TWD: Creamiest Lemon Cream

This week's creamiest lime turned lemon cream is definitely one of my favourite TWDs! As usual, I skipped the crust, but I was actually considering making one this time. It wasn't until I tasted the cream when I decided that it wasn't going to be shared with anything. I was enjoying it plain with blueberries (which were originally placed to hide the mark I made with my finger because I was a little anxious to taste it). The food processor is key for such a luscious filling. That and the 2 sticks + 2 tbsps of butter! I reduced it drastically, using only the 2 tbsps. Even though 2 tbsp is very little, it made the filling slightly richer and a little more special so I wouldn't omit it entirely. The best part about this recipe is you can adjust the butter/richness to your taste without screwing it up.

Thanks to Linda of Tender Crumb for choosing this week's recipe! You can find the recipe on her blog or in Dorie's book. Don't forget to check out the TWD blogroll!

TWD: Chocolate Cream..tartless

Yet another ramekinized version of TWD. I tweaked the recipe a little to cut the fat down by omitting the pie crust, the butter and substituted cocoa powder for chocolate. Strangely, when it comes to fillings, I can't add butter without having the thought that I'm eating a chunk of cold butter straight from the fridge...literally. I only made 1/4th of the recipe so I wouldn't end up with a bunch of whites or have to pressure my brother to help me finish it up..haha. My favourite part of this dessert was the pudding skin, which I scooped off and then handed my brother the rest. There was no pressuring this time!

Thanks to Kim of Scrumptious Photography for choosing this recipe, which can be found on her blog and here. Don't forget to visit the TWD Blogroll!

TWD: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

Bread pudding isn't really my thing. Even when I try to upload my picture to blogger, it comes out rotated and I have no idea how to fix it. Whether its upright or not, it looks the same to me...not good. I made 1/6th of the recipe in a mini loaf pan and added less liquid after reading about the floating bread that some people were experiencing. I substituted cocoa powder for chocolate and used only milk instead of cream. So maybe cutting down on the richness doesn't make it 4 star anymore, but I'd rather save the calories for a cupcake! I really tried to like this, so much that I ate the entire top crust, but when it got to the soggy parts, I just had to stop. This is the first time I've had bread pudding so I'm not sure what the texture is supposed to be like or if I messed it up by using Dempster's bread, but I just can't get past the sogginess. I even made sure it was baked for a really long time, so long that the top was practically burnt and a toothpick inserted came out clean. It's a good thing that I only used 3 cups of liquid (1/2 cup for 1/6th of the recipe) or else I can't imagine what the pudding would look like...mush? I'm sure that this was a great recipe for those who enjoy bread pudding, but I'm not a bread pudding fan.

Thanks to Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle for choosing this week's recipe, which can be found on her blog. Don't forget to visit the TWD blogroll!

TWD: Rice Pudding

Rice pudding... the sound of those 2 words together somehow grosses me out a little. Maybe it's because I'm used to eating rice in a non dessert way or because boiled milk isn't something I really like and the whole milk, sugar, rice combination, well... that's pushing me a little into the nervousness territory. Even with bread pudding, it took me a while to get used to the thought of sweet milk soaked into bread. If that's not bad enough, I'm a dry cereal eater.. I just can't mix milk with anything! Something must be wrong with me.. haha.


Why so many spoon shots? Well, I was trying my best to hide my rice soup. It was totally my fault for not using arborio rice and replacing it with brown. As much as I would love to buy an entire bag of arborio rice to use 1/4 cup of it (and I wouldn't considering I halved this recipe), I decided to go with brown. Plus, my other rice alternative was jasmine and you can imagine how gross that would've turned out, since jasmine rice does not hold its shape well through all that boiling. Out of all the desserts I've made, this one has definitely been the healthiest. A great source of fibre and calcium.. with no butter or any added fat, what can be better?! I'm so glad this was picked because I'm totally over my rice pudding fears.. I love rice pudding!!

Thanks to Isabelle of Les gourmandises d'Isa for choosing this recipe, which can be found on her blog and in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours. Don't forget to checkout the TWD Blogroll!


Rice soup!

TWD: Chocolate Pudding

This is only my third enty and I'm so glad that I joined TWD despite packing on all the pounds! It's been something that I look forward every week because I get to try and learn new things. Sometimes I wish the summer could last forever so I wouldn't have to think about school or the 'future'. I'm going into fourth year, but still feel so undecided with what to do next. Even when I graduate with my majors in nutrition and psychology, I don't think I'm actually employable. The only thing I can think of is entering a dietetics program, since that is accredited, but that would basically mean redoing at least 3 years of undergrad. I guess the other option would be to enter grad school, but I don't even know if my marks are good enough. I hate myself so much for being so undecisive the past three years and failed to make smarter decisions earlier. Now I feel like I've wasted time and money. Even if I were to become a dietitian, I don't even think I could find a job. It's so nice when I get to bake away and forget all about the scary things or important decisions I have to make. Sorry.. that was totally unrelated, but I so needed to get it off my back before I go crazy.

Anyway.. back to TWD. The chocolate pudding was such a great pick.. not too much butter, but lots of chocolate! Before I started, I thought this would be a clean and quick challenge. While I was right about the quick, I was all wrong about the clean. Thank god for my 12 cup food processor or I'm sure I would've had pudding on my walls. I only made half the batch and it still approached the leak line. I felt like I was scrambling a lot, especially since I always put my book far away from potential damage so there was a lot of walking back and forth combined with the fear of overdrying the chocolate, overheating the milk and cooking the eggs. This was the first time my pudding didn't scramble! Now I think I'm confident enough to tackle pastry cream and make a boston cream pie. I was actually suprised how rich the pudding was considering it was made with milk, but there was a slight chalkiness to it.. although that could have been my fault for using Chipits instead of squares. Here, have a bite!

Thanks to Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen for choosing this recipe, which can be found on her site and in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours. Don't forget to checkout the TWD Blogroll!