carpecookie's Reviews
3 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 3Sort by: Title 
| Date | Rating
Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe
By Joanne Chang, Christie Matheson
Chronicle Books - 2010
Brown Butter-Crispy Rice Treats : page 133
The best "crispy rice treat" recipe I've made. The flavour of the browned butter (with vanilla bean seeds) really brings this humble childhood treat to another level. And the little bit of kosher salt helps to make it a little less sweet without being salty. Everyone who's sampled these has commented on how good they are- even people who claim not to like sweets.
Super-easy, but the instructions for browning butter are useful if you've never made it before. The author says that "if you lean in and listen, it will sound like an audience of people politely clapping their hands (in anticipation of these treats!)". Accurate and funny.
useful (1)
Flour's Famous Banana Bread : page 66
This is a straightforward banana bread recipe. It's easy to put together, and using canola oil instead of butter means that it will stay moist for days (if it doesn't get eaten). It really does improve the next day- both in flavour and texture, so if you can restrain yourself from eating it warm from the oven, you'll be rewarded for your patience with a fantastic banana bread the next day.
The only reason I gave it 4* instead of 5* is because it uses an electric mixer, and I have another recipe for banana bread that I make by hand with a whisk much more easily.
Notes:
1) be sure that your bananas are really ripe (lots of black spots on the skin).
2) The nuts should be toasted, as directed, but you could substitute pecans if you prefer them to walnuts (I did).
3) I used sour cream instead of crème fraîche and it worked well
4) I suggest doubling the recipe and making 2 loaves and freezing one- it freezes very well (as described in the recipe).
useful (2)
White coconut cake with coconut frosting : page 176
Nice crumb on the cake texture, and the frosting is not overly sweet. The directions are very detailed to ensure your success. The only change I made was to toast the coconut for garnishing, just a personal preference for toasted sweetened coconut instead of untoasted. You could also substitute unsweetened toasted coconut for the garnish if you prefer even a little less sweet.
A very impressive cake, but since it has butter in the frosting, it's important to serve at room temperature for the best texture and flavour (cold butter straight from the fridge is not as nice, and the cake will seem dry- at room temperature it's moist enough)
useful (0)