Koffiebroodjes (Dutch Coffee Rolls)

It's the 15th of the month, and it's time for this year's first Baking Partners Challenge. Unlike the challenges during the previous year, we only have two recipe choices for this month, both of which are Dutch recipes suggested and tried by Kaveri of Palakad Chamyal. Between the Dutch Apple Tart and Coffee Rolls, I chose to make the latter, the recipe of which was adapted from The Dutch Table. 

Koffiebroodjes or Coffee Rolls are sweet raisin and pudding field pastries that the Dutch love to eat during coffee break. These coffee rolls are covered with a  sweet glaze which can either be made of powdered sugar or apricot jam. I didn't have apricot jam so I used strawberry jam instead. I also didn't have sour cream as called for in the recipe, so I substituted it with cream cheese which I guess made the rolls even yummier! For a more colorful appeal, I used craisins (dried cranberries) instead of raisins. I tell yah, these Koffiebroodjes turned out really good!

I was able to make 30 pcs. from the given amount of ingredients...and guess what, they're all gone by now, considering that I just made them last Monday! Either these are really delicious or my family of 4 are just big eaters! You judge! ;)

Bûche de Noël

Only 9 days left before Christmas! Aren't you excited??? Honestly, I am! Christmas has always been my most favorite Holiday for so many reasons...and that includes the fact that it's my birthday! And this year, I'll get to celebrate it again with my only brother! It has been five years since we last spent Christmas together, so I am truly ecstatic about it! For me, nothing makes Christmas merrier (and my birthday happier) than celebrating it with the ones truly close to my heart! I'm sure it's how it works for you as well. :)

Anyway, before I totally get carried away with excitement, let me share with you what I made for this month's Baking Partners Challenge. Just like last year, the theme for December is Christmas Cake. If last year I made Neapolitan Christmas Cake, this time it's this gorgeous Bûche de Noël from Williams-Sonoma as suggested by Tanusree of Ma Niche. We were given five recipes to choose from, but this one seemed to be the easiest to make so I went for it! The cake didn't turn out as soft as I expected it to be, but as a whole, this Bûche de Noël was awesome! I'll be making it again for our Christmas Eve dinner, but I guess I will have to use the sponge cake recipe that I normally use. 

A Bûche de Noël or Yule Log is a traditional dessert served on Christmas, especially in France and several other francophone countries and former French colonies. It is traditionally made from a genoise or other sponge cake baked in a large Swiss roll pan, frosted, rolled to form a cylinder, and frosted again on the outside. The most common combination is a basic yellow sponge cake, frosted and filled with chocolate buttercream; however, many variations on the traditional recipe exist, possibly including chocolate cakes, ganache and espresso or otherwise-flavored frostings and fillings. Bûches are often served with a portion of one end of the cake cut off and set on top of the cake or protruding from its side to resemble a chopped off branch, and bark-like texture is often produced in the buttercream for further realism. This is often done by dragging a fork through the icing. These cakes are often decorated with powdered sugar to resemble snow, tree branches, fresh berries, and mushrooms made of meringue. 

Bûche de Noël is both festive and delicious which makes it perfect for the season! If you are like me who's always in the mood for baking during the holidays, you should try it!

Ginger Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread with Maple Butter Glaze

It's the 15th, and that means it's time to share with you what my Baking Partners and I have whipped up in our kitchen. Because it's Fall, the star ingredient for this month's challenge is pumpkin. There were three pumpkin bread recipes to choose from, all suggested by Tamy of Three Sides of Crazy. Though all three seem really good, the Ginger Pumpkin Bread from Simply Scratch really caught my attention. "WHY?", you may ask. Well, it's simply because I love the flavor of ginger, and upon seeing the recipe, I instantly imagined how my taste buds will be tickled with the wonderful combination of pumpkin and ginger! 

Truth be told, my husband and two daughters aren't big fans of pumpkin. So to make sure that I won't end up eating the pumpkin bread all by myself, I thought of adding chocolate chips and cinnamon to it. I knew that chocolate chips combined with the awesome flavor of cinnamon will make the pumpkin bread very hard to resist, and I was right! Just a few minutes after taking pictures, this gorgeous Ginger Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread was already half gone! Yes, that's how good it turned out!

The bread truly has a very wonderful flavor and was so moist and soft. But it doesn't end there. Covering it with maple butter glaze made it even more amazing! I highly recommend that you try this recipe. Even if you're not a pumpkin lover, I'm sure you'll love this!

Almond, Dates and Walnut Biscotti

It's the 15th of the month again...and it's time for another Baking Partners Challenge! For this month, it all about traditional cookies from four different countries: Speculoos from Netherlands, Kourabeithes from Greece, Biscotti from Italy, and Chinese Almond Cookies from China. With no second thoughts, I chose to make Biscotti! The hubs loves dunking biscotti in his coffee, so I've long been wanting to learn how to make this crunchy Italian treat. This month's challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to try it...and I'm glad that everything turned out perfectly. I've actually made it three times already and today, I'm sharing with you the first one which is Almond, Dates and Walnut Biscotti.

Biscotti, which is also known as biscotti di Prato are twice-baked cookies originating in the City of Prato. I've read that they are traditionally made for dipping into drinks like Vin Santo or coffee, which means that no butter fat or oil should be used because fats leave a nasty residue in the liquid. Because of this, I deviated from the Walnut Biscotti recipe suggested by Sandhya of My cooking Journey, and omitted butter and oil. For added texture, I added almonds and dates, and I change the given measurements for the other ingredients to achieve a perfect consistency. 

I tell yah, the result was superb! The flavors of the orange and coriander gave these biscotti the perfect taste! The hubs said they were the best biscotti he has ever tried! We brought some to his aunt in Dickinson, and she loved it too. She even requested me to make another batch for her! 

To Swathi Iyer of Zesty South Indian Kitchen, thanks for another awesome challenge!

Russian Honey Cake (Medovik)

A year ago, my blogger friend, Swathi Iyer of Zesty South Indian Kitchen, invited me to be a part of Baking Partners, a baking group which aims to give home bakers like me the chance to learn the techniques in making perfectly baked homemade goodies. I've always wanted to improve my baking skills so I said yes without second thoughts. After 11 challenges, (should be 12 but I wasn't able to join last month's challenge) I can proudly say that baking does not intimidate me anymore. I am confident with my baking skills now more than I've ever been before I joined Baking Partners, and for that, I am truly grateful! To Swathi and the rest of my friends at Baking Partners, thank you so much...I'm am happy to be part of this group and I want to wish you all a Happy Anniversary!

For our anniversary challenge, we were given two cake recipes to choose from i.e., Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake and Russian Honey Cake (Medovik). The latter is all new to me so that's what I chose. The recipe was suggested by Humi of Gheza-e-shiriin. I followed her recipe suggestion from AZ Cookbook...and I was so happy with the result! This was the first time my family and I have ever tried this kind of cake, and we were all amazed at how delicious it was! For those of you who haven't heard of Russian Honey Cake or what's known as Medovik, it is a layered cake that is very popular in Russia which is made of thin biscuit layers that are baked to perfect gold and are slathered with luscious cream made of either dulce de leche (caramelized condensed milk and butter) or sour cream. For this one, I used dulce de leche which is my youngest daughter's favorite... and according to her, this is the yummiest cake she has ever tasted! ^.^

I strongly recommend that you try this cake. For those who loves Sansrival, I'm sure you'll love this too! It has a melt-in-your-mouth goodness that you just can't resist!

New York Style Pizza: Cheese Stuffed Crust Bratwurst Onions Pizza and Spinach Anchovies Pizza

Making pizza from scratch has always intimidated me. Thanks to Baking Partners, now I know that it's not that difficult!

New York Style Pizza is the chosen theme for this month's Baking Partners Challenge. Honestly, I was hesitant at first and was planning to just skip this one. But after giving it a serious thought, I decided to give it a try. There's nothing to lose anyway.

So what's New York Style Pizza? Well it is a type of pizza which originated in New York City in the early 1900's. It is large, about 14-18 inches in diameter and is characterized by having a puffy, bread-like, outer crust which quickly tapers down to a very thin, crisp middle. No pans are used in baking this kind of pizza. Instead, it is assembled on a pizza peel and then placed directly on the oven deck to cook. For commercial pizza, a pizza stone is used which draws moisture out of the crust and allows it to become crisp on the outside while remaining bread-like on the inside. I don't have a pizza peel nor a pizza stone, and I didn't want to buy those pizza making accessories just for this, so I simply used a parchment paper lined disposable aluminum pan. So how did it turn out? Great actually!

I was able to make two 16" pizzas with different toppings, one with Bratwurst, Onions and Jalapeño...and the other one with Anchovies and Spinach. I made the crust of the bratwurst one cheese stuffed like that of Pizza Hut. The hubs and the girls were totally amazed with how good both the pizzas turned out! 

Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake

For this month's Baking Partners Challenge, we made cheesecake! We were given four recipes to choose from...all of which are really good, but I didn't have a hard time choosing which one to make. Aside from being the one that seems easy to do, the Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake is something that the hubs has been requesting me to bake for so long. He went to Japan a number of times before we got married, and it was there where he first tried this kind of cheesecake. He said it's very similar to the texture of Filipino Mamon and has a melt-in-your-mouth goodness that's so hard to resist. After seeing the recipe suggestion of Reeni, I knew it's about time I try making this Japanese Cheesecake, not just for Ryan but for the girls and I as well. 

I read that many have encountered two common problems in baking Japanese Cheesecake. First, the top of the cheesecake cracks during or after baking and second, the cheesecake shrinks as it cools down. I wanted to avoid these problems so I followed some tips I found on the internet. I made sure that the cream cheese-butter-milk mixture was cool enough before mixing it with the yolk-flour butter. I also pour the cream cheese batter into the meringue in 3 small portions. I slightly opened the oven during the last 10 minutes of baking and I left the cheesecake in the oven for another 10 minutes (with the oven door slightly opened) so that it can shrink slowly before I take it out. Sad to say, even after doing all these, my cheesecake still cracked and sunk in the middle. I don't have an 8" spring-form pan which was suggested in the recipe, so I used a 7" one and 9 brioche molds...and guess what? All of them sunk and the top of the one baked using the spring-form pan cracked! Honestly, I wasn't happy about it! But after trying it, I realized that there's no reason for me to be sad! It tastes great and the inside seems to be perfect! And after seeing how Ryan and the girls enjoyed eating it despite it's imperfections, I was more relieved!

I would like to thank Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen for another wonderful challenge, and to Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice for choosing this recipe! It didn't turn out perfect but it sure was very delicious and cotton soft indeed! I'll definitely be making this again and again until I achieve perfection! (^.^)

For those days when you want a dessert that's light and not too sweet, this cheesecake is the best option!

Chocolate Marble Bread Using Tangzhong Method

Just as promised, here's the other bread that I made using tangzhong method. I actually used the same recipe as that of the Bacon and Cheese Bread which I posted the other day. The only difference is that I added more sugar and a chocolate layer to turn it into this yummy Chocolate Marble Bread...

Don't you love those swirls? Oh well, I know they aren't perfect, but my daughters said they look beautiful, so that's good enough for me! I followed a swirling technique I found on Jot the Tart Queen. It's pretty simple...I guess I'm just not that good with dough rolling! But it's ok...this Chocolate Marble Bread was so soft and tasty, and I think that's more than enough to make up for the imperfect swirls! :)

Bacon and Cheese Bread Using Tangzhong Method

I must admit that I'm really not a big fan of bread making. Aside from the banana bread which I frequently make for the hubs and the girls, I very seldom make other types of bread. Though bread may be cheaper homemade, the time and hassle involved make store-bought ones more preferable for me. But everytime I make bread at home, the excitement I see on my daughters' faces as they wait for the bread to come out of the oven always makes me realize that homemade bread is still the best! In terms of flavor, freshness, and all-around quality, nothing beats homemade bread!

Just like for example, this Bacon and Cheese Bread which I made for this month's Baking Partners' Challenge...

It's so soft and truly so delicious! Though it took me several hours to make it, this bread is  definitely worth the “homemade” effort! The best thing about it is being able to add the ingredients that we all like --- bacon and cheese! The whole family loved it and everyone requested that I make it again! It's priceless to see the big smiles this bread brought on the faces of my husband and daughters! 

French Macarons with Chocolate Ganache Filling

Making French Macarons has been in my to-try list since I started blogging...but I've read so much about how finicky it is to make. I even remember reading in one article that "making French Macarons takes skill and is not advised for novice bakers". That intimidated me and I decided to just set aside my dream of being able to serve my daughters homemade French Macarons. I was already contented of just buying these treats from a nearby store at $1.50 per small piece (1 inch in diameter) or $12 per dozen...and I never thought I would ever dare to try making them myself! Thanks to my friends at Baking Partners, especially to Vidhya of A Portion to Share and Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen who chose the theme for this month's challenge. Because of them, I was inspired to turn a long time dream into a reality...and now I know that making French Macarons at home is totally do-able and actually not that hard! The troubleshooting guide from Foodnouveau and  howtocookthat's YouTube video provided me everything a first timer French Macaron baker should know! 

I followed a simple French Macaron recipe from Martha Stewart which only requires a few ingredients. I couldn't find almond flour so I decided to just make use of blanched slivered almonds and ground them myself. I've read before that grinding blanched almonds in a food processor won't work. They need to be ground in a special way that prevents them from becoming oily, so I thought I'd use a coffee grinder. Well, it worked well for me. 

All the tutorials I've read suggested that to be more accurate, weighing the ingredients is better compared to just measuring them in cups. I stick to using cups though, but I see to it that everything is exactly measured. I must say that I really had a great first time experience in making French Macarons, and I've learned that if you just measure everything accurately and not over beat the meringue nor over mixed the batter, even the most novice baker can make good French Macarons! The only difficulty I had was shaping them into equal sizes. I even printed templates for 1 inch circles and put them between the cookie sheet and the non-stick parchment paper that I lined it with...but my macs still came out in different sizes. :) Oh well, you can't expect much from a first timer, right? But my daughters said my macs tasted a lot better compared to these ones they usually eat. 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart

For this month's Baking Partners Challenge, I made this simple but really good Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart...

This is Chef Martin Picard's recipe and was suggested by Samanta of Samanthamenzies. Though we were given 4 recipes to choose from, I didn't have a hard time choosing. Aside from the fact that I soooo love sun-dried tomatoes, this savory tart is so easy to make. I actually planned of making puff pastry from scratch, but I got sick and didn't get the chance to, so I ended up using a ready made puff pastry. For easy serving, I pre-cut each puff pastry sheet into 6 pieces. Chef Picard's recipe calls for two sheets of 9x9 puff pastry. I wasn't sure if my daughters will like the Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart, so I decided to cut the ingredients in half and just use one sheet. For the other sheet, I used a different topping. I sauteed 1 cup chopped ham, ½ cup onions, 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 1 cup chopped spinach and season it with salt and pepper.  My daughters loved the ham-mushroom-spinach and Gruyère topping! But I must say, the hubs and I enjoyed the Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart. The layers of caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes and Gruyère cheese on top of that flaky crust was perfect for our taste buds! 

My sincerest thanks to Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen for another wonderful challenge...and of course, Samantha of Samanthamenzies for choosing this recipe!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

It's fall here in the US, and pumpkins are everywhere...so for this month, it is the star of Baking Partners Challenge! We were given three recipes to try, and I chose the Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting recipe from Country Living suggested by Priya R. of Cook Like Priya.

These cupcakes are absolutely delicious and are perfect Halloween treats and Thanksgiving dessert as well. You'll surely love the wonderful combination of chocolate, cinnamon,  pumpkin and nutmeg! The orange flavor in the frosting is also something to fall in love with! A truly great fall cupcake --- you should try it!

Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

It's the 15th of the month again...and that means it's time to share with you what we made at Baking Partners! The theme for this month's challenge is...

Yes, COOKIES!!! And I got the privilege of selecting one of the three recipes that we could choose from...and I went for this Ultimate Cream Cheese Cookies recipe from Baked Owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

I've tried making these cookies before (when I first got my Food & Wine Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes Vol. 14) and I want my friends at Baking Partners to experience its melt-in-your-mouth goodness, hence I chose this recipe. This is very easy to make and the end result is fabulously delicious! You will definitely love the wonderful combination of chocolate and cream cheese in it! It has a very rich flavor and a distinctively chewy texture, and really good by itself...but my daughters insisted that we put frosting on it. Well, I gave in to their request. I made a white chocolate, cream cheese glaze and I let them decorate some of the cookies. I included the glaze recipe here just in case you would like to try it too! 

Some of my friends at Baking Partners made Cornflake Cookies and some others made Homemade Oreo Cookies. Wish I had the time to try them out too! They look really good! Be sure to check them out too! 

You are all invited to join Baking Partners!

Baking homemade bread, cake or cookies will give the best outcome. However in order to achieve the best results, a perfect recipe and right techniques are required.

Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice, Julie of Erivum Puliyumm, Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes, Suja of Kitchen Corner Try It, Archana of Tangy Minds, Reshmi of Easy Cook, Prathibha of Cook Ezee, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen, Sweatha of  Tasty Curry Leaf, Priya R. of Cook Like Priya, Vidhya of A Portion to Share, Usha Rao of My Spicy Kitchen, Divya Prakash of Divya's Culinary Journey, Swasthi Blank of Swasthi The Health Freak, Sanoli Ghosh of Sanoli's Kitchen, and yours truly all have one thing in common --- we are all home bakers who want to learn more about the nook and corners of baking so we decided to form the group, Baking Partners!

The main purpose of this group is to give home bakers like us the chance to learn the techniques, critic the procedure if there are ways to improve, and eat delicious and perfectly baked homemade goodies. We are planning to try out recipes from books/magazines and cooking shows. If you are like us, we invite you to join us in Baking Partners!

Rules are simple, we will choose one recipe  and send it out to the group by 16th of every month and the reveal date will be 15th of the next month. On that day we will  blog about it. A linky tool will be open during that time and each member can link their post. Every member gets a chance to present their choice of recipe and share important points with the rest of the group. First month we are going to do a recipe, 2nd and 3rd month will be a theme and the 4th month we will go back to a recipe. By doing in between recipes, we believe we will be able to learn more.

We will appreciate the use of logo or worded link that will help to spread the word. If you   want to make it a gluten or vegan free diet, you are free to do those modifications.

All enthusiastic bloggers interested in baking are welcome, please email us at favoriterecipes12{at}gmail{dot}com.