Pumpkin Pie 12.25.12

Homemade crust, but I should have used a sweeter crust.  This crust was too salty for the pie.  Also, I over hydrated the pie dough.  I used about 2 oz ice water, instead of 1.5 oz.

The pie filling was pretty tasty, although not perfectly seasoned.  I'm still looking for the perfect spice blend.

I'm glad I could see butter chunks in the crust.  I'm happy with the appearance, except that I folded over the edge of the crust and it would have been nice if I had a ridge of dough so I didn't have a seam on the underside of the edge.

The filling had nice smooth and tender texture.  Flavor was good, but on the bland side. Pie looks nice and homemade.  If I used a sturdier pie pan, I wouldn't have spilled the wet filling over the side of the crust and it would have appeared even nicer.

Crust was pretty and puffed up.

Filling baked up nicely without sinking in the middle at all.  Maybe due to the flour?

Molasses Cookies 12.12.12

I made molasses cookies again, this time a medium sized batch (20 cookies). I still need to work on baking time and hydration.  Not as wet as last time, but still baked very thin.  These cookies were dryer, but I overbaked them and they dried out immediately.  I could also try using a touch less cinnamon.

Black & White VIII 12.5.12

I tried experimenting with the flours and the hydration more.

sorghum-based
2 oz sorghum
2 oz potato
2 oz tapioca
2 oz sweet rice

amaranth-based
3.5 oz amaranth
2.5 oz potato
2 oz tapioca

common ingredients
1/4 t baking pwdr
1/4 t salt
4 oz butter
5.125 oz sugar
1 oz corn syrup
1.75 oz eggs
1/4 t vanilla
1/4 t lemon
2 T milk (1T in each mixture)


the sorghum cookie was not gritty!  However, the inside was very creamy.  I think I may shape the dough as a puck (instead of a cookie ball) as it goes into the oven.  Also, maybe getting rid of the corn syrup will help it be not as creamy (and then I can add more milk back in).

sorghum

amaranth

Dark Chocolate Pudding 12.23.12

I tried dark chocolate pudding with less sugar (3T), but I didn't think it tasted as good as the original recipe.  I think I may have over cooked/burnt it a little since I taste a bitter/gritty taste to the pudding. This could also be due to using less sugar.


Dark Chocolate Pudding

2 T cornstarch
1 3/8 c milk (skim works)

6 T dark coca
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolk
1/8 c milk
smidgen salt
1/2 t vanilla
2 T butter

Butterscotch pudding 12.5.12

I found a recipe in Baking Illustrated for Butterscotch Pudding Pie.  I'm making the filling as a pudding desserts (without the pie shell).  Unfortunately, I added twice the amount of cornstarch necessary.  So we'll see how it comes out.

0.5 oz cornstarch (I used 1 oz by accident!)
1/8 t salt
2.5 oz evaporated milk (1/4 cup)
2.5 ea egg yolks (I used 2)
3 T butter
3.5 oz light brown sugar (approx 1/2 c)
1 c whole milk (I used skim)
3/4 t vanilla

Make the butterscotch by cooking the sugar and butter to 220. Then add the milk and boil the mixture until the sugar dissolves.  Then add the evap milk and cornstarch and cook until thick.

Butterscotch pudding 12.4.12

I've already forgotten what got me thinking about butterscotch pudding. The difference between butterscotch and toffee is that they are cooked to different temperatures.  Both are butter and brown sugar, but butterscotch is cooked to 220 (soft crack) and toffee is cooked to 300 (hard crack).

Butterscotch Pudding
2 egg yolk
2 oz light brown sugar
1/2 oz molasses
2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 c milk (skim works)
1/8 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
2 T butter

This didn't come out with the exact flavor i wanted.  The texture and thickness were awesome, but I added too much vanilla.  Maybe try 1/4 t next time.  Also, the butterscotch taste was strange.  Maybe next time try using all dark brown sugar and hopefully the color will turn out okay.

I could basically taste the molasses (apart from the brown sugar) and the molasses tasted raw.