using croissants. Call it a French Toast Casserole or a Bread Pudding, same thing really. Either way, pretty yummy. Note: the recipe calls for a full 8 x 8-inch baking dish, which serves 4, but pictures is my 4 x 4-inch mini pan which is half a portion for just me (the other half isn’t pictured).
One of the things when you are making macaroons, is that you have to find a careful balance of egg whites to coconut: wet to dry, as it were. Most recipes under estimate the coconut requirement. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to try to stuff as much coconut as humanly possible while still hoping that the whole thing manages to stay held together. This is a “new and improved” recipe of one of my standbys and I think that they came out just perfect this time.
It’s so very cold these days. Yes, it’s January, yes, it’s supposed to be cold and generally, I like the cold, so I am not really complaining. Arctic cold snaps are tolerable, but they do make me feel like turning on the oven more. My flat is so small that turning on the oven actually heats up the entire place somewhat. So I decided to make this Meyer Lemon + Blue Poppy Seed Bundt Cake before work this morning. The meyer lemons make it all sunshiney too, which is good for the winter-blahs.
There are many different types of cheese cake — New York style, British style, Basque Style, non bake, water bath, flavored, straight up. My favorite style, not surprisingly, is German-style, which is light and fluffy, made with a dairy product called quark (see note) and can be plain or flavored. I wanted to make one for annual cake day that was winter-inspired and originally had planned for this cake to have a cranberry compote, but even so soon after the holidays, there were no more fresh cranberries to be had. Surprisingly, there were currants, so I went with them as they are a similar sweet-and-tart flavor profile that balances the creaminess of the cheese cake. Definitely a winner.
I’m not great at making cakes. It is definitely one area that I need work. Traditional frosting methods seem to allude me and in this case, my electric hand mixer also quit on me in the midst of making the vanilla frosting so I had to whip it by hand, so I went with more of a “naked” cake style, it order to actually get it done in time for annual cake day. I think it’s a little crooked too. Taste = good, a beautiful vision = maybe not.