HCB: Caramelized Pineapple Pudding Cakes

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The first weekend of the months are the hardest for me when it comes to baking.  My commitment to three baking groups makes it a bit hard, since I technically have 3 dessert to bake during the first weekend.  So usually during this time one tends to fall of the to bake list.  Since I had passed last weeks choice on HCB, I could not bring myself to pass on a second week.  One of the other baking club is going to take a hit - the jury still out as to which.

I decided to start with HCB choice, because it was the hardest of the 3.  The pudding portion had 3 pages of instructions, add 4 more if you decided to do the Brioche and you got, once more, 7 pages of instructions ahead of you.  Which mean one thing - hold on to your whisk, its going to be a bumpy bake.  After reading, I realized that after putting into account the waiting time between the steps, I was looking at well over 12+ hours of work for six baby cakes.

God, I thought the Apple Charlotte was hard.
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FFwD: Gougères

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And as some of you may know by now, Dorie Greenspan had published another book called Around my French Table.

And a cook-a-long group soon follow.  And because you guys know that I’m crazy, I joined up.  To be fair, this was being discussed in the TWD group months ago, and in fact it was projected to start in 2011.  But the book got an early release and here we are.  Over 1000 home cooks have joined the French Fridays with Dorie (FFwD) movement and we all be sharing our experiences in cooking through the 500 page book every Friday.  So along with my Sweet Kitchen Tips, I will also post any recipe that I make from the book.

And about that book….
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Palmeras {Palmiers – Elephant Ears}

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In Venezuela there is a bakery in every single corner of every single neighborhood.  Most of these bakeries are owned either by Portuguese and/or Italian immigrants that came after the war – and in some cases pass down form generation to generation.  Do you know what that means right?

European pastries and breads.

I know, I know, I’m a total snob when it comes to my sweets.

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