Roasted Tomatillo Jalapeno Salsa with Avocado

Andrea Meyers - Roasted Tomatillo Jalapeno Salsa with Avocado

Creamy with a kick is what comes to mind when I dip tortillas or lavash into this salsa. The September Daring Bakers challenge required the members to make both lavash and a dip or other condiment to serve with it, and considering our abundance of tomatillos and jalapeños coupled with my utter devotion to avocados, [...]

Live Blogging: The Daring Bakers Make Lavash

Today is posting day for the monthly Daring Bakers challenge, and I’m live blogging the challenge. This month our hosts Shel of Musings from the Fish Bowl and Natalie of Gluten A Go Go chose an alternative challenge for us: vegan and/or gluten-free lavash crackers from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice with vegan and [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Pierre Herme’s Chocolate Eclairs

Being a Daring Baker means stretching your skills and imagination while taking on new things, and practically every challenge we have tackled over the last year presented something new for me to try. This month I made choux pastry for the very first time, with many thanks to Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? and [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

Michael’s birthday was last weekend, and when I saw The Daring Bakers challenge for this month, I immediately announced what his birthday cake would be. “Whatever you want to do, Sweet Pea,” was his response. Thank goodness he’s so flexible about food! And thank goodness for chocolate ganache because it not only tastes good, but [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Danish Braid

I was so excited to see this challenge when it was posted earlier this month because we love bread in any shape or form. Ask my boys what they want for a snack, and they’ll say anything in the bread category even before cake, cookies, ice cream, popsicles, and lollipops. It’s almost as if this [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Opera Cake

Andrea Meyers - Mini Opera Cakes

When Ivonne and Lisa, the venerable founders of The Daring Bakers, choose a challenge, you know it’s going to be a challenge. Think Buche de Noel (Yule Log Cake), or in this case, think…L’Opera! Yes, Opera cake. Until now I’ve never tasted or made one, though I’ve seen them in posh bakeries, but I do [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Cheesecake Pops

Cheesecake on a stick! How fun is that? I love cheesecake any way I can get it and few desserts in this world capture my imagination more than a rich, luscious, baked cheesecake. If I order dessert in a restaurant, it’s likely to be cheesecake, and I love sampling all the flavors at The Cheesecake [...]

The Daring Bakers Make a Perfect Party Cake

It truly is a perfect cake for a party or any gathering. Flavorful, luscious, and relatively easy to make. Morven of Food, Art, and Random Thoughts chose Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake from Baking: From My Home to Yours for The Daring Bakers March challenge, and it was a most delicious challenge. I couldn’t keep [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Julia Child’s French Bread

Andrea Meyers - Julia Child's French Bread

Unlike many of my fellow Daring Bakers, I cannot claim to have watched Julia Child’s cooking shows or even read any of her books until recently. I was more interested in Asian, Mexican, or Italian cooking, anyway. That’s what I told myself, but in truth it’s because I thought her cooking style was beyond my [...]

The Daring Bakers Make Lemon Meringue Pie and Tarts

This is a tale of what NOT to do when tackling any baking project, let alone a Daring Bakers challenge. First, make sure that you aren’t sick. If you are sick, make sure that none of the children are sick, or at least make sure that husband is not sick so that he can attend [...]