I am excited to share with you my first Daring Bakers entry. This group of bakers has grown to over 600 members and each month take on a new baking challenge. These different blog events have really challenged me to try things I normally will not consider and I can see my baking abilities improving.

This month was Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Cake from her Baking cookbook. Morven hosted this months challenge. I almost never make traditional cakes and dreaded it a bit. In the end I really enjoyed the process and liked this cake. It is a versatile recipe allowing the baker to make it your own. I think it is the perfect all occasion cake. It is pretty and tasty too!

Notes: I used buttermilk and substituted blackberry preserves because I love the combination of lemon and blackberries. The only disappointment was that the cakes don’t rise as much as I anticipated. I even used the Swan Downs Cake Flour that Dorie said she used in her note to the group.

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I confess I have had a fear of yeast breads. Reading the ingredients of this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie baking event my breath quickened, I was overwhelmed at the three pages of instructions. I was longing for someone to choose one of the shorter, quicker recipe. But then would it be a challenge? Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody hosted this weeks event.

I woke up early one morning last week and decided to dive in.

The recipe starts with making one recipe of Brioche dough. As I started through the steps of mixing the dough and then adding in the butter I started thinking this isn’t so bad. I put it in a bowl and waited for it to rise. An hour later sitting in my chilly apartment I realized that would be the true challenge.

I ended up turning on my electric (the only time I have been thankful for electric) oven to 200, opened the door and set the bowl on it. After about 20 minutes things started moving. I left it on the counter for another hour until it had doubled in size.

Then, I moved it to the refrigerator and only once, “slapped it” down because it wasn’t really rising all that much. I had survived step one.

The next morning I was eager for step two and the finished product.

I made the pastry cream, wishing I had done that the day before to allow more time for cooling and setting. I went on to the raisins, which required dousing with rum and igniting. Well, I have a few fire issues. I lived next to two houses growing up, that burned to the ground. Being pulled from the front door of your house at age 6, along with your pregnant mother, leaves you with a healthy respect for fire. Our house survived but not we had watched part of our neighbors burn down. Sorry - back to the snails.

So, I did not ignite the rum but twirled over a hot stove. It seemed to work.

I rolled out the dough which I must say looked like a beautiful thing as I layered the cream, raisin and cinnamon sugar over it. I wound it as tightly as I could, cut my little snails and lined them up ready to bake. Glancing at the recipe again I noticed the words, let rise another hour and a half. That ’s what happens when you skim read! So another round of fighting the morning chill to get the dough to rise.

Finally, I baked them until the tops were golden brown. I drizzled the glaze over the warm rolls and was finally rewarded with the delicious, creamy, crisp brioche snails.

They were worth every minute! My nephews seem to agree as fighting ensued over the small portion I had left. I am baking another batch to deliver this morning. I have conquered my fear of yeast breads!

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So this is my first post with Tuesdays with Dorie. They are a group cooking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Kitchen to Yours cookbook. I had only recently heard about Dorie and was intrigued so I picked up the book and gave it a try.

These are like homemade Snickers bars. I wished you could see the cute picture in the cookbook because mine were not that thick or pretty. But they tasted great. If you are considering trying this recipe I would add a layer of dulce de leche over the peanuts. That would also make it easier to have that nice smooth chocolate layer. I would also double the chocolate to make a thick layer. But that is just me…

The best part - I made the dulce de leche, which is amazing if you have never tried it. I used David Lebovitz’s recipe and it turned out great. A few years ago I made it in the can over the stove, but I’ve grown more cautious and didn’t feel like having the can explode on me! So here is the recipe.

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