TWD: Savory Brioche Pockets

Like all pockets of flavor, such as raviolis and wontons, these Savory Brioche Pockets are satisfying, tasty, and of course, a pain in the butt to make. You have to roll out dough, cut out 24 circles, fill it with goodness, and then seal them. Ugh...too much work. 

Though, I guess it was worth it. They were filled with caramelized onions, goat cheese, potatoes, and blanched asparagus. MmMmm....

I think next time I'll just make half moons or triangles to save time. And I would definitely add more cheese. I love cheese. Or go with something else...I'm thinking something with curry in it. 

For the recipe, check out Carie's blog, Loaves and Stitches. She was this week's host!

TWD: Fresh Rhubarb Upside-Down Baby Cakes

At first, I didn't really like the taste of these cakes. I thought the cake itself was too thick and processed. I also thought that the rhubarb and the butter cake didn't work well together. I was about to call this batch a massive FAILbake, but then, I tried it the next day and it was so much better. 

I used three different pan sizes for the cakes; mini muffin, regular muffin, and ramekin. The ramekin one was definitely my favorite. It was the perfect ratio of rhubarb and cake. Also, it had a large surface area to plop a dollap of whipped cream on top. The juices from the rhubarb took it's sweet time as it slowly seeped into the cake and gave it a nice pang of sourness. And even though, I don't like the consistency of the cake, I thought it was very nice when you have only a small layer of it. The muffin pan ones had way too much cake and not enough rhubarb. 

Though I have to say, no matter what pan size I used, the cakes looked really ugly. When I flipped my first batch of cakes over, I was so sad. They were so chock full of crevices, it gave me the chills. BLEHHH.....I think next time I'll just frost the whole baby cake with whipped cream.

For the recipe, check out Erin's blog, When in Doubt...Leave it at 350 or better yet, get a copy of Baking with Julia and join in the fun! Also, if you're interested in how other TWD baker's made their cakes, check out the blogroll!

TWD: Rewind! Pizza with Onion Confit

I actually made Pizza with Onion Confit in January, but I never posted it. Below is my late post that sadly stayed in limbo for four months:

This week's recipe was pizza with onion confit. At first, I wasn't very impressed with the pizza. I either rolled the dough out too thin or cooked it too long. The crust was way too crunchy for me, but the toppings made it worth while. I devoured the whole thing all by myself. MuHAHAHa!!! I fell asleep in a food coma for 5 hours. What a great day...

For the toppings, it was recommended by this week's host to add blue cheese and fig to the pizza. I thought this was a brilliant idea and so, I went with it. On top of the confit, I added figs and parmigiano reggiano, arugula, and blue cheese dressing. The texture and flavors were amazing. The crunchy arugula and sweet, chewy figs did a great job mellowing out the sour onion confit. And about half way through inhaling the pizza, I added extra shaved parm on top for a little bit more saltiness. So good....

For the recipe, check out Paul's blog, the boy can bake. He was this week's host! Also, if you want to see other baker's yummy pizzas, check out the TWD blogroll. 

TWD: Madeleines

Finally!!!! I baked! It's been four long months without baking. I missed it so. 

I've been pretty busy at work since two people left in December. I basically took on another person's workload on top of my existing impending doom workload. Plus, last September, I joined a leadership program, which I'm really enjoying, but it has definitely cut into a lot of my free time. Blahhhhhh...

Anyway. This week's TWD recipe was Madeleines. I totally needed to make these. It felt so good to bake again. I can't really describe the feeling, but it kind of felt...soothing. 

I've never made or had madeleines before. I loved the crisp edges and the quick cakey bite. I sprinkled half the batch with powdered sugar and slathered the other half with an almond glaze. MmMmMmmm Both nicely satisfying. 

For the recipe, check out Kate and Amy's blog, Counter Dog. They were this week's hosts! 

Notes: The experienced madeleine bakers recommend to brush melted butter on the pan twice and to refrigerate it between coats. Also, to refrigerate the batter overnight in the pan. 

I brushed it twice and refrigerated for 2 hours.

At some point, it would be interesting to compare and see if overnight refrigeration really makes a difference in the cookies. 

Almond glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbs hot water

1 Tbs almond extract