The Best Cake I've Ever Made..

I tend to bake a lot of cakes - they're just fun for me. I don't know why but they are and I do.

That being said, this is by far the coolest combo I have come up with. While at my girlfriends, I was snacking on some mint flavored white chocolate morsels and thought, "Wow! what a good icing this would make!" 

Being already a huge fan of Ina Gartens Chocolate Cake, I checked that off the list as a possible canvas for this new awesome icing. Her recipe calls for a light and fluffy milk chocolate icing, but I was shooting for the more dense and think style. I already had it in the back of my mind that somehow I was going to work those white and red swirly mints into the picture, a al white chocolate holiday bark. I ended up using Ina's icing as the base, subbed in white chocolate for the dark, and added in peppermint extract. It turned out great!

I then got to have some fun swinging a zip top bag filled with mints into random appliances and counter tops. I then dusted the cake with the mint particles. I think it turned out great and is a perfect treat for the holiday season or whenever you're in mood. 

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake (too good to mess with)

White Chocolate Peppermint Icing

 - adapted from Ina Garten

6 oz. good white chocolate

2 sticks of butter, room temp

1 and 1/4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 egg yolk

1 to 1.5 tsp. pure peppermint extract, depending on how minty you would like it

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, heating in short intervals and stirring in between. Beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the mint extract followed by the egg yolk. Combine. Add in the chocolate and beat one last time. 

Ice cake once cooled. 

To finish this cake, take 5-8 red/white swirl mints and crush. Dust the cake as desired. 

Just Melt With Me

I am addicted. I had never had a meltaway cookie before I made these beauties but they truly are a great recipe to have in your back pocket around the holidays. The cookies have a crunch when you bite in to them, but due to the use of corn starch just seem to dissolve right on your tongue. Another nice feature of these cookies is the subtle taste of citrus lingering in the background, in this case, grapefruit. (The foreground is dominated by the powdered sugar, as it should be) Feel free to use whatever citrus juice and zest you have on hand and seeing as it is after all the holidays, I feel confident that everyone will have a gift basket or two to work through. 

Another great element of these cookies is their "slice-and-bake" feature. The recipe requires you to chill the dough in log form for an hour or so, which works out great if you want to slice about 5 or 40 for the night and then put the remainder back in the fridge. Last night I removed one of the two logs and sliced them up and by nights end they had disappeared. I think because of their bite size I would take two or three in my hand just for a trip upstairs!

I hope you put these cookies to use this holiday and enjoy the season!

Grapefruit Meltaway Cookies--

1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp

1/3 cup confectioners sugar, plus extra for coating

Zest of one grapefruit

2 to 3 tablespoons of Grapefruit juice (juice half of a fruit and then reduce over med-high heat) 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 and 3/4 cup plus 2 TBS flour

2 TBS cornstarch 

1/4 tsp salt

Procedure - 

Cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add in the zest, juice, and vanilla and combine. Whisk flour, salt, and cornstarch and then slowly add into the butter mixture. Role dough into 1 to 1.5 inch diameter logs and rap in either saran wrap or parchment paper. Chill logs at least one hour. Once dough is firm, slice logs into 1/4 inch rounds and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a light brown color. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. While the cookies are still worm, fill a zip top bag with confectioners sugar and toss the cookies in the sugar to coat.

These can be stored for a few weeks if kept in a sealed container. 

Biscotti...

This is something I really have wanted to make for a while. I always have seen Biscotti at random coffee shops every now and then- chocolate, plain, almond, ect - but have never had any home made versions. I think biscotti have a bad wrap of being hard and very dry, but I can assure you that these Almond and Orange flavored ones fall into neither category. Crunchy and flavorful, you will soon find these little biscuits beside your coffee mug or in your coat pocket for those long dog walks.

P.S....this recipe is via the Smitten Kitchen, an awesome site!

Almond Biscotti

-Courtesy Smitten Kitchen

3 and 1/4 c. flour

1 TBS. baking powder

1/3 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 c. sugar

10 TBS or 1 and 1/4 sticks butter, melted (unsalted)

3 large eggs

1 TBS vanilla extract

1 TBS orange liqueur

1 TBS orange zest

1 c. whole almonds, toasted and chopped

1 large egg white

Preparation-

Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. Combine melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, liqueur, and zest. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and combine until mixed, making sure not to over mix the dough. Divide dough into two balls, and on a floured surface, shape two logs. The logs should be about 13-14 inches long and about 3 inches wide. Place the two logs onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper making sure to leave room between the two logs as well as the sides of the pan as the dough will spread out during baking. Beat egg white with whisk until foamy and then brush the two logs with the whites. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes until golden, remove from oven but keep the oven warm. Once cooled, around 25 minutes, cut diagonally in the desired thickness. With the oven on 350, toast the biscotti cut side down on each side for about 8-12 minutes.

Can keep for up to a week if sealed. Makes around 3-4 dozen depending on thickness.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Banana Bread is a staple in my house. For any occasion, winter or summer, its the go-to quick fix dessert bread. Outstanding for breakfast, snacking on throughout the day, or even an after dinner treat, this bread is so easy and such a breeze to put together. Instead of using traditional white AP flour, I switched it up to include the more nutritious whole wheat variety. The results were great and you couldn't even taste the difference. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

- adapted from my moms recipe

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar
1 Tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

3 very ripe bananas (almost black), mashed

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tsp. baking soda

add water as needed

Preparation -

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter, sugar, and salt. Add in eggs one at a time, followed by the mashed bananas and combine well. Stir in dry ingredients until homogeneous. Add water a tsp at a time if mix is too dry. Batter should be rather thick. Pour batter into greased loaf pan and let sit for 20 minutes. Bake bread in oven for 50 minutes or until a tester come out almost clean and the loaf in brown on the top.*

* If the bread is browning too quickly, cover with foil as needed

Tomato, Tomato

Just a nice picture for you taken on the new camera. I'm going to try and post miscellaneous food pictures on the first of each month. 

What a Thanksgiving

Sorry this post is so late. Things have been crazy around my way with school and all the cooking that took place around the holidays. For my birthday I had a few friends over and cooked a great meal that included a turkey with the usual, (mashers, cranberry sauce, ect. ) chorizo cornbread stuffing, roasted carrots (pictured), awesome sweet potato fries courtesy of Mrs. Ina Garten, (more on those later) and a ton of desserts. The meal was great but as usual, the sweet portion of the meal is what draws my attention.

I'll start from the top:

Apple Oatmeal Cookie Crisp: It was a huge hit and quite possible the favorite of the crowd. This recipe can be found via the search on my blog.

Pumpkin Flan - This dish is like a pumpkin pie but 10 times richer and no crust. I loved it.

Chocolate Covered Poached Pears- I had to salvage a minor accident on this one..but they were soo good. The link will take you to gourmet's recipe for a poached pear tart. Simply poach the pears according to the recipe and then once they are cooled, dip them in melted dark chocolate and refrigerate.

Smores Pie- This was straight chocolate with home made marshmallow on top. Awesome.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Now that the holidays are drawing near, look for more post and school slows down.

Test 01 of Unknown: Caramel Pudding

Feeling ambitious, I wanted to see if I could in fact 'invent my own pudding.' I quote that phrase because Adam at the Armature Gourmet (here) attempted this very same feat, which is scary, because he knows what he is doing and I on the other hand....not so much. 

The only idea I had was to use my awesome caramel sauce recipe to flavor a basic pudding base, who's recipe I found from Elise. Using this concept, I came up with a nice pudding with great flavor and a smooth texture. I hope you give it a go and enjoy it!

Caramel Pudding

-adapted from 'Chocolate Pudding'

For the Caramel:

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. water

3/4 c. heavy cream

Heat the sugar and water over high heat until deep amber. Take off the heat and carefully stir in the cream. Bring back to a boil then allow to cool.

For the Pudding:

1/4 c. sugar

4 Tbs. Corn starch [you might need more depending on how think you would like it]

Pinch of Salt

2 c. whole milk

One egg, beaten

Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a medium pot. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Stir in cooled caramel and remove from the heat. Temper a small about of the cream mixture into the egg, followed by the remainder of the cream. Whisk until smooth, divide into ramekins, and allow to cool. 

Home in the Kitchen: Apple Cookie Crisp

I'm not sure if this has been done before. If it has, I'm sorry. 

My sister loves apple crisp, and I wanted to put my own spin on the old time classic. After scouring the Internet for a oatmeal cookie recipe that A) I had all the ingredients for and B) was easy, I decided I would smother my simply apple mix with a crunchy cookie top. 

Most of the crisps I have eaten or made in the past have had a nice topping, but it is usually not consistent or super crunchy. I wanted to for go the topping, and go straight for a 'top.' I figured a nice cookie would yield that crunchy bite I was looking for. Excited about the prospect of a new discovery, I set off to find a cookie recipe that would work. Most oatmeal cookies have tons of goodies in them, (its like new thing now, I think) but for my topping I wanted only two things to make the crunch happen: Oats and granola. 

Below is the recipe for my version of apple crisp with a crunch cookie top and simple simple apples underneath. Enjoy.

Apple Cookie Crisp

For the top:

-adapted from Food Network Kitchens

1 c AP flour 

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 c. room temp. butter (1.5 sticks)

1/2 c. sugar 

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. rolled oats (not instant)

1 c. granola (any type or brand you like)

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. 

Beat white sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in brown sugar. Add eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. Once wet ingredients are well combined, slowly add the dry ingredients on to the wet. Once homogeneous, stir in oats and granola. Chill batter for at least 30 min. for best results

For the apples:

Cut 3 to 4 large peeled apples into slices. Squeeze the juice of one half of a lemon over the apples, followed by 1/2 c of sugar, 2 tbs. of brown sugar and 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon. Make sure all of the slices are well coated and place them in the bottom of a baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, remove from oven and spread cookie dough over the apples. Return to oven and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 for a harder crust.

Sweat Tweaks: Panna Cotta Pumpkin Pie

This is not your every day pumpkin pie, nor is it the wheel reinvented. Just think of it as your grandmothers station wagon with chrome spinners for rims. 

I wanted to take on Serious Eat's Sweet Tweaks challenge to take pumpkin sponge cake beyond its retro days as a over stuffed jelly role and shine a new light on the under appreciated sponge cake. To be honest, I have never once made a sponge cake. From the onset, I thought I was constructing a meringue based sorbet (which I did do last weekend. You will very soon see!) with all the whipping and egg whites involved. I wanted to create something off the wall but still hold on the the essence of the the jelly role and the holiday season. Thus, the birth of the Panna Cotta Pumpkin pie. 

Creamy, spongy, pumpkin-y, and sexy all at the same time( well maybe not sexy), this new age pumpkin pie will give a whole new meaning to Thanksgiving dessert. I have been wanting to make panna cotta for a while, so this gave me the perfect excuse to dive in. 

I first baked the sponge cake in a half sheet pan and once cooled, cut out two circles the same diameter as my spring pan. One the panna cotta was infused with cinnamon and cooled about 1.5 to 2 hours, I poured the viscus mixture over the bottom layer of cake in my spring pan. Pouring the cream mixture in while it was still slightly runny allowed the cake to soak up the yummy cream, and made a kind of cold bread pudding in the finished product. Once completely set, about 4 hours, I put the top layer on top of the panna cotta and chilled over night. The next morning the entire pie was completely congealed. I removed it from the spring pan and inverted it on to the serving plate. (I flipped it over so the gooey, pie-like side was on top and the firmer cake I put on top served as the crust.)

From the picture you can see the beautiful cross section of firm cake crust, creamy cinnamon panna cotta, and the a hybrid of the two for the top later. Serve cold with a drizzle of carmel.

Panna Cotta Pumpkin Pie- 

For the sponge cake see Serious Eats here.  Bake cake in a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Allow to cool before removing from pan. 

For the Cinnamon Panna Cotta

- Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 package unflavored gelatin - about 1 tbs. 

2 tbs. cold water

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 stick cinnamon

In a small pan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let soften for about one minute. Heat the gelatin mixture over low heat until dissolved completely. 

In another pan, combine cream, half and half, sugar, and the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once at a boil, remove from heat, take out cinnamon, and pour in the dissolved gelatin. Stir to combine and let cool to room temperature. Allow to chill for 1.5 to 2 hours before assembly.

Assembly:

Cut two circles out of the sponge cake the same diameter as your spring pan. Layer the first round on the bottom of the pan and the pour the panna cotta mixture that has been chilled for 1.5 to 2 hours over the cake. The mixture should be rather viscus and think before pouring. 

Note: To help prevent leaks, place a sheet of saran wrap over the bottom disc of the pan before clamping the pan shut. 

Allow the pie to chill for 2 more hours before placing the second round of cake on top of the panna cotta. Chill over night.

When serving, invert the pie using a plate onto the desired serving dish. Serve with whipped cream and or carmel sauce. 

A Taste of Chocolate Cake

While visiting one of my all time favorite blogs, (and the one that inspired me to make my own) I was impressed with the looks of this awesome chocolate cake. Adam on The Amature Gormet wen on and on on how well this cake went over when he made it, and with family in town I thought it would be a perfect addition to our dinner. The recipe is Ina Garten's from the Barefoot Contessa, and like most of her treats it did not fail to impress. The batter was super super runny, which had me worried for a little while, but the cakes turned out very moist and had a rich overall flavor. The icing was out of this world as well. (no doubt thanks to the two sticks of butter)

Thank you Adam for a great cake idea! 

And no, the dogs did not get to taste the cake...that would be bad...for us and the dogs. 

Remembering Summer: Sorrel Tea

The other cranberry....but not a fruit at all. This Jamaican gem is slowly integrating its way back into U.S. homes at a fairly steady clip, and not wanting to be out of the loop I sent away for some of my very own pods. 

The dried flower of the hibiscus plant, hibiscus sabdariffa, received its name for its smell that was likened to the herb French Sorrel...which is big a green and not likely to yield a cool and refreshing tea. The Jamaicans, while having may uses for the flower, such as in jellies and wine, are not the only culture to take advantage of the plants unique taste. Ever had Red Zinger tea with that big red flower on the front of the package? That flower is a hibiscus/ sorrel. Latin Americans also have similar uses for sorrel and call their tea Jamaica, after the origins of the flower. (Hamica as they would pronounce it)

My plan of attack for making my first sorrel tea was simple- make it simple. Being in the south, I did the only southern thing to do - make sweet tea and sub the Lipton for sorrel pods. Note that this is a basic approach, but I really wanted to see what the flowers tasted like themselves before I added in all kinds of citrus and ginger and the like. If you would like to order your own hibiscus flowers, visit the Savory Spice Company. 

Sorrel Tea - -

8 c water

4 oz sorrel pods

2/3 c. sugar

Bring 4c of water to a boil, add sorrel, and remove from heat. Allow to steep for 15 minutes. While the flowers are steeping, mix the sugar and remaining 4c of water in a large pitcher until sugar is dissolved. Pour warm sorrel water through a mesh strainer and into the pitcher. Let cool and serve over ice. 

Note: Feel free to adjust sweetness as you would like. 

Persimmon and Goat Cheese Cupcakes

 

When I read the secret ingredient for my inaugural Iron Cupcake challenge was cheese, I was slightly disheartened to say the least. I had never used cheese in a dessert, especially a cupcake. Perplexed as to what to do, I let the Greenville Farmers Market solve my problems for me. I've just started using the local market, and let me just say for a small town market it has some great finds. Everything is so inexpensive in comparison to big chain supermarkets and you meet some pretty interesting people as well. 

So about my cupcakes - Randomly there just so happens to be a persimmon orchard ( I assume it is called an orchard, they grow on trees) 3 miles from from Greenville. Who would have thought? I had never used or tasted a persimmon - my brother likened them to an unripe tomato- so I was a little weary as I headed over to the vendor. As a felt over the fruits trying to figure out what in the world they could be used for, a nice oriental lady offered that persimmons go great in place of bananas in banana bread. Alright - so persimmon bread- how about persimmon cupcakes? I decided to go for it. 

After failing my first attempt, I worked out a recipe that yielded some nice looking (and tasting) cakes. 

Now i had my base, I just need to work out the finishing touches. Having just ordered a huge bag of sorrel, (dried hibiscus flowers) I knew I wanted to get them into the party. And there was still the cheese component I had to work on. I remembered reading a blogger that used goat cheese in his icing, and using that as inspiration I came up with a Sorrel Goat Cheese icing. 

I'd say for my first attempted at theme ingredient cupcake I was pleased with my efforts. The cupcakes were cooked perfectly and the icing was not overly sweet so the goat cheese could shine through. If you have the opportunity to get a hold of some persimmons give this one a whirl. Any icing would work perfectly on these if you don't have sorrel or are afraid of the goat cheese in your icing. 

Persimmon Cupcakes with Sorrel Goat Cheese Icing - -

For the cakes:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flower

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. whole milk, room temp. 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp. 

1 c. sugar

1 large egg, room temp.

2 large egg whites, room temp

1/3 c. persimmon puree (3 to 4 ripe fruits)

1/8 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg 

For the icing:

8 oz. goat cheese

4 tbs. cream cheese

6 tbs. powdered sugar (or to taste)

3 tbs. sorrel syrup

- 4 to 5 sorrel florets 

  - 1 c. water 

- 2 tbs. sugar

For the cupcakes: 

Combine dry ingredients and sift. Mix together milk, vanilla, and persimmon puree and set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in egg and egg whites one at a time, beating after each addition. Once combined, add half of the flour mixture and mix until Incorporated.  Add in wet milk mixture and mix followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Beat batter until all ingredients are Incorporated. Do not over mix. Portion batter into 12 cupcake papers and bake at 350 for 22 minutes. Allow to cool before icing 

For the Icing:

Allow sorrel florets to steep in warm water for 20 minutes or until water is dark red. Pour water in a sauce pot and put over high heat. Stir in sugar and reduce until the liquid yields 1/4 of a cup. (about 15 minutes) Allow to cool to room temp. Mix the cream cheese, goat cheese, sugar, and sorrel syrup until combined. Ice cooled cupcakes. 

__________________________________________

The McLaughlin Files - Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This one is a goodie. Rumor is my grandmother developed this particular recipe for Sour Cream Coffee cake, and I'm sticking with that story. I understand why it is called coffee cake, it is sometimes served with coffee, but the name on the whole has never really made sense to me. Someone (maybe myself) needs to make a coffee, coffee cake. Maybe there is already one out there. Who knows? 

One thing I do know though is that this is a darn good cake. Nothing is better when its cold and rainy outside. My dad likes his with a big hunk of ice cream, but as for me - i am a purist. The only downside is that it does take a while to bake. All that means is you have an excuse to camp out by the oven and watch Opera or something. (That's what my mom does, so don't be ashamed.) 

Hope you enjoy my first post and this cake finds you happy and with a tall glass of non-fat, organic, triple ultra-high heat pasteurized milk. 

Betty's Sour Cream Coffee Cake - -

For the cake:

1/2 lb. Butter

2c Sugar

4 Large Eggs

2c Sour cream

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

4c Four

2 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 c Oil

One apple, sliced and peeled 

For the sugar:

1c Sugar

3 Tbs. Cinnamon or to taste

Procedure:

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix. Add in flour slowly in small amounts, followed by baking soda and powder. Add in oil and combine. 

Empty half of the batter into a greased bunt ban and then sprinkle with sugar mixture. Layer sliced apples on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter and repeat with sugar and apples. 

Bake at 350 for one hour or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.