I don't like to make New Year Resolutions - I think that if you want to make changes to your life, start now! Don't wait until the 1st of January! But I suppose it's symbolic - a new year, a fresh start; wipe the slate clean and start all over. I don't have any 'personal' resolutions to share - not because I feel particularly private, but I don't have any (I make them year round, eh?). The trips to the gym continue as planned, mental self-improvement is always on the agenda, the quest to find the perfect fork plods on - but I do have a few "Kitchen Resolutions":1) No dirty dishes in the sink overnight and start unloading/drying more consistently.I know I'll make exceptions for this - who wants to clean up after a party?2) Continue daily sweep.After the 'Infestation 2009', I brush my small kitchen tile space religiously. 3) Push the boundaries of my baking - let's try a stretch of 12 new recipes. No past repeats.4) Buy what you will eat. Don't buy for what you might eat.5) Unless something breaks, no new kitchen gadgets.Exception: Kitchen Aid Food Processor...Daisy's getting a sibling!I think that's a pretty good start. I should print this out and tape it on my fridge. Tomorrow. Heh.I should note that as an amendment to Resolution #5 - I will still accept kitchen gadget gifts! I was gifted a lovely and heavy-duty non-stick mini Madeleine pan for Christmas! Lovely! It's definitely something I have hesitated to buy for myself in the past, but have always wanted. So hooray! Thanks to Maple Pecan for the gift, and J for the suggestion!Instead of typical sponge Madeleines, I made hazelnut shortbread.
And it was deeelicious.Hazelnuts are something I always have in the freezer. Unfortunately, they are unpeeled so I have to plan long in advance before using them in a recipe. They must be toasted and peeled, something that can take quite a while - not to mention potentially disastrous!My method: pour hazelnuts in a shallow frying pan and gently toast over LOW HEAT. Shake the pan/stir nuts often to avoid spot burning. You can toss out burnt nuts, but the smell will linger for-e-ver. Once the skins have started to crack and peel, pour the nuts in a small bowl lined with a kitchen towel and start peelin' by kneading the hazelnuts in the towel. The friction caused by the hazelnuts and towel fibre should be able to take off a significant amount of peel. I like to do some by hand once they have cooled or return them to the pan for a second round of toasting.
I'm not sure if you can tell the colour difference in the two pictures. If you can - the colour difference can be attributed to two extra minutes in the oven. Granted, these little guys are small and two minutes do make quite a difference. No discernible difference in taste, though!Once cooled, the 'top' sides were dipped in chocolate. The recipe called for 1/2 cup of ground hazelnuts and it really made an impact! Highly recommend this simple and easy recipe.
It was T & J's housewarming party and I warmed their house by bringing a cake! A belated birthday cake for J, actually - this creation was a tower of crepes topped with chocolate ganache and candied hazelnuts. Yes, I'm in a candy-ing phase... kind of like this summer's ice cream blizzard.I had been wanting to make this cake for a long time - I believe it was originally featured in Martha's January 2006 "Year of Cakes" spread. Yes, I have been holding onto this recipe for almost four years.I'm glad I waited - I think if I had made it in 2006, it would have been a disaster. In the almost-four years since, I've really improved my cake and dessert making skills. Not to mention scheduling.
(above: view of cake in box)Let's take a look at the pictures (unformatted again!) before we begin dissecting:
(upper left: candied hazelnuts with tails - air bubbles - reheated caramel? 'Virgin' caramel yields clear caramel? upper right: originally, I had 'x' amount of hazelnuts in the centre of the cake ONLY. However, I had a plate of caramel tail scraps, and therefore it became a nest of caramel. Bottom left: a stack of crepes. Bottom right: a cross section of the cake - with layers of strawberries and various other fillings. Funny, we ate lasagne for dinner too.)
So. Final thoughts.The recipe called for 8" crepes. I went with 10" crepes because I would be feeding a large crowd. However, I used 10.5" - 11" pan. In retrospect, if I wanted to really duplicate the cake, I would have filled the entire pan instead of trying to make 10" crepes. All the layers were different in diameter and although it really didn't make much difference in terms of height, it just didn't look as nice. I also think making thicker crepes would have yielded a taller cake. This cake was tall, yes, but it wasn't as dramatic as I had hoped.I used a variety of fillings - Nutella whipped cream, chocolate frosting, strawberries, hazelnuts, and icing sugar. I'm glad I used a variety of fillings - I think using the same one would have been pretty boring. Although my final results was a little...lumpy.But like the title, it tasted better that it looked.
