Mon Cherie Sweets

Mochaccino Cupcakes

2011-10-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

In the past few years I started drinking coffee-like drinks. I say coffee-like because really, they were minty hot chocolates that had a splash of coffee. The mint, whipped cream, and general awesomeness covered up the coffee flavor. I always loved how coffee smelled, just not the taste. Anyway, the practice started when I moved out here to California and I was invited to join up with some fellow math teachers for Teacher Tuesday. Teacher Tuesday started out as a few of us meeting at Starbucks every Tuesday. It grew to quite a large group at one point and we decided that these "dates" needed to be preserved. As every teacher knows, to keep your sanity you need to get together with other teachers and "discuss" (read: bitch and moan) about the students, parents, administration, and general craziness of your day to day life. Only other teachers really understand. So, in order to preserve these precious "meetings" we came up with the name Coffee across the Curriculum, or CAC. We had added a few non-math teachers, so the "across" was legit. And it looked official on Excel calendars "CAC: 3:00-5:00", so anyone who saw the public calendars wouldn't try to schedule pesky parent meetings during our time.

So what started as a few teachers (and really, has ended up as only a few after it's peak years) is what started me on coffee. Back to that...

I eventually became aware that Peppermint Mochas have roughly 1,345 calories and 67 grams of fat. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. So I cut out the whipped cream (boo) and switched to skim milk (double boo, who actually LIKES blue milk anyway? And why is it blue??). Doing that shaved off 14 calories or so. So I decided to try REAL coffee. Hey, almost no calories, can still hang out with the cool teacher group. And I figured I'm probably have a fighting shot of liking it after all the years of mochas.

I was right! I like coffee. Real, coffee-flavored coffee. Now, don't get me wrong. A Peppermint Mocha will beat coffee any day, and I get one every few weeks and revel in it's awesomeness. But for day to day, just regular ol' joe is fine. And once a year, on my birthday, I get a full-fat, whipped cream version of my Peppermint Mocha and I smile for the rest of the day.

So, coffee-flavored cupcakes were last weeks treat! A pin off Pinterest that looked too pretty to pass up. Perfect flavor, the coffee cut the sweet of the frosting, generally yummy!
Mochaccino Cupcakes

Cupcakes
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (use whole)
1/2 cup STRONG coffee, cool
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
instant espresso + water

For cupcakes:

stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt.
in a separate bowl combine milk and coffee
beat butter until fluffy, gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.
alternate flour mixture and coffee mixture, beat until just combined.
bake about 18 minutes at 350 degrees.

For frosting:

beat butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and coffee and beat until smooth.

Notes:

The original recipe called for adding coffee to the frosting. I wasn't a fan of this idea. The amount of liquid it was asking for would mean a TON of powdered sugar to thicken it back up. I'm not afraid of powdered sugar but I usually put a POUND of it in my vanilla frosting and that doesn't have any liquid other than vanilla. So who knows what adding 3 Tablespoons of coffee would require. So, I made an espresso slurry of sorts. I added about a teaspoon of instant espresso to very hot water. Just enough water to dissolve the crystals. It came to about 2 teaspoons. I added that to the butter and sugar and although still a little sweet, a much better option than adding even more powdered sugar.
The recipe also called for chocolate chips to be added to the batter. I left those out. Chunks belong in muffins, not cupcakes. :)
The little cookies I have as toppers I found at Trader Joe's. Chocolate cream filled pillows and they are FABULOUS!

Slightly adapted from bhg.com.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

2011-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

I made these a few weeks back for some friends we had over to watch football. They were super easy to put together and very yummy. They weren't too tart, but that could be because I used Meyer lemons from my little backyard tree!

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

Crust/Crumb
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter, slightly soft
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats

Filling
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed mil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For crust/crumb:

mix butter and brown sugar together
sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add oats.
press 1/2 of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x9 pan that is lined with parchment.

For filling:

mix together milk, juice, and zest. Spread over crust.
crumble the remaining crust/crumb mixture over the top. Don't press it down, just sprinkle it all over.
bake 20-ish minutes or until golden
cool for 30 minutes on the counter, then put in the refrigerator for a few hours to get completely cold.

Slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Notes: the only real change I made was to the pan size. The original recipe calls for an 8x11. I really thought there wouldn't be enough lemon filling if I had to spread it out and I think I was right. These weren't filling heavy but had the perfect amount of creamy lemon.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

2011-09-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

I love making cheesecakes. Really love it! Mostly because I love EATING cheesecakes. But I don't typically make them all that often because they're not as easy to pawn off onto people. My dear husband does a fantastic job of carting in and delivering cupcakes and cookies to his coworkers but I don't know if I can convince him to bring in a cheesecake. It's not really office-friendly, you know?

So, I don't get to make them unless I plan to have someone over that I can force feed a few slices to. And usually Dave (the husband) is really persuasive and gets the remainder sent home with the guests.

I've been eyeballing this cheesecake on Pinterest for awhile now and finally found an excuse to make it! My friend's husband just returned from a deployment of 6 months and I figured anything I served him MUST be better than food that sat on a boat for 6 months. So I had them over for dinner.

Turns out, I was wrong. Mostly because I apparently lost my mind while prepping for the two fabulous pizzas I was going to make. FYI, when making pizza dough and proofing it in the oven (the only really nice, warm place in my kitchen), it's typically a good idea to REMOVE the balls of dough while preheating your oven to 500°. I'm lucky the house didn't burn down, since I had a cotton towel covering the dough.

So off to a pizza joint for dinner. It wasn't as good as my planned goat cheese and roasted pepper pizza, but it wasn't half bad. And we came back for dessert!

Luckily, dessert WAS better than anything sitting on a boat for 6 months.

It was a bit more time intensive than other cheesecakes, but only because you have to make the brownies first. The brownies were good IN the cheesecake but they weren't great on their own. Not bad, and certainly better than a box, but not great. You will have more than you need for the cheesecake.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

Brownies
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1½ sticks unsalted butter
1¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with parchment.
Melt chocolate and butter together until smooth.
Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt.
Bake 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature then chill in refrigerator.
Once chilled, chop into 1 inch squares. Measure two cups. Do what you will with the rest.

Crust
5 ounces chocolate graham crackers, crushed to a sandy texture
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix together all ingredients. Press into a springform pan lined with parchment. I only press into the bottom. If you want crust on the side, double the above measurements.
Chill 2 hours.

Cheesecake

3 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.
Fold in brownie cubes gently
Pour into pan.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 200° and bake another hour-1 hour 10 minutes. Center should still be just a tad wobbly.
Let sit in the oven with door open for about 2 hours or until room temperature. Remove then place in refrigerator 4 hours or overnight.

Ganache Glaze

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Place chocolate in a glass bowl. Scald the butter and cream then pour over chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds. Stir until smooth then add vanilla and powdered sugar.
Poor over cheesecake the place back in refrigerator to chill another 2 hours.

Note: I ALWAYS cook my cheesecakes without water baths and at a low setting for a long time. Every single time I try any other method, they crack. With this method, I've NEVER cracked a cheesecake. Even this one, which I overbaked by probably 10 minutes, didn't crack. I think lining the springform with parchment helps with this as well, since the cheesecake sides have some give this way (not stuck to the sides of the pan). To line a springform, I spray the pan with non-stick spray then place a sheet on the bottom piece. Clamp the sides on over the bottom piece of parchment, locking it in. Then I cut strips as wide as the sides and stick them on. The non-stick spray holds them on.

Slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Blackberry Pie

2011-09-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Dave and I took the monkeys raspberry and blackberry picking last weekend. It was fantastic! Quinn had a blast and literally ate her weight in raspberries. She refused to give up any for the basket, just walked up and down the rows grabbing and shoveling in. Colin was less than enthusiastic about it and after a few berries decided that rock throwing was much more entertaining.

While the raspberries were a hit and overflowing, the blackberries were a bit tougher. First, they have NASTY thorns. Not easy picking when you're wearing short sleeves. And Quinn didn't like them as much as the raspberries, so she got bored quickly. But Dave and I managed to get about 2 pounds of them before we gave up.

All in all we ended up with 6 pounds of berries. What is it about picking them yourself that makes you want to pick WAY more than any reasonable human being should eat? I'd never BUY 6 pounds of berries, so why the need to pick that many? Anyway, we got home and quickly realized that even fresh off the vine, berries turn quickly to mush. So of course I baked!

With half of the raspberries I made a quick jam to be used for homemade pop tarts this week. The other half was quickly going to waste, so in the freezer they went for smoothies. The blackberries got a pie!

I'm very pleased with my newly acquired pie crust-making skills! This was a double crust and this was the first one of those I've attempted. I didn't feel like I was ready for lattice work so I punched out some hearts and I have to say, I love it! Very Better Homes and Gardens. :)

So here's the blackberry pie. This is a definite keeper recipe. With a few adjustments for the filling it was perfect. Not too sweet, not too tart. Held it's shape, berries stayed plump, crust was flaky and buttery.

Double crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I froze mine)
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening (also frozen)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Berry Mixture:
6 cups blackberries (1 3/4 lb)
1 to 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (I used 1 cup)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca (small pearl)
1 tablespoon flour

1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sanding (coarse) or granulated sugar (I used turbanado)

Crust

Pulse flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of water over mixture and pulse until it starts coming together. Add more water if necessary. I needed about 5.5 tablespoons. You want the dough to still look separate but be damp enough to squeeze in your hand and hold it's shape.
Split into two, form each into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
After chilling, roll one disk between two sheets of floured parchment (I never flour my parchment for anything else but this really seems to help with pie dough). Roll it to about 14 inches across the center. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate. Leave the excess hanging over the edge. Fill with berry mixture (below).
Roll out second disk. I used a small cookie cutter to cut out some hearts. Or you can try the lattice. Whatever you do, you need some sort of hole to vent the steam out. Place rolled dough over berry mixture. Roll edges up and over and crimp or otherwise seal closed.
Brush egg white over entire top, sprinkle with sugar.

Berry Mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss sugar, cornstarch, flour, and tapioca together. Add berries and toss to coat. Add butter and lemon juice, toss again. Let sit 20 minutes.
Spoon mixture into pie crust. I had barely any liquid, which seemed to be perfect.
Top with crust.
Place on a covered cookie sheet (I placed parchment directly on my pizza stone that stays in my oven at all times). Bake for about 45 minutes then check to make sure the crust isn't browning too quickly. Mine needed a foil top (just toss it on there, no need to be pretty or tight) at this point. Bake another 15-25 minutes or until juices start to bubble through the holes/slats. Mine took 1 hour 10 minutes exactly.
Let cool completely.

Notes for next time:

The adjustments that I made worked perfectly. Not too soupy, held it's shape, perfect!
Serve with vanilla bean ice cream!
Although I ogle the pretty ruffle edge ceramic pie plates every time I go to a cooking store, I'm sticking with my Pyrex pie plate for now. It's clear so I can see when the crust is really done. So ugly and cheap stays until I start feeling more confident!
Make sure not tapioca pearls are on top of the mixture before the pie crust goes on. The ones just kind of sitting there on top didn't cook all the way through and stayed crunchy. Not tasty! So just poke them down into the mixture before topping.

Pie crust from Epicurious
Pie slightly adapted from Epicurious

Deep Dish Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel

2011-09-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm back. For realsies this time. Promise.

It's been a hectic year here in the 'Rillo (Camarillo, CA for those of you not in the know). Having a preschooler and a toddler keeps me busy. It's mostly keeping busy by vacuuming 32 times a day, 47 loads of laundry a week, and making fresh, healthy, tasty food that neither monster will come within 15 feet of for fear of contamination. As everyone under the age of 5 knows, the only safe food is Kraft Mac & Cheese. Or string cheese. Most certainly NOT homemade mac and cheese with REAL cheese. God forbid.

Quinn, brave little soul that she is, will eat pretty much anything I BAKE. Cook, not so much. Bake, yes. If it's in cookie or muffin/cupcake form she'll snarf it right down (if I could just figure out how to bake a chicken breast into a cupcake...). But alas, I don't have high hopes that it will keep. Colin was the same once and now only chocolate chip cookies or "normal" cupcakes (read: chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet) are acceptable. He turned his nose up at chocolate chocolate chip cookies this week. Something is seriously wrong with the kid. If he didn't look like a clone of his dad I'd worry he was switched at birth. No kid of mine should be walking away from a cookie. Ever. Well, unless there's raisins in it. And even then, they can be picked out.

I HAVE been baking. A lot. But the blogging and the photos stopped. When Q-tip is squawking for one more Bubble Guppies and C-dog is screaming on the floor for Angry Birds, setting up my photo "booth" seems to get knocked down on the list of fires to put out. So more often than not, my treats sit on their pretty white plate for a day or two before I give up the fight and put it out of it's misery.

So, that's what I've been up to. I don't have many back-logged photos, so I'm just starting from scratch. Here's the plan:
1) re-bake all of my old recipes that have gathered dust. I submitted a cake to the Ventura County Fair that I could swear must have been excellent. Why else was it in THE BINDER? Only sacred, drop dead deliciousness go into THE BINDER. But....not so much. Apparently it was excellent before I knew any better. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't binder worthy.

2) Work through the 1,247,313 pins I have on Pinterest. I've made a dent, really more of a ding, but it counts. You're on Pinterest, right? If not, go NOW. NOW, I said! It's like crack but without those unsightly track marks.

If you go check out my pins and see something you want me to make, tell me!

Let's get this party started! This pie was fabulous!! Very summery but different than the peach cobbler that I usually make with farmer's market finds. I will most definitely make it again.

Deep Dish Peach Pie with Pecan Streusel

Streusel topping
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup cup (packed) golden brown sugar (I used dark, I had some extra sitting around)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Crust
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced (I froze it with the shortening)
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, frozen, diced
3 1/2 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (I used small pearl)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (didn't have any so I upped the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 3/4 to 4 pounds peaches, peeled with vegetable peeler, halved, pitted, cut into 1-inch wedges (I only used about 2.5 pounds because I don't have a deep dish plate)

Streusel topping

Stir flour, oats, sugar, and salt in medium bowl.
Cut in butter with a fork or cutter. You're going for small moist clumps.
Mix in pecans.
Cover and chill.

Crust

In food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt for 5 pulses.
Add butter and shortening. Pulse until you get very coarse meal (about 5 long pulses for me)
Drizzle 3.5 tablespoons water over the mixture. Pulse again until it just starts coming together but is not a big lump. If you squeeze it in your palm it should stay as a moist (not wet) clump.
Gather into a disk, wrap and chill for one hour. Any longer than that and you'll need to let it sit out for about 10 minutes to soften up a bit.
Roll out onto parchment paper, transfer to a pie plate, fold over edges (or cut them off, whatever you like), chill.

Filling

Stir sugar, tapioca, and spices in a bowl. Mix in lemon juice then peaches and toss to coat.
Let sit 20 minutes or so, mixing once or twice.

Baking

Preheat oven to 400°. Spoon filling into crust then sprinkle with topping. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet (it WILL bubble over!)
Bake 30 minutes then turn down the oven to 350° and bake another 45-ish minutes. Cover with foil if necessary. Cool for several hours.

Notes for next time:

I used white peaches. To do again, I'll use yellow. The white are too mild.
The crust is FABULOUS. I'm not a seasoned pie baker. I've really only ever made a few with scratch crusts. I feel like everyone who makes a really good pie crust had a nice, squidgy-around-the-middle grandma to teach them. My grandmother preferred that I polish silver in my spare time. But even with very little experience this crust came out perfect. Crisp, flaky, buttery, relatively easy to work with. Next time, I'll bake the pie directly on my pizza stone to crisp up the bottom a little more.
It's too juicy. Not that this is bad, but it most certainly doesn't make for pretty slices. I did cut the peaches down to 2.5 pounds but left the spices, tapioca, and sugar the same. After sitting there was quite a bit of juice, which I just dumped over the peaches before I added the topping. It did thicken (thank you miracle tapioca!) but still made for one overly sloppy pie. Next time I'll up the spices and leave that extra syrup out. On a side note, trying to take a picture of a pie that won't hold it's pie-shape is less than amusing. Especially when Quinn is pulling on my pant leg and yelling for milk (kids are just so NEEDY). It took all of my photography set-up prowess to get a picture that looked kind of like pie and not crumble. All of that prowess being a C battery propping up the back of the crust. Don't hate on the mad skills.
Streusel was perfect. Pecans gave a nice crunch, oatmeal gave some chew. Leave it as is!

Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-03-31T04:56:00.000-07:00

It's 4 am here in sunny California. My dear, sweet, chubby-legged princess decided that sleeping through the night was over-rated and that it would be a perfect time to have a nice chat with mom. I shouldn't complain too much. She is only 16 weeks old and has slept 12+ hours in a row for the last week and a half, so I'm actually feeling somewhat human with all that sleep. Not that I don't want her to call this morning a fluke and go back to her 12 hours.

So, once I was up, I was up. What are you going to do at 4 am? Sleep, some may say, but alas, it isn't in the cards for me. I'm a light sleeper and when I get up for extended amounts of time (like the amount of time it takes for a drowsy 16 week old to finish a bottle) then it's next to impossible to get back to sleep. So why not blog?

I made these last week (after having made them forever ago) and remembered how much I loved them. Not too minty but minty enough and just overall yummy. This time, for reasons that escape my 4 am-brain, I didn't use the frosting and simply drizzled some left over re-warmed ganache on the top. Perfect!

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Cupcake

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 sticks butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

8 eggs

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

Ganache

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

Mint Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter

4-5 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

For cupcake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners
Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. Add sugar and let cool slightly. Beat on medium for 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and mix to combine.
Scoop into liners 1/2-3/4 full. Bake 22-25 minutes.

For ganache

Chop chocolate and place in a bowl.
Heat cream until bubbles form. Pour over chocolate and let sit 30 seconds. Stir to combine. Add extract and butter. Let cool about an hour or until almost set.

For frosting

Beat butter until creamy
Add 4 cups of sugar, milk, and extract. Beat until combined. Add more sugar if necessary.

To assemble:

Use an apple corer to scoop out the centers of the cooled cupcakes. Keep the tops but cut off a majority of the cone.
Fill hole with ganache. I use a squeeze bottle and it works perfectly. Top with what's left of your scooped out cone.
Top with frosting or drizzle with left-over ganache.

From Chockylit

(Ruined) Red Velvet Cupcakes

2010-03-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

So I ruined a batch of perfectly good mini red velvet cupcakes. It happens to everyone, right? At least that's what I'm going to tell myself. I used a recipe I've made at least 137 times before with great results so I'm assuming I left something out along the way. They tasted perfect but were ugly and spread out and refused to budge from their pan. The pan issue was something entirely different and a result of forgetting to spray it before I put the batter in. Non-stick my rear end. Anywho, this is what I pulled out of the oven:

Now, I'm not going to throw away a perfectly tasty batch of cupcakes. Presentation counts for a lot, so I won't share them outside of the house, but it's a rare husband and toddler that will walk by ANY cupcake, ugly or not. So Colin happily munched on cupcake tops that could be pried away from the pan and Dave finished off the remains after work.

For the few that were left after all that I made parfaits (more or less). I broke up the sad little cupcakes, drizzled melted dark chocolate, topped with cream cheese icing, and viola! Much prettier and almost intentional looking!

The cupcake and icing recipes are here. I promise, the cupcakes really do normally turn out fantastic. And the icing is cream cheese perfection. But on the off chance that you leave out an ingredient and forget to spray your pan, then parfait away!

Blueberry Scones

2010-03-07T05:59:00.000-08:00

I love scones, but only really good ones. It seems like there are so many that are dry and crumbly, they're just not worth all the calories. I've honestly never made them before these. No good reason, really. I just never got around to it. But I found this recipe and figured I'd give it a shot and it's PERFECT. I didn't make a single change and don't think I ever will, it's that good.

So, give it a shot. They're wonderful! I've since swapped out the blueberries with blackberries and raspberries and both we fantastic as well.

Blueberry Scones

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen whole

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (or any other berry)

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Turbanado sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Grate 8 tablespoons of butter and place in freezer. Place blueberries in freezer while working. Set aside remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
Whisk together milk and sour cream. Refrigerate.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and zest. Add frozen butter and toss until coated.
Add milk mixture and fold together until just combined. Transfer to a liberally floured surface and kneed 6-8 times, until it just barely holds together in a ball.
Roll into a 12 inch square. Fold into thirds (like a letter) then fold short ends into thirds to create a 4 inch square. Transfer to a flour dusted plate and freeze 5 minutes.
Re-roll into a 12 inch square. Sprinkle and press berries evenly over surface. Roll into a tight log and lay seam-side down. Press into a 12/4 inch rectangle (it's going to be pretty fat at this point. I just use my hands to even everything out but it is by no means flat). Cut into 4 equal rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally. Transfer to a parchment lined sheet.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and brush on tops then sprinkle with turbanado sugar.
Bake 18-22 minutes (mine are perfect at 18).

And here are is the inside. Perfect!

From: Cast Sugar

Crunchy Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake

2010-03-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

Let's jump right in, shall we?

This is rich. And by rich, I mean RICH rich. And oh-so-tasty! I adore chocolate and peanut butter together, so this fits the bill. But the best part is the little crunchy bits in the middle layer. Chocolate, peanut butter, and crunchy. How could it be bad?

This is a pretty time intensive cake, and is a bit pricey with all the ingredients, but definitely worth it for a special occasion.

Crunchy Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake

Cake

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

Filling
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup Rice Krispies

Ganache
1 1/4 pounds milk chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, warmed

For Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk in the boiling water.
Pour the batter (it will be thin) into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Invert the cake onto a work surface. Working carefully, slice the cake horizontally. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°.
For Filling
Trace a 9-by-13-inch rectangle onto a sheet of parchment paper and lay it on a large baking sheet.
In a food processor, pulse the almonds with the confectioners’ sugar until they’re finely ground.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the whites are stiff and glossy, about 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the almond mixture.
Spread the meringue on the parchment to fill the rectangle. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and firm. Let cool.
In a medium bowl set in a saucepan of simmering water, heat the peanut butter with the butter and milk chocolate, stirring constantly, until smooth and melted. Remove from the heat and fold in the Rice Krispies. Spread the mixture all over the meringue rectangle. Transfer to the freezer and let cool completely.
For Ganache
In a medium bowl set in a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Whisk in the cream until smooth. Remove from the heat and refrigerate for 1 hour, whisking occasionally, until thick enough to spread.
Assemble
Place the bottom cake layer cut side up on a large board. Spread one-third of the ganache over the cake. Invert the filling onto the cake and peel off the paper. Spread half of the remaining ganache over the filling, then top with the second cake layer. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Using a serrated knife, trim the edges. Spread the remaining ganache over the top and sides of the cake and refrigerate to set. Cut and serve.
Taken from Food and Wine, November 2007

Ok, I'm back

2010-03-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been awhile, huh? I hope I still have one or two people reading this. If so, say hi so I know you're there!

Let's see, where to start? Well, I had a baby. That's pretty much it. I found out I was pregnant in April (right around that last post) and instantly fell into "morning" sickness. Those of you that are "lucky" enough to experience this particular joy of pregnancy, you know why morning is in quotes. If you are one of those people that doesn't know what I'm talking about, count your blessings and NEVER, EVER, EVER tell a woman who is going through it "Oh, I just felt a little queazy every once in a while". It doesn't help and it makes us want to stomp you.

Well, wouldn't you know it, I had an especially nasty stretch of about 6 months of it. Fun times. So, needless to say, the baking went on hold for a bit.

And then came Miss Quinn! All 9 pounds 10 oz of her!! She's now 12 weeks old and is doing wonderfully. She's a truly happy baby, good eater, and pretty decent sleeper. We're into a routine of sorts, which gives me a little bit of time to bake again.

So, that's it. Here we go...

Peppermint Bonbon Cookies

2009-04-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Before you ask, yes I am STILL going through my Christmas "to blog" recipes. I know, it's awful, but I bake so much during the holidays that I can't (well, lets not use the word "can't". It's really more like "can't find the effort to") keep up with them AND my weekly baking that I do. And so I run into this situation. You're wondering why I'm posting something made with candy canes in April. Well, they're just as tasty in April as they are in December and you can get Starlight candies any time of the year. So there.

I've had this recipe for a few years now and have made it for every Christmas goody bag since then. They're excellent but honestly do need to be eaten within a day or too of making them or they get a little stale.

This is one of the few recipes that I don't bother using my mixer for. Just all hand stirring here!

Enjoy!

Peppermint Bonbon Cookies

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 stick butter

1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup finely crushed peppermint candies or candy canes

6 tablespoons sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Drizzle

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Additional crushed peppermint candies (optional)

For cookies:

Melt butter and both chocolates in a double boiler. Once smooth, stir in candy and sugar. Cool 10 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time. Stir in extracts.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Scoop onto parchment lined sheets and bake about 13 minutes. Cool.

For drizzle:

Mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. In the picture I posted I didn't do this step. Sometimes I leave it out, sometimes I do both.
Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over cookies. Sprinkle with extra crushed candies. Again, in this picture, no candies. I wasn't feeling it this year.

Straight from MyRecipes.com.

Chocolate Caramel Slice

2009-04-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my, these are good. Really good. Like really, REALLY good. They're the perfect combination of sweet and salty, which is always great. My dearest husband and his awful palate (don't worry, he won't read this. I don't think he finds me nearly as amusing as I find myself.) were not impressed but I've decided he isn't a valid taste-tester anymore. Don't get me wrong, he's still my go-to man for gobbling up any and all treats I make but he insists that everything tastes like it has coffee in it. Except, of course, the things that actually DO have coffee in them. I've actually tested him on it and he failed miserably. What are you gonna do? Me, I'll keep making things and having friends review them instead.

Chocolate Caramel Slice

Crust

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled butter, cubed

1 tablespoon ice water

1 egg yolk

Caramel

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter, cubed

2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoon whipping cream

Sea Salt

For crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line an 11x9 inch pan with parchment.
Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter and pulse until coarse meal forms. Add water and egg yolk. Blend until moist clumps form. Press onto bottom of pan (I put a sheet of wax paper over it before I pressed because my fingers were pulling everything up).
Bake about 20 minutes or until golden. Pierce any bubbles with a fork. Cool.

For caramel:

Whisk first 5 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Boil gently until caramel is think and temperature is 225 degrees, whisking constantly. The recipe said this should take 6 minutes but it took me closer to 12.
Pour over crust while caramel is still hot. Smooth and cool 15 minutes.

For topping:

Heat cream to just boiling and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds then whisk until smooth. Spread over caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set.

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

2009-03-12T05:33:00.000-07:00

I've had this picture sitting around for months now, waiting to be blogged about. I remember how tasty and perfect these came out, especially in mini form , and couldn't wait to tell you all about them. So why the wait, you ask? Well, I couldn't find the recipe for the life of me. I have a folder of blog recipes to try, a folder of hard copy recipes to try, a folder of recipes to type up, and a folder of recipes to blog. It wasn't in any of these folders. I was convinced that I'd lost it forever. Until today. I have been up since the wee hour of 4:00 am and did some serious google searching and finally found it!! So before I lose it again, here it is!

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with Ganache Center

(makes about 24 full size)

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups boiling water

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 2/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache

1 cup bittersweet chocolate

3/4 cup whipping cream

Frosting

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup milk

1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

For cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare liners.
Combine boiling water and cocoa, whisk well and let cool.
Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add to butter mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. This is a thin batter, don't worry!
Fill liners about 2/3 full and bake 17-20 minutes (minis took me about 12 minutes). Cool.

For ganache

Chop chocolate and place in a glass bowl. Bring cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds or so and then stir until smooth. Let sit until thick enough to pipe.

For frosting

Beat butter until creamy. Add 4 cups powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint and beat until combined. Add more sugar to get a piping consistency.

To Assemble

Once cupcakes are cool but a small cone out of the center of each top and fill with ganache. Replace top (or don't, I've done both).
Pipe frosting on top. I used a Wilton 1M tip for my little star dollop and it was perfect.
Pipe ganache in a zig zag over the top.

What happens when I photograph during non-nap times:

I found this recipe in several parts on Iheartcuppycakes.

Homemade Oreos

2009-03-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

I saw these and just HAD to make them. I'm definitely going to attack the Oreo Cupcakes that are attached to these little bits of heaven in the blog Cupcake Project. I'm going to go ahead and leave out the little cup of milk in the center because, honestly, soggy food grosses me out. Including Oreos. I DO NOT dip my Oreos. Drink milk along side, yes. Dip, no. First, there's the soggy part. I don't care how fast you dip those suckers, something must be getting soaked in and that does not make me happy. Second, what about those little crumbs that fall off and sink to the bottom of your milk. Ewwwww. I mean, really, are you supposed to drink that? Ugh. By the way, my husband is, I'm sure, appalled by my lack of dipping Oreos since he'll actually hold the cookie under the surface for long enough to intentionally get the Oreo soggy. I shudder at the thought.

Anyway, I digress. Sometime soon I will try the cupcakes but for this particular post I just did the cookies. And my-oh-my, they're tasty. Much better than a store bought Oreo. It could be the lack of mystery ingredients, weird chemicals, or trans fat. But I'm going with the size. You can make them AS BIG AS YOU LIKE! And I can tell you bigger Oreo=better Oreo.

To be honest, I make big ones and they were probably a bit too big. I know, how is there TOO BIG of an Oreo? Don't get me wrong. They're great big, but too big can be a bit much. So, next time I'll scale down a bit.

Enjoy!

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon butter, room temperature

1 egg

Filling

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla

To make the cookies:

Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt and sugar.
Beat in butter and egg. Mix until dough comes together in one large mass.
Scoop out rounded teaspoons of batter and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Now, I tried 3 methods to flattening these out. 1) dip the bottom of a glass in sugar and press down and leave as is 2) same thing but then use a round cutter to make them pretty and perfectly round and 3) flattening with the heal of my hand. All worked equally well and the only difference was the look at the end. If you don't mind rough edges, don't bother with the cutters. Whatever you decide, flatten the cookies.
Bake for 9 minutes on 375 degrees. Cool.

For filling:

Beat butter and shortening on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla.
Beat on high for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

To assemble:

Pipe about a teaspoon of filling onto a cookie. Top with another cookie and squeeze together to flatten out the filling.

I found this recipe on Cupcake Project.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats

2009-03-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

My picture is blue and I don't know why. I'm having some lighting issues lately that I'm trying to figure out but (obviously) haven't quite figured out yet. Anyway, try to ignore the icy blue tint and focus on the Oreo chunks mixed deep into the crispy, crunchy, chewy core that is a Rice Krispie treat.

Anyway, back to baking. I know, I know. I promised I wouldn't let myself fall behind in my postings again and I did. Please forgive me! Please?? I have a really great excuse, if that matters. He's 2, blond with big barrel roll curls, and totally impatient with me typing up recipes. I can tell you from experience, it is next to impossible to type with said distraction in your lap pushing the button on the keyboard that makes all the windows open at the same time. Not conducive to blogging at all. :)

Anyway, I made these for my soldiers this month. If you haven't checked out Soldier's Angels, do. I am an Angel Baker and I get a monthly troop assignment that I bake for but there are lots of other ways to help support our troops.

These are yummy! To be honest, they're hard to stir. My poor chicken-wing arms had a rough go of it, but they were worth it in the end. They really only take a minute or so more than plain ol' Rice Krispie treats so give them a try!

Enjoy!!

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats

1/2 cup bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoon butter

10 oz marshmallows

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispie cereal

30 Oreo cookies, chopped and divided (I used Trader Joe's Joe Joes and they're excellent!)

4 oz white chocolate, melted (I used white candy melts since I had some on hand)

Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl and set aside.
In a pot melt butter. Stir in marshmallows over medium-low heat until smooth. Turn off heat and stir in vanilla and melted chocolate.
Add cereal and half the cookies. Here's where it gets difficult if you have kitten-like strength in your upper body. Stir until combined or until your arms give out, whichever comes first.
Press into a parchment lined 9x13 pan.
Melt white chocolate and spread over treats. Sprinkle with remaining cookies and chill until set.

If found the recipe on Cast Sugar and just made the tiny changes I mentioned.

Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns

2009-02-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, yeast is something I've only recently starting using. I've been baking pretty seriously now for about 7 years and only in the past year have I really been using yeast. I had a few mishaps before then that kind of scared me off. But, brave soul that I am, I tried again and have decided that I love using it. Sure, I've killed off my fair share of the little critters but hey, it was for a good cause. I've learned a few things along the way as well. Because I'm the nice person that I am I'll share.

#1) Yeast loves sweet things too! In particular, honey. They just love going to town in their warm water with a teaspoon or so of honey stirred in. Not once since I've started adding honey to the water have I had a no-bloom batch.

#2) I'm pretty sure someone (lots of someones, actually) are lying about that whole "warm water" thing with yeast. I use hot water. And no-joke hot water at that. It's not boiling but it hurts to touch. I'm sure if it was boiling the little yeasties would be none too happy, but they seem fine in my scalding kitchen sink water. So I wouldn't worry too much about that perfect just-above-body temperature water that seems to be recommended in most books. Just make it hot-ish.

These are an excellent cinnamon roll-type breakfast. They're not super sweet since there's not a massive amount of filling or frosting but you don't miss it. I think the pumpkin gives them a nice flavor and definitely helps keep them moist. I would definitely recommend eating them warm but I wouldn't shun a room temperature one if it was offered.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns

2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast (1 package)

1/4 cup hot-ish water

2 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup 1% milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Filling

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoon flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons chilled butter, cubed

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon water

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

For buns:

Wake up those yeast in warm water with a teaspoon or so of honey. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Put 2 cups flour, pumpkin, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and nutmeg into mixer bowl with dough hook and mix until smooth. Gradually add remaining dough, leaving about 1/4 cup. Once incorporated remove dough to counter and hand knead in last 1/4 cup flour. Dough will be tacky.
Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm spot (inside your oven is a great place if your kitchen isn't warm. Just turn it on at 200 degrees for a few minutes just to get it toasty, then shut if off before putting dough in to rise). Let rise 45 minutes.

For filling:

Combine all ingredients with a pastry cutter or throw them in the food processor.
Punch dough down, let rest 5 minutes. Roll to a 12x10 inch rectangle and sprinkle with filling. Roll up the rectangle, starting with the long edge, pressing as you go. Pinch seams to seal. Cut into 9 slices. Place in a 9-inch square pan (my springform is great for this) coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise again for 25 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees while rising.
Bake for 20 minutes.

For glaze:

Combine all ingredients and drizzle over warm buns.

From Cooking Light

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2009-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

How could these be bad? I mean, a nice vanilla cupcake filled with a cookie dough ball, then topped with vanilla frosting. Really, what's not to love?

A few notes.

1) This recipe makes close to 30 cupcakes, so you may want to consider halving (or lower). If you haven't seen this site, it's great for doing just that.

2) I keep this cookie dough on hand at all times. It's fantastic. It is by far my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's chewy, it's chocolatey, it's perfection. I make a batch and freeze what I don't use. Ok, well, what I don't bake or don't eat raw, which typically leaves about 2 cookies worth... Anyway, the recipe makes about 2.5 dozen full size cookies which is WAY more than you need for the cupcake centers, since they're pretty little. But hey, you can always use the rest to make actual cookies.

3) There are eggs in the cookie dough. I assume that they are getting baked a little bit, but not much since they're still pretty doughy once the cupcake is done baking. If this makes you uncomfortable then 1) you can't be my friend anymore because what kind of person doesn't like raw cookie dough? and 2) you can find your own egg free recipe. I have no interest in such a cookie dough. I live on the wild side and salmonella can be damned!

Enjoy!

Cookie dough cupcakes

Cupcake

1 3/4 cup cake flour, not self rising

1 1/4 cup flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, cubed

4 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cookie dough

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting

2 sticks butter, soft

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch of salt

1/4 cup heavy cream

For cookie dough

Melt butter.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda.
Pour butter and sugars into mixer bowl and beat on medium speed. Add egg, yolk, milk, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Slowly add flour until thoroughly combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop dough with a small scoop (about an inch in diameter).
If you're planning on making actual cookies, scoop with a larger scoop and bake at 375 for about 14 minutes. Cook on sheet for a few minutes.

For cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
With electric mixer and paddle, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
In a large measuring cup whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed add wet ingredients in 3 parts. Do not overbeat.
Divide batter among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Drop a cookie dough ball into the middle. Don't push it down, just leave it.
Bake about 17 minutes.

For frosting:

Cream butter and sugar on low. Once incorporated add other ingredients and beat for 5 minutes.

I copied the idea from Ice Cream Before Dinner. I used the same cupcake and icing that she uses. Cookie dough is Alton Brown's Chewy.

Sugar Cookies

2009-02-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

I'm still trying to catch up on all my old baking adventures. My darling husband is currently occupying himself with a rousing game of Halo on XBox so now is as good a time as any!

I made these for cookie baskets for Christmas this year. Yes, I'm THAT far behind! Anyway, this is the best rolled sugar cookie recipe EVER. Yes, ever. It's such an easy dough to work with, doesn't puff up and it holds it's shape while baking.

Enjoy!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

2 1/2 cups flour

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and milk. Beat until combined. Add flour and beat until just combined.
Roll out thick between two sheets of parchment. Use cookie cutters. Transfer to a parchment lined sheet. Collect and re-roll scraps. (For cookies with skinny parts, like these snowflakes, the dough is too soft to pick up off the parchment and transfer so I just peeled up the scrapes and transferred the parchment sheet I used to roll out straight onto the cookies sheet. You can't cram as many in this way but it works).
Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Royal Icing

2 egg whites

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon juice

milk to thin

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Add sugar and vanilla/lemon. Beat one minute. Thin if necessary.
Use immediately and cover any that you're not using. This stuff dries to crunchy pretty quickly but will need a few hours to dry fully. For these, I outlined in thick icing, then flooded with the thinned out version.

Thanksgiving Cupcake Pops

2009-01-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Just a quick brag here. I made these cute little pops for a friend for Thanksgiving. I used a Spice Cake and cream cheese frosting. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the flavor of the cake (I prefer the chocolate ones I made quite awhile ago) but they still came out cute.

Cupcake pops are, of course, from Bakerella. If you haven't seen her site, go NOW!

Red Velvet Cake

2009-01-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for my dearest husband's birthday in early December. Red velvet is his absolute favorite cake and although it's not MY favorite, I'm encouraging it. You see, my poor, misguided, palate-less husband used to prefer boxed chocolate cake with no frosting over all other cakes. I know, I know. It's embarrassing. Thankfully he has come to his senses and has embraced "real" cake. I don't know if it's my superior baking skills or... Let's not kid ourselves, there is no or. ;)

This cake is moist, great flavor, perfect texture. I used the Sprinkles cream cheese frosting again, which is my favorite.

Enjoy!

Cake

2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon cake flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa powder (not dutch)

1 ounce red food color

1 1/2 teaspoons water

2 sticks butter, soft

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

Frosting

8 ounces cold cream cheese

1 stick butter, firm but not cold

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.
In small bowl whisk cocoa, red food color, and water to a smooth paste.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Once combined, add cocoa paste and mix until incorporated.
Add flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk. Do this by hand (rather than in the mixer) to avoid overworking. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, beat another 10-12 strokes.
Divide between cake pans and bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan about 10 minutes then remove to a rack, and cool completely.

For frosting

Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese in mixer and beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes.
Add sugar until just incorporated. Don't over mix. It should be thick but not fluffy.
Add vanilla. If necessary, add milk to thin.

Cake recipe found here, frosting from Sprinkles.

My first cake "job"

2008-12-30T20:44:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine has twin boys that have some pretty serious allergies (one can't have egg whites the other gluten, among many other things). She called me the night before their birthday party wondering if I could decorate a cake for them. She said she always felt awful that she had to make a separate cake for them and that they couldn't eat the "pretty" cake she ordered for everyone else. She said "Just once I want them to have the pretty cake!" She wondered if she brought over a pre-baked diet-specific cake if I would decorate it for them. How could I not?

So, here is the result. I used a basic white frosting and purchased pre-colored fondant for the circles and ropes. The boys were so excited when they saw their cake! They couldn't stay away and kept asking if they could have more. Poor things, I'm sure it tasted awful, but they were happy with the decorating job!

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

2008-12-30T20:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how behind I am with my blogging! I swear, I have been baking and (occasionally taking pictures!) but just haven't been able to find 10 seconds to get it written down. I hope no one has forgotten about me. :)

I made these cupcakes for a Halloween party (yes, it was that long ago!) but they're great for any fall baking event. Not too gingery, great flavor, and perfect as mini bite-sized cupcakes. When I make them I occasionally do a spider web design on the top using concentric circles and a toothpick to drag through them, but this time I decided to go plain.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 stick butter, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

1 stick butter

6 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 scant teaspoon cinnamon

1-2 teaspoons milk

For cupcakes

Preheat oven to 325. Line muffin tins with liners or spray with Pam.
Sift together flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
Using paddle attachment beat melted butter, sugar, and pumpkin until smooth. Mix in eggs. On low speed add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Fill each liner about 1/2-3/4 full. Bake about 25 minutes. For mini cupcakes bake about 19 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes and then remove.

For frosting

Beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar and beat about 1 minute on medium speed after incorporated. If you want to do spider webs, reserve 1/4 cup of frosting. Stir in cinnamon and add enough milk to make it pourable but still thick.
Frost cupcakes. If doing a spider web, frost the white icing smooth. Pipe 3-4 concentric circles of cinnamon icing on top. Starting in center, drag a toothpick outwards through the circles in 5 places, equally spaced.

Recipe from Cupcakes!

Decorated Sugar Cookies

2008-10-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

This week on my online mom's group was the Cookie challenge, which I hosted. The group vote was for fall decorated cookies (the Peanut Butter Sandwiches came in second). This is my recipe, which I've had for years and slowly tweaked. It's perfect for cut outs. It doesn't spread or fluff up too much and it's not particularly sweet, which is nice because the royal icing is.

Enjoy!

2 sticks butter

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

2 1/2 cups flour

Pinch salt

Royal Icing

2 egg whites

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 juiced lemon

milk for thinning to flow consistency

Preheat to 325
Whisk flour and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and milk. Beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
Roll out thick on powdered sugar covered surface. Use cookie cutter. Re-roll any scraps.
Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10-12 minutes. Cool.

Royal Icing

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Mix in sugar and lemon. Beat 1 minute.
Color (I use Wilton gel colors)
Outline first, thin icing, then fill in using a toothpick to push into corners.
Let dry overnight before stacking.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

2008-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on Martha last week and just couldn't pass it up. It's from 'Wichcraft (one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants) and they looked so tasty. They were! The oatmeal gives them a nice and different crunch. And I loved the turbanado sugar.

The recipe states it makes a dozen sandwiches but I got close to 30, and that's with half of them being thicker than called for. The filling amount was perfect for all of those though. When I make them again I'll roll thicker and cut the filling in half. It's just not good for my rear to have that many cookies sitting around eying me up.

Enjoy!

1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons AP flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used light and threw in about a tablespoon of molasses)

1/2 cup peanut butter

Turbanado sugar for sprinkling

Filling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Line baking sheets with parchment. Preheat to 350.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats and cook until toasted, stirring, about 5 minutes. Cool.
Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
With paddle attachment, cream 1/2 cup butter and both sugars. Add peanut butter and mix well.
Add oat mixture and flour mixture. Mix on low until combined. Roll dough between two sheets of parchment about 1/4 inch thick (I did thicker and liked it better). Refrigerate until chilled.
Cut out using 2 inch round cookie cutter. Sprinkle with turbanado. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on sheets.

Filling

Mix all ingredients together with paddle attachment on medium until smooth. Use a disposable pasty bag to cover half of cookies. Top with other half.

I got the recipe from Martha.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

2008-10-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

First, I must apologize to my 3 faithful readers. I have been gone too long. I have been baking, but have managed to forget to take pictures of the final product. I've also been working on a side project. My friends on my on-line mom's group have helped me start up a cookie business of sorts. So I've been busy making about 1,117 thousand cookies for trials and pictures. Take a look! Sugar on Top orders.

Anyway, these cupcakes I made for my coffee meet-up, which is where most of my baked goods end up. They get treats, I get free coffee. Win-win. They're a nice, moist cupcake with a cinnamon icing that has a nice kick to it. And they go wonderfully with coffee!

I halved this recipe and got 9 perfect cupcakes out. I accidently kept the icing recipe full scale, but it's a good thing because I used it all on those 9. If I had made the full cupcake recipe I would have had some pretty skimpily frosted cakes!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes

1 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3/4 cup hot brewed coffee

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Heavy 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Heavy 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Heavy 1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

Heavy 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300. Line cupcake pan.
Put chocolate in hot coffee, stirring occasionally, until fully melted.
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In bowl of electric mixer beat the eggs until slightly thickened and a light color.
Slowly add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla to eggs. Then add melted chocolate mixture.
Add the sugar mixture until well combined.
Pour into liner about 3/4 of the way full and bake for about 35 minutes.

Cinnamon Buttercream Icing

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla.
Slowly add sugar and cinnamon. Beat on high for about 5 minutes.

This recipe was slightly adapted from Ice Cream Before Dinner

THE Brownies

2008-09-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

That's it, the search is over. I have found THE BEST BROWNIES EVER. That's right, EVER. I have been searching for years for the perfect fudgy, thick, chocolaty brownies and these are it. They are phenomenal. After finishing the last one today at lunch my husband said after dinner "You know, if feels kind of empty without the brownies here". That's how good they are.

The recipe calls for Dutch cocoa, which I was out of and the grocery store nearby doesn't have, so I used Hershey's and it was still fine. I'm making a run to Whole Foods this week to pick up the Dutch cocoa as well as some Schaffen Berger chocolate. I figure it can only make them better!

Enjoy!

Deep Chocolate Brownies

2 sticks of unsalted butter

8 oz bittersweet chocolate

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment.
Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Whisk in sugar and vanilla.
Whisk in eggs one at a time until glossy and smooth.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt. Whisk into chocolate mixture.
Spread in pan and bake until center comes out with crumbs, 25-35 minutes. I like my brownies on the undercooked side so I stopped right at 25.

My son and sous chef also enjoyed them!

I found this recipe in Gourmet.

Magnolia Bakery Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

2008-09-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't made an everyday chocolate cupcake in a long time so I figured I was due. This is a pretty typical chocolate chocolate cupcake. The frosting was bit fluffy for my taste as I tend to prefer a dense frosting, but it was tasty. The cake itself was nice and moist. Overall a good chocolate cupcake.

Enjoy!

Cupcake

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons milk

9 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For cupcake:

Heat oven to 350. Line a 12 cup cupcake tin.
Sift together flour and baking soda in small bowl.
With mixer, cream butter and sugars together. Beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add chocolate and beat until well combined.
Alternately add buttermilk/vanilla and dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
Scoop into liners about 2/3 full. Bake 20-24 minutes.

For frosting:

Beat butter until creamy. Add milk and beat to combine. Add chocolate and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Slowly add sugar. Once all is added beat on medium high until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

I found both these recipes in More From Magnolia.

Caramel Apple Mini Cupcakes

2008-09-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

How stinkin' cute are these?!? I had a Back to School picnic to go to and brought these. I've made the full size version in the past but figured I could get people to eat 2 or 3 minis (and I was right!).

I apologize for the severe lack of process pictures lately. I've been getting caught up in the baking and realize at the end that I haven't taken any. Anyway, there's nothing tricky or odd about these so there's really no need for extra pictures.

Enjoy!

Cupcake

3-4 Granny Smith apples

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup apple cider

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons cider

3 1/2-4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Drizzle

1/2 cup evaporated milk

4 ounces individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

For cupcakes:

Heat oven to 350. Line 24 mini cupcake or 12 regular cupcake tins.
Rinse and core apples. Bake 30-40 minutes or until soft. Peel and puree.
Sift together flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt.
Slightly beat eggs. Add oil, cider, vanilla, and one cup of pureed apple. Stir to combine.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Mix only until combined; do not over mix.
Fill liners 2/3 full. Bake mini cupcakes 12-14 minutes, regular cupcakes 18-20 minutes.

For frosting:

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add sugar and milk and cook on low until sugar dissolves. Stir in cider.
In a stand mixer on low mix butter mixture and sugar until combined. Turn to medium-high and beat until full. Frosting may be a little loose, even with the sugar, so chill for a few minutes if necessary.

For drizzle:

Combine milk and caramels in saucepan. Cook on low until smooth. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Drizzle over iced cupcakes.

This recipe was adapted from Caramel Appletini Cupcakes.

S'Mores Cheesecake

2008-08-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

I meet with a group of former colleagues each Tuesday for coffee and I've volunteered to bring treats. It gives me a chance to make a dent in the 14,117 "to try" recipes I have sitting in various places around my house and they seem to appreciate it. Well, this week it was canceled but only after I had made this weeks' treat: S'Mores Cheesecake. So here I am with a whole cheesecake just waiting to be eaten.

It's very tasty, if not a tad sweet. I like the marshmallow topping but that's really where a big chunk of the sweetness is coming in so I may reduce the amount by half or so next time around. And all though it's a very tasty topping I'm sure jarred Fluff would do if you don't want to make it yourself.

Make sure you make the cheesecake portion the night before you need it so you can properly chill it overnight.

Enjoy!

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling

9 ounces milk chocolate (I had to use chips but it worked fine)

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup whipping cream

3 eggs

Topping

1 cup sugar

2 egg whites

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 large or 120 mini marshmallows (if using large, cut into quarters)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For crust:

Preheat oven to 350.
Stir all ingredients together and press into a parchment lined springform pan. I used my square one for no other reason than that I like it.
Bake 12 minutes. Cool.

For filling:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Cool to lukewarm.
Blend cream cheese, sugar, and salt until smooth. Make sure not to go crazy here. Over beating can cause a cheesecake to crack. More on that later...

Add whipping cream and mix until incorporated.
Add melted chocolate then eggs one at a time.
Pour over crust
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes then reduce oven to 200 and continue baking for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Now, to that cracking issue. I never, ever, ever crack cheesecakes. Well, except for that one time 5 years ago in a weird oven and the two other times that I've not listened to myself. But seriously, no other time. I don't use water baths or anything else "fancy" other than the above method - long, low heat. I seriously think this is what helps me not crack them. Any time I've used another method, they've cracked. Just like this one did. So, I'm altering the directions to my method. And I'm never following any other baking directions for a cheesecake again. Seriously.
Once done (check for a wiggle by shaking the pan. It shouldn't be set at this point, the center should shimmy nicely), turn off oven, crack the door and leave the cheesecake in until the oven is cool, about an hour or so.
Remove and place in refrigerator overnight.

For topping:

Whisk sugar, egg whites, water, cream of tartar, and salt in a large metal bowl. Set over saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
Remove from over water (but keep water simmering) and stir in marshmallows. Let them sit and soften for about 3 minutes. Return over water and beat until shiny medium-stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.
Place on cheesecake. Let stand until set, about 15 minutes.
Either use a torch to singe the top or a broiler for about 3 minutes.

I varied the recipe I found in the July 2008 Bon Appetit.

Rocky Road Fudge Bars

2008-08-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Dang Olympics are eating into my blogging time!

Anyway, I've recently become an Angel Baker which is a program that sends home baked treats to our soldiers abroad. It's an amazing program and my first "assignment" was great. You should check it out.

So I made these bars as part of my package. I figured if anyone could use some sweet, layered, chocolaty goodness it was soldiers! I'm not sure if they qualify for "true" rocky road bars since I used peanuts instead of walnuts (it's normally walnuts, right?), but they're good either way. They are sweet, so small bars (which are not normally my style) are great.

Enjoy!

Base
1/2 cup butter
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Filling
6 oz cream cheese, soft
1/4 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

Frosting
2 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup mil
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

For base:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment (or grease and flour, if that's your thing).
Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in remaining base ingredients.
Spread into pan

For filling:

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and egg until smooth and fluffy. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Spread over base.

Bake 25-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. On a side note, I had some issues with this since I managed to stick my toothpick into about 14 different spots before I hit an area that was chocolate chip free. So be warned, the toothpick may come out wet, but only wet with melted chocolate. Keep stabbing!
Top with marshmallows and cook 2 more minutes.

For frosting:

While the base and filling are baking, cook cream cheese, butter, milk, and chocolate on low heat until blended and smooth.
Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
Pour over warm, puffed marshmallows and swirl with a knife to marble. Two things here: 1) I did this too early to keep the frosting from crusting a bit so I just whipped it for a second to remove the crunchy bits and 2) mine didn't marble, but they still tasted great!
Refrigerate until firm.

I found this recipe in Best of the Pillsbury Bake-Off Cookies and Bars

I should have quit while I was ahead

2008-08-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've thrown out a dessert (I mean, really, are they ever THAT bad?) but I did today. I should have known better too. The entire process turned out to be a comedy of errors. I even thought to myself "maybe there have been one too many issues here. Turn back now? Naw." I should have listened.

But I decided to post them anyway. I figure I can't be the only one who has bad baking days!

I can't say for sure what went wrong, so for now I'm blaming the recipe. ;) I did half the original (which is posted) and thank goodness because I probably would have cried if I'd had to throw out 17 chocolate and cream cheese-based anything. I'm pretty confident in my dividing abilities, having a degree in math and all, so I don't think that was it. I under-baked by five minutes because they started looking a little scary brown for cream cheese and they still turned out dry and pretty non-chocolaty.

So, if you see a glaring error in the recipe, let me know. If not, I wouldn't bother.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

3/4 pound (one and a half 8-ounce package) cream cheese (not softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

CUPCAKES:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (preferably canola)
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with 18 cupcake papers

TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

This was actually really tasty at this stage. Once cooked, not so much. I don't know if I could use it for something else. It has a raw egg in it, so I'm thinking a filling wouldn't do. Maybe leave out the egg and inject into the middle of a chocolate cupcakes?

TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the oil and sugar.

This is what happens when you're not careful with your cocoa scooping.

Add the dry ingredients into two parts, alternating with buttermilk and vanilla, and making sure all the ingredients are well blended.

This is when I started to really worry. This is the thickest batter I've ever seen. It's almost cookie dough.

Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds full. Drop a small scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) of the cream cheese filling on top of each cupcake.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

This is at 25 minutes.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 30 minutes. Remove the tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

2008-07-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

My chat board mommy friends and I have started a weekly recipe challenge and this week I hosted with cupcakes! These were the winners. The cupcakes are tart and sweet, not to mention adorable! If I make these again I would do them in mini form and add lemon to the batter to up the tart level. I found the cupcake recipe here and the frosting is an adaptation of the Sprinkles cream cheese frosting, which is the MOST perfect cream cheese frosting I've found.

Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 cup thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 or more drops red food coloring
1 tablespoon lemon juice (I have NOT tried this yet!)

Icing
4 ounces cold cream cheese
1/2 stick unsalted butter, firm but not cold
Pinch salt
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate

For cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.
Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). I got 9 perfectly flat cupcakes from this recipe. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

For icing:

Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese, 2-3 minutes on med-low.
Reduce to low, add the sugar and beat until incorporated.
Add vanilla and concentrate and beat just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time if needed for consistency.

Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd

2008-07-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

This is a fantastic, light, and airy lemon cake. And the curd is perfect! You may notice the alarming amount of butter in all three elements, but hey, that's what makes it so good.

It's a bit time intensive but I never mind that when things come out this good!

Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Raspberry Curd
1 stick unsalted butter
12 ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Curd (make the day before)

Melt butter over medium heat.
Add raspberries, yolks, sugar, and salt. Mash raspberries. Cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour through a strainer, pressing to extract as much as possible.
Cool to room temperature then stir in lemon juice. Chill.

Cake

Heat oven to 350. Prepare two 8x2 round cake pans. (I did not use parchment rounds this time and I regretted it. No huge harm done, they just didn't release as nicely as I would have liked)
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Pulse 1/4 cup of the sugar with lemon zest in food processor until finely ground.

Beat butter and zest mixture with electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add remaining sugar and beat until smooth.

Add 1/4 cup milk and beat until just blended. Reduce speed to low and alternately add flour and milk in 3 batches. Beat only until blended, no longer.
Beat egg whites in a large bowl until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat to stiff peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the batter carefully. (The point of "folding in" is to keep the air bubbles in the eggs, so do this carefully. If you're not sure how to do this, check here). This is really a very pretty batter!
Divide batter between the two pans and bake about 35 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes in pan then remove and cool completely.

Frosting

Beat butter and zest until fluffy.
Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Add lemon juice and beat for one minute.

Assembly

Cut each cake into two layers.
Spread curd in between layers, leaving about a 1/2 inch border.

Frost. I used a zig-zag on the sides and smooth on top, but whatever floats your boat works.

A few tips:

Butter at "room temperature" does not necessarily mean YOUR room temperature. It needs to still be somewhat firm, just not solid and definitely not squishy. I usually take it out 20 minutes before I start and it's perfect. If I forget, 12 seconds on my microwave is perfect.
Separate eggs while they're cold, then let them come to room temp. It's easier to separate them when they're cold.
It's absolutely necessary to have a perfectly clean bowl when whipping egg whites. ANY fat or soap residue will make them stay flat. So, to make sure, wipe out the bowl with white vinegar then rinse with water.

I found this recipe in Luscious Berry Desserts

Oatmeal Cranberry Bars

2008-07-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in my Everyday Food magazine last month but was hesitant to try it. They looked so tasty but I'm not a fan of raisins. So I decided to substitute cranberries and see how it was. I have to say, they're pretty darn tasty. Kind of like a thick oatmeal cookie. Nice and moist and chewy. Enjoy! And if you must, I'm sure they're decent with raisins too, just don't bring them to my house.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (NOT quick cooking)
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth.
Add flour, oats, and cranberries. Fold in just until combined.
Spread batter in pan and bake until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs, about 28 minutes.

Cool completely and slice.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2008-07-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I'm having some technical difficulties with my fonts (obviously!) and I apologize. It's driving me crazy but I can't figure out why they're all coming out different sizes even though they're all marked as the same size. Suggestions?
I decided I needed to do a red, white, and blue cupcake for the 4th and my husband and I are constantly on the look out for the perfect Red Velvet Cupcake so here's my newest attempt. I really liked the taste and texture of this one but my husband said it wasn't moist enough, although I question his palate! He did say this after eating an unfrosted one (which, of course, is pure craziness! Everyone KNOWS the cream cheese frosting is what makes red velvet so irresistible).

Although I was happy with the flavor, I'm not a fan of my decorating skills. I've signed up for a Wilton class that starts next week so hopefully my treats will start looking a little prettier.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder (I didn't have any on hand and used regular with no ill results)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, firm but not cold
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla

For cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in mixer for 3 minutes on medium until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating each until fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food color.
Add a fourth of the dry ingredients to butter and mix, add a third of the wet. Continue adding in that pattern, ending with dry.
Scoop into cupcake liners about 1/2-3/4 of the way full. Bake 18-22 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before frosting

For frosting:

Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese in mixer and beat on medium 2-3 minutes
Reduce to low and add sugar, mixing until just incorporated. DO NOT over mix. It should be thick but not really "fluffy". Think ice cream texture.
Add vanilla. If necessary, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time to thin.

I've taken these recipes from two different places. The cupcakes came from Simply Recipes and the frosting is from the packaging of Sprinkles cupcakes that I received as a gift. This is, as far as I'm concerned, THE BEST cream cheese frosting I've ever tasted and use it for anything that calls for it.

Key Lime Pie

2008-07-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

My husband is a huge fan of Key Lime Pie. I've made several and this is his absolute favorite. It's tart and cool, perfect for summer. I actually cheat and use regular limes for several reasons: 1) Key Limes are expensive, 2) Key Limes are a big ol' pain in the rear to juice, yielding what seems to be around 2 drops of juice per lime, and 3) I can't taste the difference anyway.

Crust
1 cup plus 2 ½ tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar

Filling
3 egg yolks
Zest of 2 limes
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

Topping
1 cup heaving whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and parchment a 9 inch springform pan (you could use a pie pan as well).

Combine all crust ingredients in one bowl and mix until combined (it should look like sand).

Press mixture into pan and bake until the crust is set, about 8 minutes. Set aside.

For Filling:
In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and zest at high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, about 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour into pie crust and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the filling has set (not browned). Cool on wire rack, then refrigerate.

For Topping:
Whip the cream and confectioner’s sugar until nearly stiff. Refrigerate until ready to use. I used a star tip and icing bag to decorate the pie, but you could easily just plop a big dollop on each slice as it's served.

I found this recipe while watching Food Network. It's from Joe's Stone Crab in Florida.

Random tip: Use your fingers to separate yolks from whites. It's much quicker than the back-and-forth-between-shells method. Just crack the egg into your hand and let the whites slip through your fingers.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

2008-07-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

These are BY FAR my favorite cookies of all time. They are intensely chocolate, almost brownie like, sweet and a bit salty with the goodness of melty toffee chips and chocolate chips. I've had people tell me they were a bit "expensive" to make (there's a lot of chocolate and the toffee bits aren't cheap) but I can honestly say they are worth every single penny.

½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped (you can use semisweet, but I prefer bitter)
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups brown sugar
4 large eggs
1-tablespoon vanilla
7 ounces toffee pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir chocolate and butter in double boiler until melted and smooth. Remove from over water and cool to lukewarm.

Beat sugar and eggs in separate bowl until thick (about 5 minutes). Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then toffee and chocolate chips.

*The dough is very "wet" at this point. Almost brownie batter-like. Don't worry, it firms up.

Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Line baking sheets with parchment and drop rounds of batter (I use a cookie scoop for this. Mine, unfortunately, is completely void of any markings referring to it's size but it's a "medium" sized one and the only one I use for baking. I would guess it's a bit short of 2 tablespoons), spacing 2 ½ inches apart. Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to touch, about 15 minutes. Cool on sheets. Makes about 2 dozen.

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit quite a few years ago. I've adapted the size of the cookie, but other than that the recipe is the original.

The world is a better place

2008-07-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

That may sound a tad dramatic, but it's so true! I just received my Side Sweep blade for my Kitchenaid and I'm in love. I was a bit skeptical but it actually does a pretty decent job at mixing without scrapping down the sides. There are two relatively minor drawbacks: It doesn't quite hit the bottom enough, but it only took about 2 seconds of hand stirring after the mixing was done and it's a bit of a bear to scrape clean with all the little silicon bits sticking out. But these are things I'm willing to overcome because I love that I don't have to scrap down the sides now!

If you want one (and you know you do) here's where I got mine: Sideswipe
It came to just over $30 with shipping.

Chocolate Covered Mint Meltaway Bundts

2008-06-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

That's a mouthful! Anyway, these are amazing little chocolate cakes with a mint ganache filling. They take some time but are worth the effort.

Cake
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sour cream
½ cup water

Filling
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter
9 ounces semisweet chocolate
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon peppermint extract

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
9 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla

For Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare mini-Bundt pans. (If you don't have a mini bundt pan a standard 12 cup cupcake pan works too)
Melt unsweetened chocolate in double boiler until sooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Using paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Mix in melted chocolate. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until color lightens slightly, about 1 minute. Mix in sour cream. Mix in half of flour mixture, then water. Mix in remaining flour mixture.
Fill each cup with batter to just even with top edge. Bake about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan.

For Filling:

Heat cream and butter over low heat until tiny bubbles form. Add chocolate and let sit 30 seconds. Add vanilla and peppermint and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate until firm around edges and center is cool to touch, about 1 ½ hours.

For Topping:

Follow directions for filling, adding corn syrup with cream and butter.

For Decorating:

Cut cakes horizontally in half. Whisk cold filling just until color lightens and it thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Spread 2 tablespoons filling over bottom half. Replace tops.
Pour a thin layer of glaze over top and let sit 15 minutes. Spread second layer over each. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 mini Bundts or 12 cupcakes.

Things I would take with me in a fire

2008-06-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

These are the things I could not live without in my kitchen.

KitchenAid Stand Mixer.
Cookie scoop
Convection oven (arguably a bit awkward to get out of the kitchen quickly, but you know what I mean)
4 restaurant grade cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Silicone spatula
Springform pan
Regular and odd sized measuring cups and spoons
Microplane

The rest of what I have (and I will NEVER admit this to my husband!) I could live without. These things make life SO much easier when I'm baking.

Hello!

2008-06-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I've decided with all the baking that I do I should start a blog and share the adventures. I hope you all enjoy it!