Tuesdays With Dorie: Finnish Pulla December 18, 2012

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Finnish Pulla, which is located on page 106 in Baking With Julia. This recipe is being host by Erin of The Daily Morsel.

I made this recipe this past weekend and took it over to dinner at my in-laws. We actually had WAY too much good food at dinner and no one had room for the Pulla. I left them half of the loaf because there was no way that the two of us could finish an entire loaf.

The recipe for the bread actually came together pretty easy. I decided to make a braided loaf instead of wreath because I knew I could make it look pretty as a loaf and I wasn’t so sure about making a wreath look pretty. For the pearl sugar and almond topping, I ended up using decorating sugar and slivered almonds. Granted, I actually did have pearl sugar just not enough for the loaf and cookies that Mike wanted me to make.

The loaf turned out very pretty and expanded A LOT in the oven. I was impressed by how big it became. I enjoyed this loaf the next morning toasted with butter and tea. The recipe compares this bread to a brioche or challah bread which is scented with cardamon.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Gingerbread Baby Cakes December 4, 2012

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie is being hosted by Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. The recipe she is hosting is for Gingerbread Baby Cakes which is located on pages 247-248 in Baking With Julia.

When I first glanced at the recipe I was surprised by the addition of cocoa powder and espresso powder. For one I was actually out of the cocoa powder that I usually use, but since the recipe didn’t call for too much I decided to use Black Cocoa powder instead. I also halved the recipe because I didn’t have enough molasses for a full recipe. Essentially, I was trying to use items that I had on hand instead of having to go to the grocery store because of that I omitted the fresh ginger and decided to add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

I baked these baby cakes in large cupcake pan for 25-30 minutes, and half of a recipe makes exactly 6 large cupcakes. Once the cakes came out of the oven, I let them cool and then proceeded to dig into one with a side of whipped cream. The addition of the whipped cream is a must because it cuts the spice and chocolate in the cake. The cakes actually have a good spice to them without the fresh ginger. I am glad that I did not add the fresh ginger because I think it would have had too much spice/heat from the ginger and black pepper.