Daring Bakers: Lemon Muffins

The Daring Bakers' challenge this month seemed not very daring at first sight. The challenge was to make quick bread, something most people, even non bakers can usually do. The more interesting part was that you could choose any flavor combination you liked.

Still, I honestly wasn't very inspired and almost skipped this challenge. But after reading the provided recipes I changed my mind. The Meyer Lemon Loaf looked really promising and so I made the recipe into some muffins. Unfortunately we can't get Meyer Lemon here in Germany, I even doubt that many people have heard of them. I managed to bring some back from California last year, maybe I should have kept the seeds to grow a tree. ;-)

Well, back to the muffins, even with regular lemons they tasted very good and had a very nice texture. I will definitely make them again, when I need a quick recipe, as I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Meyer Lemon Macarons

I have read a lot about Meyer Lemons in recent years. This spring I was finally lucky to see them in the store and was able to try them myself. Meyer Lemons are not as sour as regular lemons, and they have a hint of thyme and a very fragrant skin. They are perfect for making lemon curd, and I was thinking about making Meyer Lemon macarons for a long time.

So, when this month's challenge for Mactweets macaron was revealed, I immediately thought about an old children's poem from the legendary Heinz Erhardt. We were called to be inspired by a childhood fairytale or story for our monthly macaron flavor. Heinz Erhardt was a German comedian, actor, entertainer and also wrote children's poems. I always loved to watch his movies. The poem is called "Why lemons turned sour".

Warum die Zitronen sauer wurden

Ich muß das wirklich mal betonen:

Ganz früher waren die Zitronen

(ich weiß nur nicht genau mehr, wann dies

gewesen ist) so süß wie Kandis.

Bis sie einst sprachen: Wir Zitronen,

wir wollen groß sein wie Melonen!

Auch finden wir das Gelb abscheulich,

wir wollen rot sein oder bläulich!

Gott hörte oben die Beschwerden

und sagte: Daraus kann nichts werden!

Ihr müßt so bleiben! Ich bedauer!

Da wurden die Zitronen sauer.

Daring Bakers: Orange Tian with Blood Orange-Kumquat Marmalade

It's time for another Daring Bakers challenge. This month the challenge took advantage of the citrus fruits widely available right now. We were asked to make a Orange Tian, a dessert I have never heard of before. You start with a pate sablee topped with orange marmalade, whipped cream and segmented oranges, and served with an orange caramel sauce.

I decided to make a blood orange - kumquat marmalade, as I have just discovered to use kumquats recently. I also added a layer of génoise, because my cake rings are pretty tall, and I thought the whipped cream alone would be just too much compared to the other levels. The original recipe added gelatin to the whipped cream, which I don't find necessary. If your heavy cream has a high percentage (about 33%), it will be stable enough on its own.

The orange tian was a pretty little dessert and also quite tasty. Trough the citrus taste it was not too sweet and very refreshing. After 10 minutes in the freezer it was easy to unmold and kept its form very well. All in all it was a very good challenge.

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

Kumquat Cakes in glass jars

There are so many fruits available these days and you see them all the time, but you actually have never tried them. This was the case for me with kumquats, those little mini-orange looking fruits. They are in season now, so it was the perfect opportunity to try them.

I decided to make little cakes. It's basically a muffin dough, which are perfect to bake them in glass jars. This is something I discovered last year. Baking cakes in glass jars. Instead of in a baking pan, you can bake your cakes in heatproof glass jars / jam glasses.  Then after you bake them you immediately seal them. Through the heat they will be vacuum sealed. I use "Weck" jars, which come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes. They close with a rubber ring and metal clamps. I also use them for jams or the smaller ones as dessert glasses.

Cakes in a glass jar make perfect little gifts. You can dress up the jar with a nice ribbon and also include the recipe. They are also great to bring along for a picnic. They will be good for about 2-3 weeks if they are kept in a cool place. In the summer I often bake a whole bunch of them, so I can bring them along to the beach or to a BBQ.

Key Lime Pie Macarons

I have never tasted Key Lime Pie before or even seen Key Limes in the supermarket. So I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw those green little balls in the store the other day. Key limes are more tart and aromatic than regular limes and they are also a lot smaller in size. They are named for their origin, the Florida Keys.

The first thing I made was of course Key Lime Pie, which tasted very good and had a great tartness. The filling is traditionally made with sweetened condensed milk. After making the pie, I had some leftover filling and egg whites. This made me think they would make good macarons.

The tartness of the filling compliments the sweetness of the macaron shells very well. You will have some leftover filling. You can either use it as pie filling (baked in a pie crust instead of the ramekins), or just eat it as a yummy lime curd.

I am submitting these Macarons to Mactweets, a Macaron Lovers' group I just discovered. Every month there is a different theme for Macarons. You should check out the great creations on their pages. This month theme is Valentine's Day.  Well, on the first look my Macaron might look not very Valentine like, but after the winter who wouldn't want to spend a romantic getaway on the Florida Keys.

Lemon Tartlets

Before I came to North America I have never tasted lemon tarts or lemon meringue pie. We have great lemon desserts in Germany, too, but those were just not among them. I really love them now, the tartness of the lemon filling in a nice pastry crust is just really good.

The recipe I made today is adapted from "Luscious Lemon Desserts" by Lori Longbotham. Like her other dessert books, it has a wide variety of recipes and information on the subject. You will find among other things recipes for pies, cakes, tarts, creamy desserts, cookies and ice creams.

The tartlets are pre-baked before you put in the filling and bake them some more. Then, before serving you add a nice little brûlée top and some berries.