Daring Bakers

Overwhelmed and drowning in work, I must say I feel quite guilty for abandoning this blog and keeping away from the kitchen for so long.

So this month I tried to get back to it, even if I still couldn’t keep up with the Daring Bakers’ reveal date.

But hey, better late than never, isn’t it?

The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Continue reading…

Fresh pasta has always been one of my favourite addictions, but so far, I had resisted the temptation to buy one of those fabulous pasta rolling gadgets.

That is, until this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge: Home made green lasagna!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Continue reading…

I’ve been told I’m a sweet sort of person, but when it comes to Valentine’s Day… Boy, am I bitter! And as hard as I try to ignore this cursed date, hearts suddenly appear everywhere and make it impossible to bury my head in the sand. The Daring Bakers were no exception this month, with a heart shaped chocolate Valentino cake.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Continue reading…

Lately, work has been so crazy that I missed the December Daring Bakers, and almost missed January’s too. But after a whole month of postponing, I decided it was too good a challenge to miss, baked away until obscenely late, and hoped the sun would come out this morning for some nice photos.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Continue reading…

Caramel is definitely not my favourite flavour, so I started the November Daring Baker’s Challenge with a bit of suspicion.

Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting, by Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater This challenge was hosted by Dolores, of Culinary Curiosity, Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo) and Jenny of Foray into Food.

Continue reading…

After two weeks gorging on delicious New York pizza, I came home to find out that the Daring Baker’s Challenge for October is… Pizza! How appropriate!

I’ve been meaning to do my own pizza dough for ages, finally I’d have a chance to try it. And the challenge was very clear, we had to toss it in the air like a real professional. I was so excited I gathered some friends around and called it a pizza party.

Continue reading…

A savoury challenge for the August Daring Bakers challenge, oh my! I just had to get some friends around and call it a party! And since it’s a party, why not go a bit over the top and do a few more dips as well? So here are the results: Lavash crackers with a intercontinental dip trio, with a bit of mexican, a pinch of indian, a whiff of mediterranean. Sounds a bit posh, doesn’t it?

Continue reading…

The night before this month’s challenge was posted, I dreamed it was going to be all about profiteroles. I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up the next morning and realised it was indeed a choux pastry recipe.

Continue reading…

When I first looked at July’s challenge, I panicked a bit. After all, a chocolate covered hazelnut cake with buttercream wasn’t quite what I wanted to be doing, because of several reasons. First of all, hazels are my least favourite nuts, specially when combined with chocolate - I hate Nutella! Continue reading…

While my first Daring Bakers Danish Braid was proofing, neatly tucked away, I decided to do something a bit more subtly flavoured and less sweet for the second one. And although most people liked the lemon one best, this one was my personal favourite as I’m a big fan of poached pears. Continue reading…

Daring bakers time again again! This month’s recipe - a Danish laminated dough braid with a filling of our choice - was actually much easier than it seemed at first, ant the end results were very satisfying.

Continue reading…

After postponing for a couple of weekends, I finally declared last Sunday as Daring Baking day, and set out to complete my first Daring Bakers challenge. I must admit, after seeing how long and complex this recipe seemed to be, I was a bit scared of it. As such, I called for help!

Continue reading…