Desserts Around the World at Cooks’Wares – Class Notes

Facebook Group

If you want to join the Facebook group, you can click this link and I’ll approve your request to join. You can post questions, photos of anything you made, or links to interesting articles. The name of the group implies that it’s just about dessert, but it’s really a place to discuss anything cooking related. I hope to see you all in the group!

Baking Conversion Chart

In class, we talked about baking with weight, as opposed to volume. I mentioned that I have created a handy conversion chart. If you are interested in downloading the chart, you can do so by clicking here.

Recommended Ingredients and Tools

Here are links to the products we talked about in class. I have them linked on my site for easy access but I’m not selling them personally. Amazon has an affiliate program where I will get a few pennies of commission if you buy something using the link from my site. Woo hoo!

I’ve just added this shop feature to my site, and as I have time, I’ll continue to update it with my recommended products and ingredients.

If you buy guava paste and are looking for other ways to use it, here’s a list of ideas from The Kitchn.

Pie Dough Tutorials

If you go to my blog, I have full tutorials on how to make my pie dough. Here are the links:

All-Butter Pie Dough: How to Mix the Dough

How to Roll Out Pie Dough

Passionfruit Puree

We didn’t use passionfruit puree in class, but I had someone ask me about it. the brand I recommend is Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. Unfortunately, their shipping is crazy expensive too. Most of these purees come frozen, so they have to overnight them. If you know anyone with a restaurant, you could ask them to check with their purveyors and get them for you. I do know you can easily find passionfruit juice. It’s listed here on Amazon but I’ve also purchased it at Whole Foods. You could also check with Jungle Jim’s and see if that’s something they carry or could order for you.

Coconut Cake

Last night I was asked if I have a good recipe for coconut cake. I don’t have a go-to, but here are some ideas:

Seven-Layer Coconut Cake from Frank Stitt

The Ultimate Coconut Cake from Add a Pinch

Coconut Layer Cake from The New York Times

Something to Watch this Weekend

Has anyone seen Cooked on Netflix? It’s a Michael Pollan documentary and it’s a must-watch. Let me know what you think.

Photos

I thought it would be fun to share a few photos that relate to the desserts we made last night…

Here’s me learning how to make tarte tatin in Paris. I wrote a blog post about the experience which you can read here.

So perfect… The key is using very small, similar sized apples. But remember, it’s meant to be a rustic, country dessert… so it doesn’t have to look perfect!!

These are some desserts from a cake in Budapest. The dobos torte is on the right. The other dessert was called a Kreme and it was made from layers of puff pastry and a custard cream filling.

Close up of the dobos. Notice the sprinkles on the edge so the sides don’t have to look perfect?

Remember the Hungarian tradition where the bakers compete to win ‘cake of the year’ and then all the bakeries have to sell their cake? The amber colored cake in the middle was the 2015 winner. It was made from caramelized peanut, apricot schnapps, cocao butter, apricot cream, milk chocolate mousse, and peanut and caramel topping. It was actually gluten-free and made with almond flour. I had the chance to try it and it was a very interesting flavor combination but quite good.

More Hungarian desserts…

And now for some photos from my baklava tour experience…

I snapped a few photos from the CEOs office. Aside from the awards you can see, the walls were covered with photos of the CEO with famous people and dignitaries from around the world.