@py @SinclairLewis I’m sure there are other hashtags for baking, but you should check out #SmallBatchBakeAlong!

I'm not even the one in my house doing the #SmallBatchBakeAlong but this week I was the Ideas Guy: I suggested Enne steep some lapsang souchong in the cream for the truffles AND I reminded them we have large-flake coconut that is perfect for toasting & coating truffles in!
They're doing all the work but I'm still patting myself on the back for having good ideas.

I was gonna skip this round of #SmallBatchBakeAlong due to full schedule and low energy, but apparently I’ve gone my whole adult life not realising shortbread is only three ingredients and three steps?? First attempt was just plain, but may muck around with variations later, as well as better butter. And adhering to the cooling directions 😅

Jumping in (late) to the #SmallBatchBakeAlong #Blondies week! The recipe for these is from one of my favorite & most used cookbooks by Dorie Greenspan, but I’ve never made them bc the recipe makes a 9x17 pan. Never occurred to me to cut the recipe in half, tbh! Cut back on the sugar, subbed a bit of whole wheat flour. My mix ins were unsweetened coconut, bittersweet chocolate, & raspberry jammy bits from King Arthur. So tasty!

cw food(positive)
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I have never made blondies, so this was new fun! I subbed Splenda brown for the brown sugar (hence the dark color), almonds for walnuts, and added a bit of orange zest.

They are very rich, with a super moist cake texture. These are very good, but If I did it again, I think I'd probably ditch both chips and put in some raisins, as I think that would improve the flavor profile.

Like my first reaction to finishing it all wasn't "oh how pretty" but "whoa the roulades were less work."

Plus side the vegan cinnamon roll recipe for next week is really simple, same to the (surprisingly tasty) mug cake, so you can pick your level of effort here. I do think the Smitten Kitchen recipe is absolutely worth making, it's just good to know in advance it's an intermediate recipe.

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Heads up for next week's recipe for #SmallBatchBakeAlong, the Smitten Kitchen twisty cinnamon roll bake:

I made it in a quarter batch successfully using my teeny 6x6 pyrex! (I think it'll work fine in a 9x5 loaf pan, but it'd need to be cut more to size.) It's tasty! It's beautiful! It's a whole lot of work for a cinnamon roll dear goodness!

Seriously for your own sanity plan to do it as a two day bake. Doing it all in one day would be a lot.

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Eeee I successfully tested a half batch of vegan cinnamon rolls for next week's #SmallBatchBakeAlong! (I can't decide if it makes sense to put this hashtag at the end for screen readers or not.) It made eight teeny little rolls, and they are precious babs indeed. And surprisingly low on coconut flavor for the amount of coconut milk and oil I chucked in?

I didn't make them into a twisty bake, I wanted to see how a normal proof went, but I wish I had.

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So I mentioned on Saturday that I failed to roll the Japanese roll cake for this week of #SmallBatchBakeAlong.

The challenge is you're rolling this on a *damp towel*. I thought I was fine, when I was Not, and found out when I went to check it. The sides were mushy. Oof.

I aired it out, topped it with cocoa whipped cream, and thankfully it was still tasty! It's a fluffy and lightly sweet, lightly eggy cake that's a great vehicle for fillings.

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And here's the first of my #SmallBatchBakeAlong bakes, the Pianono roll!

I didn't mention this in the discussion, but I know Jolina, the creator, from my early Instagram days. She's just really nice and it was a lovely surprise to get to include her work.

And this was tasty! I loved the Angel food cake-like, sugar-crisp edge, and while the raspberry jam was intense I thought it was a fun contrast.

It did crack, but didn't care, had cake.

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And just in case, a link to how to make DIY cake flour using all-purpose flour and cornstarch: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/cake-flour-substitute/

Phew! That's a whole bunch of stuff for this week's #SmallBatchBakeAlong! I will say this is one where you will want as much of a clean counter as possible, and to do your mise en place for sure. I hope you all have fun!

First, please use #AltText and the Food content warning, so everyone can join in!

Notes:
-Both recipes halve into an 8x8 pan just fine.
-If you're out of cream of tartar, using 4x the amount of white vinegar worked for me. (So if the recipe says 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, use 1 teaspoon vinegar.)
-Cake flavor/technique notes: https://mstdn.party/@DessertGeek/109769572835262239

Questions to answer:
-What went right/wrong?
-How did it taste?
-Would you make it again?

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Welcome to #SmallBatchBakeAlong's Roulade Week! If you're new, each week we try a new small batch bake! You can join in if you like!

After yesterday's discussion + poll, both cakes won out! So here are the two cakes (GF-able):

-Fluffy Japanese style roll cake: https://takestwoeggs.com/japanese-cake-roll/#Recipe

-Filipino Pianono roll cake: https://theunlikelybaker.com/best-pianono-cake-filipino-swiss-roll/

-The vegan/low spoons alternate is: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/celebration-mug-cake/ (I couldn't find a good match here?)

Notes next!

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Differences:
-The Japanese cake is chiffon light and fluffy, and has very little flavor, more a soft sweetness. It's mainly a fluffy vehicle for fillings.
-The Filipino cake has a bit more egg flavor, a denser crumb, and an Angel food-like sugar-crisp edge. It got overwhelmed by the raspberry jam I used but was still tasty.
-The Filipino cake reads like it would be simpler to make, but I found the Japanese cake slightly easier to make in practice.

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Here are my notes. I'm going to refer to Takes Two Eggs's cake as 'the Japanese cake' and Unlikely Baker's Pianono Roll as 'the Filipino cake' because 'A/B' will be hard to read and Pianono's likely a new word for folks.

Similarities:
-Both halved into an 8x8 pan, and rolled okay, with one note. (The Japanese cake needs the world's driest damp towel, or becomes mush.)
-Both are fairly quick to make, taking about the recommended bake time.

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Okay #SmallBatchBakeAlong folks, it's time to discuss the Roulade Week recipes before tomorrow's official start!

I've made both now, and they're both tasty, but different enough tasty that I wanted to discuss them first.

For reference, here are the recipes:
https://takestwoeggs.com/japanese-cake-roll/#Recipe

https://theunlikelybaker.com/wprm_print/12980

(I haven't tested the mug cake, but it's vegan-able and look GF-able: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/celebration-mug-cake/)

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@anniebeeknits Ha! So it goes! And it looks so awesome! You totally win at failing the bake-along, and have a bounty of treats!

(And it looks like that recipe should halve pretty well, and possibly quarter? I'd have to do the math on quartering, but half batch to me would count as small-ish batch!)

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@DessertGeek Once again, I was GOING to try out the troublesome apple crisp recipe after work tonight, but my husband decided to surprise me with another batch of his excellent, but not small batch, apple crisp in the middle of my workday, to use up some mushy Red Prince apples. LOOK at the caramel-y sauce from the apples! So I fail the bake-along again, but win at having excellent dessert. (Think he uses https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/apple-crisp/, btw) #SmallBatchBakeAlong

I made my 3rd batch on Sunday. I couldn't find matzo, so I opted for really thin whole wheat crackers. I also went with Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate chips and salted butter, which I already had.

The caramel was much easier to handle than expected, but it cooled very quickly so I need to spread it faster to get it even. Tasty and not too sweet! Takes forever to cool.

For next time:
- toasted slivered almonds
- Skyflakes crackers
- flakey salt

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#SmallBatchBakeAlong Roulade Week update: The poll is very much in favor of a new recipe! Woo!

Given the alternates are both large batches, I'm going to try halving both coming up in pans most folks likely have, like 8x8 pans, before doing a poll. I don't want to find out it's a complex cake I've added in. (And yes I just want to make cake. Cake!)

And we're still on caramelized matzo crunch if you want to #JoinIn, and I hope you do this recipe rocks!

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