JasmineRichelleBakes: 2018 For The Win! A Year in Review

So It's now 2018 and before looking forward to future bakes I wanted to look back on some of my favorite bakes. I'm not going to say that this was easy I counted 56 different bakes posted. That is a ton but not at all everything that I baked in 2017. There were some days that I just did not want to post or edit pictures. I didn't want to type post or upload the content. I just really wanted to get to 52 posts so it would average like I baked once a week. I'm happy with everything on the blog, I may even introduce some video in the future. I loved the direction the blog post went in during the month of October, with sticking to a theme for the bakes that month. I will continue that going forward. January shall be Matcha Month. All things Matcha, so look forward to that.

Ok I'm going to just post pictures of my favorite things I baked. My Top 10. Then I will post the Top 5 most viewed bakes.

My Top 10 Bakes (they aren't in any specific order)

Mango Curd Tart

I just really thought that this tart was beautiful and it really tasted delicious and was fun to make. I think this was my first time making a fruit curd other than Lemon. I remember toasting the coconut with cinnamon to give it an extra punch. The toasted meringue on top added just enough sweetness to offset the nuttiness of the crust and the tartness of the mango. Everyone gobbled these up. I really loved the colors, so summery.

Lemon Tart

I will and forever love a good lemon curd. After making so many macarons I always have egg yolks, and if I have fruit and egg yolks I'm going to make a curd. Lemon happens to be my favorite, so I made a lemon tart. I think this was my first time making a sweet pastry tart shell. I was brushing the line between burnt crust. This was really yummy and tart. I added the blackberries for a visual contrast and we all know berries and lemons go well together. Pistachios added a nice textural difference. Oh and I loved the way the crescent design of the berries came out.

Dulce De Leche Macarons

These have got to be my favorite macarons that I have ever made. I've baked a ton of macarons and this is my absolute favorite flavor combination. The shell was coffee flavored, I dusted coffee on top of each shell before it baked. I made my own dulce de leche filling by boiling condensed milk slowly for 3+ hours and I topped each dollop of filling with some flakes of coarse sea salt. These weren't everyone's favorite because of the strong coffee flavor but I adored these. They were filled with bitter notes, chocolatey notes, salty and sweet. I loved them.... I need to bake these again.

Lemon Poppyseed Macarons

I also enjoyed these. I didn't eat as many as I would have liked of these because I made these for my brother. Everyone in our family loves lemon and these are what he requested. I remember making these and thinking to myself that I wanted these to be so lemony. I filled each macaron with a lemon poppyseed buttercream and I filled that with some homemade lemon curd. They were delicious. I mean I loved the way the poppy seeds popped on the shell and they gave a different texture to the buttercream, very sprinklesque.

Croissants...Butter, Almond, and Pan Au Chocolat

I always wondered what it would take to make my own croissants, and now I know. It takes three days and some patience. Obviously these are delicious and I've made them a couple of times since posting the recipe on the blog. Everyone has a favorite, so It's nice that you can split the dough and make a couple of different flavors. I personally like the almond croissants, filled with a homemade almond paste, dusted with powdered sugar. A little messy but still delicious. You just have to remember 3 days and some good butter.

Coconut Mousse Cake with a Marble Mirror Glaze

This cake was beautiful and my first attempt at making and using a mirror glaze. It was time consuming and a bit scary but it turned out well. It was jammed pack with coconut flavor, from the spongy cake layer to the coconut mousse, and the hidden coconut water jelly inside. I loved pouring the marbled glaze over the cake and I'll probably be making more entremets and large mousse cakes in the future.

Lemon Poppyseed Baked Doughnut

Again one of my favorite flavor profiles. I love Lemon and I love Poppyseed. I love how the slate blue poppy seeds look on the glaze of this doughnut. I think I made these for my mom's birthday breakfast. This was also my first time making, and baking doughnuts. They were wonderful and they don't take that much time. These were a breakfast success and were gobbled up.

Orange Blossom Macarons with a Saffron+ Cardamom Buttercream and Orange Marmalade Center

This was a new flavor combination I was working on. They came out great. I was just playing around with flavors I had at home. I was actually thinking about some of my great friends who came from India. I was thinking of tea, then I thought of gulab jamun, and toast and jam. This concoction was born. I'm glad it was because it smells amazing and taste amazing. These were popular too.

Cardamom Poached Pear Frangipane Tarts

There is a theme. When I like a certain flavor I tend to try to incorporate it into multiple desserts. I remember baking these on a fall day. I wanted to bake something that I never baked and I saw a picture of a beautiful poached pear 9 inch tart. I knew I wanted to make mini versions. This was my first time poaching pears and it was a lot easier than I thought. I also made frangipane for the first time and it was so good. Almond everything is delicious, right?

Churros

I love churros, I don't know why. I mean yes I do, fried dough in cinnamon and sugar. I think the reason I love them so much is because churros are just something you don't eat everyday or even every month. I saw they were super simple to make and it allowed me to learn how to make pate a choux dough. They are so good freshly fried. So crunch on the outside and soft on the inside. Hey dunk them in some dulce de leche for an extra yummy treat.