Kouign Amann

I was binge-watching The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. I love the show (except for the finale). The hosts are funny and entertaining and the baketestants sometimes are too.

One of the "technical" bakes was Kouign amann. None of the bakers knew or even heard of the Breton bread, much less how to pronounce it. I was surprised because I baked this delicious crunchy with caramelized sugar bread almost 8 years ago when I read about it on David Lebovitz's blog. I've never baked it into small muffin size though and don't remember it being flaky or with visible layers like croissants.

The recipe is Paul Hollywood's, one of the two judges on the show. BTW, most of the recipes are posted on PBS website. I like these too but I remember the Kouign amann made with David's recipe tasted better probably because it has more sugar than Paul's.

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Caramel Apple Butter And Apple Mint Jelly

Autumn is almost here, I can already smell it. It's time to make apple butter, jam, and jelly when a wide variety of apples are available in farmer's markets (or grocery stores that sell local produce). Caramel apple butter sounds really good when I heard about it. It really is and with a little sea salt it tastes fantastic. I added a few sprigs of fresh spearmint from my garden while cooking the jelly. I love its subtle flavor. So good.

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Snow Skin Mooncake

I have been trying for a few years now to find or make the toasted glutinous rice for snow skin mooncake without any success. I finally decided to cook the dough/skin on the stove and it actually works. The skin is soft and easy to use. I don't really mind the additional step. The mooncakes are great but I still prefer the baked ones because of their soft cake-y shells.

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Crispy Sauerkraut Fritters

At last, after 1 month of waiting, my lacto fermented sauerkraut is ready and it is delicious, crunchy, and sour. I rarely eat sauerkraut and never knew homemade could be so yummy. Adding it into crispy fritters with smoked sausage and bacon makes it extra scrumptious. Although I might have lost some of the lacto fermentation beneficial nutrients, the fritters are worth the loss. They are crispy and tangy, and with the honey mustard sauce, they're quite addicting. I could easily scarf down half a dozen, maybe more, in one sitting.

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